Downstairs, the living room felt less like a home and more like a war room.
The table was cleared of food and covered in the scavenged electronics Kohta and the others had hauled in. Not all of them, mind you, but most. Several of them were still sitting in the Apocalypse Mule, collecting zombie guts. Still, the collection on the coffee table was impressive.
Saya stood at the head of the table, looking a little too mature for her age. There were dark bags under her eyes, denoting that she hadn't slept ever since Tysone and the others went on their expedition. And after all, how could she? They were all like her family now, a strange and dysfunctional one, but a family nonetheless.
And damn, brute, block-headed yankee was her boyfriend now. She had been looking out of the window every hour.
Her pink twin tails swayed gently as she took a sip of the coffee Yui had poured earlier. Her face was grim. The rest of the group that wasn't tending to Tysone all sat around the table.
"First, I want you all to know I'm glad you're back safely." Saya began, calmly, but with her eyes betraying the actual relief.
"Thanks to Tysone." Takashi spoke up, before looking down at his bandaged arm.
Saya's expression softened for a fraction of a second. "Yes. But I'll address his situation later. For now, I need a full account. What happened out there? Don't leave out any details."
Saeko, changed out of her bloodied combat gear into fresh clothes, came down just in time to hear Saya's question. "Near the old chemical plant. The bridge collapse forced us west." She said, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed.
Takashi recounted the tale, starting with their discovery of the warehouse and the initial, easy scavenge. Kohta, excitedly and with a wide, proud grin, added details about the zombies he sniped with deadly precision.
Then, the mood shifted as they described the evolved zombies that ambushed them. "Four of them." Takashi said, his expression grim. "At once."
Saya listened intently, her brow furrowed, making her look all the more intellectual and sexy. "Four at once. That's a significant increase in density. It corroborates my hypothesis."
"What hypothesis?" Yui asked, speaking up for the first time. She was wringing her hands, looking from one scarred face to another. Saya had told her to stay in the mansion, and now she understood why. The sheer scale of the violence they described was terrifying.
"The evolution isn't random." Saya explained. "It's accelerating. Spreading. I'd also venture a guess that the presence of the cores is what catalyzed and amplified this evolution. Either that, or the core itself is somehow feeding the evolutionary progression of the zombies. My question is, where did those 'cores' come from? And how did they get inside the zombies in the first place."
That was a question no one had an answer to.
It didn't seem relevant either, for the moment.
Saeko then took over and gave them a detailed report of their encounter with the obsidian pack.
When she described the creatures, Saya's analytical mind kicked into high gear.
"Obsidian skin... needle-like teeth... no discernible eyes... they eat the infected..." Saya muttered, more to herself than anyone else. "Hmmm."
"Hmmm?" Kohta echoed, blinking. "As in good-hmmm, or bad-hmmm?"
"Yes."
The conversation didn't progress as well.
They moved on to the actual event where Tysone fought and defeated the Alpha, though no one was around at the time to actually see how the man himself managed to take it down—too busy dealing with the herd, much to their chagrin and regret. Saya could only imagine how helpless they must've felt at that moment.
"I've never seen anything like it." Takashi admitted, looking at Saeko, who nodded in agreement. "I mean, we knew there was some sort of evolution happening with the dead. But these... these felt like something else entirely."
Saya had already begun filling out her notebook with meticulous and precise notes on the pack. She finished and set the notebook down next to her untouched cup of coffee, looking around the group.
"But everyone is fine, right?" Yui piped in nervously, trying to raise their spirits. "That's good."
Marin nodded, face brightening as she looked towards Kohta. "You also got a Rank 1 core, didn't you?"
Kohta puffed out his chest, his glasses glinting as he pushed them back. "Indeed! The King of Destruction is on the rise!"
Asami Nakaoka looked at Kohta in admiration, which made the rotund otaku smirk and sit up straight and preened.
Saya ignored those two and turned towards Saeko. "Anything else?"
Saeko's gaze drifted toward the staircase, her fingers curling slightly around her upper arm before she looked back at Saya. "What we've told you covers the essentials." Her voice was soft and even. "They came at us from above. Quite the cunning creatures." She paused, gathering her thoughts. "They feed on zombies. It seems like it's their primary source of food. As for the Alpha, he was way bigger than the pack. As for what their abilities are, or how tough they are... we have no idea. That's all I can offer beyond what's been said." Her eyes returned to the staircase for a moment. "Anything more will have to wait for Tysone. He was the only one who truly faced them."
"They eat the infected. Does that mean... they don't eat us?" Rei wondered, still shivering from what she'd witnessed back there.
"Doubt it." Saeko said coolly. "Predators eat meat. We're just harder to catch than shamblers. And less plentiful."
"Great." Takashi groaned. "So we're the delicacy."
Kohta gulped. He knew how plump and tender he was. "Well... crap."
Yui looked horrified, as if she could imagine being served on a silver platter.
"Alright." Saya said, putting an end to the speculation. "The priority now is Tysone. Then, we analyze everything we've learned. These creatures are a new tier of threat. They're currently in the city, but nothing stops them from expanding their territory. They could be drawn here, eventually. We need to be prepared." Her gaze swept across the room, landing on each of them. "We need to fortify..." Saya said, snapping into command mode. "If they can climb walls and jump rooftops, our fence is a joke. We need roof patrols. Kohta, can you rig up some kind of motion sensor with this junk?" She gestured to the electronics.
Kohta looked up, glasses glinting. "With this stuff? I can build you a radar dish if you give me enough copper wire. But motion sensors... yeah. Yeah, I can do that. Infrared would be best."
"Get on it as soon as you can."
"On it, boss lady!"
Saya looked at the pile of stuff on the table and picked something. "What's this?"
"Oh! That's the spectrum analyzer!" Kohta exclaimed. "With this, we can monitor all sorts of radio frequencies. We might even be able to pick up military broadcasts, other survivor signals, anything! It's a game-changer for intelligence gathering!"
"Do it."
"Ah, a mission for the Master of the Mechanics!"
She looked at the pile of equipment. An oscilloscope. A spectrum analyzer. A Geiger counter. Among many other things. Actually, she was inwardly surprised they managed to lug almost an entire electrical workshop's worth of equipment back home with them.
"Can we use the rest for...something?" She asked Kohta, the source of any knowledge related to electrician stuff in the house.
Kohta leaned on his elbow and took a long sip of coffee from his own mug.
"Hmm, maybe? I'd need to bounce ideas with Tysone. We also have to fix and improve the Apocalypse Mule..."
Kenji, the older gentleman, looked at Kohta. "If you want, I could give you a hand... I'm actually quite good with my hands..."
"Really?" Kohta's eyes lit up. Saya was also surprised; they'd never really looked that deep into their backgrounds.
"I used to be a mechanical engineer. I can help you with your... Apocalypse Mule." Kenji said with a faint smile.
Kohta's glasses practically flashed with sparkles.
"That would be amazing! Oh, the things we could build! A reinforced gunner's nest? Spiked hubcaps? A flamethrower? We could—"
"Focus." Saya cut him off, tapping a long fingernail on the table. "We'll prioritize defenses and the Mule."
"Right." Kohta nodded, already scheming.
"Nakaoka-san, Haruto-san, you're on perimeter duty. I want a rotating watch, two-hour shifts. Report anything."
"Umh, do you mind if I take Haruto-san's place for the first shift?" Kohta asked sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
Asami blushed a little, while Haruto laughed awkwardly.
Saya sighed. "You idiot, you're supposed to rest since you just returned from the expedition..."
"I'm totally fine!" Kohta assured. "I've evolved! I'm a super-soldier now!"
Author's Note:
If you're enjoying the story and want to read ahead or support my work, you can check out my P@treon at [email protected]/LordCampione. But don't worry—all chapters will eventually be public. Just being here and reading means the world to me. Thank you for your time and support.