Chapter 197 - Fishing Nut
No one regretted helping the children. However, they couldn't turn their eyes away from the results they had to bear in exchange for helping them.
"...This is bad."
The large plaza of the shopping mall, which also serves as a meeting place for the residents of the Reclaimed Land. In that plaza, where desks and whiteboards with maps pinned to them are lined up, a regular meeting with representatives of the residents is being held. Now the lights of the large hall are turned off, and a projector placed in the center of the hall was projecting some kind of graph onto a sheet pinned to the wall.
"As expected, the food shortage is more than the initial prediction..."
"The number of people suddenly increased by 10; it can't be helped."
People exchanging words while looking at each other's faces. What is being projected on the wall was a bar graph showing the remaining amount of various stockpiled supplies.
"Tell me the consumption pace if we maintain the current food distribution."
When Sato said that, one of the female students who is Aki's classmate operated a computer. Then, a line was added to the projected graph. The line continued to decline to the right, and finally, it was completely in contact with the X-axis.
"It'll last a month, at most..."
Even if they lowered the food distribution to about two-thirds of the current amount, the food would run out in two months at most. In the first place, since even the current food distribution is at almost the minimum amount on a calorie basis, it's not realistic to reduce the amount any further than this. Although they are making efforts to somehow survive by fishing or tilling fields, since it's what amateurs do after all, they couldn't obtain a harvest enough to earn the food for everyone.
No one regrets helping the children, and everyone was prepared for the consumption pace of supplies to become remarkably fast due to the increase in the number of people. But when they saw the result like this before their eyes, everyone had no choice but to lose their words.
Originally, because the number of residents in the Reclaimed Land was high, even if they secured supplies from the destroyed Brotherhood, it couldn't be said that there was still leeway. Even so, if they adjusted the consumption amount well, it would probably last about 3 months. They could just secure food by going on an expedition somewhere or something before then. Such an atmosphere was among the residents.
But the situation changed from the moment they made the decision to help the children who were being attacked and almost killed by the infected. Both the residents of the Reclaimed Land and the children would starve and die if they didn't eat every day. Because the children they helped were elementary school students in their growth period, they needed sufficient meals.
Naturally, the consumption pace of supplies accelerates. The initial prediction of three months collapsed easily, and the calculation result of whether they could spend a month was left behind.
"There aren't many choices."
Someone muttered.
Kicking out the children they helped is out of the question. If they were to do such a thing, it would be better not to help them from the start. Similarly, the choice of an Ubasuteyama (T/N: abandoning the elderly) was also NG. Although there are many people of the middle-aged and elderly generation among the residents of the Reclaimed Land, if they did that, they would stop being human.
Even if they are people who can't work, they live while supporting each other. That was the consensus of the current residents, and it was also an expression of pride that they were different from the Brotherhood that used to torment them.
If that's the case, they have no choice but to risk danger and go out to places with many infected to secure supplies. They had selected several places where it seemed they could secure supplies in anticipation of such a situation eventually happening, but they were all places that were overflowing with swarms of infected in the early stages of the pandemic. People were desperate to escape and had no leeway to take out supplies or loot.
Supplies would likely still remain in such places even now, but many infected would also likely remain. The danger is great, but they had to do it.
"I'll contact you later about the destination. The members will be as usual."
Sato concluded that way, and the meeting ended. It's settled that Sato, the boy, and a few others go on the expedition for supply procurement. Because it's a dangerous job, if they aren't people used to combat, far from being a hindrance, they might even take the lives of their companions if things go poorly. They end up taking on only dangerous jobs, but in exchange, the food distribution and the like are high in amount and they can also freely get luxury items.
As the meeting ends and the attendees begin to return to their respective living sectors, several children run while holding buckets with both hands. Since the child in the back has a fishing rod, they must have returned from fishing for food procurement. It's a situation where even children have to be asked to do what they can, and since fishing just by dropping a line from a quay has no danger and is a job even children can do, it had become the children's job to procure even a little food by fishing together with adults in their spare time.
"Look, look, we caught this much!"
In the bucket the boy thrust out boastfully, several gobies about the length of an adult's palm are swimming. Other children seemed to have similar catches.
"Will everyone become full with this?"
"They are very big fish, so everyone will become full. Thank you."
With only a few fish, they definitely won't go around to everyone. But it would be boorish to say that to the children. When the elderly couple patted the children's heads, they laughed happily.
When they came here, they had eyes frightened by fear and hunger, but now the children have vitality. The children also seem to want to help with something, and if they have free time, they were helping with the adults' work.
"Look, it's almost time for class. Let's go give those fish to the person in charge of meals."
When the old man wearing glasses said that, the children nodded obediently and followed after the old man.
He seems to have been a teacher in the past and started living in this Reclaimed Land after mandatory retirement. When the children the boy and the others helped came to the Reclaimed Land, he strongly insisted on conducting classes for them like the ones held at school. Because even if the threat of the infected vanished, if the ones left behind were only youths with hardly any knowledge, the reconstruction of the world and the like could absolutely not be done.
Besides, he wants the children to spend their time as much like children as possible. There was no one who opposed his words. Now the children are also the children of all the people of the Reclaimed Land, and they have become their hope for living. There is no one who wants such children to do painful work with dark faces.
Of course, in order to survive, it's necessary to have children work too. But the residents of the Reclaimed Land cooperated with each other and shared the work with each other so that the children wouldn't have to work as much as possible. The children are receiving classes while the adults are working, just as they did at school. There was no school in the Reclaimed Land, and it could hardly be said that teaching materials and the like were prepared, but even so, the children's faces when receiving classes looked happy.
He wants them to not have painful thoughts like before as much as possible. For that purpose, he won't complain about the fact that he himself will struggle.
A few hours later, the boy stepped into the security room Sato designated as the gathering place. In the room are several members of the security unit monitoring the surveillance cameras installed in various places, Sato, and Aki. Sato opened his mouth saying "You've come," and the strategy meeting begins.
"This job is strictly reconnaissance. We will infiltrate with a small number of people and confirm if supplies remain in the target area. If supplies remain, we will head to secure them with an increased number of people at a later date; if not, we withdraw. We won't approach again."
"It's simple."
"Because I don't want to produce dead people. The ones going out this time are me and you guys."
Saying that, Sato points at the boy and Aki. It was found in recent expeditions that Aki is unexpectedly good at driving, and she was being prized as a driver. That would be the reason she was nominated this time. This reconnaissance mission will be faced by 3 people: Sato, Aki, and the boy.
"The place?"
"Here."
Sato says that and points to a spot on the map. It was a port city known as one of Japan's leading large cities. Because the population was high and transportation was also developed, it's a city that was overflowing with infected in an instant in the early stages of the virus's spread.
"This city is also a hub for logistics. Food will likely still remain in the factories and warehouses along the port. But first is reconnaissance of the urban area. We have to confirm if a large number of infected remain or not."
Because there is some distance from this Reclaimed Land to that city, they can't do something like suddenly driving up to factories or warehouses and carrying in supplies. If they go haphazardly, dead people will surely appear. If it's judged that the number of infected is not a problem, they plan to set up a forward base for supply collection.
This time is a reconnaissance mission to explore the feasibility including the construction of that forward base. A shootout with the infected is not the main purpose, but even so, they can't be at ease.
"This time too, I'll have you put suppressors on your weapons. If things go smoothly, we should be able to return without firing a single shot, but well, it's just in case."
Regarding gun suppressors, the craftsmen who were working in the Brotherhood are still continuing manual production even now. But there is a limit to the number they can make, and the performance is inferior. Military-grade suppressors are only the ones attached to the two carbines and the handgun Sato had.
It was considered to use weapons like crossbows that have no firing sound at all, but it was found that they absolutely cannot compete when facing multiple infected. While doing things like pulling the heavy string with all one's might to load a bolt, aiming, and pulling the trigger, they would be done in by the infected that approached. Regarding crossbows, it remained at the patrol unit carrying them as silent weapons.
"Departure is tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock. The weather is scheduled to be cloudy."
"It'll be unpleasant if it becomes rain."
"It'll be carried out even in rain. Rest your body today in preparation for the fun excursion."
Sato concludes that way and ends the strategy meeting. When the boy and Aki leave the security room, Han, carrying a rifle on his shoulder, comes in to replace them and begins some kind of consultation with Sato in the room. Sato, who is the practical leader of the people of the Reclaimed Land, is working without time to rest. He's worried about that, but even so, the boy cannot take his place.
"I wonder if Sato-san is sleeping properly?"
"I think... he's resting."
"We have to support him properly."
Aki muttered.
The one regarded as the best fighting force among the members here is Sato, but the boy also seemed to be seen as a cornerstone of combat power not inferior to him. If he becomes stronger, he can be even more useful to everyone. He can even help people he couldn't help until now.
"For that purpose too, first we have to secure food."
One cannot fight on an empty stomach. In order to continue fighting from now on, the boy and the others needed food.
I look forward to your opinions and impressions.