Hours before Allen began his return to the shelter, the arguments and fights continued, but without reaching any middle ground, they decided to ignore each other.
Night had fallen, the breeze was light, and an eerie silence filled the streets.
The students in the shelter didn't even consider the idea of going outside at that moment.
In the living room, Taniuchi, the girl with braids, switched between channels searching for more news. Half of them had already stopped broadcasting, and others were replaying old transmissions — government warnings, useless reports advising people to stay home, not to open their doors to strangers, and waiting for the authorities' help.
"As if that's gonna work!" shouted Miura, one of Shido's male students. He had short brown hair and eyes of the same color. Under his jacket, he wore an orange T-shirt.
In the original timeline, Miura had been seduced by Shido's words, falling into depravity. He was quite cowardly and easily influenced, so now that he had no one to depend on, he was constantly nervous.
"Calm down, Miura," said Teshima while eating a bowl of instant ramen.
"Teshima-sensei, how can you ask me to calm down?!" Miura grabbed his hair in desperation. "The government isn't doing anything! All our tax money must've gone into bunkers for politicians, and the only thing they do for us is tell us to stay inside, like this was damn COVID!"
The room fell silent. From the kitchen, two girls who had been cooking stopped what they were doing.
"Toshimi, do you think the world will end?" asked a worried Misuzu Ichijou.
She was a girl with dark reddish hair tied in a bun, leaving two strands hanging on each side. Her eyes were dark, and her figure was decent — not comparable to girls like Saya, Rei, or Saeko, but still decent.
"I don't know, Misuzu," replied Toshimi Niki softly.
She was a girl with dark blue hair and light green eyes. Her figure was even better than Misuzu's, so she tended to attract more attention than her best friend. However, Misuzu never showed jealousy since the two were inseparable — they even had the habit of finishing each other's sentences.
That made their original ending even more unexpected. In the original timeline, they appeared at the beginning of the apocalypse running hand in hand, but Misuzu was caught by the foot by zombies. She clung to Toshimi's ankle, begging for help, but Toshimi kicked her in the face, leaving her to die.
She didn't survive either. Karma struck instantly, as several zombies behind her caught her. That scene showed that even the deepest friendship could fail to survive the end of the world — or human nature itself. Of course, thanks to Teshima, that didn't happen here, as he saved both girls.
A boy with dyed hair like Tsunoda's, but thinner, approached Miura and punched him, knocking him down.
"That's enough! You're safe! For now! Maybe you'll die tomorrow, maybe I'll die, but not now! So shut up and be grateful for that!"
"Morita..." Takashi let out a sigh when he saw it.
Morita looked at him for a moment before lowering his head. "I'm sorry, Takashi. I was in shock from everything that happened and hadn't snapped out of it until now..."
During the conflict with Shido, Toshimi, Misuzu, and Morita had remained silent, seeming to side with Shido, but in truth, they had just been in shock.
As for the girls, they would've supported Teshima if he had wanted to be the leader, but he seemed indifferent. Meanwhile, Morita had always competed with Hisashi for the position of Takashi's best friend.
Takashi smiled, approached him, and patted his shoulder.
"It's good to have you back. We could use another pair of strong hands!"
"Leave it to me!"
Those two used to dream about stupid things like starting a rock band.
"Cut the crap!"
A tall student with a somber face growled from a corner.
His name was Okada Satoruki, a young man with black hair and a miserable fate. In the original timeline, he was already a zombie when he first appeared, so it was a miracle he was still alive.
"I agree. We could all die, and you guys act like this is no big deal," said Korokami. He had a towel around his neck and was completely exhausted after carrying Shido all the way.
"Do you really think that?" said Yuuki, holding a glass of water. "Everyone's worried, everyone wants to believe this is just a dream, but it's not! You can either accept it and keep moving forward, clinging to life, or sit there and wait for death!"
Yuuki's statement left everyone speechless. It wasn't something they expected to hear from the school's infamous gal slut. In fact, since the world had ended, Yuuki had remained surprisingly calm, only showing fear when she had been close to dying.
Korokami looked at Yuuki. If it weren't for her reputation, she'd be considered a top-tier beauty. Her light brown hair, amber eyes, large breasts, and slim waist — it was no wonder that despite her reputation for sleeping around and having multiple sugar daddies, she was one of the most popular girls at Fujimi, only a step below girls like Saeko and Saya.
Korokami silently eyed her up and down with a predatory look, thinking that maybe he should ask for her "help" — at least to lose his virginity before dying.
Yuuki, who noticed his gaze, flipped him the middle finger and walked into the kitchen.
"Huh?" Korokami felt insulted. "You're just a slut; you should be grateful I even paid attention to you."
...
In the kitchen, Yuuki went to the sink, removed the headband keeping her hair back, and washed her face under the stunned gazes of Toshimi and Misuzu, who both looked uncomfortable in her presence.
"So just because I'm a slut, I'm not human anymore?" Yuuki asked with a serious look and a fake smile.
She was used to those stares by now, and she didn't even care anymore. The more she tried to deny the rumors, the worse they got, so at some point, she just stopped caring.
Yuuki Miku did dress like a "gyaru" — that was true. She wore earrings, light makeup, necklaces, flashy bracelets, and decorated nails. She'd modified her school uniform to make her skirt shorter, her neckline deeper, and her socks longer.
It was the flashy attire of a gyaru, since she was pretty and voluptuous. A some point, people started to believe she really was a slut. But that wasn't the case. She dressed that way. She liked it, because she enjoyed it.
"..." Yukki bit her lip in frustration.
The insinuations from men only made things worse, and some didn't take rejection well. They decided to stain her reputation by saying she had slept with them, even claiming she'd asked them for money.
The power of public opinion was terrifying. Once the image of Yuuki Miku as a slut spread, it couldn't be erased. As a second-year high school student, she had lived bound to that reputation.
All the girls avoided her, so she had no friends. All the boys only approached her to see if they could sleep with her, making it impossible to have a normal relationship.
Even, Yuuki started thinking that if everyone believed she was a slut, then maybe it was easier to become one — but then, the apocalypse began, and the world ended.
"Haha... even at the end of the world?"
Yuuki laughed, startling Misuzu and Toshimi, who clung to each other's hands.
"No! We don't think that way!" Toshimi denied.
"That's right! We don't think you're a slut!" said Misuzu fearfully.
Hearing their words, Yuuki smiled. She knew they were lies, not said from the heart, but they were still the kindest words she'd heard in a long time. No...
Yuuki remembered that moment when she was about to be bitten — and her Senpai saved her. He had the clearest, most honest eyes she had seen in a long time.
— "Don't get separated from the group. It's dangerous." —
There had been no lust, no contempt, no judgment about her clothes, no annoyance at her presence, no fake kindness. It was just a normal look — and that alone had been enough to make Yuuki's heart race.
Still, she knew it was an illusion — there was no way he'd notice her, not with all those other beauties around him. Even so, she could at least dream freely, and that's exactly what this girl had been doing since Allen left.
"I hope you're okay, Allen—"
Yuuki's dreamy expression froze. In front of her, a horrifying face appeared.
"Ah..." Yuuki fell backward.
On the other side of the window stood a creature. Its lips were gone, revealing bloodstained teeth. It had no eyelids, exposing its bloodshot eyes.
She had seen many zombies missing parts before, but this was the first time she had seen one so terrifying — and worst of all, it was staring directly at her.
"A..." Yuuki was breathless, unable to call for help.
"NOOOOO!"
Toshimi screamed with all her strength as Misuzu fainted. From the living room, the others rushed over, only to see the monster outside the window.
"Impossible!" gasped Teshima. "The walls were too high! How did it get in?!"
"It's a mutant zombie!" exclaimed Kawamoto.
Hirano arrived in the kitchen with his nail guns. "Damn it!"
The zombie stared at the survivors before pulling its head back and smashing it against the glass.
The loud impact terrified everyone.
Tsunoda grabbed a kitchen knife and pointed it toward the window. "It's trying to get in! What do we do?!"
Hisashi exhaled. "Looks like the glass is reinforced and covered with metal grilles. We'll be safe."
"No, idiots!" shouted Shido, drawing everyone's attention. "That thing can climb walls! Check that all the windows are closed!"
As soon as they heard Shido's words, everyone trembled and immediately ran in all directions.
"Takashi, Hisashi, Morita—go to the second floor!" shouted Teshima.
"Yes!"
"I don't think we should rely only on the reinforced windows! Let's use the furniture to block them!" said Kazu gravely.
"Great idea! Once you finish checking, do that!" Teshima ordered, pushing a bookshelf against a window.
The atmosphere inside the shelter became chaotic as all the students rushed around checking every window in the house.
Yuuki ran to the second floor, remembering she had left a window open in one of the rooms. When she arrived, she hesitated to open the door—she could be attacked the moment she did.
At that moment, she remembered how Saeko and Rei fought without fear among the zombies. She felt envy for their strength—and more than anything, envy that those girls could be by his side.
"Come on, Yukki!" she encouraged herself and opened the door.
The room was dark, but moonlight came through the window, along with a gentle breeze that swayed the curtains. Yuuki turned on the light and looked around. When she realized nothing was there, she sighed in relief, walked to the window, and closed it.
Pam!
"Ah!" Yuuki fell backward. Just as she shut the window, something struck it—it looked like a tentacle, or maybe a tongue.
Despite her tough-girl appearance, Yuuki was an ordinary student. She couldn't contain her fear and ended up wetting herself.
"Damn it..." Yuuki felt pathetic and humiliated. Fortunately, she managed to close the window and save herself, "I need to change my clothes"
....
Seeing everyone running around, Shido slipped away and climbed the stairs with effort. When he entered one of the rooms, he found Korokami hiding in a corner.
"We're the same, Korokami-kun."
"That doesn't make me happy," Korokami muttered, feeling the urge to punch him.
Shido smiled in a twisted way. "Listen, if you want to survive, we can cooperate."
"Huh?! Do you have a death wish?!" Korokami didn't intend to fight zombies.
"Don't be stupid!" scolded Shido. "We'll just pretend to help!"
"..." Korokami didn't even understand why this selfish bastard was saying that.
"Don't you get it?! In this world, those who don't help get abandoned! You saw how Walker didn't care whether I lived or died! When he comes back, what do you think he'll think of a coward hiding in a corner?!"
That was Shido's real reason for wanting control of the group. Anyone useless—or anyone the leader didn't like—would be discarded. Of course, this belief came from his assumption that Allen was the same way, no matter how noble he acted.
"Damn it!" Korokami remembered the terror Allen represented and reluctantly agreed.
Everyone ran between the first and second floors, but they forgot to check the basement—understandable, since basements weren't common in Japan.
The wind whispered faintly through the wood, slipping in through a small ground-level window.
....
Time passed and everything fell silent inside the shelter.
Everyone in the shelter gathered in the now half-destroyed living room. Even so, the house felt safer with all the doors and windows barricaded. They had endured for several hours, but no one wanted to sleep in such a tense situation.
"Are we gonna stay like this all night?" asked Yamada anxiously.
Teshima put away his phone—he couldn't reach Allen or Saya. "I'd like to sleep, but I doubt I could. I don't have the confidence to close my eyes. Besides, going out at night and facing a zombie like that is suicide. We'll wait until dawn to clean up."
"Face it?!" Miura shouted in panic.
"We have no choice," Hirano growled. "We have to get used to those mutant zombies."
Hirano wasn't going to depend on Allen forever. He didn't want to—he wanted to become someone worthy of Allen's trust.
The atmosphere in the living room grew heavy, but no one dared to speak. Hirano and Teshima made the decisions in Allen and Saya's absence.
Miura couldn't stand it anymore. He got up and left. No one stopped him—as long as he didn't do anything stupid, he could be anywhere in the house.
Takashi heard a thud outside the house. "We're lucky this place exists. A normal window wouldn't have held up, right?"
"Who owned this house?" asked Misuzu, looking at the fingerprint scanner by the door. "It looks modern and expensive."
Hirano's eyes gleamed. "It's built in a Western style too... wouldn't surprise me if it had a secret room, a passage, or even hidden weapons, haha."
"It might even have a basement," Yamada joked. But that made everyone fall silent.
Had anyone checked the basement?
....
Yamada slammed his fist against the wall in frustration as he wandered the hall, looking for a quiet place to be alone.
In front of him was a white door he didn't recognize.
This house had so many rooms that it was normal they hadn't checked them all.
When he opened it, he saw a staircase leading down.
"This house has a basement?!"
Yamada's curiosity grew—he'd only seen basements in movies. And since it was underground, it should be safer during disasters.
The boy descended, lighting his way with his phone. He didn't know how to turn on the basement lights, nor did he see a switch.
As he went down, his eyes widened in disbelief—there were several humanoid robots in standby mode, plugged into their charging stations.
"What the hell...?"
Like everyone else in modern times, he had seen humanoid robots from China and Tesla—but these looked straight out of science fiction.
"Ugh!"
He tried to touch one, but suddenly he couldn't breathe. Something had wrapped tightly around his neck.
'NO! NO! NO!'
Miura struggled desperately, breaking his own nails trying to pull it off, but it was useless. Soon he was yanked backward, dragged through the basement window, and pulled into the bushes outside.
He couldn't see anything. He couldn't scream for help. All he could do was feel—pain, unbearable pain.
His face was bitten, the skin torn away. His right arm, left leg, and abdomen were ripped open by hands that tore out his organs.
Miura experienced agony beyond imagination as he died slowly. Meanwhile, a dozen shadowy figures slipped through the basement window and entered the shelter.
Soon, the refuge would descend into chaos.
....
Allen looked at the still-lit streets, wondering how long the electricity would last. Power should've gone out the first day, but apparently, the government had prevented that. How long could they keep workers trapped inside the reactors?
Saeko, still resting on Allen's lap, yawned softly.
"You should sleep."
Allen knew that since Saeko had taken the first watch, she hadn't slept at all. Neither had he—but thanks to the energy bars, he didn't need to.
"Are you sure?" she asked with a lazy, teasing smile.
"Yeah?" Allen replied, already sensing her intentions. With his experience, he could tell Saeko was planning something. But the others were all watching—and even Rei, who shared his lap, was glaring at her with hostility.
"In that case, I'll take your word for it~"
Saeko didn't care and shamelessly snuggled against Allen's chest. The other girls nearly exploded, but Allen just frowned slightly as he noticed Alice had also fallen asleep with the little dog she'd named Zeke.
"Don't wake Alice," Allen said, and the girls obeyed.
Shizuka puffed her cheeks. Kyoko looked away, trying to hide her jealousy. Saya looked like she'd just swallowed an insect, silently cursing under her breath.
Rei, instead of arguing, did the same as Saeko—she curled up against Allen's chest too. Her whole body trembled, her maiden's heart unable to handle the embarrassment. If it weren't for Saeko, she would've never dared.
Allen just shook his head at the girls' antics.
....
...
...
McDragon – I'm really pissed off!
Tony – Yeah, that world's horrible. I get you, kid.
McDragon – No, not that! I'm tired of seeing the girls' bodies all blurred out—it's so annoying!
PersyJ – Are you insane, bro?! Do you want to die?!
McDragon suddenly realized how stupid that sounded and turned pale.
Gwen – This time, he's actually right.
MJ – Gwen?
Felicia – Are you out of your mind?! What if you were the one being filmed in your underwear?!
Gwen – Sorry, I didn't explain myself well. I meant the censorship looks awful—seeing the girls blurred from the neck down looks cheap and low quality.
Diana – She's right.
Eve – Aren't you moderators? Can't you fix that?
Upon hearing the comments, the system quickly realized this was a flaw—unacceptable for a system that promised the highest quality entertainment.
Immediately, the blur disappeared from the bodies of the HOTD girls—but to the disappointment of all the perverts, they were now wearing casual clothes.
[Notice – From now on, censorship will be of higher quality. We apologize for the inconvenience.]
The change was simple: instead of showing the girls in underwear, the system automatically generated clothes that only appeared in the broadcast.
[A simple yet unbreakable spell.]
Rick – Well, what can you do? I doubt anyone's got the balls to mess with the guy who turned a god into a collectible figure and an entire dimension into a paperweight. *Burp*
After Rick's words, everyone fell silent. McDragon closed his interface and went to pray that Allen would never come to his world.
Unfortunately, that wish was destined not to be granted.