"To my super dad….." Those words haunted my mind as if it was a song that became the last phrase syndrome inside my head.
(Author's Note: A nod to the LSS= Last song Syndrome term)
Even though I needed to move away and avoid the line of sight of this yakuza group, my feet never budged an inch. It was as if screaming at me, telling the last brain cell inside my head to stay put. I did not know why, but I needed to do something... ludicrous.
The yakuza never left the ground and remained glued to the concrete road. They kept firing their guns in each direction, desperately quelling the clash. But alas, lady luck was not on their side.
Multiple zombies flocked towards us, with the spider closing by. Despite these threats, I glued my eyes at the yakuza's leader, who resembled the father from the photograph.
The yakuza's leader had a dragon tattoo carved around his back, just like his men. But that dragon rose differently among the people in that organization. That man had also aged quite a lot, but some of his hints gave the feature away. If I could walk closer to the man, that piercing yet kind gaze would kindle my mind.
There was no doubt that the man in the picture was the person standing before me, leading his gang to safety. The dragon that the bloke wore was the same tattoo that he got on his back.
"Holy shit. A real-life cool Yakuza!" I came to my realisation and voiced my inner thoughts.
Yakuza made a name for themselves as a gang filled with delinquents and frightening people. But some sites said that these people had massive respect for one another, especially for their boss. Since they treated themselves as brothers, it was no wonder they would do everything to protect each other.
However, when someone turned their back to the clan, those traitors would feel the wrath of that yakuza group… Well, at least that's what I heard from the internet.
I did not have any reason to include myself in their affairs, especially at a violent gang. Although they held their peers with high regard, I doubted they would do the same to strangers.
A logical person would continue on the road without batting an eye for these people. And since I was already in a quest to charge my phone, there was no point sacrificing myself for these people. If I did that, these two siblings would be the first ones to die. This yakuza, afterwards would follow it. That girl, together with her brother, was the only one who knew the electrical output. And even if they didn't know any place, we could always look around.
And if the worst option happened, all of them would die except for me since I became an immortal zombie.
As I brushed those thoughts away and took a step onwards, the image of the family's corpse entered my mind. It was not too long when I witnessed such an assault that came from the zombies. These flesh-eating bastards did not choose their victims and would kill anyone that they could chew.
Those zombies were like rabid dogs that wanted to devour anything that had a bone inside a creature's body.
"Can I even sleep silently after abandoning a father…. who has a daughter?" I thought to myself, while clenching my fist.
I could argue to myself that the daughter of this yakuza might have already died from the apocalypse. But…. if that man's daughter was still alive, everything should be worth it.
How could I leave this man alone to die when I could save them? I had the power to race towards the man and get the people and him out to safety. If I had some awesome powers, wouldn't it be twice as cool if I could use it for good?
It may be a risky choice, but it was worth a shot. And besides, I was still human inside this infected body of mine. If I wanted to remain as a human, I needed to act like one.
While that train of thoughts entered my brain, a sudden ache entered my stomach. I did not feel pain, but this sensation exempted itself and breached inside of me.
"That damn system is lying…. I can feel pain," I cursed, while caressing my head.
I could only assume that this throbbing discomfort came from my system's prowess. The sting's site was around my stomach, but my head also stretched itself like rubber bands.
There were also voices inside my head telling me to eat these people. Those mysterious voices may have also come from my system, telling me I should act like a zombie and not a human. It even told me that my body would deteriorate and eventually die if I let this pass by.
And it would only happen if my thoughts craving for something to eat. The sensation was like sitting in front of a table, and there was a buffet in front. But the manager told me I couldn't eat a single grub while I watched the customer take their plates.
But upon shaking my head, those thoughts fell to the ground at long last. Like thorns falling from my heart, the envious scene vanished from sight. However, it won't be too long before that damn image could appear before me.
It was a curse I obtained after becoming a zombie.
Fortunately, my suffering came to an end after a few seconds. And when that happened, I went to the two siblings and asked for their consent. Because before doing anything, respectable humans needed to ask for consent before doing something.
(Author's note: It applies to intercourse awareness as well.)
"Listen, kid, girl, that man and his friends are in danger. And I want to save them….. I am no hero, but…." Before completing my sentence, I revealed the photograph to the pair and continued. "That man is a yakuza…. A gangster. But behind that mask, he's a father. And I can't abandon that kind of person…."
"Are you telling us we have the option to leave?" the little kid asked before his older sister could remark.
"Do you have like therapy? You know, the powers that let you read people's minds?"
"Telepathy," the girl corrected.
"Yes. That."
Those two siblings shook their heads as they answered my question. I made a fool out of myself when I confidently spoke to them. But I did not concern myself with such trivial thoughts and resumed the conversation.
"Are you in, or are you out?"
Upon finishing my sentence, the little boy dragged his sister away from me. The two of them headed straight to the safer place, which I pointed out earlier. The girl mumbled a few words but refused to stop her little brother. I could only guess that they would leave me alone here without looking back.
"Hey! Hey, get back here! I thought we're all in this together?! You know, high school musical!" I shouted, and waved my hands.
I did not expect those siblings to leave me behind. There was not one in a million chance that someone would reject my offer to help other people. But there was also…. a first time for everything.
The kid turned around and answered, "If we go there, we will die. And that's a stranger and a yakuza! I've heard on the internet that yakuza are bad people!"
My eyes widened in surprise when I heard his explanation. And this little fella's sister wanted to retort, but couldn't. It was as if she was just as shocked as I was.
"Listen, kiddo. That man's a yakuza, yes! He's a bad person. But that doesn't mean he's bad."
(Author's note: A nod to Wreck-It Ralph Movie.)
The two siblings raised their eyebrows upon hearing my explanation. I heaved out a sigh and explained myself for the second time.
"Just…. That guy is a father! Imagine that your father is right there in fro-."
"Our father died in a car crash, together with mom. We know how it's like to lose a parent," the boy interposed, while keeping a straight face in front of me. "Mr. zombie, you saved our life, and we are grateful for that. And in exchange, my sister will tell you the location of that electric outlet or generator that you want…."
"I will?" the girl asked, but the boy continued his sentence.
"We will wait for you in that building…. And take the car near the streets. Thank you for saving us. But if we got the time to escape, we would flee this place, together with my sister. I don't want to risk dying on the streets with my sister….. I'm sorry, Mr. Zombie."
Despite his young age, this lad had a big mouth! I wanted to describe him as a mature bitch, but I couldn't since he was just a kid. That eight or twelve-I don't care year old kid had a point.
I was the one who planned on making a mistake. There was no sense in saving the yakuza from the zombies. That group would probably die even if I intervened.
But…. will I make the same mistake again? I watched someone die from the second-floor house before. I couldn't do anything for that person. But that reason was not enough to sit idle and watch someone die!
And there was also the family that got annihilated by the zombie…. Am I that crooked to leave this yakuza group behind when I could clearly save them?
While I was deep in thought, those two siblings already trundled onwards. They did not look back and continued heading forward towards the street. The little kid mentioned that they would wait for me. But I doubted they would actually do that, considering our circumstances.
As if a mark of luck, something notified me inside my head. As I looked around, my system gave me a notification. That motherfucker was actually snooping around the situation, since it sent me a quest related to the scene.
[Save the Yakuza leader and his gang members. Reward, unlock level cap 10!]