578 City K under Quarantine (1/2)

Chapter 578: City K under Quarantine

Translator: _Min_Editor: Caron_

The terror of a quarantined city spread like the plague in people's minds. Although Country F sent two divisions of forces to control the situation, the gloom of death still lingered in people's minds.

A city with more than a hundred thousand people only had seventy thousand left.

The entire east side lost control and the majority of the west side was lost as well. The government forces spent a night defeating the attacking guerillas then spent an entire day in the south area of the west side of the city to create a safe zone with barbed fences.

The second day after the plane crash, the government forces established a quarantine in the city and limited the zombies inside the City K. At the same time, helicopters hovered around the boundaries of the city while searching for any zombies that might have escaped.

At the same time, the Country F government sent out cargo planes and airdropped humanitarian aid to zombie-occupied areas. Along with the aid were small books on how to survive in zombie-occupied areas, reminding people to remain hopeful in the face of disaster.

Based on estimates, there were still ten thousand people struggling in ”occupied areas.” They could either be uninfected or the few lucky ones immune to the virus. Regardless, they were in an extremely dangerous situation, but the Country F government could no longer divert any more helicopters to rescue them. Even international aid groups weren't permitted to enter due to the danger of the virus and the influence of the civil zone.

People in the safe zone also suffered.

Seventy thousand people were stuffed in a separated zone only a few square kilometers large, unable to really live their lives. The living spaces were crowded. The lack of necessities caused chaos for security. In despair, the ugly side of humans was fully exposed. People fought over boxes of antibiotics and sold their bodies for a piece of bread. The ”cleaners” responsible for health inspection controlled everyone's lives. The soldiers responsible for distributing humanitarian aid could freely determine who would be fed. Aside from the soldiers who didn't approach the area, they were the emperors of the safe zone.

No media outlets were permitted to enter the area. No one knew what was happening there, no one knew how long the quarantine would last, and no one knew if they still had the zombie virus hidden in their bodies. To all of society, they were dangerous, and at least before a vaccine was found, they couldn't return to society.

It was a source of despair.

This place was no different than a concentration camp.

It only took two days for the situation to deteriorate to this point.

On the third day, the situation in City K was under control. The 21st Infantry Division pushed its defense line to the south. At the same time, the 14th Division sent out a mechanized brigade to push from the safe zone to the K River and repair the bridge. But the commander clearly underestimated the strength of the zombies. The mechanized brigade didn't even reach the bridge before they experienced heavy casualties.

In theory, the soldiers with hot weapons shouldn't be at a disadvantage against the zombies, but reality dictated otherwise.

While the equipment of Country F's land forces wasn't as terrible as the navy's, their training level was exceptionally low. This point wasn't demonstrated by their ability to shoot but their ability to adapt in battle.

Firing at unarmed civilians, even with orders from the commander, meant the soldiers executing the orders had to bear a great amount of mental pressure. This pressure arose from the sense of morality built since they were born from the restriction of living in a society governed by laws. They knew it was wrong, but they had to do it...

A lot of people unable to withstand the pressure unleashed fire onto hoards of zombies while relinquishing their fear through bullets, but they forgot the importance of shooting their heads. Against zombies, this was a critical error.

What made the soldiers even more distraught was that they had to press the trigger against their comrades who had been bitten. No medicine could treat them now. The only way to end their misery was death, at least for now.

Why didn't they push forward with the help of the artillery?

Because of damned humanitarianism.

As long as there was a single civilian left in the city, as long as the outside world remained civilized, the Country F government forces wouldn't permit firing in its own city. Countless eyes were watching them, so politicians wouldn't allow them, and the media wouldn't allow them.

They faced a great deal of pressure already, firing bullets at the heads of ”patients” instead of using tranquilizers.

The city was a mess, and it was a mess they had to take care of. Aquino thought of burning down the entire city more than once - he wanted to just burn the insane and the virus in a great fire… But it wasn't possible unless he wanted to face charges of crimes against humanity.

Just as the mechanized brigade returned to the safe area with low morale, Country F's Ministry of Foreign Affairs received the declaration of war from Celestial Trade.

Three hours ago, the Navy fleet at the border was completely wiped out.

Two and a half hours ago, Country F's Presidential Palace repeatedly confirmed the accuracy of the information with the Country F Navy's command center.

Two hours ago, the information was passed to the Second Army Commander stationed at City K. At the same time, Celestial Trade's Marines landed at the port of Dawo.

At the moment, Lieutenant-General Belli stood in the interim command headquarters and held a simple meeting.

Just then, an officer entered the barracks, interrupting the meeting in progress.

”What's the matter, Sergeant Cavell?”

Sergeant Cavell saluted, stood upright and made his report.