"Well…. I know yours when you…. introduce yourself…. to the yakuza," the girl weakly said, and carved out a smile. "I guess…. we're even, Kawai."
"I still don't know your brother's name, Asami. And your surname name. God, I feel like you're applying for a resume. And I'm the receptionist for it," I retorted, while scratching my head. "Tell me about yourself? Why do you want this job? And why should I hire you, beautiful?
Asami weakly giggled and answered, "That boy is my brother. He's Touma… Touma Nakamura."
"Asami Nakamura…. And Touma Nakamura…. I will remember your names," I mumbled, and helped Asami stand from the ground. "And that guy is Kane and Aiko. Those would be on the test paper.
As soon as she could maintain her balance, Asami asked me if I could let my hand off from her arms. I shook my head and tried reasoning with the girl. But after innumerable discourse, I heeded Asami's instructions and let her embrace her brother, Touma.
The two hugged each other as if there was no tomorrow. Touma even cried when he wrapped his arms around his sister. That boy kept grumbling about Asami's condition, scolding her about concealing her health-related problems.
Asami just caressed Touma's head and nodded at every word her brother said.
After we had taken care of Asami, Kane and Aiko went towards us. They announced what our next course of the plan would be after defeating the Hoarder. We finally beat the hell out of the Hoarder, a special infection that challenged us to our limits. But that fight cost us a lot of things, specifically the three yakuza. They sacrificed themselves for our sake and led us to the captain's room.
We couldn't have done it without the three yakuza's work. Kane and Aiko were the most affected ones after their death and our victory against the Hoarder.
But we hadn't finished our battle just yet, since we still couldn't reach the base. All that's left were the zombies that had no goal but to wander around the station. And we needed to do something about it.
Those two explained we needed to get out of this train for the second time and clear a path for us. Staying inside this place would just rot our bodies, especially these humans who needed to eat something. These people would eventually crave food and resources to live in the apocalypse.
But we had to focus more on our problems right now before jumping into a foreign line.
Kane wanted to meet his daughter, while I wished to meet my girlfriend. And the only way that could happen is if we move out now and escape this place. I must also charge my phone if I want to know the location where the army took my girlfriend.
That thought could happen if we planned on charging towards this train station filled with the undead.
"Just a couple of tatami mats away would be our temporary home. And for now, we need to get out of this train," Kane directed, with his hands pointed onwards.
While that happened, my mind went blank for a second. My system even announced that the side effects of my immortality kicked in, which I sensed even before I met these people.
"Really…. right now?" I asked myself, and gritted my teeth.
My system claimed that I did not feel any pain in my body. Since my nerves had already died, the virus made my body immune from any sensations besides pleasure. But that thought came back and bit me when these thoughts entered my brain.
It was as if…..my mind slowly turned into a zombie.
[Warning! I have found a status ailment for the title "Zombie". You need to eat human flesh to keep your sanity. Player Kawai must eat human flesh within two hours before the virus could override your thinking.]
As soon as that window appeared, my body quivered like a fish out of water. Fortunately, the people surrounding me still had noticed nothing about my condition. Although I met Kane's eyes earlier, I easily brushed that thought into hallucinations.
"Sanity?" I thought, while nuzzling my head with my shuddering hands. "Food….. Sanity….. I want to eat food."
It was just as the system mentioned. My mind went against my will and growled in hunger, yearning to eat whatever life form I could swallow. Upon opening my eyes, those humans in front of me became walking meals I wanted to devour. And before I knew it, I stood from the ground and glared at Kane's eyes, staring into mine.
Kane gripped his metallic pole and prepared himself to swing it in my direction. He was the first one to see me in this state, which made him react violently. But before he could do that, I shook my head and flashed him a forced smile.
Asami and the others turned around. As luck would have it, I didn't let my brain get the better out of me. I remained calm and collected as the group stared at Kane and me.
Just as the people had suspected something, my status ailment disappeared. My system told me I had conquered my "episode", which was the source of that mental impairment. That virus crashed into my head and tried manipulating the hell out of me.
But since my will to see my girlfriend remained strong as my Excalibur, I finally brushed off those thoughts.
'It would take more than that to push me to the ground!' I thought, and reverted to my old self.
However, the people who saw me had an original plan. Those people followed Kane's line of sight and stared at me as if I had done something wrong with their lives.
"What's happening? Is there something wrong?" Asami asked, as she shifted her view at our figures. "Did something to you, Kawai?"
Aiko also asked the same thing and prepared his metallic pole in his hands. He must have already thought to himself that something horrible had happened to me. Since I was a zombie, these dues couldn't trust me just yet. Even though they had turned their backs, this yakuza remained vigilant around me.
But instead of letting Aiko fight me, Kane shook his head and spoke in a low voice. "No. I thought that something happened to Kawai. It was just my imagination."
Everyone who had heard Kane's words widened their eyes in confusion. They couldn't comprehend the meaning behind those sentences Kane told them. However, instead of dwelling on that line, Kane told them to avert their gaze.
"We still have things to do, people!" he shouted, and ordered everyone to line up at each train's sides. "We will do just like what we did before. Kawai, Aiko, and Asami would take the right. I will watch Touma by my side and protect him. If we move as a sizeable group, those zombies would have a better chance of outmanoeuvring us. We need to move with precision if all of us want to arrive at the next station."
Even after witnessing my transformation, Kane still tried to save me. He changed the discussion and told everyone inside the train.
'He saved me….. Kane could have easily told everyone that I was about to morph into a zombie.'
But he didn't. Kane kept that a secret and let it slide for the time being.
We followed Kane's instructions and headed towards our designated spots. Since I had Aiko by my side, Kane ordered Asami to join our team. I was not a liability in this group, since I can't die. I could also deal damage and distraction of some sort to the zombies, considering that I was also one of them.
Kane had Touma by his side since he was the only one moving in that area. Although fighting and protecting someone could be a challenging feat, we were talking about Kane. That madman defeated the Hoarder, which was a special infected that had dangerous risks. Even with those in the line, Kane did his job and killed that zombie for good.
(Author's Note: Hoarder is like the snitcher in Back4Blood, the newest zombie game of 2021. Snitcher has the same abilities as the Hoarder. But I added some effects to increase the threat of Kawai and his group, which I would also use in the future.)
Outside the train was a tunnel filled with rails, trampled luggage, and dead bodies that belonged to the passengers. There were no dead police officers in the area. Well, if we found one, we could steal their guns from their hands. Our team had to rely on our environment and make-shift weapons in our surroundings.
But the area made it difficult for us to fight since the lights had already gone out. The only luminance we had was the tunnel behind us, which shone some radiance coming from those holes. There were some windows on the ceiling, but the corpses on the surface blocked the sun's light.
We only had a few hours left before the sun would come down. Within those allotted times, our team needed to enter the base before the night could take in.
"Find any flashlight on the bags while fighting against these zombies. That tool will always be useful in these situations," I suggested to the team, while carrying on with our plan.
Kane seconded my words and told everyone to follow my proposal.
As soon as we stepped foot outside the train, those zombies came running towards us. Thanks to Aiko's weapon, he slammed his pole against the zombies and burst their heads open. Blood splattered around the undead's body, which created a pool of crimson liquid on our feet. Asami did the best she could and ran away to safer areas.
I, who became Asami's babysitter, wrestled against those zombies.
However, despite my efforts, there were still zombies heading towards us. Since I was just one zombified guy, I couldn't reach Asami's side.