Chapter 72: Gathering

When the zombie’s arm had already seized her, Saeko Busujima clearly sensed the thick scent of blood and the foul stench emanating from its mouth. Would she become such an ugly creature if bitten? Saeko opened her eyes and gazed at the impending death without a trace of fear.

In the next moment, she witnessed several heads flying through the air, and the foul, crimson blood splattered onto her clothes and face. A figure, whose presence lingered deeply in her memory despite their few meetings, stood not far away, sheathing his sword and turning to face the remaining zombies.

After severing the last zombie’s head in the kendo hall, Yexing picked up a wooden sword and walked toward Saeko. “To survive in this hopeless world, you need sufficient strength. You may lack that power, but you possess enough talent. Become my subordinate.”

This was the first time Yexing had spoken so much to Saeko in this world, and she found herself unable to accept it all at once. The Yexing who had previously rejected her now actively invited her to be his subordinate.

“All right, let me reintroduce myself. Saeko Busujima, from today, I ask for your guidance.” Saeko showed no displeasure at his request. Her smile was sincere, and her beautiful eyes held a special emotion as she looked at Yexing.

“Mission complete. The host may seek out Ruoxing and Ruochen for rewards; the system will prompt them. Saeko Busujima is now the host’s subordinate. After the mission ends in this world, the subordinate galaxy will open. Additionally, since she is now a subordinate, she must be cared for and not abandoned.”

At Ruoxing and Ruochen’s insistence, the system added this last sentence. They truly worried that Yexing had only recruited Saeko for the mission and would discard her once it ended, which would be heartless—something no one wished to see.

“Mm, understood.” Yexing nodded in response to the system’s reminder. Though emotionally distant, he was not irresponsible, so he agreed without objection.

“Yexing, what were you just saying?” Saeko asked curiously, having heard his reply.

“Nothing. Let’s go!” Yexing, finding explanations troublesome, decided it would be easier for the system to implant memories later. He called out to her and walked ahead.

“What are you planning to do now, Yexing?” Now that she was his subordinate, Saeko deferred to Yexing in all things.

“Kill zombies. There are only a hundred or so; that’s far from enough.” Dispatching a zombie with ease, Yexing answered coldly. Even with Saeko as his subordinate, his tone changed little. Saeko didn’t question his motives for killing zombies. A good woman, she believed, should not seek answers to things she ought not know. If Yexing chose not to explain, she would never ask.

“Yexing, although constantly killing zombies can hone your swordsmanship, isn’t it a bit too dull? Why not let Saeko take the lead? It wouldn’t hinder your zombie killing, and you might find places to collect soul energy more efficiently.” Seeing Yexing’s apparent intent to eradicate every zombie in the academy, Ruochen remarked with a helpless smile. Others aimed to survive, but he sought annihilation.

“Saeko, is it all right if I call you that?” Ruochen’s last words persuaded Yexing, who turned to Saeko and asked.

“No problem.” Saeko warmly accepted the intimate address. Yexing said, “From now on, you make all decisions. I’ll follow your lead, and I won’t interfere.”

“Wait, are you abandoning me, Yexing? I absolutely won’t leave you!” Saeko grew anxious, hearing his words as if he meant to discard her.

“That’s not what I meant. Act according to your own will; I’ll follow you, as I have nowhere else I wish to go.” For Yexing, who had entered this world only to kill zombies and collect soul energy to restore Ruocheng and others, there truly was nowhere else he desired.

Once reassured, Saeko felt ashamed for doubting Yexing, even for a moment. Her beliefs held that a good woman should grant absolute trust to the man she recognized, and she could not forgive herself for that fleeting suspicion.

“Don’t mind it,” Yexing said, noticing her state.

Saeko adjusted her mindset and headed toward the school infirmary. In this perilous world, healing was essential. Yexing slaughtered zombies as he followed her, and together they rescued an infirmary nurse named Shizuka Marikawa. Learning that her car keys were in the office, they proceeded there.

Yexing had no objections along the way; any zombie encountered became soul energy for him to collect. Saeko felt a quiet joy at his apparent trust.

Suddenly, a scream echoed from nearby. Hearing it, Saeko hastened her pace, eager to save the person. Yexing continued harvesting zombies, following her lead, while Shizuka trailed behind.

When Saeko and Yexing arrived, a boy wielding a baseball bat and a blonde girl with a polearm reached the scene simultaneously. The pink-haired girl who had screamed was sitting on the ground, scrambling backward. A heavyset boy attacked the zombies with a nail gun, but their numbers were overwhelming, and the girl's cries drew even more zombies, making it impossible to cope.

“Rei, you hold the left side, I’ll handle the two on the right!” Without noticing the incoming horde, the boy with the bat sought to clear the ones before him. The metal bat slammed violently into a zombie’s skull, and its eyeball popped out from the blow.

With more zombies approaching, Saeko struck their heads with her wooden sword, her attacks ruthless and precise. Coupled with Yexing’s advanced sword-drawing technique, which granted five times his normal attack speed, his Twin Fantasy Swords sliced through five or six zombie necks with each stroke. It wasn’t long before the zombies in the area were all eliminated.

“Amazing!” Yexing’s swift and decisive attacks drew everyone’s attention. He moved through the zombies with lightning speed, never suffering a scratch, inspiring awe among the others. With no targets left, Yexing glanced at Saeko but said nothing, keeping his promise not to interfere with her decisions.