"Ah! So, you are the ones!" Miss Shizuka said, looking surprised. "We've been wondering who will come to pick us up."
"Sorry for not telling you about it beforehand. I want it to be a surprise." Miss Rika smiled and patted my shoulder. "Follow us. We will take you to our current base."
We followed them to a car. Rika drove the wheel with Leon beside her on the front passenger's seat while the rest of us were at the back, along with our belongings.
Saya and Miss Shizuka sat at the back seat while Saeko sat next to me. The car started to move and we went through the road that connected the base to the city.
As we moved, I noticed a few barricades around the area, blocking the streets and entrances into the base. Some people gathered around, watching our car with greedy eyes. They were civilians who lived near the area.
"By the way," Leon asked, looking at us from the front seat. "Why were you in Alaska anyway? If I can ask."
"We can't use planes so we have to use ships. And because I only know the rough way to read the sea current so we circle back around to the Pacific ocean. Then, we landed in Alaska. That's our reason." I explained, leaning forward.
"Ahh, I see. That must have been a hard journey." Leon looked back and smiled at us. "We are glad that you are here."
"Thank you. And yeah, we're also glad that we are here. It's a long and tiring journey." I chuckled.
"It seems like you are also involved with the incident in Alaska, right? I was surprised when I read about the military operation." Leon commented. He turned back to look forward. "You saved two soldiers from a strange, mutated plant."
"That was a coincidence. We..."
I talked about what we experienced and Leon listened intently. He nodded every now and then, affirming that he listened carefully.
However, his attention was mostly to the information that I had about the viruses.
After a short trip, the car arrived at the military's HQ.
It was located in the heart of the city, right in front of a park. The place was heavily guarded and secured by high walls and fences, but it wasn't crowded as I expected. In fact, there weren't many people outside the gate.
Yes, a gate.
The military block the area around city hall and turn it into their HQ, including the park in front of it. The area was so large that they put a large gate in the middle of the road to keep people out of their headquarters.
Not only that, I also saw gates surrounding this city in 10 KM diameters. Zombies were kept out from the city and the survivors were living their days peacefully here. No one was starving to death and no one had to worry about being bitten by a zombie.
In other words, the military had turned the entire city of Chicago into their base.
I could see the difference between this place and the encampment we stayed in before. There was no sense of fear or desperation among the soldiers and they all had their weapons ready.
But the citizens looked restless.
Supplies were low and morale was low, as well.
"Things are pretty rough here, huh?" I asked Leon.
"Things are not going well," he confirmed, looking out of the window.
We entered the second gate, passed by the soldiers and entered the military HQ. I was amazed at the size of this place.
Soldiers gave us a thorough check on our vehicle. Afterward, the guards let us enter the base without any trouble.
We parked inside and got out of the car while our belongings were taken to our rooms.
I was amazed to see the inside of the HQ.
There were hundreds of soldiers here, all armed to their teeth. Tanks, trucks, humvees, APCs, helicopters, and other vehicles were lined up in neat rows in the yard.
And I was technically naked since our weapons weren't allowed. Even the knife was confiscated from us. We would have our weapon back later after we got our IDs from the military.
"I feel naked without my sword." Saeko commented with an uncomfortable face.
I laughed. "Well, you're still wearing your pants, right?"
She chuckled at my joke but still felt a bit uncomfortable without any weapon on her.
"Don't worry. Nothing will happen here. This is a safe zone. If you don't cause any problems, you will be safe."
Rika smiled, leading us inside the HQ building. Leon was right beside her. We walked down a long hall and turned to the right at a door.
"Did you bring the virus with you, kid?" She stopped and turned at me.
I raised my brows. "Yeah. Of course."
She smiled. "Good. The person behind this door is the person in charge here, and I am sure that you will be treated nicely by him. He might ask some questions after you give him the virus. But he will understand that we have to take care of your needs before he gets what he wants."
"Who's he?" I asked.
Rika grinned and knocked on the door, "Just a friend."
A voice answered from behind the door.
"Come in."
We entered the room, finding ourselves inside an office.
It was spacious but a bit bare, with no decorations other than the bookshelf behind the desk and a few chairs in front of it. The window gave us a nice view of the military training ground outside.
A tall blonde man wearing sunglasses stood in front of the window. His back faced us, and his muscular body looked fit for a soldier. His vest had RPD written on its back. He had a handgun strapped to his waist.
He slowly turned his head to face us, revealing a gruff face. His mouth curved into a smile and he extended his hand.
"You must be Daiki. Albert Wesker, I'm in command here." The man introduced himself.