The roar echoed again.
Not from behind.
Not from above.
But from everywhere.
The convoy tore through Shibuya's main artery, engines screaming as burning debris rained from the skyline. The ground beneath the speeding jeeps bucked violently, tires skidding as shockwaves rippled through the asphalt. Streetlights snapped like dry twigs. Windows exploded outward. Sirens died mid-scream.
Inside the lead jeep, Chris Redfield braced himself against the dash as the vehicle lurched sideways.
The air itself felt like it was tearing.
Chris Redfield raised his fist.
"STOP THE CONVOY!"
Too late.
Ahead—far too close—a skyscraper already gutted by fire and explosions finally gave in. Its core fractured with a thunderous crack, and the entire structure collapsed sideways, not down, but into the street.
Concrete and steel fell like a collapsing mountain.
The lead jeep skidded hard as the building slammed straight between the advancing vehicles.
Flames erupted.
Dust swallowed the street.
The blast wave slammed into the convoy.
Nobita was thrown forward inside the first jeep, the impact ripping him out of his seat as the vehicle flipped onto its side. Metal screamed. Glass burst. The door tore open as the shockwave hurled him out onto the asphalt, sending him rolling across the street.
"NOBITA!" Doraemon screamed.
The second jeep fishtailed violently. Leon grabbed Helena, pulling her down as debris smashed across the hood and roof, denting the frame and shattering the windshield.
Chris slammed against the steering wheel as his jeep spun, crashing hard into a wrecked bus. His vision blurred as the engine stalled.
When the smoke finally began to clear—
The street was split.
A wall of fire and rubble burned between the ruined vehicles.
Chris forced his door open and stepped out slowly, blood running from his temple as he stared across the inferno.
"…Damn it."
On the other side of the collapsed skyscraper, Nobita pushed himself to his knees, coughing as ash coated his lungs. The heat burned his skin. Flames climbed the shattered walls around him.
The radio crackled.
"—Chris… do you copy—"
Static.
The connection was dead.
Nobita looked up.
Leon was there—gun raised, scanning the smoke.
Helena stood beside him, breath sharp, eyes alert.
Behind them—
Doraemon and the others emerged from the wrecked second jeep, shaken but alive.
Shizuka clutched her barrier cloth, hands trembling.
Gian cracked his neck, jaw clenched.
Suneo hid fear behind forced bravado.
Dekisuki's eyes darted everywhere, already analyzing escape routes.
Doraemon ran straight to Nobita, gripping his shoulders.
"Nobita! Are you hurt?!"
Nobita shook his head slowly.
"…No. But we're cut off from Chris."
Leon cursed under his breath.
"The collapse blocked the route completely. Fire's spreading."
Helena checked her ammo.
"We can't go back."
Doraemon swallowed.
"Then… we move forward together."
For a moment, no one spoke.
This wasn't a plan.
This was survival
---
THE CITY CLOSES IN
Tokyo burned.
Not in one place—everywhere.
Smoke curled between buildings like a living thing. The sky darkened unnaturally, turning the late afternoon into dusk.
Nobita felt it again.
That pressure behind his eyes.
Not fear.
Not pain.
Instinct.
Something in this city was watching them.
Dekisuki broke the silence.
"If Simmons is moving the missile system, he'll be nearby. He prefers controlling chaos directly."
Leon glanced at him.
"You sound sure."
Dekisuki adjusted his visor.
"Because fear makes humans predictable. Simmons doesn't hide—he positions himself where panic spreads fastest."
Helena nodded grimly.
"That's Shibuya."
Gian swallowed.
"So… zombies?"
As if answering him—
A scream echoed from the alley ahead.
Then another.
Then a dozen.
Shapes staggered into view.
Infected civilians.
Their skin gray, veins blackened, movements jerky and wrong.
Shizuka gasped.
"N-No…"
Leon raised his gun.
"Form up. Slow. Headshots only."
Nobita stepped forward without thinking.
Doraemon grabbed his arm.
"Nobita—wait!"
Nobita shook his head.
"…I'm okay. I won't lose control."
Inside his mind, the System stirred—but stayed silent.
For now.
The first infected lunged.
Leon fired.
Helena followed.
Nobita moved.
His dagger flashed—not wild, not rushed.
Precise.
Efficient.
He ducked, slashed, stepped back.
Blood hit the ground.
Gian stared.
Suneo whispered.
"He's not shaking…"
Doraemon watched silently.
Proud.
And..
Terrified.
---
AFTER THE CLEAR
The street fell quiet again.
Bodies lay still.
Smoke drifted past.
Nobita wiped his blade clean on a torn sleeve, breathing steady.
Leon studied him carefully.
"You're adapting faster than before..."
Nobita didn't answer.
He was listening.
Far away—helicopters.
Closer—something heavy moving through debris.
Doraemon clutch his repaired 4D pocket.
"We need to regroup."
Dekisuki pulled up a holographic map from a doraemon gadget.
"Chris's last known signal is here. But this route—" he pointed "—is unstable."
Leon exhaled slowly.
"Then we move without him."
Nobita clenched his fist.
"…He'll survive. Chris always does."
Leon looked at him sharply.
"You really believe that."
Nobita met his eyes.
"I know it."
TO BE CONTINUED