"Shut up! Stop spreading fear! Where's this 'zombie horde' you're talking about? I don't see a single one out there!" The grade director barked, his anger surging.

He'd never liked Yuito Aikawa. Bottom of the class, dyed hair, smoking, skipping school, fighting he ticked all the boxes for a delinquent.

If it weren't for the fact that Yuito was holding a fire axe and was still useful, he would've gotten rid of him a long time ago.

"By the time you see the horde, it'll already be too late," Yuito Aikawa said coldly. "It's only been a few days. Have you already forgotten how we escaped the school? If we wait until we're surrounded, none of us will make it out alive."

The living room instantly fell into uneasy murmurs.

Several students' faces turned pale as they recalled the nightmare at the school.

They all knew just how dangerous that had been.

Megumi Katou frowned.

She was smart one quick thought, and she understood Yuito was telling the truth.

The reason she hadn't thought of this herself was because, as a student, she was used to following the teachers' lead in situations like this.

But Yuito Aikawa was different.

He was a delinquent through and through he'd never cared about the teachers' authority. He always thought they were useless and nothing but dead weight.

The grade director was visibly shaken.

The students' unease left him at a loss, and even he had to admit that Yuito's words made sense.

The two female teachers beside him were also starting to feel uneasy.

But asking him to abandon the safety of this house and risk his life outside?

He was terrified. That's why, during the lot-drawing, he'd secretly hidden the slip with his own name.

Unfortunately for him, he held the highest authority here.

Everyone was waiting for him to make the final decision.

"I really am an idiot to have placed my hopes on people like you…"

Yuito Aikawa watched the scene with disappointment and shook his head.

But he didn't bother mocking them further. He simply patted the dust off himself and said, "Whatever. I'm not gonna waste my breath. From now on, we're going separate ways."

He slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked straight toward the corner where last night's leftovers were stacked.

There were only two bowls of instant noodles left barely half a bowl per person with over twenty mouths to feed.

Times were tight.

The others exchanged glances, then all quietly looked toward the grade director.

Yuito crouched down, rummaging through the bowls as he muttered, "If you don't want to leave, that's fine. I'm leaving. I'd rather be eaten by zombies than stay here and play the hero."

"Hold it right there!"

The grade director, feeling the pressure from the stares around him, immediately stepped forward and snapped, "Yuito Aikawa! What do you think you're doing? If you want to leave, fine but the instant noodles stay. That's not yours alone. Why should you take everyone's food?"

"Why should I?"

Yuito Aikawa slowly looked up, his lips curling into a cold sneer as he pointed at the instant noodles on the ground.

"Then let me ask you where did these come from? I went out and risked my life to bring them back yesterday. I didn't even say you couldn't eat them, and now you're acting like you've got some authority over me? The only one here who has the right to say that to me is Megumi Katou. Who the hell do you think you are? Go get your own food, then I'll get on my knees and apologize to you while slurping down your noodles!"

"Yuito-kun, isn't that a little too much?"

One of the female teachers adjusted her glasses and stepped in.

Another male teacher quickly joined her, speaking in a slow, patronizing tone, "We're all in the same boat. We should be helping each other. Sure, you brought the noodles back, but you were picked through a fair lottery. And don't forget it took all of us working together to make it this far. I drove the school bus here, remember? Can't you be a little less selfish?"

"Don't you dare twist the truth."

Yuito Aikawa glared at him, his temper boiling over. "If you wanna talk about fairness, then everyone here owes me their lives! If it weren't for me and my brothers clearing the path, all of you would've been zombie chow by now. Yesterday, two of my brothers died out there. Go on, give me their lives back!"

"Yuito-kun, now you're just being unreasonable. That's not how this works," the male teacher sighed. "We'll pay you back for what we owe, but you can't take the noodles. There are still girls here you'd let them go hungry?"

One person started, and soon six or seven voices chimed in, all ganging up on him.

Listening to their self-righteous babbling, Megumi Katou felt incredibly suffocated.

She was deeply disappointed.

She quietly wondered if she should really stay here.

Yuito Aikawa, now the target of everyone's accusations, gripped his fire axe tightly. His face alternated between shades of pale and red as he seethed, his breathing rough and heavy.

The male teacher instinctively took a step back but quickly realized he wasn't alone he had the grade director behind him and a few other male students standing in support.

His confidence slowly returned as he firmly gripped the kitchen knife in his hand. He glared back at Yuito, betting that Yuito wouldn't dare turn against so many people.

The two sides locked eyes for a full thirty seconds, neither backing down.

Everyone instinctively held their breath.

Even Megumi Katou clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles turned white.

The entire room was thick with tension like a spark could set it ablaze at any second.

Just then

Heavy knocking suddenly echoed from the door outside.

The two standoff groups froze at the same time.

Someone was shouting outside, calling to be let in.

"Wait, that sounds like… Tomoya Aki from Class 1-A! They're back!" the middle-aged female teacher cried out in delight.

She quickly turned to the tense groups in the room and urged, "Stop fighting! Let's see what they brought back! Maybe we won't have to fight over instant noodles after all."

"Doesn't matter what they brought back. I'm leaving this place today, no matter what," Yuito Aikawa huffed, but still tossed the instant noodles from his bag onto the floor.

Seeing this, the others let it drop for now and turned to the door.

The female teacher and several others rushed over excitedly to unlock it, while the rest gathered around in anticipation.

But as soon as the teacher opened the security door, she was left utterly stunned.

"Who… who are you?" she stammered.

Standing outside were two burly, rough-looking men with hardened faces.

Tomoya Aki, the boy who had been shouting earlier, was being dragged by one of them like a helpless little chick. His face was swollen and bruised beyond recognition who knew how many slaps he had taken to end up like that?

Even his glasses were cracked.

The man holding Tomoya Aki tossed him inside like garbage and immediately barged into the house.

The other man swiftly shut the door behind him, sweeping a cold gaze over the entire room.

"Hand over all your food and water. Now," he barked.

"…Who the hell do you think you are, barging in like this?"

Yuito Aikawa, who had been holding back this whole time, didn't hesitate. He charged forward, gripping his fire axe tightly.

The crowd instinctively parted to make way.

But before Yuito could even get close, the man at the door suddenly drew a handgun from his waist and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Bang!

The deafening gunshot echoed through the house.

Yuito Aikawa's eyes widened in disbelief, his body still frozen in the charging stance.

Slowly, he lowered his gaze to his chest.

A tiny bullet hole had appeared on his shirt, and blood was already seeping through, staining the fabric red.

Clutching his chest, Yuito stumbled back two steps, his legs giving out as he collapsed onto the floor. His body twitched twice, then went completely still, his head lolling to the side.

Dead.

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