"Wait, how are we going to get out of here?" The pink-haired girl asked.
She looked ragged, tired, and dirty. But that was understandable considering the situation they were in right now.
"The emergency stairs lead directly to the exit door in this mall. If we move fast, they won't catch us."
"Stop complaining and follow me. Also, we might have to beat and kill people, so prepare yourself."
Her face turned pale, but she stayed quiet after I glared at her.
Takashi nodded slightly before following me with Rei, along with Saeko who guarded our rear.
The security office we were located within was positioned conveniently next to one side of the building; therefore, reaching the emergency stairs located opposite side should prove simple enough.
Problem was, our enemy numbered around 50 people, according to our observation. Even though they wouldn't expect that the door could be destroyed, they had surrounded this whole place.
Our best shot was to move quickly and kill people who spotted us, starting from the top.
To be honest, with only five of us against fifty, this strategy wasn't guaranteed to succeed. Our opponents were adults with crude weapons. Not all would join the fight to capture us, so maybe it wasn't too bad. Maybe.
When we reached the end of the hallways, we met the emergency staircase, but unfortunately...
Someone stood before us. Two people. One of them wore casual clothes while another was in a police uniform.
Seeing us, the police pulled his handgun and pointed it at us. He didn't waste any time and shoot at us.
My eyes widened in surprise. I quickly unsheathed my sword and swung it according to my instinct. I had no time to think and simply relied on the sword skill that the system granted me.
Spark flew off as the bullet ricocheted off my sword and deflected away. The shockwave from the impact rattled through my arm, numbing my fingers slightly.
‘Damn...' I gasped mentally, clutching the handle of my katana tighter.
The gun wielder was visibly taken aback seeing his shot failed and tried to shoot at us again. He was too late.
Saeko threw her sword at the police officer, stabbing him squarely at the heart. His hand holding the gun trembled before falling limply to the ground.
A fresh stream of red fluid gushed forth from the wound, painting his pristine white shirt crimson.
Everyone stared at him, frozen in shock and awe.
Meanwhile, Saeko rushed forward, retrieved her blade, and decapitated the other man beside the policeman. Blood rained upon the smiling beauty, splattering her cheeks and chest.
"Let's go." I called out to the frozen Rei and Saya. "Or are you stupid enough to stop?"
Takashi fared better but was still affected by how gruesome and sudden the scene was.
"D-Don't be kidding me. I am not stupid enough to stop , stupid!" Saya retorted.
As we walked down the emergency stairs, we kept looking out for potential ambushes or attackers hiding nearby. Our movement progressed swiftly thanks largely due partly because no enemies dared show their faces yet.
They hadn't anticipated our presence yet, after all.
Another flight of stairs separated us from our destination; however, at this juncture, things took an unexpected turn once more when I noticed something.
We were currently on the second floor, leading to the first. However, loud footsteps from below indicated the arrival of our pursuers. They noticed that we were going to use emergency stairs and chased after us.
Judging by the loudness of their steps, their number wasn't small. It should be more than ten. Their intention became pretty apparent.
Their leader probably suspected our purpose behind invading this mall and ordered everyone to attack us.
"Run this way." I led everyone into the mall.
"Hah... Hah..." Rei panted heavily behind me, exhausted.
Saya also panted and her legs trembled badly, almost tripping on each step she descended.
"Senior, I think we need to rest." Takashi said. Even he panted in exhaustion after all the running.
Running away wasn't possible with these two slowing us down. Unlike when I saved Don Takagi, whose men were trained, they weren't soldiers.
One slip-up could end up fatal; furthermore, we couldn't outrun them indefinitely. The danger we faced wasn't limited to these people. There were also zombies out there.
"Let's hide it and rest for now. I have a water bottle with me, share it between the three of you. Don't make a sound so we won't be spotted in this darkness."
Luckily for us, the second floor looked like a maze with many stores lined neatly around its edges. Each one occupied by shelves filled with goods ranging from apparel to shoes. We hid between them to rest for a minute and let them drink water.
Using this chance, I decided to ask Takashi something I was curious about since the beginning.
"Why did they adamant to attack and chase after you guys ?"
No matter how I thought about it, the logic just didn't add up. Those people shouldn't be stupid enough to chase young men like Takashi or Kohta after losing them.
Not to mention how much manpower they wasted to pursue them until we came.
"Ah, well, about that..."
I raised my eyebrows questioningly as Takashi struggled for words.
He exchanged glances with Rei and Saya, seemingly trying to get permission to reveal what they were hiding to me. Both girls hesitantly nodded, allowing him to continue.
Taking a deep breath, the dark brown-haired teen started to recount everything leading up until this point.
According to his story, when he came here earlier today along with Kohta, Saya, and Rei, the survivor welcomed them warmly and even offered food and drinks without asking anything back.
Naturally suspicious, he questioned their intentions secretly, suspecting some ulterior motive. But he couldn't confirm anything since their attitude was indeed sincere and friendly.
Then, someone approached the four and said that if they needed shelter, they would happily provide space for them free of charge.
Surprised but wary, he nevertheless agreed reluctantly upon seeing nothing suspicious whatsoever in regards to their offer. Afterwards, he followed them further inside the mall. There they met a police officer, who introduced himself as Nishimura.
Long story short, they believed and followed the policeman and the rest of survivors to a shelter set up inside the building itself.
Along the way, however, Rei asked whether it would really be safe staying overnight amidst such chaotic circumstances and demanded proof. Unfortunately, their request fell upon deaf ears.
And then Kohta stumbled upon something.
"There is an underground facility here." Takashi claimed.
He said that during their tour, Kohta spotted some sort of underground facility leading downwards into deeper areas underneath ground level via elevator located within the warehouse area.
According to Takashi himself, this discovery piqued everyone's curiosity instantly. Especially when he noted its sturdy construction made of reinforced concrete.
Supposedly built for emergencies similar to earthquake or natural disaster situations wherein immediate evacuation required priority above else.
But when they brought it up to Nishimura, he suddenly got enraged and wanted to seize all weapons carried by them. He also gave the survivors fake news about how the new group wanted to take everything from them.
And it somehow led to this situation.
"Underground facility, huh?" I pondered about it.
'Did the anime and manga ever mention this thing?' I asked myself.
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