Chapter 193 - The Story of How I Saw You Seeing Me
The rescue team that entered the department store, with Sato in the lead, proceeded through the dark store. Several corpses of infected, which seemed to have been killed just a moment ago, were lying about inside the building, as if pointing in the direction the survivors had fled.
When they removed their night vision devices and turned on their flashlights, the state of the dust-covered store emerged within the circles of light. Being a department store, there were jewelry sections and watch shops along the way, but the display cases for the products had been smashed. It seemed someone had looted them in the confusion.
Nowadays, even if you had a watch, there's no one to meet, and jewelry would be nothing more than shiny pebbles. Sato thought so, but at that time when the infected were spreading nationwide and all of Japan was falling into a panic, everyone was in a state of frenzy and had lost themselves. Perhaps the people who looted also raided the department store because they didn't know what else to do.
As Sato climbed the stairs, the sound of something being pounded echoed from above. Most likely, the infected were chasing the survivors. At the very least, it seemed there were humans here. The sound was coming from the top floor.
As he finished climbing the stairs, the back of an infected immediately entered his view. Sato turned off his flashlight and raised his left hand, signaling "Stop." Chiba, behind him, started to ready his gun, but Sato restrained him silently and drew a knife instead.
The infected was shaking its head left and right, seemingly searching for where the companions were. However, its attention to its rear was negligent, and Sato was easily able to approach within one meter of the infected's back.
Holding the knife in a reverse grip, he closed the distance in one go. He held the infected's forehead from behind with his left hand and vigorously thrust the knife held in his right hand into its nape. Strength left the body of the infected, whose spinal cord had been severed, and it collapsed on the spot.
The convulsing infected was opening and closing its mouth repeatedly, but it seemed unable to move its body. Sato thrust the knife into the fallen infected's forehead to deliver the finishing blow, then readied his carbine and resumed the advance.
Proceeding further in, a large number of infected were gathered in front of a door that presumably led to the employees' backroom area. The infected were pounding on the door recklessly, seemingly trying to get inside somehow. Most likely, it was because the survivors had fled in there.
The metal door had already received violent pounding and was dented all over. The hinges were already damaged; if it continued to be pounded by the swarm of infected like this, the door would come off and allow entry inside.
Fortunately, the infected's gaze was directed at the door, and there was no sign they had noticed Sato and the others sneaking up from behind. If they performed a volley from behind, they could take down the infected without the risk of engaging in close-quarters combat. Since it was point-blank range, the gunshots would likely be heard even with suppressors, but they just had to take them all down before that.
Sato waved his hand, telling Chiba and the others to spread out. Then, pointing at the infected while remaining silent, he made the motion of pulling a trigger. It was the sign to "Shoot those guys."
Chiba and the others nodded and spread out in a line. The two on the ends kept watch on the surroundings, while the remaining members aimed at the infected stationed in front of the door from behind.
Confirming everyone was in position, Sato pulled the trigger. Using that as a signal, the other members also began firing, and dull gunshots through suppressors echoed across the department store floor.
Meanwhile, the boy stationed on the building's roof continued sniping the infected trying to approach the department store. Already, the sun was rising in the eastern sky, and the night sky was about to be pushed away to the west.
Perhaps because morning had arrived, the infected that had been inside buildings were starting to come out onto the road. Even now, several infected came wobbling out from a nearby building. The boy readied his sniper rifle on its bipod and shot an infected that had come out onto the main street.
An infected whose torso was pierced by a powerful 7.62mm bullet fell to the ground, and just as it was still trying to stand up, he hit it in the head with a bullet this time. The boy was looking for the next target without even a glance at the corpse of the infected whose head had burst like a pomegranate, but the total number of infected visible on the road continued to increase, and it was finally starting to become difficult for the boy to handle alone.
"Ghost to Deadman, we have found and secured the targets. Everyone is safe; we are evacuating now. How is the situation outside?"
While he was changing the rifle's magazine, communication from Sato came in. It seemed they had succeeded in rescuing the survivors. It appeared to be true that there were children; while Sato was speaking, the sound of a child crying could be heard from the radio's earphone.
"This is Deadman, the situation is quite bad. Infected are starting to come out onto the road. At this rate, you'll be attacked the moment you step outside."
"...So it seems, I've confirmed it from here too. I'm looking out the window, but the numbers are high."
There were more than 10 survivors, including children. If that many people came out in a line, they would naturally be spotted by the infected. Even so, if you told a child to endure their fear and stay silent the whole time, some might not be able to hold it in and might start crying.
Besides, the number of people was high. If they came out in a line, they would be found in an instant. With that many people, trouble would absolutely occur.
If that was the case, it would be difficult for them to escape without being found by the infected. If only he could divert the infected's eyes elsewhere... just as he thought that, the boy's eyes stopped on the assault rifle he held.
Like a pedestrian paradise on a holiday, infected had come out all over the main street. Something to draw their eyes... for example, if he made gunshots ring out, the infected would surely start running toward them in an instant.
"Deadman to Ghost, I will draw the infected by making gunshots here. Escape in the meantime."
"That's reckless. First of all, if you get surrounded by infected, how will you escape?"
"There are few infected in the backstreets. The infected on the main street will likely rush up the stairs to the roof. After drawing them as much as possible, I'll descend to the bottom all at once with a rope and escape to the backstreets."
Sato remained silent at the boy's proposal. However, he likely understood that there was no other better plan available right now. After a while, the reply came back: "Tell me the meeting point, over."
"There's a sports park nearby. Let's meet there."
"How long do you think it will take?"
"At this rate, it'll be about 30 minutes to an hour. Please send the children back first."
"Understood. After you fire, we will escape from the back. We'll wait at the sports park for 90 minutes; if you don't come, we're leaving you behind."
"Understood, let's meet up later."
The boy said that and cut the radio. The infected wandering the main street had not noticed the boy on the building's roof. However, once he fired without a suppressor, the end would come; they would surely track down the sound source and come rushing in an instant.
The boy tied one end of the rope he took from his backpack to the roof's handrail and threw the other end outside the handrail. It was a rope he had brought while feeling heavy and miserable in case something like this happened, but it was the right choice to bring it.
The end of the long rope reached the ground. With this, rappelling should be possible without a problem. While living with Sato, the boy had learned the method of rappelling to escape from windows or roofs in an emergency. He had practiced many times, but this would be the first time descending while being chased by infected.
Having completed the preparations for escape first, the boy removed the suppressor he had attached to the assault rifle's muzzle. That said, the handmade suppressor had already begun to deform due to repeated firing, and it would have eventually broken and become unusable anyway. He had brought a spare just in case, but he didn't need it now.
Light emanated from one of the department store's windows, and the boy looked that way with his binoculars. Beyond the window, there was Sato waving his hand toward him. Along with that, a radio contact came from Sato: "We can go anytime."
"Please go outside after as many infected from the main street as possible have come this way."
"Understood. I'm counting on you."
"Let's meet later."
The boy said that, cut the radio, and readied the assault rifle with the suppressor removed. Resting the barrel on the handrail, he centered one of the infected loitering on the main street in his sights.
He took a deep breath, exhaled, and pulled the trigger. Along with a gunshot that resonated in his gut, beyond the scope, the infected was shot through the chest and fell to the ground. The gunshot echoed through the building district, resounding to every corner of the city.
In the scope, he could see the infected on the main street all looking this way at once. It was somewhat chilling to think that countless bloodshot eyes were directed at him, but without caring, the boy fired once more, this time at a different infected. Along with the gunshot, the infected whose upper half of the head was gone collapsed to the ground.
The infected that had come out onto the main street let out roars and all started running at once. Their destination was the multi-tenant building where the boy was right now. Soon, the infected would come rushing into this building. The infected near the department store where Sato and the others were must also all be running toward the place where the boy, who had made the gunshots, was.
"Good, come this way more."
Muttering that, he sent bullets one after another toward the infected running on the main street. Sato and the others must have already begun their move. Whether the rescued survivors could escape safely depended on how much time the boy could buy.
I look forward to your opinions and impressions.