Under normal circumstances, Sosuke Kitahara, having already reached Tier Two, would've preferred to act alone he could move more efficiently without dead weight. But he couldn't stop thinking about Mrs. Yuigahama, and there was no way he'd leave her behind in that condition.

Luckily, the group of men he was dealing with had their own ulterior motives. Once Sosuke laid out his proposal, it didn't take much convincing to get them to agree.

About thirty minutes later, after everyone had inspected their weapons and drafted a basic strategy, they were fully geared up and gathered at the airport's exit. As the heavy metal doors creaked open, the worried gazes of the women inside followed them to the threshold.

"Sosuke... Please come back safe."

Mrs. Yuigahama sat weakly inside the bookstore, watching as they disappeared onto the jet bridge.

…

Sosuke slung his rifle and moved past the first two men, quickly reaching the far end of the bridge. When he peeked over the edge, the sight below nearly made his scalp tingle.

The swarm was even denser than it looked from the terminal windows. Packed together like a sea of rotting flesh, the zombies clustered just beneath their feet.

"That's... a lot of them."

Letting out a slow, shaky breath, Sosuke drew a sharp folding knife from his belt and held it up for the others to see with a casual smile.

"So? Any volunteers? If not, we settle this like men rock-paper-scissors, loser bleeds."

"No need for games. We're not women we don't scare that easy. I'll go."

Keiichiro Kadokawa stepped forward, snatched the knife without hesitation, and calmly sliced his own forearm. Deep red blood immediately welled up from the wound.

Maeda Shinji hurriedly uncapped the glass bottle he'd prepared, letting the blood drip in. Once the bottom of the bottle was coated, Sosuke stepped in and expertly wrapped Kadokawa's arm in gauze.

Credit where it was due Kadokawa might have a screw loose, but when it came down to action, he didn't hesitate. Meanwhile, the pampered types from the airport had gone pale at just the mention of bloodletting.

"These damn zombies are gonna feast tonight," Kadokawa grunted. "But... is this really enough blood? Feels like they'll lick it clean in seconds."

He peered down at the horde below, already growing agitated at the scent of blood. Snarls and guttural howls echoed upward.

Hiramiya, the bespectacled man, suddenly snatched the knife from Sosuke and cut into his own arm without a word. He filled the bottle to match Kadokawa's contribution. The two streams of blood mingled together into a dark swirl.

"Didn't expect that from you," Sosuke remarked, raising an eyebrow in approval and giving him a thumbs-up as he bandaged him.

Hiramiya gave a sheepish chuckle, staring into the bottle. "Weird... the blood's blending together so smoothly. Almost like milk and honey."

"What? You want me to adopt you now?" Kadokawa scoffed, rolling his eyes.

Sosuke cracked a grin and took the blade again. "Can't have you two being the only ones risking it."

He sliced his own wrist and held it over the bottle.

As he did, his gaze flicked toward Maeda and the tall pilot, Aso Kōta. Not surprisingly, both avoided eye contact and pretended not to hear.

Kadokawa glanced sideways and, for the first time, gave a nod of grudging respect. "You're honest, I'll give you that. Fine. I'll admit I misjudged you. Consider yourself provisionally approved."

He reached out and helped bandage Sosuke's wound, not knowing that Sosuke's advanced physique was already accelerating the healing. The cut would vanish within minutes.

Three men's blood, now mixed into one.

Sosuke looked at the group, eyes sharp. "Before we go, let me make this clear this isn't just some random raid. From here on out, we live or die together. No tricks. No selfish moves. If you try to screw someone over, you're screwing yourself."

"Yeah, yeah, enough preaching. Let's go," Kadokawa grumbled.

Sosuke laughed, then hefted the blood-filled bottle.

"I'll keep it short everyone goes out together, everyone comes back. If anyone acts like an idiot... they'll end up like this."

With that, he hurled the bottle.

It soared through the air in a perfect arc, sunlight glinting off the glass before it shattered on the nose of a white jet.

Crack!

The blood splattered across the white fuselage like a red banner.

Instantly, the swarm below roared to life howls of frenzy erupting from a hundred throats. The entire horde surged like a tidal wave toward the blood-splashed wreckage.

"Now!" Sosuke shouted. "That blood won't distract them for long. We've got five minutes to reach the opposite bridge no shooting unless absolutely necessary!"

"I'll cover the rear!" Kadokawa yelled, drawing his machete and kicking open the exit.

A zombie standing outside was immediately flattened by the door. Two more charged forward, ignoring the blood, but Sosuke moved like a predator quick and brutal planting a foot in their chests and sending them tumbling over the rail.

"Kadokawa! Stay alert! Some of these bastards aren't reacting to the bait!"

More zombies wandered nearby, unmoved by the blood. Kadokawa frowned but said nothing, raising his pistol and watching their flanks.

As soon as their feet hit the tarmac, Sosuke took command.

"Triangle formation. We move fast and tight."

The group advanced toward the next bridge. Kadokawa proved his chops every swing of his blade dropped a zombie with efficient precision. Not even the firefighter they'd met earlier, Fujishima, could match that speed.

As they progressed, Sosuke began taking over the rear guard role, mowing down a dozen zombies on his own without breaking a sweat.

Eventually, he stopped even bothering to kill them unless necessary.

"Whew... I'm getting old. If this were ten years ago, I'd have cleared twice this many by now," Kadokawa huffed, leaning against the ladder leading to the next bridge, rubbing his shoulder.

Sosuke ignored him and looked up. A big "3" was painted near the hatch above.

The door was closed tight.

"We're almost there," someone said.

Maeda offered to switch with Kadokawa, but the man waved him off and forced himself up the stairs.

"Wait slow down!" Sosuke shouted.

But Kadokawa had already yanked the door open.

BOOM!

A fireball exploded from within.

The door blew clean off its hinges, smashing into Kadokawa's chest and sending him flying backward. His body tumbled down the stairs in a fiery blur.

Thud!

The explosion rocked the jet bridge, flames surging out in a brilliant arc. Sosuke leapt into the air and caught Kadokawa mid-fall, twisting in midair to absorb the impact.

"Goddamn it! What the hell was that?!"

Kadokawa staggered to his feet, face covered in soot, one eyebrow completely scorched off.

Sosuke scanned him quickly aside from some burns and scrapes, he was fine.

"That door saved your life. That blast was equivalent to at least three grenades."

"Grenades? How do you know that?"

"Didn't you see the paper sign taped above the hatch? Someone rigged it and left a warning. And you charging in like a lunatic. You're a cop, right? You should know better."

"I'm a prison guard," Kadokawa grumbled. "Besides, I was in a rush. I can't read every damn piece of paper."

As he turned to look at the bridge, smoke still rising from the wreckage, Sosuke's rifle suddenly barked to life.

From the other end of the bridge, zombies in black tactical vests came charging out.

On their backs were three glaring letters: S.W.A.T.

They were tall, muscular, and unmistakably American. These were no shambling corpses they leapt straight over the railings like frogs, crashing to the ground and bouncing up as if nothing had happened.

Mutated infected.

"Daka-daka-daka!"

The group's weapons lit up, but it was no use. The bullets barely slowed them down especially with their armored vests. Only Sosuke and Kadokawa had the accuracy to land consistent headshots.

Within seconds, the number of incoming infected ballooned to over a hundred.

"Run! Fall back!" Sosuke shouted, emptying his clip before turning tail.

The others followed, retreating toward a different bridge further along the terminal's arc.

They didn't know what waited at the other end but staying here was suicide.

This time, Sosuke led the charge, his rifle spitting out bullets with surgical precision. Kadokawa didn't argue limping and singed, he was half-dragged by the others.

"Shit! More zombies ahead!" Kadokawa screamed, pointing up.

Shattered glass rained down from the second-floor windows.

Zombies were jumping.

The first wave fell awkwardly, but the ones that followed used the fallen as cushions, landing unharmed. In seconds, they began to swarm.

"Damn it... this mission is cursed."

Sosuke grit his teeth, spinning to look behind. The blood-drawn horde had caught up, merging with the SWAT infected into one massive wave.

Surrounded on both sides.

They couldn't stay.

"See?! I knew we shouldn't have come out! This is suicide! You said it was safe!" Maeda was practically sobbing.

Aso looked pale, legs trembling.

"No time to argue! Throw the grenades! We're blasting a path through!"

Sosuke slapped in a fresh magazine.

"What the hell?! How'd you know I had grenades?! Not even my wife knows!"

Kadokawa, face contorted, reached into his pants and pulled out two grenades, bit out the pins, and hurled them into the mass ahead.

BOOM! BOOM!

Twin shockwaves ripped through the air.

Zombies were tossed like rag dolls, body parts flying. The crowd split open like mud slapped by a firecracker.

Dozens of infected dropped dead.

Sosuke saw his chance, drew his blade, and sprinted into the chaos.

"Don't stop! Full speed! Get to that bridge!"