Akira had no doubts about the system's authenticity.
A joke like this simply wasn't possible.
He asked in his heart, "How can I become awakened?"
The system quickly responded:
> [Killing zombies and devouring viral cells can enhance one's strength.]
[Killing mutant zombies can greatly increase strength and has a chance to unlock special abilities.]
BANG!
The door shook.
It sounded like someone was banging on it.
Hinata bravely stepped forward, trying to peek through the peephole.
But the moment she leaned in, the door was suddenly slammed open with tremendous force—knocking her to the ground!
A girl stumbled into the room.
"Nina-chan?!"
It was a classmate from the dorm next door.
But now, her eyes were gray and lifeless, her face streaked with black veins, and her throat emitted low, guttural growls.
She had clearly turned into a zombie!
"Grrrr...!"
The zombie girl lunged toward Hinata.
Hinata's legs trembled in fear. She didn't even have time to dodge.
At that critical moment, a figure rushed forward and kicked the zombie to the ground—
Akira!
Before the zombie could rise again, Akira grabbed a stool and smashed it down!
Once.
Twice.
Three times...
He didn't stop until the creature no longer moved.
The zombie's head was a bloody mess, crushed like a rotten watermelon.
"ROAR!!"
Other zombies in the hallway, drawn by the noise, began roaring and trying to break in.
Thankfully, the door was relatively narrow, and the zombies piled up, temporarily stuck in the doorway.
There was no time to hesitate.
Akira lifted more stools, shoved them against the door with all his strength, and quickly slammed it shut and locked it.
Then he dragged the wardrobe over and used it to barricade the entrance.
At the moment Akira crushed the zombie's head, a faint black light shimmered and entered his body.
A warm, powerful sensation surged through his muscles — he immediately felt stronger.
The two-meter-tall steel wardrobe was surprisingly easy to drag.
With his newly enhanced strength, Akira pushed it firmly against the door.
The zombies clawed at the entrance for a while, growling incessantly.
But realizing they couldn't get in, they eventually began to disperse one by one.
The growls faded little by little.
Akira let out a deep sigh of relief.
He turned to help Hinata to her feet, examining her carefully.
"You weren't scratched, Yamamoto-san?"
"I'm okay... Thank you, Takayama-senpai…"
Her face was pale. She was still in shock.
But when her gaze fell on the mutilated corpse on the floor, she couldn't take it — she ran to the corner and vomited.
Wasting no time, Akira grabbed the body and dragged it to the window.
With a firm push, he tossed it outside.
The summer heat was suffocating — the corpse would rot quickly.
He had no intention of spending the night in the same room with that thing.
Thud!
The body hit the ground hard below.
The noise attracted more zombies.
But as they approached and saw it was just another corpse like themselves, they growled in irritation and walked away.
They only cared about warm, living flesh.
"Takayama-senpai… what's happening…?" Hinata was still trembling.
"If I'm right, this is some kind of zombie virus."
"Have you ever seen Resident Evil?" Akira asked casually.
Hinata looked at him, confused.
She normally avoided horror movies.
"It's like a virus that turns people into monsters…
If you get bitten or scratched, you become one of them.
They don't think. They just want to devour human flesh."
"Eat… people?!" Her face turned even paler.
Thinking about Nina-chan… what she had become…
Hinata felt the nausea rise again.
The idea of turning into something like that was unbearable.
Thankfully, Takayama-senpai was there…
Akira pulled out his phone and tried calling the police.
The signal was strong, but all he heard was the busy tone: "beep… beep…"
Maybe too many people were trying to call at once.
Or maybe… the emergency network had already gone down.
He frowned.
If phone calls weren't working, maybe the internet still was.
"Yamamoto-san, can I use your computer?"
"Of course."
Hinata opened her laptop, an Apple logo glowing on the back.
She typed her password with trembling fingers and handed the device to Akira.
Akira opened his browser and accessed the Tokyo City forum.
The homepage was collapsing under the weight of new posts every second.
> "Unknown virus outbreak, don't leave your homes!"
"Help! At Hibiya High School, students and teachers have gone insane and are biting everyone!"
"Zombies at Sunshine City Mall! I barely escaped!"
"My parents turned into monsters! I'm hiding in a closet… should I just wait online?"
"…"
Akira quickly typed in broader search terms, looking for more information.
It didn't take long for him to realize that the problem wasn't limited to Tokyo.
The entire country of Japan — and even other parts of the world — seemed to be facing the same crisis.
Since that morning, the virus had erupted suddenly and devastatingly.
Places with high concentrations of people were the first to fall: schools, hospitals, shopping malls… even military bases.
The number of zombies was growing, and the situation worsened by the hour.
And yet, up until now, there had been no official response.
"So… all this started while I was in the maintenance office all day, fixing desks and chairs..." Akira muttered to himself.
He frowned, thinking deeply.
"The infection spread way too fast. That suggests it's airborne."
Yamamoto-san watched him silently, listening intently.
"The people still alive... they might already be infected. Maybe they're resisting because of a stronger immune system. Or maybe the virus is lying dormant inside them, waiting for the right moment to activate.
But once you're scratched or bitten... it's different. The transformation is almost instant."
"Takayama-senpai… what do we do now?" Hinata asked, her voice still trembling.
"There's been no official statement yet. That's a bad sign.
If no rescue is coming, then we'll have to face this reality on our own."
He turned to look at her seriously.
"First: shelter."
"Since most students went to class earlier, the dorms are relatively empty. That makes it safer.
At least for now, stay here."
"Second: supplies."
"Without food or water, no one survives for long.
There might be supplies in the other dorms, but with so many zombies out there, going out now would be suicide.
We'll wait until tomorrow. Plan carefully."
Akira analyzed the situation methodically.
Hinata looked at him without expression.
At times like this, he was still remarkably calm.
This senior—Akira—didn't live through World War II, did he?
Thinking about his heroic appearance now was so reassuring!
What a reliable man!
.