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

In front of the door of the room in the corner, I saw Sakurajima's surname. After her parents divorced, Sakurajima Mai took her mother's surname, and her biological father's surname was probably Toyohama.

Feng Bin and Xiang nervously stepped forward and knocked on the door. The crisp "knock, knock, knock" sound was somewhat jarring in the empty corridor.

Uesugi Genshin began to look around warily for any possible movement or potential danger.

"Sister, it's me, Toyohama Kazuka. Please open the door."

Time ticked by, and Fengbin and Xiang, worried that their sister might think it was a stranger knocking and ignore it, began to call out softly at the door: "Sister, are you there?"

However, there was still no movement inside the door, so the person was probably not there. If they were, they could tell through the peephole that the person outside was their half-sister.

Finally, Toyohama Kazuka stopped knocking, and Uesugi Genshin said behind her, "Nobody's here."

"Yes, nobody's home." Kazuka Toyohama stared blankly at the door.

In the quiet corridor, the overhead light bulb cast long shadows of the two people.

Nothing happened during the knocking, and Uesugi Genshin was certain that there was nothing on this floor.

"This is the ninth floor," he said with a hint of helplessness.

"What happened to the ninth floor?"

"If it were lower, one could climb in from the outside."

If it's a three- or four-story building, he can climb up from the outside, just like the Assassins, because people at higher floors almost never lock their windows.

However, if it's nine floors, that idea is immediately rejected. It's truly a case of one wrong step leading to eternal regret; there's no need to take such a big risk.

"...It's too dangerous, you shouldn't do it." Feng Bin and Xiang tugged at his sleeve, advising him, their expressions still downcast.

"Yes."

"Has my sister already...?"

"Don't worry unnecessarily, let's wait and see."

People always think about going home during a crisis, and they feel at ease once they get home.

Sakurajima Mai lives alone here. Her relationship with her mother is strained, and she still doesn't have a boyfriend. So, in the apocalypse, her first choice is to quickly return here.

“It’s getting dark now, let’s think about how to spend the night.” Uesugi Genshin stepped forward and touched the lacquered door. “How can we open this door?”

Movies and TV shows depict homeowners placing keys under carpets or flowerpots for special circumstances.

Uesugi Genshin looked around. There were no flower pots or carpets. Well, once the practice became widespread, no one would dare to use it, especially since this was a high-end apartment.

You definitely can't kick the door open; it's a new door, not one of those old wooden doors.

"Ah, the phone." Uesugi Genshin turned around and looked at Toyohama Kazuka's phone, who exclaimed in surprise.

"!"

However, when the two of them looked closely at the lit-up phone screen, the name on the screen was "Mom".

Yes, it was a call from Toyohama Kazuka's mother.

Seeing that it wasn't Sakurajima Mai, Uesugi Genshin distanced himself from Toyohama Kazuka's pretty face, leaving enough space for the mother and daughter.

"Hey, Mom."

This mother and daughter look very similar to Mai Sakurajima and her mother.

Mai Sakurajima's mother, in order to mock her father for running off with another woman, had her debut as a child star in the entertainment industry and even acted as Mai Sakurajima's manager.

It's understandable, as a human emotion, to feel a sense of satisfaction when those who have left you see your success.

It's a kind of revenge, but children who have their parents' ideas imposed on them must feel incredibly uncomfortable. Especially when they're young, they simply can't understand their parents' situation.

Meanwhile, Toyohama Kazuka's mother also sent her daughter to the theater troupe, so the situation was even more complicated. Neither mother could remain calm; sparks were undoubtedly flying between them.

In short, Mai Sakurajima and Kazuka Toyohama are pawns in a proxy war.

Then, the war came to a temporary end, and the outcome was as clear as it could be.

Mai Sakurajima established herself as a talented and popular actress, while Kazuka Toyohama left the theater troupe and became a rookie idol still struggling at events.

Despite being called a rising star, the shelf life of idols is actually very short, so short that even a miracle generation can become a relic of the past in just a few years.

But it was precisely this vast difference in their relationship that caused her to feel humiliated every day, which also distorted the relationship between mother and daughter.

As a mother... her pride as a woman also weighed heavily on Toyohama and Hana, it was truly cruel.

"Yes, I'm fine now. I ran into my sister's friend."

"Don't worry, the other person is a good person."

"He is male, yes, but very reliable."

These words made Uesugi Genshin scratch his head, wondering how he had been dragged into this...

"I'm at my sister's doorstep right now."

"No, no one's home at my sister's house."

“He’s my sister’s friend, and the rest of my team were there. There’s no way they would just send me home.”

She truly is a mother, and her love for her child is genuine; it's just that everyone expresses it differently.

"I'm safe now." Kazuka Toyohama's tone became somewhat stiff, and she sounded slightly annoyed.

"Yes, he is by my side." This made Uesugi Genshin feel uneasy.

really......

"Here, my mom asked me to give you the phone." Feng Bin and Xiang's expression didn't seem very happy.

This made Uesugi Genshin scratch his face. This kind of parent is the most troublesome. In this kind of situation, she will treat you like a child and speak to you in a condescending tone, using a scolding or instructive tone.

After all, he was Mai Sakurajima's friend, which meant he was actually from a different generation than Toyohama's mother.

"Pfft." Seeing Uesugi Genshin's troubled expression, Toyohama Kazuka laughed instead.

Then, after being glared at fiercely by Uesugi Genshin, she touched his sideburns in a comforting gesture.

Staring into those seemingly harmless, even somewhat endearing, eyes, her irises were as deep as whirlpools on the sea, as dark as an unseen abyss, suffocating to behold.

"..."

"Hey."

"Hello, sir." The voice on the other end perfectly matched the image of a mother.

"Thank you so much for saving Kaori."

"No, it was just something I did on the side."

"Yes, but anyway, thank you very much."

"No no."

"What are your plans for the future?" This is a probing question.

"...After that, let's find a place nearby to spend the night."

"No, what I wanted to ask was..."

"I have a friend in Chiba, and I need to hurry over there."

"Is that so? Then could you...?"

"The road isn't very safe. We took several detours just to get here. It would be very difficult to deliver all the pink bullets to everyone."

"Sweet bullets! Sweet bullets!" Kaori Toyohama, standing next to him, waved her pink fist in front of Uesugi Genshin's eyes, which was a bit dazzling. Uesugi Genshin pressed down on her golden hair and pushed her aside.

"Well......"

"What about He Xiang?"

"I will find a safe place to put them down together. If they help each other, they should be able to survive."

The fist that had been waving around lowered, and Toyohama and Kaori also quieted down.

Despite having anticipated this, hearing it directly from his mouth still left me with an indescribable feeling of unease.

"Can't we really send He Xiang home?" That's a truly blatant lie.

“It’s dangerous outside.” That was Uesugi Genshin’s reply.

"...Then I'll leave it to you." Distance makes the heart grow fonder, and the kind, magnetic voice of the young man was the kind of voice that wouldn't leave a negative impression.

"I understand, after all, she's a friend's sister."

To Fengbin's mother, this must have sounded very ironic, because in the end, her own daughter was saved because of her rival's daughter.

Uesugi Genshin returned the phone to Toyohama Kazuka, who had suddenly become cold.

"?"

"Hey, Mom."

"I understand, don't worry. You should also be careful."

She calmly spoke her last words to her mother. At this time, it was already a great effort for ordinary people to take care of themselves.

After hanging up the phone, Feng Bin and Xiang pursed their lips and asked, "What do we do next?"

Chapter Thirty-One: Living Here

“Yeah, what should we do?” Uesugi Genshin looked at Sakurajima Mai’s door again. “If only we could pry it open.”

"Huh? Can we pry it open?" Toyohama Kazuka asked excitedly, her eyes filled with anticipation.

"How could that be? I don't have that skill." There's no opportunity to learn such a skill. The apartment doors, which are all the same type, aren't high-end; they're just ordinary ones that you open with a key.

But now he was blocked by this small door, and Uesugi Genshin, who was very confident in himself, touched the door in great distress.

"...Let's go downstairs and take a look. We still need to find a place to spend the night."

There aren't many people in the apartment during the day, so he'd better check the surroundings first. He remembered there was someone on the first floor, and maybe he could find the keys or something on him; the chances were pretty high.

In an instant, Uesugi Genshin came up with a solution for how to spend the night.

"Alright then." Toyohama Kazuka put her hands behind her back, her right hand gripping her left wrist, a stance that highlighted the fact that she wasn't particularly well-endowed.

Uesugi Genshin turned and walked towards the emergency staircase, the same staircase he had come up from.

The dark stairwell lit up again after the door was opened, illuminating the sign for the ninth floor.

Following the stairs to the eighth floor, Fengbin and Xiang followed obediently behind. The eighth floor had the same layout as the ninth floor and was very quiet.

On the seventh floor, things are a little different; there's an open door that can be seen from the side.

"..."

At this time, it's definitely not normal for the door to be open, rather than the homeowner accidentally forgetting to close it.

Uesugi Gen casually blocked Toyohama Kaori's front slightly, then waved his hand behind him, signaling her to step back a little.

He approached slowly, glancing around to avoid being attacked from both sides. Street fighting was his absolute least favorite thing, and it felt like he was back in that winter in Stalingrad.

Keep your ears close to the ground, pay attention to any movements, move your legs nimbly, and keep your eyes fixed on what's behind you.

I slowly walked along the wall opposite the door and didn't encounter the attack I had imagined, but there was indeed a wandering figure inside the door.

Like a wandering ghost, it roams the room.

It's a zombie.

Is this the only one?

Genji Uesugi tapped the wall behind him lightly with the baseball bat in his hand; he would not enter unknown territory unless absolutely necessary.

The person inside, who was as dazed as a robot, turned around and looked at the door. Then, seeing Uesugi Genshin outside, he dragged his awkward body toward the door in an instant.

There was another one inside, and Uesugi Genshin heard a sound that was out of sight.

First, knock the one that came over to the ground, and then the other one quickly appeared. This one was different from the first one; it was very agile, and its dried blood soaked its whole body.

With a nimble spin, Uesugi Genshin threw the zombie off balance, stepping on the first one's body. The arc of the baseball bat was like a slash, the wind whistling, and the second one was also killed.

The first zombie struggled to its feet, but it could not defy the constraints of its bones, for it was lying on the ground and could not reach its back with its hands twisted behind it.

Hearing no further movement from inside the door, Uesugi Genshin broke the limbs of the zombie at his feet one by one with his club.