One-way traffic

"Hatsune-chan, get ready to grab a weapon you're comfortable with. Even though you're not very good at fighting, you should at least have a weapon for self-defense."

The girl with twin ponytails blinked and gave the first-place girl a deep look.

"……Um."

The two of them walked to the deepest part of the warehouse.

Only the strongest beings remained here alone to guard their entrance.

Chapter Thirteen: A Narrow Escape

Accelerator remained seated.

He found the hood of a street sports car and used it as a seat to rest, even throwing his right cane onto the hood as he sat down.

While those two guys went to find weapons, I'll rest here for a bit.

Accelerator turned on his phone and checked the time. He had already set the time to the standard time system of this world, just like the electronic products he had bought at the phone store.

At 10:35 a.m., it seems their journey had indeed taken quite a while.

However, we still need to plan the next part of the trip.

"The weapon issue is basically resolved. Now, all that's left is what those two guys were talking about..."

The code for a zombie virus hidden in a computer in this city.

And the guy who told Hatsune Miku and Takibayashi this information.

According to Accelerator's logic, as long as he finds that guy, he can get some important information, and maybe even find a way to escape the city.

But ultimately...

Even if he manages to escape this city, can he really return to his original world?

If this world is truly a completely different universe from Academy City, then how exactly can he find it and return to the original Academy City world?

The more Accelerator thought about it, the more frightened he felt.

—What if, even if all of this ends, there's still no way to return to Academy City?

If that's the case, what about Last Order?

He was even afraid to think about it anymore.

"...This is really troublesome."

He pursed his lips and lay down on the hood of the car, looking very unhappy.

It's all because of this kind of thing...

"That bastard! If I ever find the guy who caused all this, I'll kick his head until it's a disgusting mess like a baby diaper."

Accelerator closed his eyes and put his hands behind his head.

Ten seconds, fifteen seconds, thirty seconds.

One minute, five minutes, ten minutes.

"……Hey."

His eyes suddenly widened.

too slow.

Those two guys were just going to get weapons, so why are they taking so long?

Could it be because the weapons were too heavy? Or perhaps for some other reason? But if that's the case, why didn't they come back to tell me?

No way.

He considered a very bad possibility.

Accelerator stood up without hesitation and gripped his cane tightly in his hand.

He activated the electrodes, and by relying on his ability to manipulate the direction of all energy, he controlled the direction of distant sounds.

Even the faintest sounds became clear under his control.

Then he heard it.

It sounded like a heavy object repeatedly hitting an iron gate.

"Damn it, he's really good at causing trouble!"

——————————————————————————————————————

Hatsune Miku and Takibayashi have already entered the room.

The room was huge, as big as a warehouse.

As Accelerator said, there are countless weapons stored here.

"many……"

Swords, guns, basically everything you can think of is here.

The left side is a special area for storing cold weapons, where you can see things like batons, samurai swords, and daggers. Some smuggled goods are also stored here.

On the right side, there are shotguns, pistols, stun guns, grenades, and even rocket launchers.

This is truly unexpected smuggled goods.

"So many weapons... This place really is just as Mr. Yifang described..."

This also allowed Hatsune Miku and Takibayashi to once again confirm Accelerator's level of intelligence.

The strongest in Academy City seems to be more than just the strongest in terms of physical strength.

"Hatsune-chan, what are you planning to use?"

Without hesitation, Takibayashi went straight to the area for firearms, getting himself two pistols and magazines. Although he preferred a machine gun, he figured his physique wouldn't be able to control the firepower.

In addition, he selected some grenades and also replaced his knife with a sharper dagger.

Although he really wanted to use a katana or a tachi, so that he could use it like Vergil from Devil May Cry or Yae Sakura from the Honkai Impact series, he simply had no experience in that area.

After Takibayashi finished organizing his equipment, he looked at Hatsune Miku in front of him.

But the girl in front of him just stood there blankly, like a doll.

"Hey, Hatsune-chan, isn't this a bit much?"

Takibayashi gave a helpless twitch of his lips and walked up to the girl.

"I know that using weapons to kill zombies is something that an idol-type girl like you would never have even thought about, but the situation is urgent now. If you really encounter zombies, you at least need to have the ability to protect yourself."

“Although one side is very strong, and I have a way to protect you, what if neither of us is there? If that happens and neither of us is able to help, then the zombies will attack you directly.”

"Don't let fear make you forget the real threat, Hatsune-chan."

At this point, Takibayashi's expression gradually became serious.

"Our lives are the top priority, so we must never lose our lives for this reason."

He absolutely did not want to see a young girl die at the hands of the enemy because of her fear and cowardice in battle, let alone because she was a popular idol he knew.

So no matter what, Takibayashi will try his best to persuade Hatsune Miku.

However, the girl in front of him showed an even more astonished expression.

"No...no...!"

"what?"

He blinked, looking quite puzzled.

"No? What do you mean no? Hatsune-chan, are you out of your mind from being scared?"

But soon, Takibayashi discovered something.

Hatsune Miku's gaze was never directed at me from the very beginning.

What--?

His eyes widened immediately, and he turned around without hesitation.

As mentioned before, this room used to store weapons is very large, almost like a warehouse.

They didn't even explore the deepest part of the room.

In that deepest part, crimson lights began to flicker.

Following closely behind was a series of footsteps.

And roars.

"Hey—you're kidding, right...?!"

He couldn't help but take a few steps back.

Zombies, all of them are zombies.

All the shadows surrounding the darkness were zombies, old and young, making it impossible to discern their exact numbers.

They walked towards the two of them step by step.

"Hatsune Miku-chan!"

"Stop, everyone—!!"

The sound spread out like a wave of light, and all the zombies in front of them stopped in their tracks at Hatsune Miku's shout.

Takibayashi didn't have time to do anything else. He immediately pulled out a grenade from his waist, pulled the pin, and threw it directly at the group of zombies.

He asked the question without hesitation.

"Hatsune-chan! Tell me quickly, what weapon can you use?!"

"I... I once studied a little kendo! So I can even use a katana to some extent!"

Takibayashi gritted his teeth, drew a samurai sword from his left side without hesitation, and immediately pulled Hatsune Miku to the back.

They hid behind the wall behind the counter.

Boom! The powerful explosion shook the entire room instantly.

Although Takibayashi and Hatsune Miku were affected by the shockwave of the explosion, they were able to use the wall behind them as a shield and were not seriously injured.

That shot should have wiped out all the zombies, right...?

Takibayashi swallowed hard, pulled out his two pistols, and looked inside.

then.

He had only just turned his head when, around the corner, lay a completely rotten face, devoid of even eyes.

"Roar! Awooooo ...

"Varied--?!"

Takibayashi was so startled that his heart skipped a beat.

The zombie's claws gripped his body. He quickly turned his body, but the claws still managed to get stuck on his neck.

A very conspicuous bloodstain appeared.

"Taki, Mr. Takibayashi!!"

"Hatsune-chan! Use your voice again!"

Hatsune Miku, feeling a bit scared, let out another delicate shout.

The zombie did stop moving, but this time it only lasted for a second, much shorter than the last time.

This is why Hatsune Miku doesn't always rely on her own abilities.

While her power can influence the minds of her enemies, the power itself cannot be without any cost; all of this is controlled by Hatsune Miku's mental strength.

If her mental energy is overexerted, she might even faint. After using this power once, its effect will be weaker if used again in a short period of time.

If it were to be used again next time, it would probably take at least ten minutes to succeed; otherwise, it would just be a mere scream to the zombies.

Takibayashi kicked the zombie away, successfully loaded his pistol, and fired several shots at it.

He looked ahead and saw that he had indeed dealt with quite a few zombies.

But there are still more left.