Chapter 275

The Evil Rebellion of Canned Goods.

The Violets were taken by surprise at the riot of food that had come back to life, defying time.

“Yikes! The canned goods have been resurrected!”

While the Violets, who were leisurely enjoying their breakfast, were caught in an unexpected commotion, monsters surged in from the outskirts.

-KABOOM!

Dust clouds burst forth. Flames soared. As makeshift explosives and the results of the temporary defense magic shook the ground, the Violet Marine Corps defended against the attack while grumbling about their hunger.

“What kind of island is this?”

Enemies surrounded them. Monsters in front, food transformed into monsters behind.

A thought flitted through the heads of the Violets suppressing the canned revolt.

According to statistics, the average survival time of a Federal Army soldier in the Red Zone is 18 hours.

“Yikes! That’s extremely short!”

The Violets thought. Indeed, the Red Zone was far too dangerous.

Of course, there were some errors in this statistic. The soldiers referred to in the statistics were non-awakened infantry of the Federal Army. The Federal Army typically refrained from sending non-awakened infantry into the Red Zone unless they were on the defensive.

The reason was simple. It was a matter of efficiency, not humanity. Even a military force that conscripted men and women like drawing water from a well couldn’t bear unnecessary losses.

However, while the statistics were not entirely fictitious, the phrase “18 hours” was often used to highlight the dangers of the Red Zone.

And at this very moment, the Violets fully understood.

The malicious intent of intruders spread throughout the land.

Thirty minutes into the engagement, the air tasted bitter and spicy. If they were ordinary individuals, they might have been poisoned.

Every step they took, every grain of sand they stepped on felt like hostility.

“What the heck! Why is this happening?”

Unit 118 gasped, leaping over a centipede-like monster. The sandy ground turned slippery, attempting to trip the Violets.

The Violets felt it. They felt as if the ground was alive. Surely, it was inanimate, yet they perceived emotions.

The wind that rushed in carried a scream laced with resentment. The once peaceful climate turned erratic, and rust seemed to subtly creep onto their swords.

“Gah… we’ve defeated them all…”

Even after a long battle, the Violets could not shake off their unpleasant feelings.

“Burn it all down!”

Piled up in a corner were the transformed foodstuffs and the corpses of monsters.

“What a waste…”

“No! They might turn into monsters, too.”

The mutated food could not be consumed. Several attempts had made that fact all too clear.

“Kyaaa!”

“Eew! Who do you think you are to bite me? How dare you! I’ll eat you up!”

Unit 881, who had bitten into the writhing hotdog sausage, choked it down.

“Ugh, ugh!”

The horrendous taste made them empty their stomachs.

“This won’t do. Even cooked it can’t be eaten…”

The situation was no different for the unaffected food. Items taken out of the inventory quickly became inedible if not consumed immediately.

Chewing on a cracker turned it to dust, and the drink emitted the stench of rotten blood.

Everyone could only admit it.

“From now on, let’s just pull out fresh ones and eat them right away.”

The Violet Marines incinerated all the foodstuffs.

After dousing them with oil, they ignited them with incendiary grenades and fireballs.

With a whoosh and a roar, flames leaped up. The red flames that had been spewing smoke suddenly shone green.

A bizarre visage rose above the flames.

“Kihahhahha!”

The form of a devil suddenly flickered in the fire.

“Ghost! It’s a ghost!”

“Hey! Get away from there!”

The Violets whispered among themselves. They knew that strange phenomena occurred frequently in the Red Zone, but they had never expected it to be like this.

“Unit 2501, do you know anything?”

“What? No! I don’t know!”

They asked a Violet from the Apostle faction, but there was no clear answer. It was due to the fact that they hadn’t properly absorbed the Apostle’s memories.

However, there was still more to be shocked about.

“Guys! Help me!”

Amidst a sinister green sunset, Unit 2311 spotted a Violet rushing over in a panic.

“What happened?”

“Help me! I’m Unit 1154! Monsters have appeared again! I need assistance!”

“I see. I’ll help!”

After exchanging glances with Unit 2331, Unit 2311 immediately drew a crossbow and blew off Unit 1154’s head.

“Kuh, kuooock…”

“Of course, it was a fake!”

The sentinels laughed, thinking of the real Unit 1154 who was busy exploring another island.

“Do you think we would fall for that?”

The fake melted into the ground with an uncharacteristic Violet-like sob.

“Now fakes are popping up too?”

The Command Center Violets laughed in disbelief. Even a false Violet was showing up.

“Well, at least we are lucky.”

Since they had no network connection, they managed to catch on immediately. What about the others?

“Ugh… this place is strange…”

Everyone thought. Calling the Red Zone hell wasn’t enough.

Nevertheless, there was one comforting fact.

“What about the bodies in hibernation?”

“They’re fine!”

The hibernating Violets showed no signs of abnormalities.

“It seems hibernating bodies aren’t recognized as enemies.”

“That’s good!”

They had worried about being buried alive, but the bodies in hibernation faced no issues whatsoever.

“There shouldn’t be any problems keeping them here.”

Though they would need to experiment for a while, if their conjecture was correct, the Red Zone would serve as a protective barrier for the hibernating Violets.

Thus another day passed in the Red Zone.

“We won’t be defeated in the Red Zone!”

“We will endure!”

The Violets would continue to survive, with their tenacious vitality, today and tomorrow.

Living in the Red Zone, it wasn’t such a terrible place after all. Aside from the fact that many strange incidents occurred.

At the Red Zone beach where a solar eclipse unfolded. The marines, clearing the nearby forests to make flat ground, faced ghosts in broad daylight.

“Die die die die die!”

“You die instead!”

Unit 882 swung her sword, conserving her strength as the shapes scattered under the sword energy. The resistance in her wrist told her there was a physical entity.

“I’m so wronged, so wronged, so wronged!”

“I curse you! I will curse you!”

The problem was that it wasn’t just one or two.

“Violet! Help me!”

“Eek! It’s Daphne! But why are you here and not in the dormitory?”

“Magnavis kidnapped me—”

“Enough!”

-TATATATAT!

At the very least, they now saw the shapes of their friends. Their friends who were supposedly doing well in the academy city were mimicking them.

To vent their frustration, they slashed at every ghost they saw with swords and smashed them with maces.

“This isn’t even a ghost!”

“We won’t forgive monsters who mimic humans!”

For some reason, it was clear that some monster or perhaps the entire region of the Red Zone was causing these events to provoke them.

However, the Violet Marines dispatched to the Red Zone were here to hunt humans and monsters.

“Let’s kill, tear apart, and burn them!”

The first couple of times, they were surprised, but they quickly grew accustomed and began to pummel them like punching bags.

“Yay!”

Were they too carefree? The Red Zone had successfully pricked at their weaknesses.

“Violet! Violet!”

At the call of her name, without realizing it, she turned her head.

A girl in military uniform with gray hair emerged from the forest.

Her appearance sparked a sense of déjà vu.

“Who are you?”

The girl pouted.

“Don’t you know who I am?”

The sentinel Violet chuckled and raised her gun.

“It must be a monster. Or another trick!”

Before her words could finish, the enraged girl shouted.

“No! Why don’t you recognize me? This is so unfair!”

The girl looked genuinely wronged. Deep down, they knew that encountering a normal being in this deserted Red Zone was unlikely, yet for some reason, they felt compelled to ask questions.

“Um… I’m not sure. If you know someone, I’m sorry! Who are you?”

No sooner had she finished speaking than the girl let out an exasperated sigh.

Wondering why she was behaving this way, the next moment, the words the girl uttered left them dumbfounded.

“I’m me! Rugilinn’s Iron Fist!”

“Huh, what?”

She scrutinized the girl’s form. A small frame, wearing a Federal Army tank driver outfit. An adorable appearance.

“Could it be!”

It was highly unlikely, though the chance was slim.

Perhaps.

Could the mysterious power of the Red Zone have materialized their most valiant tank friend?

“I am Rugilinn’s Iron Fist!”

The sentinel Violet called over the others. In an instant, the girl was surrounded.

“Violet’s friend!”

“Federal Light Tank!”

They generally understood what it was. The identity of the girl claiming to be their brave ally fighting alongside them was reminiscent of the ghost they had previously slain.

Yet, it was fascinating that a girl who claimed to be their valiant friend appeared before them, and they couldn’t stop the conversation.

Unit 2110, representing everyone’s curiosity, asked,

“But Iron Fist, what brings you here?”

Rugilinn’s Iron Fist glared at them with sharp eyes.

“Can’t you figure that out? You abandoned me!”

What sudden nonsense is this? As the Violets were left speechless, the little tank ghost seethed in rage.

“I got hit by a nuke… I turned pitch black and melted… So, you just abandoned me? You said we were friends! We’d crush and stomp the enemies together!”

She raged, swinging her fists fiercely. I rebutted.

“But then you lost your license plate. Your mind and soul will pass on to the next Rugilinn’s Iron Fist!”

Unit 1139 chimed in.

“Right. With a bigger, stronger body! One day, you’ll be a tank with railguns, machine guns, laser cannons, and a bigger reactor!”

“Super Medium Tank!”

They each offered words of comfort to the ghostly friend. Rugilinn’s Iron Fist hung her head, seemingly disinterested in their words.

“…So we didn’t abandon you, got it?”

“Are you even listening to us?”

Rugilinn’s Iron Fist ghost lifted her head. Her eyes burned a bright red.

“No! You abandoned me! Abandoned, abandoned! I’ll curse you, I’ll haunt you with vengeance!”

“I told you no—”

The next moment, Unit 1139 witnessed the ghost’s hand pierce deep into his chest.

-CRUNCH!

“Ugh!”

The first casualty was claimed by the ghost.

“Yikes! Rugilinn’s Iron Fist attacked us!”

“Of course, she was merely mimicking a friend!!”

They had let their guard down. Upon realizing it was a ghost, they should have dealt with it at once.

“I will kill you, I will destroy you!”

“You fake!”

-SLASH!

The tank ghost was cut down in an instant. Its remains dissolved into the ground as if it were water.

“The Red Zone really is a tough place to live…”

“To target human weaknesses!”

The Violet Marines resolved never to let their guard down again in the Red Zone.

While the Violets in the Red Zone struggled, most of the Violets settled on the continent and islands.

“The soldiers are strict! Too many checkpoints…”

“This neighborhood is far too dirty…”

The Violets unloaded their luggage in a rented room on the continent.

“There’s really no owner of this island! Let’s try building a house.”

“I’ve got machinery now. I can mass-produce bolts and bullets!”

The Violets began small-scale production activities.

As midterms approached, the number of two thousand five hundred quickly swelled to between three thousand and four thousand. They had managed to restrain themselves, given the many opportunities to use their magical power.

As the Violets steadily multiplied and spread, some of those sailing across the sea came up with new ideas.

“Why should we stay on land? Let’s make a boat our home!”

“This sounds fun. Let’s give it a shot!”