Escape

Her shoulder was so fucking soft. I wondered what her breasts would feel like. My hand slid down from her shoulder to her chest as if it were the most natural thing in the world. They were so large that one hand couldn't fully grasp them.

'Too bad I can't take her bra off.'

I gently kneaded them over the fabric, then let my fingers trace the exposed skin above it. 'Holy shit, it's insanely soft. This is crazy.' The smooth, plush sensation made my cock throb painfully hard. I wanted to shove it between those tits and thrust until I came right then and there.

I barely held myself back and straightened her disheveled clothes. Then I lifted her upper body and shook her shoulders hard enough to make her head loll.

"Mmm..."

She wasn't waking up easily.

"Ma'am, wake up."

"Mmm?"

I kept shaking her firmly until her eyes finally fluttered open.

"Shh. Don't make any loud noises. It's time for the shift."

"Ugh... Thank you. I slept really well because of you."

"No problem."

When she smiled at me gratefully, I returned it with a perfectly natural smile of my own. Even the way her eyes were still half-lidded with sleep stirred my lust.

"Um... I need to use the bathroom..."

"Go ahead. Just don't flush."

"Okay. I'll be right back."

She headed for the bathroom outside the room. The man who'd just taken over the watch met my eyes.

"We'll escape tomorrow."

"You think it's actually possible?"

"Yes. All the zombies nearby have had their eyes covered. We'll be fine until we reach the apartment."

"That's good to hear."

"We'll move out at one in the afternoon."

"Sounds good."

As expected from a WAW player. He knew there was no future if you stayed trapped without food. He also knew you had to seize any chance to escape. That's why he didn't push back against my plan.

By the time our conversation ended, the woman had come back out. I returned to the room with her.

"I feel so refreshed after that nap. You should get some proper sleep now. How long was I out?"

"Eight hours."

"Really? No wonder I feel this good... I'm sorry I made you take the whole shift."

"Don't worry about it. I'll sleep eight hours too. We've got nothing but time."

"Heh, yeah. Time is the one thing we've got plenty of."

"I'm going to sleep now. Wake me at eleven. I've locked the door, so don't open it."

The moment I lay down on the mattress, my body melted into it.

"Okay. Sleep well."

Lying there and looking up at her face made me feel like I'd get hard again, so I quickly closed my eyes. Maybe because I'd already come twice, sleep hit me the instant my eyelids shut.

"Student, wake up."

"Huh? Already?"

"It's eleven."

"Ugh, it feels like I just closed my eyes for a second."

"Then sleep more. We've got plenty of time ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠anyway, right?"

"Is that really okay?"

"Of course."

I closed my eyes again at her urging. I wish I could sleep holding her... What a shame.

After sleeping a bit longer, I woke up feeling refreshed. The time was 11:50.

"You must be hungry, ma'am?"

"...Yes."

She nodded, looking a little embarrassed. I pulled a sandwich from my bag and handed it to her.

"Here."

"Are you sure I can take this?"

"Of course. It'd just go bad if we don't eat it. Besides, once we get home you can cook with those ingredients you bought."

"That works. I'll make you something delicious."

She smiled brightly. I couldn't quite read what was behind that smile. My best guess was that she was trying to avoid facing reality.

Even while we ate, our eyes kept meeting. Was this strange atmosphere because of what happened last night?

One o'clock arrived. I left the room and approached the two men.

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

"We're ready."

The man's expression had turned vicious. His tone was much stiffer than yesterday. He'd somehow gotten his hands on a collapsible baton. The way his whole attitude changed the moment he gripped it made me think he might betray us at any second.

I rested the baseball bat on my shoulder and settled into a stance with no openings. The security guard must have given it to him. The guard himself was holding a cane with a sharply filed end. Looked like it wasn't the time to be stingy with stat points.

When I opened my status window, I saw I had reached level 4. I invested two points into agility and one into strength. Agility was crucial for survival, and strength didn't even need explaining.

Stats increased by one with every level. And those stats were incredibly important. Putting points into strength actually made you physically stronger. More importantly, skills only scaled with stats. No matter how strong your raw power was, skill effectiveness depended entirely on your stat values.

No need to worry anymore. Even if the man had the Bash skill, it wouldn't matter. I held the advantage in both stats and physical ability.

Next, I opened the utility tab and spent my skill point on Enhanced Command Execution.

This skill would prove useful during our escape. The Hunting Bow Tower could snipe any zombies that came after us.

"Wait here a moment."

"Sure."

"Understood."

I checked the outside through the Thorn Tower. It hadn't killed a single zombie. Disappointing, but not surprising. The area around the shelter was covered in spiderwebs, and wooden thorns littered the ground. Still, it wouldn't hinder our escape.

I need to lure the zombies over there. On the opposite side from the apartment we planned to enter was an old playground with slides and jungle gyms, about twenty meters from the shelter. I fired thorns toward the jungle gym.

Thwip! Clang! Clatter!

I wasn't trying to hit the equipment itself. The goal was to drop thorns among the bars to create noise.

"Khaaaaa!"

"Grrrrrr!"

"Kyaaaak!"

Just as I predicted, the zombies' aggro was drawn. After repeating it five times, more and more zombies gathered. They had a habit of following the sound of other zombies' footsteps. After firing about thirty times, every zombie in the area had converged on the jungle gym.

Thwip! Thud-thud-thud.

With the preparations complete, I dismissed the Thorn Tower. I also put the Hunting Bow Tower on standby.

"I'm ready."

"Good. So what's the plan?"

"Since you have Bash, sir, you'll take the lead and push the zombies aside."

"You want me to be the bait?"

"Don't worry. Their eyes are covered, so as long as we don't make loud noises, we won't draw aggro."

Even after my explanation, he still looked unhappy.

"The security guard will handle any zombies you miss from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠behind."

"Then what will you do, kid?"

"I'll support the woman and follow while taking care of any zombies that come from the rear."

"You sure you'll be okay alone? Supporting her and watching our backs at the same time won't be easy."

"I'll be fine."

After all, the woman and I would be coming back. More than that, the way he kept leering at her body pissed me off so much I nearly smashed his head with my bat.

"You don't have to support me. I'll run properly so I don't slow anyone down."

"I'll trust you, then."

I gave the worried-looking woman a small smile, then whispered in her ear.

"Leave the bag."

"What? Why?"

I just smiled instead of answering.

I finished explaining the rest of the plan to the men.

"Before we run out, I'll throw a soju bottle to the opposite side."

It was a waste, but necessary.

"That should pull all the zombies to the far side. We'll only have to push through the few left on our path to get inside."

"Good, good! This might actually work!"

"I think so too!"

Seeing the soju bottle seemed to have convinced them the plan was solid.

"Now open the door and check the surroundings."

"Right."

The man opened the door with a tense expression. Creeeak— He peered through the gap, then slowly opened it wider. Fortunately, there were no zombies nearby. They were all clustered around the jungle gym.

"Move slowly from now on. If a zombie notices you, just run."

The man didn't even reply. He suddenly bolted out.

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!

The security guard followed right on his heels. It was the movement we'd planned beforehand. They'd thrown themselves to the zombies coming after us as bait.

"Krahk!"

"Grrrrr!"

"Kek! Kyak!"

"Grr! Kugh!"

The zombies reacting to the footsteps.

"What about us?!"

"Wait here, ma'am."

I quickly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ran after the men. The moment I entered summoning range, I placed towers on the roof. I used up all my remaining Random Tower Summon stacks as well. Then I turned and ran back.

The woman was standing in front of the door, holding back tears. She must have thought I'd abandoned her too. I ran as quietly as possible. It was a good thing I'd wrapped cloth around my shoe soles to dampen the sound.

Most of the zombies were rushing toward the noisy men. A few still turned their aggro toward me. Fortunately, the blind zombies blocked their path.

"Krahk! Kyahak!"

"Kuuugh!"

"Kek! Kek!"

Three healthy zombies slipped through the blind ones and charged at us. At a glance they looked like ordinary people. But their bloodshot eyes burning with madness, the black veins bulging across their skin, the dried blood around their mouths, and the bite marks on their arms created an overwhelming sense of wrongness.

Target the ones coming from behind! I gave the mental order to the Hunting Bow Tower. The string drew back automatically and an arrow nocked itself.

Whoosh— Thunk!

When I glanced back, I saw the arrow shaft buried in a zombie's head.

We're here—

A zombie suddenly burst around the corner, lunging at the woman.

"Hammer!"

Whoooosh— CRACK!

The zombie trying to sink its teeth into her was sent flying. I grabbed her hand, pulled her inside, and locked the door.

BANG! CRASH! Crack!

"Take out the ones attacking the shelter first!"

I felt the Thorn Tower firing at the zombies pounding on the door. Thwip— Thunk! One got lucky and struck a zombie in the nape of the neck. Even without seeing it, I could tell exactly where the arrows had landed. It felt like I was connected to the towers.

Thud. Thump! Clang!

Two more thorns flew and embedded themselves in the wall. Both newly summoned towers were Thorn Towers. Their accuracy was terrible.

Now only one zombie remained. The Hunting Bow Tower, which had just finished reloading, fired.

Whoosh— Crunch!

The zombie banging on the door had its head pierced by the arrow.

"Haa... huff."

I tried to steady my ragged breathing as quietly as possible, then met the woman's eyes. Her eyes were wet—she must have been crying.

"Thank you... for not abandoning me... hic, ugh."

I pulled her into my arms as she desperately tried to hold back her sobs.

"It's okay. Don't worry."

"If it weren't for me, you could've escaped safely... huuuh."

She had thought she'd been abandoned and fallen into despair. Not only that, she mistakenly believed I'd sacrificed myself by staying behind for her sake even though I could have followed the men.

How is everything working out so perfectly?

As a companion, she was the best. Whether through skills or her body. I'd been reluctant to let her see me abandon the men, but they had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠betrayed us first. Thanks to that, I'd ditched them without lifting a finger and successfully summoned the towers on the roof.

As I stroked her back while she cried against my chest, my fingers caught on the hook of her bra. Fuck, I'm getting hard again. My index finger brushed against the side of her breast through the bra.