Chapter 165 - A Story of Operation Moku-Moku
"There he is, over there!"
Along with a roar, bullets flew. The boy hid in the shadow of a nearby rusted truck and fired back with the shotgun in his hand.
After taking down two Brotherhood members, as expected, the boy was discovered immediately. The members also seemed unable to care about appearances, firing even guns without silencers regardless.
The fires that had broken out in various parts of the base seemed to have been mostly extinguished, and the Brotherhood seemed to be recovering from the confusion.
"Corner him! Surround him!"
Since he also heard such voices, the boy needed to keep moving constantly. If he stood still, he would be surrounded in no time and crushed by the violence of numbers. Unlike the infected, the members had heads to think with and the intelligence to use weapons.
The boy, who was about to load shot shells into the shotgun he had fired twice, noticed that he could push more than two shells into the magazine of the shotgun the member had. In Japan, due to the Firearms and Swords Law, shotguns are modified so that only two rounds can be loaded into the magazine. Perhaps the Brotherhood engineers had applied further modifications to return it to its original capacity.
If they had used that technical skill for everyone to survive, it would have been good, but they joined the Brotherhood and utilized that talent for doing as they pleased. The boy felt that was very regrettable.
The boy hung the shotgun on his shoulder with the sling and took the submachine gun instead. He set the selector to "Re" for full auto and pulled the trigger briefly toward the metal container the Brotherhood members were using as a shield. The members who had peeked out from the container to look for a chance to approach hurriedly pulled their faces back. Sparks flew on the container, and a violent impact sound of metal hitting metal echoed.
The boy, while repeating short bursts, jumped out from the truck he had been hiding behind. The moment the boy's submachine gun ran out of ammo, the members peeked out again and started shooting, but by then the boy had already escaped to where they couldn't see.
While running, he removed the empty magazine of the submachine gun, replaced it with a spare magazine he had tucked into his trouser belt, and pulled the bolt handle. Although he had seized them from the killed Brotherhood members, there weren't enough bullets to scatter them around lightheartedly.
Furthermore, the midwinter cold continued to sap the boy's physical strength. Since he had escaped in the same clothes he wore when fighting the infected in the Colosseum, he was only wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt on his upper body. The midwinter wind, which had become stronger, went beyond being cold and now made him feel even pain.
While physical strength still remained, he had to find Aki and the others and escape from here. But he had to grasp where they were from now.
The reason he initially urged surrender to the member whose neck he had bitten off and killed was also to make him spit out the whereabouts of Aki and the others. Now that that had failed, he had no choice but to search for them on his own. Now that the members who knew of the boy's escape were gathering one after another, catching someone and interrogating them was nearly impossible.
The boy tried to hide inside buildings several times to wait it out, but the entrances to all the buildings he attempted to enter were closed tight, and the doors and shutters were locked.
Since there were many buildings that appeared unused, perhaps all buildings without people were sealed for security reasons. The boy also tried to break a window, but because something like a steel plate was pasted on the inside, it ended in vain.
Probably, measures had been taken so that all doors of unused buildings could not be intruded upon. He couldn't take the means of smashing a window, sticking his arm in, and opening the lock. Since he heard footsteps from behind, the boy had no choice but to leave that place.
"There he is!"
Immediately after the boy started running, bullets flew along with that voice from behind. A stray bullet broke a window, and sparks flew on the wall, sending concrete fragments flying.
The boy, who had been running and escaping just like that, had been cornered in a place like a parking lot before he knew it. It seemed to have originally been a motor pool for used cars; rusted cars without license plates were left in a vast parking-lot-like place.
Members were also coming from the direction the boy was trying to escape to, and the boy became pinned down in the motor pool. He dove into the gap between two cars lined up and watched the state of the members using the car as a shield. The members deployed so as not to enter each other's line of fire and formed a shape surrounding the boy.
Without even a surrender recommendation, the members began firing toward the car the boy was hiding behind. The window glass, which had been white and cloudy with salt, shattered into pieces, and countless sparks flew on the car body. Some seemed to have rifles, as a bullet penetrated the car door right in front of the boy and stuck into the door of the car on the opposite side.
For the time being, he moved to the front part of the vehicle where the thick engine was, picked up a blown-off side mirror, and watched the state of the members. The members, while repeating sporadic firing, repeated advancing toward each other and were gradually approaching the car the boy was hiding behind. The boy tried to counterattack, but the flying bullets kept him pinned in the shadow of the car.
If it becomes a gunfight, the one who wins is simply the one with more muzzles. Toward the members who were gradually approaching, the boy thrust only his hand from the shadow of the car and fired the submachine gun on full auto. He didn't even aim properly and fired from an unstable posture, so the muzzle shook up, down, left, and right, but it still served as a threat. He could see through the mirror that the movement of the members who had been approaching stopped for an instant, and they tried to hide in nearby cover.
The twenty-five-round magazine became empty in an instant. When the boy pulled back the muzzle, the members immediately started moving. Gunfire began again, and the metallic sound of bullets piercing the car body echoed like a drum. The boy felt like he was inside a drum being beaten hard.
Suddenly, one of the members visible through the mirror fell on the spot, scattering blood and meat fragments from his head. Perhaps because the comrade next to him was shooting mindlessly, he didn't seem to notice that the comrade next to him had died. That one similarly fell with blood flowing from his head, and the number of thundering gunshots decreased.
Finally, the members also seemed to have noticed that they were receiving an attack from somewhere. Just as their advance stopped, a voice saying "This way!" was heard.
Looking in the direction that voice came from, small muzzle flashes were blinking soundlessly in the darkness. They seemed to be shooting a gun with a silencer. The boy, seeing the human figure who was firing beckoning, jumped out from the shadow of the car he had been hiding behind while the members' movement was stopped.
The human figure threw something. That thing, which bounced on the ground several times, spewed white smoke from its tip, and the surroundings were immediately blocked from view as if enveloped in mist. It was a smoke grenade.
"Hey, are you okay?"
"Sato-san! Why are you here..."
The one who threw the smoke grenade was Sato, whose face was dyed pitch black with greasepaint. The boy couldn't hide his surprise that Sato was in this place. After all, one of the reasons the boy was caught by the Brotherhood was that Sato had punched the boy and left him behind in front of the Brotherhood.
Because of that, he was driven by an urge to punch him as soon as he saw his face, but he didn't have time to be doing such things now. Although the smoke screen hadn't cleared yet, the Brotherhood was also recovering its stance. Seeing bullets flying from beyond the smoke screen, the boy obediently followed Sato's words to "Leave here for now."
Sato threw more smoke grenades, redeployed the smoke screen for a blindfold, and then began moving. The boy also readied the shotgun he had seized from the Brotherhood and followed after him.
At the place he followed Sato to, other human figures were waiting for them. It was the figures of Aki and the others, who were supposed to have been taken away by the Brotherhood executives.
"Aren't you covered in blood! Are you okay?"
"It's not my blood; I'm fine. No, I might not be fine."
Seeing the boy whose whole body was dyed red, Aki shouted. The boy himself was also injured, but what was dyeing the area around his mouth and his shirt red was the enemy's return blood. Although he had been beaten up, he hadn't taken a fatal wound.
"Did you guys get saved by Sato-san?"
"No, on the way to being taken away, Rei knocked out a guard... and we were saved by that person there."
Looking closely, Aki and the others had guns in their hands. Since they seemed to have had their weapons taken away in the Colosseum, they might have seized them from the Brotherhood members who were escorting them. On the other hand, Rei, who was said to have attempted escape during the escort, was crouching on the ground with a bruise on her face. She was said to have been punched by one of the members when she tried to escape.
"I'm sorry for not believing you. If I had listened to what you said more properly, it might not have come to this."
"No, I'm the one at fault. I had blood rushing to my head until now. Even about Sensei, if I had been more calm, it could have been avoided."
The boy apologized honestly.
"Where's Sensei? Is she not here?"
"I don't know. According to those men's story, Sensei was in the infirmary, but..."
Aki's face clouded over. The Brotherhood's story that Yuko was in the infirmary would likely be preceded by the words "if she's alive." Currently, not only her life or death but even her whereabouts were unknown.
"So Sato-san, what's next? Are we escaping from here?"
"You guys leave here and go to the safehouse I prepared. I'm going to crush the Brotherhood here."
Gunfire thundered, so the boy instinctively turned that way. Aki also showed a frightened face, but apparently, it wasn't firing aimed at the boy and the others. He thought the Brotherhood might be intercepting infected that had arrived at the base, but something seemed strange. As far as he could hear the gunshots, it was as if humans were shooting at each other.
"Who are those guys fighting?"
"My comrades. To be precise, the rebel faction within the Brotherhood that I'm currently teaming up with."
Sato had apparently been attempting contact with the Brotherhood since before he acted with the boy. He said he had been kidnapping members on patrol and persuading them to rebel against the Brotherhood.
"I had a hard time persuading them. If they were late returning from patrol, it would be thought suspicious, so the restraint had to be finished in a short time. Though, if I said 'If you don't cooperate, I'll tell the Brotherhood you're a spy,' they became obedient."
"And those people became Sato-san's comrades?"
"No, we're just teaming up temporarily. A coincidence of interests; the enemy of my enemy is my friend, I guess."
Originally, even within the Brotherhood, there were apparently a certain number of people who held dissatisfaction with the current situation. They thought everything would be free if they joined the Brotherhood, but in the end, they got fed up with being bound by rules and obligations, or like the guard who was Sato's former comrade who was watching the boy, there were those who felt an aversion to having to hurt people. But since the Brotherhood executives also saw through that such disgruntled elements would eventually become harmful, those who tried to take action against the Brotherhood had been purged.
Furthermore, he said that because the majority felt that a life belonging to the Brotherhood and making weak people obey with violence was more fun and safe than a life hiding and running around in fear of infected and outlaws outside, a rebellion had never actually occurred until now.
"I continued contact even after you were caught, and finally it bore fruit."
"Then did Sato-san do this attack?"
"Yes. What's currently running amok inside the base is the rebel unit within the Brotherhood. Though, since there are at most ten or so, I don't know how much can be expected. It's also conceivable that they'll just run amok as much as they can and then escape if it becomes disadvantageous. So while the Brotherhood is in this confusion, I'll defeat the Leader and the others and destroy the Brotherhood."
There, Sato bowed his head toward the boy.
"I think I did a terrible thing to you by leaving you behind back then. It was to create this chance. I'm sorry."
If they caught the boy, the Brotherhood would surely take him back to the base and make him spit out information. After making him spit out information, they would make him perform a deathmatch with infected in the Colosseum. And because the Brotherhood thought Sato had abandoned the boy and escaped, they wouldn't even dream that he would come back to help or launch another attack. Even if they didn't neglect vigilance against intruders, the members probably never dreamed that Sato would actually launch an attack.
To make the Brotherhood lower their guard and also to create a gap by gathering members at the Colosseum, it was necessary for the boy to be caught by the Brotherhood. Furthermore, when the boy and Sato were escaping from the safehouse, the boy had injured his leg. To avoid the situation where both were caught, and to create an opportunity for an attack on the Brotherhood, Sato had no choice but to knock the boy down and leave him on the spot.
"I think I did a cruel thing to you. I'm sorry. I know it's not something that can be forgiven even if I apologize, but..."
He could understand that Sato did such a thing to crush the Brotherhood. Furthermore, he knew that if he had been with the boy, who had injured his leg while being chased by enemies, both would have been killed or caught. The boy could understand why Sato took such an action, but considering the treatment after being caught by the Brotherhood, he thought he couldn't forgive him easily.
"I'll punch you once after we get out of here."
"You can punch me as many times as you want; for that, first escape from here."
Saying so, Sato pointed north.
"Proceed toward the north. The North Gate is sealed, but I've unlocked the keys to several service gates. If they're locked, break them and leave here. There's a convenience store beyond the North Gate; a map to the safehouse is placed inside the store, so look at that and head to the safehouse."
"What about Sato-san?"
"I'll stay here and defeat the Brotherhood Leader. Since it's a rare opportunity, if I let him escape here, I don't know when the next chance will come."
If he let the Leader escape, or if he allowed the reconstruction of the base, the chance to defeat him might never come again. The Leader would likely create a new Brotherhood where he escaped to, and if the base were reconstructed, security would become even tighter, making it increasingly difficult to carry out an attack.
"Then I'll go with you. I was treated cruelly by that guy, and I've seen what they've done. I can't forgive the Brotherhood, though I might not have the right to say such a thing."
There was nothing as ill-mannered as the Colosseum where they made infected and survivors fight. Moreover, the infected they made fight survivors there were also those they had caught and intentionally infected. The boy wasn't one to talk, but they were nothing but lowlifes.
Are you playing hero now? someone seemed to say in his head. But the boy ignored that voice. If he didn't crush the Brotherhood here, further victims would appear. He couldn't turn a blind eye to that now.
"Are you okay with that body? Can you fight?"
"You were nearly dying many times just now; let's leave this to Sato-san and escape?"
Sato and Aki said respectively, but the boy's determination did not waver. Originally, he had intended to fight the Brotherhood and save Aki and the others. Now that Sato had rescued Aki and the others, he had leeway both physically and mentally. His physical condition couldn't be called perfect, but he could still fight.
When he conveyed that, Sato made a face as if saying "It can't be helped."
"Understood. However, until I give instructions, never try to go in front of me. Follow behind me."
"If you're going, I'll fight too. I can't forgive those guys, and I want to find Sensei too."
Aki said so, but the boy and Sato shook their heads.
"It's impossible for you. Have you ever killed a person until now? You haven't, right? You don't have experience fighting anyone either, right?"
"That's right; unfortunately, this is a killing match. If you're not a person who can kill without hesitation no matter who the opponent is, you'll just be a hindrance. Can you kill a person?"
Aki didn't answer anything. They had never had the experience of seriously killing each other with survivors other than themselves until now. They had no experience pulling the trigger and killing a human just like themselves.
Although they had the experience of falling into a gunfight with the boy due to a misunderstanding, the boy and the others weren't injured at all and didn't die. If Aki and the others had killed the boy and the others in that place, they might have been able to acquire the resolve to kill someone. Or conversely, they might have fallen into a mentally unstable state due to killing someone.
Therefore, the boy and Sato judged that even if they took Aki and the others to the killing match that had already begun, they would only be a hindrance. Furthermore, since the boy and Sato had been fighting together against the Brotherhood for a while, they knew each other's movements and had acquired combat techniques to some extent.
Above all, they didn't want Aki and the others to become killers. If they could live without killing anyone, that was best. While the boy and Sato had already killed more people than they could count on both hands, Aki and the others had no experience killing anyone yet. People without that experience would be very few among those currently surviving.
Everyone kills someone other than themselves to survive. Although it's unavoidable in today's world, the boy couldn't think that was right at all now.
That's why he wants Aki and the others to continue living without killing anyone from now on. People who take someone's life and are tormented by it for a long time don't need to increase any further.
If the Brotherhood is left unchecked, even more people will die. To prevent that, he has no choice but to kill them here. To prevent anyone else from dying further, he kills someone. It seems contradictory, and the boy himself is not convinced.
But the fight that has already begun won't stop. Whether the boy and the others are killed, or they kill the Brotherhood crowd. Only those two choices are prepared. He doesn't want Aki and the others to worry about that contradiction.
"...Understood. But I won't forgive you if you die."
Perhaps understanding that there was no time for discussion, Aki obeyed obediently. The other girls were the same, and only Rei showed a will to fight, but since she was injured, he pleaded with her to somehow escape from the Brotherhood's base together with Aki and the others.
Aki and the others were to evacuate to the safehouse Sato had instructed earlier. A time was specified, and if the boy and the others didn't return by then, they planned to escape from this town.
With this, there were no more worries. The boy was finally able to take a breath. Though, he didn't have time to rest slowly.
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