Vol 1 Chapter 2 (1/2)

Chapter 2

I fled from the school but wasn’t sure where to go.

I decided to pedal my bike toward the shopping district and noticed my surroundings growing noisy.

“The load on the system is growing.”

“Is Erika or Ayumi going on a rampage and creating more of the undead?”

Either way, I could not check the details without my administrator privileges. I was the same as a normal user fleeing from the disaster according to the standard parameters.

And even without those privileges, I could tell.

The thick smell of blood from the school’s carnage was gone, but that was no reason to rest easy.

There was a p.r.i.c.kliness to the air. It was a tense atmosphere like facing a burning fuse or like being thrown into a room just before a dust explosion while wearing a wool scarf.

I would often say I had a bad feeling about something, but it wasn’t like a premonition ever left me with a good feeling. It was always these bad feelings that came rus.h.i.+ng in!!

“Has it started?”

“They are making a real effort now.”

I heard gla.s.s shattering and someone screamed, so I stopped the bike. With each noise, the Cla.s.s Rep clung to me from behind and looked around nervously. My heart skipped a beat at the soft sensation on my back.

“Um, I’m not really interested in the zombies and vampires. I’m not looking for reality there. To be honest, I don’t care what else happens as long as I have the Swimsuit Cla.s.s Rep’s warmth.”

“When you say that, it leads me to somewhat question my purpose as a disaster environment simulator.”

“Do you have any idea how much of mankind’s knowledge went into recreating this bouncing and jiggling!? In fact, this world goes beyond the appearance and touch!! It provides the taste and smell too!!”

“My question remains.”

It was still daytime.

Since the vampires on Erika’s side could not act, it would be the zombies on Ayumi’s side who had started moving freely outside the school.

Zombies were slow and their bodies were rotten, so they could not defeat a vampire in a one-on-one fight. I could see why Ayumi would want to secure as much of an army as possible before nightfall when our older sister could increase her numbers.

However.

At first, the waves of people on the streets continued on unchanged even though something was clearly wrong. It was a strange new sight. But once the zombies poured out into the crowd, everyone started running. But the pedestrians waited at the lights, lined up at the elevators, and were otherwise polite.

Then the red tragedy rushed in.

They were pinned down, bitten, and otherwise introduced to the ways of the wild.

No matter what they did, those doomed to die would die. Following the rules would not keep them safe.

And after they realized that, the change was a quick one.

“Outta the way! I said outta the way, you dumba.s.s!!”

“I was first!!”

“Let go! That’s my bag!!”

The flow of people transformed into disordered chaos. They ran from the sidewalk, ignored the lights, and dragged down or trampled others. But they did not all have a destination in mind and they were not all focused on escaping the multiplying zombies. Some of them broke car windows, s.n.a.t.c.hed handbags, or rushed toward shop cash registers.

“User, the current area is growing more dangerous.”

“But you won’t tell me how to avoid it, I notice.”

“Because I am a disaster environment simulator.”

“Are you just going to watch as I’m killed!? You s.a.d.i.s.tic grim reaper!!”

We held that conversation while avoiding the waves of people by hiding behind a metal dumpster on the end of the road. If we kept our distance from anything valuable and tried not to stand out, I was pretty sure we wouldn’t stimulate the looters’ greed. Hmm! But I’m kind of worried about the Bikini Cla.s.s Rep’s smallish s.e.xy body!!

But unfortunately for those looters, the greedier they got, the more excess stuff was weighing them down. Those with tons of food or money in their hands were grabbed by the zombies in a moment of inattention. And what happened then goes without saying.

A gust of wind blew through and bloodstained yen notes flew through the air.

“That smell” filled the scene once more.

“This is a complete mess. Any ideas, user?”

“Yeah, what are they going to do?”

Vampires were weak to direct sunlight, so it had been a complete tragedy that the initial stage had been during the day. If the zombies continued spreading their influence, Erika’s side could be wiped out before the first night even began.

“No, not that. I was referring to your own safety.”

“Oh, you mean this isn’t enough? Is this like hiding my head in the sand with my b.u.t.t sticking out!?”

“That pointlessly loud shout was the last nail in the coffin.”

“A-a-a-a-anyway, what are we supposed to do? I managed to find the Cla.s.s Rep, so I don’t need this catastrophe anymore! Is there some kind of goal we can get to!?”

“I believe we must continue fleeing until this crisis ends on its own.”

“Hmm. With vampires, you generally have to defeat the big boss to win, but with zombies, it does seem to be more about fleeing forever. I don’t see how this can end…”

“In other words, you must side with your younger sister and work to kill your older sister for the quickest path to logging out.”

“Don’t make it sound so sinister! But what do we do now? Even if we’re going to flee, it’s unrealistic to think we can ride through this panicked crowd on a collapsible bike, but I can’t think of any good hiding spots during a panic like this.”

Meanwhile, the waves of people began pressing in toward us. Instead of an orderly current in a single direction, they were scattering in every direction like a clump of oil being squashed by a giant hand.

I could no longer tell if they were survivors or zombies.

Either way, I could easily be crushed to death if they all pressed in, so I supported the collapsible bike on my shoulder, grabbed the Cla.s.s Rep’s soft hand, and escaped into a nearby building.

Beyond the gla.s.s door, I found…

“DIY… A hardware store?”

“User, I do not think locking a gla.s.s door will be very effective.”

The first floor of the building was a store the size of a supermarket. There were no employees left at the registers, so they must have already fled. We quickly dove behind a nearby shelf and the high-pitched sound of breaking gla.s.s soon followed. Then I heard a sticky dripping sound and smelled a rusty odor. It may have been someone badly injured, but I prepared for the worst. I had to a.s.sume this was the zombies.

“Can we leave through the back entrance?”

“If we are to move, we should do so soon, but it would be difficult to sneak through without anyone noticing us.”

“I know that and I’m not that hopeful.”

Luckily, there were plenty of home improvement tools here. I knew this was virtual reality, but I was still hesitant to take things from the shelf without paying. But at this point, there was no point in holding back. If the Swimsuit Cla.s.s Rep was taken out, I would (after some twists and turn) be killed back in the real world.

Only the Cla.s.s Rep mattered now.

I threw out all other morals.

Whether zombies or vampires, I was not obligated to let them kill us.

“Maxwell, grab some duct tape from that shelf. Oh, and a stainless steel mug too.”

“? User, please provide the purpose of this command. You seem to be holding a mop.”

“That’s right.”

I spun the end of the mop to unscrew it and attached the stainless steel mug to the handle.

“A survival expert did this on the satellite adventure channel. It was an episode on how to survive in a winter mountain cabin if you were surrounded by a pack of wolves.”

“That seems like an awfully unique simulation scenario.”

“It’s better than zombies and vampires, don’t you think?”

Meanwhile, a ton of zombies stepped in through the shattered gla.s.s door. They would notice us before long. Even in this virtual s.p.a.ce, my heart was pounding unpleasantly hard and I could not control it.

“This is what the guy used: a stone-throwing staff. The most well-known method is to spin the stone around and around with a belt and use the centrifugal force to give it plenty of force and distance, but it’s hard to hit a target like that. But with this thing, you get some centrifugal force just by swinging it down from above, so it’s easier to just pick up and use. Even an amateur can figure it out after two or three practice shots.”

I had the Cla.s.s Rep hold the mug and mop handle while I peeled up the sticky part of the duct tape. That made an unexpectedly loud noise and I thought my throat was going to dry up. I could not tell what the zombies were doing on the other side of the shelf, so I quickly peeled off the tape and wrapped it around the mug’s handle and the mop’s handle.

“And this thing barely makes any noise. It can throw a fist-sized stone more than fifty meters, so we can almost unilaterally smash the zombies’ heads. The human skull is only as hard as a flowerpot, after all. And even if I miss, I can duck back as soon as I throw it so I’m hidden by the time it makes a noise. Unlike humans, zombies shouldn’t be able to figure out where the attack is coming from. After all…”

“Zombies are not very smart?”

“Now you’re getting it, Maxwell.”

We affixed an L-shaped crowbar to the opposite end of the mop. That’s what I would use in a close-quarters fight. It was a medieval peasant’s weapon known as a battle hook. The simple weapon could drag a knight down from his horse or break through thick armor if swung with centrifugal force. Once again, my knowledge came from a satellite channel’s history quiz show.

I left the collapsible bike with the Cla.s.s Rep, held my makes.h.i.+ft weapon, crouched down, and began to move.

“You said that was a stone-throwing weapon, but where will you acquire a ‘stone’? There seems to be a section with garden gravel packed in bags.

“They said stones are actually not the best choice because the size and center of gravity varies so much. Oh, I know. Let’s borrow these metal nuts. The ones big enough to fit over my thumb should be heavy enough.”

I grabbed a few and stuck them in my pants pockets.

Our goal was the back entrance.

I wanted to avoid running into the zombies if possible, but I would have no choice if they cut off our route. The situation was still in motion, so sitting around would only let the zombies surround us. Doing nothing was the worst option of all.

We snuck along, following the green lights guiding us to the emergency exit, and we had nearly reached the thick metal door.

But then the Swimsuit Cla.s.s Rep whispered to me while holding the collapsible bike.

“(User.)”

“(Yeah.)”

There was something there.

I felt a great pressure in my gut. Beyond the shelf, only a meter away, I could hear something like rustling cardboard. Instead of rationally grabbing something, it sounded more like an unintelligent creature sticking its head in the box and biting at everything inside. Whoever it was had likely become raw meat. I looked around, but I could not see another way around. I could not look down from above, so I could not predict where other zombies would be waiting.

I listened carefully.

There was only the one sound. It did not sound like more than one overlapping.

“(I should do this.)”

That was my conclusion.

“(The other routes are entire unknowns and we might run into an entire group of zombies, so it’s safer to fight the known risk here. Maxwell, you stand back just in case. This is all for naught if the Cla.s.s Rep is taken out.)”

“(Sure. But user, at this range…)”

We were too close. I could not make full use of the stone-throwing staff. It would be more effective to make a full swing with the battle hook made by attaching a crowbar to the other end.

“(I guess I just have to go for it.)”

“(According to a history quiz show, old samurai mansions had intentionally narrow hallways and low ceilings to prevent an attacker from swinging their sword properly.)”

“(Y’know, the kind thing to do would be to keep that trivia to yourself when I’m using such a long weapon!)”

I scolded the tactless AI (I don’t know why that surprised me) and slowly circled around the shelf by the exit to reach the zombie. Sweat soaked my hands as I held the mop handle.

Why was I so nervous?

Was I afraid of the zombie that would not hesitate to devour any survivors? Was I reluctant to crush the head of something humanoid? This was no time to be thinking about that, but a strange heat ruled the back of my mind.

I forcibly shook it off and peeked behind the shelf.

There was one there.

It was just five meters away and defeating it gave us a clear shot to the exit.

Wait…what is that?

That’s a tiny toy poodle the size of a stuffed animal, isn’t it!!!???

“Wait, Maxwell, wait!! Can’t you pause and rewind this!?”

“With the temporary loss of administrator privileges, the timeline slider and parameter branching options are currently unavailable.”

“But…that…but! I have to defeat that? To be blunt, won’t that turn the entire world against me? I’m sorry for thinking I was so bada.s.s as I secretly thought only the Cla.s.s Rep mattered and that I would abandon all other morals!! But can’t I at least act cool in the privacy of my own mind!?”

“User. Whatever your opponent is, you will become a zombie if they infect you with the Acute Zombie Powder. The threat level does not change.”

“It isn’t even saying ‘mah’ or ‘vah’. It’s saying ‘nyah!? But it’s a dog!!”

“But it is a zombie.”

“It’s playing with a gardening nameplate! And the name sounds like a teddy bear’s name!!”

“I doubt it has any rationality left. It’s head is coming off.”

“But…still. C’mon, you get it, don’t you? I can’t beat up something like this!! It’s too much for me!!”

“Meanwhile, the enemy target seems to have noticed you. You have lost the advantage of a surprise attack.”

Oh, G.o.d. What am I supposed to do!?

They were not coming from the route to the exit, but I heard wet footsteps from all around. I couldn’t stay here for long, so I had to defeat the zombie in front of me. But that wasn’t easy. I knew this was a disaster environment simulator, but it was still going to tear my soul apart!!

“User.”

Maxwell sounded worried and provided an alternative possibility.

“If defeating it is too much, then you can always give up. This is only a simulator, so getting bitten and becoming a zombie will not harm your body in reality.”

“…”

I just about gave into that idea.

But.

But!!

“No, no, no! I can’t do that. If the Swimsuit Cla.s.s Rep dies here, the university and lab will find out about the dance set and that will eventually lead to the real Cla.s.s Rep really killing me in a real fight!! I-I have to choose between doing this in the simulator or dying in reality. It’s wrong to protect something virtual at the cost of your real life!!”

“Then.” The Cla.s.s Rep tilted her head. “Don’t you have to do this?”

“Ah.”

Meanwhile, the mini zombie trotted over to me.

The five meter difference shrank further. I couldn’t let it rush at me. Whatever its size, it was still a zombie and even a toy poodle was a dog. I could not underestimate its ability to dash. I could not escape it on foot. It was possible I’d become a victim right away.

Now that it had locked onto me, it was all over.

A peaceful resolution was no longer an option.

My trembling hands held my weapon with the L-shaped crowbar duct taped onto the end of the mop handle.

“Ayumi!! We’re having a talk about this later!! Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

Long story short, the Swimsuit Cla.s.s Rep and I opened the thick metal door and ran out of the hardware store. Luckily, the zombies were all on the road out front, so the walking corpses had not filled this road yet.

And I was feeling ill.

“Urp.”

I threw away the stone-throwing staff, placed a hand on the wall, and vomited quite spectacularly. This was in a simulator, but it had apparently accurately calculated out the contents of my stomach. Once I had nothing else in my stomach, tears spilled from my eyes.

It was painful even though I knew it wasn’t real.

But the Swimsuit Cla.s.s Rep rubbed my back and made a calm suggestion.

“We are not safe here either. Rather than flee at random, it would be more efficient to have some kind of destination in mind.”