Hearing Luo Jie's question, Miyamoto Rei hesitated for a moment.
Since the apocalypse descended, her boyfriend Inō Takashi was dead, her parents were missing, and besides her childhood friend Komuro Takashi, she truly didn't know who else in this world she could trust or rely on.
Yet the idea of searching for Komuro Takashi, whose whereabouts were unknown, was clearly unrealistic. Even if she could guess the locations he might have gone to, she lacked the ability to traverse the corpse-ridden streets of Funabashi City alone.
Miyamoto Rei instinctively glanced at Luo Jie, sitting cross-legged and utterly composed across from her, then at Jizukawa Shizuka, who had somehow fallen asleep with her head resting on Luo Jie's lap. Taking a deep breath, she spoke with grave seriousness: "Please allow me to go with you. I beg you!"
Simultaneously, a system prompt appeared for the second time in his visual projection:
[Acquired recognition from storyline character Miyamoto Rei. Add her as a protection target? Y/N]
Luo Jie casually tapped confirm, gently woke the deeply drowsy Jizukawa Shizuka, stood up, and offered Miyamoto Rei a faint smile. "In that case, you and Shizuka-sensei should rest early. We have a long journey tomorrow morning..."
"Huh? Where are you going, Xiao Ye? This room is quite spacious. You can sleep here." To prove there was enough space for three, Jizukawa Shizuka hurriedly slid open the closet to grab bedding, only to slump in disappointment upon finding only two futon sets inside.
"It's fine! Xiao Ye, you can share mine!" Jizukawa Shizuka remained undeterred. She clumsily pushed the two futons together, lay down flush against one edge, and patted the middle spot triumphantly.
Luo Jie: "..."
In a certain sense, this well-endowed airhead was truly a god-tier supporting teammate...
Miyamoto Rei flushed crimson, pulling Jizukawa Shizuka back from the bedding's edge in embarrassment and annoyance. "Jizukawa-sensei, stop messing around! How... how could you let a man sleep in here?"
Jizukawa Shizuka still seemed oblivious, biting her finger with a look of pure innocence. "What's the big deal? Last time, I slept on Xiao Ye's bed. I slept soundly and felt very safe... Mmm, though my back was a bit sore when I woke up the next morning."
Miyamoto Rei turned to Luo Jie, her expression one of utter shock.
"The actual situation that time was that Shizuka-sensei commandeered my bed, kicked the blankets onto the floor while sleeping, caught a chill from the draft for half the night, and strained her back a little," Luo Jie explained with a shrug and a smile. He stood and slid open the door. "Get some sleep. Goodnight."
Watching the shadow cast by the streetlight on the shoji screen fade as his footsteps receded into the distance and finally vanished, an inexplicable sense of long-lost security welled up in Miyamoto Rei's heart.
"Yes... goodnight."
At the same moment, in a narrow alley somewhere on the southern shore of Funabashi City.
A middle-aged man desperately smashed a wrench into the skull of a blocking walker. Ignoring the blood coating his hands, he grabbed the hand of an adorable little girl, about eight or nine years old, behind him and continued running, gasping for breath.
"Papa, I'm so tired! How much longer do we have to run?"
"Just a little further, Alice! Once we reach that house with the lights on ahead, we'll be saved!" the father urged, his voice tight with fear and exertion.
The little girl nodded obediently, stifling her complaints. She kept running beside her father, her wide, terrified eyes darting back towards the figures shambling behind them under the sickly yellow streetlights. Ragged walkers lurked in the gloom, their numbers impossible to guess.
"Open up! Please, open the door and let us in! At least let the child inside!" The man burst into the small front yard and began frantically pounding on the reinforced door.
Quick, shuffling footsteps sounded from within the house, followed by the muffled sounds of a heated argument between several men and women.
After a moment, an older man's voice came from inside, laced with fear and nervousness. "W-we're already full here! Y-you... you need to find somewhere else! Don't lead those monsters here!"
"The streets are crawling with those things! Where else can we go?" the father pleaded desperately, his voice cracking.
"Th-that's not our problem! Get going, now! Or... or I won't be responsible!" the voice inside threatened, trembling.
"You!"
The father looked down at his daughter, her small fingers clutching his bloodstained shirt. Hesitation on his face hardened into grim determination, twisting into something almost feral. He raised the bloodied wrench high and brought it crashing down onto the metal door with all his strength!
CLANG! CLANG!
He would smash through this door if he had to. His daughter would reach safety.
"W-wait! Stop! You'll draw them all here!" The older man's panicked cry came from inside, followed by the sound of locks disengaging.
Seeing the door begin to swing open, relief washed over the father's face. He turned, gently stroking his daughter's soft, red hair. "It's alright now, Alice. We'll have a safe place to rest soon. Maybe even some hot food. Remember to say thank you..."
THUD!
A crude spear – a kitchen knife lashed to a long pole – suddenly thrust out from the widening doorway. It sank deep into the father's abdomen. Crimson bloomed across his white shirt like a grotesque flower.
"I'm sorry... Forgive me..." The man holding the spear inside was deathly pale, his hands shaking violently as he struggled to yank the weapon free.
"Papa! PAPA!" Alice screamed, throwing herself onto her father. Her tiny hands pressed uselessly against the horrific wound, slick with blood.
"Alice..." The father's hand lifted weakly, reaching for his daughter's face. It fell limp halfway.
BANG! BANG!
Walkers drawn by the noise reached the yard's low fence gate. They threw themselves against the flimsy metal barrier, the impacts echoing like doom.
A small, scrappy white terrier darted from the shadows near Alice's feet. It planted itself between her and the gate, barking fiercely, albeit with a puppy's high-pitched yap, at the horde beyond.
"Thank you. Are you protecting me?" Alice whispered. She walked to a laundry line strung across the yard, took down a large white sheet, and carefully draped it over her father's still form. Then, she scooped up the little white dog, her expression eerily calm. She reached out and slid open the bolt on the gate.
The tide of rotting corpses surged into the yard, instantly swallowing the small figure.
"That stupid girl let them all in!" one of the survivors inside shrieked, watching the scene unfold through a window. "What was she thinking? Wasn't she afraid to die? Damn it! We should have finished her off too!"
"Wait... look! What's that?" another survivor gasped, pointing. Amidst the seething mass of walkers filling the tiny yard, something small and pure white, like a tuft of snow, seemed to be pushing its way up.
The dog?
"No! It's a wolf! A massive wolf!"