Sosuke Kitahara quietly observed his surroundings.
The shelter was surprisingly spacious. According to the old man guiding them, it had once been an abandoned factory complex. After some hasty renovations, it had become a safe haven for survivors, allowing them to live on to this day.
"Is that back door the only way out? And all the gaps along the perimeter have been sealed?" Sosuke asked as he followed behind.
Behind the main structure stood two old three-story buildings. Judging by the clothes hanging near the windows, people were definitely living inside.
"Of course! Otherwise, there's no way we'd dare to stay here."
The old man nodded and pointed toward a large van not far ahead. Takahashi Hiromi was carefully parallel parking the Coaster bus. Behind her was a barrier made from dozens of tightly packed vehicles, forming a makeshift wall.
"You see, we don't have much else here, but scrap wire? Plenty. We used all those buses and vans to create the perimeter, then sealed the gaps with barbed wire. If it weren't for Hiromi and her team hauling in all those vehicles, we'd never have had space for this many people."
"Smart. That's pretty clever."
Sosuke praised the ingenuity, then frowned. "But I heard your food supply is really tight. Why is that? Shouldn't supermarkets be easy pickings by now?"
"You're thinking too simply, kid."
The old man let out a bitter laugh. Maybe the presence of a few new faces had loosened his tongue, because he began to ramble.
"Sure, the supermarkets were easy pickings on day one. But do you think others didn't think the same? Everything within a few kilometers was looted dry the moment the monsters appeared. The inner city is crawling with those things now. No one's willing to risk their life for a few canned goods. We've already searched the outskirts inside and out. Now, it's not that we're starving, but we have almost 400 mouths to feed every single day. We have to ration and save where we can. Who knows how long this hell will last?"
As the two chatted, Sosuke and his group followed the old man to a nearby warehouse. The floor here was relatively clean, and there were no traces of machinery, though a few rusted iron cages sat in the corner, faintly reeking of blood.
"You four wait here for a bit. There are some stools over there. Help yourselves. I'm going to notify Oikawa. He and Fujishima grew up together. All supply logistics go through him. With Fujishima out on a mission, Oikawa's the one calling the shots."
The old man turned serious.
"Also, a warning: don't wander off. If something happens, I'm not taking responsibility."
With that, he trotted away toward a room surrounded by a wall near the back.
Sosuke simply nodded with a faint smile. He wasn't here to rob anyone. Since they were guests in someone else's base, he had no issue following the rules as long as they were reasonable.
Still, the locals were clearly cautious. Not far away, two men were subtly keeping watch on them.
Sosuke and the others moved four stools to a simple table. A few worn decks of cards were scattered on top, and two small fire pits were placed on the floor likely for heating purposes.
As Takahashi had mentioned earlier, there were many elderly and children in the shelter. From the moment they sat down, curious residents began peeking around corners to sneak a look at the newcomers. But whenever Haruno Yukinoshita greeted them with a warm smile, they shrank back and scurried away as if they had seen a ghost.
Haruno blinked. "Do I really look that scary?"
"Probably just the blood all over you," Utaha Kasumigaoka said with a faint smirk. After all, they had been chopping off zombie heads all morning. It wasn't surprising some blood had splashed on them.
"In times like these, being handsome is the only thing that helps."
Sosuke chuckled, pulling a lollipop from his pocket. He crouched down and waved toward a little girl hiding in the distance.
"Hey there, want some candy? Onii-san has lots."
"I want some..."
The girl swallowed her drool and ran over with tiny steps. She took the candy, cradling it with both hands.
"Thank you," she said sweetly.
"Hey! Who said you could take things from strangers?"
A flustered young woman rushed out from the crowd and scooped the girl into her arms, shooting the group a nervous glance. Without another word, she turned and ran.
"...Maybe being handsome isn't that useful after all," Yukino Yukinoshita said, hiding a giggle behind her hand.
Sosuke stood up, scratching his head in defeat. But inwardly, he was growing more alert. These people were clearly on edge and afraid. Just then, Utaha nodded toward the distance.
"They're here."
The old man returned, leading seven or eight men. At the front strode a middle-aged man in a business suit, his confident steps making it clear he was someone with authority.
Following the old man's gesture, the man began studying Sosuke's group even from afar. Once they stood, he suddenly burst into exaggerated laughter.
"Ah, our student guests! You must've had a rough few days. But now that you're here, you can relax. You're safe. I hear you're students of Miss Hiratsuka? Then treat this place as your home. No need to be polite."
"I'm Oikawa. Thanks to Fujishima-san, I help run things around here when he's not available."
He stepped forward, casually eyeing the submachine gun strapped to Haruno's back. His gaze lingered far longer than it should have.
This girl's luck was unbelievable to find a firearm, and not just any gun, but a submachine gun. If he had one of those, his second-in-command status might not be so "second" anymore.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Sosuke Kitahara."
Sosuke extended his hand. Oikawa's eyes flicked to the katana on Sosuke's left hip. A trace of surprise flashed through them, but the handshake followed. Still, a katana didn't hold the same allure as a gun.
He turned toward Haruno.
"And this lovely young lady?"
In the apocalypse, a high school girl carrying a submachine gun was hard to ignore.
Haruno frowned slightly, but answered politely. "Haruno. This is my sister, Yukino. And that's Utaha Kasumigaoka."
"Ah, I see. Welcome," Oikawa replied, his smile cooling a little.
"By the way, earlier a lot of people came to watch us, but they seemed really afraid. Has this base been attacked by other survivor groups before?"
Sosuke's lips curled into a knowing smile. He noticed that some of the men following Oikawa had silently spread out, subtly forming a half-circle around them.
"Attacked?"
Oikawa chuckled as if the idea were absurd. "We've got hundreds of people here. If anything, we'd be the ones attacking others. Who would dare come here to cause trouble?"
He shook his head.
"No, no outside attacks. But... we have had some close calls. Some newcomers tried to hide their zombie bites. A few turned inside the base. We lost people. Ever since then, folks here are naturally cautious around strangers."
A reasonable explanation.
After all, death wasn't easy to face. There were always people hoping to cheat fate. Even months into the apocalypse in his previous life, Sosuke remembered some survivors still hiding infections.
"To prevent that kind of disaster from happening again, we added a little precaution during intake."
Oikawa stepped back two paces and pointed toward the rusted iron cages in the corner.
"Please, if you would step inside."
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