Bio Defense ~A City Built in a World That Has Ended~ - Chapter 1-6

Chapter 1-6

Sirens blared from behind, and several police cars rushed past Kanata and his friends, their tires and brakes squealing, and came to a stop with their bodies sideways.

The doors on both sides opened with a bang, and the police officers jumped out, taking out transparent shields from the trunk and holding them up.

“Police! Stop right there!”

The police officers who had gotten out of the patrol cars shouted a warning, but the bloody man staggered towards them and attacked without hesitation.

“Uwah! Seriously?”

Subaru, who was next to Kanata, exclaimed. Because the shield was transparent, they could see the situation clearly. The bloody man was not deterred by the shield and reached out with both hands, opening his mouth wide as if to bite the officer. It seemed like he was attacking indiscriminately, and even though he had bitten the shield, breaking a few of his own teeth, he didn’t seem to care.

In fact, despite the efforts of the surrounding police officers to stop him with batons and other weapons, he couldn’t be stopped.

“Get away from him! This… get away!”

“He’s not in his right mind. Pull him off!”

The police officers were trying to restrain one man with multiple people, but the officer holding the shield was gradually being pushed back. Kanata and his friends, who were witnessing this scene ten meters away, were so shocked that they couldn’t move an inch.

Meanwhile, more people dressed in the same bloody attire were approaching the police officers from all sides. There were men and women, old people and young people around the same age as Kanata and his friends. They all looked lifeless and had suffered severe injuries in various parts of their bodies.

Eventually, one of them approached from behind the officer who was desperately trying to restrain the first man and bit his neck.

“Uwah! Ahhhhh!”

The bitten officer tried to cover the wound with his hands, but an unimaginable amount of blood flowed out from between his fingers.

“Please stop!”

The officer next to him was about to be bitten by a woman, and although he was trying desperately to defend himself, his hands were already red and covered in bite marks.

“Uwahh! Uwahhh!”

A young police officer who had been communicating via the patrol car’s radio saw this situation and threw away the radio, drew his gun from his waist, and aimed it, almost dropping it in the process.

“Don’t shoot! We haven’t received permission to fire!”

Another police officer who had been in the same patrol car rushed out and shouted.

“But… what should we do then?”

“Just calm down! Use the sasumata! Pull him off! Go!”

The young police officer near the patrol car and the older officer in the passenger seat had this loud exchange and then went off with a strange-shaped stick.

“What do they think can they even do with that…?”

Kanata muttered to himself. The opponents were not in a normal state. Perhaps drawn by the noise from the patrol cars and the police officers, more people covered in blood were emerging from nearby buildings and hiding places. Their movements were not fast, but some had been bitten so badly that their heads were tilted almost 90 degrees to the side, others were missing an arm, and some were dragging their intestines out of their stomachs.

“Oh… that’s…”

Daigo, who was trembling, pointed at a figure that looked like a friend who had been with them until a moment ago. The friend didn’t run towards them or show any signs of happiness at seeing them, but simply walked towards them with a blank expression and unsteady steps. Both of them were bleeding profusely, to the point where the original color of their uniforms was no longer visible.

PANG!

A dry sound echoed near Kanata and his friends, who had been so shocked by the scene that they were standing there in a daze. Looking around, they saw that Matsushiba had clapped her hands together, causing the sound.

“I was so distracted that I forgot how dangerous this is. We have to escape! Daigo-kun, I’m sorry to make you carry me, but can you run to the place I’m going to tell you about now?”

Daigo, who had a pale face, nodded repeatedly at Matsushiba.

“Both of you, follow us! We’ll go back the way we came for a while, quickly!”

Daigo shouted from his back, and Kanata and Subaru, who exchanged glances for a moment, followed him.

It seems that when one encounters an event that surpasses human understanding, one becomes unable to make a judgment about what to do. Come to think of it, even though the people who had turned into monsters were walking towards them, they couldn’t even move, let alone run away. They were just standing there, doing nothing, even though their death was drawing closer by the second…

To be honest, even now, if asked if they could act calmly, they would have doubts. That’s why Kanata felt extremely grateful for Matsushiba’s voice, which calmly indicated their destination.

How long had they been running? Daigo, who had been running ahead, finally stopped. Seeing this, Kanata also stopped and looked around, but there was no sign of any people in sight. Although it wasn’t as crowded as the city center, there were many factories and office-like buildings with large premises. Kanata had never been there before, but it might have been an industrial area.

“That building…”

The building that Matsushiba pointed to was a brand-new two-story building. There was a grand gate in front, and there was also a guardhouse next to it. It seemed that a guard had been on duty there, as an elderly man in a uniform, who had noticed them, came out, cautiously opening the gate a little and welcoming them.

“Chairman, are you safe? I was terrified when I received the call that you had lost contact with your companions. Anyway, let’s go inside… what about these children?”

“I had a little trouble on the way, and these children helped me, and then they brought me here. They’re like saviors to me. Come on, Daigo-kun, and take care of them inside.”

At the mention of the word “chairman,” Kanata and his friends were startled, but Matsushiba urged them to go inside. Daigo was also hiding his agitation, but since he was carrying Matsushiba, he had no choice but to follow her instructions, so he walked towards the building with wide eyes.

The unremarkable building had an automatic door that looked like the entrance in front, and in the back, there were several trucks parked with their backsides facing the shutter of what looked like a loading dock.

Following the guard’s instructions, they passed through the automatic door, which seemed to be the entrance, and were greeted by a man and a woman who were standing there.

The man in a suit, who was constantly looking outside, approached them.

“We’ve expedited our plans after receiving the call. That… is it really true?”

The man wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief and said this. Matsushiba had made several phone calls while they were on their way, and it seemed that this was one of the places she had contacted. From what they could hear, she was speaking very one-sidedly, so the man seemed to be half-believing and half-doubting, although he was clearly anxious.

“It’s true. I saw it with my own eyes at the scene. It will probably spread soon. We need to secure a safe place. Also, we need food and daily necessities. Gather as much as you can! You can even take them directly from the wholesalers, no matter how much you take, just buy as much as you can.”

“That much… what is it?”

“By the time you actually face them, it will be too late! Do you understand? Hurry up!”

Matsushiba said this firmly, and the man, after giving his consent, ran off.

“Chairman, it seems that not only Hinotori but also the other three companies are acting independently. Also, the phone and internet are already unusable. May I report what we have gathered and summarized so far?”

A woman in her mid-twenties, who was the only one left, spoke while looking at a file. With a stern expression, she adjusted her glasses with her finger and then led them into a room with the door ajar.

While this exchange was taking place, Kanata and his friends were completely unable to keep up with the situation and were standing there with their mouths open.