Eishi has a preliminary estimate of mutant zombies and espers alike. Their principal was at the bottom tier, reaching thirty to forty attributes at most. The brute he killed should have thirty, but was enhanced by an unknown talent to at least seventy.
Overall, the changes in the past two days are still within his tolerance limit.
He gnced at the twenty-two or so mutated zombies inside and made a decision. Eishi turned around to the two dies.
“We’ll be picking up someone inside. There are twenty-two mutated zombies around the level of the principal. We’ll be cleaning them up.”
Eishi flicked his hand, a M9A3 appearing on his left hand.
“I will be responsible for the speed types. The rest, I leave to you two.”
Their reactions made him satisfied. There was no useless questioning nor a trace of panic. Everything that Mahiru and Shizuka were subjected to bore fruit.
‘I should bring the rest outside too…’
He cemented his pn to take everyone to familiarize themselves with the zombies. The early stage is not as dangerous as the predicted te stage. As long as they have adapted well in this stage, it won’t be a problem to face the other enemies ter.
The trio stealthily cleaned up the zombies roaming around the streets before entering the gym. The first thing that greeted them was the strong stance of blood.
The gym’s air conditioning units also acted as air purifiers. Judging from the ck of lights and air conditioning, this building cked electricity. Eishi brought out two headmps and gave it to them. He also wore one.
The moment the light source was opened, dozens of zombies immediately stared in their direction. The sight would have chilled an ordinary person down to their bones, but not them.
They stood with their backs touching each other. The impromptu triangur formation closed off most of their blind spots.
Bam-!
Thud-!
Sou-!
…
While they were clearing zombies, Eishi noticed the light orange spot crawling closer towards them. He looked up and saw a female zombie with a gym outfit. Her fingers remained deeply embedded on the ceiling as she crawled like a spider.
Without hesitation—
Pssh-!
Psssh-!
Two headshots caused her to drop to the ground. Eishi severed her skull in half. The mutated zombie crystal she possessed went straight to his spatial backpack.
Ten minutes ter, they cleared up the fifty-something zombies on the first floor. That included six mutated zombies—two agility-type ones and four strength-type ones.
What was surprising was Shizuka’s decision. She went head-on against a strength-type mutated zombie. A single bash of hers exploded its skull, with the baseball bat being turned into useless metal scraps. She was forced to take off her white coat filled with zombie blood, leaving her with gray long-sleeves along with her bck scks.
“Be more careful, Hiratsuka-sensei. We still haven’t tested whether Mahiru’s power works on zombie bites and scratches.”
“...Mhm.”
Eishi handed her one of the Tang Daos he bought. It is a double-edged sword that needs zero skill to handle—in sharp contrast to curved bdes like katanas.
Seeing this fueled Mahiru with greater power.
‘I don’t want to be a burden!’
The clearing of the second floor became smoother. The preliminary cooperation between the three made it easier to spot and deal with dangers.
This time, Shizuka easily dealt with the agility-type mutated zombies. The downtime of her [Martial God] power was non-existent due to the endless supply of [Stamina Restoration Pills]. It takes effect instantly, allowing her to rampage through the battlefield.
“Eishi-kun! A survivor.”
Mahiru called him to the gym’s restroom. His eyes met with Shizuka’s, with the tter staying to guard the entrance.
Once he entered, he saw the survivor. It was a man with a pair of bck shirt and shorts. One of his shoes was missing. A noticeable bite mark on his right leg appeared.
“H-help…”
The man’s teeth cttered, as if he was feeling an extreme cold.
Eishi met Mahiru’s eyes. He knew what she wanted to do.
“Do it.”
Under her palms, the man’s leg was enveloped in a soft golden glow. Bright green particles gathered from nowhere before being sucked inside the bite wound. The patch of red and bck soon disappeared.
Mahiru’s face turned slightly pale. The man’s pale complexion, however, disappeared.
‘It’s a success.’
“What bit you?”
“A-ah?”
“Is it the strong one? Or the weak one?”
“T-the weak ones.”
Eishi nodded at his answer.
‘Her power can reverse ordinary zombie bites.”
One [Stamina Restoration Pill] reversed her current condition.
“You can choose to wait until we clear the building. You can also choose to fight the zombies. Goodluck.”
“W-wait!”
The man swiftly crawled to Eishi’s leg.
“Please take me with you!”
“No.”
“Please!”
“No.”
Eishi’s current body is nothing short of steel. He easily dispersed the man’s hold over him. Mahiru saw this and said nothing else. She wasn’t stupid. Saving the man’s life is already enough goodwill.
They were about to leave when Eishi saw a faint orange spot appear on the man’s pce.
‘This bastard..! I will make him pay some—’
Pssh-!
A bullet to the man’s head ended his thoughts. Mahiru’s eyes widened at Eishi’s act. She inadvertently recalled the faint orange light on the corner of her eyes and understood his reason.
“We cannot be merciful to future enemies. If I am not here… if you did not have your strength, would these evil people have second thoughts?”
In actuality, Eishi did not need to speak. Mahiru’s mature mind already internalized what happened. The thought of being forced into those cruel acts chilled down her spine.
This encounter did not hinder the rest of the clean-up. The remaining two floors, a literal zombie den, were cleared by the three of them. The inhuman advantage of a hundred-plus spirit and insane physical attributes created a huge chasm between them and the zombies. Shizuka’s status as a stat monster made their status unshakeable.
Soon, Eishi reached the entrance to the fourth floor locker room. Two bright green spots are present beyond the iron door.
After a message, the door was opened from the other side.
*****
Saeko and Megumi never left the locker room in the past two days. They originally had that intention until they saw the horrifying scene outside. The tide of zombies in the city pza was so huge zombies kept being pushed onto opened buildings. The original few dozen inside the gym instantly increased to nearly two hundred.
The thought of fighting against two hundred zombies in a cramped space, with no weapons at that, made them reconsider their pns.
It wasn’t until Eishi announced his supposed rescue that they put their hopes on him. Hearing it was one thing. To see it actually happen right before their eyes is something else.
Saeko’s eyes were drawn on the bloody scene outside, and then the spshes of blood all over Eishi’s jacket. The intimidating bck crystal longsword on his right hand instantly stole her attention.
“The zombies outside are cleared. We need to move fast. I suspect other zombies might be drawn in by the bloody scent here…”
Eishi kept his attention on the two girls. Megumi’s eyes never left him. Saeko was attracted by the longsword on his hand.
[Megumi Kato]
Innate Talent: Forgotten One (SSS, First-order)
Non-exclusive Talent: None
Life Level: First-order, One-star
Strength: 7 > 17
Agility: 9 > 19
Constitution: 5 > 15
Spirit: 13 > 123
‘...Well.’
He felt somewhat underwhelmed at Megumi’s status. For the only other person to have a triple S rated talent, she is way below the strength of Mahiru and Shizuka.
“Refrain from using your talent, Kato-san. I might…”
“Got it.”
The extreme caution in Eishi’s head never stopped. The adrenaline rush brought by killing zombies stimuted his other desires.
Seeing the two in tight-fitting gym clothes made him pause momentarily. He turned around to suppress the burning feeling on his lower waist.
‘No wonder it’s more prevalent in apocalyptic stories I have seen…’
Humans are inevitably stressed. Releasing them through sexual intercourse is one way to cope, more so in a zombie apocalypse.
“No need to pack things. We don’t ck them. Also…”
He handed out a baseball bat and a katana to Megumi and Saeko, respectively. The tter’s eyes shone as she examined it.
When the three left the locker room, they saw Mahiru and Shizuka resting on clean benches. The hundred or so corpses on the fourth floor y lifelessly. The prominent bloody stench made Megumi gag, though she did not vomit. A certain portion of the bloody smell seeped through the locker room which helped her adapt.
As for Saeko, she had no reaction at all.
‘A born warrior… or a psychopath.’
Eishi didn’t mind her disposition. He knew she would be one of his strongest helpers.
After a round of thinking, he decided to give Saeko a cherry evolution fruit. He refrained from giving one to Megumi; he wanted to wait until they were trustworthy enough to receive the Gene Correction Serum.
As far as ‘favorability’ goes, Airi and Mahiru are both maxed out. Haruno has a bit of gray left, but it is high enough to be trusted. Shizuka needed no expnation; her consistent assistance to Eishi proved everything.
“This is?”
“Eating that fruit awakens your superpower.”
“I have one?”
“Mhm.”
A yer of blood and grime came out of her sweaty body. The tight fitting gym bra and shorts that she wore looked less ‘tantalizing’ with such a smell.
[Saeko Busujima]
Innate Talent: Blood Predator (SS, First-order)
Non-exclusive Talent: None
Life Level: First-order, One-star
Strength: 28 > 38
Agility: 34 > 44
Constitution: 28 > 38
Spirit: 15 > 125
“Let’s leave this pce.”
*****
The streets within the city pza were peaceful until a fight broke out. Two groups of survivors foolishly duked it out. Eishi and the rest observed them from a distance.
To his surprise, there are five espers on both sides. The one with three espers could not win against the side with the two espers.
‘Fme, frost, metal, a sound attack, and a pure agility one.’
Their presence could not remain hidden for long. The two groups saw Eishi with the entourage of girls.
They did not have any intention of interfering when a group of people walked towards them. Their makeshift weapons, ranging from metal pipes to crowbars, are brandished in full view.
The disadvantaged one was composed of blue-colred workers; they did not do anything. It was the advantaged one composed of yakuza-like people that did.
Seeing the faint orange light they emanated, Eishi sealed their fate.
“They don’t have good intentions. I am leaving them to you three.”
Mahiru and Shizuka nodded at his words. Saeko looked bewildered before realizing something. She tacitly accepted Eishi’s assignment.
“Hello, beauties—”
Bam-!
The bright red aura surrounding Shizuka was not for show. Her figure turned into a fsh before arriving in front of the foul-mouthed yakuza. One strike ter, his head flew high. Shizuka’s efficiency was high; she cut through a dozen armed people like vegetables.
Mahiru wasn’t to be outdone. She was hesitant at first, using the blunt edge of the bat to strike at their stomachs, but she underestimated her current strength.
When she saw one of them drop dead, her heart no longer held reservations. She gritted her teeth and continued dealing with them.
Saeko was the abnormal one. Her attitude equaled Shizuka's and Mahiru’s roller-coaster-like mental fatigue this morning. While she remained dead-st on the kill-count, Eishi admired her attitude.
Megumi underwent the typical attitude of seeing a murder for the first-time. She subconsciously gripped his right arm as she gagged.
Perhaps a level-up to his scumbagness, Eishi touched her hands and gently caressed them. Her grip over his sleeves lightened, a sense of comfort filling her heart.
The three girls did not stop at the dozen yakuzas. They went straight to the battlefield, and killed the three yakuza espers. The leader amongst the blue-colred workers wanted to strike a conversation with them, only to be denied by Shizuka.
Still, they bowed towards their direction.
‘No orange.’
Seeing no two-faced intent, Eishi felt satisfied.
Their journey continued after that. They stopped on several unopened warehouses at times, filling Eishi’s spatial backpack with 100,000 cubic meters’ worth of supplies. Strutting through a quarter of the city pza took four hours, to which they saw a noticeable increase of zombies.
Eishi called off the search and had everyone board the nd rover.
It was currently 3-o-clock in the afternoon. Driving back to the vil takes two hours.
‘I should fulfill her request…’
Knowing Haruno, she would be grateful once Eishi saves her sister. It also helps that her sister is a guaranteed triple S rated confidante.
He continued driving to an unfamiliar route, remaining oblivious to the strange atmosphere brewing between the four women.
