NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4: Chapter 4 The Mayor's Collection
"Huh? Quite the scream you let out. Seems rather angry, too. This plain shirt just doesn't cut it. I better grab something solid-colored."
A few kilometers away on a deserted shopping street, Renault heard the scream, tilted his head in its direction briefly, then refocused on his "zero-dollar shopping plan."
Most ordinary residents had already evacuated the town when the infected swarmed it. Many people felt unsafe after the Griffin commander previously destroyed the Sangvis Ferri Factory and left immediately. Those who stayed were either too attached to their belongings or couldn't find shelter elsewhere.
It was hoped that Griffin's Commanders and Dolls would eliminate the infected and restore order. Unfortunately, the town lacked a Quarantine Wall, a large-scale barrier usually too expensive for such a small settlement. Additionally, Griffin's efforts to eliminate the infected proved unsuccessful.
Without the Sangvis Ferri Factory blocking their path, the infected drew closer to the town. The concentration of these "radiation sources" caused by their gathering even brought the infected to areas originally untouched by the Collapse Cloud. Perhaps it was just bad luck that the Collapse particle cloud fluctuated after so many years. Regardless, many who stayed in the town suffered from this widespread low-radiation infection.
Renault arrived in this town after the situation unfolded and incidentally "helped" those who were infected and unconscious find "peace." He neither knew nor cared if they could be saved. Their outer skin had begun to transform into silicon-based life, and their internal state was likely no better.
Rather than leave them to suffer and eventually harden further, he believed it was better to "expedite their departure." Otherwise, his axe would surely blunt from overuse as he constantly encountered these infected on his walks.
While humans would inevitably become weaker, the infected would gradually grow stronger. Fortunately, their lack of intelligence prevented them from wiping out humanity within a few months, despite their bodies gradually morphing into steel and iron.
But what did this have to do with Renault? People died all the time in this world. If he mourned every unrelated death, even the Xel'Naga wouldn't have been able to bear it back in their day.
Renault hummed happily while browsing the clothing store. Outside, a complete apocalyptic scene unfolded - abandoned cars, collapsed buildings, flickering streetlights, debris scattered during the escape, and the remains of both humans and infected.
Even though they turned into silicon-based organisms, would the infected corpses still decompose normally?
Though his visit to the clothing store was brief, lasting less than ten minutes, Renault managed to acquire everything he needed without spending a dime. He placed all the usable and acceptable items in a cart and pulled them out in one go.
Of course, clothes weren't his only need. He still had to search for food, weapons, and tools. Even as a "transmigrator," he wasn't delusional enough to believe he could chop his way from south to north, all the way to Kiev, with a mere logging axe.
Unfortunately, this town lacked any weapon shops. Unlike the "land of freedom," America, even though the Third World War was over, this wasn't a place where anyone could freely own guns
.
At least that's what it seemed on the surface. After all, how could every household not have some form of weapon in a red zone crawling with infected just a few kilometers away?
However, not everyone had the courage to charge at the infected with an axe like Renault.
Pulling the cart filled with various clothes and food, Renault headed straight for the most likely location for weapons in the town: the mayor's mansion.
Compared to ordinary citizens, the mayor, as the town's ruler, was more likely to possess and stockpile useful weapons and tools in his mansion, which had been transformed into a small fortress.
While it was indeed fortified enough to hold off the infected, it lacked any protective equipment or defensive measures. Exposed to the constant radiation, the mansion would surely deteriorate over time.
Of course, compared to the neighboring building, this seemingly luxurious mansion was nothing more than a leaky sieve at best.
"G&K, that seems to be Griffin's stronghold." The earlier screams originated from there. Of course, Renault had no intention of playing hero. He came out to gather resources, not clean up these infected. He wouldn't want to get his new clothes dirty.
Although the corners of his coat were a bit tattered, he still liked it. After all, he just needed a suitable shirt and shoes to go with it.
"Oh! I didn't expect the mayor here to be a collector as well, with quite the impressive collection."
Pushing open the door to the mayor's residence, the first thing that greeted him wasn't a tightly laid-out defense line, but a glass wall adorned with various objects.
Numerous display cabinets lined the hall, transforming it more into a war museum than the mayor's mansion. Inside them, a variety of military equipment, uniforms, portable gear, and even a few damaged weapons were displayed. It seemed all the usable armaments had been taken to fight the infected.
Just like the figure before him, who staggered towards Renault while pulling the trigger on an empty M30 compound gun, a mere echo of past actions.
"Tsk tsk," Renault chuckled, "Quite the collector, aren't you? To have an M30..."
The sentence was cut short as a metallic click echoed from the gun. Startled, despite believing the threat null, Renault instinctively dodged to the side.
Boom!
The sound of a gunshot reverberated, bullets tearing through the display cabinets. Cold sweat beaded on Renault's brow.
Thankfully, it wasn't a shotgun blast, or his new coat would be ruined.
Dusting the non-existent dust in his coat, Renault approached the infected figure, dressed like an old gentleman. As he walked, he drew his well-worn logging axe from his waist. Pushing aside the empty gun, he raised his weapon and swiftly brought it down on the infected's shoulder.