I Evolved Once More
I ended up inside a zombie apocalypse novel.
"........................."
The thought hit me that if any more zombies showed up, I was actually going to die. So I forced my body up, heading for the pharmacy. Luckily, I still had enough strength to move. At least I didn't have to crawl like last time. With that small comfort in mind, I slipped into the pharmacy and shut the door behind me.
Treating wounds was already second nature by now. The supplies I'd pulled out yesterday while patching myself up were still lying around. "Fuck, I really didn't want to do this again."
I dropped down with practiced ease, grabbing saline solution and gauze. Then I got to work cleaning the bite. Calling it treatment was generous—it felt more like torture—but there wasn't any other choice. By the time I came back to my senses, I was sprawled on the pharmacy floor, gasping for air.
The bite marks seemed properly cleaned. Now it was time to check the bruises. "Fuck."
The boxer must have hit me as hard as he could to survive. My back and sides were covered in deep purple welts. It didn't feel like anything was broken, but the bruises throbbed sharply whenever I pressed them. Fortunately, the pharmacy had ointment for exactly this. I slathered it over the worst spots, then headed for the display shelves selling protective gear.
From fighting so far, I'd learned that joints were especially important. Flesh wounds could be treated later, but damaged joints or bones were game over. Stocking up on these would definitely help me later. So I quickly grabbed one of each type of brace, tore open the packaging, and strapped them on.
"With this, I've evolved once more."
I looked pretty intimidating now, but there was no denying that experience was piling up. That meant next time, I absolutely wouldn't get hurt like this again. Today's hard-won victory would become tomorrow's flawless one. With that vow made, I cleaned up the pharmacy floor.
The bite wound was starting to sting and burn, but that was normal by now so I ignored it. What mattered more was completing today's goal: checking out the shops on the first and second floors. Since I'd already cleared the area beforehand, it probably wouldn't be too dangerous. This wasn't overconfidence—it was just the truth.
As long as five or six zombies didn't swarm me at once, my current body could handle it. Still, it was smarter to start with the safest spot, so I headed for the convenience store first.
"Oh, there's a back door."
It looked like the one the part-timers used—a small steel door. Perfect for testing my luck. If my luck was good today, this little door would open. If it was bad, it wouldn't.
"Goddamn it, fuck."
It wouldn't open. The metallic rattling told me everything. Looked like I'd have to go outside and enter the store through the front. Still, I wasn't too worried.
"Right now, I'm the ultimate."
My condition wasn't great, but I could still take care of one zombie without breaking a sweat. That didn't stop my asshole from clenching in fear, though. I hastily yanked a cleaning tool off the rack, wedged the door open with it, then sprinted into the convenience store.
The door was already open. Two zombies were inside. I slammed it shut first, then smashed the head of the part-timer zombie working the register. The other customer zombie still hadn't figured out what was happening, so I caved its skull in too. Situation over.
"Didn't get spotted."
No witnesses, successful assassination. I'd handled it pretty cleanly, I thought. Of course, since I was scared shitless, I didn't forget to block the doors. I pushed the freezer full of melted ice cream in front of the entrance and lowered the ceiling blinds as far as they'd go, just in case. They'd probably been installed for some event, but using them like this felt strangely satisfying.
"Whoa, this is pure ecstasy."
Rows of what used to be food—and still was, technically—spread out before me. The smell was awful, but the feeling it gave me was even stronger. And above all else, there was one thing that put my mind completely at ease.
"This. Is. Fire."
I dragged the part-timer's corpse out of the way, then emptied the register of every lighter I could find. Now I could burn the zombie bodies and prevent nearby zombies from getting stronger. Obviously lighting a fire inside the building would be insane, so I'd do it in an empty lot instead. There were probably carts in the big stationery store I could use to haul the corpses. Lucky break.
It felt like the whole situation was bending itself to fit me. Everything in front of me had become mine in this moment. I'd earned it all with blood, sweat, and tears.
"Fuck, this is pure ecstasy."
The word "ecstasy" was the only thing that came to mind. I stood there trembling for a while before snapping back to reality. I had other goals here—I couldn't just space out like this. So I searched the part-timer's body, took the keys, and headed for the storage room.
The moment I stepped inside, I was speechless. There were mountains of cup ramen and snacks. Bags of instant noodles too. With this much, I could eat until I was full whenever I wanted.
"Is this... what they call flexing...?"
I clenched my trembling hands to calm the rush of joy, then pocketed the keys and opened the door. Now I could freely move between the PC bang, the first floor, and the convenience store. Plus I could clean up the bodies. Today's haul was massive.
More importantly, I needed to clear out the stationery store today too. It was a huge three-story place, so there had to be plenty of useful stuff. The novel had mentioned ways to make traps and even a simple crossbow that could be used against zombies. If I could just find the materials in a big stationery store like this, I could make as many traps and crossbows as I wanted. Hell, I could even make a staff sling if I felt like it.
I really was lucky. It was only natural, since I'd ended up in a building that had everything I needed.
"Hehe."
Plus the back door of the stationery store was open. That meant I could enter easily from the first floor. There was a metal display shelf blocking the way, but I could just push it aside. The first thing I noticed was the shutter completely lowered over the entrance. It was too dark to see much, but at least I didn't have to worry about zombies coming in from outside. That was a relief.
I gripped the baseball bat and crept forward carefully. The first floor was empty. No sounds at all. Just silent shelves full of merchandise.
"......................."
The novel had explained this situation too. People had fled upward to escape the zombies, which meant the higher the floor, the more zombies there were. So it was obvious that the number of zombies would increase as I went from the second floor to the third. The only comfort was that there were no entrances on the second and third floors. Still, I was confident I could win.
"Since right now I'm the ultimate—ah, fuck!"
A zombie kid suddenly jumped out from behind a shelf, so I swung the bat and killed it instantly. I smashed the head of the mother zombie behind it too, then grumbled as I ran toward the stairs. Just as I'd expected, zombies from the second floor were already coming down.
One tried to tackle me on the stairs like it was the most natural thing in the world. But I wasn't about to fall for the same trick twice. I stepped forward slightly and lowered my upper body. The first zombie slipped right over me and smashed its head into the floor. I heard a sickening crunch—its skull must have cracked wide open.
The second zombie got its head smashed by my bat before it could even attempt a tackle. The third was a kindergarten-age zombie. I closed my eyes and swung. When I opened them again, there was nothing but a corpse. Living people had to survive. There was no other choice.
"........Fuck."
There were more zombies on the second floor. About nine of them? But they were all spread out, so it looked manageable. Sunlight coming through the glass walls let me see their shapes clearly. The first one to spot me let out a groan and charged.
Of course, I smashed its head before it could tackle me and it collapsed. I stomped on its skull to crush the brain completely, then swung the bat down again from above. A zombie auntie in a uniform spun around before falling. Then a young woman zombie rushed in from the side. I took a few slow steps backward. She slammed her head into the wall and staggered. I caved her skull in, then swung again at an uncle zombie.
After delivering the final blow to drop the uncle, I readjusted my grip on the bat. Five zombies still remained.
"This is doable!"
I didn't feel like I was going to lose at all. My body was in bad shape, but for some reason only hopeful thoughts came to mind. It wasn't just my brain running happy circuits—it really was manageable. I reset my stance and pointed the end of the bat at the zombie in front of me. This time, I was the one charging in.
"Grr!?"
"Yaaaaah!"
The zombie with the bat jammed in its mouth flew backward. The one on the left came running, so I swung and hit a home run. Ignoring the sound of something rolling across the floor, I stopped the next zombie's head like I was bunting. I stomped on the slumped corpse to crush its skull, then swung and swung again. Before long, every zombie on the second floor had stopped moving.
It was an incredibly thrilling feeling. My body was exhausted, but my mind was crystal clear. The adrenaline rushing through me made everything feel amazing. At this rate, I could win no matter what was waiting on the third floor. Even if that boxer was up there, it wouldn't matter.
So I went up to the third floor—and my instincts immediately screamed that I was fucked.
In the center of the third floor, a female zombie was crouching. She slowly stood up, spread both hands toward me, and extended her nails from two to three centimeters long, just like a cat's claws.
I knew this zombie. I knew this absurd variant. Her nickname was "Total Bitch." Her official name was the Witch.
"Fuck."
My instincts told me right away. This was a boss fight. I regretted not saving earlier as I slowly faced off against the Witch.