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

"...May I ask my classmates to hear it too?"

"no problem."

Upon hearing the reply, Kasumigaoka Utaha turned on her phone's speaker so that the other students in the class could hear her.

Uesugi Genshin began by recounting his past experiences: "I first saw a man struggling and fainting at the school gate. The security guard went up to him and was bitten on the neck, losing a lot of blood, and then he turned into a zombie."

"It has been confirmed that they are both dead. They have no heartbeat, but their bodies are still moving, just like zombies in movies."

"This..." Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't know how to react for a moment, but all the students in the class immediately moved away from the people around them.

"Those who fainted were the initial infected. They will slowly turn into zombies, and death or fatal wounds will accelerate this process. As for being bitten, they are probably already infected. If possible, tie them up first and then see how things go."

Uesugi Genshin shared his summarized experience and subsequent measures, but he couldn't bring himself to say such cruel and hopeless words as, "You're beyond saving, just wait to die."

"Be careful, everything should be fine. Move to a safe place first. If possible, ensure the safety of the entire school. If not, find a place to hide."

Kasumigaoka Utaha's first thought was, "What about going home?"

Uesugi Genshin shook his head and rejected the idea, saying, "Since the school is like this, it's undoubtedly even more chaotic outside. Walking or riding a bicycle on the road is not safe, and the tram is like a mobile coffin. There's nowhere to escape. The number of zombies in the school is limited, but the situation outside is much more complicated."

The driver fainted, knocked down a large number of people, and was also seriously injured and died. Death would accelerate the process of turning into a zombie. This series of catalytic chain reactions could not be impossible.

"I understand, I'll find a way to resolve this, Makoto-kun." But Kasumigaoka Utaha's voice trembled slightly.

She wanted to ask for help, but her pride prevented her from opening her mouth.

"Then will you come to save me?" What kind of nonsense is that!

Even though he had made a promise yesterday, Kasumigaoka Utaha had been waiting for him to say the words she longed for.

But what right did she have to make him disregard the danger and travel across Chiba and Tokyo to save her, his friend? Perhaps there was indeed some kind of affection involved, but in the end, she didn't speak.

but......

"Okay, I'll pick you up after I've finished my business here."

Kasumigaoka Utaha gripped the phone tightly, a sobbing "hmm" escaping her throat, trying her best to keep it from being overheard by everyone.

"Too dangerous, it really was..."

"It's a promise, don't worry, just be careful." Uesugi Genshin interrupted.

She took a deep breath and obediently replied, "I understand."

This was probably the first time the students in the class had seen another side of Kasumigaoka Utaha, a famous figure in the academy, which was quite different from her usual cold, strict, and sharp-tongued image.

"It takes about an hour to get from Chiba to Tokyo. I will get there as soon as possible."

Chiba is considered part of the Tokyo metropolitan area because they are adjacent to each other; in fact, they are very close.

However, considering the time it would take to get to Soubu High School, the likely paralyzed road conditions between the two locations, and the time spent finding alternative routes, we must take these factors into account.

He had never been to Toyosaki Academy, only knowing that it was in Tokyo. In fact, he wasn't very familiar with Tokyo, except for a few famous places like Akihabara, Ginza, Shibuya, and Ikebukuro.

"it is good."

Kasumigaoka Utaha hung up the phone and looked at all the students in the class who were staring at her.

She took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and quickly regained her usual aloof, quiet, and dignified demeanor.

"From now on, just follow my instructions, okay?"

As the top student and one of the two beauties at the private Fengzhiqi Academy, she still appears quite charismatic to others after returning to her usual self.

"Yes, Kasumigaoka-kun, we'll listen to you."

"No, no problem, I'll leave everything to Kasumigaoka-kun."

"please."

The class responded in unison, but everyone tried to keep their voices down, as if they were afraid of waking up the monsters at their feet.

Uesugi Genshin glanced at the disconnected call and put his phone away.

He smiled and said, "Let's get things sorted out here quickly."

Chapter Ten: The Emperor

"It's nothing. I was watching the news. The government said that something might have happened, a large-scale flu outbreak of unknown cause, but the government is investigating. Don't believe the rumors online. Please rest assured," Hachiman said expressionlessly.

Uesugi Genshin felt a sense of déjà vu about this behavior, wondering, "So, we shouldn't take action yet?"

"Well..." Hachiman shrugged, not wanting to say anything.

After all, they are elected politicians. Before making major decisions, they always need to confirm, deliberate, and plan repeatedly to ensure that nothing goes wrong.

To achieve a flawless nine, the time spent is the price, but this is also the meaning of the central point's existence.

"Were you joking about what you just said?" Yukino Yukinoshita said calmly, but her tone was cold and reproachful.

If Uesugi Genshin didn't know her inner thoughts, he would only keep his distance.

"Whether it's a joke or not, let me tell you first, okay?"

Like Uesugi Genshin, she rejected all social interaction, which led to her being isolated in class, although the two differed in this respect.

Uesugi Genshin knew that he had reliable friends like Hikigaya Hachiman, but he was unwilling to waste his time on classmates whose true intentions he didn't understand.

Back when he wasn't yet the gloomy, eccentric guy in his class, for some reason, there were love letters stuffed into his shoe locker—a very common Japanese trope. Hayama Hayato probably received a dozen love letters, and later, when they met in the courtyard, he discovered she was a girl from his class.

However, he resolutely refused. If love is like an investment, he expects a return on his investment. In comparison, he already had the most suitable goal at that time: buying a good house that he could live in for a lifetime was more important than a short-term investment that seemed to have an uncertain future.

After that, the atmosphere in the class changed. High school here is a place to enjoy youth, and most of the students are those who slipped through the net of compulsory education, even those from Zongwu High School, a key school.

Bored high school students can spread any gossip instantly. In addition, Uesugi Genshin had no intention of joining any circle, and no one spoke up for him. The label of being unsociable and unapproachable was said by one person and then heard by the whole class.

Although it had no impact on his daily life, this isolation was an acceptable consequence of his voluntary actions.

Being isolated, being alone, is not inherently bad; the problem lies in being isolated due to malice.

Yukino Yukinoshita's actions stemmed from pure malice: jealousy from the girls. The boys who approached her were mostly interested in her, but she rejected them all, which aroused their jealousy.

Even without knowing the actual situation, it is known that under the isolation of all the girls, most of the boys in the class who were rejected by her also remained silent, resulting in a common behavior that can now be called a phenomenon here: bullying. As a result, her indoor shoes were hidden about 60 times, 50 of which were the terrible record of being hidden by girls.

In Uesugi Genshin's eyes, it was just childish nonsense, and each of them was someone else's naughty child.

That's right, this happened when Yukino Yukinoshita was in elementary school!

However, it left an indelible shadow on her, causing her to go abroad for junior high school and not return until high school. But when she returned, she was a cold, sarcastic, and always sharp-tongued ice queen who always insisted on being herself.

And like Hachiman, she refused to change.

But she's also the kind of cute girl who, when asked if she has friends, will dodge the question and first say that she needs to define what a friend is—the kind of thing only someone without friends would say.

"..." Yukino Yukinoshita shifted her cool gaze from the main culprit to the accomplices.

"No, no, no, I haven't done anything yet." Hachiman was intimidated by the gaze that looked at him like a criminal suspect.

"So what exactly happened?" Well, now it's definitely time to blame them.

“Some students are suspected of being infected, there is a potential danger across the street, and it’s not safe outside either, so we can use the emperor to punish the disloyal,” Uesugi Genshin decided.

Hachiman retorted, "Are you Cao Cao?" As a humanities student, he immediately realized that this was a quote from Cao Cao in the Records of the Three Kingdoms.

To illustrate just how much people here love the Three Kingdoms, they've created a ton of games, including well-known IPs like the Romance of the Three Kingdoms series and the Dynasty Warriors series. They've also given their historical figures some really cringeworthy nicknames, like "Kongming" Takenaka Hanbei, one of the two famous strategists of the Warring States period, whose nickname is just as funny as "Sick Guan Suo."

"No, I hate Cao Cao, even though his actions, which were later called 'holding the emperor hostage to command the princes,' were indeed the right strategy."

After saying that, Uesugi Genshin spat out, "Heh-tui~"

"So, does this Uesugi guy think he can take control of the whole school by taking advantage of this chaotic situation? That's an astonishing move."

"To be precise, it's not control, it's manipulation."

"Isn't this the same?" someone muttered quietly beside me.

"Manipulation? With Hiratsuka-sensei and other teachers around, why would you do something so thankless and stupid?"

Yukino Yukinoshita was very confused. She saw that Hiratsuka-sensei was still alive and was inspecting the roadblocks outside. So, was what this man who claimed to be manipulating things was reasonable?

"So, because we are students, we leave everything to Ms. Hiratsuka, who is an adult. After all, she is an adult and a teacher, so she has an obligation to protect us?"

“No, that’s not what I meant…” Yukino Yukinoshita was about to retort.

"I know that's not what you meant, and that's not what I meant either."

Uesugi Genshin raised his hand to stop Yukino Yukinoshita from continuing.

"But most students probably subconsciously accept this."

“…Hmm.” Hachiman thought for a moment and then gave an affirmative answer.

"so?"

Just then, Yukino Yukinoshita's phone rang. She took it out of the pocket of her pleated skirt, and it read "Mother." Just by seeing that word, one could imagine that the person on the other end must be a dignified woman in a kimono.

"Hello, mom?"

The voice on the other end of the phone was extremely gentle yet urgent, a far cry from the stern mother he remembered.

"Yukino, thank goodness, you're alright."

"Yeah, but it seems like a lot of people at school... have fainted," Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't help but say.

“I know, your father’s company is too. He’s organizing a rescue effort right now. We can’t get through to the driver. Stay in a safe place and wait for your father to come pick you up.”

This is truly a rare occurrence, because due to our family situation, Dad hasn't driven himself in a long time...

"I'm fine here for now, where's your sister?"

"I'll contact Yang Nai later."

“…Hmm.” Yukino Yukinoshita suddenly felt a surge of joy at winning against her sister, but in an instant, she felt ashamed of herself. A complex mix of emotions swirled in her chest.

"Mother......"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"I don't need to worry about this for now. We'll all stay in another building. The corridors of the teaching building are blocked. Also... about the person who fainted this time... some people say they saw the person who fainted was already dead, but then stood up and bit people, just like a zombie in a movie."

"...Okay, I understand. Just be careful and stay safe. As long as you're safe, that's all that matters." Yukino Yukinoshita's mother's voice was calm and unwavering, giving Yukino Yukinoshita a sense of security that her mother was there for her.

After all, Yuki's mother was indeed the daughter of the prestigious Yukishita family, while her and her sister Haruno's father were sons-in-law who married into the family.

"Ah."

After the call ended, the air between the three was somewhat heavy, as if there was a strange sense that one of them was already preparing to run away before the three of them had even finished starting their business.

"This is also what I've considered, in case of the worst-case scenario."

Yukino Yukinoshita turned her head and asked, "What?"

Uesugi Genshin asked a very pointed question to someone who wasn't present: "How many teachers at our school do you think are unmarried and childless?"

"Ah..." Hachiman instantly understood the deeper meaning in Uesugi Genshin's words.

This is a classic trolley problem; even now, there are many modifications, but without exception, it makes choosing a trolley difficult.

No, the current situation is far less extreme than the trolley problem; rather, it presents a very good choice.

"Students" and "family", "duty" and "kinship".

This is such an easy choice!

Parents worry about their children, husbands worry about their wives, and those who live with their parents worry about their families. When things really get really bad, it's only these students who get almost nothing and are "left behind".

Because they are minors, they are not expected to do anything, nor are they required to take any action. Rather, they are considered "idle" people who are just grateful if they don't run around.

Why are only high school students the ones saving the world? Because they have so much free time!

In an instant, Hachiman understood all of this, and he once again noticed the shining qualities in Hiratsuka Shizuka-sensei: she was not married! She did not have a boyfriend!

There are pictures here, which can be viewed after the updated version

There's no question about children; she's currently living alone. Even if something were to happen to her parents, given the likely powerful background of Ms. Hiratsuka's family, she really wouldn't need to worry about it.

This was exactly what Uesugi Genshin was thinking. The difficulty of choosing other teachers was probably that if one of them fell into the water, it would be a friend and the other a relative. In any case, one could only choose the relative.

But Hiratsuka-sensei was completely different; at this moment, certain qualities of hers shone with an unexpected brilliance.