Chapter 11: Followers Fight Monsters, Lie Down and Get Stronger! Alyna's Car!
Leaving the pharmacy.
Upon seeing the miserable corpse of the man with an average build, Akira showed absolutely no reaction at all and didn't even seem surprised in the slightest.
— "You had already noticed that they were plotting something, right?" — Aya asked, full of curiosity.
— "Exactly." — Akira nodded without the slightest hesitation.
It was extremely easy to notice, just by listening to that skinny guy's conversation.
Nowadays, medicine is an absurdly precious resource, and the value of that entire stockpile is immeasurably higher than any ordinary treasure.
Even a complete idiot wouldn't offer something like that completely for free.
— "So... you could've let me deal with it by myself..." — Aya pouted slightly, looking a bit frustrated.
— "If you can't even handle two insignificant cockroaches, then you're not worthy of being my follower." — Akira replied in a cold but absolutely direct tone.
Aya's face instantly froze completely.
She lowered her head, bit her lips tightly, and remained completely silent.
Seeing that somewhat downcast expression, Akira couldn't help but find the scene slightly amusing.
— "Alright, fine... Actually, I also did it because I want you to start getting used to it. You need to gain more experience." — he said, now with a slightly softer tone.
— "In this world, now filled with monsters, demons, and people who are even worse than any abomination... everyone hides their true intentions... You simply can't blindly trust anyone."
— "Otherwise, you're going to end up getting yourself hurt."
Aya was raised inside an ivory tower, a delicate flower protected inside a greenhouse, far away from any real danger.
But now, she absolutely needs to be forced to face this cruel and bloody reality that the world has become.
Besides that, she's already an awakened. For someone like her, two ordinary humans don't even represent the slightest threat — they would never even be able to touch the hem of her clothes.
Looking at Akira's serious and determined profile, a gentle smile appeared inside Aya's eyes, even if only faintly.
This guy... He may look tough and cold on the outside, but deep down, he actually has a soft heart. It's obvious that he cares about me.
The two then left the laboratory building, walking back through the exact same path they had taken earlier.
The drone that was guiding the zombies was still working perfectly, diverting the hordes and allowing them to pass through incredibly easily.
— "Ah, by the way, there's something I want to ask you..." — Akira turned to her.
— "Do you know if Tokyo University had any partnerships with pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies?"
— "Hmm... Honestly, I have absolutely no idea." — Aya shook her head.
She was just a student, and this kind of information is obviously way beyond anything that any ordinary student would ever have access to.
Akira didn't insist on the subject and fell silent, reflecting deeply.
That image of the LOGO printed on the mysterious box was still extremely vivid inside his mind...
An inverted triangle symbol, similar to an upside-down pyramid.
Just by looking at it, it transmitted a strange and unsettling feeling of mystery.
...
Back to the room.
Alyna promptly took the initiative to grab the bag completely full of medical supplies.
As soon as Akira sat down, she immediately served him tea and water, then began massaging his shoulders and even lightly patting his legs.
She didn't stop demonstrating her courtesy and kindness in absolutely every possible way.
Of course, Akira immediately understood exactly what she was planning.
He had just been promoted to third awakened level and, conveniently, now had an extra contract slot available — so he didn't bother to hold back anymore.
— "Stop worrying so much, sit down." — Akira said, with a calm and composed look.
Alyna obediently sat down right next to him, visibly nervous and, at the same time, filled with expectation.
— "You know very well exactly what the price of signing this contract is, right?" — Akira asked, staring at her seriously.
— "Mm!" — Alyna nodded firmly. — "I will always be loyal and obey absolutely every single one of your orders!" — she replied, in a solemn and determined tone.
Akira then drew his dagger, preparing to make a cut in the palm of his hand.
But, unexpectedly, Alyna quickly grabbed his hand, stopping him immediately.
— "If it's just to drink a little bit of blood... there's no need to make such a big cut like that." — she said, with a look that was both shy and slightly playful.
She then took the knife, gently pricked the tip of Akira's finger, and without a single moment of hesitation, brought his finger straight to her mouth, sucking his blood with an embarrassed expression, her face completely flushed.
That shy and teasing gaze made Akira's heart involuntarily skip a beat for an instant.
What a sexy fairy! — he thought, surprised by that bold and, at the same time, incredibly charming attitude.
As she swallowed the blood, Alyna's expression quickly changed. An intense heat spread throughout her entire body, accompanied by an absurd sensation of strength bubbling from the inside out.
This strength... is simply incredible!
Now, even if dozens of zombies appeared right in front of her, she felt completely confident that she could crush the head of every single one of them with just a single kick!
After all, anyone who signs a contract with Akira directly obtains half of his current strength.
And considering that Akira has just been promoted to awakened level three, Alyna's current power already easily surpasses any awakened of level two!
Not to mention that she is still a black belt in Taekwondo...
Among the three, excluding Akira himself, she is now definitely the strongest one.
— "Starting tomorrow, you three will go out to hunt zombies." — Akira ordered, with a serious look.
— "You need to gain experience and strengthen your abilities. But remember, do not be greedy... Your absolute top priority is safety."
— "Yes!" — the three of them responded in unison.
...
In the following days, they used the dormitory as a base to hunt and eliminate zombies in a carpet-style pattern.
With the exception of the large number of zombies inside the school building, the various small fishes in other places were practically exterminated completely.
The strength of the three girls was also improving continuously and steadily.
Hinata and Aya were both promoted to awakened level two.
Alyna was now advancing quickly towards awakened level three.
And Akira didn't need to make any effort at all, he could simply grow stronger just by lying down.
Super easy and extremely comfortable.
However, for him, for now, killing normal zombies brought almost no real progress anymore.
There was still a long way left until reaching awakened level four.
One week later.
The four of them sat down together, planning very seriously their next steps.
— "I searched inside the small supermarket near the school."
— "Many supplies were found, but basically only snacks and packaged food." — said Alyna.
During this entire period, they were eating chocolate, potato chips, and instant noodles every single day...
Even though it didn't affect their bodies physically, it was still tiring and annoying to always eat the same thing nonstop...
— "What I really want... is to eat meat." — Hinata swallowed her saliva.
Aya opened the map on the tablet, where a specific location was already marked with a big red mark.
— "This is the biggest supermarket located closest to us."
— "This kind of large supermarket usually has refrigerated cold storage rooms, and the supply stock is highly self-sufficient. Besides having food in big quantities, it is also very safe."
— "The medicines that we brought also need refrigeration in order to last for a longer time."
— "It can definitely be considered a temporary shelter." — Aya spoke with a calm and methodical tone.
Akira nodded his head, agreeing fully.
Aya's thoughts were perfectly aligned with his own.
— "We are approximately about ten kilometers away from this supermarket."
— "It looks like we need to figure out a way to get a car somehow." — Akira pondered seriously.
Ten full days had already passed, and the number of infected outside was now completely astronomical.
Countless zombies were wandering through the streets. No matter how strong someone was, you simply couldn't force your way through recklessly anymore.
No matter how skilled someone was in martial arts, they would still feel fear when facing that overwhelming tide of corpses!
— "I have a car, it's parked in the underground parking lot of the Curry restaurant."
At this moment, Alyna said those words.
— "Ordinary cars are no good, they need to have certain off-road capabilities and strong resistance against collisions."
— "Otherwise, even just a few zombies blocking the road can become a really serious problem."
Akira shook his head.
Girls in Japan usually drive small, compact, and very lightweight cars.
That is simply not practical at all in the current apocalyptic environment.
Not to mention fully off-road vehicles, at the very least, it should be a robust and tough SUV.
Suddenly, a metallic sound was heard.
Alyna picked up a key and placed it on the table with a clear snapping sound.
— "Land Rover Range Rover Peak Genesis, extended edition."
— "V8 engine, 5.0 liters, also fully equipped with anti-collision armor plating."
— "Do you think... this one will be good enough?"
— "???"
The three of them were left with pure expressions of total shock, with huge question marks literally drawn on their faces.
— "Dude... this car costs almost sixty million yen, right?"
— "And you... a girl... seriously drive a monstrous beast like this?"
Akira clicked his tongue, visibly and genuinely surprised.
— "I'm... not really very good at driving... My parents got really worried about my safety, so they bought me a super tough and resistant car." — said Alyna, feeling a little embarrassed, scratching her cheek.
Indeed...
Unexpectedly, she really was a young rich heiress after all.
Akira reached out his hand, and without thinking too much, gently messed up her hair.
— "Very good. You were a huge help this time."
— "E-eh..."
Alyna turned completely red, lowering her head shyly, with both hands gripping the hem of her blouse.
Her heart was exploding with overwhelming happiness.
This is the very first time... that Master praises me like this...!
So, so happy...!
...