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

Hayato Hayama laughed and said, "Haha, in the end, I'm not as indifferent as I thought. When I get back, I'll talk to Ms. Haruno and make things clear."

Children will always leave the protection of adults; once they decide to go out, they should never look back.

"Let's go!" Uesugi Genshin called out to the four people sitting obediently with their knees drawn up behind him. The atmosphere between them was like that of someone taking an exam, which was really hard to bear.

"This is my first time driving," said Hayato Hayama, gripping the steering wheel.

“We have to learn it eventually. At least leaders need to learn how to drive. That’s what the three of us agreed on, isn’t it?” Uesugi Genshin rested his arm on the car window and propped his chin on his fist.

"How's Hachiman? You kept those two with you this morning, how did it go?"

"Ah~, that guy is paralyzed right now."

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"Dismissed. The members of the Yeshan team should take a rest. We'll meet again this afternoon. The rest of you are free. Luckily, the timber saddle should stay behind."

"Hmm?" Yoshiteru Zaimokuza looked at everyone else, who were all exhausted, as they took off their protective gear. What did it mean that he was the only one left?

"Hachiman, what's going on? Why aren't you leaving?" He approached Hachiman, who was also staying put, and asked in a low voice, feeling much more relieved that he wasn't alone.

"Ah~, well~, I stayed here voluntarily. Anyway... let's sit down and rest for a while."

After all, there won't be time to rest later.

To avoid affecting the afternoon's operation, Uesugi Genshin kept a backup plan and did not spend the entire morning on them. There was no need to make them sore for the next few days after the first day.

The others looked at Hachiman and Zaimokuza Yoshiteru, who remained at the dojo, with slight confusion, and then left without hesitation, or rather with a kind of schadenfreude as they watched the students being called to stay in the office.

Finally, the entire dojo gave birth to the three of them.

"Why did you stay too?"

"Ha~, we don't have any missions today, so it doesn't matter," Hachiman said.

"Hmph~" Uesugi Genshin smiled with satisfaction, "As expected of you."

"Zaimu Seat." Uesugi Genshin said.

"Yes!"

"There's no need to be so nervous, this is in private."

“That’s how it is,” Yoshiaki Zaimoto said in an archaic tone.

"Let's lose weight."

"Huh? Huh~" Yoshiteru Zaimokuza thought he had misheard. He pointed to himself forcefully, "Me?"

“Besides you, who else needs to lose weight?” Uesugi Genshin said matter-of-factly.

"What about Hachiman?"

"Oh, he's here to build muscle."

With himself and his family in mind, Hachiman Hikigaya is quite serious about becoming stronger, not to mention that as the leader of a squad, he needs to be strong enough to back it up.

"Eh~~~" To Yoshiteru Zaimokuza, the word "weight loss" was a regret he had felt over the past 17 years.

I have thought about losing weight, but I always get distracted by various things, like games, comics, and anime. My time after school is filled with these things, and I can't find a single spare moment to exercise.

Now...

"Hey!!!" He jumped up with all his might, spreading his arms wide in the air in a huge "big" shape.

"Great, let's do another set." Uesugi Genshin said, pressing on Hachiman's legs as he did sit-ups.

"Huh?! I... I can't go on anymore." Yoshiteru Zaimokuza tried to plead his case.

"I'm not the type to yell encouragement in your ear, so... just keep going, hurry up!"

Uesugi Genshin looked at Hachiman and said calmly, "You too."

"I know, um!!!" Hachiman gritted his teeth, let out a roar, and raised his body again.

"When will you fight me again?" Hachiman still had time to speak as he lay down.

"Let's wait until the warm-up is over."

"Warm up?" The burning and soreness in his muscles came over him, but Hachiman felt he could hold on a little longer.

"That's what I wanted to say."

Uesugi Genshin looked toward the exit of the dojo.

"Dinner's ready." Kawasaki Saki called out from the doorway, leaning against the frame. Her gaze swept over Yoshiteru Zaimokuza, who had stopped moving, and Genshin Uesugi, who was assisting her, before finally focusing on Hachiman, who was lying down with his hands behind his head, looking at her.

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"Why aren't you driving your car anymore?" The road was one they had just traveled yesterday, not to mention there was someone pointing the way, so Hayato Hayama found it exceptionally easy to get on the road.

"We have a lot of cargo to load today. We can't go there just because we need to replenish our food every day."

Uesugi Genshin glanced at the fuel gauge pointing to the center and said, "We don't even have enough fuel. We'll have to go to the gas station sometime in the future."

"However, this car is a little..." This car is a manual transmission, completely different from the previous Wrangler Jeep.

Hayato Hayama said with a sigh, "At first, I even felt a bit flustered."

"Didn't you learn to drive at home?" Uesugi Genshin asked.

“There’s no opportunity at home,” Hayama Hayato replied.

My father usually has a driver, so he rarely drives himself. He doesn't have the "insistence" of wanting to sit in the front; on the contrary, he feels that the back seat is more spacious and relaxing.

"I see." Uesugi Genshin nodded. Not every father would nag his son in the passenger seat about the clutch, the accelerator, and the brake, as if he could actually drive it. How could that be? He should wait until he's an adult.

"boom"

The person behind asked, "What? What happened? What did you bump into?"

"The headlights are gone." Uesugi Genshin mourned the loss of the headlights.

"Hahaha..." After yet another flustered moment, Hayama Hayato laughed with a rare guilty expression.

"Quiet down, we'll be there soon," Uesugi Genshin called out to the restless group behind him.

In an instant, the people behind them remembered that they hadn't come out for a picnic; in fact, they hadn't.

Yu Sheng glanced at the zombies that had sped past behind the car; they were desperately chasing after it.

One by one they disappeared from sight, turning into tiny dots on the horizon, yet endlessly, their kind reappeared.

Those who moved quickly were running, while those who moved slowly were quickly left behind. The dust on their bodies and their ferocious faces made them look nothing like normal people.

He had seen this at his own school before, but had never observed it closely.

After making a sharp turn, the car came to a steady stop in a wide-open space, with the main entrance of the BigA supermarket right in front of it.

Uesugi Genshin got out of the carriage first, carrying his sword. He called out to the four men who were sitting quietly in the carriage, not knowing what to do, "Get out."

Being too honest isn't good either; it makes one dull and inflexible.

When my feet touched the ground, I almost lost my balance. I felt uneasy and panicked.

Hobu Sho, seeing the zombies running towards them from the road, exclaimed, "Minister, there are zombies! What do we do?"

There are no walls or anything here that can put their minds at ease.

With a "bang," Hayato Hayama turned off the car and got out.

He strode to the front and struck the zombie that was running towards him with a baseball bat, knocking it to the ground, dead as can be.

One zombie after another was knocked down by him with a single blow from both sides of his stick; most of the remaining zombies were not very agile.

"You go," Uesugi Genshin ordered.

"This..." Before he could even hesitate, Uesugi Genshin was sent rushing over with his scabbard.

"Stand still, keep your distance. Don't get too close, it will affect the team when we attack later. Relax," Uesugi Genshin instructed, step by step.

"Everyone looks like they're struggling." Hayama Hayato returned to Uesugi Genshin's side.

"After all, this is the first time, the first battle. If it happens again, I won't be so lenient." On this point, Uesugi Genshin showed a rare level of patience.

"I won't let you see it," Hayama Hayato assured him. This was his team, and he would take responsibility for it; this was for everyone's good.

"Yes." Uesugi Genshin nodded, drew his sword, and took a few steps forward to avoid any accidents. "Prepare to engage the enemy."

The four men instinctively gripped their baseball bats tightly, their fingers clenching the handles.

The first to come into contact with the zombie was Tobe Sho. He was standing in the very center, but the zombie walked straight toward him.

"Keep your eyes on the enemy, don't look away, don't freeze up, swing your weapon and charge!"

Following Uesugi Genshin's instructions, Tobe Sho did as he was told. The moment he actually swung the fangs at the zombie with its white eyes, a sense of relaxation welled up in his chest, like drinking from a spring in the desert. Something had filled his previously blank mind.

"Ooka, move forward to provide cover," Uesugi Genshin continued to command. There were no zombies on Ooka's side, so the pressure was all on the other side. At this moment, it was necessary to make proactive adjustments.

"Don't move too far forward, maintain the front line."

The number of zombies that followed was small, and they were gradually dealt with over time.

"Yamato, watch your right... The Jade Rope is too far forward, take two steps back."

Until finally only one zombie remained, swaying as it walked towards them. Uesugi Genshin tilted his head in that direction, and Hayama Hayato, understanding, ran over and finished it off.

"Alright, we're safe now."

"It's over..." Yu Sheng felt a sense of relief, his hands were covered in blood, and he just grabbed a zombie's clothes to wipe them clean.

"That's great." "Yes."

"I'm amazing!!!" Tobe Sho jumped up, very excited.

Looking at the corpses scattered on the ground, he found it hard to believe that he had done it.

Of course, the ground was not only covered with the results of their own actions. There were also traces of what happened when Uesugi Genshin and his two companions came here yesterday, as well as from even earlier times. The ground had been decaying for a long time and was already emitting a foul odor.

“Well done, let’s go.” Uesugi Genshin pointed a thumbs-up into the supermarket. “I’ll lead the way this time, you guys can rest in the back. There’s probably no danger.”

"Yes, Minister." "Hooray!"

Uesugi Genshin said to Hayama Hayato, who had run back, "This is how it should be from now on."

Hayato Hayama followed in his footsteps. "Uesugi-kun, you're really good at this. I probably couldn't do it."

"You'll get used to this once you've mastered it. And as for yourself, just do it your way, whether you're commanding from the center or leading the charge from the front. This is your unit."

Commanders should have their own insights and understanding based on their command style and the specific circumstances of the troops.

"That's right."

Chapter 79: A Tragedy Called a Confession Scene

"You've been drinking?" As soon as Uesugi Genshin opened his mouth, Hachiman was met with the overwhelming smell of alcohol.

“A little bit.” Uesugi Genshin gestured with his finger to indicate what he meant by a little bit.

Hachiman peeked out and looked at the four people who had jumped off the carriage, clearly not just unsteady from sitting for too long. "Tradition?"

"Hmm~, let's celebrate the boy becoming a man." Uesugi Genshin picked up a bottle of whiskey from his seat, raised it high, and shouted.

"Yes, Minister." "Oh ho~" "Yay~" "Hahahahahaha..."

Clearly, killing zombies for the first time did not cause them any psychological distress.

"Ah, you look quite energetic." Hachiman looked at Hayama Hayato, who was coming from the other side. "Looks like you haven't had any drinks."

"At the very least, you can't drink and drive."

"Hmm." That's quite reasonable.

"That's all. You take inventory. I'm going to find Yukinoshita now."

Uesugi Genshin then shouted to the back, "Take your things and disperse."

"Okay~" "Let's go back." "I'm exhausted." "I want to sleep."

"He's just a primary school student," Hachiman remarked, "He acts like a child when he's drunk, so lame."

"Then I'm leaving too." Hayama Hayato also left in another direction.