Mutant. A creature that comes from a short evolution or maybe a metamorphosis from a zombie.

For reasons that are still not known for certain, they appeared within a few days after the zombie pandemic.

There are many documented types of mutants. Huge mutants, agile mutants, disgusting mutants and even mutants with iron armor.

Humanity shouldn't be able to survive this kind of attack. However, apart from the sudden appearance of the threat, a miracle also appeared.

Bless. An ability that was suddenly acquired by several people.

Not too far from when the zombie pandemic emerged, previously a lot of humans had uploaded videos about their strange abilities. In some areas, both occur on the same day.

People call it 'bless' because the origin of the ability is unknown, so the easiest way for them is to say that it comes from 'God'. Those who receive this ability are called 'blessed'.

Some can control fire, water and other elements. Some suddenly have hard skin like steel. Some can run as fast as sound. There are many types of bless scattered in the world.

This is a counterbalance to the threat of zombies and mutants. Unfortunately, only a few people have this ability. That way, it's perfectly normal for zombies to be able to quickly spread a pandemic.

Humans who still survive from that period are called survivors. They still survive in this world by facing the threat of apocalypse. Day to day.

Camp. A group of survivors who reside in a designated base.

Basic human strategy which is very commonly heard. Groups are much better than alone. The term 'camp' was born worldwide, displacing the original meaning of 'camp'.

Most camps can survive because they have enough strength to fight off the threat of zombies and mutants. Usually their strength comes from either weaponry or the power of Bless. Or maybe they just didn't meet the threat.

There are different types of camps based on the location of the base. Bridge camp, floating camp, supermarket camp and more. They are looking for a strategic place where they can survive the threat of zombies while allowing them to gain access to resources.

"Damn, the information is still lacking!"

Tanaka who was still in front of his laptop said that.

The information he gets is still very lacking due to limited internet access. There are still many information holes that are considered very important to be uncovered.

How zombies evolve, details of the powers of the blesses, how to defeat mutants and so on. Information that may not be necessary, but in certain situations can be very useful.

However, there is no way to get it. Internet access and information are still limited to local servers. This means that the information that Tanaka saw earlier was only local, although some of it came from abroad.

The documentation available before the apocalypse is becoming less and less reliable. In addition, based on the information that Tanaka received, the wide-scale internet connection was cut off due to the disruption of the submarine cable.

"Damn hoaxer!"

Tanaka is annoyed when he gets tricked into information that looks important on a certain blog.

While Tanaka was trying to download some important pictures for research, he heard a whimper from the girl. Coming from behind, the girl sleeping on Tanaka's bed started to move little by little.

The girl named Yuki Fujiwara.

The girl suddenly woke up from her sleep as if she had just had a bad dream.

Tanaka and Yuki looked at each other.

"Wh-who-"

"Tanaka. Tanaka Hijimori, the owner of this room!”

Before Yuki could finish his sentence, Tanaka immediately replied. Tanaka had experienced the same thing three times, so he already knew quite well what the Yuki girl was going to say.

The question about who Tanaka really is.

“W-what did you do to me!?”

Yuki looked at Tanaka with sinister eyes. In her perspective, suddenly waking up in an unfamiliar room with a strange man around made Yuki feel worried.

However, what Tanaka did from yesterday wasn't bad at all. He even tried to save the life of the girl who was in a weak condition.

Yuki looked like she was reaching into the surroundings. He seemed to be looking for a weapon or something he could use.

Tanaka sighed and looked at the girl more limply.

“I only put you on the bed because you fainted when you were about to attack me with a knife!”

The girl tried to understand it. He tried to remember the previous incident and indeed what the mysterious man named Tanaka said was true.

“You mean… you helped me?”

Asked the girl while her hands were still roaming around the bed to reach for something.

“From my point of view, I saved you. You have no idea how troublesome it is to take care of the zombies outside that are coming here because of your screams!”

Tanaka is a very open person. So open that he could say things like that to strangers without worrying about 'is this going to make her think this way' or something else.

Although it seems exaggerated, there is no lie from Tanaka's words. The bathroom door was broken in order to guard the passage which was to protect the girl. The feeling of nausea from seeing gore and the time he had to take care of zombie corpses in the room.

All of that was very troublesome for a twenty-six year old hikikomori.

Yuki who heard it tried to lament back on what really happened. Now she lowered her head and thought for a moment.

"I-I'm sorry."

The girl nervously said it. Tanaka, who had not expected such a remark, was taken aback.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

They both fell silent. The atmosphere in the room became strange.

Tanaka finally sighed and tried to improve the atmosphere.

"Are you feeling well?"

Ask Tanaka to confirm Yuki's condition. He still couldn't tell clearly whether the high school girl had recovered or not.

“Eh… ah, I guess I'm feeling a little better. It's just that my head is still heavy remembering what happened. And…"

a stomach sound that sounded quite long came out of Yuki's body.

"—I think I'm a little hungry."

Tanaka tried to look at the starving girl. However, the girl was lowering her head because she felt a little embarrassed.

"Okay, I'll make you another cup of noodles, just wait here a moment!"

Tanaka told Yuki. He then went to the corridor of the room, where the kitchen was.

In just three minutes, Tanaka had finished making cup noodles.

Tanaka returned to his room and saw a girl standing on the bed. Yuki, a girl who was currently holding the belt in both hands and had a stance as if ready to swing the thing at any moment.

“What is this, are you a yankee?”

Tanaka tried to respond to the current situation. Yankees are girls who like violence or you could say bad girls based on Tanaka's experience and knowledge.

This was quite in sync with Yuki's position which looked like she was ready to attack him.

"I still don't believe you!"

Tanaka sighed. He tried not to respond to it. Tanaka is also aware that Yuki must still feel suspicious about the figure of a man who suddenly 'is' around her.

“I brought you cup noodles. Wait five minutes and eat it!"

Tanaka said that while placing the cup noodles in the small cupboard next to the mattress. The place where there was a small tub with water and compresses that Tanaka had prepared as a substitute in case the girl's compresses weren't enough.

"I borrowed your cellphone to access the internet by the way."

Tanaka continued, Yuki was a bit surprised to hear that.

“W-wait, where's my phone?! Return it!"

Yuki moved, Tanaka was a little worried about it. After all, the buckle that Yuki was holding had a sizable iron lock.

“Relax, I just turned on your data and hotspot. Wifi in the boarding house is not connected to the internet. I didn't do anything more than that."

Tanaka lied so that no conflict would be created. Tanaka himself saw some information from the wallpaper and notifications which he was 'unavoidable'.

'Besides if she really cares about privacy, she should use a password!'

Tanaka said to himself in response to the young girl who didn't want her privacy to be exposed.

Tanaka tossed the phone in front of Yuki slowly. This is what Tanaka does so that he avoids unnecessary contact with Yuki such as touching hands. Tanaka was sure that there would be new problems if that happened.

Yuki received her cell phone and she tried to check what had changed in it. However, the thing that has clearly changed is only the hotspot feature is turned on.

The trace that Tanaka saw the information from the wallpapaer and notifications couldn't be seen so Yuki could only suspect it.

'Has he seen this application of mine? Has he seen that picture of me?'

That was what Yuki had in mind. The high school girl was still keeping an eye on Tanaka who was currently just sitting on the chair without giving any other response to her.

A few moments passed. Tanaka was still in his seat trying to gather important information that he could use.

As Tanaka occasionally checked behind him, it could be seen that Yuki the yankee was still standing while leaning slightly against the wall.

The noodles given by Tanaka were still not eaten at all. Tanaka thought that if it was left for too long, the noodles would turn bad as the gravy would cool down.

Tanaka turned around with his chair still in an unchanged position.

"What is it?"

Tanaka asked with a slightly raised right eyebrow. Yuki glanced at the cup of noodles that Tanaka had seen earlier.

“…You try to eat those noodles!”

Hearing her say that lightly, Tanaka got a little annoyed.

He had saved this girl. He was already bothered to take care of her. He had tried to be a good person who didn't ask for anything in return.

However, the girl's behavior was still as annoying as before.

'Anyway if I really mean bad, I don't have to wait for you to wake up you bastard!'

Tanaka thought without speaking. However, the look on his face was slightly wrinkled, indicating that he was holding back a certain emotion.

Tanaka tried to calm himself down.

“Okay… look, now… how many spoonfuls did I try? Should I finish it?”

Tanaka stood up and reached for the noodle cup. He now picked up the personal chopsticks on his table and started sipping the noodles.

It was seen that Tanaka's face looked like he was enjoying the food. It was quite evil actually to give such ridicule in front of someone who was starving. However, this is for the sake of proving that the cup noodles given by Tanaka are completely harmless.

Yuki watched and now she felt sure.

“Stop, give it to me!”

With a slightly annoyed tone Yuki asked him. Tanaka, who was satisfied with his ridicule, handed him a cup of noodles whose contents had been reduced by about half the original portion.

Yuki took a cup of noodles and chopsticks that were different from the ones Tanaka was using. He is now devouring the noodles along with the gravy which is arguably 'proven safe' for him.

Tanaka saw this and described her as 'cute' because of the way she eats the noodles. He then turned around to continue his research and information gathering.

......

...

Several hours passed, Tanaka and Yuki didn't care about each other and only focused on what they were doing.

Tanaka with his laptop and notepad. Yuki with his cell phone and belt.

The two of them glanced at each other several times, but it was only for the purpose of checking about 'did he do something' or something.

Tanaka felt very awkward. A young girl who looked quite flustered was sitting quietly on his bed. If anyone else were to see, there would obviously be a misunderstanding of this scene.

'Shit, is there a topic to talk about?'

Tanaka tried to force himself to find a topic. It wasn't as easy as he had imagined when he was training in the eroge game.

Tanaka thought at the time, the topic would definitely come up by itself as long as the hero and the heroine were together. However, in the case of real life, things don't work out as expected.

Yuki herself was currently lamenting what she felt just a moment ago. She endured hunger for days and by some miracle, she was saved by a man who she thought was in his twenties.

However, nothing is free in the world. That's what Yuki was thinking right now.

It was clear that he had been saved by the man named Tanaka. However, the man didn't make it clear what he wanted in return.

The man could later ask for payment in the form of her 'body'. It could be that she should be his servant or slave. Or other bad things.

Meanwhile, what Tanaka was really thinking right now is about what he should do in the new world. Thoughts of a certain person who is an activist in the zombie apocalypse series.

You could say Tanaka is a fake survivalist who only relies on theories and hypotheses. Formerly.

However, Yuki the girl who already has a different mindset keeps thinking of ways to counter the bad things that might happen. The thought was honestly a waste of time as it consumed a lot of energy that she should have saved for the body's recovery.

Tanaka was silent. Yuki was silent. They were both silent.

The room which was usually filled with the squeaking of chairs was now a quiet room in which there were two parties of the opposite sex.

......

...

Tanaka completed his research. It was quite a long research considering that he started it since this morning.

By now, roughly speaking, it was late afternoon. Tanaka stretched his body.

He recalled the things that came to his main conclusion.

First, there are various threats that spread in the present. Zombies, mutants, villains and even the weather and seasons.

Zombies are clearly the main threat followed by mutants which is a dead end for some survivors. Zombies because of their numbers and mutants because of their individual strength.

Then there are criminals who are survivors who commit arbitrary acts. They could be more dangerous than zombies and mutants.

Next up is the weather and seasons. The weather is dangerous because it is felt that it can spread the virus through the humidity of the air. Actually this isn't true, but it's been circulating quite widely around Tanaka's neighborhood. Then the season, which is obviously dangerous and there is the most dangerous kind, winter.

After threats, there is point number two, namely needs. Food, drinks, medical drugs, sanitizing materials and others are clearly needed in this era.

Point number three is the current situation and news. The scale of the apocalypse reached a global stage and occurred simultaneously. There are only a few urban and remote areas that are relatively safe from the impact of the apocalypse.

Tanaka remembered someone. She's a landlady who's off to Hawaii. The place was practically untouched, or that was how it was at the beginning of the riot.

You could say that Landlady's current condition should be safe because she is also with her friends who are said to be rich. What concerns Tanaka now returns to the first point, the threat.

Zombies weren't a threat to Tanaka since he was ignored by them. The neutrality of the mutants is still unknown. Then on to the villains part, it was clear that they would not consider Tanaka a friend.

Tanaka turned towards Yuki. The girl was immediately worried about it.

"Hey, has this area been visited by motorcycle gangs or something?"

However, Tanaka just wanted to ask about the situation around him. Because there is no specific information about the location of this type of criminal survivor, Tanaka can't be sure whether the area is safe or not.

This was Tanaka's main concern.

Villian.