Chapter 32

After that, from the second store, I also went out to help, and we visited a few small stores before finally arriving at the supermarket, which was our final destination for today.

The journey so far had been cautious, avoiding stores with too many zombies inside and keeping an eye on the zombies in the vicinity, so we couldn't spend much time and couldn't gather as many supplies as we had hoped.

But that was within our expectations. We decided to collect as much as possible whenever it was safe during the journey, and the main target was this store.

The front of this relatively large supermarket, a bit away from the station, was completely shuttered. The parking lot had a sparse but not insignificant number of zombies wandering around.

After confirming this, Oda-san drove around the surrounding roads in a wide circle and moved to the back.

There was a loading dock at the end of a relatively spacious area, where trucks would normally park. The loading dock was also shuttered, and fortunately, there weren't many zombies in the back alley, which was away from the main road.

"Looks like we can do it. Let's go."

As Oda-san gave the signal, the two vehicles entered the space, one from the front and one from the back.

Oda-san parked the car right up to the shutter.

The two people on the back of the truck opened the shutter without getting out of the car, and the two vehicles slid into the loading dock. The car that entered from the front then closed the shutter, reversing the earlier procedure.

The time it took was minimal, but a few zombies managed to get in. The zombies tried to attack the people on the back of the truck, but the disaster response vehicles were high off the ground, and their teeth couldn't reach. Axes were mercilessly brought down on their defenseless heads, creating a few more zombie corpses.

The sound of zombies pounding on the shutter echoed, unable to enter the loading dock.

"It seems to have worked... Keep an eye on the surroundings."

Oda-san let out a sigh of relief and sent a radio message.

A small amount of daylight filtered in through a high window, making the building not completely dark but certainly not bright.

Still, we shone flashlights from the back of the truck, cautiously checking for any abnormalities before getting out of the car.

The presence detection showed no zombie reactions inside the loading dock. It seemed safe.

However, the zombies outside, though few in number now, would likely be drawn by the noise and gather in the area. I was a bit worried about the return trip.

"By the time we finish, they should have dispersed a bit. Of course, it's always better to be cautious."

Oda-san said this to me, glancing at the shutter still being pounded.

"Finding a place with a lot of supplies was lucky."

Oda-san had said that this supermarket was probably shuttered from the day of the pandemic. It was likely closed after business hours and after goods were delivered. The panic must have occurred when the loading dock shutter was closed, and it remained that way. When Oda-san and his team first came here, there were no zombies inside.

The fact that the store had shutters on all its fronts was the greatest stroke of luck, Oda-san had said.

First, we moved the zombies we had killed in the loading dock to the side of the building. This way, we wouldn't have to worry about their bodies while moving supplies, and they wouldn't get in the way if we had to retreat unexpectedly.

Then, we entered the store through the dark back room from the loading dock, maintaining constant vigilance and advancing in formation.

The store was large, and the presence detection didn't cover everything, but there were no reactions within range. The only light came from the small windows at the top of the walls on either side of the building, and the center of the large store was almost completely dark. The aisles between the shelves were even darker.

We worked for a considerable amount of time, carefully illuminating the darkness with flashlights.

+++++

Loading supplies at the supermarket took a long time, well past noon, but it was completed without any issues. When we left, as Oda-san had predicted, the sound of zombies pounding on the shutter had stopped, and the escape was not particularly dangerous.

This was because when we exited the loading dock, the first thing the zombies outside would see was the people on the back of the leading vehicle. If that vehicle drove out, the zombies would chase it, giving the trailing vehicle the chance to close the shutter. This sequence of events minimized the risk.

Of course, there was still some danger, but it was a perfect embodiment of Oda-san's philosophy of doing as much as possible.

As I admired Oda-san's skills, he asked me quietly while driving.

"…Yanagi-san. Are you really going to go?"

"Yeah."

I answered his question quietly with just one word.

"Yanagi-san, you didn't hesitate to face the zombies. It would be great if someone like you were at the shelter... If you come back, you can help again."

"...I see."

After that, the car was silent except for Oda-san's radio communications. Oda-san seemed to want to say something but never did. Eventually, we reached a place with few zombies where it was safe to get out.

"Here is fine. I'll choose a sunny day and probably come back by car, but I don't know when."

"...Be careful."

Without turning back to the sad voice of Oda-san from behind, I quickly got out of the car.