I Got Reincarnated as a Zombie Girl-Chapter 73 – The Betrayal Offered

The night passed quietly at Celestine’s base. The fog had lifted, the rubble was slowly being cleared, and the survivors clung to what little hope remained. The villa where Celestine and I were resting was wrapped in silence, broken only by the sound of night insects and the whisper of cold wind slipping through cracks in the windows.

But elsewhere specifically at Sofia’s base the atmosphere was starkly different.

BZzzzttt

The soft sound of a military-grade radio connecting echoed in the room, linking Sofia to a source she had already expected.

A deep, arrogant voice slid through the speaker.

"You’re close to the Zombie Queen, aren’t you? Hand her over to us. It should be easy for you to deceive her. This is for the sake of humanity."

Sofia sat calmly in her chair, one hand supporting her chin as she stared blankly at the strategy board before her. Her voice was cool laced with thorns.

"For the sake of humanity, you say? What a cliché excuse."

There was a pause. Then the voice on the other end sharpened, turning cruel.

"What did you say? A cliché excuse?! This is for humanity! We know she’s reached Rank 4 imagine how many reagents we could produce from her body! The levels we could gain!"

Sofia’s fingers clenched tightly. Her response came without hesitation.

"NO."

The voice turned threatening.

"You! If you keep refusing, there will be no more support from the military. Supplies, protection, intel we’ll cut them all off!"

But Sofia leaned back, crossing her legs. Her voice remained gentle, yet this time it was ice-cold.

"That’s not a problem. After all... this base is no longer part of the military. We don’t need it."

Click. She turned the radio knob and ended the transmission unilaterally.

With a heavy sigh, Sofia tossed the headset onto the table. Her lips tightened, her eyes narrowing with irritation.

"Even after everything... they’re still the same. Still think everything can be bought with threats."

But what unsettled her more wasn’t the threat itself it was the request. To betray Sylvia.

And the fact that her mind rejected it instantly, without a second thought, made her heart pound uncontrollably. As if anyone else dared touch Sylvia she herself would burn the world down.

Sofia dragged a hand down her face, then looked out the window at the starless night sky. There was fear not from the military’s threat but from an emotion she could no longer control.

"Am I... afraid she’ll be taken from me?" she whispered, barely audible.

Meanwhile, in the Central Military Base...

The man who had spoken to Sofia glared at the now-silent radio. His face flushed red, jaw clenched tight.

The connection had been cut.

The system’s voice confirmed the failure.

With a growl, he hurled the device against the wall, shattering it into useless pieces.

"Unbelievable..."

Behind him stood an aide, tense and silent, waiting for orders.

The man high-ranking, draped in medals, with a cold, calculating expression turned.

"General..." the aide said with a sharp undertone, "We have to strike. Show them the cost of underestimating the military."

The briefing room was thick with tension. Cigarette smoke hung in the air, mixing with the metallic scent of weapons and cold ambition.

At the head of the table sat a broad-shouldered man with close-cropped hair and a chest heavy with medals General Ludovi, supreme commander of the central military. His eyes stared coldly at a screen showing the image of the Zombie Queen.

A young officer burst out, frustration in his voice.

"But General! She’s Rank 4! If we can capture her, and..."

Ludovi raised one hand. Silence fell instantly.

He spoke after a long pause, his voice deep and composed.

"No."

Gasps filled the room. All eyes turned to him.

"That Zombie Queen... is still too dangerous. If we attack now, with our current resources and intel it would be suicide."

An older officer leaned forward, troubled.

"Then... what should we do, General? Just sit and wait? We can’t allow a monster like that to grow any stronger!"

Ludovi exhaled slowly. He stood, placing both hands firmly on the table. His eyes swept across the room.

"Sometimes, gaining an ally is more valuable than creating an enemy. Especially... an enemy we cannot defeat."

"But...."

"No."

His voice sliced through the room like steel.

"Do you still believe the world can be controlled the old way? With guns and fear? No. That world is gone. We’re facing beings that defy every logic the military was built on."

He turned and walked to the door, not once glancing back.

"Meeting adjourned. That’s an order."

Thud. The door closed behind him.

The silence he left behind was thick and cracking.

Officers exchanged glances. Some clenched fists. Others lowered their heads in quiet fury.

"We can win... if she dies..."One whispered, as if uttering a sacred curse.

In the shadows of command, the seeds of rebellion were sown.

Because not everyone could accept standing still... not when fear had already twisted itself into ambition.

After Ludovi’s departure, silence gave way to whispers. Real voices. Real intentions.

A white-haired colonel crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing toward the door.

"If we keep waiting, she’ll become a true goddess of death... and by then, regret won’t be enough."

Lieutenant Marius, the young officer from earlier, clenched his fists.

"Are we just going to sit here like cowards? We know there’s a being with that much power and we’re just letting her live!?"

The colonel snorted.

"Don’t be foolish."

Then, after a pause:

"We won’t sit idle. But not all actions need to be visible."

Marius blinked.

"What do you mean?"

The colonel smiled but it never reached his eyes.

"This world needs balance, Lieutenant. And if our leader is too afraid to act... then the duty falls to those who still have the courage."

He stood and walked out, boots echoing through the dim hall.

Behind him, a silent fire began to grow. Eyes met across the table. Heads nodded.

The official meeting may have ended.

But the silent war... had only just begun.