Five heads peered down from the rooftop, each watching the fight below with a different emotion.
Shae Harris was elated at the idea of superpowers.
She hoped there were evolved zombies too—and wondered if she could earn more EXP by farming them.
Ming Jun, on the other hand, was alarmed.
The existence of superpowers wasn't exciting to him, especially because those people didn't look like good guys.
He had read enough to understand what it meant when one man was pushed forward like that.
He was bait.
Wei Zhi watched with a growing sense of fear.
He had always known that humans could be despicable—willing to toss others to their deaths if it was convenient.
Now, seeing those three men in the stronger position force the weaker one to the front, that fear grew stronger.
He feared those with power. Especially the kind that could crush him without trying.
Mori Aoi felt a mix of fear and concern.
It wasn't compassion that stirred in her—it was the sick feeling of witnessing someone be sacrificed.
She had never seen violence that ended in death.
Watching someone be pushed into it made her stomach churn.
…But mostly, it made her afraid. She turned her eyes away.
She couldn't bear to watch the zombies tear into the young man.
Noi Karn was silent as always.
He already knew the evil that lived in the human heart.
But he also knew he didn't have the strength to fight it. Besides, he wasn't selfless enough to throw his life away.
Still… if an opportunity arose, maybe he would help.
That idea was common among the five of them.
They watched injustice unfold with fear and a conscience that wouldn't let them fully ignore it.
It's always harder to turn away when it's right in front of you.
But most people only act when they have the power to—and they didn't.
There was no need to either, because the young man suddenly turned the situation around.
They were all stunned.
Against all odds, the young man managed to kill the other three.
Then came complex emotions.
Yes, they had tried to kill him. So it was fair that he killed them back… right?
But they had grown up in a civilized society. Killing wasn't something they could easily accept. They were just kids.
Kids with injured souls. Kids who had seen too much and grown up too fast.
But kids nonetheless.
Wei Zhi looked away the moment the young man stabbed the arrogant one.
Mori Aoi had turned away earlier, but she still heard the screams and the sound of zombies tearing flesh.
She doubled over, heaving—though there was nothing in her stomach to throw up.
The others felt it too, like it was contagious. Nausea, guilt, fear.
Even Shae Harris, who had felt that it was all just a game, felt like throwing up.
It was fine risking her own life, but watching someone else die—so brutally—was something else entirely.
Noi Karn shared a similar thought. He could offer his life for revenge.
But watching a human being get torn to shreds made him uncomfortable.
…Unless it was someone from the Noi family.
Then, he would watch with relish.
After they recovered a little, they turned back to the scene—just in time to see the young man glance up at the roof and smile.
They panicked and ducked.
For a while, there was no sound.
Shae Harris, always the boldest, lifted her head.
"Is he still there?" Ming Jun whispered.
"I don't see anyone. But his van is still there," she replied, standing tall now.
Ming Jun peeked over the edge. She wasn't lying.
The others followed one by one to stand up and gaze at the ruins, with Noi Karn being the last.
"Where could he have gone?" Ming Jun asked.
"Who knows. There's no sound, so maybe he left," Shae said, scanning the area.
"But his van's still parked here," Wei Zhi added.
"…Maybe he abandoned it," Mori Aoi said quietly, her eyes downcast.
"It doesn't look broken though," Wei Zhi frowned.
"I'm sorry," Mori muttered, ashamed for speaking.
"...No, I wasn't blaming you," Wei Zhi said quickly, worried she might cry.
"It's settled then. Let's check it out," Shae said, heading for the rooftop door.
"What's settled?" Ming Jun protested.
"There might be zombies inside. Hold on!" Wei Zhi called out—but she had already opened the door without caution.
It creaked open to reveal a quiet staircase.
"See? Nothing," she said, waving at the empty stairs.
"They were probably drawn outside by the noise earlier," Ming Jun reasoned.
"That means we can explore freely!" Shae grinned, then skipped downstairs.
The rest followed—Noi Karn, as usual, quiet.
The building looked like it had been through hell.
The many rooms suggested it had once been residential, but now, silence and bloodstains filled the halls.
Some doors were wide open. Others had blood splattered across them. A few rooms contained corpses, which they avoided.
Shae Harris, fighting her nausea, still gave some of them a second glance.
They stuck close together, checking the rooms without bodies.
Inside, they found scattered belongings—broken plates, tossed clothes, half-torn blinds, blood trails, shoe marks. Desperation frozen in time.
But no food. No weapons.
The building had already been picked clean.
Eventually, they reached the ground floor—and found the young man passed out by the entrance.
They froze.
Mori Aoi instinctively gasped, almost screamed, but clamped a hand over her mouth and ended up choking instead.
Shae Harris approached him cautiously and poked him with her foot. No response.
"Is... is he dead?" Mori Aoi stuttered.
"No, he's breathing," Shae pointed to his chest, where it rose and fell with each breath.
"What happened to him then?" Ming Jun asked, bending down to examine him.
"Who knows," Shae shrugged and poked him again.
"Stop that—he might wake up!" Wei Zhi rushed to her side.
"He... doesn't look hurt," Mori Aoi murmured as she knelt beside him. Noi Karn joined them, silent.
They had all suffered injuries growing up. They knew what unconscious from trauma looked like. This wasn't that.
There was no fresh blood either.
Only the dried stains from earlier fight
"He just collapsed here," Ming Jun said what they were all thinking.
"Or someone attacked him," Wei Zhi muttered, glancing at the door—it had been closed before. The young man must have opened it.
"I'll check." Shae walked outside.
Sunlight warmed her face. The air smelled clean, untouched. Just like the day she died.
Her eyes flashed red at the memory.
"See anything?" Ming Jun called out.
She returned and shook her head.
"Then he passed out on his own," Wei Zhi said, still unsure.
"So… what do we do now?" Mori Aoi asked.
"We?" Shae blinked.
Silence.
The five of them had woken up together on the roof after escaping the school.
None of them remembered seeing the others before.
Shae had never even attended school.
Noi Karn was blind, so he hadn't seen anyone—nor recognized their voices.
The sickly girl with black hair streaked green and pale green eyes.
The plump boy with brown hair and blue eyes.
The gloomy boy with hair covering his eyes.
The pale freak with bangs hiding her red eyes.
And the blind freshman with messy black hair.
They had all lived similar lives—but never crossed paths.
Or maybe they had been too busy hiding to notice.
Either way, they were strangers.
Strangers that couldn't be fully trusted.
One by one, they subtly stepped back from each other.
"...How about we team up?" Mori Aoi bit her lip and broke the silence.
She didn't think they were bad people. Mostly because she was naive.
…And scared of being alone.
She didn't want to survive alone.
Wei Zhi felt the same. He was a coward—he preferred to hide behind others. A group made him feel safer.
Ming Jun knew that only two kinds of people traveled alone: lunatics who died fast, and protagonists blessed by heaven.
He wasn't either.
Shae Harris figured a party meant more zombies. More zombies meant more EXP. So why not?
Noi Karn didn't sense any malice from the group. That was good enough for him.
"…Then?" Mori asked again, snapping them out of their thoughts.
"Sure, why not," Shae said, stretching out her hand.
"Nice working with you," Ming Jun placed his hand on top of hers.
"I hope we all cooperate sincerely," Wei Zhi added his.
"I'm glad to join the group," Mori Aoi placed hers, smiling.
"…Okay," Noi Karn said softly, then placed his hand on the top.
"I guess we're a party now," Shae said.
A century later, Mori Aoi would regret speaking those words.
Regret them so deeply she would cough up blood at the memory.
And so would the other four.
But for now, they had just met.
"So what do we do with him?" Wei Zhi asked, turning to the young man.
…Only now his eyes were open.
He was staring at them.
More accurately, at the stack of hands resting on his stomach.
They had all gathered around his body to examine him, unknowingly stacking their hands on top of him.
Which resulted in this deeply awkward moment.
Once again, the building fell silent.