The metallic tang of spent gunpowder and the visceral stench of necrotic decay immediately assaulted my senses. The Rangers and Shotgunners, now totaling fifteen lethal figures, were moving through the school courtyard with the efficiency of a well trained soldiers. The sound of rapid, controlled bursts from the M16s and the earth-shaking booms of the Shotgunners dominated the air.
[ Gold: 9,200 ] The coin continued to climb higher and higher.
"Hold the entrance and secure the immediate perimeter," I instructed the two Rangers flanking me. "No one enters or leaves until I give the order."
"Yes, Doctor," they responded crisply, their rifles scanning the gate and the surrounding street.
I looked at the school building. It was a typical, sprawling Japanese high school now a bloody, terrifying maze.
"This is not a game anymore," I muttered, pushing open the main glass doors, which were already smeared with blood and marred by desperate scratch marks. The interior was chaos incarnate. Backpacks, textbooks, and shattered display cases covered the floor.
"Follow close," I told my guards.
We entered a wide hallway. The noise level was horrifying screaming, the wet sound of tearing flesh, and the shuffling of the undead.
"Focus fire. Eliminate the targets without collateral damage to the structure," I ordered through the System. The Rangers, receiving the command directly, executed the order flawlessly.
Brrrap-brrrap-brrrap.
Three zombies lurching toward us dropped almost simultaneously, their heads erupting.
"Alright, System. Show me the current map and the location of my units," I commanded internally. A transparent overlay instantly mapped the school in my vision, showing small green icons for the Rangers and Shotgunners, and pulsing red dots for the targets.
The units were already spreading out, clearing the ground floor. It was too easy. The zombies of High School of the Dead were simple, slow creatures, completely outmatched by my heavily-armed, infinitely-supplied soldiers.
If I want to secure this school, I need to know where the survivors are.
I decided to check the upper floors.
"Move to the central staircase," I instructed my personal guards.
As we ascended to the second floor, the gunfire became more concentrated. I could hear shouting not screams of terror, but voices of coordination. Survivors.
"One group is barricaded in the second-floor chemistry lab, another seems to be moving down the hall," a Ranger reported telepathically through the System's Unit Command Link.
Which was very convenient.
"Redirect three Rangers and two Shotgunners to secure the moving group. The rest, maintain the sweep," I replied.
We approached the source of the focused shouting. It led to a standard classroom, the door crudely barricaded with desks. I could hear heavy breathing and muffled arguments inside.
"Hold fire, all units in this section," I ordered, stopping a few meters short of the door.
I knocked sharply, twice.
The noise inside ceased instantly.
A nervous, adolescent voice whispered, "Who's there!?"
I took a deep breath, adopting my most professional, clinical tone. "This is Doctor Xenon. I am from an external organization here to secure the premises and extract survivors. We have secured the surrounding area from immediate threats. I require the door to be opened, slowly."
A moment of agonizing silence passed. Then, another voice a deeper, more authoritative male voice spoke. "Doctor? What organization? How are you here?"
"My credentials are irrelevant to your immediate safety," I stated, tapping the GDA tag on my coat. "I am here with armed personnel. My forces are currently sweeping the halls, eliminating the infected. You are wasting precious time. Open the door now."
The voice hesitated, but the sound of an M16 burst just down the hall another zombie eliminated seemed to be the deciding factor. The scraping of desks began immediately.
The door swung inward just enough for a young man with glasses and a determined look to peek out. He froze instantly, his eyes widening as they took in my lab coat, my silver hair and mismatched eyes, and the two heavily armed Rangers standing behind me like statues.
"Y-you... you really have soldiers..." he stammered, pulling the door wider to reveal about a dozen students, a mix of uniforms, armed with makeshift weapons like brooms and baseball bats.
The first person I noticed was a tall, fierce-looking girl with long, pink-red hair, gripping a wooden sword. She was staring at me with suspicion and alertness. Then there was a voluptuous girl with twin ponytails and a serious gaze, and a blonde boy with a cocky air.
I know these people. Komuro, Rei, Saeko, Saya, Hirano... The main cast.
"Good," I said, stepping into the room. My Rangers followed, their rifles pointing towards the them, a silent display of their readiness. "You are survivors. My name is Doctor Xenon. We are establishing a safe zone here."
The glasses-wearing boy Saya Takagi, I realized stepped forward. "Establishing a safe zone? Who gave you the authority? And what are those symbols on your soldiers? They aren't police or military."
I ignored the challenging tone, my gaze sweeping the room. "The authority is necessity, Miss Takagi. The police and military are currently overwhelmed or non-existent in this area. As for the soldiers, they are my private security force, highly trained and impeccably equipped."
"Listen carefully," I said, my voice cutting through the tension. "You are in a dangerous situation. These creatures the infected respond to sound and cannot be stopped by simple trauma. You must destroy the brain. My soldiers are efficient, but you can assist by maintaining silence and following orders."
The pink-haired girl, Rei Miyamoto, stepped forward, her wooden sword held loosely. "Why should we trust you? You show up out of nowhere, wearing a doctor's coat, talking about private armies."
I gave them a thin, cold smile. "Because, young lady, I am currently the only thing standing between you and becoming food for the infected."
I walked toward the window, looking out over the courtyard. The distant sound of more controlled gunfire confirmed my units were working.
"I need three things from you immediately: Silence, Cooperation, and Information on any other surviving groups in the school," I stated, turning back to them.
The boy, Takashi Komuro, stepped up beside Rei. "There's a group near the roof, and maybe one or two other classes on the first floor."
I nodded, satisfied. "My units will secure them. Your first mission is to reinforce this room as a temporary command center and recovery area. We will be using this school as our base of operations."
The plan is simple: secure the immediate area, gather survivors, and then expand. I pulled a Medkit out of my Inventory and tossed it onto a teacher's desk.
"That is a first-aid kit. Attend to any injuries. My soldiers will be back shortly with news." I looked directly at Saya Takagi. "Miss Takagi, your intelligence is noted. You will assist me in logistical planning."
[ Assimilation Progress: 38% ]