Yusuke first headed to the garrison to collect the motorcycle and the leftover supplies.
After switching to a motorcycle, I looked at the map and merged looking for a river that would lead to City Hall. It was coming pretty downstream, but I searched for a ship and went further down the river.
There were some illegally moored boats on the banks of the river, but none of them had keys and couldn't get their hands on them.
It took me all day to get to the mouth of the river, and I went out to a small wharf.
Although not large enough to call it a marina, there are also marine shops in the fishing grounds, restaurants and lounges with wood decks.
In it, I finally found a boat that seemed to work. It's a cruiser about eight meters long, like the one used for offshore fishing. The ship was drifting with keys.
They had trouble just before sailing. Of the mooring ropes at the front and rear of the hull, the bow side had been removed and the tip of the ship had been loosened unstable. There was no sign of the owner.
The steering seat had a roof and a transparent door that seemed to move even in the rain. There is a short staircase in the back, which leads to the residence area below the deck, the cabin.
The steering wheel was circular and the steering seat creation was somewhat similar to the car. There's a shift lever to the left, and some machines like Carnaval. There was also a stationary radio.
I can only imagine a few buttons from the mark, but I found out about the fuel gauge and the rotometer and the hydraulic gauge. The engine just turns the key too. It was a surprisingly simple structure.
After confirming that the engine was alive, Yusuke found a life jacket and a small ship license book from the marine shop and spent two days trying to pilot it.
The driving itself was done quickly. With the shift lever, just adjust the speed of the forward, reverse, and cut the heel with the handle. When turning, the stern with the screw can swing outwards, so much so as to be careful not to hit the shore when off shore.
Landing was the hardest.
Because of the water, the ship has not stayed in one place.
When you slow down, the heel stops working. If it was difficult to lay it down with inertia, it was also difficult to moor it with rope. Look in the direction of the wind, at the bow and stern, if you don't fasten the flush first, you'll get further and further off the shore. There were also thrusters moving the ship laterally, but I couldn't really grasp the feeling.
On the side of the ship, a number of buffers, like bottles with air in them, hung around to avoid getting hurt in collisions with the shore, but they hit the float deck many times.
As for mooring, the ropework method was on the book, such as a quick knot, but I had trouble remembering it and wrapped it around it properly.
As I struggled to land, I became quite used to it, and now it rained.
After spending another day at a nearby marine shop and waiting for the river's increase to subside, Yusuke finally decided to leave.
"Hmmm... do you want this"
Yusuke snaps as he sees how the life jacket he threw on the water.
It's only winter. The water is cold and I don't think I can swim properly. If you fell into the water without a life jacket, you would drown.
Consider athleticism, and gather the type of objects that swoop when soaked in water, as long as they are in the store.
In addition to fuel, we also borrowed tools and equipment for maintenance. Leave the collected luggage alone in the cabin of the ship. There was a lot of clothing, groceries, boat supplies, etc. in the shop.
The port side of the boat was equipped with a rod holder for fishing, so I'll also keep some fishing rods standing. Outdoor centers also had rivers and siege ponds, so that would help a lot.
Finally, I put the bike on the handing board. Waterproof with plastic sheet and secure with rope.
Now we're ready.
Take the mooring rope and climb onto the ship.
"Let's go."
Entering the steering seat, he closed the door and Yusuke sat down.
Vision was close to the water. I feel pretty low because the shore is also up there.
Turning the key switch and turning the engine on, a low engine sound sounded from the rear.
Engine room ventilation and warm-up operation have already been completed.
While turning the handle around with your right hand, with your left hand you can knock the shift lever forward and slowly get off the shore.
It moved at a slight speed, and just came to the center of the river, increasing the speed.
The feeling of the hull swelling in the direction where the calf was cut resembled that of a motorcycle. The bow waves. The river is wide and there are no other ships. Increased speed stabilized the hull as well.
All you have to do is be careful not to hit the bridge leg when you go around the bridge.
After running the boat for a while and enjoying the view flowing behind him, Yusuke snapped.
"It's a good ship, but is there any difficulty in carrying things..."
Pleasure boat for entertainment. Great for sea games, but I can't pack much.
Now when it comes to moving people and supplies to the mountains, there will be dozens of round-trips. I also eat a lot of fuel, so I need a lot of gas.
"Water bus...... can't you find it? I guess I should have checked my water luck first."
In the meantime, trying to get back to City Hall, I'm going back down the river.
After a few hours or so, it was close to the factory zone.
"Hmm...? That's..."
In the distance, a flat platform ship caught my eye, like carrying dirt and sand.
Several moored on floating bridges on the shoreline, but all rusty and old. It was like a sprinkler, pulling on a tugboat. A number of ancient tyres have been hung on the sides instead of the buffer material.
"... can I use it..."
Decelerate and bring the boat closer.
Yusuke went up to the floating bridge as he packed a ship in an empty place and built a rope on a pile of wood.
I look around at the platform ship, taking care not to slide my legs between the blame bridges for about a meter.
"Hmmm......"
None of them appeared to have been used much and were securely secured with rope to the shoreline.
The shape is close to the rectangle, and where the inner staircase is lower, loads of luggage and dirt and sand are to be loaded. The size was considerable.
"If I move this, it's one shot... Can we go?"
Walk away to see how it goes.
Along the way, Yusuke stopped at the lid.
……
The body of a man was lying on the surface of a platform ship.
Long hair scattered in the water, face invisible.
Under the water, the clothes drifted like jellyfish. Part of it is caught in the bottom of the ship by its side.
"... a zombie corpse?
Then it's unusual.
Zombies don't get very close to the water field. It is also unclear whether he will die of water in the first place.
I may be a drowned dead person somewhere, but I was concerned that the body was still beautiful.
I don't really want to touch it, but I'll take a stick from a nearby platform ship and let the body snap.
The body had little buoyancy and was about to sink quickly. Snap the tip of the stick onto your clothes and let it go to the bridge.
……
Yusuke accidentally glanced at Yusuke when he saw how the body approached him.
The body had its wrist tied to its back.
Turning upside down, the expressionless woman's face turned this way. Due to low water temperatures or little rot.
She was a young woman. A waxy, blue-white face looses the surface of the water while wearing waves.
Looking at that face, Yusuke thinks.
(... even if this guy was a zombie...)
The restraint of the rear hand is unusual.
If it's a human corpse, it's still bad. There will be someone somewhere who has done this.
(... wait)
Given the river flow, it is also possible that it has been flown from upstream. There was also water increase in the rain. I immediately thought of City Hall.
Yusuke hurried back to the ship and took the radio microphone.
The operation method is more or less the same as that of a previous radio. Turn the dial with the output high and match the city hall channel you memorized.
while pressing the submit button on the microphone.
"This is Takemura. Can anybody hear me?
I thought it might be difficult given the distance, but it connected safely.
'- Yes. It's White Valley. Takemura-san? Which is it now? Go ahead.'
The woman's voice returned to the murmur.
He's the leader of the communications squad, and he's a young lady from Bobcut. Even after a rough meeting in the conference room, we meet face-to-face.
Yusuke continued his conversation toward Mike as he tweaked the noise suppression skelch with a knob.
"I found a boat downstream of the bureau. I'm going back now. Is there anything unusual over there?
'No, especially. Can I help you?
When Yusuke hears about it, he thinks about how to tell it.
"Uh... if there's nothing. There was a woman's body, so I wanted to make sure."
"Corpse... is it?"
"It was still beautiful, so I thought it was coming from you. That's all."
'Okay. Let's see if it's cheap for everyone.'
"Tamu"
'Yes.... Doctor, I missed you. Please go home early.'
……
"Bye."
Leaving Yusuke to shut up, the radio was removed.
"Are you free..."
Tired of twinkling, Yusuke put Mike back.
◇
The next day.
Before his arrival at City Hall, Yusuke contacted him wirelessly.
Landing alone was just impossible because I was towing a platform ship by boat. Request manpower from the procurement team.
The small docking yard for the cruise ship was downstream of City Hall. It's about a block away.
Approaching, several people were already standing by at the pier. There are also several cars and watches on the road above.
Though within Central State, I'm not cleaning zombies around here, so I can't lose my mind.
Yusuke turned around while running through the steering room handle. Check the position of the platform ship at the end of the long towing rope.
Keep the thrusters operating and let them carefully go to the pier. The rope is pinned as it defies the river flow.
After several failures, the distance finally narrowed.
A member who was waiting is boarding a platform ship, takes a mooring rope, and secures it to the pier. The procedure was communicated wirelessly in advance.
"Phew..."
Unexpectedly sigh at the work of using nerves.
I was ready to cut the tow rope so I could leave whenever I had trouble, but this is all the big stuff. I started traveling early in the morning and it was already past noon.
Yusuke closed the throttle, keeping the river flowing, and placed the boat on the platform ship behind him. Buffer substitute tires soften and absorb shocks.
Going out onto the deck with the engine on, Kudo was roped and fixed the boat and the platform ship.
Yusuke raised his hand,
"Thankyou."
Kudo looked up at this one, as if he were frightened.
"You brought another big one..."
"You can take one shot at this."
"Sort of."
Yusuke walks on a platform ship and throws an anchor into the river. It's a heavy anchor at the end of the rope. It was the proper way to fix it, but it would be better than not doing it.
At that time, I felt my gaze on the pretend, and Yusuke looked up.
Look around, but no one is pointing this way. Everyone is focused on their work.
(... what? gaze...... I mean, what is this...)
It's like being called out by a pretense in a nasty mess.
That was the feeling, losing the murmur around me, like I couldn't hear it.
There is unclear discomfort.
Turn your face around and look at the surrounding buildings.
Roads run across the river, and behind them there is a dense building.
There is nothing moving shadow.
(I'm sorry...? No......)
It was a feeling I remember somewhere.
A sight like exploring this one.
If you want to take the bike down, I can help you.
Yusuke turned to me for Kudo's words from behind.
"... ah, oh. Please."
"I saw it inside, but it's a cruiser? Looks like a expensive ship. You're such a good pilot."
"I can show you if you just move it. I'll take a boat to the mountains, I'll tell you later."
"Oh, good.... That's right, the lady doctor called. He asked me to come as soon as I got there."
"What can I do for you? And the radio."
"Come on? Put the bike down and go."
It was a teasing sound.
Yusuke sighs and heads to the steering room to turn off the engine.
I turned my face to land only once, but my gaze was gone already.
◇
Makura was in one of the offices. There were a lot of people moving around in there, and it was a rushed atmosphere.
When Yusuke noticed, Makura looked faintly happy, but quickly returned to a tense appearance. Speak to the person beside you and leave the room.
The two of us walk straight to the corridor, which is so far away.
I stopped at a place where there was no one, and Makura told me there was a missing person out there.
"... missing?
To Yusuke's words, Makura nods.
There are two women, and they can't find their location.
I checked everyone's cheap last night, and they discovered it.
"Since when have you been gone? You know when it comes to rations."
Makura kept her back against the wall and opened her mouth to worry.
"... that's... off the roster..."
"... from the roster?
"Three days ago, I made a group change within City Hall, and until then, I've been able to make sure it's safe. … the problem is after that"
Before moving to the outdoor center, we talked about reassembling the group that had been separated by the new ancient ginseng and using it as a reference for post-migration placement. But since then, they haven't been able to grasp where they are.
Makura scratched her lips,
"The roster was also at the draft stage, both names were proper.... at the enforcement stage, it's disappearing from every group. The number of people is also adjusted…. I finally discovered that I didn't fit the numbers with another list"
Yusuke was silent for a while and thought about what it meant.
"... of man inside?
"It's... I don't know yet"
Makura mumbles, but if it's just a misstatement, they should have noticed right away.
The fact that the person in question was missing gave rise to an ominous feeling.
Aquatic bodies are remembered irrevocably.
"I don't know if Takemura-san's body is missing."
That's possible, I guess.
Yusuke opened his mouth bitterly.
"... I didn't say it on the radio, but the body had its hands tied. Behind you."
……
Makura shuts up.
Heavy and painful air.
"... what are we going to do now?
"… Now, I'm asking the guards. … I don't know how far I can narrow down the roster because I didn't strictly control it… Anyway, I'm going to gather information"
"... not if you're stuck..."
Yusuke sighed as he looked up at the ceiling.
◇
The rooftop of City Hall was also windy and chilly. Cold air sneaks in from the gap in the jacket raised to the neck.
Yusuke was sitting on a working scaffold on a rooftop lined with tanks and machinery, off the ground.
The sun had already fallen, but it was moonlight and quite bright.
Since there were no railings, I could see the area from the roof. The area is not particularly unusual, and at the base of the bridge, the watch is relaxed and interested in chatting.
With them, Yusuke swooped into wonder.
(That feeling during the day......)
It's not like hostility or killing, it's like exploring this one, it's inorganic.
A vain gaze that makes things incomprehensible.
Yusuke remembered something close to it.
We met on college campus, zombie intellectuals.
(Are those guys watching me...?
They're watching City Hall from afar.
That's what I felt.
As far as I can see from the rooftops, I can't feel any signs...
(They also have something to do with the next disappearance...? No, don't you have that)
Some of the intelligent bodies were decent in appearance. If you cover your wounds with clothes, you might be able to dive into City Hall.
But if there's an unfamiliar person in the government building, you'll soon find out. There's no way the humans on the operational side won't notice.
Besides, it didn't even seem like a far-fetched thing to do to alter the roster and expose people.
I saw it on campus, hatred of that human being is real.
If they do, they'll use more harsh hands. You won't hesitate.
(But if so, why aren't you attacking me? Keep it just for surveillance...... If it's just those guys, we can repel them. Because you know that?
A dozen intelligent bodies.
I'm sure it's a threat, but the numbers are much higher here. Barricades and weapons are in place.
Being attacked isn't enough to wipe out City Hall.
If it's in terms of threats, it's better to be attacked by a large group of zombies. We're trying to get out of City Hall so we don't.
(Or... Me?
By the prey, there is an unknown being.
Are you hesitant for that?
Reminds me of the feeling of day.
A gaze that throws pebbles at the surface of the water and confirms its ripples.
That might have been trying to see if this one was one of them.
Of all the people who were there, I was the only one who reacted, a different feeling...
So much thought, Yusuke frowned.
(When am I human...)
palms and slowly nibbles.
My heart is moving, and my blood is warm.
Definitely alive.
There was a downstairs crash on the lid.
Yusuke stops moving and asks how things are going.
There was a scream in the distance.
◇
The scene was on the ground floor of the Western Government Building.
Originally the building where the newcomers were gathered, but because they joined the main office building due to a change of group, one is now gone.
In that dark room, in the window, a man hung himself.
The moonlight is illuminating the man.
There were already about ten people around. From outside the entrance, he looks inside frightened.
Pushing over the crowd of people, Yusuke approached.
At the foot of the man, a few people are already struggling to get their bodies down.
He's got a clue to the pipe on the outer wall, and a rope extending from outside the window wraps around the man's neck. Under the open window, there was a line of shoes. And a folded white letter.
I speak to a man struggling to untie the rope, confirming it sideways.
"Help"
"Oh, please!
Put your foot on the window frame and cut the rope with a knife pulled out of your hips. My weight took me down all at once, and my body, which was hanging, curved in a mess. The smell of faecal urine makes me nose.
(Is it too late...)
It's not a living human feeling.
While I was putting it down, the people from the guard squad were gathering as well. I'm distancing myself in the hallway. Lights were provided in Cantera and a man lay on the floor. Her eyes are half-eyed and her mouth is faintly open.
Apparently, the man who hung himself was from the guard squad, and the groans and twinkles leak from the familiar ones.
A little later, Makura arrived.
Someone must have contacted you. I have a bag for visitors.
Makura knelt by the man and put her hand around his neck. Place a stethoscope on your chest, open your eyelids, and see how you react to light. I see it all around me.
The results were immediately known.
Makura nods, without any treatment, cursorily fixes her clothes.
On the spot, the depressed air spread.
Rather than being upset, it was like being shown off what was distracting me, an atmosphere where I said that something was coming.
In the invisible world ahead, there's no reason to kill yourself. That darkens the atmosphere.
"Doctor... this is at your feet"
A man by my side whispered a letter.
Makura glanced over at it and read it several times before raising her face.
Makura hesitated to look around.
"... there were words of apology. She was involved with two missing women. He said he failed in his heart."
"In the heart......?
"Yep..."
According to Makura's description, it is also this manly man who carried out the alteration of the roster.
In a life without hope, a man is invited to his heart by two women. At that time, we promised to die together, but he was terrorized by the dust, untied and fled. After that, he tried to cover things up by putting his hands on the roster, but it seemed like he was about to be discovered in a commission investigation and caught up and hung himself...
Listen to that,
(... isn't that crazy? He said he'd hang himself now for running away... I don't know what it's like to be a dying guy, but I want to hang on to something...)
Just like Yusuke, some people look at him like he doesn't fall for a fu. But most of them seem convinced. The shock of my people's deaths is so great that they probably don't want to think much about it.
Yusuke opened his mouth.
"Is that really what he wrote?
In that word, the surrounding gaze gathers.
Fabrication of suicide note.
I'm concerned it might be another kill.
"It's... but"
Makura drops her eyes on the letter, looks up and looks at this one.
There was no way that the smart Makura wouldn't notice the possibility of other killings, but he didn't want to carry any more burdens. But it was an atmosphere.
(I know how you feel...)
gaze at the men around you,
"You have a registration card that was written when you came to City Hall. I want to compare that to the handwriting."
Two of the guard squads nod and leave the room.
There was also the disposal of the body, and soon the site began to move.
Yusuke also helped to end it later,
(Sounds disgusting...)
In the last few days, he's been dead and missing.
I had a strange heartbeat about it.