"Tokonosu Bridge is right over there, Sensei!" Rei exclaimed, pointing toward the bridge on Nach's right side as soon as their van entered the road at Onbetsu River.
—The city borders are off-limits to all traffic. Any citizens who pass through unauthorized will be punished—
—Tokonosu Bridge, along with all other bridges in the area except for Onbetsu Bridge, is off-limits to traffic. Those found crossing will be punished!—
Nach didn't need to use the Reader's Viewpoint to recognize the key event of the original plot unfolding on the bridge.
From where Nach parked the van, even Rei could clearly hear the authorities' announcement forbidding anyone from crossing the bridge—let alone see the chaotic, congested traffic caused both by the undead outbreak spreading across the bridge and the rampaging survivors forcing their way toward the barricades.
"Eh?!" Rei gasped, fear painting her face as she saw people falling off the bridge.
"We should head to Onbetsu Bridge now," Nach said, feigning ignorance of the cries of those trapped on the bridge.
---
"Are you really sure they will pass here?"
"There's no traffic on this road, so this is where they would likely pass."
Returning to Rei and Nach's current situation—with a slight difference from the original plot, since they were now riding a new van rather than the motorcycle—as they waited at the side of the road by Onbetsu River near Tokonosu Castle...
"What if they already passed here already?"
Like Rei assumed, all of Fujimi Academy's microbuses had already passed the road at Onbetsu River.
Between all the events they had encountered—from the moment they were separated from Shizuka and everyone else, to when the crazy thug assaulted Rei, right after their intimacy at the store, and throughout their escape and battles with the undead and madmen—Nach had been checking on all four microbuses using the Reader's Viewpoint.
Despite his earlier complaints about why the main cast and side characters didn't ride the same bus, it actually worked to his advantage.
In the first bus, he could monitor Kyoko and Ishi. In the second bus was Takuzo's group. Then in the third bus, driven by Takayama, were Morita, Misuzu, and Toshimi.
Nach couldn't pinpoint their exact locations, but he could at least confirm that all of them were safe.
The first three buses had, in fact, managed to cross Tokonosu Bridge before it was barricaded and locked down, while the fourth bus was left behind because of the commotion between Rei and Shido—and mostly because of Shizuka's slow and panicked driving. However, Nach could see that they were now all stuck in heavy traffic in the city.
As for the fourth bus with the main cast and Shido's group, just like in the original plot, they were stuck in traffic at Onbetsu Bridge.
But it wasn't like Nach could explain all of that to Rei.
"Let's just wait here for now, at least until the traffic subsides."
She won't believe me anyway, Nach thought as he continued watching the main cast through the holographic screen of the Reader's Viewpoint flashing at the corner of his vision.
---
[READER'S VIEWPOINT – Extra in Highschool of the Dead]
Name: Nach Smith
Progress: Act.5 (Page 6/34)
"We can't act selfishly. We can only begin to act on our own once we reach a safe place. For example, worrying about the safety of our families. Only with discipline can we create a plan as a group..."
While Shido preached like a cult leader—inviting and gathering more members as every student in his group became completely brainwashed by his words—Shizuka's group was preoccupied with their own concerns.
"I hope Nach... and Miyamoto are safe..." Shizuka murmured, her large soft breasts pressing against the wheel as she leaned on it, looking bored at the traffic.
Saeko was sleeping in the passenger seat beside Shizuka. Sitting behind her were Imamura, and Hisashi who was still feeling anxious about Rei's safety. Opposite their seat sat Takashi, sulking alone since everyone in their group—especially Hisashi—was ignoring him.
Behind Takashi sat Kohta, who was also sleeping, with Saya beside him, gazing in annoyance as she was forced to listen to Shido's preaching.
"Hirano..." Saya whispered, nudging Kohta awake.
"Takagi-san, good morning," Kohta replied as he wiped his drool.
"You were sleeping like a rock..."
"But..."
Looking at the traffic—the cars stuck on the road blasting their horns, the crowds walking the streets with fear and exhaustion painted on their faces—Saya and Kohta shared the same thought:
They were already too late getting into the city. If they hadn't spent the night at the school and had escaped yesterday instead, they might have avoided the lockdown and traffic, and reached Saya's house to take shelter at the Takagi estate.
"Oh, the offshore airport," Saya said upon noticing the commercial plane still flying at low altitude after leaving the airport.
The most populated areas were the most dangerous, considering the spread of the undead outbreak. Isolated places were bound to have fewer people, which meant fewer undead threats.
"Like Okinawa," Kohta said, commenting on Saya's explanation about where the plane must be heading.
"Or either Hokkaido or Kyushu."
Continuing their conversation...
The JSDF (Japanese Self-Defense Force) and the American Army at least had the strength to control the undead outbreak in certain areas. But the problem didn't only lie in the battle against the undead—it also lay in maintaining public order in the surviving communities.
"You're really smart, Takagi-san," Kohta said awkwardly, as the reality of a collapsing society still hadn't fully sunk into his mind.
"What are you talking about?" Saya said, directing Kohta's gaze toward Shido.
"That bastard knows that already. He's just using it to his advantage, but he doesn't understand a thing. You with me? There's no way I'm bringing that kind of person to my mama and papa's mansion."
"Should we kick him out?" Kohta whispered as he gripped his gas-powered nail gun.
"More importantly, I wonder if Pervert-sensei and Miyamoto know the way to—"
"Oh, are you thinking about that?"
Kohta's intentionally misleading remark—emphasizing Nach's massive bulge—was immediately understood by Saya, making her react completely flustered and embarrassed at the image that flashed in her mind.
"Why would I think about that!" Saya exclaimed, her face blushing red, even her ears turning pink.
Her voice caught the attention of everyone in their group, even waking up Saeko.
"...Think what you want," she muttered, trying to regain her composure and ignore all the teasing grins.