That 19: I kept you waiting!

Pushing past the scattered zombie corpses along the way, we finally reach the rooftop.

The four people we're rescuing appeared completely surrounded.

There wasn't even enough space for a single cat to slip through.

A swarm of zombies, shoving and scrambling to latch onto the mannequin, clung to the truck. Yet, despite their efforts, they couldn't figure out how to reach the four people who had escaped to the top of the truck.

Still, every now and then, one would somehow get pushed upward, its hand nearly brushing the edge of the truck bed.

And just when that happened—

taaaan!

— a self-defense team member would squeeze the trigger.

Behind him were three people with anxious expressions.

I see. All three bore a faint resemblance to Konosuke Hibiya.

Even the self-defense team members seemed utterly drained.

No wonder. A week and a bit ago, none of them could have possibly imagined something like this happening to themselves.

In a world like this, it might be far easier to just shoot oneself in the head than to keep living.

Still refusing to give up on life—remarkable, really.

Phew…

Taking a deep, long breath.

For so long, I’ve tried to live as unobtrusively as possible.

But today, it seems I must do exactly the opposite.

"Everyone! Crouch down and stay out of the zombie’s line of sight!"

Four pairs of eyes on the truck's roof turn toward me at my voice. A few of the "zombies" also glance back at me. Um, you guys aren't supposed to be responding yet.

"Follow my instructions! Quickly!"

As I shout, they crouch down on the truck's roof, each with a question mark hovering above their heads—but they obey anyway.

That’s good.

The zombies’ intelligence quotient isn’t very high.

Like insects, they charge straight toward the one currently attracting their attention—nothing more.

If that's the case.

Once their focus is on me, they should keep chasing me forever.

Since shouting any longer might hurt my throat, I turned on the portable audio speaker that Rintaro-kun lent me.

—Zun, zun, zun, zun♪

At the same time, Western music of a type I've never listened to before begins to play.

"Try to pick a song that's as loud and attention-grabbing as possible."

Just as I ordered.

After the flashy intro ended, the vocals began singing.

It's an incredibly raspy voice—someone from an English-speaking country probably wouldn't have a clue what they're saying.

Almost all the "zombies" on the rooftop notice us.

A creeping, unpleasant sensation ran down my spine.

This must be what it feels like to be stared down by a predator—like a rabbit caught in the gaze of a fox.

First, I smashed the head of the "zombie" that had approached me first.

Then, with all my strength, I severed the neck of the second one that arrived later.

The severed head fell neatly into the center of the swarm of "zombies."

At the same time.

『WOOOOOOO…!』

The mass movement began.

Swarming toward us, the "zombies" began moving en masse.

"―Ghost-san, this way."

My quiet whisper was drowned out by the music chosen by Ryutarou-kun.

Turning on my heel, I left the rooftop of the "Captain."

After that, I fled like a startled hare.

I kept just far enough ahead of the "zombies" to avoid being caught, maintaining a steady pace.

I walked slowly down the slope,

and slowly passed in front of the "Captain."

I slowly make my way along the path toward the shopping district.

Naturally, I must yield the shortest route to the four people I'm rescuing, as well as to Ryota and Asuka.

I mentally simulate the route I plan to take from here onward.

A circuitous path around the shopping district, leading toward the main gate.

I considered crossing through the shopping district, but the streets there are narrow and cluttered, making the risk of being surrounded too high. So I deliberately chose a longer route, sticking only to the main road.

As long as possible.

As much as possible.

I needed to keep the "zombies"’ attention focused on me.

It was going to be a long day.