A youth story of a passerby at the end of the world

“Speaking of which, we still have a companion waiting in the car outside. She must be hungry too,” Uesugi Genshin casually remarked.

"Really?" The other person immediately went to the window and looked out through the tiny crack that wasn't fully open.

Just then, taking advantage of the fact that neither of them was paying attention, Yukino Yukinoshita quietly and quickly stepped forward, trying to take the opportunity to grab the hem of Uesugi Genshin's clothes to see what he meant by what he had just said.

Then I saw him quickly glance into the pot and reach in as if to scoop something out.

That's a hot pot! Yukino Yukinoshita stared at his actions with her mouth slightly agape.

The next second, he drew his sword using Iaijutsu, and in the blink of an eye, the tip of the blade pierced the back of the man cutting meat, passing through his chest.

There was no piercing scream, because there was no time to react; only a muffled groan of pain escaped, and then no sound came out at all.

Hearing his companion's commotion, the man turned around at the window and saw him thrusting a knife straight at him.

"You?!" His face showed astonishment, and these were his last words before he died.

Uesugi Genshin pulled the sword from the corpse and shook off the blood.

Seeing his bloodshot eyes, Yukino Yukinoshita was startled and asked, "What's wrong?"

The sudden attack startled her.

The whole thing took no more than three seconds; he killed both living people.

“No…” Uesugi Genshin shook his head first, then looked at Yukinoshita with a furrowed brow. “Tell me, we’re just eating canned meat, so why can they get fresh meat out?”

"This..." It is indeed a bit strange, but there must be another reason. However, feeling flustered, Yukino Yukinoshita hurriedly went to the pot.

Uesugi Genshin returned to the pot with a slight sense of uncertainty, standing opposite Yukinoshita. He picked up the chopsticks next to him and rummaged through the pot, stirring the roughly chopped pile of meat, which looked very unappetizing.

"I think I just saw it..."

Then he fished a ring out of the pot.

This is a wedding ring.

Chapter 238: Just a Habit

"ring?"

She paused briefly to breathe, staring at the ring she was holding with her chopsticks. It was a standard wedding ring.

Men who are getting married usually prepare three rings: a diamond ring for the engagement, and wedding bands to wear after the wedding.

"Well, and in that case..."

Setting the ring aside, Uesugi Genshin used his chopsticks to search through the pot again, and sure enough, he found a piece of meat with a long bone attached.

Without even looking, and with no interest in doing so, he knew that this was a finger, and a complete finger at that, with the nail on the side facing him already fallen off.

The end is part of the metacarpal bone, with a very, very rough incision.

Uesugi Genshin looked at Yukinoshita's face with concern, but she wasn't as terrified as he had imagined.

Yukino Yukinoshita was looking at him with sparkling eyes, then lowered her head for a moment before glancing at the meat on the table. "So that means..."

There was unwavering certainty in his words, and what else was there but anger?

She believes that life is precious, and everyone is the same.

Uesugi Genshin let go of the chopsticks with no interest, his fingers falling back into the pot.

He walked up to the two savage corpses, stabbed them in the heart with his knife again to make sure they were really dead, and then smeared the blood from the knife onto their clothes.

Holding his left arm with her right hand, Yukino Yukinoshita watched him quietly as he finished doing these things and then looked at her.

"Let's check the other rooms." Gripping the knife in his hand, Uesugi Genshin picked up the meat from the table, intending to throw it in the trash. "..."

That's when he noticed the meat had a strange smell, a peculiar smell that seemed to have been sitting out for who knows how long.

They really dare to eat that! Ah, there's nothing they wouldn't dare to do.

Seeing this, Yukino Yukinoshita, feeling a pang of sympathy, lifted the pot and poured out the brown liquid along with everything inside.

"Aren't we just going?" A sweet breath and a tingling voice came from beside my ear, making my heart itch. This was probably the only color in this gray world.

They were so close they could almost touch each other's breaths, and it seemed like they could even hear each other's heartbeats.

Uesugi Genshin then voiced his doubts, "Are there really only the two of them here?"

"But..." Yukino Yukinoshita stopped herself before she could finish her sentence.

Yes, those two people are just making things up themselves; it would be a miracle if you believed them.

Seeing Yukinoshita's suddenly enlightened expression, Uesugi Genshin chuckled and said, "So we need to check it out."

“Hmm.” Yukino Yukinoshita, who had been silent until now, finally spoke, agreeing with his words while also giving a cold laugh.

The first time I saw her smile so aloof, it was more like frozen frost than snow.

Then, Uesugi Genshin began to check each room one by one.

Office, changing room, storage room...

Although no evidence of another person's existence was found, other evidence was found.

The moment he opened the door with his knife, Uesugi Genshin smelled a familiar scent. That scent made him hesitate to open the door, feeling a pang of guilt because of the person behind him.

However, his ruthless way of thinking kept his hands busy, and he pushed the door open.

"This is..." Yukino Yukinoshita covered her mouth with her hand as if suppressing her horror, and the pupils in her eyes shrank unconsciously.

For the first time, she experienced utter fear in her life.

I could hear my own heartbeat, and a chill started spreading rapidly upwards from my feet. My legs felt weak, as if I might collapse at any moment.

My mouth is dry and has an indescribable bitter taste. My stomach is empty, but I feel something pushing up. Is it my heart? Or my stomach convulsing?

This is a female corpse without any clothing, her lower body in a mess, clearly indicating that she was cruelly treated before and after her death.

Both breasts on her chest had been cut off, her abdomen had been completely ripped open, her arms were gone, as was the flesh on her thighs, and most of her femur was exposed to the air.

If anything is intact, it's probably her bruised and now pale face.

He looked to be in his thirties, but now he was somewhere between a dried-up corpse and a skeleton.

Glancing around the room, Uesugi Genshin turned to look at Yukinoshita, who was staring at him with eyes that were a mixture of astonishment and fear.

"Feel sorry......"

She choked out a sentence, then finally couldn't hold it in any longer. She ran outside the room, braced herself against the wall, and vomited violently.

Hearing her agonizing vomiting, Uesugi Genshin bit his lip in frustration, wondering if he had been too cruel and hoping to help her adapt and grow quickly.

I heard Hayasaka mention that even though Yukinoshita has to work at night, she still makes time to practice her sonics, and even gets guidance from Hiratsuka-sensei.

Uesugi Genshin understood her feelings well—a stubborn obsession, or perhaps a firm belief.

Regardless, she was preparing for survival in the apocalypse, and I was merely going along with her ideas and efforts.

"Ha...乻..." After a brief sigh, Uesugi Genshin took a step back and closed the door.

Looking at Yukina beside her, who was still vomiting, her slender, seemingly fragile shoulders were trembling. There was a pool of brownish-yellow liquid on the ground. Her breakfast had been mostly digested, and what she was vomiting now was probably yellow, bitter bile.

Without letting him see her face, Yukino first used her sleeve to wipe her eyes and cheeks, wiping away the tears that had just flowed from her pain.

When Uesugi Genshin saw her face again, only the redness in her eyes proved that she had just been crying.

Her eyes were moist, and her voice trembled, but she tried her best to keep her voice calm.

"Why are you so calm?" Unable to contain her curiosity, Yukino Yukinoshita gazed at the person looking at her so gently, her expression one of pity, as if she were looking at something fragile.

Is this what power is?

For the first time, she began to doubt her own weakness.

"You'll get used to it too."

He smiled helplessly, something hidden in his averted eyes. Yukino Yukinoshita swallowed the sour taste of saliva in her mouth. "Is that so..."

"Yes. And next time you won't have this violent reaction again, right?"

"Hehe, I really don't want this to happen again." She gave herself a self-deprecating smile, glancing away from the door with lingering fear.

"This is the apocalypse, after all. We'll see all sorts of tragedies eventually." This is only the second month.

“And… this isn’t even the worst…” Uesugi Genshin couldn’t find the right adjective for a moment; using “disgusting” would be disrespectful to the deceased.

"What's the scariest thing?" Yukino Yukinoshita wondered, wondering what could make this person show such a disgusted expression.

"What the eyes see is merely the refraction of light; the sensation it brings is only visual. You won't actually vomit because you see something in a movie," Uesugi Genshin said, gesturing with his hands in the air.

He continued, "And often the sense of smell is most affected. Just smelling that scent sends it to the brain and you can unconsciously imagine it as if you were seeing it with your own eyes. And since the mouth and nose are connected, almost none of the five senses are unaffected."

"Is that so? Pfft."

Uesugi Genshin stared blankly at Yukinoshita, who suddenly burst out laughing. She seemed to understand, and quietly lowered her eyes.

But why was he laughing?

"The expression on your face when you were talking just now." That was the reason she laughed; that feigned pitiful expression made her laugh out loud involuntarily.

"Hmm." Seeing her gradually recover, Uesugi Genshin finally felt relieved.

"Thank you, Uesugi-kun."

Uesugi Genshin realized that being called by his name and being gazed at by those clear, transparent blue eyes were things he hadn't experienced in a long time.

Her cheeks were slightly flushed, revealing a youthful, rosy hue.

A smile bloomed on her lips, like a flower in full bloom, her beautifully shaped cherry-colored lips moving slightly as she spoke words of sincere gratitude.

Then, her smile, which was almost overwhelming, like a flower in full bloom, reminded him of a flower named Misaki, who wanted to say something more.

"boom"

But it was interrupted by a sudden gunshot.

It came from outside the building.

The two looked at each other, their eyes conveying the same message.

"It's Hayasaka's side." After saying this briefly, Uesugi Genshin picked up his sword and quickly turned to run down the corridor toward the stairs.

Yukino Yukinoshita tugged at her clothes and immediately followed.

Running downstairs at top speed while maintaining momentum, I vaulted over the obstacles on the second floor.

Finally, the two arrived at the first floor, outside the building.

"The car is gone," Yukino Yukinoshita exclaimed softly.

There were no cars in sight on the open space in front of the building; instead, there was a fresh corpse lying in the center.

Dressed as a homeless man, he lay on his back on the ground, clutching his chest, his body contorted in pain.

It seems he is the third person, but are there a fourth and a fifth?

There's no time to investigate further now; the gunshot was quite loud, the original sound of a revolver without a silencer.

It will probably attract a large number of zombies from the surrounding area.

Thinking this, Uesugi Genshin ran towards the street, his steps quick.

When Yukino Yukinoshita saw this, she followed behind him, not knowing what he wanted to do, but she still followed.

As they approached the street, Uesugi Genshin leaned against a wall and peered out onto the street.

Sure enough, the streets not far away were already full of wandering zombies.

This is the density of Tokyo. No wonder it is the world's largest metropolis, home to 30 million people.

"Let's wait for her a little while." Turning his head back, Uesugi Genshin leaned against the wall, looking at the sky, breathing lightly.

"You really believe her, don't you?" Yukino Yukinoshita teased meaningfully.

"Hmm, don't you trust her?" At this point, simply raising the question again will solve all the problems.

“No,” Yukino Yukinoshita gave her answer. “I don’t believe her, but I believe you.”