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

The two stared intently at the open elevator doors; there was nothing inside, not even a trace of blood.

It's a working elevator and very clean.

Yui Yuigahama walked over curiously from a distance, grabbed Genshin Uesugi's sleeve, and looked into the elevator. "There's nothing there."

She looked at Uesugi Genshin, "So? Do you want to go up?"

“Okay.” Uesugi Genshin turned to look at her and smiled. “Wait here for a bit. Hachiman and I will go upstairs and take a look.”

"I understand, I'll stay here obediently."

Her face was very close, and the way she looked up was exceptionally pure, revealing a shy and swaying smile.

Uesugi Genshin reached out and ruffled the bun on her head. Yui obediently shook her head, closing one eye as she did so.

Then he and Hachiman walked into the elevator, watching Yui wave her hand outside, and the elevator doors closed.

The elevator doors closed automatically because they hadn't been used for a long time, so they were still on the ninth floor.

“Look here.” Hachiman pointed to the elevator buttons.

"Ah." The buttons were deliberately covered with opaque tape, with only the ten-layer, eight-layer, three-layer, and two-layer buttons showing.

"If this were a horror movie, wouldn't we be in trouble?" Hachiman joked, standing in the cramped elevator.

"If this were really from a movie... there would probably be some eerie background music playing here." Uesugi Genshin carefully surveyed the small space, examining the details in the corners.

“Indeed, half of the movie’s terrifying atmosphere is thanks to the music,” Hachiman agreed.

"I wouldn't go to see horror movies on my own initiative. There are other ways to seek thrills." Uesugi Genshin pressed the button for the tenth floor with his index finger and shook his head.

"What if there's a group of zombies outside?" As soon as he finished speaking, the elevator slowly ascended.

It's a strange feeling. When I'm outside, the elevator doesn't seem slow, but when I'm inside, time seems to be measured in seconds.

"We'll see," Uesugi Genshin said quickly, raising his sword in front of him. "If it's not too close, I'll charge out."

"..." Hachiman didn't ask what to do if it got too crowded, because the elevator had already arrived. He also clenched his fingers and gripped the baseball bat in his hand tightly.

With a "ding" sound, the elevator doors opened.

What came into view was not the tenth-floor corridor, but a wooden wall that blocked the elevator door without a single gap.

"This side too..." Hachiman paused, his hand holding the weapon hanging down, momentarily speechless.

“It’s some kind of cabinet.” Uesugi Genshin reached out and touched the “wooden wall” to confirm that the back of the cabinet was blocking the elevator entrance.

"Then what should we do?" Hachiman asked.

“You can try pushing it away.” Uesugi Genshin placed his hand holding the knife and his free hand on the wooden board.

Seeing this, Hachiman temporarily put down his weapon; he couldn't use a baseball bat for this kind of thing, as it was useless.

He also placed both palms on the wooden board in front of him and took a half step back with his right foot.

"First, gently, one, two..." Uesugi Genshin counted.

Then they slowly increased their strength, applying force from their arms to the cabinet in front of them.

With a creak, the cabinet was slowly pushed open. It appeared to be square, and immediately, the outside light shone in through the gradually widening gap, becoming very bright.

Apart from the sound of them pushing the cabinet, there was nothing unusual, no zombie movement or roars.

He opened a small opening, just big enough for a person to pass through, and pressed his head against it to observe what was happening outside.

"very safe."

At least that's what he saw.

"That's good."

So the two of them worked together to pull the cabinet open and walked out through the ample gap.

Looking around, the corridor was very quiet, and there was no bloodstains or messy scene.

They first walked to the left, and unexpectedly saw a sign next to a door with the surname "Yuhihama" written on it.

"Is this the place?" Hachiman asked, turning his head.

“Right?” Uesugi Genshin stared at the document, where his surname was written.

"Deng deng deng"

He reached out and knocked on the door, intending to check if anyone was inside.

Hachiman took a half step back, holding the baseball bat upside down so he could swing it. Unlike a sword, a baseball bat doesn't have the advantage of being held in a reverse grip for defense. To hit someone with a blunt weapon, you need to maintain a sufficient distance.

The two waited, but only a few seconds later, a sound came from inside the door.

"You're here." It was a very gentle female voice.

In an instant, their vigilance vanished. Uesugi Genshin quickly sheathed his sword, while Hachiman concealed his baseball bat behind his back.

The door was opened a crack, and the person inside poked their head out.

Hachiman immediately recognized and was certain that this was Yuihama's mother; they were practically identical. He could instantly tell their relationship: either sisters or mother and daughter.

But Yui's mother looks so young! The genes are amazing!

Uesugi Genshin wasn't as surprised as Hachiman. Although his memory was hazy, he still remembered what Yui's mother looked like, and he had previously seen a photo of Yui and her mother on Yui's phone.

The photo shows her and her mother at a Disney theme park when the family went there; it looks like her father took the picture.

"Um..." The person on the other end looked at them with a puzzled expression, "Who are you?"

Yuihama's mother found it strange. These two unfamiliar boys shouldn't be neighbors in this apartment building. She hadn't seen them at all in the past two weeks.

The next second, her gaze shifted downwards, involuntarily drawn to the weapons behind them.

Uesugi Genshin pressed down on the hilt to hide most of the blade behind his back, but part of the hilt was still exposed. Hachiman maintained a minimum level of vigilance, and his baseball bat was not completely behind his back, but rather positioned to his side.

If they didn't look like bad people, Yuihama's mother probably would have just closed the door.

Both of them have pretty faces. The one on the left looks very cold and aloof, but the one on the right has eyes that are probably the only flaw.

But... I wondered where I'd seen that one on the left before.

On TV?

No wonder I had this thought; as a housewife, I do watch TV series in my spare time.

“Hello.” Uesugi Genshin didn’t mince words. “I’m Yui’s boyfriend. Yui asked me to come here. We came from Sobu High School.”

"Huh? Yui? Boyfriend?" Yui's mother was taken aback at first, then laughed the next second, "What? What?"

Ah... they really are mother and daughter.

They all have the same playful blinking reaction.

It's a bit inappropriate to say that to an elder, but it's really quite cute.

Chapter 193: Calling her "Mom" is fine too

Yuihama's mother wore a light-colored spring sweater and long skirt. The sweater was visibly soft and had a cozy, homey feel to it.

"Are you Yui's boyfriend?"

Basically, as soon as she heard Yui's name from the boy, she knew he wasn't lying to her. Her curiosity was piqued, and she asked him again to confirm.

Faced with Yuihama's mother's faint smile, Hachiman took a half step back, making Genshin stand out.

“Yes, Auntie.” Uesugi Genshin’s face lit up with a bright smile. “I am Uesugi Genshin.”

This made Hachiman chuckle to himself: Well, this guy does have times when he tries to "please" others.

"Ah! Yui mentioned you to me on the phone." Yui's mother touched her face with her right hand, her intuition telling her that the other person did look familiar. "Haven't I seen you somewhere before?"

"It'll be on TV," Hachiman reminded him from behind.

"Ah~" Yuihama's mother clasped her hands together, "You are the child who was with Yui on TV."

"Yes." Being called a child inevitably makes one feel awkward.

"Mmm, your hair is shorter now, it looks much cleaner." Nodding repeatedly, she looked Uesugi Genshin around.

"I happened to have a friend who knew how to cut hair, so I cut it." That friend was Mai.

“I see.” Yuihama’s mother thought of something. “Ah, it’s a bit late, Uesugi-kun. But I still want to thank you for saving Yui back then. That girl didn’t say anything on the phone, probably because she didn’t want me to worry, but even from the TV it looked very dangerous.”

She bowed her head solemnly to express her gratitude, displaying utmost poise.

"It's what I should do. Whenever innocent people are in danger, I will do my best to help them," Uesugi Genshin quickly returned the greeting.

"It's within my power..." Hachiman watched as a familiar dog suddenly darted out from the crack in the door, ran to his feet, and cuddled with him.

"Can I call you Xiao Xuan like Yui does?"

"Please don't." Uesugi Genshin said earnestly, looking down at the dog on the ground.

"Ah, Sabre." Yuihama's mother then noticed that her dog had run out. "This child is very close to you."

"Yes." Hachiman squatted down and patted the dog's head with interest, explaining beforehand that he preferred cats and had cats at home.

Ah! ...Speaking of which, is our Kamakura starving to death yet?

A bolt from the blue struck Hachiman. He had always consciously placed himself at the bottom of the social hierarchy in his family: Kamakura (the cat) > Komachi > Mom > Dad > him.

As a result, he was unable to go home, and thus completely forgot about his cat.

Uesugi Genshin looked at Hachiman, who was standing there stiffly, and without thinking much, turned to Yuihama's mother and said, "Yui is downstairs. We came together."

"Really?" Yuihama's mother smiled happily and said impatiently, "Then I'll go down with you."

"Hmm." Uesugi Genshin nodded, then kicked Hachiman's foot. "Let's go. What's wrong with you?"

"It reminds me of my cat." Hachiman stood up and walked towards the elevator, his expression somewhat lost in thought.

"If you want to go back and take a look, I can go with you," Uesugi Genshin said nonchalantly as he pressed the elevator button.

"Forget it, it's quite far." Hachiman shook his head in refusal. Looking at the map, the distance from Soubu High School to the Yuihama family's house is basically the same as the distance from the Yuihama family's house to his house. The three form an obtuse isosceles triangle, which is indeed not close.

“No, it’s quite safe to drive.” After moving the cabinet that was blocking the way further away, Uesugi Genshin felt that he was overthinking the matter.

"..." Xuanxin's words made him start to think about whether going back was really feasible. In the apocalypse, having a car and not having a car are indeed two different things, not to mention having a skilled driver.

The three entered the elevator, and then Uesugi Genshin pressed the button for the 9th floor. Pointing to the opaque tape on the floor panel, he asked, "Auntie, what's with this tape?"

“Ah, those floors are all unsafe,” Yuihama’s mother explained. “The building manager’s wife confirmed it.”

"Eh~" Uesugi Genshin exclaimed, "So there are other people in this building after all."

“It’s okay to call me Mom.” Suddenly, Yuihama’s mother said in a gentle tone, peeking out from between him and Hachiman.

A rich, warm, and soft fragrance wafts towards you, an irresistible sensation.

I'm so sorry for saying something so abruptly. But it really smells wonderful.

"...I'm a little embarrassed, so I'll pass." Uesugi Genshin said briefly and quickly, looking at the open elevator doors.

“Eh~~~” Yui’s mother sighed regretfully, just like Yui.

Opposite the open elevator, Yui Yuigahama stood leaning against the wall, looking at the open elevator doors, where a figure surprised and delighted her.

"mom!"

"Yui!"

The mother and daughter embraced, and tears streamed down their faces uncontrollably.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness~, Mom is alright." Yui Yuigahama hugged her mother tightly.

The moment I saw my mother, my nose stung with tears, and a childlike sense of grievance welled up inside me.

At first, she was constantly worried and afraid. Even with Yumiko by her side, she would often think back to the time she spent at home.

Now these long-forgotten memories have resurfaced, along with tears.

"You too, Yui, you're safe and sound." Yui's mother cupped her face and looked at her carefully.

Suddenly, a loud "thump" came from a door, interrupting their embrace. Uesugi Genshin and Hachiman immediately checked their weapons with their hands.

"Ah, I forgot there are monsters on this floor." Yuihama's mother whispered, covering her mouth with her hand.