Bio Defense ~A City Built in a World That Has Ended~

Chapter 2-1 Hinotori

The room had a simple layout, with a table in the center and a one-seater sofa in the back and front, and two to three-seater sofas on the left and right. It was probably a kind of reception room.

The woman who had been leading them, once everyone was in the room, turned around and introduced herself to Kanata and his friends.

“I apologize for not introducing myself earlier. I am Tachibana, an assistant to the chairman. Thank you very much for taking care of the chairman.”

Tachibana then bowed deeply to Kanata and his friends with a well-mannered gesture. The treatment was vastly different from the suspicious-looking guard they had seen earlier and the man who had run off after receiving instructions.

“No, not at all. It’s only natural, or rather, um, thank you very much.”

Kanata and Subaru, who were not used to being treated so politely, were flustered as they answered, and they ended up in a strange situation where they were bowing to each other.

Daigo, who was watching this from the side, helped Matsushiba sit on the sofa in the back, finally freeing himself. Matsushiba seemed to look a little disappointed when she got off, but that was probably just an illusion.

Daigo sat on the sofa on the left, and at Tachibana’s urging, Kanata and his friends also sat down next to him. Tachibana then bowed and left the room, and as Kanata and his friends looked around the room, she returned with a tray.

She placed a cup of tea in front of each of them and then sat down on the sofa in front, straightening her posture.

“Chairman, I would like to report to you, but would it be better if they took a break with the other evacuees?”

Tachibana asked Matsushiba after looking around at Kanata and his friends.

“Oh, that’s fine… since we’re here, they might as well listen in. But don’t spread it around too much, okay?”

“If we’re in the way, we can leave the room,” Kanata, who was representing his friends who were completely overwhelmed by the atmosphere, said timidly, raising his hand. However, neither Matsushiba nor Tachibana paid any attention to him.

“Is that okay? … Well, then, I will report. What we have learned so far is that there are many things we don’t understand. First, let’s talk about the beginning of this incident…”

Tachibana then proceeded to explain calmly, looking at the materials in front of her. Matsushiba occasionally nodded, but she didn’t interrupt. Kanata and his friends, not wanting to cause any trouble, tried not to move a muscle and even held their breath as much as possible. Still, they listened intently to the unbelievable story that was being told.

The incident began near the shopping mall that Kanata and his friends had planned to visit, at a large intersection. It happened yesterday afternoon. Many people were crossing the pedestrian crossing as usual, but there was a man in the middle of the crosswalk who was walking unsteadily even after the pedestrian signal had changed from flashing to red. Of course, the cars that couldn’t move started honking their horns, and some even opened their windows to shout at the man, but he continued walking without hurrying.

Two young men who had become impatient got out of the car at the front and scolded the man in a harsh tone, grabbing his collar and forcing him to face them. In an instant, the man bit the young man without hesitation. The bitten man let out a cry of pain, and the surrounding onlookers fell silent. The other young man, who was panicking, tried to pull the man off, but he couldn’t budge. Eventually, the young man who had been bitten began to scream, and his cries gradually faded as he lost strength and fell to the ground. The other young man also sat down on the ground, his legs apparently unable to support him, and he began to back away frantically.

The man who had been covering the motionless young man slowly stood up and turned around.

His mouth and chest were stained with fresh blood, and as he took a step towards the retreating young man, who was his next prey, the area was filled with cries of anguish.

People screamed and ran for their lives, cars collided as they tried to leave the scene quickly, and some even abandoned their cars and fled.

By that time, the police and ambulance had arrived, and several officers had managed to subdue the blood-soaked man from behind. Another officer was trying to carry the bitten young man, who was no longer moving, to a safe distance with the help of another officer, when suddenly, the bitten young man, who everyone thought was dead, began to struggle and bit the officer’s neck.

The scene became even more chaotic. The officer, who was bleeding profusely from his neck, retreated, and an emergency crew ran towards him to provide first aid, but while being treated, the officer also bit the emergency worker. From that point on, the situation became completely unmanageable, and the infection spread rapidly.

A passerby had filmed the incident on their smartphone and uploaded it to the internet. However, the video was deleted within a few hours, and the page was temporarily closed.

But apparently, many people had managed to copy the video before it was deleted, and they had uploaded it to various video-sharing forums. However, those videos were also quickly deleted, and the pages were closed. At around the same time, similar videos were also circulating abroad, and they were also uploaded.

As a result, either due to the overwhelming number of accesses or the intervention of some authority, the internet itself became inaccessible.

“So, it spreads from person to person, right? The ones I saw earlier were like that too. They were bitten, and within a few minutes, they turned into the ones doing the biting. Is there any official statement about this?”

Even in that situation, Matsushiba seemed to have observed things quite well. Kanata and his friends, on the other hand, had no such luxury.

Matsushiba, who had been listening to the story, seemed to be nodding as she probably recalled the incident they had encountered earlier. Tachibana, who was asked about the official statement, shook her head in a heavy atmosphere.

“The communication network was immediately cut off, but even before that, there was no news on the phone or the internet. Furthermore, as we investigated further, we found that similar incidents had occurred in almost the same time frame in seven to eight locations across Japan. It also seems that similar incidents have occurred in various countries around the world. Videos of these incidents were uploaded to the internet, but the servers quickly became overwhelmed and crashed. The common factor in all these incidents is that people who are bitten become violent and bite others, and in all cases, the first infected person appears to have come from nowhere and at an unknown time.”

Kanata and his friends, who were listening nearby, couldn’t help but look at each other. It was like something out of a movie. However, they had just witnessed a glimpse of that world with their own eyes.

“I see… this is worse than I thought.”

Matsushiba, who was thinking with her arms crossed, was asked by Tachibana.

“Do you think this area is dangerous?”

“It’s dangerous. And we don’t have much time either. When we encountered the incident earlier, the police were still functioning, but they were using guns against those monsters, and they were trying to fight them off with batons and sasumata. From what I saw, it won’t work. Whether it’s a disease or a curse, the infection will spread rapidly.”

Tachibana, who heard this, was biting her lip and seemed to be holding back something.

“In any case, we will expedite our plans and transport the materials and supplies to the site. We will start with the trucks that have finished loading. Also, try to use as many different routes as possible. We may have to pick up evacuees along the way, so we need to consider that. We will also allow employees who are able to move to board the trucks… I think we can at least pass by their homes and the places where their loved ones are.”

At Matsushiba’s words, Tachibana, who had been startled, raised her face.

“Is that okay? In fact, many of our employees have asked for time off to go and help their families and lovers… It’s a situation where every second counts, and it’s not a situation where they can act alone and succeed. I was somehow able to suppress them and get them to prepare quickly… but if possible… I know it’s a mix of public and private affairs, but…”

“In a situation like this, there’s no such thing as public and private! And if they have worries on their minds, they won’t be able to do a good job. So think of it as an investment to get them to work hard on the ground. Well, we don’t have much time, and there are those monsters out there. I think we can only go around their homes and the nearest places where they are likely to be evacuated…”

Tachibana deeply bowed to Matsushiba, who had said such manly words, and then left the room, calmly closing the door behind her. The sound of her heels running down the corridor faded into the distance.

Kanata and his friends, who were listening to this, also thought of their homes and families, and wished for their safety.