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

The meeting then ended, and everyone went back to pack their bags. They would be notified of the departure date in the next day or two.

“Grandma’s husband passed away last year after returning from the hospital due to chronic kidney disease, just a month later,” Mai Sakurajima said in the elevator, now it was just the two of them.

As people age, their organs begin to fail, which is incurable. Once symptoms appear, the condition will only gradually worsen.

"I see." Uesugi Genshin said with understanding. "So he has already decided to die."

“Ha…” Sighing, Mai Sakurajima lowered her eyes, “I’ll try to persuade her again later.”

"Ah."

Another issue is the car. The apartment's underground parking lot isn't very big. I've been here before, so I know very well that there aren't many cars in the garage.

But the key issue isn't the car itself, but rather that there's only one person who can drive, not counting himself.

In big cities, commuting by tram can sometimes be more convenient, as you don't have to worry about finding a parking space every day, especially if you work in a busy area and don't even have a driver's license, let alone own a car.

Young couples don't need to buy a car, older people are retired and don't own one, and most office workers work nearby; those who live further away take the tram, so...

Mai Sakurajima placed three car keys on the coffee table: a Toyota, a Mitsubishi, and a Mercedes. These were all the car keys she could find in the apartment building.

“Uncle Haruno has a Suzuki car.” Mai Sakurajima said, crossing her arms and resting them under her chest. Her breasts, encased in a form-fitting dress, appeared exceptionally firm and beautiful, like huge, soft marshmallows that made one want to take a bite.

“Including me, only two of us can drive.” Uesugi Genshin fumbled for the car keys. “These are all small cars.”

"Yes."

The Wrangler can comfortably fit six people without any problem, and there's still plenty of space, including the trunk.

However, in the family car, apart from the elderly person who didn't want to leave, there were 11 people.

"..." This is no longer a matter of squeezing.

Unless you bring nothing at all and just stuff a few things into the trunk... even then, it's impossible to squeeze them in.

"Let's eat first," Mai Sakurajima sighed deeply and suggested, looking up.

The others who had been sitting silently on the sofa agreed, saying that they should start cooking first before eating.

Originally, Sakurajima Mai and Anno Yae were in charge of cooking, with Hirokawa Uzuki sometimes helping out, but the rest of the people were not exactly skilled at it.

This is especially true for those who live with their parents; only by living alone can one truly become independent.

"Let me help too." Uesugi Genshin rolled up his sleeves and opened the refrigerator to check it out.

"Eh!!!" Toyohama Kazuka exclaimed in surprise, as if she hadn't expected this person to be able to cook.

"It's really surprising. I didn't expect you to be able to cook." Mai Sakurajima frankly expressed her surprise, which deepened her understanding of this person.

“Hmm.” Uesugi Genshin looked at the fully stocked refrigerator. “Because this is a rare opportunity, we wouldn’t have this many ingredients ‘over there’.”

I heard them pick and choose everything from the refrigerators in the entire apartment building and bring it back.

Indeed, there was a dazzling array of items. Vegetables and meat were all crammed into the refrigerator.

He took out a large piece of pork, weighed it in his hand, and said, "This piece will be used to make braised pork."

He also found two boxes of silken tofu and beef in the refrigerator. Then, as if remembering something, he turned around and asked Mai Sakurajima, who was standing behind him, "Do you have any Sichuan peppercorns?"

"Sichuan peppercorns?" Sakurajima Mai went to the kitchen and rummaged through the cupboards. She had all the common seasonings at home, but she hadn't brought back the less common ones.

"I remember there was one in a resident's room that had it." Anong Yae suddenly remembered, because she and her sister Fengbin had cleaned up the kitchen of the empty house together.

"That's good, now we can make Mapo Tofu," Uesugi Genshin said with relief.

"Mapo tofu..." Sakurajima Mai's beautiful eyes widened in surprise. This was truly...

“Aren’t these all Chinese dishes?” Nakago Ranko clasped her hands together. She had eaten braised pork in Ikebukuro’s Chinatown before. As for Mapo Tofu, it’s more popular in Japan, or rather, Sichuan cuisine is more well-known in Japan than Chinese cuisine itself.

"So this is a rare opportunity. Tell me what kind of Chinese food you want to eat. It won't take much time, and I can make it." Uesugi Genshin placed his left hand on the kitchen counter, moved his right foot behind his left, and stood on one leg.

The members of Sweet Bullet exchanged glances, looking at each other in bewilderment, not daring to speak.

“Even if you say that, brother…” Anong Yae smiled wryly, “we haven’t eaten much Chinese food.”

"I see." That was his oversight. "Then bring out any good ingredients you have, and I'll decide."

"Mmm." Anong Yae was full of interest, while the others were filled with anticipation.

"Let me help." Mai Sakurajima, wearing a purple apron, handed over another orange one.

The kitchen is small. It's an apartment designed for a family, and it wasn't designed to fit three or four people. It's more like it's just right for two people.

So it was Uesugi Genshin and Sakurajima Mai who prepared lunch together today. Just wait a little longer, it will be afternoon soon.

“Lobster…” He picked up a lobster from another apartment; it was almost as long as his forearm. He skillfully separated the lobster brain from the meat.

Turn the tofu box upside down and cut a slit at each of the four corners of the plastic box. The tofu that was originally stuck tightly to the inside will easily fall off.

With a smooth horizontal cut by the kitchen knife, followed by a vertical cut, eighteen elegant cuts, the tofu was chopped into appropriately sized small pieces.

"You're very skilled." Mai Sakurajima was cutting beef, mincing some into small pieces. "Uesugi-kun, you're very good at cooking."

"It's alright." Uesugi Genshin replied modestly, continuing with his work.

"This is not just okay, even I..." She shook her head. She could even cook Chinese food, so ordinary Japanese food must be a piece of cake for her.

It's said that serious men are handsome, let alone those who do extraordinary things.

Kazuka Toyohama rested her chin on her hand, watching her older sister and Genshin Uesugi busily working together in the kitchen, just like a couple from LoveLove.

Hmm... if she could cook, even if she couldn't be of much help, she should at least be able to keep up with the conversation.

"Ha..." the girl sighed to herself.

Finally, what was served on the table included braised pork belly, lobster mapo tofu, braised beef brisket with tomatoes, spicy dry pot stew (mild version, as they probably can't handle spicy food very well), and some home-style cold dishes with an oriental flair, the most representative of which was smashed cucumber.

"I'm starting to eat!" said the people at the table.

"Delicious!" Sakura Okazaki covered her mouth and laughed happily. Her smile made her even more adorable.

"It really is delicious." Nakago Ranko also covered her mouth, chewing, her eyebrows curving up, revealing her inner joy.

"I didn't expect Brother Xuanxin to be such a good cook," An Nong Yae praised.

"Just average." Uesugi Genshin picked up a mouthful of rice and ate it with braised pork. He basically made all home-style versions, with only a few different ingredients added at most.

"Brother, he's a good man, hehehe, the perfect marriage partner." Hirokawa Uzuki praised him after taking a few bites.

Uesugi Genshin didn't take those words to heart. If judged by the standards of a full-time househusband, he was indeed qualified.

"Cough cough cough." For some reason, Feng Bin and Xiang choked on their rice and picked up the milk next to them to relieve the spiciness and gulped it down.

The food on the table was quickly eaten up because there were so many people—seven people in total—and everyone was quite full.

"Ah~~~, I'm so full." Anong Yae stretched.

Okazaki Hotaru made a gesture as if she were stroking her own baby, but in reality she was uncomfortable from being too full yet was smiling foolishly with happiness.

"Thank you for the treat." Mai Sakurajima, sitting next to me, rested her pretty face on her hand, lazily squinting her eyes and smiling charmingly.

"Hmm, I apologize for the poor hospitality." Uesugi Genshin leaned back and crossed his legs.

"Pfft..." She thought this person was quite humorous, even though she was the one who owned the house.

Chapter 110: The Bus Crash

"Are you sure you want to follow?"

"Isn't that natural?"

Mai Sakurajima tapped her feet on the ground in her flat-soled knee-high boots, then tugged at her collar to adjust her ample breasts into a comfortable position inside her yellow jacket.

He was wearing women's gloves and his entire body was covered in what looked like stiff fabric, making him appear fully armed.

She tugged at her zipper again, pulling it up so that her clothes covered half of her face, but the moment she let go, her face was revealed again.

Uesugi Genshin tilted his head, thought for a moment, and decided that it probably wasn't a big deal, so he gave up trying to stop him.

Because of this appearance, it is clear that only those who have experienced actual combat could make such thorough preparations.

“Sister…” Feng Bin and Xiang stretched out their hands, perhaps wanting to pull her back, but hesitated to move. She was really worried.

Everyone was gathered in the small entryway, and only she had the right to say something to her sister.

"Don't worry, I'll be right back." Seeing her sister's expression, Sakurajima Mai comforted her. Confident and cool, she was simply beautiful. She was such a gentle person; anything that touched her would soften her.

"Miss Mai, please be careful," said Hirokawa Uzuki, who was standing at the front. "And my brother too."

"Mmm." Mai Sakurajima patted her sister's head and smiled at them.

"Oh." Uesugi Genshin straightened his sword hilt. "Don't worry, he'll be back before evening if nothing unexpected happens."

Normally, this would be a flag, and an unexpected event would definitely occur if nothing unexpected happened. However, when it happens to him, he makes the unexpected event itself disappear.

"I'm going out." She only said this to her mother a long time ago, before they argued. I wonder how she is now.

"Have a safe journey." The same thought flashed through Toyohama Kazuka's mind.

The two walked into the elevator side by side. Uesugi Genshin turned his head to look at her pretty face, then his gaze moved down to a wooden stick in her hand, with a sharpened kitchen knife firmly tied to it.

"Is this your weapon?"

"Is there a problem?" Mai Sakurajima turned her head slightly, glancing at him sideways with her eyes, her tone flat.

"No, I just think it might not work very well." Uesugi Genshin shifted his gaze back to the elevator doors.

"This will be much safer, as long as you keep the distance." Locking the neck and inserting the needle can kill a zombie, and that's what she did.

The human body is both exquisite and fragile. A regular kitchen knife can easily cut pork in two with a single stroke, and the same can be done with a human, only a little more difficult.

"Hey~, did you clean up the zombies in the apartment?"

"You guessed it right."

"Hey~"

The two stepped out of the elevator, and his Wrangler was standing at the entrance of the apartment building.

"Is this the car you bought?"

"No, it belongs to a friend. She has a lot of cars and gave me one."

friend?

Uesugi Genshin opened the trunk of the car. "If you're not comfortable with yours, I can give you another one."

Mai Sakurajima walked over and stood next to the man. She looked at the trunk of the car and took out a knife, handing it to him.

He picked it up with his free left hand. "It's a bit heavy."

The sword has a black scabbard, a hilt decorated with lotus flowers and koi carp, and a golden reclining tiger at the base. It's a craftsman-like weapon, but even after being unsealed, this modern alloy remains a deadly cold weapon.

The weight in her hand was much heavier than she had imagined, compared to what she had originally thought. Was a knife such a heavy weapon?

"Try swinging it." Uesugi Genshin took the "spear" from her hand.

He watched as she slowly drew her knife like a beginner, holding the scabbard in his hand.

Mai Sakurajima took a deep breath, raised the sword high, and shifted the weight of the sword in her hand.

Swipe it down!

A whooshing sound followed.

The movements were perfectly correct and flawless, and the subsequent continuous sword swings showed that the person had practiced these techniques.

That's enough. When properly prepared, you can easily handle one or two zombies.

“If you don’t like using this, I have another baseball bat here.” Uesugi Genshin pointed to another spare one in the trunk.

Mai Sakurajima then tried out the baseball bat, mimicking the movements of a professional baseball player and swinging it in the air.

"It looks pretty good."

“I’ve done these kinds of ads before.”

“I see.” Uesugi Genshin nodded, having only seen her bottled beverage advertisements before.

"Phew..." Sakurajima Mai said, leaning on her baseball bat, "This one is definitely more maneuverable. I'm always worried about the direction of the blade with this one."