"What's going on?"

Utaha Kasumigaoka cautiously walked into the convenience store, gripping her machete tightly.

Yukino Yukinoshita had just come out of the backroom and quickly filled her in on what had happened. Seeing the female zombie lying lifeless on the floor, Utaha let out a heavy sigh and glanced around. "Since this place is safe for now, we shouldn't leave empty-handed. Should we grab some supplies while we're here?"

"I really want to eat some fruit. It's been days since I've had any."

Yukino pulled a plastic bag from the shelf and headed to the fruit section to rummage around. Most of the fruits had already rotted after sitting there for too long. After carefully picking through them, she finally managed to find a few green apples that were still good.

"Oh right, check if there are any vitamin tablets over there."

Haruno Yukinoshita pointed to another shelf while slinging her new backpack over her shoulder. Utaha immediately nodded. "Good idea. If they're still here, we should take them all. It's absolute chaos out there now. Fresh fruit is getting harder to find, and going without vitamins for too long would be a disaster."

In just a few minutes, the three of them had scoured the entire convenience store. Everything they needed was stuffed into the backpacks, which were now fully packed.

When the group finally filed out of the store, their expressions were far more serious than before. Gone was the fear and panic they'd shown in the beginning. Now, there was only caution and sharp awareness.

Sosuke Kitahara couldn't help but sigh to himself.

Humans really do adapt quickly to their environment.

He helped them toss the heavy backpacks into the car and then turned to ask, "Do you have food and water on the yacht?"

"There's plenty in the fridge. We stocked up for a party, but… well, things turned ugly so fast." Haruno sighed softly, her eyes lighting up. "Is there anything else we should bring?"

"It's good that you have some. We won't be staying on the yacht long anyway. Carrying too much will just slow us down. If the dock is crawling with zombies, we won't have time to unload everything."

In the apocalypse, nowhere could stay safe forever. The situation could change in an instant.

Sosuke Kitahara was used to carrying only the bare essentials on his back, staying light and mobile. That way, if danger hit, he could run at any time. Supplies could always be scavenged later. In the early days of the outbreak, once you got over your fear of zombies, finding resources wasn't that hard.

"Let's go," Sosuke said. They had already wasted over ten minutes at the gas station. It was time to leave.

"Clack."

Suddenly, a faint sound rang out from a distance.

It wasn't loud, but it was just enough to catch Sosuke's attention.

His hand immediately tightened around his machete as he narrowed his eyes toward the source of the noise.

"Hey, look up there!"

Utaha suddenly whispered, pointing toward a nearby apartment building. Everyone quickly followed her gaze and saw a half-asleep man standing lazily on his balcony. He was brushing his teeth, foam spilling from his mouth as he mumbled, "Why are you all carrying knives? Heading into a fight or something?"

"…"

The group was speechless.

They stared up at him, completely dumbfounded.

The man looked like a total slob messy, greasy hair, a deadpan expression, and a balcony covered in anime-themed pillows and blankets. Cute girl pillowcases fluttered on the drying rack beside him.

The word that immediately popped into everyone's mind

Otaku.

Yukino let out a long, exasperated sigh. Haruno barely managed to hold back her laughter. She smiled and asked, "Hey, the world's basically ended out here. You seriously didn't know?"

"What? No way. Ended? You're not seriously talking about the apocalypse, right?"

The otaku's expression twisted in shock as he leaned over the railing to stare at them in disbelief.

Sosuke couldn't help but laugh.

He'd clawed his way out of zombie hordes and had been running for his life constantly, but this guy?

This guy had no clue what was going on.

But then, the otaku burst out laughing. "Gotcha! You really thought I didn't know? What, do I look that dumb?"

Haruno suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to shoot him right then and there.

Seriously? At a time like this, he was still joking around?

But the otaku just shrugged like it was no big deal. "Zombies? That's not my problem. What, you think they're gonna climb all the way up here and bite me? Besides, I've got enough food to last a year if I ration properly. And most importantly, I've got plenty of waifus to keep me company."

As if to prove his point, the guy suddenly kissed his waifu pillow right on the foot.

"Unlike you lot running around in your car, one day you're probably gonna get yourself killed out there and nobody will even be around to pick up your corpse. Heh."

"You're asking for it."

Haruno raised her SMG and aimed it straight at him.

The otaku's face paled as he immediately ducked and disappeared from the balcony.

A few seconds later, a white flag slowly rose from the balcony, swaying weakly in the breeze.

This guy… he was actually kind of funny.

Sosuke couldn't help but laugh.

He didn't really feel like wasting his energy on him.

There was an SUV blocking the stairwell to the building the otaku lived in. A few rotting zombie hands could still be seen clawing at the back of the car. The SUV was completely wedged into the entrance, sealing off both the zombies trying to get in and the humans trying to get out.

"Let's go. Forget about him," Sosuke said.

"Lucky for you," Haruno muttered bitterly as she lowered her SMG.

"Hey, wait, wait! Don't go! I'm sorry! Let's talk!"

Hearing them about to leave, the otaku suddenly panicked and jumped back onto the balcony.

But Sosuke didn't even flinch. He kept walking.

The otaku quickly shouted, "Wait! Don't go yet! I've got weapons! If you don't care about knives, I've got guns too!"

At the mention of guns, Sosuke immediately stopped and raised an eyebrow.

"Guns?"

The otaku nodded like mad. "Yeah, a handgun! I found it in the hallway."

"How many?" Sosuke asked.

"Just one."

Seeing Sosuke frown, the otaku quickly explained, "I don't use guns! I don't go outside! What would I even need it for?"

"What do you want in exchange?" Sosuke asked.

"Everything in the convenience store! I want all of it!" the otaku shouted shamelessly.

"That's too much. We don't have time to waste."

"Okay, fine! Just give me all the cigarettes, a few bottles of water, and a few boxes of instant noodles."

"The cigarettes on the counter, one case of water, and one box of instant noodles. You give us the gun first, then you get the goods."

"No way!" The otaku refused instantly.

"Then forget it," Sosuke replied without hesitation.

"Wait, wait!"

Seeing Sosuke turn to leave, the otaku panicked. "Come on, be reasonable! How do I know you won't just take the gun and run?"

Sosuke frowned. "We'll give you the water and noodles first. You hand over the gun. Cigarettes come last. If you agree, we trade. If not, we're gone."

"You're already being that generous… what can I even say?"

The otaku let out a bitter laugh and finally lit a cigarette, closing his eyes in satisfaction as he took a long, deep drag.

Sosuke smirked.

Just as he thought

The water and instant noodles weren't the real prize.

This guy just couldn't resist his nicotine cravings.

He probably didn't have much of a cigarette stash left, and he couldn't bear to smoke what little he had.

Until the deal was settled, he'd forced himself to hold back. But the moment they reached an agreement, he couldn't stop himself from lighting up.

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