Hirano Toda remembered the guy because earlier that morning he'd happened to pick up Hirano's dropped wallet.
They'd chatted for a bit.
Turned out they got along great.
The dude was a closet military geek like him!
And he knew some seriously professional stuff—Hirano was impressed.
"Shut the door first!"
Before Hirano could answer, the guy rushed over.
He slipped behind them and pulled the door shut.
Random Guy A's panic confirmed Hirano's suspicion.
This wasn't some simple random assault.
Locked in!
Takagi Saya realized at once how vulnerable they were.
She shrieked.
"What do you think you're doing!?"
The youth shot her a glare so sharp it froze her voice.
Yet the terrifying look vanished as quickly as it had come.
His face was again tight with fear.
"I saw…"
Hirano Toda asked blankly.
"Random Guy A, what did you see?"
The youth gave him a quick nod, as if thanking him for playing along.
"Cannibalism…"
"What!?"
Takagi Saya yelped again.
"Shut up!"
the youth hissed.
"Something's happened out there—I just watched people eating people."
"No, those things aren't human!"
"They're monsters!"
"Man-eating monsters!"
When he finished recounting everything he'd seen,
the air in the equipment room turned to ice.
Hirano Toda murmured while trembling.
"So that's how it is."
"Are you saying the outside is now full of those contagious monsters?"
"This isn't a movie, damn it..."
Gavi carefully observed the reactions of the two.
At least the first step was a success.
Next, he just needed to team up with them.
That's right.
He was actually a Reincarnator.
His nickname was "Mob A."
He was the lone person who stayed at the school but had broken away from Jacob's team.
However, he hadn't entered without any preparation.
After all, at this stage of the dungeon, those who could still enter...
...were either greenhorns similar to that man and woman...
...or people like him and Jacob who possessed certain special intelligence and clues.
Though Gavi vaguely felt that the man who had left...
...might not be as simple as he looked.
Buying information certainly wasn't Jacob's monopoly.
He had also bought the information Jacob had.
He had even bought information that Jacob hadn't.
After all, if a seller wanted to make money, it was impossible for them to sell only one copy.
To avoid Jacob's actions, he had started laying his plans early on.
Takagi Saya's personality made her difficult to get close to.
Relying on just three hours, it was hard to develop any kind of relationship.
However, this otaku who teamed up with her in the plot had a personality that was very easy to conquer.
Otakus are simple; as long as you have a pleasant conversation, you become a friend they can trust.
Therefore, after paying extra to buy this special information...
Gavi had directly crammed a bunch of military knowledge just to become friends with Hirano as quickly as possible.
Although it wasn't impossible to spend 20 reincarnation points to directly purchase military knowledge mastery from the Reincarnation Mall, that would be too wasteful.
reincarnation points are very precious!
Next, he only needed to complete the binding...
...and then take Takagi Saya directly to her home, the Takagi Residence!
After that, he just had to survive until the end in that base, which was almost comparable to an apocalyptic fortress!
"So, where are we going next?"
Saeko Busujima looked toward Arthur, who was carrying a crowbar.
The nearly perfect preparation he had shown made her even more curious about this man.
"If we want to leave the school, there's also an exit behind the Club Activity Building."
Arthur shook his head.
"If everything is truly as I suspect, then this is likely a disaster with an extremely wide scope and a very long duration."
"I've already prepared supplies and a vehicle on the way, but just the three of us isn't enough; we need a complete team."
Saeko Busujima nodded.
That was indeed true.
If the apocalypse had truly arrived, then a multifunctional team where everyone performed their duties would be much more useful than a few people thrown together randomly.
"Who are you looking for?"
"The School Doctor. Medical personnel are essential!"
"Understood."
"I know a School Doctor, Shizuka Marikawa. She once served as the medical consultant for our Kendo Club; her abilities are guaranteed."
It was exactly as Arthur expected.
In the original work, Saeko Busujima had gone to find Shizuka Marikawa immediately.
So Arthur directly induced her to say it herself.
After all, as an "international student," he wouldn't have many opportunities to come into contact with specialized personnel like the School Doctor.
If he had named Shizuka Marikawa to join the team immediately after recruiting Saeko...
...it would inevitably arouse the suspicion of his clever senior.
"The Infirmary is on the first floor of the Faculty Teaching Building, it's not far."
Saeko Busujima shifted her grip on the wooden sword from a reverse hold to a standard one.
The tip of the sword pointed at a Zombie wandering in the hallway directly ahead.
She recognized that person; he had once been a member of her club.
She still remembered how, after their usual training sessions, his friends would tease him about when he was going to confess to her.
And his answer had always been that he would wait until he surpassed her, the captain.
But now, he no longer had that chance.
"Can I do it?"
Arthur's voice rang out.
Saeko Busujima looked at him in surprise.
Originally, she thought Arthur would leave all these matters to her.
Of course, she had no complaints about this; rather, she was secretly delighted.
In fact, at this very moment, her hands were trembling with excitement.
Because the next moment would undoubtedly be the most thrilling battle she had experienced since birth—a true fight to the death where she wouldn't need to hold back her strength!
What could be better than that?
Arthur stepped past her, gripping the handle of the crowbar with both hands.
"I want to experience combat too. After all, it will probably be unavoidable in the future."
"There happens to be a Zombie right here, perfect for practice."
"Senior, could I ask you to cover me?"
Saeko Busujima smiled and retracted her wooden sword.
When faced with a request from the man she respected, her inner yamato nadeshiko side was fully revealed.
"Respecting a man's choice is a woman's duty."
The Zombie opposite them had already sensed Arthur and began moving toward them.
The Zombies in highschool of the dead are essentially zombies.
However, compared to traditional zombies, they are much weaker.
For example, they lack vision and smell.
But their hearing is very sensitive; the sounds of a person breathing or a heartbeat can attract Zombies within several meters!
Most crucially, the Zombies are very slow!
Although they possess immense strength, they are not as difficult to deal with as one might imagine.
This is precisely why.
This dungeon appears on the first floor.
If they were the fast-moving, evolving, or even intelligent zombies found in other works.
That would require a difficulty level of at least the tenth floor of the Reincarnation Tower or higher!
But even as it is now.
The difficulty of highschool of the dead is still top-tier among first-floor dungeons.
Otherwise, it wouldn't have remained unconquered for three years.
Seeing the Zombie standing face-to-face right in front of him at close range, Arthur still felt a bit nauseous.
Although it didn't emit the foul stench of decay like in movies, the Zombie still carried a strong smell of blood.
The viral infection had made its face pale and colorless, and a pair of gray eyes stared straight ahead.
However, the Zombie actually lacks vision.
Through its slightly parted mouth, one could see strands of red meat clinging to its teeth.
No doubt, these were remnants left over from eating someone earlier... This Zombie actually had decent features, appearing to be a boy around seventeen or eighteen, but its current appearance made it look like a pure evil spirit.
The distance between the two sides continuously narrowed.
Soon, the Zombie reached a position where it could pounce, and its movements became noticeably faster.
"Awoooo!!!"
It's coming!