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POV Isao Tsumugi
"Is there any news, Yuriko?" Souichiro's eyebrow twitched slightly, but frankly, I didn't give a damn about what he was feeling. I am, for all intents and purposes, his "Master," and there isn't a thing he can do about me being so familiar with his wife.
"Everything is in order, Isao-sama. Civilians were found inside, as well as one officer with a handgun. They were quite calm, so we were able to establish contact, and now they wish to join us as well," she said, bowing her head slightly as she spoke.
"What about zombies? Were there any in there?" This was the most important question if we intended to stay in this mall for an entire week. If a single zombie ended up tucked away in some room only to decide to bite someone while everyone was sleeping, it would be a total shit-show.
"Fortunately, no living dead were found inside the building. The civilians we found confirmed that all the zombies left the building a long time ago, chasing after people who were fleeing." Her words were calm and helped me relax; I could see that Yuriko herself had loosened up a bit now that she knew the mall was completely secure.
"Then start moving the civilians into the building. Organize several zones: residential zones on the second or third floors so that people can stand by the stairs and guard everyone; a dining area where everyone can eat; we should also set up a medical zone and a workshop. By the way, send out a few groups to check where the trucks are, and... we should also organize a command center to make discussing plans easier." She nodded, and just as she was about to go fulfill my orders, I stopped her by raising my hand. "Wait, I'll find the command center myself. You go organize the other zones. And yes, don't forget to pick those five people whose powers I'll be awakening. You may go." Souichiro's eyes widened slightly, while Yuriko gave me a more attentive look and nodded before heading toward the mall without waiting for her husband. He froze like a statue for a moment but eventually snapped out of it and followed her.
You might wonder why I need to set up the command center myself. It's because I want to sit down and see if the Gacha has one specific function, and it's for that reason alone that I'm going to look for it.
I stood there for a while watching the mall, then stretched a few times and headed toward it at a leisurely pace.
On the way, I noticed that Takashi and the other guys were no longer in the parking area, which meant they were already inside this massive building, likely scouting everything out.
As soon as I stepped through the open automatic doors—which had most likely stopped working because of the EMP—I realized just how huge this place was. It made it even weirder that all the walking dead had hauled ass out of here, but if those civilians didn't die overnight, the chance of even a single corpse remaining was probably next to zero.
I ignored the looks from the people who had started working, as well as the stares from the ordinary people who had gathered the courage to step inside.
Spotting an escalator, I immediately headed for it and walked up the frozen steps, which had also died due to the EMP. As I climbed, I looked down from a height of several meters at the first floor; there were huge puddles of blood here and there. Yeah... a lot of people are going to have to deal with that, and it'll be the non-combatants doing the cleaning. After all, they have to do their fair share of work if they expect to reap the rewards of those who actually fight.
The building was three stories tall. The first floor was full of clothing stores and such; the second had toy stores, home interior, furniture, and various corporate offices; the third floor had the food court and a cinema. The store warehouses are likely on the second or third floors; I just need to find them and break them open. Oh, and I should also worry about candles, since I don't think it'll be convenient if everyone has to huddle around my hands just for light.
I started scouting the second floor, looking for a suitable office. My criteria for a proper command center were as follows: the office had to be large enough to easily fit at least 20 people, there had to be a massive table for maps, a whiteboard on wheels for planning, and chairs—lots of them!
I spent over ten minutes trying to find a good office, and finally, after getting damn well fed up with walking into every single door to check the room, I found a suitable one.
Entering through double doors, I found myself in a medium-sized office. Identical desks and rolling office chairs stood in the corners and along the walls, and right in the center was a medium-sized round table with a large white board on wheels behind it.
Finally, I could actually rest and check the function I wanted. Walking quietly across the floor, I sat in the chair on the opposite side of the table from the entrance and kicked my legs up onto it.
"And now... Gacha, show me... the Status Window..." I whispered, fearing that I wouldn't have a system profile at all, but the screen that appeared before my eyes made me feel a damn strong surge of joy!
Name: Isao Tsumugi
Race: Human
Abilities(17):
Active(4):
Metallurgy, Despair Aura II, Cor Leonis, Rough Knuckle.
Inactive(13):
Shadow Tag, Familiar Manifestation, Hustle, Frozen Lightning, Minimize Me, Soul Read, Flashlight, Bloody Imitation, Wind Edge, Lube Dispension, Bullseye, Bountiful Harvest, Create Water.
Skills(5):
Adept Hand-to-Hand, Novice Polearm Mastery, Adept Kama Sutra, Novice Mechanics, Novice Leadership.
Traits(15):
Crazy Lure, Steel Man, Scavenger, Strong, Pretty Privilege, Magpies Eye, Iron Nerves, Durable, One Size Fits All, Golden Shot, Headpat, Hagmaxxing, Perfect Skin, Sensor, Bloodbank.
Familiars(4):
Snow Tiger, Crow, Divine Dogs, Stray Cat.
Items(5):
Charismatic Sunglasses, Crescent Rose, Ice Blade, The Straw Hat, Nichirin Ingots.
The screen that opened before me was damn long, like a scroll with nearly infinite text. It's a good thing it didn't list the full explanations for every single thing in the status window, or I can only imagine how long the screen would be... ugh...
Sighing, I looked at my active abilities and started picking the most optimal build to use right now while we're setting everything up.
I realized I wasn't going to change Metallurgy, nor Cor Leonis. Thanks to the latter, I could see some people slowly being tinted a soft blue instead of their usual gray, showing they were starting to perceive me as an ally. Their indifferent attitude was being replaced by something warmer and more trusting. There was also a handful of others whose flames were a much deeper color; I instinctively understood that this meant they didn't just see me as an ally, but something much closer—as if I meant far more to them than just a friend.
Aside from those close to me—Mom, Kimoto, Saeko, Saya, Rei, and a few others—this flame burned for a group of people who had been with me since yesterday... specifically, the ones I saved: Shizuka-san, Hayashi-san, Saki Yoshida, the two girls whose father I saved. Yuuki Miku's shade of blue was a bit less deep, but still much darker than those who joined us today. There were also several other women, kids, and a few men.
My gaze, even behind closed eyes, turned toward Hayashi-san and the other young girls... I needed to get tickets. Seeing how deep the blue of their flames was, I knew one thing: they would agree if I wanted to have sex with them.
I exhaled through my nose and covered my face with my hand. Throwing an orgy and scoring a dozen silver tickets at once sounds great, but it might make most of the other people start looking at me suspiciously, not to mention they might lose some trust...
But the tickets... they'd make me many times stronger, damnably stronger... but what would Mom say? Kimoto? Saya? I wasn't worried about Saeko; she doesn't give a damn how many people I screw. But those three might distance themselves from me, which is the last thing I wanted...
I sighed... and you know what? I'm just going to do it. But before I do, I'll talk to those close to me and tell them what I intend to do.
I didn't want to look like a bastard in the eyes of those I'm close to, and I don't want them to stop treating me with warmth. I'm the kind of person who would suffer greatly if the people I love and like abandoned me. Not to mention I'm way too greedy; there's no way in hell I'll just let Saya walk away if she doesn't want to be with me after I tell her my plans. Since I'm an NTR antagonist, I'll use those damn clichés like a real piece of work.
I'm so damn stupid...
Sighing, I got back to the business of selecting the abilities I needed. Since I decided to keep Cor Leonisand Metallurgy, they'll stay where they are.
However, I doubt the necessity of Despair Aura and Rough Knuckles. Soul Read would be far more useful; by using it wisely, I can understand the reactions of whoever I'm talking to. And for the second skill to replace Rough Knuckles... let it be... Flashlight!
Your time has come, little buddy. Heh, I remember when I called this ability useless, and now I want to take those words back. I mean, who knew they'd drop an EMP bomb on Japan? I certainly didn't, hadn't even suspected it!
Basically, Flashlight is going to stay in the fourth slot permanently until we get to the island and get the lighting situation sorted out there.
By the way, if Saya starts losing her mind, I know what can help me... Adept Kama Sutra. This skill is going to help me a whole hell of a lot when it comes to melting her brains, calming her down, and making her more compliant...
Another idea popped into my head: if I have sex with Yuriko-san, will I get extra tickets for the "NTR plot"? Like, I've humiliated her husband in duel and now I'm breaking her mind with a fuck? Would I get extra silver tickets, or just one gold one right away? Or would certain factors stack? For instance, if I fuck my girlfriend's mother and knock her up, would I get a gold ticket for the NTR plus another for fucking her mom and getting her pregnant?
I swallowed slightly and looked down at how the fabric of my baggy pants was pitched like a tent in the crotch area.
Dammit! My damned horny head!
I sighed in slight disappointment at my own stupid, animalistic lust and made a hand sign to summon the Divine Dogs. A moment later, two massive wolves began to slowly emerge from my shadow. Both sat on either side of me, and I placed my hands on their heads, stroking their incredibly soft fur.
"Who's a good dog? You're good dog!" They began to pant, mouths wide open to reveal razor-sharp fangs. After a few seconds of head-pats, I gave them their task. "Bring Yuriko and Kiriko to me."
With a single bark, they lunged from under the table toward the exit, crashing through the door and leaving it wide open as they raced away.
I mentally projected the images of Yuriko and Kiriko to them. They had already memorized Yuriko's scent when I first summoned them at the Dojo, so I wasn't worried about them finding her. As for Kiriko? They'd just find her by her appearance.
In the end, these Shikigami were smart, just as I'd said before.
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