Without anyone noticing, Inaba Tsukiyo secretly returned to the school and put away the firearms she had found at the police station.
Although she didn't know if she would need these guns, it was better not to let everyone come into contact with these weapons for now.
For the next few days, besides her daily training, Inaba Tsukiyo paid attention to nearby sounds. As soon as she heard any helicopter, she could rush to the location immediately.
Finally, three days later, Inaba Tsukiyo, who was training on the playground, heard the sound of helicopters.
It wasn't just one helicopter, but several appearing and flying towards the school.
"Rescue!! Sister Megumi! Someone finally came!"
Wakasa Yuri and the others excitedly watched the aircraft flying towards the school. The scene that had once appeared in their minds had become reality; troops were really coming to pick them up.
Seeing the arrival of these aircraft, Inaba Tsukiyo was not entirely sure about their purpose, or if they were the culprits behind this disaster.
Until she was certain, Inaba Tsukiyo would absolutely not let any danger approach them.
Soon, the helicopters landed in the middle of the school playground. Besides some armed soldiers, a mature female officer also disembarked from a helicopter.
"Wait, don't come closer yet. Tell us, what is your purpose for being here?"
To put some pressure on these soldiers, Inaba Tsukiyo didn't conceal her killing intent, releasing it. The violent aura made cold sweat trickle down the soldiers' faces.
They were soldiers who had seen many major battles, and for the success of this operation, they were the strongest members. But facing Inaba Tsukiyo's aura, they actually panicked.
Some of the soldiers raised their guns and pointed them at Inaba Tsukiyo. Such an existence was too dangerous; only by aiming their guns at her could they feel slightly at ease.
"Wait, don't do anything foolish! We are here for rescue!"
Although startled by Inaba Tsukiyo's killing intent, the leading female officer stopped the soldiers who were pointing their guns at Inaba Tsukiyo.
The soldiers, having received the order, hesitated for a moment, put their guns away, and stood behind the female officer, awaiting orders.
To show her goodwill, the female officer unholstered her sidearm and threw it on the ground.
"This should demonstrate my goodwill, right? Student. We have no ill intentions."
After a moment of hesitation, Inaba Tsukiyo had Kurumi pick up the sidearm and point it at the female officer before retracting her killing intent.
After all, her specialty was Iaido Slash; even if she had to react, she was confident she could cut apart bullets flying towards them.
Once the situation allowed, the female officer briefly explained what had happened.
A few days ago, the button Inaba Tsukiyo pressed at the police station indeed sent out a signal. This signal was received by the soldiers stationed outside, so they actively contacted their superiors.
However, this area had been designated a fallen zone, and the superiors had already decided to carry out a high-temperature cleansing of the area, so they initially opposed sending soldiers back for a futile rescue.
But after several meetings and discussions, it was finally decided to dispatch members to rescue survivors.
They eventually found the survivors of Kyonohoka Academy at the school, but they didn't expect the survivors' reaction to seeing them to be suspicion, not joy.
Wakasa Yuri found supplies and rescue medicine in the helicopter, which somewhat proved that these people were indeed here to rescue them.
After successfully resolving the misunderstanding, the atmosphere finally relaxed. As the female officer was about to inquire about the school's situation, she noticed Kurumi and Tendo Ri-se.
Her expression froze, and the female officer rushed to Kurumi and Tendo Ri-se, pulling out a photo from her pocket and constantly comparing it.
The female officer's strange behavior made Kurumi nervously hold her shovel and watch her, and even Tendo Ri-se took out her model gun to prevent any aggressive actions from the other party.
"Excuse me... which of you is Miss Tendo?"
"Huh? Uh... me, it's me. I'm Tendo Ri-se, what's wrong?"
Although she didn't understand why this female officer suddenly became so agitated, Tendo Ri-se truthfully told her her name.
This was a big problem, as Tendo Ri-se's father was a military official, and a high-ranking one at that.
Ever since Tendo Ri-se brought Kafū Chino to Megurigaoka City, and then so many things happened in Megurigaoka City, Tendo Ri-se's father couldn't sit still and insisted on coming here to find his daughter.
However, he was restrained by others. All the troops stationed in Megurigaoka City were wiped out, and asking them to find someone in such a large Megurigaoka City was simply making things difficult for them.
The female officer didn't expect to find another target mission on this assignment; she was truly lucky.
Understanding that this was a rescue team, the girls returned to the School Life Club to pack their belongings, retrieve the remaining vaccines, and prepare to leave Megurigaoka City.
"Regarding this incident, do you know exactly what happened, Officer?"
Inaba Tsukiyo didn't go back with the others but stayed to understand the disaster that had occurred in Megurigaoka City.
"Yes, this zombie outbreak only occurred in Megurigaoka City. Due to Randall Company, a secretly researched virus leaked, leading to widespread infection, and our soldiers stationed here also lost contact."
To prevent the spread of the infection, the government quickly sealed off Megurigaoka City, preventing anyone from entering or exiting, thereby isolating the virus.
Although this resulted in some people who could have escaped being trapped in Megurigaoka City and eventually turning into zombies when they had no way to flee, it also successfully confined the disaster within Megurigaoka City.
"So, apart from Megurigaoka City, other places are safe, right? Have you properly isolated the city's water source?"
"That was done from the beginning. Scientists are also checking the water source for the presence of the virus. To prevent panic, the government has decided to carry out high-temperature disinfection of Megurigaoka City in a few days."
"High temperature... doing this could very likely kill some survivors? Is this really a good idea?"
"...For more people to survive, a small amount of sacrifice is necessary."
After a moment of silence, the female officer said with a somewhat grim expression. It seemed she also strongly disagreed with this decision, but there was nothing that could be done.
Although the virus had no possibility of airborne transmission, such a matter truly could not have any accidents, otherwise, it would be a devastating blow.
After a moment of silence, Inaba Tsukiyo nodded. Although there was no other way, this was indeed one of the solutions to the problem.
Noticing that everyone had finished packing, Inaba Tsukiyo took out a piece of paper and handed it to the female officer.
"This is..."
Soon, everyone who had finished packing sat on the plane, ready to leave Megurigaoka City.
From high in the sky, they could see that other parts of Megurigaoka City were even more desolate and uninhabited, with zombies wandering everywhere.
However, thinking that they were now safe and no longer needed to live in daily fear, the weight on everyone's hearts finally lifted.
As long as they left Megurigaoka City, they would see the bustling cities of the past, meet normal humans, and everything would return to normal.
"We're finally safe. When we go back, Sister Ri, what's the first thing you're going to do?"
Kurumi, leaning back in her seat, asked with a smile. All she wanted now was a good meal.
Although she hadn't gone hungry during this time, she sometimes had to eat crackers and such, which made Kurumi crave her favorite foods.
"Me? I might go with Kouru to visit relatives. Maybe Mom and Dad are still alive, you never know."
Wakasa Yuri explained, comforting Kouru who was sitting in her lap.
Everyone was in high spirits. The feeling of escaping death made them cherish the life they were about to embrace even more.
"After we finish our things, how about we all find a time to gather? Consider it a celebration for successfully surviving, what do you say?"
"Agreed! I want to participate! I want to participate!"
"Hmm, it sounds interesting. Miki, let's participate too."
"...Alright."
As companions who had shared hardships, everyone had clearly come to regard each other as their most important friends.
Everyone was sharing their stories, especially Kafū Chino and Tendo Ri-se.
It was just... Kurumi quickly noticed something was wrong. Even though they had escaped, she had felt as if something was missing since earlier.
It wasn't just Kurumi who noticed this; Wakasa Yuri also quickly realized it. Although that person didn't speak much, she was the one who deserved credit for their survival.
"Tsukiyo-chan... Where is Tsukiyo-chan?"
Yes, why hadn't she noticed? When they got on the helicopter earlier, due to their excitement, Wakasa Yuri and the others hadn't realized that one person was missing.
Wakasa Yuri's words brought the laughter on the helicopter to a halt. Everyone was stunned for a moment, then began searching for Inaba Tsukiyo.
But in the small confines of the plane, there was nowhere to hide, and Inaba Tsukiyo's presence was nowhere to be found.
"Could it be... could she be in another helicopter? So many helicopters came this time, maybe Tsukiyo-chan is on another one."
Sakura Megumi offered a plausible reason to comfort them, but when she looked at the female officer, she noticed that the officer wasn't looking at her at all, as if trying to conceal something.
'There's something I must go and confirm. I promise I'll be back very soon, everyone.'
In a daze, Sakura Megumi remembered the scene when Inaba Tsukiyo had once planned to leave alone, and her unease grew stronger.
"What exactly is going on? Miss. Can you tell me where Tsukiyo-chan went? Why... why isn't she here?"
Inaba Tsukiyo was with this female officer just now. This person definitely knows about Inaba Tsukiyo!
"...See for yourselves. This is what that person left for you."
Facing everyone's gazes, the female officer handed the letter Inaba Tsukiyo had given her to Wakasa Yuri and the others.
Meanwhile, a few minutes after the helicopter departed, Inaba Tsukiyo walked out of the Kyonohoka Academy gymnasium warehouse, watched the helicopter fly away, shook her head, and looked towards the location of Randall Company.
"Time to go."