Chapter 19: The Crash and the Confrontation

After my body returned to normal, my mind cleared, and I began to understand the situation. I realized my awakening had likely failed due to insufficient core energy.

My next step was to leave the small shop and hunt zombies outside. I needed to gather enough core energy to awaken my abilities.

Unfortunately, plans rarely keep pace with reality.

However, when I unlocked the room door, the people who had been waiting outside made it clear they had no intention of letting me leave peacefully.

They stood blocking the doorway, arms outstretched, demanding that I leave my weapons for their self-defense.

Perhaps someone else might have pitied them, left their weapons, or even taken them along. But I was not just anyone.

At this moment, I would not give them a single item, let alone my weapons.

They were fortunate my storage space was already overflowing with supplies; otherwise, I would have stripped this entire shop bare.

These people likely hadn’t yet experienced the true horror of enduring thirst and hunger in the apocalypse.

I had already lived for ten years in the apocalypse. Even though I had been reborn just before its onset, ten years of experience weren’t easily forgotten.

My knowledge of the apocalypse had long since become ingrained.

Everything I possessed was earned through my own capabilities. Why should I hand it over to a group of strangers who simply demanded it?

It might have been different if they offered any utility, but they were nothing more than parasites, utterly useless to me.

“Get out of my way, or don’t force me to kill you,”

I watched the people blocking the door, my right hand instinctively reaching for the knife at my waist.

It was four against one, but with my weapon, I had an almost guaranteed chance of victory.

However, if I killed them now, the scent of blood would undoubtedly spread, potentially attracting a massive horde of zombies.

“Hmph, you wouldn’t dare kill anyone! This is a society of laws!”

“Exactly, exactly! Murder means the death penalty!”

“Big brother, please, save me and get me out of here!”

“Stop with the nonsense, just leave the knife!”

“Kid, do you believe we can kill you?”

A society of laws?

I’m sorry, but this was now the zombie apocalypse.

The four continued to bluster. Just as I was about to draw my knife and silence them, my eyes suddenly caught sight of something behind the glass door.

Several modified pickup trucks were hurtling straight towards us, making my eyelid twitch.

Without hesitation, I bolted towards the nearby cash register.

After squeezing into the cramped space behind the counter, I cautiously raised my upper body.

Through the narrow gap, I began to observe the situation outside.

Unlike my swift and decisive retreat, the four individuals still standing by the door hadn’t noticed the sudden change unfolding outside.

Upon seeing me withdraw, their faces lit up with triumph.

Their gazes turned even more vicious as they watched me.

They likely assumed I was afraid of them, which was why I had retreated in fear.

However, in the very next moment, the pickup trucks, showing no signs of slowing, crashed directly into the store.

After a powerful impact, the small shop’s glass door instantly shattered.

The ‘crash’ echoed incessantly as shards of broken glass rained down from above.

The four people behind the glass door shrieked in terror at the sudden collision.

But it was already too late.

Since the mechanic and the cashier had been standing directly in front of the main entrance, their fates were particularly gruesome.

They were both crushed beneath the wheels, reduced to mangled flesh.

The remaining female office worker and the ‘otaku’ had been further from the door and managed to react quickly, so they didn’t suffer severe injuries.

However, their piercing screams were so loud they felt as if they would rupture my eardrums.

Who exactly were these people driving the vehicles?

Did they not realize that such an act would draw every zombie in the vicinity?

Just as this thought crossed my mind, the door of the leading vehicle suddenly swung open.

A foot, clad in a black high-heeled shoe, was the first thing to emerge from the car.