The Aftermath

There was no time to hesitate. As I shouted, I crouched down, grabbed the white bedsheet off the ground, gritted my teeth—

and yanked hard!

"Fall down already!!"

The bedsheet shifted beneath its feet, and one of them suddenly slipped. It hurriedly tried to stumble backward, but its right foot—

that slick, slimy sole had almost no grip at all because of the mucus,

so... it swayed and fell straight backward!

"Ah!!!"

With a loud shout, I whipped the bedsheet upward! It landed right over the monster. At the same time, because it had lost its footing, the monster

crashed hard onto the floor!

"Thud!!"

"Rrragh~~!"

The monster was still making that noise, and I really was ready to give it everything I had!

I threw myself at it!

That's right... faced with this monster, I actually threw myself straight at it, landing on the white bedsheet. I had no time to steady myself

before raising the fruit knife in my hand!

"Die!!!"

"Stab! Stab! Stab!"

Three times in a row. Each time, I clearly saw little spots of green liquid appear on the bedsheet where I'd stabbed through it,

and at the same time, the monster

roared with every thrust. But the bedsheet was so sturdy that the monster couldn't get up for the moment. And

its slick body was also hindering its movements!

On the third stab, the monster beneath me flipped me right onto the floor, sending me sliding more than half a meter... I scrambled to my feet,

then charged back in with another shout, stabbing down wildly with the fruit knife in my hand, without holding back!

"Stab! Stab!"

After only two thrusts, I was flung away again!

Just like before, I quickly scrambled back up. My eyes could see nothing else. At that moment... my mind was completely

empty of any other thought. There was only one thing filling it!

"Kill it!!"

Again! And again!

The monster's strange cries kept echoing through the room and hallway, and my voice was already growing hoarse!

"Ah!!!"

I stabbed into the bedsheet again. The once-white sheet was now covered in green blood, and some of it had even splattered onto my

face!

And I... still shouted with everything I had, thrusting the fruit knife in! Pulling it out! Stabbing in! Pulling it out!

Until...

"Rrragh!!!"

The monster's... final cry faded away. I put every last bit of my strength into my arm, raising it high

and bringing it down hard!

"Squelch!!"

The bedsheet... had been stabbed to shreds... revealing beneath it a green half-face that had been mangled beyond recognition. The dozen or so eyeballs

that had been on it were all punctured. Yellow and green... disgusting mucus ran everywhere, and the last stab had left the fruit knife right

in the center of its face, almost buried to the hilt!

"Hah... hah... hah..."

I gasped for breath. A cool breeze blew in through the shattered window, and the chill made me realize that I was soaked in sweat from head to toe.

A little reason returned to me.

"Is... is it dead...?"

I asked myself, then shifted my body away from the bedsheet. I tugged gently at it, then kicked the bulge beneath it twice.

Chapter Nine: What Came After

"Hah... hah..."

Leaning against the cold wall, I finally began to panic. That crazy person just now... had really been me...

Tears mixed with green blood and my own blood, slowly running down my cheeks.

Was I feeling wronged?

I didn't know...

Was I letting it all out?

Maybe.

But... I cried... I sobbed uncontrollably until my voice gave out...

I wiped away my tears. I'd cried, but that had only been a release; it would never solve the problem.

Before, I'd hardly ever cried. Maybe it was because I'd turned into a woman? More active tear ducts?

Whatever the reason, after my sobbing, I felt a lot better.

Maybe that was what tears were for: letting people vent, so they could grow stronger afterward.

Bracing myself against the wall, I slowly stood up and glanced at the sunlight outside. It was already midday. I casually took out my

phone, only to discover... it had been broken in the fight just now. The screen was shattered, too.

"Oh, dear..." I gave a wry smile as I looked at the iPhone 16 SP I'd spent ages saving up to buy.

"If I take it to an authorized shop for repairs, it'll probably cost at least a thousand..."

I had no idea why I'd said that, but I just wanted to say something.

I set the phone down beside me and murmured, "Thanks for all your hard work... your job is done now."

"But... my job is only just beginning..."

The sunlight outside was dazzling, but a flicker of determination suddenly lit inside me. At least... I still wanted to live.

I pushed the jumble of thoughts aside and surveyed the wrecked hospital room. I picked up the handgun and the fruit knife. At least... they'd saved

my life. Maybe I'd need them again someday.

You couldn't do without weapons if you wanted to survive in a world like this, could you?

I took Changbai Mountain out of my pocket, my fingers trembling slightly. It was probably because I was exhausted—I lit the cigarette with my ZIPPO

and watched the little orange glow grow brighter under my control, thinking to myself.

I slowly breathed out a lungful of stale air. Only then did my mind clear, though my lungs certainly didn't welcome the smoke.

"That huge fight just now, all that shouting, and it didn't attract any Zombies..." I looked down at the bulge beneath the white bedsheet,

then lowered my head in thought...

"Could it be... these things each have their own territory?"

That might be a very useful piece of information.

I slipped the lighter into my pocket, then picked up the handgun from my waist. Looking it over, I finally noticed the safety catch on the trigger.

Just now... this thing had almost gotten me killed. Sure enough... a weapon you weren't familiar with, no matter how powerful it was, wasn't something you could handle lightly in this world.

"Click!"

A metallic clink sounded as I flipped the safety off. In a situation like this, even an accidental discharge would be better than getting

eaten alive by those things.

But I was puzzled. That monster hadn't tried to kill me just now...

I only thought of it once I'd calmed down.

Otherwise, given its enormous strength, a single blow would have been enough to knock me out. In fact, even after I'd knocked it down,

it should still have had more than enough strength to kill me.

Why hadn't it?

My mind was full of questions... But the moment I looked at the monster beneath the bedsheet, I suddenly remembered what my fruit knife had cut into...

"Could it be..."

I stared in horror at the green patches showing through the tattered bedsheet...

"They want to mate!!"

The thought gave me goosebumps all over in an instant!

Just imagining that thing pinning me down and making some kind of lewd movements over and over made me feel like I wanted to die!

But... reality was reality, and reality told me that they mated... and the most likely possibility was that they'd mate with humans!!

I didn't know whether green mutated creatures like this were isolated individuals or members of an entire species. But either way,

if these monsters had the urge to mate, then in the worst-case scenario...

Aside from those Zombies that were already dead, could any other mutated creature try to ** me?

That was horrifying!