Chapter 7 – Entering the City
I stand in front of the main gate to the lower region.
“Open.”
The door slowly opened with a dull sound.
[Security breached.]
At the same time, a warning message was broadcast in a dry voice.
It is the voice of the shelter operating system. It is not a high-personality AI like Artemis, but a system that only spits recorded voices according to a set program.
From our point of view, it is an effort to normalize the shelter, but from the operating system’s point of view, which operates according to principle, it is an act of unleashing the blockade of the sub-region where the infection is severe.
The moment it opened wide enough for one person to pass through, the door came to a halt and began to close again.
[If the situation does not go well, retreat here. I will only open it enough for you to pass through according to the timing.]
“Okay.”
The entrance area was terrible.
It seems that those who could not evacuate inside the safe building at the time of the infection gathered here to evacuate to the central region with their last hope.
It was a sight I had seen before, but this place was on a different level in scale.
The whole floor was painted with dried blood, and countless red handprints were stamped on the walls of the massive front door. Until the nails that fell off halfway through were glued together with dried blood.
Their rear seems to have been guarded by guards. At the end of the sea of blood, riot shields, batons, and riot control shotguns were everywhere.
About 10 meters further from there, grains of salt were scattered everywhere as if it had snowed.
He must have fired hundreds of shotgun shots at the approaching monsters cornered, but it was salt bullets anyway.
You might be lucky enough to catch a few of them, but in the end it’s just empty resistance.
[First, go into the nearby building. Locating the infected through the fire alarm intermediary is the top priority.]
“I know.”
Cries of monsters could be heard from all sides, and grotesque shadows swayed beyond the lampposts.
It was dark with limited lighting, so if it was in a bright state, it would have been easily discovered.
The muscles that had been relaxed a little tightened, and the tension rose rapidly.
Cars, benches, large trash cans, and everything else that could hide them were used to advance.
As they passed the stationary streetcar, Artemis suddenly spoke.
[Get down.]
Reflexively, I fell to the ground and rolled on my side as I got under the streetcar. In the meantime, he maintained a position where he could fire the shotgun at any time.
[As a result of sound detection, a total of 6 objects are approaching. Stand by I haven’t noticed yet.]
After a while, I heard the sounds of the guys nearby.
Gurgling sound.
Crackling sound.
The sound of flesh rubbing.
“Kieh!”
As the sound drew closer, his heart beat faster and his hand gripped the shotgun.
You can now see the feet of the infestors.
Some were barefoot, while others were wearing shoes or feet in perforated stockings.
At the same time, the screen on the other side reacted by the sensor that recognized them.
[Aren’t you afraid of the threat of a great war that is talked about in newspapers every day?
What about the conspiracy theorists’ catastrophe from outer space?
How about a different taste of survivalism?
Come to Shelter.
Where to go in a moment of crisis
It’s good to have it set up in advance.
Shelter always welcomes new members.
With serious intentions,
Out of interest
Shelter is open to those who want to be prepared.
Recall when a real crisis has struck.
Don’t trust the government.
It’s obvious what they can provide for you.
At best, it would be a small sleeping bag and cup noodles in the corner of government offices and subways.
But everything is here.
These are the things that humans need to live like humans.
Shelters are built for life, not survival.
The door closes after you enter.]
Even though it was a fairly long broadcast, they stared blankly at it as if they were nailed to the spot, then passed by as the screen turned off.
[Now. In action.]
When I got enough distance, Artemis gave me a signal, and I rolled off the streetcar and infiltrated a nearby building.
[The fire alarm repeater is attached to the second pillar by going straight ahead for 20m and then turning right.]
Shelter, who installed her building plans, guided us.
Soon after reaching the repeater and using the hacking tool, I couldn’t help but sigh.
According to the information sent by the sensor, red dots began to appear on the mini-map moment by moment, and the number was staggering.
“What is this number again?”
[Confirmed 2325 objects, the number continues to rise. This is a figure excluding external areas. Fortunately, the infection broke out immediately after completion. If it had been after receiving the tenants, the number would have been ten thousand units.]
Numbers are numbers, but the reason I lamented was the color of the dots.
“Why are there few hibernating individuals here?”
The PDA mini-map was plastered with red dots.
I expected many of them to be in hibernation, as in the central region, as there would be no survivors to feed or infect after a long time.
But that expectation was completely destroyed.
[Looks like the infestations have a way to get energy. Currently, the hydroponic cultivation facility is suspected.]
“They didn’t look omnivorous.”
Aren’t they picky eaters who only like meat?
[There is no guarantee that the spread of the infectious agent will be limited to the animal kingdom. Likewise, there is no guarantee that the results of infection will always converge to one purpose: destruction. A plant’s unique role in an ecosystem is to be a producer. If a mutation occurs by infection while maintaining the individuality as a producer, who will be the consumer who takes it? Don’t conclude that the direction of infection is just brutality.]
“Mmm.”
To me, infection felt like a zombie virus, but Artemis seemed to be approaching it with a different concept.
“Then, shall we stop by the hydroponic cultivation facility? If you go and see that it really serves as a source of energy for the infected, I think it would be better to take action for later.”
With her help, starting a fire in a confined area is no big deal.
[Don’t take unnecessary risks. Our primary objective is to capture the subarea control room. If you can do that, you can annihilate those disgusting creatures at once. I don’t like rude expressions like annihilation, but there’s no word more suitable for them.]
She said to me as I checked the route while looking at the PDA.
[Don’t forget, I still need your body. Especially the feet and fingers. There are no holes, and it moves faithfully as instructed, doesn’t it?]
I wiggled my index finger playfully in front of the shoulder camera.
[Yes, just like that. There was a time when I thought about taking over your body and using it, but um… I just gave up. I didn’t want to go into the flesh. So you keep moving for me.]
“It’s a scary joke. But even if it came into my body, it wouldn’t be very pleasant. Especially when shaving or going to the bathroom.”
She made a gagging noise. Of course, since she’s a machine, she can’t really vomit.
The journey that followed was a time of full-scale battles.
Pug.
As she approached the infected body, the fire ax she wielded abruptly struck her in the nose.
She pulled out the ax that had slit the bridge of her nose and dug into her sinuses and roof of her mouth, and her shattered upper teeth spilled out.
She was able to see that, but the sight of the yellow mucus that had filled her sinuses poured down into her mouth and mixed with her tongue made her sick.
“Keeeeek-!”
Aiming for the side of the staggering guy, another shot. This time, his ears fell off and he lay down, but he was still not dead.
“Wouldn’t it be better to go for the neck and sever the spinal cord?”
The eyes of the man looking up at me were reluctant. It was because even though he was in a situation right before his death, his eyes contained calm anger, not fear.
Kwajik.
A full swing with his weight split his head and his brain spilled out. But what caught my attention was the torso.
“The guys I saw from above weren’t this terrible, were they? “
There were a lot of pustule-like things sprouting all over his body, and silver-gray veins protruding from his skin. Occasionally, I could see something moving through the veins. Oh, can’t that be a parasite?
It was much more bizarre than the infected that had been dealt with in the central region.
[In action. 2 Infestations are moving this way from the corner 20 meters ahead.]
She lowered her stance and moved in the direction of her guidance.
Almost all infected are active here, so a battle is inevitable to reach the destination.
I don’t want to make as much noise as possible, but I have to stop expecting them to stay away from each other as comfortably as they do now.
“Maybe I should write this soon.”
He felt the cold barrel of the riot control shotgun in his grasp.
