Chapter 108: Council Meeting

The council members sat in their respective seats.

“Alexei, Selene,” Hans gestured forward. “Hand over the meeting’s agendas for today.”

He folded his hands atop the table, waiting for the pair of soldiers to finish the distribution.

I have been calling for meetings without proper agendas, he thought. Or did I really just hate meetings before and I forgot this detail?

Before he debated himself, Selene’s voice interrupted him.

“Commander, it has been done.”

“Good,” Hans nodded. “Review the outline. If there are additions, state them now.”

No one interrupted.

“If there is none, then we shall begin with the western block. My soldiers tracked a group of thugs with devious intentions. Eight dead. Twelve detained. The matter has been resolved.”

Maya shifted in her seat.

“Resolved?” she asked.

“For now,” Hans replied. “There may be more, but this is a warning. The evidence are listed on the papers.”

“What about the twelve detained?” Maya pressed.

“Under investigation,” Hans said. “If they are proven harmless, they will be released. If not—”

He didn’t finish the sentence. The rest already caught what would happen next.

Billy adjusted the papers in front of him.

“Commander,” he scratched his cheeks. “Regarding the tank that just appeared near the southern area… I do not recall approving fuel allocation for it.”

A faint murmur rippled across the table.

Hans didn’t smile.

“You weren’t meant to. They are reinforcements secured down south, along with them a new batch of military personnel. That is sufficient for now.”

“Understood.”

Billy did not intend to ask for more. He was strict, but he wasn’t dumb.

“Last week, a small platoon was sent into Pandora District,” Hans continued. “Dmitri, one of my trusted aides, has written his report. The document on your hands is a carbon copy.”

“Does the Commander wish to establish a forward post there?” Milana inquired.

Everyone perked up after her question.

“The current colony is still in development,” Hans replied. “We are lacking occupations in the western suburban sectors already secured by walls.”

“So Commander…” Milana paused. “What was the purpose in sending troops far east?”

“Supplies, materials, and generators. Mr. Billy, I assume you have already logged that in our inventory.”

Billy smirked then stood straight.

“Noted,” he said. “Inventory has been adjusted accordingly. No supply will be wasted, Commander.”

Hans waved for Billy to sit. As the latter sank into his seat, he stole a glance at Milana and gave her a triumphant gaze.

Hans ignored their silent banters and pushed through to the next agenda.

“Now to a matter that has been circulating with infamy. Dr. Tyrus Shearman.”

The air shifted, cold and eerie.

“Commander,” Jasper shot from his seat. “I implore you to stop that madman before he harms the health of our people. Those zombie corpses stink like a disease! I—”

A raised hand stopped Jasper’s tirade. Hans lowered his arm and spoke with confidence.

“Dr. Tyrus did not request this meeting,” he scanned their expression. “But his findings did.”

Jasper was the first to react, shocked by Hans’s words.

“What findings would he find from… those corpses?”

“He is researching the causes of zombie transformation within people,” Hans replied. “A large amount of corpse collection is what he requires.”

“But wouldn’t that… be harmful to the people?” Jasper stuttered, confused by Hans’s agreement of Tyrus’s behavior.

“It is contained, Dr. Jasper,” Hans looked at him. “My soldiers are stationed near his underground laboratory. No trespassing is heavily enforced.”

Jasper, as if convinced by Hans’s words, slowly returned to his seat.

“Curing this zombie infection will take more than just vaccines,” Hans added. “Tyrus’s methods are more than that. It is the ability for us to control it.”

Silence enveloped the room.

“Control?” Maya repeated carefully.

Hans leaned back slightly.

“You all witnessed the changes from these zombies,” he said calmly. “Dr. Tyrus has stated that the human body changes under pressure.”

No one spoke.

“Some will break—they are our zombies,” he continued.

“Some will adapt, and continue to live as is,” he pointed at them.

“And some…”

Hans paused and grabbed a mug. With a light squeeze of his fingers, the ceramic cracked with a sharp pop.

Fragments crushed inward, some of it becoming dust.

Hans extended his hands forward, opening his palm and revealing the debris within.

The fragments fell across the table in uneven clinks. And when nothing was left, his hand barely had any scratch or wound.

“Some of us will evolve.”

Nobody applauded. Nobody breathed for a second. Or two.

Jasper stood first, unbelieving of what he just witnessed.

“Commander… that was not natural. Are you suggesting we welcome the mutation this apocalypse will bring?”

“I’m suggesting,” Hans corrected, “that we understand it.”

Maya’s fingers tightened together.

“Is there a chance for us to become zombies if we do that?”

Hans met her eyes.

“That is why Tyrus wants to study the mutation. And I will be the one to represent his results.”

Hans brushed the ceramic dust from his palm.

At that moment, Jasper’s seat creaked backward.

“I, Jasper Adams, would like to apologize for my lack of insight, Commander Hans.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Hans waved. “It was my negligence to not have discussed this with everyone in an earlier date.”

He tapped on the table and remembered a crucial detail he had forgotten.

“Dr. Tyrus is also a resident of Pandora District. I have to remind you to be mindful when near him in case his behavior… doesn’t suit your tastes.”

“Then Commander Hans,” Jasper’s voice echoed again. “I would suggest the expansion of the containment area surrounding Dr. Tyrus’s laboratory. The current containment is too narrow to ignore the spread of infection from underground.”

“Hmm,” Hans agreed. “I will have your concerns be addressed by tomorrow morning.”

“Commander, if you are not pursuing Pandora District, why is there a scheduled operation to the north of Grefort City?”

Milana pointed out the last agenda for today’s meeting, her voice sounding harsher than Jasper’s earlier burst.

“There are forces in this world that do not grant us time to live—nuclear radiation.”

“Is it from the nuclear power plant up north, Commander?” Coby spoke up from his prolonged silence.

“Dr. Tyrus suspects radiation leakage,” Hans answered. “If it is not addressed, we will all die. Silently.”

“As expected,” Coby muttered.

Everyone knew how deadly nuclear radiation was.

Hans, even more so. Pripyat from his previous life was the biggest example. And he didn’t want to set up a similar example on this world.

“How long do we have left, Commander?” Roger asked, feeling cold on his spine.

Hans did not answer immediately.

“Until we succumb to our deaths.”

The words bore a heavy weight ethereal to those who heard his words.

“I will not wait when a survivor falls to his death while walking on the streets,” Hans stood up, planting his hands on the table.

“The northern reconnaissance will proceed. I have said it here not to ask agreement from the council, but to notify you of my necessary action.”

He scanned the room and found no expression objecting his decision.

“I believe no one in this meeting will reject the operation, Commander.”

Coby said his piece.

Hans adjusted his coat.

“Then that is for the better.”

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