Early that morning, just after breakfast, Takashiro Kyoko set out with a team to gather supplies. This time there were more of them than before—four more, in fact. The expedition party now numbered ten.
The few little villages near their base had already proven to be of limited value. There were barely any useful materials left there, and the buildings were scattered too far apart. That made searching for specific targets far more trouble than it was worth.
So Kyoko decided they would head for Inawashiro Town, more than ten kilometers away, and search for better supplies there.
Since the journey was much longer this time, they might not make it back until late. For that reason, Kyoko instructed the twenty-odd people staying behind to keep working in groups and stick close together, just in case anything unexpected happened.
Still, there was no need to worry about Kyoko spending the night outside. No matter how far she went, she had no intention of staying away overnight.
Quite apart from the dangers outside, there were people back home waiting for her with all their hearts.
The sunlight was gradually warming the ground.
At that moment, Kyoko's convoy had just passed a wildfire memorial hall and several dozen homes. The sound of the vehicles echoed loudly, yet not a single infected creature appeared in their line of sight.
And it wasn't just this stretch of road. Since she had started driving the IFV, she had yet to encounter anything truly dangerous.
She hadn't even heard a single manic howl.
Even so, Kyoko stayed tense at the wheel, watching the surroundings carefully through the window. Her live map remained active as well.
You could never afford to lower your guard.
Ever since the car accident in her previous life had thrown her into this one, Takashiro Kyoko had never once dared to take her own safety lightly.
She had no intention of letting carelessness lead to disaster.
How many famous, powerful people in history had died in absurd, humiliating ways?
Li Zicheng, the Great Shun emperor, had died in Jiugong Mountain. Senggelinqin had been slain by the Nian rebels at Gaolouzhai. On the Korean battlefield, U.S. Eighth Army commander Walker had been killed by a panicked South Korean military vehicle.
The road was full of hidden dangers. A stretch of broken ground, an ordinary-looking corner, a patch of soft snow, a half-open door…
Any of them could be the place where disaster struck.
As for why the infected were so scarce, Kyoko had her own theories.
The main reason was probably the winter migration of the infected horde. Driven by the virus, most infected life-forms had moved south, toward warmer regions more suitable for the virus's survival.
Those left behind were mostly the old, the weak, the crippled, things trapped somewhere they couldn't escape from, or plants rooted in place.
Or else they were the kind that had already evolved ways to withstand the cold—infected humans that had regrown thick coats of fur, or infected animals that already had pelts to begin with.
"Captain, there's something blocking the road up ahead. Should we go around it?"
In truth, Kyoko had noticed it long ago.
It was only a mess of ordinary vehicle debris.
It wouldn't pose any real threat to the vehicle. By that logic, it should have been faster to just ram through it.
As if.
Kyoko had no intention of letting junk scrape up her ride. And if something unexpected happened, then what? Better to avoid the risk entirely.
Fortunately, this wasn't the mountain pass they'd used earlier. Looking over the snowy fields on both sides, Kyoko spotted a slope that led down into the farmland and made her decision.
"Everyone, hold tight. We're taking a shortcut. Rear vehicle, accelerate and stay on me."
With that, she hit the gas, yanked the wheel, and the vehicle lunged off the road, leaving deep ruts in the snow.
Woohoo. Exciting.
Ever since that last time she'd gone driving, Kyoko had developed a taste for this kind of thing.
The people in the troop compartment, however, suffered for it. As the vehicle thundered over the fields, they were thrown up and down along with every violent jolt.
Each of them clung tightly to the handholds, afraid of smashing their heads or shoulders into the frame. With their other hands, they gripped the new weapons hanging across their chests.
Not firearms, though.
Kyoko had never planned to issue them guns from the start.
Quite apart from the question of loyalty, they had no experience using firearms. If they started shooting their own teammates by accident, that would be the end of it.
Cold weapons were far safer. Kyoko had equipped them mostly with blunt weapons—multipurpose entrenching shovels, tactical axes, and the like.
As for firearms, she intended to train a select group of people she considered trustworthy first. Until she saw actual results from that training, there was no way she was handing guns over.
That said, "improving their armament" wasn't just empty talk. The infected tree incident from before had been more than enough to put fear into everyone's bones. So Kyoko had still upgraded their protective gear, issuing them heavier riot equipment—the sort of full-body anti-riot protective suits used by police and military before the end, along with fully enclosed helmets.
She had paid a steep price for all of it. It had cost her quite a bit to get hold of the gear. If she had tried to trade food for those protective suits, the price would have been ridiculous. Most of it had come out of her private stash, along with various electronic components she'd bartered away.
If she hadn't gotten lucky with blind-box draws and pulled an antique vase, the cost would have been even worse.
The people using the equipment were smart enough not to ask too many questions.
In their eyes, the people in this camp were already anything but ordinary.
Especially that big pink fox-girl who always looked a little airheaded—and this unfathomably mysterious Miss Takashiro.
Now Kyoko's actions only confirmed it further.
The vehicle gradually slowed as they entered the town proper. A few scattered infected wandered the streets, but how could flesh and blood possibly stand up to a vehicle weighing over ten tons?
Before long, several mangled blotches of blood and flesh had been pressed into the road behind them.
Of course, they did spot the occasional special infected. But a place like this was hardly likely to produce anything on the level of a Lord-class threat. Since leaving Nihonmatsu, Kyoko had barely seen many truly dangerous infected—other than that mountain of flesh a few days ago. Mental-type infected were rarer still.
As for the few crazed infected that did sprint toward them, they had only one fate when faced with the autocannon on the vehicle and its high-explosive rounds.
The noise was loud, yes—but not loud enough to draw enemies from kilometers away.
Watching something so brutally effective, Kyoko couldn't help reflecting on how ridiculous all her previous caution and sneaking around now seemed.
She had saved up so many points back then, only for the System Girl to reclaim them all in the end. The thought still made her head ache.
Ugh… no point brooding over what was already done. Focus on the present, Takashiro Kyoko.
Though it was irritating, this new barter-based system wasn't actually bad. And the live map and portable storage space the System had given her in exchange for the old point system were both genuinely useful. The only problem was that the System hadn't issued her any new tasks lately, which meant she'd lost one of her main ways of acquiring high-performance equipment.
The convoy pushed onward, passing more and more low-rise buildings. They should be close.
Glancing at the marker on her live map, Kyoko confirmed it.
Yes. It was just ahead.
Spotting several large buildings, she spoke into the radio.
"Follow me into that parking lot. Saito, take your vehicle and stay near the parking area with your group. I'll lead the main team in to haul supplies."
"Understood, Miss Takashiro."
Saito Koinegawa approved of the arrangement without hesitation.
"Good. Keep an eye on the surroundings and watch the vehicles. If anything unusual happens, call me immediately."
She had complete confidence in him.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 150)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter190)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter225)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 195
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 225
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 210
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 115
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 130
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 85
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 90
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 100
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 75
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 60
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 71
Checking In in Demon Slayer 75
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 80
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 66
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 58
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 65
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 63
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 59
Why did they assign me to Uma 55
MYGO Beauties 56
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 45
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 49
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 36
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 35
The Uma Musume Who Became 30
I'm Definitely Not the King of 25
After Maxing Out Every Class 25
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