Episode 18: Gas Collection

Hayato, having acquired a pump and hose for collecting gasoline, headed toward the central district of Kirihara City.

Not the shuttered street where the pharmacy had been, but the urban area leading to the large Shopping Mall across the railway station.

Kirihara City was, frankly, rural.

The large Shopping Mall had been a rare recreational facility in Kirihara City, a vital facility offering everything from daily necessities to the latest fashion items.

Inside the mall were supermarkets, drugstores, and electronics retailers—enough to complete multiple errands in a single visit.

—That’s why the shopping district had vanished.

Initially, it seemed there had been some resistance.

But against the righteousness of job creation and convenience, the shopping district had been forced to surrender.

And once destroyed, it had revived as a nighttime entertainment district.

The revival of the Shopping Mall, a phoenix rising from its own ashes, was irrelevant. The Mall now drew large crowds.

Countless shops and eateries lined the corridors. Wide food courts and children’s zones were present. Entertainment facilities such as movie theaters and game centers were available.

Cars lined up in rows. People came from surrounding towns and villages. The place was bustling.

That meant it had become a dangerous zone, likely teeming with zombies.

If zombies multiplied, do not flee to the Shopping Mall.

‘Gas station where fuel supply was restricted to emergency vehicles, staff turned into zombies, police failed to recover them, civilians unable to recover due to zombies.’

Hayato selected the downtown area as the candidate site.

The zombies around the gas station should absolutely try their hardest to drive away the civilians.

If they could also chase after the fleeing civilians and eliminate them cleanly, that would be ideal.

Hayato increased the speed of his bicycle and distanced himself from the zombies pursuing the survivors.

Perhaps it was fortunate that Gakugō City was relatively rural. If this had been Shibuya or Shinjuku, there would likely have been thousands following.

After passing through the gaps between buildings that were not high-rises, the gas station finally came into view.

Unfortunately, the zombies were moving energetically.

Hayato muttered an oath, dismounted the bicycle, stored it in spatial containment, and drew his spear.

"Quick strike."

In the next instant, with the target firmly in his sights, Hayato lunged forward at full speed.

The grizzly bear runs at fifty to sixty kilometers per hour.

A beast in human form charged forward, swinging metal sharper than claws.

A dull thud. The first target was taken.

At the instant the second zombie turned, the spear tip traced a new path and sank into its head.

A sharp crack. The second target fell.

Hayato’s feet, shod in running shoes, made almost no sound.

Only the impact of the spear’s tip and the collapse of the zombies echoed around.

A series of sounds rang out. As many sounds as there were, so many moving corpses became still.

Hayato dispersed the surrounding zombies with overwhelming force, then swung the spear to wipe off the blood paste.

The spearhead, which had excelled in combat against the supernatural, gleamed without a single blemish.

Hayato scanned the area around the gas station. Once he confirmed safety, he turned his attention to the metal cover on the ground.

To locate the filport, he would need to open this cover.

"First, I should look for a tool to open the cover."

Hayato entered the gas station store and began searching for tools and equipment.

He overturned shelves, pushed aside scattered goods, and searched for anything usable.

But since he did not know what he was looking for, he found no specialized tool for opening the cover.

Hayato sighed and continued searching the interior.

The counter register lay overturned. Papers were scattered. Various items had been pulled out or taken away.

It was clear the store had been searched, not by an employee, but by someone looking for supplies.

Time passed without result. Nothing was found.

"Can't help it. Have to do it by force."

Hayato returned from inside the store and picked up the spear.

He positioned it against the metal cover on the ground, sliding the tip into the gap.

Using the principle of the lever, the heavy cover gradually rose.

Hayato used all his strength to lift the cover, and finally succeeded in removing it.

But upon seeing the removed cover, he read the engraving: 'UNLEADED'.

"... messed up."

The gas station had underground tanks for regular gasoline, premium gasoline, and diesel fuel.

Regular gasoline was labeled 'REGULAR' or 'UNLEADED'.

Premium gasoline was labeled 'PREMIUM' or 'HIGH-OCTANE'.

Diesel fuel was labeled 'DIESEL'.

The SUV Hayato had found was a high-end vehicle designed for premium gasoline.

Therefore, collecting regular gasoline would be useless for the vehicle he had found.

Hayato exhaled. He moved to another cap and searched for the premium gasoline port.

Three of the five were regular, one was diesel, and the last cap he checked was finally premium.

"Found it. That'll do."

He adjusted his focus. He opened the cap for premium gasoline.

A port for refilling the underground tank appeared.

He inserted the hose. It connected to the underground tank.

Most vehicles used regular gasoline. People likely refueled with regular until only emergency vehicles were allowed.

After that, emergency vehicles also used regular gasoline. Regular gasoline was likely depleted first.

Filling premium gasoline into regular vehicles keeps them running, but if regular gasoline remains, emergency vehicles would not refuel with premium.

Thus, premium gasoline is more likely to remain than regular.

"First, choose the hose."

Hayato selected a pressure-resistant hose from those he had acquired.

High transparency allows visual monitoring of fuel inside the hose, making progress easy to verify. Hayato checked the length and chose seven meters—long enough to reach the underground tank.

Longer hoses reach farther, but excessively long ones may complicate retrieval. Therefore, he selected a length that was moderate.

"Next, the pump."

Hayato picked up both a hand pump and a piston pump, reconfirming the characteristics of each.

The hand pump required manual rotation of the handle, but it was said to lack sufficient suction for drawing gasoline from elevated positions.

The piston pump, by contrast, provided adequate suction.

It operated by moving the piston up and down, drawing in liquid during the upward stroke and expelling it during the downward stroke. Hayato could simply apply force manually.

"The piston pump will suffice."

He selected a moderate weight for the pump assembly, attached the hose to the pump, and connected the components.

Finally, he retrieved the empty water bucket from the spatial storage unit.

With preparations on the surface now complete, he inserted the transparent hose into the fill port and guided it into the underground tank.

Lifting the gasoline upward was laborious, but inserting the hose downward was straightforward.

The hose was narrower than standard fueling hoses, yet it did not clog.

— Proceed slowly.

Zombies were troublesome, but he did not want to deal with them all at once, in a single burst.

Hayato began moving the piston pump up and down carefully.

Gasoline was drawn upward through the hose, synchronized with the pump's motion.

Fortunately, premium gasoline remained.

"Drawing in smoothly."

Premium gasoline began filling the empty barrel.

Other gas stations might also still have premium gasoline.

After confirming the empty barrel was full, Hayato stored it away and started pouring gasoline into the next barrel.

Then Hayato continued recovering gasoline from underground for six hours.