Chapter 20. Patriot (18)
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The central district is cut off from other districts. They said that the infected people were gathered here.
If we connect the two, we conclude that there is no reason to go to large commercial stores such as shopping centers and department stores. People who were kicked out of their homes and had nowhere to go would have looted from there. What was there to be so afraid of when you were turning into a zombie anyway?
But these people would have been turned into zombies very quickly. This means that although supplies were gathered as they were available, there is a high possibility that most of them were stored untouched.
“I understand that.”
Camilla, who was listening, expressed her disapproval.
“So, why are you going to the toy wholesale warehouse? “Weren’t you going to ‘visit a family’?”
Cassandra, who was driving, and Leticia, who played the role of human navigation in the passenger seat, also turned to look at me as if they were curious.
“Well, toys are usually small and noisy, but they’re also fast and crazy. Since it is assumed that children will play with it, it is easy to operate. Even beginners can do it easily.”
“What, are you planning to release a teddy bear on the road?”
When I just laughed, Camilla looked quite confused. Leticia seemed to frown, and then she said, “No, turn right at the next intersection, not here.” The problem was,
“Huh?”
I was quite embarrassed right after that.
“Why? “Did I give you the wrong directions?”
“No. “Look at this.”
Leticia held out her cell phone. 『In line with the government’s energy conservation policy, Internet database operating hours will be limited to 9 a.M. To 6 p.M. Starting one week later….』
In summary, it meant that the power situation had become so bad that the company providing the map service could not operate normally.
“If this is the case, there is little point in using the Western Minsk satellite. Even if you have internet access, what’s the point if all the sites are down? “What on earth is the government doing?”
Complaints broke out immediately. The calmest one among us was Cassandra.
“It’s unlikely that there was a problem with the power plant itself. It seems highly likely that the personnel capable of operating the generators are gradually turning into zombies, and that there is a problem with the supply of fuel for the generators. Blood clots travel through blood vessels and block various parts of the body, and organs become overloaded and problems arise.”
We were all surprised because it was a pretty bold statement. “This is a diagnosis worthy of a doctor.” Camilla was right. A company that provides navigation map services is reducing operations due to unstable electricity supply.
“I wonder where I can find a printer.”
Well, it’s not like they’re closing right now.
The Humvee finally arrived at the toy company’s warehouse. Although it was called a warehouse, it was just the right size for a local car center. There was a thick padlock on the steel fence door, but when I used a cutter, it was easily cut through.
Fortunately, there was no one in the warehouse. There was only a dusty desk, ledgers, PC, and unopened toys. Among them was a familiar Barbie doll. It was the character attached to the pink bag I first used.
“Yes. This.”
What I was looking for was right behind it.
“… “Isn’t this an RC car?”
“That’s right. Controlled by remote control. There’s a helicopter here too. “There are also drones.”
I was happy that everyone understood my intentions.
After taking the toys, we robbed a small digital home appliance store. Large home appliances remained, but things like radios and small TVs had been completely removed. But nothing else was needed.
Small cam camera. I took care of everything, big or small.
After returning to the public health center, the larger ones were attached to the RC car and the smaller ones were attached to the drone and helicopter. It took some trial and error, but I managed to attach it close to the center of gravity and it ended up being a usable item.
“Do you think toys these days are more effective than military ones?”
At first, everyone thought it was childish, but after just two hours, everyone was holding a remote control and controlling the RC car and helicopter. Camilla attached a small LED light to the helicopter, and Leticia attached a small mirror around the RC car camera. If this were possible, blind spots could be reduced as much as possible.
I gained piloting skills for two days and tried it out for the first time.
It was much better than I expected. Surveillance of the surrounding area was much easier just by sending an RC car nearby. Before infiltrating the house, we flew the helicopter to the rooftop and scanned the surrounding area to see if there were any zombies.
“Throw.”
It was easy to look inside the house. A small rock was thrown at the second floor window, breaking the window and throwing a helicopter toy into it. On the first floor, the front door was opened and the RC car was let in.
– Piyongpiyong kurungkureung kkirikkkirik
“Crumbling!”
Zombies were also people. If a child’s bicycle horn honks, it means that he or she will not be able to resist. The RC car mercilessly trampled between the guys’ legs. Above her head, a helicopter with blinking LED lamps maneuvered vertically.
“Kyahaaak!”
In the end, the guy couldn’t stand it anymore and bumped his body around to grab the toy. Of course, I could never catch them due to their slow movements.
A zombie came out in front of the front door. Camilla raised her silenced pistol, but I held her back.
“Why?”
“Because childhood is precious to everyone.”
Before Camilla’s gun was pointed at me, she drove the RC car near the gate. A zombie followed the RC car, foaming at her mouth. I led it out of the alley, took a sharp turn at the intersection, and parked next to a large trash can.
“Kkak, kak, kkak.”
Camilla stretched out her arms and looked with vain eyes at the zombie running down her alley. In the meantime, I brought back the RC car. It felt like my heart and I wanted to pet it once.
“Let’s close the door and gather our things.”
There were a lot of preserved foods in our first home. It’s not like the cheap canned goods from Cybele, but 100% handmade canned food. There were glass jars full of pickles on the shelf.
“Cucumber. Pepper. Is this sauerkraut? There are also carrots….”
The refrigerator, where the electricity was cut off, was full of salted meat. It was half salt and half meat in a large glass jar. I wasn’t sure if I could eat it or not, but I decided to take it and give it a try. If you don’t like it, I’ll just give it to you as a zombie.
It is important from now on.
After making sure the house was clean, I put up boards on all the windows and doors. It was thoroughly made so that no one could come in from the outside and no one could go out from the inside. A helicopter drone with a camera attached was placed on a pole to use as a makeshift CCTV and the surrounding area was monitored.
“Now this is the safe house.”
It is inefficient to transport it to a truck every time you visit a house. Aside from being too cumbersome, we had to save oil.
It is much more reasonable to build a safe house like this and store all the items collected from the surrounding area in this house. Creating a stopover like this makes it easy to store goods, and if it’s really dangerous, it can be used as a temporary shelter.
The next house was repeated. Next house. Next….
We sent an RC car and an RC helicopter to look around, but if the house looked too miserable or there were too many zombies, we gave up. In one house, there were five zombies standing in the living room, and I couldn’t even think about it.
“This was the house with the six zombies, right?”
After the observations were completed, they were carefully marked on the map. Which house was dangerous and which house was safe. It was safer to rob a house with few zombies, and you could take a lot more unused items. There was another reason as well.
“Now, eat.”
Poorly preserved food was sprayed and thrown into a house infested with zombies. Kwajangchang! Zombies gathered at the sound, and everyone lowered their heads and started munching at the strong smell.
In the meantime, all you had to do was hit the door handle with a hammer, break the door, and run away. Of course, he didn’t forget to leave food in front of the door, too. Because the hungry guys were more desperate for the salted meat that fell at their feet than the human running away.
Housekeeping has also improved day by day.
Camilla liked that she went from eating only canned food every day to eating ‘real food’, which made her digestion easier and her skin clearer.
Leticia gathered up some flour and baking powder, and she announced publicly that she wanted to bake bread once she could find a decent oven.
Cassandra showed an unexpected talent for RC. She had a knack for making zombies angry and then making them run out when they couldn’t stand it. Since she’s a doctor, she needs to be very precise with her hands, and maybe that’s why she’s so good at it… I could only guess.
“It’s definitely comfortable. She doesn’t even have to shoot. “I hate to admit it, but it’s kind of fun.”
Camila smiled, stretching her body like a cat. I thought I knew what kind of fun it was. She found it quite thrilling to control her remote control without being caught by the zombies.
It was like a horror game in that you would die without exception if you were caught, and it was also like a slapstick comedy in that you had to swing the zombie’s legs around and trip it up.
She had no choice but to rest on rainy days. There are more things to do on rainy days. She had to collect as much water as possible by placing buckets outside, and also had to do internal maintenance and repairs.
“I’ll cook lunch today.”
Thanks to the increased number of ingredients, cooking became more fun.
A simple pancake was made with flour, salted meat removed from water was stir-fried with cooking oil, and then the filling was made with finely chopped pickles and ketchup. Lastly, I added the cheese I was lucky enough to find on top and put it in a cool frying pan to slightly melt it and that was it.
“Let’s eat.”
“Oh, that sounds delicious?”
Camilla, who was happy and even clapped her hands, took a bite of her own. He chewed and became speechless.
“Why is the reaction like that?”
Leticia asked, taking out a beer can that she didn’t know where it came from. She took a bite, blinked her eyes a couple of times, and then ate it frantically.
“It’s delicious.”
The plate in front of Cassandra was empty. It was to the point where I wondered if I hadn’t given it to him. Seeing that there were some bread crumbs left, it didn’t seem like that.
“Have you already eaten everything?”
“Yes. Delicious.”
Camilla got up and brought sauerkraut. She placed it on top of her roll, thinking it was a bit salty, and stuffed it into her mouth.
“Why? “Isn’t the seasoning right?”
“… “It’s a nostalgic taste.”
Camilla had tears in her eyes.
“It tastes just like my grandmother made.”
It seems that her grandmother’s tastes were a bit salty. Hmm, she muttered, wondering if that was enough. She was a bit on the salty side, but she wasn’t greasy so it was okay.
“If you just find canned apples and cinnamon powder, I’ll make you another apple pie.”
Leticia declared without a trace of laughter. It seemed like a high compliment in its own way. As she was organizing the dishes and washing them properly, Cassandra was standing next to me.
“Uh, what’s going on?”
“Because there wasn’t enough pheromone spray. I think I need to make more. “Take some time after dinner time.”
I was trying to answer yes, but something felt a little strange. Has Cassandra ever spoken in such a commanding tone? I don’t think it was there in my memory.
“Oh, um. And I also have something to say about that laptop report.”
If you look at her in surprise, it seems like she’s your usual Cassandra.
“See you later.”