Hmm, oh, let me asked her, she's wearing a police uniform she probably know it. "Umm, excuse me, do you know where the military base here? Souta asked me to go there…"
"You're probably Anna, Souta told me about you, I'm Shana, I'm also going there so let's go together"
"Yes, thank you"
We then start walking
"Soo, is it true that you and Souta have something?"
"No!" Shit! I exclaimed! "I mean no, I'm really aren't in that kind of relationship with him"
"Well, you know that it's okay right? After all his girlfriends allowed polygamous on him"
"Eh? Why? Isn't that kinda hurtful? Why would they want to share their man to others?"
"I think it's personal preference, I also don't know, but I'm sure that they wouldn't allow Souta to have other girls unless he loves her and she love him too"
"That's kind weird"
She giggled, "Well, I'm part of it thou"
"Huh?" I was shocked, what does she mean part of it!?
"I'm also part of his women, thou it's not official but Amy and Steff, the first wives already agreed to me, we're already this close 🤞" she said crossing her fingers
"Ehhhh, why would you join!?" I'm confused, really confused. Who would like to go in a relationship like that!?
"Hmmm, it's started as a hero syndrome, he saved me and I started to have feelings of safety, gratitude, and admiration to him. Then slowly it evolved into romantic attraction. I already gave up on him since he already have girlfriends with him but when I heard that Amy and Steff allowed him to have many girlfriends as much as he wants, I immediately told them what I feel about Souta, now I'm just waiting Souta to accept me" she said that while smiling
"It's kinda sad that you're giving him full efforts yet he doesn't love you"
"Huh? What do you mean? He does love me"
"Eh? Then why did he not accept you yet?"
"He's just been busy these days, and besides, there are a lot of women who tried to become his girlfriend but he immediately reject them not giving them a chance, but that doesn't apply to me"
Isn't he just giving you mix signals? "Oh, we're here" She said, we arrived at the entrance of the school. "A school?"
I see a big gate with a guard post and a flag. I guess that's it. I walk towards it, hoping to find the volunteers who agreed to join me in the expedition. I wonder who they are, and why they are willing to go to the metropolis with me. I hope they are kind and brave, like Souta.
"Yup, it was renovated and turned into a training grounds for the soldiers." She said, we walked to the school gates, it has soldiers guarding it, they bowed to Shana and opened the gates.
We enter the school and I see cadets who are in training. They are shooting, formations, wielding melee weapons, fighting in close combat, running, jumping and other more, It's much harsher than the training of the military I went through!
"Are they going to be okay with that harsh training?" I ask, worried.
"Yup, even I withstood it, so can they." Shana says, proudly.
Eh?? She withstood that kind of training!? Damnnn, "Let's go to the principal's office, that has become his office in here." Shana says, leading the way.
The cadets and the soldiers greet her, they have a lot of respect for her. I'm amazed, it's like she's a general or something. We walk to the principal's office, which is next to the covered court. As soon as we go inside, Shana immediately runs towards Souta.
She jumps on his lap, and hugs him after she kisses him on the lips. These girls on the sofa are Amy and Steff, right? The first wives, but they seem to not care that their boyfriend is being kissed by another girl!
"Hey Steff! Look at this manga! It's hilarious!" Amy says, showing her a manga book.
"Oh? Let me see." Steff says, taking it from her. They are taking it so easy!
And the girl beside him, that's Jenny, right? "Hey Shana, Souta is working." She says, calmly. Another girlfriend of his, yet she didn't even flinch when Shana kissed him! This is so damn weird!
"Shana, I'm working, can we do that later?" Souta says, firmly.
"Okayy." She says, and kisses him again, this time it's a French kiss! After that, she leaves and goes to Amy and Steff, and the three of them are giggling!
"Oh? Anna, you're here. Sorry about seeing something not normal." Souta says, looking at me.
"Jenny, do my work for me for now, okay? I'll be having a meeting with Shana and Roger here." He says, handing her some papers.
"Kiss." She requests, boldly. And Souta kisses her! She's even happy about it, why are they all so weird 😭
Souta then talks to Roger on the walkie-talkie. "Roger, come to my office in the military base, we're going to start the meeting."
"Sorry to keep you waiting." He says, as he approaches me. "Let's sit here for now while we wait for him."
"Y-yeah…" We then sit on the chairs that have a long table between them. This feels awkward after what I just saw! I need to calm down. "Do you want to ask about how our relationship works?" He asks, like his reading my mind.
"Well… if you don't want to talk about it, it's fine." I say, hesitantly.
"Are you curious about how our relationship works?" Amy asks, overhearing our conversation.
"Yes, ma'am." I say, out of nowhere.
"No need to be so formal, we're all human here. Now, for the topic of why we allowed Souta to have many girlfriends, it's kind of simpler than you think." She says, casually.
"…?"
They then tell me their story about how they survived the apocalypse and how they both slept with him. After that, they didn't think too much of a big deal about sharing a man. Their bond became much stronger, and Souta treated them equally and how they wanted to be treated. It's like he's a walking green flag, he also didn't take advantage of the fact that they allowed him to have many girlfriends.
"A king should have as many concubines as he wants, right? As long as we're all happy and he's treating us all equally and well, then it's okay." Amy says, telling me their story.
It's more like their personal preference, defying all common sense.
"Whatever." I say, shrugging.
"Are we late or something?" Roger asked as he opened the door of the principal's office, where Souta and me was waiting for them. Behind Roger, eight other men followed him. They all looked physically fit and well-trained, like they had been in the military. They also had scars all over their arms, which showed the harshness of their experience in this apocalyptic world.
They all sat down on some chairs, and Souta began to explain the plan. "Okay, so here's the plan," he said, placing a map of the metropolis city on the table. I wondered how he got this map. It looked like it was printed from a computer. Did he download it before the internet went down?
"As you can see, Anna, Roger and his men are trained mercenaries, so they have the skills and the experience we need. They can also drive a helicopter, which is very rare these days it's based on experience. It's better to move in a small group, don't you think?"
I nodded. So they were mercenaries. That explained a lot. "So, what's the plan? How are we going to get to the hospital without attracting the zombies?"
Souta smiled. "That's the tricky part. You see, we can't make any noise that would lure the zombies out of the city. That would create a horde, and that would be very bad for us. So, we have to find a way to go from building to building, without touching the ground."
"Eh?" I exclaimed. What did he mean by that? How were we supposed to do that? He then brought out a grapple gun and a grappling hook. He explained that these were devices that shot a grappling hook attached to a rope, allowing us to quickly traverse between buildings or other structures. I had seen these things in movies, but never in real life. Where did he get them?
"Where did you get them?" I asked
"Oh, these? We made them ourselves," he said casually.
"…?" I am confused. Made them? How? I sighed. I shouldn't be surprised anymore. This was Souta, after all. He always had some tricks up his sleeve.
"You will also use these," he continued, showing us some zip line trolleys. "With these equipments, you should be able to reach the hospital with minimal problems. But remember, you have to improvise and adapt if things go wrong."
I was still skeptical. "Are we really just going to the hospital? You said it yourself that it's uncertain if the helicopter is still there or not. So, what changed your mind? Why are you helping me now?" I asked. It seemed suspicious that he suddenly agreed to help me, after refusing at first.
He grinned. "I'll tell you why. Look here," he pointed at the map, near the hospital. "This is a building where something very valuable is hidden. Something useful. Something that you would risk going to the metropolis just to get it."
I was curious. What could it be? Something that was worth facing millions of zombies?
"It's... an A.I," he revealed.
"Eh? An A.I? You mean artificial intelligence?" I asked, incredulous.
"Correct. If you ask a normal person what is the most crucial thing in a situation like this, they would answer with weapons, food, water, shelter, etc., right? But they are wrong. In a situation like this, the most important thing, even for the long term, is information."
I had to admit, he had a point. Information was power, especially in this chaotic world. But an A.I? How would that help us?
"You see, this A.I is not like any other. It doesn't need internet to function. The people who invented it put a chip inside it, containing all the information about the world. And when I say all, I mean all."
I gasped. All? How was that possible? How much data could that chip hold?
"Not only that, but this A.I is smart. Smart enough to build its own body, according to what we may request."
I was speechless. Something like that existed in this world? How did he know about it?
He chuckled. "Well, it's still a prototype, but it was supposed to be released in just a month before the apocalypse started. Everyone wanted to get their hands on it, but no one dared to go to the metropolis, where it was stored. But now, since you're determined to get the helicopter, I want you to get the A.I as well. And bring them both here."
I realized what he was doing. He was using me. He wanted me to risk my life for something that he wanted. He didn't care about me or the helicopter. He only cared about the A.I.
I felt angry and betrayed. How could he do this to me? How could he be so selfish and greedy?
But I had no choice. I needed the helicopter. I need that to check the kids, the survivors. Everyone of us are selfish and greedy now, even I aren't I? Focusing surely on our interests, and it just happened that our interest got crossed.
I nodded, understanding his plan. "But how are we going to escape with the helicopter without drawing the zombies' attention?" I asked. That seemed like the most dangerous part of the mission.
"Oh, that's easy. Near the metropolis is the ocean. You can lure the zombies there by making some noise, and then fly over the water. Once you're close to the base, we'll meet you at the drop point, far from our base. Then we'll drive the helicopter using a big truck, so we won't attract any zombies to our base."
He sounded confident, but I wasn't so sure. It seemed too risky. What if something went wrong? What if the helicopter ran out of fuel? What if the helicopter wasn't there? What if the zombies followed us? What if Souta betrayed me?
But I had no choice. I had to go along with his plan. I had to get the helicopter. I had to get the A.I. I had to rescue the kids!
"Okay, I'll do it!" I said, determined. "Good. You should prepare today. You'll leave tomorrow morning. The meeting is over." He said, dismissing us.
I got up and followed Roger and his men. They looked at me with respect and admiration. They thought I was brave and strong. They didn't know I was scared and doubtful.