A case of bottled water, a box of instant noodles, and two full bags of cigarettes were carried out of the convenience store by the three girls.

Watching them, all sweaty and breathing heavily, Sosuke Kitahara suddenly paused.

He realized he was starting to get used to letting them handle all the dirty, heavy work.

Before the apocalypse, these three girls would've been considered untouchable goddesses especially the Yukinoshita sisters, both from elite families.

Without some extraordinary twist of fate, Sosuke Kitahara probably would've never crossed paths with them.

Let alone having them haul supplies for him.

The apocalypse was like a prostitute it only showed its charms to the strong.

Sosuke lowered his gaze in self-mockery but quickly lifted his head again.

His dark eyes were now burning even brighter.

He believed it.

In the future, among those qualified to be called the strong he would definitely earn his place.

"Sosuke, we've got everything, but how are we going to get it to him?" Utaha Kasumigaoka asked, glancing at the SUV that was still blocking the stairwell entrance.

Maybe the memory of that narrow escape in the hallway still lingered in her mind her eyes were filled with concern.

"How do you expect me to get these to you? You want me to carry them upstairs? A single handgun isn't enough," Sosuke called out.

"Hold on! I'll be right back!" The otaku excitedly ran inside.

A few minutes later, he tossed down a rope from his balcony. At the end of it was a hook with a woven bag attached.

Looking closer, it turned out to be an entire pulley system complete with both fixed and movable pulleys.

Sosuke's interest was piqued.

He casually tossed the bottled water and instant noodles into the woven bag and asked, "Did you build this pulley system yourself?"

"How is it? Pretty clever, right?"

The otaku smugly puffed on his cigarette as the pulleys whirred and spun while he hauled the goods up.

"Sometimes I just didn't feel like going downstairs to get deliveries, so I put this together. Took me a bit of time, but totally worth it now."

Impressive handiwork.

Sosuke silently gave him a mental thumbs-up.

He waited until the otaku retrieved the instant noodles and bottled water, then tossed the handgun into the woven bag and lowered it back down.

"The gun's inside! Hurry up and toss the cigarettes in! You guys better keep your word!" The otaku rubbed his hands together anxiously, his eager eyes shining like a starving wild dog that had just found a bone.

Sosuke carefully checked the handgun.

Confirmed it was the real deal.

Then he tossed the two bags of cigarettes into the woven bag.

"Yukino, you hold on to this." He handed the handgun to Yukino Yukinoshita and glanced up at the balcony.

The otaku was now frantically pulling up the pulley system, his eyes burning like he'd just struck gold.

Sosuke suddenly asked, "What's your name?"

The otaku paused, then replied, "Ishida… Ishida Kotarou."

"Pfft. That's quite the 'mighty' name," Haruno Yukinoshita sneered.

"Ishida Kotarou, wanna come with us?" Sosuke pointed to the SUV that was blocking the stairwell. "If you're coming, I can help you get out."

Ishida Kotarou looked down and shook his head. "Nah, I've got plenty of food at home. No need to risk my life outside. Besides, the broadcasts said the Self-Defense Forces will be here soon to wipe out the zombies."

"You guys should get moving. More zombies are heading your way," Ishida Kotarou suddenly pointed to the street across from them.

Sure enough, a few zombies were stumbling out of an alley, clearly drawn by the noise.

Sosuke didn't try to convince him further.

Without another word, he called the girls and drove away.

…

Somewhere in Tokyo.

In a secluded two-story house.

More than twenty students and teachers who had escaped from Toyosaki Academy were all crammed into the living room on the first floor.

There were both boys and girls, all still wearing their school uniforms.

But their young faces were now clouded with fear.

Megumi Katou was among them.

On the day of the outbreak, most of the zombies had been lured away by Sosuke Kitahara, giving the survivors a chance to escape from the school building.

Of course, many others had stayed behind forever.

This group had fled Toyosaki Academy together on the same school bus.

"It's already one in the afternoon. Why aren't they back yet?"

A middle-aged female teacher paced anxiously by the window. Her entire posture practically screamed agitation.

Megumi Katou, sitting quietly on the floor, glanced at her, then lowered her head again in silence.

Her uniform was stained with dried blood, and her once delicate face was now smudged and dirty.

Next to her hand lay a crowbar, its surface dark with dried blood.

She had found it yesterday while scavenging for supplies at a supermarket.

The food in this house's fridge had been devoured in no time.

After starving for a day, the group quickly fell into heated arguments.

Some even fought over the remaining bottled water students and teachers alike.

With so many mouths to feed, sitting around doing nothing would only lead to disaster.

The grade director realized this quickly.

To prevent the situation from spiraling out of control, he proposed that they draw lots to select five people to go out for supplies the next day.

Megumi Katou had the misfortune of being chosen.

Out of the five who went out, only two came back.

The danger they faced was obvious.

And the supplies they brought back?

Barely a dozen packs of instant noodles.

"…It's been almost four hours. They… they're not in trouble, are they?"

A boy sighed in despair.

"Yeah, I doubt they made it back," the grade director said from the couch, rubbing his bloated belly with a miserable look.

But the others said nothing.

Everyone had been half-starved for days, surviving on scraps with no nutrition at all.

They didn't even have the strength to speak.

Suddenly, a tall boy stood up and declared loudly, "We need to leave this place!"

Megumi Katou lifted her head.

She recognized him.

His name was Yuito Aikawa. He was part of her group yesterday the other survivor who made it back.

His sudden declaration caught everyone's attention.

The students looked surprised.

No one expected Yuito Aikawa to say something like that out of the blue.

Only Megumi Katou seemed deep in thought.

The grade director slowly rose from the couch, his face dark. "Yuito, don't act on impulse. The school bus is out of gas. Are you planning to make everyone walk?"

Yuito Aikawa didn't budge. "Better to take our chances than starve to death here. If we wait a few more days, no one will even have the strength to lift a weapon. We might as well try to escape while we still can. We might survive."

The grade director sneered, his tone dismissive. "Didn't you hear the broadcast? The Self-Defense Forces will come rescue us in a few days. Staying here is the safest option."

"Safe, my ass."

Yuito Aikawa shot back coldly, completely ignoring the director's furious glare. His voice was icy and full of suppressed rage.

"If a zombie horde surrounds this place, can this house stop them? If even one entry point gets breached, we're all dead."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh, you like the story? Wow, who knew. Go ahead, drop a review and throw some power stones maybe I'll be motivated to keep going.

The story's already ahead on Patron. Go there if you want to catch up faster!

[email protected]/_theon

Change @ to "a"