“Speaking of which, why haven’t Sato and Yukinoshita come back yet?” Tobe Kakeru said with a frown.
“It’s been almost two hours.
If everything went smoothly, the two of them should have returned by now.” Hayama Hayato glanced at the expensive watch on his wrist as he spoke.
Of course, deep down, he hoped the two of them would return safely.
That would also give these indecisive people a little confidence.
Hayato had always believed that in this dangerous apocalypse, unity and cooperation were the only path to survival.
“I-Ikuko… what’s wrong with you?!”
“P-please… don’t scare me!”
Just then, a panicked voice suddenly rang out from behind them, drawing their attention.
“What happened?”
Hayato looked over with a frown and discovered that Ikuko, the girl whose arm had previously been bitten off by a zombie, was about to lose control of herself.
“Ugh… mm!!”
Her face was flushed bright red.
White foam kept spilling from her mouth, her eyelids rolled upward to reveal large patches of white, and her hands and feet twitched wildly.
She looked utterly terrifying.
“Not good.
Is she about to turn into a zombie?!”
Hayato’s heart sank, and he quickly walked over.
With the strength of Midori and the other girls, they were almost unable to hold down Ikuko, who was gradually turning into a zombie.
“You guys, hurry and help!
Hold her down!”
“O-okay…”
Sawanaga Taisuke and the others were also badly startled by Ikuko’s sudden transformation.
They hurriedly ran over and reached out to pin down the struggling girl.
“Wuu… what do we do?”
“Ikuko… is Ikuko really going to turn into a zombie?”
Looking at her friend’s neither-human-nor-ghost appearance, Midori’s eyes reddened, and her heart was filled with grief.
“Kakeru, quick, hand me my dagger!”
Hayama Hayato made a prompt decision and shouted at Tobe Kakeru.
“Here.” Tobe Kakeru lowered his head with a heavy expression and handed the sharp dagger to his blond-haired friend.
This kind of tactical dagger had a blade made from high-carbon tool steel and was shaped like a pointed knife.
There were also two blood grooves along the side of the spine.
The sharpness of its blade could even cut through steel nails or barbed wire.
When everyone saw Hayato’s actions, they immediately understood his intention.
Some people revealed expressions of reluctance.
Some lowered their heads in silence, saying nothing.
A few girls sobbed softly, burying their faces in their friends’ arms, not daring to look up.
Everyone understood the ending that was destined to happen next.
“I’m sorry, Ikuko-san… To think something like this would happen on the very first day of school.”
Looking at the constantly struggling Ikuko, Hayama Hayato’s expression gradually became determined.
He tightened his grip on the dagger and was about to stab it toward the girl’s head.
“Wait.
Is there really… no other way?”
Midori’s face was covered in tears.
She tightly grabbed Hayato’s wrist and pleaded in a low voice, “P-please… please, think of something!”
“Midori-san, there’s no other way.” Hayato shook his head, his brow tightly furrowed. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
“Only by killing Ikuko-san can we help her find relief.”
“But…” Midori still wanted to say something, but she understood that Hayato’s method was the best solution.
“Then let me do it…” Her voice trembled as she snatched the dagger from Hayato’s hand.
“She’s my best friend.
I should be the one to send her off.”
“…”
Everyone held their breath.
They watched as Midori gripped the knife with both hands, trembling as she aimed it at Ikuko’s temple.
But at the very instant the blade was about to fall…
A sudden change occurred!
“Roar!”
Ikuko, who had been tied to the chair, suddenly erupted with tremendous strength far beyond before and violently broke free from her restraints.
Her neck twisted sharply.
Her foul-smelling canine teeth slammed straight toward the throat of the unguarded Midori!
“Shrrk!”
Blood sprayed out instantly.
Midori did not even have time to scream.
A chunk of flesh was brutally bitten from her throat, and her body collapsed weakly to the ground.
Her eyes remained fixed on her friend, filled with despair and disbelief.
The two of them had been far too close.
Midori, overcome by emotion, had completely failed to notice that the actual distance between them had already become extremely dangerous.
Because of that, she had ignored the fact that Ikuko had fully transformed into a zombie, which led to her unfortunate death.
“AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!”
“Midori!
Midori is dead?!”
“I-it’s crazy!
Ikuko really turned into a zombie!”
The classroom instantly exploded into chaos.
The girls’ screams and the boys’ furious roars mixed together.
The chaotic noise was like a signal, instantly piercing through the silence of the teaching building!
“Hurry, hurry and shoot!!”
Everyone panicked and raised their firearms at the same time, trying to aim at Ikuko, who was currently gnawing on Midori’s corpse.
But right then, another unexpected situation occurred.
“Boom—!”
The ceiling above them was suddenly torn open without the slightest warning.
Wood chips and cement dust fell like rain, constantly rustling down.
A thin black shadow wrapped in a gust of wind smashed straight down.
When it landed, it kicked up a ring of dust.
This uninvited guest was an ugly monster wearing a black-blue bloodstained hoodie, its body short and hunched.
If Yuto had been here, he would definitely have recognized the strange creature before them.
It was the special infected from Left 4 Dead—a Hunter!
Unlike ordinary infected, due to its mutation, a Hunter usually possessed the sharp hearing and sense of smell of a feline, as well as a unique throat-based vocal mechanism. New chapters come out on novelping.com first.
Its limbs bore exceptionally sharp claws, and it was extremely skilled at high-altitude ambushes.
When attacking, it would also let out a threatening growl similar to that of a cat hunting prey.
“Hiss—!”
The Hunter’s cold, scarlet eyes continuously swept over the uneasy crowd.
It was like a merciless beast patrolling its territory, inspecting the prey it had taken a liking to.
Suddenly, without any warning, it violently leaped and pounced toward the boy closest to it.
Its sharp claws instantly pierced through the other party’s chest as if there had been nothing there at all.
It was as smooth and unobstructed as a hot knife cutting through butter.
“Ah!!!”
The unfortunate boy’s lungs were pierced through.
He struggled in agony, trying to escape the Hunter’s grasp, but he could only watch helplessly as its two hands rapidly rummaged through his chest.
Accompanied by shrill screams, all kinds of bright-red things were continuously thrown into the air…
Very quickly, the cries for help gradually sank lower, until there was no sound left.
“Purr, purr…”
The Hunter raised its pale face, now covered in blood.
It made the satisfied purring sound like a cat while eating.
Hooking its sharp fingertips, it pulled a length of intestine from the boy’s stomach and began feasting heartily.
On the other side, the zombified Ikuko had also broken free from restraint and was biting toward the girl beside her.
The situation had completely spiraled out of control!
“R-run!
H-hurry and run!”
“Help!
Someone save me!”
The slaughter continued.
In just a short dozen seconds, another three students fell into pools of blood.
In the blink of an eye, the group of twenty-two had been reduced to sixteen.
Despair drowned everyone like a tide.
“Bang, bang, bang!!”
Hayama Hayato’s eyes nearly split with rage as he raised the M780 shotgun and fired repeatedly.
But because he had no shooting experience, despite firing several times, his shots were repeatedly dodged by the cunning creature.
Its sharp claws, strange movements, and extraordinary jumping ability made the Hunter a true killer in every sense of the word.
This monster was like a cat playing with mice, always maintaining an unhurried pace as it cruelly toyed with the group of students.
“Purr…”
The low purring sounded again.
It released the corpse of a girl whose abdomen had been hollowed out.
Then the Hunter dropped to all fours.
Rows of sharp teeth in its opened bloody maw were still stained with blood and bits of flesh.
Its throat squirmed, producing a dull growl similar to that of a feline.
It was like a fierce tiger lurking in the grass, calm yet not impulsive.
But it gave people the feeling that in the very next second, it would suddenly pounce out, precise and swift, and seize its prey by the throat!
“Roar…”
The scarlet-eyed monster arched its back high.
In the next instant, it abruptly erupted with astonishing jumping power.
It actually shifted sideways through midair, pouncing toward the panicked Kasumigaoka Utaha.