[Ratatatatat, ratatatatat!]
The relentless gunfire continued unabated through the night, punctuated by the occasional roar of grenades. By now, the 'Steel Fortress' had already departed with CP9 and Amatori Biba's group, leaving only the 'Iron Fortress' and 'Iwato Station' quietly remaining at the rail yard.
The elite Army unit of one thousand soldiers led by Crocodile had already annihilated most of the Kabane under their overwhelming firepower. Against a thousand fully loaded heavy assault rifles, unless the Kabane coalesced into a massive 'Black Smoke,' they fell as fast as they came.
The outskirts of the urban area were now piled high with layers upon layers of dismembered Kabane limbs—a scene that could only be described as a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. Under the moonlight, it painted a grim, apocalyptic tableau of slaughter.
Yet, their very presence also obstructed the Army's advance into the city. The soldiers had no choice but to blast open a gory path using copious amounts of grenades. Moving the corpses manually? Unthinkable.
Who knew if any still-living Kabane lurked within, ready to take a bite while they worked? Though every soldier wore metal arm and leg guards beforehand, no one was willing to risk unnecessary exposure to a bio-virus that infected at the slightest wound.
Next, they would have to enter the city proper, where towering buildings stood, and systematically hunt down every last hiding Kabane before eliminating them all.
In truth, this was the most perilous phase of the entire operation. Compared to this, facing the black tidal wave of Kabane had been almost relaxing—just keep pulling the trigger, switch positions, reload, and repeat. As long as the firepower and ammunition held out, it required little technical skill.
Throughout this, Crocodile did not intervene. This was an order relayed to him by Bullet via Den Den Mushi, intended to train these Army soldiers.
Frankly, Crocodile had no desire to comply—not for any particular reason, but simply because it irked him.
He was a Lieutenant General. Bullet was also a Lieutenant General. Why should he follow the other's instructions? Yet, he couldn't come up with a solid rebuttal.
Crocodile was already aware of the Army's current state. Though they were Marine Headquarters soldiers in name, their overall quality was on par with the Navy's branch forces from the Four Seas.
Unacceptable.
He was now an Army Lieutenant General, and in the future, he would rise to become an Army Admiral—no, even the Fleet Admiral. If the soldiers under his command were inferior to the Navy's Headquarters troops, wouldn't that shame his 'Sand Crocodile' reputation?
Since he had no expertise in training soldiers, the pragmatic Crocodile had no choice but to grudgingly comply. Clenching a smoldering cigar between his teeth, he hovered high above, watching with visible displeasure as squads of Army soldiers dispersed into the streets, engaging in brutal urban warfare against Kabane that lunged at them from the shadows.
"Tch. What's so great about knowing how to train troops? Admirals—Fleet Admirals—aren't judged by that. Strength and strategy matter most."
Yet, at this moment, both Crocodile and Bullet overlooked a far more critical factor: support from the highest echelons!
Outside the station,
a large clearing had been made, flanked by two massive tents. Behind them, multicolored tarps were stitched together and spread across the ground.
"Form orderly lines!"
"Men in one line, women in another. I believe everyone is familiar with the inspection process. Remain quiet and don't move around!"
A slightly plump, short-haired young man wearing a light green coat over blue cloth garments was shouting through a metal megaphone at the civilians in the back of the lines.
This was Takumi, the good friend of the 'protagonist' Ikoma and a participant in the development of the 'piercing gun.' Like Ikoma, he had previously worked as a station laborer at Yomokawa Station, primarily responsible for maintaining the 'Station Towns' that came and went.
Truthfully, maintaining order didn't require his efforts at all. For one, the long lines were surrounded by hundreds of Army soldiers armed with heavy assault rifles. Secondly, the survivors still carried the dust of their ordeal on their clothes.
Yet, Yomogawa Ayame had still sent Takumi out to address the crowd.
As it turned out, the effect was excellent—his voice gave the survivors from Yomokawa and Iwahato Stations an inexplicable sense of security.
After all, his attire clearly marked him as one of their own. Sometimes, familiarity is the best tranquilizer.
Inside the tent, a young girl naturally removed her pale yellow kimono and stood naked as Yukina and Kajika carefully inspected every part of her body for any wounds inflicted by Kabane.
Meanwhile, Yomogawa Ayame stood nearby, offering the girl a gentle smile that gradually eased her nervousness.
"Clear!"
"Clear!"
As Yukina and Kajika announced one after the other, the girl visibly relaxed and began redressing. She then shyly saluted Yomogawa Ayame before quickly exiting the tent through the other side. Behind her, an older woman stepped forward in turn to undergo the same inspection.
"Here."
Just as the first kimono-clad girl, now cleared, was about to find a place to sit and rest, she noticed three square tables set up near the exit.
Staring at the items on the tables, she froze in place.
The first table held stacks of golden-yellow blocks. The second table displayed small white boxes, each about the size of a palm. The third table seemed to hold small metal tins?
At the same time, a notice board stood beside the three tables, bearing a few simple lines written in their most familiar script:
"One portion consists of: one piece of bread, one box of milk, and one can of luncheon meat."
"Including children, each person may only take one portion of food for themselves."
"After consumption, please return the milk cartons and metal cans to the designated collection point. Staff will handle recycling."
Below the text, vivid illustrations demonstrated how to insert a straw into the milk carton and how to open the luncheon meat can.
"All... all of this is for us to eat?"
"But... what is bread? What is luncheon meat? And... this is really milk inside?" The girl gaped in shock at everything before her.
"No, wait—meat? That's meat in there?!"
Because of the Kabane, they had lost most of their land, leaving them with pitifully little space to grow rice. Things like rice and milk were basically only regularly enjoyed by the upper-class nobility, while meat was outrageously expensive. For the lower-class folks like them, they could only occasionally buy a skewer or two at the night market to taste.
Their staple foods were basically things like taro, millet, radishes, and mushrooms.
"Don't block the way here. Take your stuff and go eat over there."
At this moment, an Army soldier holding an assault rifle and responsible for monitoring sternly urged them. This startled the girl, who quickly picked up a piece of bread, a box of milk, and a canned luncheon meat before hurrying to sit down on a thin cloth spread over the open ground. Then, she curiously examined the items in front of her.
"Wow, it's so soft~"
Her slender, pale fingers lightly pressed the surface of the bread, finding that it easily dented. She picked it up and took a tentative bite, immediately feeling a soft, sweet flavor spread in her mouth.
"It's so delicious!"
For a moment, she felt a wave of happiness brought by the food. The key was that the bread was actually sweet—had they put sugar in it?
That was sugar!
Suddenly, from the men's area across the open ground, a loud, excited shout erupted. It turned out someone had successfully opened a tin can and tasted the salty pink meat inside.
"Wow, it's really meat!!"