Chapter 58

I questioned the bald guy to verify the truth of the information I currently know. I don't think the dark-skinned man would lie in that situation, but since he's just a low-ranking member, there's a possibility that he might have been fed false information.

After all, I sent him to the police station alone, and he might disappear by helicopter or be interrogated by the police. There's a risk he might slip up, and it wouldn't be wise to tell such a person the real location of our hideout.

However, it turned out that my concern was unfounded, as the information from the bald guy's mouth was almost consistent.

It seems they didn't expect their hideout to be attacked. Indeed, in these times, no one would deliberately provoke a group armed with guns. Besides, even if they had to fight the police, it didn't seem to be a problem. This was apparently related to the word "grudge" I overheard earlier.

This group, it seems, was originally a gang of half-gangsters. Before the zombies overflowed, they had their business disrupted multiple times and their subordinates arrested, and their leader had a personal grudge against Mr. Oda.

"......I see, I thought it was strange that you would deliberately antagonize the police. So, you guys are just a bunch of scum, huh."

"Ah..."

The "intimidation" is already off, but the fear still lingers, and the bald guy looks up at me with a frightened expression.

"Are there any outsiders in your hideout besides your comrades?"

"N-no, there aren't!"

"Really? Don't you kidnap women or anything?"

"N-no, there were no living women! I swear!"

If that's the case, I don't need to worry about any unnecessary distractions. However, if I were to encounter the kind of hostility like these two just now in the hideout, I wouldn't hold back, regardless of who it was.

I pulled the cowering bald guy to his feet, grabbed the back of his neck, and made him walk. I led him to the toilet, took out some zip ties and rope from the item box, and chose a sturdy exposed pipe to tie him up.

"Ah, who are you exactly..."

"I'm going to check if what you said is true. You know what will happen if you lied, right?"

"R-really! I didn't lie! Ah! W-wait!"

As I was about to leave, the bald guy called out to me.

"Ah, crack his head open before you go! Please!"

"......What do you mean?"

"He's going to die like that! You have to crack his head!"

He must be talking about the blonde whose arm I "cut off." When I was interrogating the bald guy, he was making pitiful noises, but now he's lying there, pale-faced and motionless. But what does that have to do with cracking his head?

Does he want me to kill him to end his suffering? No, I remember he said the same thing when I pretended to be hurt by the blonde...

Just then,

"Hmm?"

A sudden undead presence appeared in my "Battlefield Awareness." It was a new reaction that appeared after the blonde's reaction, which had weakened to the extreme, disappeared.

With a groan like a raspy breath, it slowly got up and started walking towards me.

"Please, do something!"

The man, struggling and shaking the part where he was restrained, pleaded with me. Encountering an incomprehensible phenomenon, I kicked the zombie to keep my distance and rechecked the skill's reaction.

Sure enough, this guy is definitely an undead.

I picked up a crowbar from the floor and smashed it into the zombie's head, then turned and grabbed the bald guy by the collar, who looked somewhat relieved.

"What's going on? Why did he turn into a zombie? Was he already bitten?"

"Ah! N-no! When someone dies, they all turn like that! Even if they weren't bitten!"

...What?

Zombies are supposed to only turn if they are cursed by a zombie. But the blonde has clearly turned into a zombie. Moreover, I don't think this guy, who is still trembling in fear, is lying.

I want to ask more, but... well, it doesn't matter.

We don't have much time. If the hideout location turns out to be a lie, it will take even longer. Besides, the truth of what this guy just said can be "verified" when we go to the place.

"Anyway, I'm going, so stay put. You can't run even if you try."

I said this to the trembling, shrinking bald guy, glanced at the fallen zombie blonde, and left the room.