Abandon the Vehicle

Komuro Takashi had never felt so desperate. Even when the childhood friend he had secretly loved for years threw herself into another man's arms, he had believed that one day, she would return.

Facts proved that he had guessed right, but not because of any effort he had made for the sake of his convictions. It was because of this utterly fucked-up apocalypse.

Inoue Nagahiro was dead. He grieved not only because the friend he had grown up with had died before his eyes, but also because he was worried about his own future.

Later, when he noticed Miyamoto Rei intentionally or unintentionally drawing closer to him, Komuro Takashi was delighted. For a time, he had even thought the Dead Bodies outbreak was something lovable, because they had allowed Rei to return to his embrace.

No matter what, if he had another chance, he would never let Rei fall into someone else's hands. Nor did he want to survive in this apocalypse, so broken that humanity itself had been extinguished. How he wished it were all a dream—a dream where he would wake up as long as he died...

The whistle of bullets leaving their chambers and the roars of the Dead Bodies rang in his ears. With a numb expression, he pulled the trigger. When he ran out of bullets, he reloaded. The Dead Bodies before him fell one after another, yet another swarm immediately rushed in to fill the gap.

He took a deep breath. The stench of blood and gunpowder had mingled together, creating a smell that was anything but pleasant. It irritated his nose so much that he wanted to sneeze, but it also assured him that this was real. In his panic, the bullets he had taken out fell to the ground. Just as he was about to pick them up, he realized they had already been trampled beneath the Dead Bodies' feet.

Bang!

He smashed a Dead Body in the face with the barrel of his gun, then turned and ran to Miyamoto Rei, who had collapsed limply on the ground. He wrapped his arms around her, inhaling her scent, and suddenly had a thought. If it's like this, dying together wouldn't be so bad, would it?

He tilted his head slightly toward the two figures amid the horde. Their clothes' original colors were no longer distinguishable. Kurumi's twin ponytails were showing signs of being soaked blackish-red, while her jade-white arms had long since been dyed crimson with blood!

"Of course, if it's Tokisaki Senpai, that should all be Dead Body blood." Komuro Takashi remembered that Kurumi was somewhat of a neat freak. Even a tiny bloodstain on her hand had to be cleaned several times.

Now covered in blood, she showed no emotion on her face. Dead Bodies fell before her one after another, like an ice-cold black rose.

He remembered many others too: Busujima Senpai, whose combat prowess was off the charts yet who was exceptionally gentle; the tsundere Takagi Saya; the airheaded school nurse Teacher Marikawa; Hirono Toda, the military geek proficient with firearms; little Shiri Alice; and the puppy he had rescued in his arms.

But now, it was all over. He tightened his arms around Miyamoto Rei as the Dead Bodies roared behind him, while the cold, hard sniper rifle pressed painfully against his abdomen...

"Huh?!" Komuro Takashi's eyes flew wide open. "A sniper rifle?! Right, how did I not think of that?!" As though he had seen hope of survival once more, he grabbed the firearm from Miyamoto Rei's body.

"Mm!" Miyamoto Rei's sudden cry reminded Komuro Takashi that the firearm was still strapped to her. "I almost forgot. Sorry, sorry."

"Hirono! How do I use this gun?"

Bang! Bang!—

The situation was urgent, and there was no time to remove it. He could only press it against Miyamoto Rei's chest and fire. The enormous recoil from every bullet made her moan, but lying prone on the ground, he held the gun as steady as a rock.

He no longer needed to worry about stability. The first time Komuro Takashi used the weapon, it felt as though the gun had fused with him. Every bullet could take out one or two of them, or knock down an entire cluster.

"My, my, that cheat is way too obvious~" The instant the gunfire rang out, Kurumi knew that Komuro Takashi was about to unleash his potential. Seeing those results, she found them somewhat unbelievable, though they were still within her expectations.

The next time he handled a firearm, he probably would not be this absurdly overpowered. He was practically catching up to a sniper specialist.

Kurumi was naturally happy to see this. It relieved much of her pressure. Although the number of Dead Bodies hunted in the side quest kept rising, which was satisfying enough, in another half hour, even she, with three times an ordinary person's stamina, would be unable to keep going.

Looking at the dense horde of Dead Bodies, like a plague of locusts sweeping through, Kurumi did not think she could kill them all in half an hour. Even Busujima Saeko, wielding the Steel Katana, was beginning to sweat at the forehead. If she had not practiced kendo year-round, then...

Kurumi tried to conserve as much energy as possible. In her left hand, clad in the Black Gold Gloves, she held the long spike from the Mutated Devil Ray's tail. It was extremely hard and not especially comfortable to grip, but its sharp tip brought her tremendous convenience!

Screech!—Pfft—

Even without using her right arm in battle, her efficiency in hunting Dead Bodies had not fallen. On the contrary, it was rising. Kurumi's own strength, the boost from the Black Gold Gloves, and the tail spike's sharpness all played a part.

Dead Body heads were like balloons before this combination, while that tail spike was like the sharpest blade. A light slash was often enough to burst a "balloon" with ease!

Of course, if it were someone else, it would not be so easy. Not only would they lack the strength to wield such a short "melee weapon," but killing Dead Bodies from so close would probably make them dizzy. Even if they happened to take one down, the next one would likely already be upon them. After all, not everyone had the courage to face Dead Bodies head-on!

For a moment, the Dead Body "blockade" in front of the modified Hummer actually showed signs of being pushed back. But Hirono Toda on the roof was not so naive. Once Kurumi and the others exhausted their strength, or their side ran out of ammunition, the consequences... would be unimaginable!

Click!—

An empty magazine fell to the ground. Although there were still quite a few loaded ones inside the vehicle, looking at the Dead Bodies filling the street left him dazed. Shiri Alice looked at him with eyes full of hope.

"Wipe them out!" He gritted his teeth and spat out those words, swiftly changed magazines, and continued pulling the trigger!

Seeing the hordes of Dead Bodies outside and everyone still fighting desperately, Takagi Saya grabbed a gun and got out of the vehicle. Hirono Toda, on the roof, was greatly alarmed. He knew exactly how terrible this young lady's combat ability was!

"Saya, get back inside! No one here can protect you!"

"Don't be ridiculous! Why would I need anyone to protect me?" Having just mocked the fat nerd with those words, she turned around and found a Dead Body right in front of her.

"Mm!"

In her panic, she even forgot to use the gun in her hands. Hirono Toda had no time to swing his weapon around to support her either. Just as the Dead Body was about to lunge and bite her, Takagi Saya saw a pitch-black spike pierce directly through its temple!

Screech!—Pfft!—

The impaled Dead Body lost its ability to move. When the black spike was pulled from its skull, bloody brain matter splattered all over Takagi Saya's face! The Dead Body toppled to one side, and she finally saw Kurumi behind it, holding the spike...

"Hirono! Have Teacher Shizuka and the others jump from the roof to the other side of the wire fence!"

"Huh? Good idea!" Hirono Toda immediately understood what Kurumi meant. If they could not win, they could run. No one had said they had to hold this place to the death.

He had great confidence in the wire fence's ability to block Dead Bodies. Even the modified Hummer could not crash through it.

At the very least, he had not seen any Dead Bodies behind the wire fence, which meant... someone must have cleared them out! That side was definitely a good place to take refuge!

Escaping would cost them some supplies at most, but if they held their ground...

Screech!

After taking down another Dead Body, Kurumi briefly glanced at the hunting panel.

Side Quest ③: Kill 1000 Dead Bodies (Freely Allocated Attribute Points +10) 1000/888