"A chance!" Tsubasa gripped his Kukri tightly and crept along the wall.
When the zombie was close enough, barely two steps away, he suddenly attacked.
SWOOSH—!!
The blade cut through the air swiftly. Tsubasa put almost all his strength into swinging the blade in a diagonal slash.
The blade aimed for the gap in the zombie's cervical spine and slashed fiercely.
STHUMP—!!
The sharp, crisp sound of the blade cutting through bone was very clear.
The zombie's movements instantly froze, and it crashed heavily onto the floor. Rotten flesh and black blood splattered onto the wall behind it with a 'splat—!'
Tsubasa swiftly shifted his body to avoid the blood splatter.
[Player 'Tsubasa Shiraha' has defeated an Infected! 1 point is awarded!]
[Basic Swordsmanship (0/10) → (1/10)]
Tsubasa took a deep breath and turned to look at another zombie attracted by the noise.
This time, he took the initiative to attack. He sidestepped the zombie's lunge and used his left hand to press down on the back of its head. His right hand swiftly drove the knife violently up through the jaw.
STAB—!!
A clean, decisive strike. Tsubasa's movements were much more fluid. When the blade was pulled out, filthy blood trickled down the groove of the knife.
[Player 'Tsubasa Shiraha' has defeated an Infected! 1 point is awarded!]
[Basic Swordsmanship (1/10) → (2/10)]
On the other side...
Yukino held her breath behind the desk. Her recurve bow was constantly aimed at the distant zombies, but she didn't shoot rashly. Only when a zombie attempted to circle around did she shoot an arrow into its knee, forcing the zombie to lose balance and creating an opportunity for Tsubasa.
Although it was their first time cooperating, their coordination was surprisingly tacit.
After successively dealing with four zombies, Tsubasa's breathing became slightly heavier, and he chose to take a short rest. A moment later, he repeated the trick, luring the zombies.
Repeating this cycle, the rhythm remained steady and undisturbed.
"Rawrrr!!" The moment the last zombie lunged, Tsubasa could even clearly see the turbid blood vessels in its rotten eyeballs. A flash of the blade instantly severed the zombie's neck, and the head rolled onto the floor.
[Player 'Tsubasa Shiraha' has defeated an Infected! 1 point is awarded!]
[Basic Swordsmanship (10/10) → Elite Swordsmanship: (0/50)]
[Strength and Constitution have increased by 0.1!]
"Not bad, my Constitution and Strength have increased a bit!"
The moment his [Swordsmanship] leveled up, Tsubasa clearly felt the way his arm exerted force had changed.
His grip on the Kukri handle and the angle of his slashes seemed to be mysteriously corrected. The weight of the military knife felt slightly lighter, and the resistance when the blade cut through the air was greatly reduced.
After getting used to his new stats and abilities, Tsubasa continued to exterminate the zombies.
Before long, they finally finished dealing with the last zombie in the third floor corridor.
Tsubasa let out a long breath, feeling a slight ache in the web of his hand. When he turned around, he noticed the door to the classroom diagonally across was ajar.
A blue canvas schoolbag lay on the floor inside the door. The edges were dusty, and the zipper was half-open.
Tsubasa walked over, picked it up, and unzipped it to check. Inside, he found a blank notebook, two ballpoint pens, a small unopened packet of biscuits, and even half a packet of wet tissues hidden in the inner pocket.
"I just happened to need something to put things in." A smile appeared on his lips as Tsubasa muttered to himself and quickly put on the canvas bag.
While he was at it, he searched the classroom and found a portable backpack for Yukino as well.
✱✱✱
After leaving the classroom, the two continued down the corridor.
Turning the corner, they noticed the bulletin board on the wall hadn't been completely destroyed by the zombies.
Tsubasa walked over and wiped away the bloodstains and dust from the bulletin board.
A yellowed school floor plan immediately became visible. It clearly marked the major areas of the entire teaching building.
The lower three floors were all student classrooms; the fourth floor was the infirmary; the fifth floor was the laboratory; the top floor contained the principal's office and the teachers' offices.
"Let's go to the infirmary on the fourth floor first," Tsubasa said to Yukino, pointing at the "Infirmary" marker on the map. "We need to restock our medical supplies."
Even though he hadn't said anything just now, Tsubasa hadn't forgotten the young woman whose arm had been bitten off. If the resources at hand were sufficient, he wouldn't be stingy about lending a hand.
"Mm." Yukino nodded. She glanced at Tsubasa with some surprise; it was as if she were seeing him in a new light.
In her impression, Tsubasa had always been a typical egoist. But now, she realized that if he had the spare capacity, he didn't seem as indifferent as he usually appeared.
Yukino adjusted the quiver of her recurve bow on her shoulder and followed closely behind him.
✱✱✱
The entrance to the fourth-floor hallway was blocked by three zombies. One of them was wearing a school doctor's white coat, stained with large patches of dried blood on the chest.
After their recent cooperation, the duo's actions had gradually developed a tacit understanding. They were confident enough to face three zombies simultaneously.
SWOOSH—!!
Yukino drew her bow first. The arrow precisely struck the temple of the zombie wearing the white coat.
SPLAT—!!
Dark, filthy blood splattered. The zombie fell straight down.
The remaining two zombies heard the commotion, suddenly accelerated, and charged straight towards the two of them.
Tsubasa actively met them, and the advantage of his [Elite Swordsmanship] was fully displayed. His left knife blocked the zombie's attack, and his right knife smoothly sliced open its throat; it was incredibly seamless and fluid.
As the other zombie approached, he quickly sidestepped it.
THUMP—!!
The back of the knife slammed into the zombie's back of the head. While it was stunned, the blade plunged fiercely downwards from the top of the skull, cleanly scrambling its brains.
Very quickly, the three zombies were instantly killed.
✱✱✱
Pushing open the infirmary door, a strong smell of blood, mixed with the scent of disinfectant, immediately rushed out. The pungent, foul smell made both of them frown.
On the ceiling, the bright incandescent lamp flickered slightly. The two large medicine cabinets in the corner had already been overturned. Medicines were scattered all over the floor in disarray.
A hunched, withered human figure was lying on the sickbed.
Tsubasa stepped forward and saw that this person, who had a Caucasian face, had been dead for a long time. He quickly stabbed his knife into the skull, putting it out of its misery and preventing it from turning into a zombie.
As Tsubasa dealt with the corpse on the infirmary bed, Yukino searched through the intact medicine cabinet and pulled out two dark green cloth bags from the top drawer.
The cloth bags were sealed with a familiar red cross. They were the classic First Aid Kits from the Left 4 Dead series. Besides that, three bags of deep yellow painkiller packs were placed nearby.
As per the agreement, these items, naturally, all belonged to Tsubasa.
"Well done." Tsubasa unceremoniously shoved the supplies into his backpack.
Yukino watched silently, staring at the bandage and alcohol scattered on the ground. She said, "This bandage can also be used in an emergency. If you don't want it, can I take it?"
Tsubasa hadn't expected this cold young woman to be quite so practical. He did not stop her actions. Storage in the canvas bag was limited; every space had to be utilized carefully. It wouldn't hurt to let Yukino have these items...
✱✱✱
After leaving the infirmary, the two headed straight for the top floor.
The number of zombies on the top floor was quite large, even equivalent to the total of the fourth and fifth floors combined, greatly exceeding their expectations.
"Be careful." Tsubasa muttered, his expression grave. He used the same tactic again, using chalk to lure the zombies out one by one, and cautiously kill them individually.
Around the corner of the fifth-floor staircase, a zombie that had appeared from nowhere seemed to hear the movement and changed direction, heading toward the hallway.
At this moment, Yukino was completely focused, putting all her attention on Tsubasa. She hadn't heard the gradually accelerating footsteps behind her.
Having dealt with another zombie, Tsubasa didn't have time to wipe the sweat from his brow. He inadvertently turned his head and saw the zombie opening its grotesque mouth and lunging fiercely toward the young woman.
"Shit!" Tsubasa didn't have time to ponder how a lone zombie had appeared. He immediately pulled out his Beretta M9 and aimed for the zombie's head.
At this range, a single mistake could result in collateral damage, causing Yukino to be hit by a bullet as well.
Tsubasa was extremely nervous; he didn't have absolute confidence.
"No! I must believe in myself... I can do this!"
In that instant, Tsubasa entered a strange, inexplicable state. His breathing was calm, his eyes were focused, and his heartbeat was almost imperceptible. In this moment, there was nothing in his eyes except that zombie.
"Eh?" Watching Tsubasa suddenly point a gun at her, Yukino felt her body hair instantly stand on end. She didn't think Tsubasa would hurt her, so there was only one conclusion!
Her heart tightened, and she turned around. At that moment, in her peripheral vision, a shadow was already rushing toward her, accompanied by the sound of rushing wind.
The recurve bow was still resting on her shoulder; there was no time to move it and aim at the zombie. Her eyes widened, and no sound could escape her throat. She could only watch helplessly as the foul-smelling zombie's mouth was getting closer and closer.
BANG—!!
The gunshot suddenly exploded in the narrow stairwell.
The bullet precisely drilled into the zombie's temple. Brain matter mixed with dark brown filth splattered onto Yukino.
The young woman's body jerked violently. She instinctively squeezed her eyes shut and felt a wave of physiological nausea, making her gag and almost throw up on the spot.
The suffocating feeling of being gripped by death hadn't dissipated yet. She froze in place, unable even to lift her hand to wipe her face.
The zombie corpse fell straight down. With a soft 'thud,' a scroll wrapped in light brown parchment slipped out of its pocket, rolled half a circle on the ground, and stopped at the young woman's feet.
✱✱✱
Translator's Corner:
This chapter has 1784 Words. Other than the word count report, I have nothing else to share! Thanks for reading!