How To Be Misunderstood as a Villain in a Zombie Apocalypse

Chapter 21. The Art of Deceiving One Another (9)

“There is a spy in Minsk in the Capital Defense Command. He is a colonel or higher, and we cannot identify him because he is systematically hiding. The problem is that His Excellency the President is surrounded by a ‘human curtain’, so he cannot see the situation clearly. They are even thinking of assassinating His Excellency the President if their plot is revealed.”

“…!”

“Elsa’s future lies in your hands. Do you understand?”

Even if they were men with a deep sense of military spirit, it would have been normal to wave their hands in this situation. Virginia pointed to the glasses in front of them.

“There is no need to decline. It is for excellent command.”

The second platoon leader, who had been swallowing dry saliva, mustered up his courage and raised his hand.

“Excuse me, Martial Law Commander. If they ask for a warrant….”

“You can’t trust the military judges or the inspectors general. No one knows where the information is leaking from. Elsa’s high-ranking officials and officers have been leaking this information in a very shady way, and have avoided criticism and condemnation of their incompetence, even law enforcement. Do you really think they should be in those positions?”

None of the five leaders dared to say yes or no.

“Aren’t you the young officers who are bleeding and collapsing in the mud? When the old men easily give orders with a simple point of their fingers, aren’t you the ones who get shot in the finger that should be pulling the trigger, and get your feet bitten by zombies when you should be running for your comrades?”

“… … .”

They all bit their lower lips. The first team leader raised his glass of diluted whiskey with trembling hands. The other team leaders all raised their glasses. Virginia, smiling brightly, was the last to raise her glass.

“Save the President, save Elsa, save the citizens.”

“yes.”

“For Elsa.”

“For Elsa!”

The next morning at 9:00, an emergency report was made that President Elsa had been infected with the Cro Virus.

At 11 a.m., the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an emergency briefing announcing that President Elsa had been placed in quarantine.

Noon. The executive cabinet resigned en masse, and an emergency cabinet was formed, headed by Virginia Halford, martial law commander and acting president.

Unfortunately, all those who were supposed to inherit the presidential powers were classified as ‘Croatia carriers’ and quarantined after being confirmed to have been in ‘close contact’ with the president.

3pm.

Virginia Helford took over the White House. The Martial Law Command officers took the empty cabinet seats because the executive branch had resigned en masse.

Virginia personally invited the vice-ministerial officials and held a tea party to create a rather gentle atmosphere. It was a banquet so relaxed that the generals with guns at their sides didn’t have to put their arms around each other’s shoulders and whisper, “I guess I’ll have to smile in front of the martial law commander.”

“In the end, both soldiers and civil servants move according to the system. Even if the head changes, the work itself must remain consistent. There must be a way of performing work that has been done so far, so please continue to do so, and do not hesitate to make suggestions for matters that require ministerial approval. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Virginia gave complex and difficult instructions for a long time. She personally called each unit in the division, giving instructions, asking for cooperation, confirming loyalty, and encouraging them. Sometimes she gave orders and instructions that contradicted each other. If the troops acted in a chaotic manner, they would not be able to revolt rashly.

When everything was over, it was already 10 p.m. I would have to spend the days like ice for a while, but at least for today, this seemed enough. But there was no time to rest. An hour that I let slip away now could later become an irreversible year.

Paving. Preparation. Design.

“hmm.”

Virginia straightened her clothes in front of the mirror. She brushed away her messy hair and, although she hesitated for a moment, she did her makeup, which she rarely does. Because her facial features were so distinct and her impression was so strong, there wasn’t much she could do.

“This should be visible even on low-resolution cameras.”

* * * * *

Knock knock. Bam.

Hmm. This knocking is Leticia’s pattern. Camilla just opens the door wide and comes in saying, “Hey! Are you sleeping?”, and if Cassandra doesn’t answer, she just stands there without saying anything and then goes away, but Leticia opens the door and knocks at the same time and comes in. I don’t really understand what the point of knocking is.

“John.”

“Sorry, I’m just tired today… I haven’t been eating a lot of high-protein foods lately.”

If it were usual, she would have come in without a fight, but today, for some reason, she just plopped down on the edge of the bed. Ah, I thought it was her repertoire of rubbing her shoulders, then naturally sweeping her waist, and then raising her hands to her chest again, but suddenly something bright hit her.

“It’s too bright!”

“Oh, sorry. Virginia staged a coup and became president.”

What is this? It was too difficult a story for someone who had just woken up from a half-asleep. I protested to Leticia to go a little slower… .

“And I want to talk to you.”

* * * * *

Virginia, wearing a black military jacket draped over her shoulders, filled her phone. She shamelessly showed her face, and although she looked quite tired, she also looked very relaxed.

– The image quality seems to have improved. The signal is unstable, though. The Minsk guys have also noticed that war is imminent, so they have added more satellite channels, but they are also encrypting, interfering, and checking more. This communication channel, which is used by hacking the Minsk military satellite, may also be closed soon.

Are you acting like that because you don’t know I’m here?

“Ahh.”

– Leticia, are you there?

Leticia flinched when suddenly pointed out.

“Yes, huh?!”

I grabbed Leticia’s waist tightly and held her back as she tried to jump up in surprise.

“It’s none of your business anyway. You’re a spoiled brat.”

“Oh, that’s right! Where are you talking informally to? You’re younger than me!”

– Sister Leticia, are you there?

Leticia seemed to have forgotten how to breathe and I almost dropped my phone. Inside the phone, Virginia was laughing quite creepily. She has a killer sense of humor.

“Tell me. It’s hard to talk about Leticia.”

– Oh, that’s good. I was planning on telling you to change anyway. But you know, I grew up in a noble family in Roemer.

“so?”

– It means that when talking, you were taught to look at people’s faces as a courtesy and grew up there. But you never showed me your face even once. Savior of the wilderness.

I feel strangely uneasy. Was Virginia always this good at talking? Or did her brains just fly away and she’s no longer afraid of anything in the world?

“Savior? Are you talking about me?”

– I also have eyes to see and ears to hear. I don’t know what the other assistants next to you did, but you are moving the West of Elsa. As the acting president, I am truly grateful. In any case, you are protecting the lives of citizens.

“Damn it. You were trying to ‘borrow’ firepower from Minsk. You were going to waste all your firepower on the zombies and take out the units that ran out of ammunition, right? But you, I’m gathering up all the zombies, gangsters, fanatics, and civilians and moving. If I move just a little bit more, the Minsk Mobile Brigade will be racing towards the capital. Can you stop the tanks?”

– I don’t think it’s anything to worry about. You knew what I could do there, and I knew what I could do for you. I just wanted to contact you because I thought we could stop bothering each other and go our separate ways. What do you think? Do you not like it?

What is this scheme? I asked Leticia to call Camilla and Cassandra. While Leticia was nimbly slipping out of the camera’s blind spot, I was dragging my feet, saying, “Hmm. Hmm. Oh, oh.” Only after the three women opened the door slightly and entered the room, did we have a proper conversation.

“Are we going to go now?”

– Nana, you and I ended up leading each other’s groups, right? Actually, before that, I was really curious about where you came from, who you were, and what you did. I also needed to know whether you were a hindrance to my work or not. But now that I’ve achieved what I wanted, you’re neither a hindrance nor a help. But I just don’t want to be an enemy. So this is the last call.

Oh, really? That’s good.

“Okay, then live well.”

I was about to hang up the phone. If they don’t bother us anymore, then that’s fine.

– wait for a sec!

A rather urgent voice. Camilla made a gesture of slitting her throat, but Cassandra and Leticia signaled for her to continue. Including me, it was three to one.

“why?”

– I want to see your face just one last time.

“No, why?”

– I told you, this is the end. No one has ever pushed me this far, and no one has ever toyed with me this much. Yes. I hate to admit it, but Virginia has lost to you.

No, there’s definitely something to this.

There’s no way she’d be the kind of woman who would try to act friendly to no end. She’d growl that she’d grind people’s heads like an eraser on an iron plate, and she actually has the power (physical strength) to do it, so how can she act friendly like this?

I gave the signal. Camilla took out her phone and started recording.

– So, I just want to see my opponent’s face properly just once. Whether you are a spy from Minsk or a moderate from Elsa. You can disguise yourself if you want. But just once, I want to see your face straight ahead.

I don’t like it.

“Really? Then show me your breasts.”

The three women made various expressions of “wow”. But Virginia was an unexpected person.

– You mean breasts? I see. Men like that kind of thing, and it looks like you like that too.

Oh, that’s right.

Camilla handed me a large piece of cloth from across the room. I covered my hair with one half and my nose with the other, and I looked like a terrorist.

“Okay. Look.”

He showed his face proudly. Soon after, Virginia put on her coat and buttoned it up. But the screen still showed her chest. A faint smile came from the phone.

– Let’s do this. If you take off one layer of cloth, I will take off one layer of clothing at a time. What do you think?

Three women opened their eyes wide and looked at me at the same time.