I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

"...I guess it's a bit late to say this now, but after looking around, I think I understand why there’s so much wine in the warehouse. I didn’t know there were so many hotels around Central Park."

"Even in this harsh world, everyone still uses decent bedding. It’s because everything was taken from nearby hotels. Similarly, the reason a large general hospital was established in the HQ center is for a similar reason."

"Did they really take all the large medical equipment from the hospitals around Central Park? In normal times, you wouldn’t even imagine that. If you think about it, it’s basically requisitioning supplies worth billions of dollars."

"Well, considering the situation, it makes sense."

Where there are people, there are supplies and infrastructure, and where both exist, there are people.

New York, Manhattan, one of the world’s great cities that meets this criterion, and still, despite the virus's devastation, its fame remains untarnished. At the beginning of the Omega Virus crisis, when public authority quickly lost power and people in one of the world’s wealthiest neighborhoods turned into refugees, it was because of New York's overwhelming wealth that Central Park HQ arose from the ashes.

They requisitioned everything around Central Park, simultaneously receiving enormous amounts of supplies.

"At that time, the only place where security worked was Central Park. The public health # Nоvеlight # task force was the first to be deployed, followed by the remaining police and national guard... So it was more like they received supplies rather than they were requisitioned."

"Also, they gave cooperation orders to private medical hospitals around here... No. Most of the doctors working at HQ now are probably the ones who stayed here after the hospitalizations, right?"

"Exactly. That’s why, whenever people get brought in one or two at a time, they survive without much trouble."

"Now that I think about it, Olivia joined HQ the same way."

Olivia nodded slowly in agreement.

She had joined HQ because of an injury sustained during an operation on Long Island, and Laurentina had snatched up Owly and the Eagle team from the ICU and inserted them into the Dagger team.

The others, excluding Eugene, Laurentina, and Olivia, began listening intently to the story. The team members who had joined late, including Lafland, who had been semi-detained at the facility until the Valerie elimination operation, were hearing it for the first time, or had only heard bits and pieces of it before.

Of those, the latter group nodded along with a look of surprise, not expecting to hear the story like this, and naturally became the next target for conversation.

"Did you know, little wolf? The mutated dorm we’re staying in was mostly built by you?"

"Eh, I’ve heard it a few times before."

"Before the dorm was built, there was just flat land. Did you know you had to dig the ground, lay the pipelines and wires, cover them up, and then lay down new roads on top?"

"...Uh."

"It’s surprising, but I don’t think there’s a building at HQ that hasn’t been touched by your hands. Except for the new ones being built, of course."

Pat, pat.

At some point, Laurentina had slipped behind Eugene and began gently patting his head, who was turning away with a slightly embarrassed look. It didn’t take long before his tail started wagging.

As everyone watched the scene with interest, someone murmured.

"...Do snakes usually express emotions like that?"

"Aren’t those with tails supposed to express themselves like that?"

"Do snakes even have tails? What looks like a snake’s tail is actually just its body."

"...What are you saying about me!?"

"Oh, my bad. I didn’t mean anything bad, little one. Let’s eat something good later, okay?"

"..."

The conversation planted a curiosity about snakes in everyone’s minds, but soon enough, everyone’s interest shifted. The reality was that no one would really understand anything if they kept wondering about other people’s body parts. After all, no one even knew how or why a man might turn into a woman overnight.

Instead, the conversation quickly changed topics.

"By the way, I remember there were quite a few different types of food in the freezer. Can we take some of those?"

"Eh, probably... they’ll be distributed regularly. But anything that spoils quickly, like meat, is likely frozen at ultra-low temperatures. Fresh food has become really scarce these days."

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

"That really hits home about how wrecked the US is. They raise tens of millions of cows, and now they can’t even eat meat? That’s pretty terrifying. You don’t think we won’t be able to have a barbecue for Christmas, do you?"

"Well..."

It wasn’t just them who were curious.

The US was a Christian nation, and just like Korea emphasizes holidays, Christmas is celebrated with almost a week or more off. No one wanted a local conflict or a large-scale offensive to break out around that time. Those who did would likely be the allied forces dropped near the northeastern US.

Knowing this all too well, people talked about less important matters, like whether they’d be able to have a prosperous Christmas, as the Dagger team had said.

"We could always cut back on the amount we eat... but that doesn’t seem right."

"That’s not the problem. Plus, even if we ate a lot, HQ wouldn’t really care. After all, with it being Christmas, they probably already accounted for the consumption."

"Hmm."

"And honestly, how much will we eat anyway? Five of us together will probably only eat... about 50 kilograms?"

"Isn’t that a lot?"

"..."

When a surprisingly specific number was given, everyone fell silent.

It was definitely not a small amount. The metamorphs thought seriously with a strange look on their faces, and they all shared a feeling that maybe it wasn’t really that much after all.

Olivia awkwardly added.

"...Let’s just find a grill quickly."

"Ugh."

"By the way, Olivia, don’t you think there might be a grill somewhere in the warehouse? We don’t really need to go outside for that."

"Is it because it’s cold?"

"Ah, no... it’s not that... Ubbubub."

In that moment, Lafland seemed to understand why Eugene was always receiving affection, but he had something to say first.

"That’s probably going to be for HQ. As others said, HQ is going to provide various food and supplies for Christmas. They’ll likely distribute food grilled on a grill."

"Do they have the resources for that? Are the chefs at the restaurant handling it?"

"Pretty much."

"They’re doing a great job."

Someone could’ve asked why there were so many chefs at Central Park, but no one here didn’t know the reason. It was the same reason why so many medical professionals were at HQ.

When the Omega Virus broke out, chefs from all kinds of restaurants around Manhattan were faced with two options: either head to heaven or head to Central Park.

Top chefs, who had been earning millions, realized that just being alive was enough and gradually got used to being paid in food and supplies instead of money.

It was a common occurrence in apocalyptic times.

"Even though the world’s in this state, I’m glad it hasn’t gone past the point of no return."

"If everyone around the world united right now, we could probably recover half of the old world within 20 years, but that’s wishful thinking, right?"

"That’s ridiculous. The end of the war will probably come four times faster."

"Yeah, that’s right."

A brief sigh.

Meanwhile, Eugene began rolling his eyes, looking around, and then pulled something out of his pocket. It was a chocolate bar.

As Eugene started munching on it, everyone gave a wry smile.

Someone spoke up.

"When the war’s over, you’ll be able to go home, little one."

"...Yeah."

It was an uncertain promise, but Eugene nodded with a wry smile.

The morning, three weeks before Christmas, was as cold as ever.