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

“It’s not superficial,” Toyohama Kazuka first argued quietly, then explained, “It’s sentimentality.”

"Ying is a bit childish. If you can make her feel safe, she will rely on you. As for Lanzi, she works as a print model, but don't be fooled by her sexy appearance. She's actually quite conservative."

She listed them off: "She usually wears long pants, is indifferent to men, is sensitive, and has never had a boyfriend. No, it's more accurate to say that none of us in the team have any dating experience."

"Wow, that's hard to imagine." After all, they are female high school students, most of whom are those who slipped through the net of compulsory education.

"The agency's ban, that's just how the idol industry is. If you really want it to last, there are some rules you have to follow."

Indeed, when people hear that their idol is in a relationship or getting married, they instantly turn from fans to haters. But that's just how idols are.

Simply put, it means giving up your private life for your future career until you actually graduate and become a star, but most of you are only half-baked.

Starting out as an actor is slightly better, but regular employees are still the biggest enemy of all men!

"What about Anong and Guangchuan?" There are two other people.

"Yae has her own opinions and usually supports Uzuki as the vice-captain. I'm not sure what she's thinking. As for Uzuki, she's a very natural person. She gets along with everyone, but she doesn't have any particularly close friends."

Yes, she's a girl who's gentle to everyone.

"It's a wonder you explained so much." This included Nakago and Okazaki.

"Because of my mistake, you misunderstood and took things out of context, causing their reputation to suffer. Of course, I will explain to you seriously."

Uesugi Genshin laughed heartily. If anyone were to say that Hachiman was a dead-fish-eyed, gloomy man in front of him, he would defend him.

After a while, he suddenly said, "No, not yet."

"...I didn't expect you to be such a devoted person." Toyohama Kazuka muttered softly.

"I am the most affectionate man in Hokkaido." His tone was deliberately smug. "I will not start a new relationship unless she explicitly says that she does not like me."

The two of them inspected all the rooms together, including the bathroom, and completely eliminated any potential hazards. They left the house, left the door slightly ajar, and waited for the elevator.

Feng Bin and Xiang suddenly asked from behind, "What kind of person is the other party?"

"what?"

I mean the person you like.

"Ah, she started her career in high school just like me. She's a novelist, ranked first in her senior year, has long black hair, a pretty face, a curvy figure, and full thighs. Her liking for wearing black pantyhose really appeals to me."

A novelist? This brings me one step closer to understanding Uesugi Genshin.

Kazuka Toyohama smoothed her dyed blonde hair. She might not have the best figure, but she was confident in her face. Besides, she was a top student who had been admitted to Yokohama Girls' Noble School with honors.

"I didn't expect you to be such a pervert." Toyohama Kazuka looked down at her black stockings, then felt a little annoyed that she could "see" them.

"Hey, hey, hey, you're not holding back at all with your words. Is this what you call 'fun'?" The two walked into the elevator together.

Feng Bin and Xiang nudged him, making him look this way. Covering his long, slender legs were black stockings that revealed the color of his skin.

"You like anything that looks good, right?"

“Oh, right.” He turned his head and pressed the button for the basement.

"Want to lick it?"

"Of course not, unless you're wearing white."

That's a shocking statement.

“This is sexual harassment.” Kaori Toyohama’s face gradually turned crimson, the color spreading to her neck and ears.

“Just kidding, warning of a fungal lung infection.” Uesugi Genshin grinned dismissively.

"It's not that dirty..." she muttered, "So if there were no fungi, you would lick it?"

"Hmm~" Uesugi Genshin made an ambiguous sound.

"You really are a pervert," Toyohama Kazuka remarked.

"Shut up, I didn't expect you to lick me."

"Hmph~"

As the elevator stopped, Toyohama Kazuka removed the hair tie from his head from behind, letting his hair fall loose again. The added weight at the back of his head made him shake his head vigorously, and his hair fell in front of him again, covering half of his face.

"It looks uncomfortable for you to wear this. You can just wear it when you need to from now on."

As she spoke, Toyohama Kaori reached out and took his hand, lifted it up, and used the hair tie to slip it onto his wrist.

"Okay, okay, I got it." Uesugi Genshin shook off her hand and stepped out of the elevator.

The underground parking lot remained unchanged from before. Looking at the Wrangler parked in the corner, it was both hidden and conspicuous.

They approached the Wrangler and could see the figure inside moving through the glass. The door opened, and Hirokawa Uzuki got out.

"How are you, Xiao He, brother?"

"Miss Mai isn't here, but we found an empty house with a door that can be opened, so we'll stay there tonight."

Hirokawa Uzuki smiled happily and clapped her hands, saying, "Is that so? That's great!"

Uesugi Genshin turned to look at the parking lot exit, but there was still no movement.

"Then let's call everyone out." Uesugi Genshin took the car keys from Hirokawa Uzuki and opened the trunk.

“Okay.” Hirokawa Uzuki leaned into the passenger seat where the door had just opened. “Everyone, we’ll be staying here tonight.”

"That's it."

"Oh~"

"Great."

Nakago Ranko, Anno Yae, and Okazaki Hotaru got out of the car. Uesugi Genshin unloaded some things from the trunk, while Hirokawa Uzuki took the bento box that was on the front seat.

Fengbin and Xiang came over on their own initiative to help carry things; she already knew that Genshin planned to leave them there.

Seeing the two people busy at work in the back of the car, Nakago Ranko and Hirokawa Uzuki took the food bags from Toyohama and Kaori, while Anno Yae and Okazaki Hotaru took Uesugi Genshin's items from the other side.

They emptied almost the entire trunk, their hands stuffed full. Uesugi Genshin lifted a box with one hand and closed the trunk with the other.

"Let's go."

"Which floor?" asked Hirokawa Uzuki, who was leading the way and carrying a box, to Toyohama Kazuka.

"On the seventh floor."

"How's the room?" Hotaru Okazaki poked her head out from among a pile of cans in her hands.

"The 3DLK apartment is quite spacious. The owner of the room seems to be a woman, and she's not a slovenly person; it's fairly clean."

Ranko Nakago nodded happily from behind, praising, "Mmm-hmm." Finally, they could rest.

"Hey, it's amazing that you guys were able to find this house, brothers," said Yae Anno, walking alongside Uesugi Genshin.

"Haha." Uesugi Genshin felt like he had forgotten something.

Chapter Thirty-Three: Staying Here

"This, this terrible scene..." The four people looked shocked.

"Brother, what exactly did you and Xiao He do?"

Calling it a bloody, mangled pile of rotten flesh might be an exaggeration, but it really was a mess.

It cannot be examined closely, for doing so will evoke a nameless fear that makes one's heart tremble—a primal, intuitive fear of death.

"I gave Feng Bin a chance to toughen up; it's a training exercise," Uesugi Genshin said casually. "In the past, it was a peaceful era, but now, every qualified person in this post-apocalyptic world has to go through this kind of trial."

Hirokawa Uzuki covered her mouth, her voice leaking out from between her fingers, sounding somewhat hesitant.

"Isn't this too harsh? It doesn't necessarily have to be now."

Uesugi Genshin bent down, pulled the body up, and carried it towards the window. "No, it has to be now. I'm leaving tomorrow."

Fengbin and Xiang followed and helped lift the leg that was not stained with dirty blood.

"Hey? Brother, where are you going?"

There was no piercing scream, just a dead object, heavy as it slammed to the ground, startling the zombies in the distance.

"Going back to Chiba, I can't take you with me. It's safe here, staying for a few weeks shouldn't be a problem. We'll see what the government decides after that."

"..."

Hirokawa Uzuki was somewhat stunned, a sense of suffocation rising in her heart, a feeling of emptiness, not so much of love, but more of the melancholy of dependence followed by independence.

Somewhat timid, Okazaki Hotaru clutched the hem of her skirt, desperately wanting to hold on, but troubled by their relationship, she remained silent.

Uesugi Genshin dusted off his hands and, together with Toyohama Kazuka, threw the other one down as well.

Then he led Hirokawa Uzuki and the others to the room. To be honest, it was quite a mess. The floor was covered in blood, and the bedroom they had seen earlier was also in a mess.

"Let's clean it up a bit."

"Ah, um, brother, take a rest and leave the rest to us."

"That's a huge help." There was no hesitation.

The afternoons always seem to drag on endlessly. If I didn't have so many things to do, I wouldn't be so tired right now.

This body is not adapted to such a high level of mental concentration; even ordinary exercise is done mechanically and is much easier than this.

Uesugi Genshin walked to the long sofa with his back to the window. As he lay down, a slight tingling sensation, like being stung by static electricity, appeared in his brain. Suddenly, the sound of their footsteps seemed to amplify.

When lying flat, the light from the overhead lamp made my eyes uncomfortable, so I curled up and my head gradually felt heavier.

When I woke up again, the lights were off, no, the whole room was dimly lit, with only the moonlight shining through the window illuminating the room.

"you're awake."

The voice came through my right ear; it was Toyohama Kaori's voice. Before I knew it, my body had returned to its sleeping position, face up.

"Hmm, where are the others?" Only the breathing of the two people could be heard in the room.

"You're asleep. I didn't wake you up since you were asleep."

The original plan was to discuss how to divide the rooms, but since they were already asleep, there was no need to wake them up.

"how about you?"

Uesugi Genshin sat up, then remembered something and stood up to walk towards the semi-open kitchen.

“I’m not sleepy,” said Kazuka Toyohama, looking at Genshin Uesugi who had opened the refrigerator.

She sat on a chair at the dining table, her shoes off, revealing her flawless white legs along with her black stockings.

Her calves swayed restlessly under the table, her toes curled up slightly, then twisted and rubbed together.

"is that so."

Uesugi Genshin opened the refrigerator, which was filled with a wide variety of food, mostly items with expiration dates, such as bread, butter, and yogurt.

He saw what he had taken on the side of the refrigerator, and there was an unexpected surprise.

Kazuka Toyohama looked at the bottle-shaped object he took out of the refrigerator.

"what is that?"

“Barley juice, and…” Uesugi Genshin turned the dark brown bottle, thinking about how to describe it, “Barley beverage.”

He got the whiskey from the convenience store because it was expensive; Japan is a major whiskey-producing country.

The difference in craftsmanship is also reflected in the price, and scarcity drives up the price, so this is a cost-effective option.

However, it was unexpected that the owner of this house kept beer in the refrigerator, which suggests that he is also a typical office worker.

"Would you like a drink?" He casually grabbed a thick, wide glass from the kitchen and placed it on the dining table.

As he sat down, he smelled a pleasant fragrance from across the table—most likely the smell of shampoo.

"...No." Feng Bin and Xiang smelled the pungent smell of alcohol when the bottle was opened. The liquid splashed on the glass, making a pleasant sound, but the smell that permeated the whole room was rather unpleasant.

She then got up to open the window. Uesugi Genshin watched her open the window, her fair feet making a tapping sound on the wooden board. He brought the rim of the cup to his lips and took a small sip.

The moment the window opened, a strong wind swept through, and the gift of nature flashed in Uesugi Genshin's eyes.

The black lace left an incredibly deep impression.

"That's really surprising."