“Really?”“Yes.”A flush of color returned to Tyron’s face.“Thank you. I will — by all means… I will find the survivors and come back. I’ll be of help, for sure.”“Not just me.”Benjamin gave a short laugh at the uncharacteristic show of gratitude and, with the tip of his thumb, pointed to the shadow where I stood.“…C-Commander? Are you there?”“It’s a necessary task. Just don’t send too many troops.”“I completely understand that part.”“Then let’s get to the point. How many do you need?”“We need three squads to operate without trouble, two combat mechs, three unmanned drones, and three operators to control them.”He answered without hesitation, as if he’d already drawn up the plan in detail. It did sound like a rather tight arrangement, though.“Isn’t that going to be insufficient?”“No, anything more would be unnecessary.”What he asked for came to roughly thirty to thirty-five people. A small force. Small enough that trying to round up the remaining troops felt too risky.“This might not go as smoothly as you think.”“In that case, I’ll also ask for fresh recruits.”Fresh recruits, huh. That sounded more like piling extra burden onto us… but Tyron looked confident.“Trust me.”“All right. Take a few signal flares too. If things get critical, don’t hesitate to fire them into the sky.”“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”Now I had to decide what to do about the drones first.“Chief of Staff, I’ll take direct command of the rest. Any objections?”“No objections, Commander.”Benjamin answered readily as well. That left only the redeployment of personnel. My gaze went to the assembled troops.“Gathering the remaining soldiers….”Despite the severity of the issue, the soldiers’ deliberation didn’t last long. Volunteers poured out as if they’d been waiting to be called. It seemed many had the same idea.“By the way, most of the people seem to be from the quarantine sector.”“That’s because Tyron has support from that area.”Birds of a feather, it seemed.— comrades with shared backgrounds sticking together. Not a bad thing.“Still, mobilizing will take some time. Several pieces of equipment haven’t finished maintenance yet.”“Thanks for the effort.”“No need. It’s our duty.”Faced with the situation at hand, Tyron’s expression turned subtle.“Tyron.”“Yes.”“I trust you.”He didn’t need grand words. I only hoped he would return safely. Regardless, Tyron’s eyes were more intense than ever.“I wasn’t certain before, but now I am.”“…….”“I won’t forget today.”Even with those fierce blue eyes fixed on me, it didn’t feel overwhelming. Such earnestness from someone is never a bother.“Deploy as soon as you’re ready.”Tyron saluted instead of answering.***Time passed like a storm. By the time I’d dealt with the matter of rounding up the remaining forces, quite some time had passed. It was time for me to head outside.‘I can’t delay any longer.’“Benjamin.”“Yes.”“I’m going to move out soon.”“I’ll start assembling the troops.”“No — if we do that, it might cause unrest.”“Then?”“Just tell them I went out on a routine reconnaissance. Make that the main purpose.”“All right, understood.”He seemed reliably steady. ‘Would’ve been a problem without Benjamin.’It was a shame I couldn’t use him as a combatant, but he was doing something far more important. Along with Eli, he’d become indispensable.“How should I tell Eli?”“I don’t want unnecessary fuss.”“Hmm. Understood.”Suddenly he patted his pocket and pulled something out.“Mind if I smoke one?”“Do as you please.”Benjamin lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply. After exhaling several times, he looked a little solemn and asked,“When we get back to base, how about narrowing down the personnel?”“Narrowing down?”“Yes. Moving alone puts a burden on not just you but everyone.”“You mean form a special unit within the Ark to handle special missions?”“If we pick only the best, it won’t be a burden.”“Hmm.”It was worth considering. If I kept moving alone, the morale of the troops could drop. Better to form a special unit and move together — that would be easier in many ways.“Not a bad idea.”“If you have candidates in mind, tell me.”Only one person came to mind immediately.“Yevgeniya.”At that, Benjamin’s shoulders twitched.“Th-that one?”“There’s no demolitions tech better than her.”“Hmm…!”Benjamin gave me a curious look, his expression complex.“That… maybe it’s a decision you’d make since you haven’t worked with her long.”“Well, does that matter? Skill is what counts.”“All right… I understand.”If we formed a special unit, Yevgeniya would be indispensable — we used explosives often during operations, and there was no one like her. Another candidate was…‘Eli and Dao.’Eli Wayless, an engineer who’s also a fighter; Dao, a close-combatant and combat-mech pilot. That was about all I could think of right away. Melanie Marilie was an excellent fighter and also had leadership ability, so she’d be well-suited to assist Benjamin.“Benjamin.”“Yes, Commander.”“It’s reassuring to have you.”“Do you feel more reassured now?”He grinned, and I let out a short laugh.“If I’m the heart of the Ark, I want you to be its brain.”“Eh? Isn’t the commander usually the brain?”“I’m just saying.”There was no more time to waste. It was time to move. I slung the military backpack Eli had packed over my shoulder‘It’s heavy.’Even with the [Humanity’s Strongest Weapon] trait maxing out my strength, I wondered how much she had packed. Still, it wasn’t a bad thing — it likely held everything she’d fretted over preparing.“I’ll be back soon.”Benjamin saluted as I set off; my steps felt neither too heavy nor too light.A rare feeling of quiet. Leaving the crowded interior behind and facing the desolate outside produced a strange sensation.‘Feels like leaving work early.’Under the atmosphere that made the world seem frozen, I adjusted the pack on my shoulders.‘Since I’m out, I might as well do this properly.’No time to dawdle; I had a long way to go. The first place I headed was a vantage point. I planned to scout the area first, then move. I advanced carefully, on high alert for any lethal signs.‘I’m sensitive to sound.’This was my first time moving alone since the outbreak of the mutants, effectively. Still, experience in the field counts. A grin escaped me from the tension — it was more of an exhilaration than stress. Moving forward and scanning the ruined landscape, it didn’t take long to notice something odd. There were no signs of any creatures anywhere.“Hm.”There must be a reason, but hopefully not anything bad. This wasn’t their stronghold, after all.‘They must be clustered somewhere, though.’The hill ahead narrowed. It was a [waste landfill]. A surprisingly useful place to scavenge scrap metal. In truth, it was called a landfill in name only —it was a hill built entirely from scrap metal.. A faint, unpleasant smell drifted out.Creak — clank. My reinforced suit of chrome alloy slid over my face. I activated the helmet quickly and the smell lessened a bit.From the top of the landfill I could see the surroundings at a glance: the ashen cityscape — not a trace of life. Such scenery tends to make a person gloomy. Fortunately, before such a flimsy mood deepened, a strange sound came from the landfill’s corner: a rat’s squeak. Rats would be common here, but you can’t be careless — they could be infected.As I approached to check whether it was infected, I realized what it was. Of course. The stray rat, which had shown no visible symptoms, sniffed around before collapsing as if it had fainted. At the same moment my blade — which ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) had slipped from my hand — bisected the rat.“An infected one, huh.”Infection affects all mammals, so even a small rat can be infected. There simply weren’t any human infected in sight, but the presence of small dangers like this showed the area wasn’t completely safe. It was a reminder to stay alert.‘This could get dangerous.’Just then, a faint rustling reached my ears.Naturally, people have countless ways of surviving — probably tens of thousands. Among them are strange, almost unbelievable methods, like the one I was about to witness.“Uh, um….”A situation that would make anyone flustered. A young man was gathering up the dead rat as if it were treasure. Did he not know it was infected?“Hey, you —”Before I could warn him, the young man replied with a weary, resigned tone,“I know. If you roast it well, it’s somewhat edible.”A strange sight. He’d be better off begging for food. I handed him a military biscuit, but he only accepted it and bowed politely. He didn’t discard the rat carcass tucked in his arms. From there I felt a growing sense of unease. Still, he tried to leave right away.“Wait a moment.”“Yes?”The expression on the young man’s face read as hostility. His eyes were downcast, but he didn’t bother to hide his feelings. I couldn’t fathom why he reacted like this.“Are there other survivors around?”“Why are you asking that?”“No ill intent. I’m just curious.”“How can I trust you?”The mood stiffened further. With a knife in hand, it wouldn’t be hard to pry information out of him… but that would only make things awkward for both of us. So I stepped back.“Be careful with those rats. It’s best not to eat them if you can avoid it.”“…Thanks for the advice.”As the young man walked off, the sense of unease deepened. Could a civilian really harbor that much open hostility toward another? There were more strange things than just that. Especially his attitude. Thinking it through, it started to make sense. Even setting aside his hostility… if his situation were truly desperate enough that he had to eat an infected rat, would he react so dryly to a simple military biscuit?I’d expect his eyes to light up and him to devour it, or at the very least show some reaction. But he remained completely indifferent, as if the rations meant nothing to him. That made it clear:“He didn’t gather that to eat.”He was planning to cause trouble.

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