Chapter 474 The Walking Dead 14
We kept traveling and arrived at a survivor group.
But this place seemed quite wary of outsiders.
"Turn back!"
"I came to trade, that’s all."
"We don’t need to trade anything!"
In the end, it was too difficult to persuade them, so we turned the armored vehicle around and headed elsewhere.
"People in Virginia really hate outsiders."
"Seems that way..."
As Clem said, survivor groups in Virginia were often much more hostile compared to other regions.
I knew the reason to some extent.
It was because of Negan’s "Saviors."
They were a heavily armed group that maintained their power by subduing other survivor groups and taking their supplies.
Because of that, survivors in Virginia would naturally have a hard time welcoming outsiders.
It would be difficult to tell whether someone was a survivor or a Savior spy.
While traveling around, we ran into raiders again.
This time they had blocked the road with logs.
"Come on..."
Brrrrrrr-!!!
"Aaaargh!"
This time there were quite a few of them.
When some tried to run, I opened the top hatch of the armored vehicle and pulled out the WA-2000 sniper rifle.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The fleeing ones fell one by one.
After taking down every single one, I climbed back inside.
"Let’s go."
Using the scoop on the armored vehicle, we pushed aside the logs blocking the road and moved forward.
But from that day on, I could sense with [Observation Haki] that someone was watching us.
They were observing our movements from a great distance, staying far enough back that it would be hard for us to notice.
They were probably using binoculars or something.
’What are these guys up to?’
If they had no intention of attacking us, there was no need to worry.
Besides, after that, there were no more attempts to block the road or rob us.
’Well, since the annoying stuff stopped, I should just count it as a win.’
But at one survivor camp, things finally went wrong.
Someone tried to kidnap Clem while she was practicing shooting.
The camp we were staying at had a good atmosphere and friendly people.
So while I was trading, Clem was practicing shooting in a spot slightly away from the camp, and that turned out to be the problem.
Phut! Phut! Phut!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Argh!"
But the kidnapper must have assumed that since Clem was a young girl, she wouldn’t be able to shoot properly.
Contrary to expectations, Clem calmly fired her gun, and three .22 LR rounds hit the kidnapper’s leg.
The kidnapper collapsed clutching his leg, and I immediately ran over and subdued him.
"I see you didn’t aim for the head, so you were going easy on him."
"Well, he’s still a person, after all."
Clem answered carefully, as if she just couldn’t bring herself to kill a person.
I chuckled at that.
’She’s still a child, after all.’
Unlike dealing with walkers, shooting a living person seemed to mean something completely different to Clem.
She really was a good kid.
But the atmosphere among the villagers was strange.
"Leave our town right now.
We don’t want to fight the Saviors."
Hearing that, I understood immediately.
This camp was being threatened by the Saviors.
"Understood.
If you won’t trade, there’s no reason for us to stay.
But the kidnapper is ours.
So mind your own business."
I put Clem in the armored vehicle, took out a knife, and tapped the kidnapper’s cheek with it.
"From now on, if you don’t tell the truth, parts of your body will start disappearing.
I really don’t feel like forgiving someone who tried to kidnap Clem.
So I hope you hold out as long as you can.
It’d be even better if you just died."
At that, the guy wet himself and said.
"If I tell, I’m dead..."
I smirked.
"That’s not my problem.
Who sent you?"
"W-well..."
When he hesitated, I swung the knife and cut off one of his fingers.
Thud!
"Aaaargh!"
"Who sent you?"
"Grrrrr..."
Since he was just writhing in pain, I cut off another finger.
"Aaaaaaargh!"
"Looks like you don’t want to talk.
Good, you’re doing great.
Keep holding out."
When I raised the knife again to cut more, he quickly started talking.
"O-okay, I’ll talk!
It was Negan!"
"Oh, that’s too bad...
I was going to make you into a Doraemon.
Oh well.
So why did this Negan guy tell you to kidnap Clem?"
"W-well, that’s, because she seemed like your only weakness..."
Indeed, she was my only weakness.
They had been watching for a while and must have figured that out.
"Really?
So where is this Negan guy?"
At that, the guy gave me very detailed information about the Saviors’ hideout.
After listening to everything, I promptly cut off his arm.
Swoosh-!
"Kyaaaaargh-!!!"
"Consider yourself lucky I’m going easy on you."
With that, I left him behind and got back into the armored vehicle.
I had used a bit of healing ability on him, so he wouldn’t die.
In this world, living with one arm missing is more painful than dying.
Since he tried to kidnap Clem, I figured this was a fitting price to pay.
The camp people watched the whole thing trembling, but none of them dared to intervene.
They were probably already too beaten down by defeatism.
’This camp won’t last long.’
For now, since the sun had set, we spent the night in a suitable spot and headed to the Saviors’ hideout the next day.
The Saviors’ hideout, called "The Sanctuary," was a converted factory building.
Like other camps, they had surrounded the factory with tall metal structures and fences to defend against walkers and other threats.
Rat-a-tat-tat!!!
Bang bang bang!!!
As soon as the armored vehicle appeared, the Saviors started firing from atop the metal structures.
News of what happened yesterday must have already reached them.
Ting! Ting ting ting!
But their bullets just bounced harmlessly off the armored vehicle’s plating.
Since my vehicle was made of Orlamite, standard firearms couldn’t penetrate it.
"It sounds like rain falling.
It’s really a tough vehicle."
I had told Clem to stay in the back seat today because she might see some rough scenes, but she said that after hearing the bullets bouncing off the armor.
"No matter what happens today, don’t come up to the front seat."
"Got it."
After giving a short reply, I operated the missile launcher mounted on the rear of the vehicle.
I aimed at the entrance of the metal structure they had built.
Fwoosh...!
KABOOOOOM!!!
"Whoaah!"
"Help me!"
"My leg...!"
I only fired two missiles from the four-tube launcher, but the power was undeniable.
The missiles struck the metal structure, blowing a large hole in it, and the explosion sent the guys on top flying.
The ones nearby weren’t unscathed either.
Some had lost arms and were collapsed on the ground, while others were spilling their guts from shrapnel wounds.
I was really glad I had Clem stay in the back seat.
I looked at the scene for a moment, then drove the armored vehicle forward.
But the bastards had even dug a deep pit in front of the hideout and covered it with dirt as a trap.
They were probably planning to drop the armored vehicle in to immobilize or flip it over.
But I had [Observation Haki].
’As if I’d fall for such an obvious trap.’
After identifying the trap’s location in advance, I naturally turned the vehicle and avoided it.
I chuckled as the trap was revealed too late.
Still, the bastards didn’t give up.
They kept firing from the building windows and even threw crude Molotov cocktails, trying to damage the armored vehicle by any means.
Whoosh!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
’They sure are trying.’
I immediately fired a few more missiles at the building.
Then I rotated the automated turret and began concentrated fire on the windows.
KABOOOM!
Brrrrrrrr!
Crash! Smash!
Every time a missile struck the building’s exterior, parts of the wall were torn away in explosions, and the turret’s rounds rained down on the windows, shattering them along with countless glass fragments.
I didn’t count exactly, but the casualties must have been significant.
Click click click!
After blasting away for a while, the automated turret finally ran out of ammo.
I pulled out the Barrett anti-materiel rifle I had prepared, opened the top hatch, exposed only my upper body, and aimed at the building.
BOOM-!!!
BOOM-!!!
BOOM-!!!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Thanks to [X-Ray Vision], I could clearly see the bastards hiding inside the building.
I didn’t even need to aim for the windows.
I precisely aimed at each enemy through the walls and pulled the trigger.
The Barrett’s powerful rounds penetrated straight through the walls, and the Saviors hiding inside fell one after another with their skulls blown apart before they could even react.
The remaining ones then retreated to the basement or went further inside to avoid the sniping.
So I grabbed the Vector, the Yukimura, the SIG MCX rifle, and a few grenades.
"Don’t go anywhere, stay right here."
"Got it."
After telling Clem that and locking the armored vehicle, I went outside and entered the Saviors’ hideout.
Phut! Phut! Swoosh-!
"Gah!"
"Gack!"
"Ugh!"
I moved through the hideout, shooting and slashing the ones hiding in various places.
KABOOOM!!!
I also tossed a few grenades into the basement to clear it out.
"Stop!!!
We surrender, we surrender!!!"
When screams started coming from everywhere, the survivors, unable to bear the terror, came out of hiding slowly with their hands up, having disarmed themselves.
"Which one of you is Negan?"
I already knew from the original, but I asked anyway.
A middle-aged man with a black sports head and a leather jacket, with a tough look, stepped forward with his hands raised.
That was Negan.
"So you’re Negan.
I’m genuinely curious, did you think you had a chance?
I’m asking because you seem out of your mind.
What gave you the guts to take on the military?
You couldn’t even stop a single soldier.
Looks like getting big in this area and playing king made you lose sight of reality."
Negan said nothing.
I kicked him in the stomach.
Thud!
"Ugh!"
Negan was thrown back, hit the wall, and slumped to the ground.
I stood over him and said.
"Pick your fights carefully!"
I sighed and patted Negan on the head.
"Since you seem slow to catch on, I’ll tell you in advance.
Even if you somehow got lucky and took me out, you’d still be screwed.
Missiles would fly in, fighter jets would turn this whole area to ash, and over a hundred guys like me would show up to hunt down every last survivor and clean house.
Think you could handle that?"
At that, not just Negan but the other Saviors also stiffened in shock.
"I’ll give you one hour to pile all your supplies in front of the building.
Every last bit."
Leaving those words behind, I returned to the armored vehicle.
The surviving Saviors quickly started hauling out supplies from the hideout and stacking them in front of the building.
Judging by how much they had looted from other survivor camps, the pile seemed endless even after a long time of hauling.
’There’s no way I can fit all this in the armored vehicle.’
In the end, I contacted Ziking Island and requested a CH-53E Super Stallion transport helicopter.
The amount of supplies was simply too much for one armored vehicle to carry.
About three hours later, a transport helicopter carrying many soldiers arrived and landed at the Saviors’ hideout.
The soldiers saluted me as soon as they got off, then immediately began loading the supplies the Saviors had gathered.
We left behind perishable items like vegetables and loaded mainly long-term storage items, bags of flour, canned goods, medicine, weapons, and ammunition.
Of course, we also filled whatever space was left in the armored vehicle as well.
Negan and the Saviors could only watch helplessly.
The supplies they had worked so hard to gather by robbing other survivors were now being taken by us, an ironic turn of events.
Still, I didn’t take everything.
On my orders, about one-fifth of the total supplies were left behind.
Most of it was perishable food like vegetables, but it was enough for the surviving Saviors to get by for a while.
Eventually, the helicopter took off toward Ziking Island loaded with supplies, and I also sorted out the armored vehicle.
Finally, I approached Negan, who was standing there in a daze.
I forcibly took his "Lucille," a baseball bat wrapped with sharp barbed wire, and smirked.
"I’ve left quite a bit behind, so try to survive with that.
And next time, pick your fights carefully."
With that, I climbed back into the armored vehicle.
Without looking back, I drove out of the Saviors’ hideout.
This incident seemed to have cut the Saviors’ forces by nearly half.
Still, quite a few of them survived, and with the supplies I’d left behind, I figured they’d find a way to live on.