Chapter 055: The Girls’ High School

“Is this photo the clue provided by the game? Then…”

Su Cheng suddenly spun around, his blade flashing coldly as it sliced through the air, targeting a mutated zombie hound infected by the bio-plague.

A savage howl erupted as the zombie hound, its eyes blood-red, leapt up to attack from behind. But mid-pounce, its head separated from its neck and tumbled to the ground.

“It seems not only humans, but even animals are beginning to mutate.”

Even once-domesticated cats and dogs, after infection by the bio-plague, became extremely aggressive—far more dangerous than ordinary human carriers. A single scratch from these bio-beasts meant an infection risk of over ninety percent.

After eliminating the infected drawn by the explosion, Su Cheng quickly wrapped a few bandages around his wounds, changed into clean clothes, and left the research institute.

Not long after Su Cheng’s departure, a young man with the appearance of a programmer arrived at the corpse of the zombie hound, his expression grim.

“Captain, a player has already triggered the game’s storyline. But he’s not easy to deal with—my zombie hound was killed,” the programmer reported. His ability was mental control, allowing him to command low-intelligence beasts and zombie creatures.

Though his mental control was useless against ghosts and wraiths, it was extremely effective in the biohazard scenario. He could not only command infected to fight, but also use zombie creatures for reconnaissance, surveying, and surveillance.

However, there were limits to how many infected he could control—the stronger the infected, the harder it was. He could never hope to control high-level infected like Tsukishima Yumi or the tank zombies.

Distance was also a restriction; if his controlled zombies wandered more than 500 meters away, he would lose command over them.

He’d sent the zombie hound to ambush Su Cheng just to test his strength. Seeing how formidable Su Cheng was, he’d immediately withdrawn the attack.

“How many are there? Is it one of the top-ranked teams?” the captain’s low, displeased voice came from the programmer’s phone.

If it were members of those large guild teams, they’d have no choice but to abandon the storyline mission.

“One man—a lone wolf. But he’s very strong, and looks like a tough opponent.”

“He’s not with a guild? Then there’s nothing to fear. With our team’s strength, we can’t take down one lone wolf?” The captain sneered. The Red Tide Battle Group wasn’t to be underestimated. If Su Cheng had guild support, perhaps there would be cause for concern. But a lone wolf, no matter how powerful, couldn’t possibly take on an entire team alone.

Impossible.

“Keep monitoring the lone wolf. Be careful not to let him notice. We’re on our way right now.”

By completing storyline missions to earn points, it was far easier and less risky than hunting infected, and the rewards were far more generous. Their team couldn’t possibly let such an opportunity slip by.

Their only concern was that one of the big guild teams might show up and interfere.

Regardless, they had to deal with this lone wolf first.

There wasn’t much information online about Mitsui Pharmaceuticals or Dr. Hashibashi. All Su Cheng could find was that Dr. Hashibashi’s son had died in a car accident in America a year ago, and his only living relative was his granddaughter, Eri Hashibashi, who was still in high school.

It seemed the photo the doctor stuffed into his hand before dying was of Eri Hashibashi.

The TX antidote was likely with her.

“Judging from the timeline of the outbreak, Eri Hashibashi should still be at school.” Su Cheng searched for her high school—it was located in Koto Ward near Tokyo Bay.

Koto Ward, Akita Girls’ High School.

The roar of motorcycle engines thundered outside the school gates like a wild beast. Several punks dressed in leather jackets brandished baseball bats and iron chains, blocking the entrance and leering at the female students and teachers trapped inside.

Since no infected had yet appeared near the school, the plague that had swept through Tokyo hadn’t reached here. Though they hadn’t encountered zombies, the school had been sealed off by a group of punks notorious for harassing female students.

“Open the gate, you bastards, or I’ll kill everyone inside!” One of the punks, sporting a thin mustache and waving a machete, shouted menacingly.

“Miss Koizumi, when are the police coming? These guys are about to break in!”

Looking at the crazed expressions of the punks, it was clear nothing good would happen if they got inside.

“No use. The emergency line isn’t working. The news just said there’s been a virus leak in Tokyo—the government’s ordered a full lockdown,” Miss Koizumi said, lowering her phone, her eyes filled with worry.

Beside her, a thin male teacher interjected, “This isn’t a virus leak, it’s a bio-plague. Ginza is one of the worst-hit zones—hundreds of thousands have turned into zombies.”

He showed images from aerial footage online.

The disaster zones of Ginza, Shinjuku, Shibuya—these areas had become living hells. Terrifying bio-zombies roamed everywhere, and the government had no effective way to stop the plague’s spread.

“There’s no way the police can handle this. No one’s coming to save us.”

At that moment, the punks at the gate grew impatient. A few scaled the wall while no one was watching, unlocked the gate from inside, and let the rest in.

“They’re in,” the male teacher’s heart sank. Apart from a few male teachers, the school was filled with girls—if these punks got inside, the consequences would be unimaginable.

The mustachioed punk grinned maniacally, revving his motorcycle as he burst onto the school grounds.

“Stop!” The male teacher rushed out of the classroom to stop them, but the mustachioed punk plowed into him with his motorcycle, knocking him bloody and unconscious.

“We’ve called the police! They’ll be here soon!” Miss Koizumi tried to shield the students, her face pale with panic. These punks might have only dared harass girls before, but now they’d gone mad, rampaging through the school, their gazes toward the female students filled with terrifying lust.

“Call the police? Ha! The cops can barely save themselves. Who do you think is coming for you?”

The mustachioed punk wasn’t fooled. He swung an iron chain around Miss Koizumi’s neck, dragging her across the ground as the motorcycle roared, venting his brutality.

Miss Koizumi’s face turned purple as the chain squeezed her neck, her eyes rolling back in agony. Her black stockings tore, exposing swathes of pale skin.

“Miss Koizumi can’t breathe—please, let her go!” a beautiful high school girl ran out from the classroom, desperate to help her.

But as she emerged, a punk with a rooster haircut grabbed her by the hair, slamming her onto a motorcycle, a lecherous grin on his face.

“Haha, I’ve never tasted a high school girl before.”

As he started undoing his belt right there in front of everyone, his loathsome intention clear, a bullet suddenly tore through the air—a sharp “bang”—and exploded his manhood before he could even expose it.