Chapter 53

The previous line by Oda-san was slightly revised.

The arrival of new refugees planted seeds of unease in the hearts of Oda-san and the other police officers, including myself, but the man seemed to blend in with the refugees surprisingly quickly.

He had a tanned complexion and a nose ring, giving off a rather flashy impression, but it seemed that his appearance was indeed a reflection of his high communication skills. He never stopped smiling, which might have been one of the reasons.

To me, his constant grin seemed untrustworthy, but perhaps this impression was also influenced by what I knew from my skills.

Oda-san said he didn't want to add more anxiety to everyone while the rescue helicopter hadn't arrived yet. Still, I warned Kaede and Yuki to be cautious of him. I didn't need to tell the other refugees, but I made sure to tell them not to be alone, to lock their doors properly, and not to respond after it got dark, and I also mentioned that Oda-san was also on guard, using his name.

When I suddenly said this to them, they looked puzzled, but when I mentioned that he had a pistol, they showed some understanding. Of course, in today's world, it's not uncommon for someone to pick up a pistol, and using it might be a natural choice. They seemed to understand this but still felt something was off.

After all, I had let Kaede carry a pistol from the home center. If simply having a pistol was the reason to be cautious, it would be hypocritical for me to say so.

However, Kaede nodded more clearly than Yuki, saying, "Since it's you saying it, I will." Now, that somewhat blind trust is appreciated.

+++++

The man's room was within the range of my presence detection from my room, and I kept an eye on it at night, but he didn't show any suspicious movements. The lookout outside seemed to be still there, but there was no movement from that side either.

Even if we wanted to take action against the lookout, we couldn't move. If we went out at night, we wouldn't know the man's movements inside the police station. Besides, even if we wanted to take action, we couldn't think of a good way to do it.

Three days have passed since the man arrived, and today is the day to retrieve the car I came in.

We moved some cars in the garage to make space. The plan is to drive directly into the space.

The problem was how to get outside, so we decided to use the disaster response vehicle used for food procurement. The plan was to follow the usual procedure for going outside, with one person getting out of the car and switching to the disaster response vehicle.

The question was who would do it, and of course, it was me. Oda-san initially showed reluctance when I said I would do it, but ultimately, someone had to do it. Since no one was willing to do it voluntarily, it had to be the one who volunteered. Moreover, I strongly insisted, so Oda-san agreed.

However, there was no one at the city hall now, so we couldn't guide the zombies as usual.

As a substitute, we decided to use a cargo drone. By attaching a smartphone and playing sounds at maximum volume, we could guide the zombies.

We did some experiments, but the reaction was not as noticeable as when they saw a human. Additionally, flying the drone downward from the rooftop was difficult, so it was only marginally effective.

That's why the person retrieving the car was in danger, and the people opening and closing the garage shutter were also at increased risk. I considered joining them to reduce everyone's risk, but with more people, they could support each other. If the guidance went well, the garage side shouldn't be that dangerous.

I got into the back seat of the disaster response vehicle. This time, the driver was Oda-san's subordinate, the skinhead.

"Mr. Yanagi, if it looks too difficult, you don't have to get out."

"It's fine, I won't push it."

I said that, but I wanted to retrieve the car if possible. I planned to take some risks, but not too much.

It seemed that the drone guidance was working quite well, and there weren't many zombies in front of the garage. As I was thinking this, the radio signal came in.

"Let's go, Mr. Yanagi."

Following the same procedure as when we procured food, the car shot out of the garage. There were still a few zombies by my car.

The shutter closed quickly behind me. It didn't seem like any zombies got inside.

"Damn, there are quite a few! What do we do?"

"Move a little closer and stop... here is fine."

As the car moved closer, bumping over the zombies, I opened the door and pushed the zombies away.

I immediately jumped out of the car and closed the door.

"Mr. Yanagi!"

As the voice came from the car, I swung the axe diagonally downward at the head of a zombie attacking the front of the car. The blade sank halfway into its ear, and as I pulled it out, the zombie slowly fell. I then finished off the zombie I had knocked down with the door by swinging the axe at its head.

I kicked a zombie coming from the side and smashed the head of another zombie trying to block my way with the axe, then got back into the car.

I closed the passenger side door, which had been left open when Kaede and I evacuated, and started the engine.

"Got it. Let's take a little drive as planned."

I spoke to the skinhead police officer over the radio.

"Truly... you're something else."

A voice of exasperation came from the radio.

+++++

We didn't return immediately after retrieving the car because the zombies around us had already reacted, making the garage side dangerous. The plan was to drive around to lure the zombies out of the compound.

After doing this, we returned to the garage without any issues.

Oda-san and the others were very pleased to see the food packed tightly in the back seat. The skinhead was excitedly talking about my performance outside, which was a bit embarrassing.

I left the rest to Oda-san and returned to the living area, saying I was worried about the "newcomer." Oda-san seemed to understand.

I thought he wouldn't do anything in broad daylight, but the police officers were focused on retrieving the car, so I wanted to be cautious.

When I moved to the third floor, there were no refugees in the area I could sense. As I moved toward my room, I sensed something.

"Damn!"

Using my presence detection, I realized Kaede was in the man's room, and she was alone with him.

I immediately ran and broke down the locked door without even ramming it with my body.

What I saw was Kaede, with her jacket pulled up and a small knife at her neck, tears streaming down her face.