Everything is the Americans' Fault

As Christina and I rushed out into the corridor, a blood-soaked crowd was surging toward us from the far end. Their faces were drained of all color, looking for all the world like the walking dead.

I knew exactly what they were—Zombies.

"Get inside!"

I grabbed Christina by the hand, pulled her back into the room, and slammed the door shut.

Finally, I can relax. Everyone knows zombies can’t open doors!

I hadn't spent my previous life in Japan just daydreaming; I had spent countless hours planning exactly what to do in the event of a zombie apocalypse. I was prepared for everything.

"Help me! We need to barricade the door with furniture!!"

"No, no, it’s fine. Zombies can't open do—"

Click.

The moment the sound hit my ears, I whipped around. A zombie had already turned the handle and was poking its head inside.

"—Hwah!"

I sent the zombie’s face flying with a Sonic Back-Spin Kick, slammed the door shut again, and gripped the handle with white-knuckled intensity.

"F-f-furniture! Hurry!"

Opening a door is a total rule violation!

Christina scrambled to gather every piece of furniture in the room to build a barricade. We even wedged the doorknob shut.

Okay, now I can relax—

CRACK!

"Whaaaaaaaaat!?"

Unbelievable. A zombie’s hand had just punched a hole straight through the wood.

"Dammit... the door won't hold for long."

Breaking down doors is also a rule violation!

"No, no, no... how? Why is this happening?" I stammered.

"It’s no wonder you’re shocked," Christina said, her voice trembling. "They’re stronger than humans and faster, too. To make matters worse, they still retain a lingering trace of their human intellect."

"T-that's..."

I finally realized the truth. These weren't just Zombies—they were Super Zombies!

Allow me to explain. Traditionally, zombies were slow, dim-witted fodder. The trade-off for their immortality was their lack of mobility. But if they stayed that way, Americans would just go "HAHAHA!" and mow them down with machine guns and rocket launchers. The horror movies would just turn into mindless action flicks.

Thus, the Super Zombie was born!

They’re agile, they’re strong, they possess a shred of intelligence, and they swarm Americans in massive groups! Even the "HAHAHA" Americans with their heavy artillery struggled against the Super Zombie hordes. Eventually, the Americans had to evolve, too, gaining superhuman abilities of their own...

"H-how did things end up like this...?"

"It’s all the Doem Faction's fault," Christina spat. "They went around the city distributing Red Candy to the citizens, claiming it was a 'prayer for victory.' Everyone who ate them turned into... that... the very next day."

"I take it you didn't eat any?"

"I only eat candy from the Mitsugoshi Company. Specifically, the 'Fighting Women are Beautiful from the Inside: Special Beauty Drop DX.' They're ten thousand Zeny per drop."

"I see. Very 'special beauty' of you."

The manufacturing cost on those has to be ten Zeny, tops.

"They're incredibly strong," she continued. "Once they grab you, even a Spellsword would have a hard time shaking them off. If we get surrounded, it's over."

As she spoke, the door was being hammered with heavy thuds, and the hole was widening by the second. I could see at least thirty zombies crowding the hallway through the gaps.

In a situation like this, what would a mob character do? Should I scream, "I’m getting out of here!" and try to bolt on my own? No... that felt like an event for a little further down the line.

Either way, staying here was a one-way ticket to a "Bad End" for a mob.

"We have to get out of here."

"Right... let's head for the Mitsugoshi Company Oriana Kingdom Branch."

"The Mitsugoshi Company? Why there?"

"Word is they’re providing shelter for the citizens. I don't know if it's true, and for all I know, they’ve already been wiped out, but..."

"But it’s our only shot. Right?"

"Exactly."

The Mitsugoshi girls will be fine, I thought. But if the Anti-Doem Faction enters the city in this state, it's going to be a bloodbath. It was a foregone conclusion that getting bitten meant certain infection.

"There aren't many of them below the window yet. We’re jumping!"

Christina hooked her leg over the windowsill and looked back at me. "Sid-kun, you were in Division 7 of the Royal Capital Bushin Style, right?"

"I got promoted to 6th recently."

"Division 6, huh...? W-well, that kick of yours was actually pretty sharp. I’m sure you’ll make it to the upper classes in no time!"

Christina’s expression darkened for a split second before she forced a reassuring smile. I couldn't blame her. In the Royal Capital Bushin Style, being in Division 6 meant you were the bottom of the barrel.

"I'm in Division 2, so I'll take the lead!"

Division 2 after only a year? That’s actually impressive. Definitely not mob material.

I followed Christina and leaped out the window.