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Chapter 26 - For That Handful Of Silver Coins (9)
“Waahhhh!!!!”
Kesselring scowled as he heard screams echoing through the tunnels.
“Did the Type 2 variants wake up? Do not panic and keep the formation. Snipers, aim for the legs. They are simple monsters with no intelligence.”
Kesselring couldn’t hide the displeasure at how the battlefield began to turn crowded. The battle was going well. The fire was spreading rapidly, and it was surprising that there were variants in the place, but they could be controlled.
Tang!
As Kesselring shoved and built down a variant running towards him, something strange cough his eyes.
’
 is that powder?’
Flamin fuse was under the robe of the variant, wriggling and reaching till the boots. Kesselring knew what it meant.
‘Fucking trash!’
Kwangg!!!
Behind him, who flew back without a command, there was a massive explosion.
“Inside!”
“Muahahaha! Eat that, you bastards!”
Gyosu assessed the enemy’s damage as he stared at the area engulfed in flames. The explosion was closer than he predicted, and as he peered around, it seemed that the tank of the flamethrower had also burst.
“Good.”
“H, can we go now?”
“What are you talking about? We need to get out of here.”
“What? Why?”
“Right. If the grenade fragments were ineffective against those people’s protective clothing, it is hard to say that this damage would have been severe. Instead, the Raptors must be coming out now.”
‘Because they don’t know that the other side doesn’t have more of this.’
All deception methods are built on the dread that comes with uncertainty. The Raptors had previously been severely harmed by the self-destructing variant, and the fear that they might be harmed worse in the future must be entrenched in their minds. They have no option but to enter the alley if they want to avoid being affected by it.
“It is hard to get out there when they set fire to the exit. We left the rest of the battle to Dome, and we escaped in search of a fire extinguisher—”
“Uh
 H, this side.”
“Huh? I, did you find it already?”
“Uh. I am sure. This smells like engine oil.”
“No—wait, what? Would this even make a difference at all?”
“Don’t talk and just follow. Because this will be a hundred times more useful than fire extinguishing equipment.”
Ian started to move before Gyosu and Vex, and the two followed him.
Crack!
“Kuahaha, see this! The wall is half-collapsed, right?”
“What kind of shelter can break this easily?”
“Huh, this is the 3rd basement of a nuclear bomb shelter; there is no need to have everything strong.”
The place the three of them entered was a little larger than the other ones. Ian found the garage door among the rubble and opened it, smiling brightly.
“Huh
. found it! found it!”
“What?”
“To get us out of here!”
“Please be quiet
!”
Gyosu, who was shocked, went beneath the half-opened door and checked everything.
“Truck or tank?”
“Hummer. Well, anything works. Because this guy is no different than a chariot.”
Ian smashed the window and opened the door; he opened the hood of it and began to check the vehicle’s condition.
“There’s no problem at all. We just need to change the drained battery. Hey, H! It is on the shelf over there! Give me that!”
When Gyosu brought the battery, Ian replaced it looking like an expert, ripped open the keyhole with a penknife, and started the engine.
Chik!
Rumble!
“Kuahaah! Done! Triggered!”
“Then
 you want to ride this?”
“It cannot be the only thing, right? If we hit that emergency exit with this, knock it down, and get over the dissatisfaction
”
“You can take another way.”
While Gyosu and Ian were rummaging through the garage for things, Vex, who vanished somewhere, returned and said, “Think about it. There is a car like this here. Is that huge enough to squeeze through an emergency exit? It definitely is different
 that
”
“Then, is there another entrance?”
“There! Another entrance! I saw several buildings similar to this when we came in, so there are several pieces of equipment of this size. There must be a way for them to have gotten this inside.”
“Vex, your opinion is good, but we don’t have time to find it, right? It is difficult to even breathe in here.”
At the words of Gyosu, Vex pointed to the window.
“I already found it.”
Where his finger pointed, there was an iron fence with the writing ‘Entry forbidden unless personnel.’
“With a building like this, shouldn’t there be at least a management door?”
.
.
.
.
Wheik!
“You~! What a wonderful child you are!”
“Oldie! I only did one thing!”
The group immediately got into the car.
Wong!
“Kuahah, this new girl is amazing!”
“The path seems a little narrow. Will this be fine?”
“Ah, no problem, this is a car for this!”
Woong!
“You are the maker!”
Kwang!
A vehicle with three people smashed through the garage door and raced away, the roar of the engine quickly drowning out the sounds on the battlefield.
Kakak!
The car flew up the slope of the half-collapsed building and started running on the roof of the flat living quarters. A small iron gate got approached in an instant.
“Uhh, friends! Hold tight!”
“Why!”
“The door has to be opened! You think you can open it with your hand?!”
“Then
”
“Just accept this!”
After watching it a few times, one has to be used it. This guy has a habit of not thinking right when he is excited.
“T-think rationally!!!”
“We will die! We haven’t even cleared the path yet!!”
“I! am! A lot! Rational! Than anyone in the world! Hahaha!!!!”
“Wrong! You bastard are the most—”
Kwang!
Ian, looking excited, didn’t even lift the foot of the excel.
Kuk—
“Cough, kuak! V
 are you alive?”
“Uhh
 H, I saw something strange. A strange grandfather had
”
“Come back to this side! If you follow him, you die!”
Fortunately, the walls didn’t seem too strong as the exterior walls. The vehicle that went in, smashing the wall as if it was a door, looked fine except for a dented bumper, and Ian
 well
 didn’t seem to die.
“Catch that jerk later. But
 this is a really great facility.”
Because there were few management professionals, the management office was the size of a residential area. Dozens of monitors and keyboards were installed on one wall, reminding them of the NASA control tower he saw when he was a kid.
‘Is that a
 freight elevator?’
It wasn’t difficult to find. Because there was an iron door that looked like an elevator on one side. The problem was the highest place, next to the board, which looked like a system panel, and there was a huge pile to dump.
‘It is breathing
’
The part of the dumped place was rising and descending slowly. Things of such kind were heard.
Vex, who lowered his voice, approached Gyosu and whispered.
“W-what is that?”
“Abomination. It is a Type 3 variant, and if there are a lot of corpses around during the mutation process, the viruses in it might synchronize and stick to each other. I have only seen it as a resource in Community, but this is the first time I am actually seeing it.”
Looking at the bottles of alcohol and medicine rolling next to the corpses, it wasn’t difficult to understand what it was.
“The guy managing the building had committed suicide here. Irresponsible bastard. Didn’t he know that a Type 3 variant would unconditionally occur if he died like this?”
This is the biggest reason the Community was wary of depression. An intact corpse occurs without severe injuries and no one to help with it. Type 3 is one of the dangers to be wary of the most in Wasteland, as some individuals have incredible powers.
Be wary of depression. If one desperately wants to die, he should clear his thoughts and shoot his head himself. Since an individual’s death does not end in personal harm, it is a kind of promise to take care of each other.
Gyosu looked at the mass of corpses, stirring slowly. Perhaps it was because there had been no external stimulus for a long time; they had entered into something like a dormant state.
“V, isn’t the elevator light on?”
“Of course. The power of the facility was off.”
“
 I think it has to be this.”
“What?”
“There. Next to him. Level marked as P/C. That is the power.”
“
 power control. It has to be that.”
Next to this wriggling dumped flesh was a red handle. If it was pushed all the way down, the power lever would work right.
“V, can you drive at it?”
“
No.”
“Then I will go and wake it up or get rid of it and drag this one to the front of the elevator. You can turn on the power as quietly as possible and jump towards us. Okay?”
Vex responded with a thumbs up.
After confirming that Vex was approaching the panel, Gyosu cautiously moved to the vehicle.
Tak!
Every time the gigantic wriggling flesh moved up and down, a stench would make one shut their nose. Gyosu saw Vex was approaching the variant with worried eyes.
‘It looks like it hasn’t been able to feed itself for a long time. Even though it became a complete variant, it looks all rotten because it ate its own flesh. It might be a little weak compared to the general Type 3.’
Of course, that doesn’t mean it is not worthy enough to be wary about. If the body moves, it will be a disaster for all of them.
Clack
‘Uhhh!’
The little sound of the car door opening sounded like thunder.
“Uhh, uhh
”
“Shhh! Eh, raise your hand if you feel something.”
Ian, who had his head buried in the airbag, shook his head and raised his left hand. The airbags had blood on them like it was saying he had broken his nose.
“What
 happened?”
“Lower your voice. Things are horrible.”
“
 more here?”
“Type 3, there is a bigger one. Still sleeping, so move slowly in front of the elevator.”
“Isn’t it better to throw this away if we don’t want noise?”
“We don’t even know where the actual exit is, and if we fall among those scavengers or any more weirdos around, our escape without this will be tough.”
Ian nodded as he agreed with Gyosu and began to fiddle with the wiring.
Swish!
“Um!”
“Back!”
At that point, bullets started pouring from the tunnel the group had entered. A voice could be heard between the gunshots.
“I praise you, you rats! For you to cheat me this well! Always! Pearls in mind, treasures in trash! Talents are mixed among hypocrites! Dome bastards!”
A person with half burnt uniform and a bloody face appeared through the tunnel.
Bababang!
The sound of bullets being shot into the car pierced the back of it.
“Incompetent Dome bastards! You cannot win even if you do all that!”
With the gunfire coming from behind, it seemed like the Dome vs. Raptors battle was still going on. And the leader appears to have come here with the least amount of power to confront Dome.
Chik!
“H, save me some time!”
Swish!
“How?! We have no explosives left!”
“What can we do if we don’t use it?!”
Tung! Clack!
“Eukk! Shit!”
Gyosu drew in closer to the barrage of gunfire, anxiously recalling the opponent ahead. The captain was selecting the cannons in the front. An exaggerated motion implying that there was no longer a strategic strategy in play. A bumbling black-clad man who wanted to fight.
“Uhhh! Raptors!”
Swish!
“Is it fine if you stay here? I can hear your men dying behind! And there are just three of us!”
He had to speak something. Pretending to be cornered as much as possible with the nuance of wanting to know this before you die!
“Are you saving time? There are only three of you! Moving so many people for the sake of three persons is a waste of time. But if you’re the commander of Dome forces here, it’s a different story!”
Swish!
‘Uh
 should I just agree to it?’
“H-how do you know that?”
“How? Seeing how you induced the street fight. I recognized a glance that the rat bastards of the Dome were you! But when I saw the bombed variant, I realized! That huge explosion scars concentrated in one room upstairs was a trick to deceive me! The fact that this place was a great grave for catching this Fedor Raptor Kesselring who is stepping into the forefront of the Great Raptor!”
’
 Somehow, did he end up writing an entire script on his own?’
These folks were constantly afflicted with such ailments. When they corner the enemy, they can’t get rid of them unless they talk about how clever and advantageous they are! Especially when they are in pain. They do not want to kill the opponent until they have finished speaking their whole biography.
Thanks to that, only the one called Kesselring was shooting, and the rest were waiting in another place.
“I praise you. The back of my head is tingling! What a good strategy! How dare you use this huge treasure trove to do such a thing! One of the great strategists of Dome! I admit that I lose in the name of strategy! But I survived, and most of the Raptor’s toughest soldiers have survived! Now you die, and this will be our tactical victory!”
Grr! Grnn!
“Enough! H! it is triggered!”
At that time, the lights began to shine up simultaneously in the administrative building and the lamps hanging from the ceiling of the residence.
“What about Vex? The timing is
 we haven’t even gotten to the elevator yet
!”
Thud! Thud!
Gyosu froze as he looked into the rearview mirror. Right, it couldn’t be asleep after this amount of noise!
“.,.. step on it!”
“What?”
“Step hard enough like your life depends on it! The abomination woke up!”
The rearview mirror reflected Vex running wildly to them with hands waving and the abomination chasing.
Rumble!!
“Are you running?! This is the dead end! If you are the leader of the group, then come down honorably
.”
“Pack leader! There! Over there!”
“Oh––Ohhhhh!!!”
Cing!
“Kuak!”
“Ack”
“What
 is that!”
The huge cry echoed in their ears. The bizarre cry made everyone’s ears hurt as if a single weapon was aimed into their brains.
“Abomination?! Why is that in here?”
“With most of the firepower down, we cannot fight it!”
“Damn it!”
Kesselring clenched his fists. He almost got them. He almost got the rats who made him like this..!
“
All troops retreat.”
Kesselring struggled as he gave the order, but as a leader, he decided to keep his regrets bottled up for now.
“The end of the captain of Dome will be left to the monster, V, I, and Hepburn
 I will remember, if you survive, someday with my hands
!”
Crack!
As he pondered the names of those who had messed up his fight, Kesselring turned around.