Chapter 30 - The Right Person in the Right Place

Click. A sound rang out as the studio door opened, filling the room with light.

"…"

The person who entered was Sakura.

She was holding a red, rod-like object in her hand.

Inside, the monster with severed limbs, still wrapped up tightly, looked up at Sakura.

"Can you hear me?"

In response to her question, the monster gave a small nod.

Sakura briskly walked over to the creature, crouched in front of it, and gently stroked its cheek.

Her expression was full of tenderness, and the monster, being petted, narrowed its eyes happily.

Sakura then removed the gag from the monster’s mouth and pushed the red object into it.

"Heal it."

The monster nodded and began to move its mouth, mumbling.

Soon, it opened its mouth wide.

A string of saliva formed an arch between its upper and lower jaws.

Then, it extended the red object in front of Sakura.

Faintly visible veins and muscles, dark blue in color, could be seen, and it was clear that the object was the monster's tongue.

"Hehe… Good boy…"

Sakura patted the monster’s head, then replaced the gag and left the room.

It was important to take certain precautions in case danger visited them in the future.

The door closed, and the room was once again swallowed by darkness.

“Alright, I’d like to start the meeting.”

All the survivors were gathered in the meeting room, sitting in a circle.

“What I want to talk about today is mostly about what we’ll be doing moving forward. First of all, we need to gather supplies before the snow starts falling. Once it snows, getting around will be a pain. So, about where we’ll be gathering supplies...”

Tooru began writing on the whiteboard.

“…The shopping mall is probably out. It’s likely swarming with zombies. As for the shopping street—I passed through there before coming here, and there weren’t that many zombies. But since it’s basically one straight road, if we get surrounded, there’s a high chance we won’t make it back. Does anyone have a better idea?”

Daiki crossed his arms, thinking.

“Then how about we just hit up some convenience stores?”

“But they might already have been looted. The ones around here might not have any supplies left.”

“So what you’re saying is, if all the safe places have been picked clean, that means only the dangerous ones are left, right?”

“Yeah. That’s why I was hoping someone had a better idea.”

At that moment, Shinji spoke up.

“I think the shopping street is the best option. We can get all sorts of supplies in one go. And even if we do get surrounded, if we have enough people, we can break through.”

Whether they could actually break through was uncertain. But he had a point—the shopping street was a good place to get a wide variety of supplies all at once.

“Even if you say ‘break through,’ that’s way too dangerous. If, say, a hundred of them come at us at once, we’re done. Unless we have some kind of weapon that can wipe them all out in one shot.”

Seiji objected, clearly not convinced.

Shinji, perhaps feeling insulted by Seiji’s comment, raised his voice in response.

“But we all know we’re screwed without supplies. What, are you saying we should just sit here and starve to death?”

“I didn’t say that, damn it! Are your ears just decoration!? Or is your brain already rotted, huh!?”

“Seiji, calm down!”

Tsubasa stepped in and stopped Seiji, who looked like he was about to punch Shinji.

Seiji sat back down for now, but glared at Shinji with narrowed eyes.

Shinji just shrugged as if to say “oh well,” and turned to Tooru.

“What do you think? I say we go to the shopping street. Even if it’s only temporary, you’re the leader. You decide.”

It was an extremely difficult decision.

But the worst thing a leader can do is hesitate.

If the leader wavers, that uncertainty will spread to the others.

So Tooru made his decision.

“…Alright. We’ll go to the shopping street.”

Shinji looked smugly at Seiji.

“However, since getting surrounded is still a huge risk, we’ll need a plan.”

“A plan…?” Yuuki asked.

Tooru nodded and turned to Ryuu.

“Ryuu, can you get the city’s sewer map on your phone?”

“No, it’s not on there. But—”

“But?”

“Well, the school and the shopping street aren’t that far apart. If we head in the right direction, we should be able to reach the shopping street’s manhole.”

“Okay. First, a few of the guys will head from the school’s front gate manhole to the shopping street, and figure out which manholes are connected. We’ll need an emergency escape route. The rest of the guys will work on modifying a vehicle. We’ll use the steel plates in the workshop to make an armored car. Quiet would be best, but that’s probably not possible if we’re adding armor. As for the girls, let’s have them handle laundry.”

“Laundry? With our precious water?” Miu asked, skeptical.

But Tooru had already accounted for that.

“If the weekly forecast from before the outbreak holds, it should rain tomorrow. Let’s collect rainwater in some containers and use that to wash.”

“Alright! Then I’ll go start gathering materials!” Daiki stood up, fired up.

But Tooru stopped him.

“Daiki, you’re on manhole duty.”

“Manhole duty? What’s that?”

“It might not seem like much, but manhole covers are insanely heavy—about 50 kg. The ones around here are probably old and not locked, so you should be able to lift them with your strength.”

“Ah, I see…”

Daiki slumped his shoulders in disappointment.

He must’ve really wanted to work on the modifications—but it couldn’t be helped.

This was what it meant to put the right person in the right role.