"Well, well… didn't expect to actually find survivors here."
Seeing that it was a woman, Yukino's guarded expression softened slightly. She tilted her head upward and asked, "Sister, how many of you are there? Why isn't anyone else coming forward?"
"I… it's just the two of us, only two. Inside, my female colleague she hasn't had water in days. She's collapsed from dehydration. Please… please come up and help us…"
Tears streamed down the woman's face as she leaned on the windowsill, her sobs pitiful and desperate. Yet the way her chest pressed against the frame, nearly bursting free from her torn dress, was anything but innocent.
A beauty trap, huh?
Sosuke Kitahara sneered inwardly, though his outward grin was mischievous. "Rescuing you isn't a problem, but nothing in this world comes free. Why don't you loosen your clothes and let me take a peek first, and I'll... ow!"
Before he could finish, Utaha Kasumigaoka twisted his waist hard, glaring at him with flushed cheeks. "Shameless! She's begging for her life and you're still spouting filth?"
Yukino also shot him a reproachful glance, silently scolding him for joking in such a moment.
"Relax, it's a joke," Kitahara chuckled.
But the woman upstairs didn't even hesitate. Instead, she clutched at her straps in a frenzy, crying out, "Fine, I'll show you! Please, just come up take everything, just help us!"
"Stop, sister! Don't listen to him. He's joking," Yukino cried, waving her hands in alarm. The woman froze, then sobbed harder. "Please, hurry! Do whatever you want, just… save her. Please, at least bring us water!"
"The stairs are blocked. Hold on, I'll set up a ladder," Yukino said.
Eager to help, she grabbed a folding ladder nearby. Kitahara didn't stop her. Reality was the best teacher. Only by experiencing betrayal firsthand would Yukino truly grasp how cruel the apocalypse could be. Women were not helpless lambs. Sometimes, they were far more dangerous than men.
Yukino set the ladder against the second-floor window and climbed quickly. Kitahara steadied it until Haruno Yukinoshita yanked his arm, her eyes sharp.
"Wait! Something's off. Look at her face she's wearing makeup. Her hair isn't greasy at all. How could she be dehydrated? She's lying!"
Kitahara's heart jolted.
"Yukino, watch out!"
At that instant, two arrows hissed from the window, gleaming coldly. Kitahara reacted instantly, wrenching the ladder aside. Yukino screamed as she toppled down, but the arrows whizzed past her, sparking violently against the pavement.
"Damn it… vicious bastards."
Kitahara cursed under his breath. If not for his reflexes, one of those bolts would've gone straight through his skull. These weren't cries for help they were deathtraps.
For now, he decided not to intervene fully. Better to let the three women face real combat against humans. They needed to learn that living survivors were often more dangerous than the undead.
Drawing his pistol, he fired a volley at the windows. Stone chips and plaster exploded outward.
Utaha was quick to follow, raising her replica gun and unloading a storm of fire at the windows. The two hidden archers ducked away in an instant, but the woman in the middle wasn't fast enough. Utaha's bullet smacked into her face, tearing her cheek open. She shrieked and fell back inside.
"Too much!" Yukino hissed, scrambling up from the ground. Instead of panicking, she grabbed the ladder, reset it against the sill, and drew her real handgun. Her eyes burned with fury.
"Yukino, wait!" Haruno shouted.
But Yukino didn't stop. Betrayal had ignited all the grief she'd been bottling up. Hayama Hayato's death, the tragedy of Miura Yumiko's parents… and now this trap. She wouldn't let it slide.
Breath surging, she vaulted onto the sill and opened fire into the room. Arrows shot back, grazing her hair, but she pressed forward, rage fueling her aim.
"Die!"
For once, Yukino lost her calm composure. Kitahara could only watch as she dove inside, emptying her clip. Screams erupted from within.
By the time Kitahara climbed up, one man was already down, gurgling blood, his crossbow shattered beside him. Another survivor in riot gear was locked in brutal combat with Yukino.
He was fully armored, wielding a riot shield and machete. Yukino's blade sparked against his armor again and again, her strikes fierce but unable to pierce through.
"Get back, I'll handle him!" Kitahara barked.
Yukino gritted her teeth, slashing once more before retreating. The man raised his shield, but Kitahara's pistol barked.
Bang!
The bullet punched through the shield and blew open his skull, spraying blood across the walls.
Kitahara turned to Yukino and handed her the pistol. "Check the hallway. See if anyone else is hiding."
Yukino nodded sharply, reloading as she grabbed a heavy steel crossbow from the floor. She tested the string, then stalked out with Haruno and Utaha covering her.
Kitahara scanned the room. Three enemies total. Two dead men and the injured woman from earlier, collapsed in the corner. Her dress had been a disguise the rest of her body was clad in riot armor.
"Kitahara! Hall's clear. No one else. Just blocked furniture." Haruno's voice echoed back.
They'd also found another corpse next door fresh, strangled to death, a woman whose shredded clothes told the rest of the story. Rage twisted their faces.
Snow-white fingers clenched around the crossbow. Yukino spat, "They deserve worse." She kicked one of the corpses hard, her chest heaving.
Kitahara ignored the dead, turning to the half-conscious woman. He slapped her awake, voice cold. "Answer me. Who are you? Why did you attack us? How many more of you are there?"
The woman's one remaining eye darted wildly. "My husband… where's my husband? Take me back. Forget the guns… we'll leave, I promise! Just take me back to him!"
"He's dead. Stop crying and talk."
Kitahara grabbed her chin, forcing her to face him. She saw the corpse on the ground and snapped.
Her face twisted into madness. She screamed so loud the windows shook.
"Shut up!"
Haruno slammed her rifle butt against the woman's skull, knocking her unconscious.
Silence.
Kitahara exhaled slowly. "They were scavengers. Saw our weapons and wanted them. If it were anyone else, they might have succeeded. At least with us, they're finished."
"Good riddance," Yukino muttered, gripping her crossbow tight.
Kitahara's gaze lingered on it. Heavy, reinforced, with flashlight and infrared scope this wasn't a toy. It was built to hunt.
"Pack everything. The blood will draw a horde soon. We leave immediately."
He stripped the riot armor from the corpses, handing it out to the three women. "Gear up. From now on, assume every human is an enemy until proven otherwise."
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