I’m In A World Infested By Zombies… But I Have Special Perks As A Formerly Isekai’d Person! - Chapter 9: In Search of Knowledge

Chapter 9: In Search of Knowledge

Hayato, unable to move the car, retrieved it using spatial storage.

He left something else in place of the car where it had been.

When the residents return home safely, they will witness a strange phenomenon: the car transformed into an empty wooden box, 700 medieval oil lamps, and barrels of plant oil.

Hayato returned home, fantasizing about how they would react. He pondered why the car’s engine wouldn’t start.

“It must be a battery issue, right?”

“What do you mean by ‘battery issue’?”

“The reason the car’s engine won’t start.”

Hayato, who had never owned a car, wasn’t very knowledgeable about them.

But he knew that batteries could die, and he imagined that was the cause.

He had only heard about it, though; he had no experience replacing batteries.

“By the way, Yui, can you even replace a battery?”

“I don’t have a license.”

“Yeah, I figured.”

Yui, who claimed to be 18, was of an age where she could get her license if not for the zombies.

But with civilization having collapsed a year ago, she couldn’t attend driving school.

Even if there were driving schools, taking lessons would mean being chased by zombies.

It seemed that the current generation of 18 and under in Japan wouldn’t be able to drive.

“If only the internet were still working, I could look up how to replace the battery.”

“It’s been about a year and a half since we lost connection to a lot of places; we could barely access anything.”

“I see. That makes sense.”

Civilization’s collapse happened a year ago, but it gradually worsened; the internet wasn’t working even before that.

Now, it was completely out of service.

In this world without internet, Hayato had no choice but to seek knowledge from those who possessed it.

“I wonder what to do…”

Hayato, standing by the window in the dimly lit room, rested his chin on his hand and muttered to himself.

He knew for certain that there were adults at Yui’s former school, Kirigaoka North Middle School.

But there was a risk that they would find out about Yui’s infected state, and considering Yui’s feelings about being expelled, he couldn’t rely on them.

After some thought, an idea came to Hayato’s mind, and his expression, reflected in the window glass, brightened slightly.

“There might be people at Kirigaoka Agricultural High School.”

“Kirigaoka Agricultural High School?”

Yui tilted her head upon hearing Hayato’s muttering.

“One of my middle school classmates enrolled there, and I heard they have a large campus and farmland.”

“Oh?”

“They have rice fields, vegetable gardens, orchards, and greenhouses, and they’ve diverted water from the river, so they have a water supply, too.”

“That’s amazing.”

Yui, hearing about the food and water, exclaimed in surprise.

If such things were readily available, no one at the shelter would be in need.

The supply team wouldn’t have to take risks, and Yui wouldn’t have been bitten.

“There must be adults there, and someone should be able to replace the battery.”

“Or maybe we could even live there?”

“I doubt it; we’re not allowed, and they probably have a limit on the number of people they can take in.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Hayato couldn’t belong to a large group, and Yui had to leave Kirigaoka City.

Remembering this, Yui withdrew her suggestion.

“But if we offer supplies in exchange, I think we could ask them to teach us how to replace the battery.”

Yui didn’t disagree with Hayato’s explanation.

“Before I go, I’ll leave a lot of water and food.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“Then, I’ll be off.”

Hayato, earning Yui’s goodwill, thought about the journey to the agricultural high school.

He got on his bike and set off for Kirigaoka Agricultural High School.

As he rode through the city, he still saw abandoned cars on the roads.

“I guess the cars were abandoned because they ran out of gas.”

Hayato had learned from the high school staff that gasoline was only for disaster response vehicles.

It was understandable that the police and ambulances would be prioritized.

If the power supply to gas stations was disrupted, they wouldn’t be able to provide fuel. It was even possible that the employees would become zombies.

Without access to gasoline, ordinary citizens couldn’t move their cars.

Hayato pedaled hard, pushing his bike forward.

With his bear-like leg strength, he could reach speeds comparable to a motorcycle. It was so fast that he worried his bike might break.

While Hayato could manage with just a bike, Yui needed a car, and since he couldn’t replace the battery himself, he had to learn how to do it.

He couldn’t afford any mistakes.

“I should also ask about swapping out the winter tires and other things while I’m at it.”

Hayato didn’t want to experience the horror of having a tire come off while riding.

It might be fun to watch on video, but he didn’t want to be the one going through it.

Hayato continued pedaling hard, riding through the city.

Along the way, he saw abandoned shops and empty houses, a stark contrast to the bustling city it once was.

“Whoa!”

A zombie suddenly appeared in front of Hayato as he turned a corner.

Hayato swerved his bike, avoiding the zombie.

The zombie noticed Hayato, but it couldn’t keep up with him on the bike.

It moaned as it chased after him, but Hayato soon left it behind and out of sight.

“Phew, that was scary.”

Having a zombie suddenly appear in front of him was a bit too horror-movie-like.

Hayato might have bear-like strength, but his heart was that of a chicken.

If he had an iron heart, he might have pushed Yui to the ground by now.

Hayato continued riding, his heart still pounding from the encounter.

He encountered zombies a few more times along the way but managed to escape on his bike.

The zombies reached out uselessly and moaned at Hayato as he rode past.

As he left the city, the scenery began to change. The number of buildings decreased, and instead, he saw fields of rice paddies and grasslands.

The further he went, the more the natural landscape unfolded before him.

“I think we’re getting close.”

Hayato was fortunate to know the geography of the area, as his activities had been limited to the city.

If he could get the car running, he could use the car’s navigation, but would GPS still work?

Zombies couldn’t shoot down satellites, but without humans to manage them, the satellites would be useless.

Hayato couldn’t help but wish that the Cabinet Office, which managed the GPS system, would at least try to keep it running with the tax money they had collected from the people.

As he fantasized about these things, the barricaded building of Kirigaoka Agricultural High School came into view.

Hayato began to move cautiously, staying in the shadow of a nearby house.

He was on the lookout for the Self-Defense Forces.

If the agricultural high school had become a base for them and they were to say, “Emergency situation clause: civilian conscription!” Hayato would be in big trouble.

Being sent back from the other world, only to be conscripted into the Black Japan, would mean certain overwork death.

— Should he have tried to curry favor with the Prime Minister?

If he had said, “I’m not a wild animal; I’m the Prime Minister’s dog,” maybe he could have stopped his deportation.

Whether that would have been a happy life was another question.

In any case, Hayato had no intention of joining Kirigaoka Agricultural High School.

Leaving Yui behind was irresponsible.

He would see if there were any negotiable parties and, if possible, try to make contact. He would offer supplies in exchange for learning how to replace the battery and other things.

If it seemed futile, he would give up and turn back.

— The barricades were made from materials like those found at a home center, so they didn’t look very military-like.

It seemed more likely that the agricultural high school wasn’t being used as a base for the Self-Defense Forces.

The Self-Defense Forces had their own bases across the country, and their security was much higher.

In terms of food security, it would be more efficient to secure a large area of farmland with barricades than to take over the agricultural high school.

Hayato approached the school, staying hidden in the shadows of nearby houses.

“From here on, I’ll have to stay hidden,” he said to himself.

Hayato moved forward, staying close to the cover of bushes and other objects to avoid being seen.

When he reached the agricultural high school’s barricade, he stopped and looked around.

After confirming that there were no zombies nearby, he turned his attention to a nearby house.

Hayato quickly moved to the house and climbed onto the first-floor roof.

— Maybe I can see better from here.

Hayato hid his body in the shadow of the second floor and observed what was beyond the barricade.

He saw a group of people, all dressed in uniforms, on the other side of the reinforced barricade.

Hayato didn’t know the agricultural high school’s uniform, but they all seemed to be around high school age.

Were they tending to the crops? They were carrying farming tools as they moved around.