Episode 34: Acquiring the Pistol

"Let's search it out. There might still be supplies."

"Are you sure there are any?"

According to the fax paper, the officers had evacuated.

Hayato declared with an air of superiority, facing Yui's skepticism.

"Winning the lottery requires buying a ticket!"

Hayato had never purchased a lottery ticket.

He had merely used it because it sounded like a good phrase.

"Then we're heading to the second floor. Natsuki, keep up."

"Even if you tell me to stay behind, I won't."

"True enough."

Hayato resumed the search of the Police Station, dragging Yui and Natsuki behind him.

Scattered documents on the floor clearly indicated no one had cleaned them up.

Numerous scratches and impact marks lined the hallway walls, testifying to numerous confrontations between humans and Zombies.

"Was it protection from the police they sought, or just a pistol? Probably the latter."

"Even though it's dangerous?"

"Because the return is high if you can get a firearm."

No human, no matter how strong, can match a pistol.

However, the Glock 19 that Yui possesses differs in power from the standard revolver pistol, the M360J Sakura, carried by typical Japanese police officers.

"A classmate who used to play survival games taught me this—Yui’s gun and the standard police pistol differ in power."

"Is that true?"

"Yeah. Yui’s gun has a longer range and two to three times the power."

The Glock 19 has a barrel length of ten centimeters and a muzzle velocity of 380 meters per second.

The M360J has a barrel length of 4.4 centimeters and a muzzle velocity of 260 meters per second.

Effective range is fifty meters and twenty-five meters—double the difference.

The Glock 19, with longer barrel and greater powder charge, possesses two to three times the kinetic energy of the M360J.

—If it had been a police pistol, could I have blocked it with grizzly power?

Hayato looked back, wishing he had been shot with a police pistol instead of the Glock 19.

Of course, not being shot at all would have been best. A suit of armor from the start would have prevented it.

Thinking this, Hayato climbed the stairs to the second floor.

Bloodstains marked the railing. Dry, flaking residue peeled off in patches.

Something lay at the landing. A grimy jacket.

—What was this place for?

—Hayato?

—Hmm?

—I’m scared of horror.

—...Sorry.

Hayato apologized to Yui and ignored the jacket, ascending the stairs.

At the end of the second-floor corridor, two zombies lay with their heads destroyed.

—The broken window glass was likely for scent concealment during exploration.

While searching the second and third floors, Hayato encountered ten zombies and dispatched each one.

The groaning approach of zombies was not a threat to Hayato.

But Yui’s stress check would have long exceeded the limit.

Natsuki remained silent after saying she absolutely would not, so she was certainly not fine.

—Roughly speaking, it would be better to cut the search short without detailed inspection.

Eventually, Hayato stepped onto the top floor, the fourth.

The fourth-floor hallway was dim, sunlight filtering through the windows lifting dust into the air.

Rain or wind had peeled back parts of the wall posters.

Hayato opened the door to the first room and visually inspected the interior.

Before searching inside, he heard a dragging footstep from the far end of the hallway.

Hayato slowly closed the open door and stepped back into the hallway.

From the far end emerged a zombie wearing a police officer’s uniform.

—A police officer zombie.

Hayato’s gaze fixed on the pistol at the zombie’s waist.

There it was—the pistol he had been searching for.

In the next moment, Hayato ran.

He drew a spear from his spatial storage and slid the tip through the air.

The sensation of cutting flesh remained in his hand. The sound of the police officer zombie slamming into the fourth-floor wall echoed heavily through the hallway.

The spear, raised in quick succession, struck the zombie’s head like a falling meteor.

"Could there be something deeper?"

Hayato, having taken the pistol from the zombie, gave a slight smile and glanced back.

Yui, still reluctant, showed a protest in her expression.

"Shall we proceed?"

There was no way Yui and the others would make it back alone.

With a look that said, "Remember this," she followed reluctantly.

Doors lined the hallway. Most were slightly ajar, revealing signs of disorder within.

Hayato moved forward, checking each door one by one, leading Yui and Natsuki.

It was a disappointment for Hayato, but a fortunate turn for Yui and Natsuki, as no police zombies appeared after that.

At the far end, a door of heavier construction stood.

He grasped the handle and pulled. It did not open when pulled, nor when pushed.

"Locked."

Below the door handle, a keyhole was present. It appeared designed to be locked by turning the mechanism.

The heavy door bore marks of zombie impact.

Possibly, someone had fled inside.

“What now?”

“Only one way.”

Hayato, questioned by Yui, withdrew his spear from his side.

After a brief pause, he donned work gloves he had acquired earlier at the Home Center.

“You carry all sorts of things.”

Natsuki remarked, impressed by the gloves Hayato produced.

“These were for barter. I sought them in exchange for crop seeds during trade with the Fog Farm.”

“Good thing I said no.”

“Indeed. Useful.”

Hayato, gloves on, raised the spear and brought it down with force.

A dull thud echoed. The door handle snapped at its base.

“What’s the tip made of?”

“Damascus steel.”

The spear tip, raised again, struck with force.

After two, three repetitions, the door handle cracked and fell.

Where the handle had been, a hole remained.

“What now?”

“Stick your fingers in and turn the lock beneath the handle with the ratchet set.”

Hayato selected a metal rod of unknown name from the ratchet set he had pulled from spatial storage, then returned it to storage.

He inserted his index and middle fingers into the hole where the handle had been.

From spatial storage, he retrieved the rod, clamped it between his fingertips, pressed the lock’s hook from above, and managed to open the door.

“Hah, it’s open.”

Hayato pushed the door open with the removed lock, entering the room—a clumsy method, like training a chimpanzee to use tools.

The desk beside the door lay on its side, likely placed there as reinforcement against zombie intrusion.

The other side probably did not expect an invasion forced by grizzly power.

Inside the room, a skeletal corpse lay sprawled, shot in the head, one hand still gripping a pistol.

"……Skeletal?"

Next to the clearly non-zombie body, a sheet of paper lay, resembling a final message.

Hayato approached, picked up the paper, and read its contents.

It was a report, intended for the police, describing a rediscovery of self.

The deceased officer had been a patrol officer. He had arrived at the Police Station with a zombie officer outside the room, but found the station personnel had already moved, unable to rendezvous.

Then his companion had been bitten by a zombie. He had barricaded himself in the room alone.

The reason for suicide was that escaping with one pistol while eliminating multiple Zombies was impossible, and he wished to avoid becoming a Zombie himself.

"First, I understand the situation."

Hayato took the pistol from the skeletal police officer.

He opened the cylinder and counted the remaining rounds.

Four rounds remained.

"Two pistols, nine rounds total, including the one from earlier. Not bad."

"Yeah, yeah, good work."

"I think that's enough."

Complaints and grievances followed in rapid succession from the companions in response to the progress report.

Hayato raised both hands to signal surrender.

"This room blocked Zombie intrusion. We'll rest here today. I'll clear all Zombies and corpses on the fourth floor."

"...Huh?"

"It's already evening. Sleeping in the vehicle is less safe. All Zombies in the Police Station are eliminated now."

Hayato looked between Yui and Natsuki, seeking agreement.

When no response came, he pressed on.

"This room's door hole will be sealed and locked. The fourth floor stairs will be blocked with desks gathered from inside the station. We have an inverter generator and water, so we can use the toilet too..."

He presented the favorable conditions, appeasing them. That day, they decided to rest at the Police Station.