"How is the virus spreading?"
"Air? Food? Water?" Kagehiro Shiro guessed.
Hachiman shook his head. "We can probably rule out water first. Moving water is an unlikely medium. Food? The probability is slightly higher than water."
Shiro shrugged. "The worst-case scenario is airborne. If it's truly airborne and highly contagious, we're looking at the total extinction of the human race."
"Can you two stop with the casual commentary?!" Hiratsuka Shizuka barked, turning to glare at them.
Honestly, she thought, these two are just making things more worrying. Is this really the time for a detached analytical breakdown?
Shiro continued anyway. "Who knows? We don't even know the source. A lab leak, a spontaneous mutation, or maybe the greenhouse effect thawed out an ancient virus buried in the Arctic permafrost. Isn't that how all the movies go?"
Shizuka didn't look back as she sprinted. "Regardless, we need to isolate the symptomatic students immediately."
She led Shiro and Hachiman back to her own classroom—Class F. She threw the door open with a bang, and the noisy chatter inside instantly died down.
The resident golden-boy, Hayama Hayato, spoke up immediately. "Hiratsuka-sensei! Several students have collapsed."
"Hayama?" Shizuka looked at him.
Shiro and Hachiman slipped in behind her, scanning the room. The "several" Hayama mentioned was actually about a third of the class. Shizuka's face went pale; she hadn't expected the infection rate to be this high.
"Everyone, get away from the students who have collapsed. Now!"
"Sensei?" Hayama asked, bewildered.
"Obey the order!" Shizuka snapped, her tone leaving no room for argument.
Even so, the students only moved a few steps away. Shizuka stood at the podium, let out a sharp sigh, and rubbed her temples. "Listen to me. Don't panic, but there is an emergency—not just in the school, but likely outside. There are... zombies."
The students of Class F exchanged looks. Incredulity and skepticism washed over the room.
"Zombies?"
"Is Hiratsuka-sensei joking?"
"How could there be zombies in the real world?"
"Is Sensei sick?"
"No, knowing Sensei, she probably just had too much to drink..."
She wouldn't drink in the middle of the day! Shiro thought.
"People are always so certain of their own worldview," Hachiman muttered to Shiro. "Even when faced with the truth, they choose denial. It's as absurd as believing the earth is round back when everyone thought it was flat."
Though he was whispering to Shiro, Shizuka heard him and shot him a warning glare.
"This is not a joke," she said firmly. "How else do you explain a third of the class collapsing at once? I have seen it with my own eyes. Kagehiro-kun here also witnessed the anomaly at the school gate."
The class turned their gaze toward Shiro. They knew Hachiman was one of their own, so the outsider standing next to the teacher had to be this "Kagehiro."
Shiro looked at the confused crowd. "It's not food poisoning. For the record, the guard at the gate was bitten and has already turned. If you are scratched or bitten, there is no cure. You will become one of them."
"Anyway—"
"AHHH! He's moving!" a girl screamed.
"It's true, look!" A boy pointed a trembling finger at one of the fallen students whose limbs were starting to twitch.
In an instant, the class scrambled to get as far away as possible. Some pressed themselves against the walls, while those near the back immediately crowded the rear door. Whether it was fake or real didn't matter anymore; no one wanted to be the one to find out by getting bitten.
"Let's get to the Special Building," Hachiman whispered to Shizuka. "Most of the club rooms are there, and they should be empty right now."
Shizuka nodded and announced to the class, "Everyone, evacuate to the Special Building! Stay together and stay safe!"
The room erupted into chaos. Students scrambled over desks and chairs, desperate to avoid their twitching classmates. But it wasn't just Class F; Shiro could hear the sounds of panic beginning to echo throughout the entire school. The descent into madness had begun.
Shizuka turned to Shiro and Hachiman. "You two go with them. I'm going to the broadcast room to alert the rest of the faculty and students."
Shiro had to admit, Shizuka was capable. She realized immediately that she couldn't warn the whole school by shouting in hallways. She sprinted out of the room.
Shiro looked at Hachiman. "Let's move."
Hachiman was already fumbling with his phone, his jaw set tight. Shiro knew exactly who he was calling—his sister, Komachi. In a moment like this, she was the only one who mattered to him.
Shiro pulled out his own phone and tried to call his parents in Hokkaido.
"Hello? Komachi?"
"Are you okay?"
"How many students were taken to the nurse's office?"
"Listen to me, they're zombies. It's the end of the world."
"I'm not joking! Find a place to hide."
"I'm coming to get you."
Hachiman hung up, looking stunned. Shiro looked at his own screen—the call to Hokkaido wouldn't go through. The lines were dead or overloaded.
"Sigh..." Shiro pocketed his phone. "Let's go."
"Yeah."
They sprinted out of the empty classroom. Behind them, the students on the floor began to contort their bodies in a final, grotesque struggle.
The hallways were already a mess. Students were running aimlessly, while others crowded around classroom doors to peer inside.
"Whoa, we should get them to the nurse!"
"Why did so many people faint?"
Clearly, the realization hadn't hit the majority of the school yet. Then, the bell rang, signaling the end of the period. A wave of relief washed over the onlookers—to them, it meant they could finally walk away from the "sick" people.
"AHHH!"
"He bit me! My hand!"
"Hey! Murakami, what are you doing?!"
"What's going on? Is someone fighting?"
Shiro and Hachiman ignored the cries and sprinted toward the bridge connecting the main building to the Special Building. As they passed Class J, Shiro caught Hachiman's arm and pulled him to a stop.
"Aren't you going to check on your President?"
"President? Ah... Yukinoshita!" Hachiman realized. He couldn't just leave a club member behind; it would be too cold, even for him. "Which class is she in?"
Shiro looked at him with exasperation. "Go on ahead. I'll get her."
He pushed Hachiman toward the bridge. Hachiman didn't argue. "I'm counting on you!"
Shiro ducked into Class J through the back door. It was just as chaotic as the others, but the students there still didn't understand the danger. Class J was an international class, and about 90% of the students were girls.
He spotted her immediately.
In Shiro's past life, an author had described her as a "picture-perfect scene—a girl who would remain even if the world ended." Her beauty was on an entirely different level than the "Dango" girl, Yuigahama Yui, who Shiro had seen being dragged away by Miura Yumiko in Class F.
If Shiro had to choose based on looks alone, it was Yukinoshita Yukino, hands down. She was the quintessential "Yamato Nadeshiko"—an elegant daughter of a high-class family, her every gesture radiating the grace of an elite. She stood out from the crowd like a lone lily. Her skin was translucent, her features delicate, and her long black hair fell perfectly over her shoulders.
As he approached, Yukino noticed the outsider from another class walking straight toward her. She knitted her brows in confusion.
"Hello, Yukinoshita-san. Hiratsuka-sensei sent me. It's about..." Shiro lowered his voice. "The school-wide food poisoning. She needs your help at the Service Club room immediately."
"I see." Yukino stood up, pushing her chair back, and followed Shiro out of the classroom without hesitation.
"What exactly does Hiratsuka-sensei need me for?" Yukino asked, her eyes darting toward the commotion in the hallway. Her expression darkened.
She had sensed the anomaly. The "food poisoning" excuse was thin—sure, some students ate cafeteria food or store-bought bread, but the atmosphere was far too heavy.
"Whoa!" A student backing away from a classroom door nearly slammed into her. Shiro stepped in, pushing the student aside. "Watch it."
The student didn't even look back, stumbling away in terror.
"Kagehiro-kun, what does Sensei need help with?"
"Keeping you safe is the biggest help you can give her," Shiro said as they reached the bridge between the buildings.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Yukino frowned. "Have you lost the ability to speak human language, you strange boy?"
Speak plainly, her look said.
"Fine. A zombie virus has broken out in the school. Shizuka-sensei remembered she had a student who might be in trouble and asked me to bring you to safety."
"Zombies...?"
Before she could protest, Shiro added, "Sensei has already gone to the broadcast room."
Yukino fell silent for a moment. "Are you joking?"
"You'll see soon enough. School's over, regardless. Just stay in the Service Club room for now."
Shiro looked toward the end of the third-floor corridor. He saw Hayama Hayato and three other boys from the "normie" group. Behind them stood Miura Yumiko, Ebina Hina, and Yuigahama Yui.
"Hayama-kun, what are you doing here?" Shiro called out, waving a hand.
"Kagehiro-kun! I'm staying here to see if anyone needs help."
In other words, they were guarding the entrance. The hallway wasn't completely open; there were glass doors on both ends. While a normal person could kick through them if they were determined, they offered a semblance of defense.
Shiro looked at him grimly. "And what about the other five entrances?"
Hayama's face fell as he instantly realized the magnitude of the problem Shiro was pointing out.
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