A youth story of a passerby at the end of the world

"What do you mean 'no problem'?" Hachiman glared angrily at his friend. "I never care about who the other person is; the only person I care about is you!"

"Do you really want to do this in a way that hurts yourself?"

How ironic, to hear those words from you, Hachiman.

"Have you thought about what will happen once you do this? Even if you say it now, it will still create a fact." It isolates you from others.

Hachiman never underestimates the malice that comes from people. Gentle and righteous people always find it difficult to survive because this world is neither gentle nor righteous.

If Xuanxin actually kills the infected person on the other side, then everyone will label him a murderer.

"Wow, this person really killed his classmate."

"A murderer."

"Why isn't this person dead yet?"

He could imagine the worst possible words. Even if he was eventually proven right, the atmosphere created would be solidified. Everyone would refuse to believe the facts, disagree with the truth, and internally reject this person. This was unchangeable; the world itself could not be changed.

“I’m not Arthas,” Uesugi Genshin remarked with a self-deprecating tone. “We’re friends, Hachiman. Do you think I would care about someone unimportant?”

They are all aloof and proud people.

"It's different! It's different!" Their isolation was voluntary, not forced; this guy is twisting the facts.

“Same.” Uesugi Genshin’s eyes flashed with a chilling light, and Hachiman met his gaze without flinching, their confrontation sharp.

"I did it for myself and for us." Here, "we" refers to the two of them.

"What I did to stop them was for my own sake, and for ours." They were friends.

"This is so unlike you," Uesugi Genshin remarked. "What made you become like this? My approach is the most correct one so far."

"Is it right to let things continue to deteriorate without finding a good solution?" Uesugi Genshin said to Hayama Hayato, stepping past Hachiman.

"I..." Hayama Hayato struggled in pain, he truly hoped that everyone could be saved, everyone.

"This is the optimal solution, Hachiman, this is the optimal solution! Only I can do it, so I must go." Uesugi Genshin roared at Hachiman with a ferocious expression, his gloomy face changing like waves surging on a calm lake.

You can't expect others to kill you without any scruples. Even if you haven't awakened and turned into a zombie, the law defines the concept of self-defense and retaliation. Any initiative to attack is wrong.

His actions are merely another scene added to his usual nightmares. Dreams are dreams because they are easily forgotten and there's no need to pay attention to them, since he's already used to them.

"I know!" Hachiman said without flinching.

"Since you've made up your mind, then go ahead and do it." Yukino Yukinoshita walked over at that moment.

"You!" Hachiman Hikigaya turned to look at the fierce Ice Queen.

“I have confirmed the zombies. Letting them awaken and run rampant is not good for the Soubu High.”

Yukino Yukinoshita is also a gentle person. Genshin Uesugi knew that she actually wanted to say "everyone," but she changed it to the name of the school, Soubu High.

“That’s how it is,” Uesugi Genshin said to Hachiman with a smile.

"I understand." Hachiman's attitude softened helplessly, and he took a deep breath. "I'll go with you."

"There's no need for that..."

“I’ll go too,” Yukino Yukinoshita said.

“I want to go too,” Hayato Hayama said.

You guys...

Chapter Nine: Crisis Over?

Uesugi Genshin walked towards the opposite teaching building, followed by Hikigaya Hachiman, Yukino Yukinoshita, and Hayama Hayato. Before leaving, Hayama Hayato earnestly instructed his classmates to seal off the passageway if anything happened.

Someone has already gone to inform the teacher, but they have already arrived at the teaching building.

"Is Yukinoshita really a zombie?" Hayama Hayato asked Yukinoshita Yukino, who seemed unaffected.

“Yes, I saw it with my own eyes.” She stroked her hair, looking at the road ahead with a seemingly disdainful expression. “They were writhing aimlessly on the ground, baring their fangs at the sight of people, trying to bite them. If you were to compare these humanoid species to zombies from movies, it would be quite fitting.”

She hadn't played any games, but she had watched movies, including horror movies with her awful older sister.

Uesugi Genshin opened the door to the first classroom, a third-year classroom, which was empty except for a group of students lying on the floor.

"What are you going to do?" Hachiman asked.

“Break their necks.” Uesugi Genshin approached the first student. “It seems they also have brains and nerves. If the spinal cord is damaged, their bodies should be unable to move.”

As he spoke, he placed his right hand on the student's neck and his left hand on the student's wrist, pressing it against the pulse point.

Blood was flowing through him, his pulse was barely perceptible, but his body temperature was extremely low, no longer human, practically indistinguishable from that of a cold corpse.

My hand is on its chest, on the left side where its heart is. Its heart has stopped beating. Zombies are really strange.

Having confirmed that he was indeed not alive, Uesugi Genshin said to the people behind him, "It's confirmed, he is indeed dead."

"Is it really confirmed?" Hayama Hayato was still trying to salvage something at this moment.

"Hmm." Uesugi Genshin held his head in his hands, showing final mercy.

"Click." A crisp sound echoed in the silent classroom.

Hayato Hayama also stepped forward, wanting to confirm whether they were truly alive. He wanted to prove that Genshin Uesugi was wrong, that his self-sacrifice was wrong, and that his own actions were the right ones—his unwavering belief.

"..."

"...Make way, this is the last one." Uesugi Genshin gently pushed Hayama Hayato's stiff body, then snapped the neck of the last student at his feet.

The speed increased significantly after that, and the third graders finished quickly; every second counted before they woke up.

Hayato Hayama remained silent throughout the journey, following along because only in this way could he feel at ease.

Hachiman was the same; he couldn't bring himself to do it, which was why he felt guilty, and he hated himself for it.

Yukino Yukinoshita stared intently at the seemingly heartless man's every move, lost in thought. Today was probably the day her worldview collapsed, but it was also the beginning of her freedom.

After reaching the second-year classroom, Hachiman looked back at the special building, wondering how they were doing. He saw Hiratsuka-sensei and the others standing opposite him, looking in his direction.

Taking no action is the greatest support you can give them, and that's how the students will perceive it as the right thing to do.

In the classroom beneath the snow, lying on the ground was Mr. Nakamura, the math teacher, whom Uesugi Genshin treated the same as his students.

Although Yukino Yukinoshita maintained a blank expression throughout, she was still somewhat saddened.

The first-grade classroom had changed somewhat. Some students stood up unsteadily, tripped among the desks and chairs, knocked over a pile of them, and wandered around unconsciously with a limp.

Uesugi Genshin walked behind it, pressing his right hand against its jaw. The original zombies had clean hands; if they were infected, it would be through bites and the spread of bodily fluids. Their fingernails alone posed no danger.

“…Ah.” Hayato Hayama sighed.

In the teachers' room on the first floor, there was Tsurumi, the teacher who taught cooking. She was a very nice person and performed very well in home economics class. She was already married. Hachiman, who only recognized this one person, recounted the teacher's past.

Theoretically, everything should be resolved, but let's wait a while and observe the situation.

When they returned via the fourth-floor corridor, they attracted the attention of the students. It wasn't that no one was unaware of what they had done, but Hayama Hayato's presence prevented them from saying much.

The students further away glanced up at them while whispering amongst themselves, while those closer simply looked away, their actions bordering on fake.

"I'm going to find Hiratsuka-sensei," Hayama Hayato said, then walked downstairs.

"What should we do?" Just in case, Hachiman asked Uesugi Genshin, leaning closer to him.

"How about I show you around your clubroom?"

When I first arrived at the Service Club's room, apart from the name of the Service Club outside the door, there was nothing to prove that it was a club. The room was basically empty because the tables that took up the most space had been moved away. This was originally an abandoned classroom used for storage.

Aside from a few cardboard boxes, a foldable long table, there are stacks of chairs in the corner and two chairs facing each other in the middle of the room.

The room was now empty. After all, with something like this happening, people felt safer gathered together, so everyone gathered in the hallway.

Uesugi Genshin walked to the seat that originally belonged to Yukino Yukinoshita and sat down. Hachiman sat in his own chair opposite him. Yukino Yukinoshita frowned as she looked at the seat that had been taken, and pulled up a chair for herself. Because of what had just happened, she had a different opinion of this man.

"So tired~" Uesugi Genshin slumped in his chair, tilting his head back and looking at the white ceiling.

“Indeed~” Hachiman also sprawled out in his chair, tilting his head back to the sky, because of this guy’s bravado.

"There's nothing more for us to do now, right?" Hachiman was a recluse. He preferred to stay quietly in his own space, not bothering others, and not being bothered by others. That was the most familiar and reassuring thing for him.

"We can't rest yet."

"?" Hachiman exclaimed in surprise, "What are you trying to do with me now?"

He didn't include Yukinoshita next to him; strictly speaking, she wasn't one of them.

"Go ahead and say it." He knew this guy well enough to know why he would involve him in this matter, since they were friends.

Uesugi Genshin didn't have time to keep them in suspense and said directly, "I saw the injured students."

Hachiman frowned and echoed, "I saw it too."

"So we are not safe yet."

Hachiman agreed, "Yes, sooner or later these people will turn into zombies too."

Uesugi Genshin made a gesture to calm down, "Don't worry, this time we probably won't be the ones putting up the front lines."

"What are the specifics?" They can't be trusted at all.

"Hachiman, do you know how we're going to take control of Soubu High?"

Is "!!!" the topic?

"Farewell." Hachiman stood up decisively, without any hesitation.

"So you want to go home? Then how can you ensure your safety on the way?"

Hachiman paused, let out a thoughtful snort, and then sat down heavily again.

"Then what do you think?"

"I......"

Ta-da! Ta-da!

Uesugi Genshin's phone suddenly rang. He took it out and saw that the contact name was Kasumigaoka Utaha.

He lightly tapped the answer button and held the phone to his ear, saying, "Excuse me, I need to take this call."

"Hello." Kasumigaoka Utaha's voice came first from the other end, her voice hurried.

"I'm here."

"Makoto, my... my school has experienced a large-scale fainting incident." Kasumigaoka Utaha's unusually heavy breathing revealed her inner tension and anxiety.

She sat at the very back of the classroom, hunched over while making a phone call, occasionally glancing up to observe what was happening in the classroom.

Normally, it might be something like food poisoning, but after people started fainting one after another, she immediately thought of the paranormal event that Cheng Jun had mentioned on the phone the day before.

The series of unusual occurrences was enough to raise her alarm.

When a student in the class fainted, she still felt lucky and didn't think it was worth disturbing because it was class time.

But the teacher who was giving the lecture also fainted!

"Yes, the same goes for me."

"The same goes for Chengjun!"

"Listen to me, Kasumigaoka, this is no ordinary accident. I've confirmed it. They are zombies. Those who fainted were the initial infected. After the virus multiplied, they will all eventually turn into zombies."

"Zombies?!" Kasumigaoka Utaha whispered, but she wasn't alone.

"Zombies!" someone shouted, and then the whole class fell silent. All eyes turned to the student at the back of the class who had made the sound, and they realized that the real source was Kasumigaoka Utaha, one of the two beauties of the private Toyo no Saki Academy.

With her deep blue sailor uniform and matching pleated skirt, a white headband, and black tights unlike any other girl in her class, Kasumigaoka Utaha was undoubtedly a prominent figure at the private Toyosaki Academy.

"What's wrong?" Uesugi Genshin clearly noticed that the static on the other end of the phone had disappeared.

"No, it's nothing," Kasumigaoka Utaha said casually.

With a loud thud, a boy instinctively dropped the unconscious classmate he was supporting, drawing everyone's attention. But the boy pursed his lips and moved back a little.

The students in Kasumigaoka Utaha's class who hadn't fainted yet looked at each other in disbelief, but they all moved away from the group of people who had fainted. Ah, or rather, seeing someone move away, they followed suit, and then everyone moved. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it an avalanche caused by a single snowflake.

The boys couldn't make any moves, but the few girls in the class who could still talk to Kasumigaoka Utaha approached and got close to her, hoping to hear something from her phone call.

"Sigh." Kasumigaoka Utaha sighed. "You..."

She saw the girl at the table clasp her hands together in a pleading gesture, and the other girls around her followed suit, but this was not the usual time for gossip.