Chapter. 10 Lead and Silver Coin (15)
****
The road to the area 38 dome was considerably easier than before. Of course, it’s the Dome’s territory. Just as the Dome people in Area 47 manage the area, they also patrol the area regularly in Area 38 to protect their security.
If there is a difference,
fuss!
Fu shoot! Fu shoot!
“…Didn’t that just look like a human?”
“I saw it. They were holding placards that said, ‘We are people too.’ “I’m human.”
The only thing they protect here is that they are focused on territory, not people.
A huge blue shield, like the symbol of the dome, and personal shelters clustered together like barnacles beyond the border.
Watchtowers were erected at regular intervals outside the shelter cluster, and the sound heard through the detector was the sound of the watchtowers using a sniper rifle equipped with a silencer to kill creatures moving nearby.
As a result, their aimed fire did not discriminate between survivors and mutants.
Chijik-
“This is… strange. What is in front of you now is not a large group of scavengers, but a dome. This is a group whose banner is freedom and justice and the restoration of the old world order! Could something be wrong? A third force took advantage of the recent chaos and took over the dome…”
“Ezel.”
“Or, like our District 47, a department has joined hands with the Raptors, and the Raptors are essentially becoming puppets…”
“Ezel.”
“I… I can’t accept this. We do kill out of necessity, but it’s never been against civilian survivors. In the 15 minutes I observed the dome here, I saw five civilian casualties. Five! They were all ordinary people who fled with all their belongings! “The dome was created to create a world where such people can live!”
Chizik-
“Angel. “This is a wasteland.”
“…Vex is right. No matter how much the Dome’s values focus on justice, what actions should we take as a group in this situation…”
“The Dome is meant to escape from such a wasteland! “At least for us… we shouldn’t be like that!!!”
Ezel’s voice in confusion heard through the communicator. He was a somewhat naive and vicious guy. As a guy who purely believed in the justice of the Dom, what was happening before his eyes must have come as quite a shock.
[….What do you think?]
In response to Hyde’s question, I recalled the sight of the dome seen through a telescope.
A large dome shield and small shelters gathered around it without any gaps. An unusually large number of shelter-attached greenhouses.
There were as few as two and as many as five greenhouses attached to one small shelter.
‘Greenhouse modules consume quite a lot of electricity. If the greenhouse is expanded that much, there will be almost no electricity for the shelter itself. Since it is so densely packed, almost all the water pumped in will flow into the greenhouse. That shelter wasn’t built for people. It was built to use the greenhouse management module included in the shelter.’
[So, there are no people living in those many shelters and they are just running farms? It’s so inefficient?]
The professor sighed uncomfortably at Hyde’s words.
‘There is no way that Dom, which cares the most about money and efficiency in the world, would operate like that.’
I increased the magnification of the telescope to the maximum and focused on a place where there were people in a shelter with brightly lit heating lights in cold weather. A scruffy boy who stumbles as if even holding a small watering can is too hard for him. There was a striking contrast between his parched lips and the vibrant, water-filled crops.
‘…Whatever it is, it would be better to give up the idea that we are in the same group as the Dom in our neighborhood.’
Feeling an ominous feeling, the professor came out and took out a large flag from the truck’s cargo compartment and hung it on the vehicle. A flag with the dome mark and caravan mark prepared in advance before leaving for the journey.
As the large white flag indicating the upper vehicle was fluttering, no shots were fired at them as they approached the dome.
****
“Wow, you can’t believe we crossed six sections of that rough wasteland at a time like this. I can’t help but admire the friendship of the District 47 Dom! Welcome BDSM people!”
lie.
“Isn’t this a really difficult time? Area 38 is a place where it is difficult to move freely due to the environment, so food is very scarce. A large number of refugees have arisen due to the sudden overflow of mutants. Of course, we are humans too, so we want to accept them, but… Refugees who have no food or production base are no different from biohazards that will quickly run out of food in the dome and cause chaos. As a politician, I had no choice but to choose the next best option. “It is truly heartbreaking.”
lie.
“We don’t have anything to say about the core parts. There was an attack. Somehow, suddenly, dozens of times more mutants than usual flock here, followed by those Happy Blind fanatics. They desperately defended their target, the central power plant, but the eastern sector suffered terrible damage. At that time, the box that was being prepared to be delivered to Area 47 along with the weapons in our inspection department’s armory were taken away. Oh, it has a special lock, so they won’t be able to open it unless they want to break it. Even so, the box was recycled from a black box that stored major military secrets before the war. “There is no way to open it with modern technology unless it is an appropriate method.”
Lies lies and lies.
When I passed through the private shelter area and entered the interior of the dome, I became very nervous when I heard that the inspector general was coming. Even if he were half as tall as our local president, Alexander Young, he would be a clumsy snake who wouldn’t know when or how to prey on people.
But what? The man who appeared in front of me, who was very nervous, was a bastard who looked like a hollow corn can.
Let alone a trickster, he is a beginner who doesn’t even know how to lie.
There was so much lying on his face that I thought, ‘Are you doing this on purpose? If you let your guard down while dealing with him, voila! And the real thing appears?’ It was to the point where I thought,
“…Thank you for your hospitality. I’d like to unload my items right away, but as you know, I’ve come a long way. “I want to take a break and talk…”
Boom!
“Of course! “We have prepared the best accommodations for outsiders, so you can get enough rest, make as many transactions as you want, and then go back!”
When I subtly hinted that I was in a bit of trouble, the inspector general of District 38 stepped down without a second thought. Something hard remained in the hand he held. External chip and memo for small connector.
[1000000 sil]
[Hopefully, ‘Rochid Coin’ would be a good choice at the top of the main transaction. For each other.]
“It’s like that, really.”
From what I can see, it must be the top where the string touches the sorghum can. The head of the Department of Inspection, which manages internal security and regulations, is like this.
It was one of two things.
Either the Area 38 dome has rotted to the point where it cannot be revived.
Like in our neighborhood, one of the inspectors and administrative officers took over all the power and set up a scarecrow.
I handed the note to Ian, who took a quick look at it, then without a second thought struck a match and lit a cigarette.
“I don’t know if it’s just a request, but that idiot is so bad that he even threatens me with being the president. ‘For each other’? It’s only 1 million for a long-distance caravan with 6 units. That bastard is not a vessel. “He’s not someone anyone can blame.”
“Hepburn, I think it’s a little strange. A president is a high-ranking person, but that person just didn’t have any pen marks on his hands. The president of District 47 was busy signing for 24 hours, so his middle and index fingers were so stressed that they turned slightly and even had calluses. But that person… there is no trace of him being such a superior.”
Me too, Bex and Ian.
“Okay, we’ve secured three votes. Ezel, is there anything you want to say about the current situation?”
“…I’ll have to watch.”
“Then your vote as well. Anyone can see that that Susu-gang is a scarecrow, so let’s treat the previous meeting as if it never happened. First, let’s find accommodation. “A spacious and open parking space for caravans.”
“If possible, let’s find the highest place here. I saw earlier that the snipers here are good. “I can’t even rest comfortably in each place.”
“Of course we have to consider that too. “Let’s take a walk around and find out the geography.”
The group, who treated the person who came to guide us from the inspection department building as if they were not there, drove the car and entered the streets of the 38th district dome.
No one asked to stay in the accommodation prepared here. Even Ezel.
****
It’s a damn thing, but given the situation, I assumed the Area 38 Dome to be a potential ‘enemy’.
‘Well, mutants and fanatics came in, and those lumps of flesh came in, so they couldn’t stop it and allowed the invasion? ‘Dom and not any other group?’
Bullshit is that kind of bullshit. Just looking at the huge threat gun rising above the wall was enough to know that it was nonsense.
“Blackmail… It’s been a while since I’ve seen you. Even during the war and during my Raptor days, I had a lot of trouble because of that.”
“Because this is an area where large-scale invasions by raptors have not been common. “The main enemy was either a Mugler or a Type 2 variant of Happy Blind, so the defenses would have been built to deal with creatures rather than equipment.”
Blackmail. The official name is extended lethal shock vibration suppression equipment.
As the name “suppression equipment” suggests, it was originally an anti-personnel suppression equipment used by riot police. It is a type of electromagnetic firearm that fires compressed air, and although it causes nausea, headaches, and dizziness in those who hit it, it is a small weapon that has almost no lethal force.
And the thing that greatly increased the power and scale of the weapon was the blackmail gun that was famous during the Great War as the ‘infantry vacuum cleaner’ or the ‘nightmare of the Chinese Communist Party’. The operation method was also very simple. If you put that intimidating gun on a sturdy armored vehicle and rush into an area where enemy infantry is concentrated and fire it, people will bleed to death in the middle of nowhere.
The second year of the Great War, in which all supplies were poured into each other and the giant chicken war took place. At that time, it was not the Middle Ages, but the 21st century, and there was a cost-effective type of soldier who charged wearing protective gear made of torn bulletproof fiber called ‘full plate soldier’. It was quite fun to utilize countless assault infantry by recycling without worrying about the overwhelming population and quality. The Chinese-Indian joint forces that were watching were swept away like fallen leaves by the appearance of this blackmail armored vehicle.
A weapon that made a remarkable contribution not only in person-to-person battles but also in tank battles by rendering the tank crews inside unable to fight.
On the wall of the area 38 dome, there were people who were bigger and more powerful than the blackmailers I saw at the time.
“As long as we don’t run out of compressed air, we’ll stop even a million people coming.”
“Even if a large number of scavengers, not mutants, come in, you’ll stop it, right? I dealt with that thing once, and even though I set the tank shield to maximum output, the impact was still there and it went inside. My nose bleeds and my eyes become unfocused, but even if it wasn’t a direct hit and I was close to that thing, I couldn’t even think of taking an aimed shot. Wide-area lethal suppression equipment and trained snipers. It is a class designed to one-sidedly defeat the enemy. This means that at least one of the defense facilities is comparable to the Area 47 dome.”
“After all, such wide-area shock waves are extremely resistant to bubble shields. Even if you are not injured, just one blow to someone nearby is enough to start radiation exposure. It makes sense that as soon as they entered Area 38, any trace of the Scavenger disappeared instantly. It’s too strong – not up to par. If you fight, you’ll die. It’s become so bad that even those crazy people can’t even think about it. Really… this is ridiculous defense power. “We have built a defense network that best suits the physiology of this place.”
Except for the short range of the blackmail cannon, its defense power is so powerful that no one in this area can even dare to deal with it.
Looking at it, the appearance of the city seemed even more suspicious. Little by little
,
traces of destruction and arson began to appear in the sight of the city passing by beyond the window.
“What if, really what if. As the Susu Gang said, a huge number of mutants came in, but if the ‘synthetic type 3 mutant’ shown in the video Dana showed was among them, would it have been possible to break through that defense net?”
“…You have to consider the possibility. Type 3 people are people who literally have no idea what abilities they have. But in my personal opinion, this is nonsense. In the first place, the people who were transformed into mutants in the video started expressing aggression towards the fanatics as soon as the transformation was over, right? “It means that it can be changed, but control is ambiguous.”
“Even though it’s like throwing away one person, there are ways to encourage aggression and drive them away.”
“I’m not talking about the influx, but the place where the damage is concentrated. Mutants basically attack the target that attacked them, right? Even if there were people who managed to withstand the blackmail cannon, if they were really on the verge of penetrating into the city, all the blackmail cannons near the East Gate should have been destroyed. Looking at it now, it’s about two generations at most. “It was damaged to the point where it could be repaired, just a little scorched and torn.”
Ian’s impressions as he watched the streets increasingly look like a battlefield.
First of all, his opinion was that the variant was not created this way.
‘It’s not a variant. So is this the work of Happy Blind? Because religion sometimes paralyzes people’s reason. If you created a collaborator inside, took down the blackmailer, and then infiltrated with the mutant who brought you all the way here…’
Clutter. Crash!
“…? Hey Ezel! Where! Let’s move together until the situation becomes clear-”
“That’s because I have something to check!”
While driving through the slowly destroyed eastern city, Ezel discovered something and jumped out of the car and ran away.
“Hepburn has been acting a little strange since she came here.”
“…You need to understand. “Because my entire sense of values is being shaken.”
When we stopped and looked around, and walked towards where Ezel had run, Ezel, completely covered in soot, was walking out, grinning.
“…I’m not a fanatic either.”
“what?”
“This is how they made it! As Ian said, I am neither a mutant nor a fanatic!”
Ezel threw away the small metal stick he was holding in his voice, his voice growing angry. A tool I’ve seen before. It was a multi-purpose tool containing various things, including tweezers, a ruler, and a small knife, used by the inspection department to collect samples or secure evidence.
“What is the basis?”
Cheok!
Ezel’s finger pointed to a building that was slightly less destroyed than the others.
“How to minimize the use of explosives in connection with the fuel cell of the building at the fire point, and even how to calculate the direction in which the fire will spread! It’s so… familiar. “It’s the same way we teach it to agents from the Inspection Department and the Enforcement Department!”
Ezel said, still confused, but wiping the soot from his face, his eyes as if something was on fire.
“For whatever reason, the agents here massacred civilians and destroyed the city. It’s all fabrication! Everything the president said and all the talk about mutants-”
“Shh. “Your voice is too loud, Ezel.”
I covered the mouth of the guy who was talking excitedly and forced him into the car.
After confirming that everyone was in the car, inter-vehicle communication was opened. A military communication device that enables short-distance communication even in the 30th division, where strange communication failures are occurring. With this, you don’t have to worry about being bugged.
Write it – haaaa.
A sigh came out of my mouth. I thought that if I could get through that hellish mutant den and reach the dome, I would at least be able to complete my mission and rest in peace.
Out of frustration, my hand holding the communicator became tense.
“…As of the current time, it is assumed that the Area 38 dome is an enemy camp. Circumstances were revealed that all or part of the upper echelon here was collaborating with Happy Blind. The goal of our mission is also… It is believed that District 38 has fallen into the hands of the Happy Blinds through a self-inflicted play against the city. one more. “The box of parts we’re looking for… we should keep in mind the possibility that it might be the same box the fanatics were holding.”
.
.
.
.
Chiik-
“It’s enemy territory. We’ve barely made it this far and the world is in a shitty state. “Do your last words mean that Area 47 also fooled us?”
Chiik-
“It means there was no faith. This is a common occurrence among scavengers. If you open the seal on the item, the transaction will break down. It is said that the object of transport is food, but if you open it, it will contain a lot of ammunition for territorial disputes. The president of District 47 didn’t trust us. “We thought that if we got hold of the great power of the transformation device, we would hold our guns upside down.”
Chiik-
“Bullshit! Just because these people are corrupt, don’t treat us the same way! “I could risk my neck saying that the president is not that kind of person!”
Chiik-
“Then of course I have to risk my neck. “We have already become unluckily entangled, and our hair is already falling apart.”
Chiik-
‘… This is why I wanted to keep it to myself until I became more certain.’
As suspicions about the president increased here in District 38, confusion quickly began to arise among the group. I wanted to hide it as much as possible until the end, but hiding information in this complicated situation was out of the question. Minimum conditions for survival on the battlefield. At the very least, you must have faith in the person you entrusted your back to.
I put my mouth to the communication device as I listened to the voices getting louder.
“Everyone shut up. Even though we have a horizontal relationship, it is not possible for more than one person to take the steering wheel in a situation like this. As the leader of the caravan, this is an order. Shut up. “I’ll make the decision, and if I don’t like it, I’ll leave.”
Chiik-
“….”
There is no answer. good. First of all, I agreed.
Now that the right to command has been recognized, the first thing to do is to pull out the seeds of suspicion that are about to take root among the party.
Chiik-
“The reason I brought this up even though I knew it would be like this is because I have 100% confidence in our group here at least. I don’t know what Director Young’s intention was in asking us to transport the mutation device. However, it is highly likely that Ezel got caught up in it without knowing it. After the battle with the Raptor, he was sent on surveillance missions around the outside of the dome. So, from now on, we will at least prohibit any actions or remarks that may be suspicious of each other. You can’t be surprised every time your friend raises a gun, right? If you have any feelings left, let them out right here and now. “Don’t get into an accident later.”
Crackling-
….the hand holding the communicator was sweating.
Chijik-
“….Confirmed. I feel sorry for my personality, Ezel. I have a lot of bad memories about allies becoming enemies. “I apologize if I offended you.”
Chizzik-
“I… I was just a little confused. It’s still like that. “I don’t have feelings for you either.”
Ian’s grunting voice and Ezel’s quiet voice came out one after another from the communicator.
‘good. First of all, the rift between the group has been successfully sealed.’
A situation where people who were thought to be allies have become enemies. One of the party members even belongs to that group. In this case, if you don’t clearly set the line and completely block out the confusion, you won’t know who your real allies are later. Ezel? It’s only been a few months since I met Ezel Raiden, but Soy Sauce Gay Bar has been around for over 5 years.
In my personal opinion, he is just a good idiot. A good nerd with lots of ability and motivation. That’s why he’s more prone to being taken advantage of.
Chizik-
“From now on, I won’t trust anyone except the four of us. Be suspicious of everyone you meet, gather information, and be careful about your actions. Let’s check the civilians first. I can’t trust the information provided by Area 38’s inspection department. If there are any survivors living around here, they might be able to find out what happened here. “It starts from there.”
Crackling-
“Confirmed.”
“check.”
Chijik-
“….Confirm.”
Only after getting Ezel’s hesitant check sign did we start moving again.
‘It’s an espionage war… It’s become a headache for the world.’
The professor shook his head without realizing it and thought, ‘If Dana were here…’
****
