The air inside the cafeteria kitchen grew increasingly stuffy, thick with the smell of dried blood. After confirming that the three dead zombie chefs were no longer moving on the tiled floor, Renjiro, Daiki, and Kazuki stood around the stainless-steel prep table, tightly securing the straps of their backpacks and the cloth supply bags over their shoulders.
Their stomachs, which had been twisting with hunger, were now filled with instant calories from energy bars and protein supplements they had found in the pantry. All three had fully recovered their physical strength, reflexes, and combat awareness.
"The pounding on the third floor is starting to die down," Daiki whispered, standing beside the gap in the cafeteria window curtains and peeking outside. "That mob of monsters rampaging up there seems to be spreading down into the other corridors to search for the source of the noise."
Kazuki adjusted the full-body Taekwondo kicking pad strapped to his left arm, then tightened the black leather MMA glove over the fingers of his right hand. "Then we don't have much time. This side door of the cafeteria leads straight to the central courtyard."
Renjiro stepped toward the glass window and narrowed his eyes as he studied the expansive grounds of Hanazono High School.
Down in the main yard below the hill, near the chain-link fence they had climbed over the previous night, a dozen or so zombie figures wandered aimlessly. Their swollen, muscular bodies, covered in thick two-to-three-centimeter fur, moved stiffly beneath the blazing morning sun. Some dragged school uniforms ripped open across the chest, while others clutched shards of glass, dried blood stuck rigidly to their skin.
"The school's main gate is locked with a thick iron chain," Renjiro said, analyzing their escape route in seconds with sharp eyes. "But the chain-link fence near the side guard post—the one we came through last night—is still clear. We have to break through the central courtyard, knock down anything blocking our path, then jump the side fence and get out to the main road."
Daiki pulled a solid baseball from his jacket pocket, testing his grip on the hard wooden bat as he stared coldly beneath strands of his two-toned hair—yellow and black. "How many are out there?"
"Around twelve monsters on the grass field," Renjiro replied casually, a fearless, icy grin returning to the corner of his mouth. He swung his pair of steel golf clubs through the air in a precise crossing motion. "Kazuki up front as the battering-ram shield. Daiki behind Kazuki—use your baseball hits to knock down targets from a distance. I'll cut through and execute the rest from the side."
Kazuki clenched his MMA-gloved fists, lowered the American football helmet covering his head, and nodded firmly. "Ready."
Kazuki slammed into the cafeteria's side glass door with the force of a bull.
BAM!
The glass door flew wide, and all three leaped outside into the morning air over Hanazono High School's grounds!
The sudden crash of the opening glass door drew the attention of the dozen or so zombies wandering across the grass field. Their thickly furred heads rose in unison, their pupil-less white eyes widening savagely as they caught the scent of three living young men.
GRRRRAAAAARRRRGH!
The muscular horde leaped and charged across the grass straight toward them!
"RAM THEM, KAZUKI!" Renjiro shouted.
Kazuki angled his body, raised the thick Taekwondo shield on his left arm, planted his feet, then charged forward like a living bulldozer through the middle of the field.
BAMMMM!
The first muscular ape zombie to leap straight at him took Kazuki's shield directly in the chest. The force of Kazuki's charge, reinforced by his American football uniform, sent the monster flying backward into two zombies behind it.
At that same instant, a fourth zombie leaped in from the left, trying to claw at Kazuki's exposed shoulder.
CRACK!
A sharp impact rang through the air! A solid baseball, struck with perfect precision by Daiki, shot forward like a bullet and slammed into the fourth zombie's temple! The high-speed wooden ball shattered the enemy's temple bone, sending the monster flying into the ground before it could touch Kazuki.
"Two on the right!" Daiki shouted as he tossed another baseball into the air.
Renjiro moved like lightning, a shadow in motion. With extraordinary physical agility and combat reflexes, he vaulted over the fallen zombie, swung the steel golf club in his right hand to knock aside the enemy's claws on the right, then spun the golf club in his left hand into the opponent's neck.
CRACK!
The zombie's neck joint snapped stiffly. Before the second enemy beside it could react, Renjiro spun his body 180 degrees and brought both steel golf clubs down together on the monster's skull!
BAM!
Thick black blood sprayed across the ground as the monster collapsed facedown in the grass.
The trio moved with extraordinary coordination and precision. Kazuki kept shoving and smashing through the line of zombies trying to close in, Daiki launched perfectly aimed baseballs to disable targets from midrange, while Renjiro cut apart and crushed the jaws of monsters that slipped through from a distance.
In less than two minutes, eight of the dozen or so zombies in the main yard had fallen lifeless onto the grass.
"SIDE FENCE! NOW!" Renjiro yelled.
The remaining four zombies tried to chase them, but the trio had already sprinted to the two-and-a-half-meter-high chain-link fence beside the guard post.
Kazuki jumped first. Using his Taekwondo shield and shoulder pads, he quickly climbed the chain-link fence, vaulted over it, and landed safely on the asphalt of the road outside. Daiki followed nimbly, clearing the fence like a top-level athlete.
Renjiro was last. Before climbing, he turned around and swung his steel golf club with all his strength, smashing it into the forehead of the lead zombie as it tried to claw at his leg. Once the monster was knocked backward, Renjiro nimbly leaped over the top of the fence and landed perfectly beside his two friends.
TAP!
The three of them stepped onto the asphalt of the main road outside Hanazono High School.
Behind them, the dozens of zombies that had been too late to give chase could only claw at the iron fence and roar in frustration from inside the school grounds.
The trio breathed hard, warm air burning in their lungs beneath the blazing morning sun. Kazuki took off his American football helmet and wiped the sweat from his forehead as he stared at the utterly deserted, devastated road outside.
The scene outside the Shinjuku hill was far more horrifying than what they had seen from the rooftop earlier. Police cars and private vehicles had piled into one another across the intersection. Thick plumes of black smoke rose into the sky from burning buildings in the distance. Power poles lay toppled, and patches of dried blood stained the sidewalks of the main road, now empty of even a single civilian brave enough to cross it.
Daiki put away the baseball he had managed to retrieve while running, then stared at the phone in his hand, which had completely died. "The signal's gone. This city is completely paralyzed."
Kazuki tightened the strap of the backpack full of food supplies on his shoulder. "So... where are we going now?"
Renjiro stood in the middle of the ruined main road, both hands gripping his steel golf clubs tightly. His sharp gaze fixed on the Shinjuku hill intersection several blocks ahead.
"An old acquaintance of mine owns a traditional weapons shop a few blocks from here," Renjiro replied in a steady, calm voice. An icy grin spread across his face. "These golf clubs and baseball bat are just emergency tools. Before we start exploring the city in search of other survivors who are still alive, we need real weapons."
Daiki and Kazuki exchanged glances, then nodded in agreement. Renjiro's plan made perfect sense—real blades and proper protection would improve their chances of survival in the middle of this apocalypse.
With their food supplies stocked, emergency equipment in hand, and a clear new destination ahead, the three young survivors strode down the deserted main road, leaving Hanazono High School behind as they headed toward the traditional weapons shop.