Chapter 182 - A Story of Upham
Leaving the boy behind to prepare for the doctor's rescue, Sato and the others head toward their destination, the Weapon and Ammunition Depot. Seeing the warehouse door on the verge of destruction, it was immediately clear that little time remained. The doctors who fled inside likely built a barricade from within, but the warehouse door had been completely dented by repeated battering from the infected.
Although Sato had instructed the boy to stay behind and whittle down the infected around the warehouse for the time being, the combat power of Sato's group had significantly decreased because they had handed over rifle ammunition to him. They were in a state where almost everyone had only one magazine of rifle ammo each. Of course, the firearms of the members other than Sato were not equipped with suppressors, so in this situation crawling with infected, they couldn't possibly fire them anyway.
The infected who had been around the depot had moved toward the warehouse upon hearing the doctors' cries for help. However, some infected who didn't hear the voices or were too preoccupied with devouring corpses remained. Even now, as they ran toward the depot, an infected person appeared suddenly from the shadow of a building.
Sato aimed his suppressed handgun and pulled the trigger twice. By combining low-muzzle-velocity handgun rounds with a suppressor, from a few meters away, only the sound of the slide moving back and forth could be heard, so he could fire more casually compared to a rifle.
When he slammed one bullet each into the infected's head and chest, the creature, struck in its vital points, collapsed on the spot without even a groan. Since handgun rounds lack destructive power, it was necessary to aim precisely for vital spots.
As they approached the Weapon Depot, the number of corpses and spent shell casings rolling on the ground increased. The Brotherhood members must have also been trying to get their hands on weapons and ammunition. If they knew the code for the changed depot door and had already taken the contents, this trip would be a waste of effort. Weapons and ammunition were reportedly stored in other locations as well, but heading there would result in a significant loss of time.
Sato hoped that the members had not opened the depot door. And while that was synonymous with hoping the members had died without obtaining weapons, Sato tried not to think about that.
After shooting several more infected, Sato and his group arrived at the Weapon and Ammunition Depot. It seemed it was originally a cold storage warehouse for a food factory. Several corpses were rolling in front of the thick metal door, and one infected was devouring a piece of a corpse.
"It looks like those guys didn't know the lock code had changed."
The corpses of the members being devoured were slumped against the depot door. They must have tried to enter the depot, failed, and were eaten alive by the infected right there.
The number for the depot door lock had been changed just before Sato and the others launched their raid on the Brotherhood. The number, which was changed irregularly to prevent rebellions and such, became a fatal blow this time. The members had reached this depot while fighting the infected, but because the number had changed, they couldn't get inside.
Thinking they could just use the ammunition in the depot, they had likely exhausted almost all their bullets by the time they reached this spot. The magazines of the firearms rolling on the floor were all empty, and the corpses of the members were wearing almost no spare magazines.
Sato tried not to think about how great their despair must have been when they realized the door wouldn't open. He called Fushimi and asked for the changed number he claimed to know.
The depot door was made of sturdy metal, and it seemed difficult to destroy the hinges with a shotgun to gain entry. Buttons engraved with numbers were lined up above the doorknob, and it seemed to be a mechanism where the lock would release if the correct buttons were pressed. The bloodstains caked on the buttons evoked the final moments of the members.
"Let's see, it was 6453, if I recall..."
Fushimi muttered and pressed the buttons accordingly. Then, a faint sound of the lock releasing was heard, and the doorknob, which hadn't budged as if hardened with glue until now, opened easily with just a light application of force.
Upon opening the heavy door, the smell of iron and grease immediately hit their noses. The interior was pitch black, and an LED lantern was placed right next to the entrance. Sato picked up the lantern and pressed the power switch.
What immediately entered his sight were several heavy weapons hanging on the wall and metal or wooden ammunition boxes housed in transparent storage cases. Everything was lined up in an orderly fashion, with no signs of anything having been taken out. Sato breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that they could safely take out what they came for.
"Alright, we're taking everything here."
That said, the quantity wasn't that large. It was an amount that could fit into two or three Boston bags at most, but with this, they wouldn't have to worry about running out of ammo until they returned to the landfill.
Many of the stored bullets were not loaded into magazines and remained in brown cardboard boxes as loose rounds. A few already-loaded magazines were prepared, perhaps for immediate use, but there weren't many of those either. It is common sense to remove bullets from magazines when storing them, as leaving them loaded can weaken the internal springs and cause feeding failures.
Sato instructed Chiba to load the bullets into the empty magazines. If there are no bullets in the magazines, they can't fire their guns even if the infected attack. Perhaps because they had found the weapons and ammunition they were looking for, Chiba and the others followed Sato's instructions without any particular complaints. In the meantime, Sato stuffed the loaded magazines into his vest pouches and led Fushimi out of the depot.
"Hey, this proves I'm on your side, right? Take these handcuffs off..."
"We'll talk about that after we get out of here. First, we have to secure a ride to get back."
No matter how many supplies they had, if they had no means to bring them back, it would be a waste of treasure. Carrying them back on foot was out of the question. It would consume stamina and slow their movements. If found by the infected, they wouldn't be able to escape.
Fushimi looked dissatisfied but led Sato, saying, "Fine, this way." Unlike before, they had plenty of ammunition. Sato switched to his suppressed carbine and proceeded while picking off the infected on their path.
The vehicle yard was located not far from the depot. The shutter at the entrance of a large warehouse was open, and there were signs that several cars had left. Peeking inside, about a dozen electric and hybrid vehicles were lined up, some jacked up or with their engine hoods removed. He was told they were vehicles recovered from the town but were unusable as maintenance hadn't been finished yet.
And the target vehicle was sitting amidst that group of cars under maintenance.
"This is rare."
Sato muttered as he looked at the medium-sized truck in front of him. It was an electric truck with a large battery packed under the cargo bed, something Sato had glimpsed in an economic newspaper. It hadn't reached the stage of practical use yet, and its cruising range was short at about 100 kilometers, but the article had said that automobile manufacturers were conducting demonstration tests in cooperation with delivery companies.
"How did you find something like this?"
"There was a guy in the Brotherhood who used to work for the manufacturer that made this; it was his idea. Though, we didn't use it much."
Maintenance took time, it lacked a tight turning radius, and yet it could only run about 100 kilometers. If the heater or such were used, the range would decrease even further. While the load capacity of a truck was attractive, the anxiety factors were likely greater. It seemed the truth was that although it had been maintained, it wasn't used much and had been halfway abandoned.
There were also several electric commercial vans and light trucks lined up. These also had a cruising range of about 100 kilometers, but they were reportedly prized for their maneuverability. Still, there was anxiety about driving them on rough roads, and as the supplies that could be recovered from the city gradually decreased, they had recently yielded the role of supply transport to electric SUVs and were used almost exclusively for transport within the base.
"Alright, let's take one back. The other one can be an SUV; we can't bring back that many supplies today anyway."
The supplies they were taking back this time were negligible compared to the total amount stockpiled in this entire base. The purpose this time was reconnaissance and securing immediate supplies, not bringing back everything that remained. When they secured safety in the future, they would likely transport a large amount of supplies, and the electric truck would be useful then. As for the supplies they were taking back this time, it was an amount that could somehow fit into one commercial van.
Sato checked the suspension of the electric van to confirm it could be driven without problems. Next, he climbed into the driver's seat and pressed the power switch. Perhaps so it could be moved at any time, the key was stuffed into the cup holder in the driver's seat.
Regarding the charging, which he was concerned about, the drive battery was sufficiently charged. With this, a round trip to the landfill should be possible without issue. As for the horn and the speakers for the pedestrian approach warning system, the wiring had been cut, so there was no worry about sounds other than the driving noise being made.
Finding another plug-in hybrid SUV parked outside the warehouse, Sato took Fushimi and hurried toward the warehouse where the boy was fighting. They had secured their ride. Now all that remained was to rescue the supplies, the boy, and the doctors, and leave this place.