In a fallen world, electricity and clean water were the keys to survival.
Especially after last night's EMP strike—this city was truly finished. The nights ahead would be lightless, and that made everything more dangerous.
Without power, humans became prey once darkness fell.
But Shido had heard from Takagi Soichiro's people that the team stationed at the dam had prepared for an EMP scenario. If they were affected, they would start emergency repairs immediately.
Shido also understood he couldn't get into the Takagi estate. Which meant the "fortress" the other three teams were heading for had to be the dam power station.
And it wouldn't be just the Takagi family up there. There would be other survivors too—other people he could whip up and steer. Taking the station wouldn't be that hard.
More importantly, he had Takashi Komuro—the so-called "savior of humanity." That alone would make it much easier to sway the people inside.
And if talking didn't work?
Then he had a backup plan.
His leverage was simple: a gun.
Honestly, he'd been lucky.
On the way to the station—still not too far from the dam—they'd found an armed rescue team. Probably a squad dispatched from a military base, sent to repair and secure the power station.
Too bad for them. They never made it.
A small plane had fallen out of the sky and smashed into them, and with the dead swarming on top of that, the squad was wiped out.
When Shido's group arrived, there weren't any dead wandering nearby. Something must have drawn them away.
That stroke of luck let them scavenge freely. The bodies—some killed by the crash, some by their own hand—still had firearms on them. The military vehicle had more.
So if the people at the dam refused to listen, Shido would simply threaten them into compliance.
As they moved closer, they found an enormous number of dead bodies—though it looked like most of them had been reduced to chunks of meat.
The air reeked of scorched flesh. Someone had clearly been burning the bodies, and the heavy smoke and flames made it hard to see what was what.
Still, it meant they needed to stay alert.
It was possible the dam had already been reinforced—organized survivors, maybe even trained fighters.
Soon they reached the dam's perimeter. There were makeshift barricades—fencing and even improvised electrified wire—and people on watch.
No police uniforms. No military uniforms.
Shido's tension eased immediately.
He stepped forward to talk, but the guards were extremely wary and refused to let them in.
Shido demanded to speak with whoever was in charge. They said they'd "go get someone," but no one came.
They were stalling.
And the longer this dragged out, the more likely it became that Takashi—the "human bargaining chip"—would have to be pushed to the front.
"Looks like you still don't understand how important our team is," Shido announced. "Do you know this student, Takashi Komuro, could be humanity's future hope?"
The guards gave him looks of open ridicule.
That reaction was completely normal.
"Takashi, just bear with it a little."
Shido patted Takashi's stiff shoulder, then signaled the people behind him. They dragged a dead body forward—one they'd already beaten and crippled to the point it could barely move.
Right there, under the stunned stares of the dam's guards, they shoved it down in front of Takashi.
"Takashi. Time to prove it!"
"Okay."
Takashi took a deep breath, rolled up his sleeve to expose his forearm, and leaned toward the dead thing's mouth.
When he got within a couple inches, it suddenly lunged—neck stretching forward—and bit down.
The pain hit instantly. Takashi's face twisted.
He yanked himself free, leaving a clear bite wound on his arm.
Fortunately, they'd already smashed most of the creature's teeth out. Otherwise it might have torn away a chunk of flesh.
Then, with a mix of dread and desperate hope, Takashi raised his injured arm high, making sure the people inside could see it.
"Watch closely," Shido urged. "Watch the wound. Watch what happens!"
Shido even lifted Takashi's arm higher for emphasis, and then everything fell silent.
A full minute passed.
More staff came over. More eyes gathered. Whispers spread as people started to piece things together.
A few remarks made Shido blink—like someone was about to let something slip—only to be cut off by a sharp gesture from a coworker. One was even covered at the mouth to shut them up.
Shido didn't understand the exchange, but he didn't care.
Everyone was watching Takashi now.
Yes. This was exactly what he wanted.
"You see?" Shido said, adding a dramatic sigh. "Takashi is fine. His arm isn't showing any abnormal changes. Look carefully—the wound is already healing. Do you understand how important he is now?"
Then his tone sharpened into outrage.
"What are you standing there for? He's a special case—immune to the dead's infection. With his blood, you could develop a vaccine. If he dies by accident, do you have any idea what a loss that would be for humanity?"
He sounded heartbroken and furious at the same time.
So they should open the gates right away, look at them with hope in their eyes, and—
…Huh?
Something was off.
They weren't reacting. Not at all.
"You're still unmoved?"
Across from him, no one spoke. Instead, several people stared back with undisguised contempt—some even with anger.
Then the crowd parted.
Two figures stepped through.
And the moment Shido saw one of them, his face tightened.
"A-aunt Yuriko…"
Takashi's voice came out shaky and frightened.
He saw it immediately: her gaze wasn't gentle anymore.
It was cold. Disgusted.
Which meant the truth was out—Takagi Soichiro's death, and Takashi's part in it. They knew.
"Th-that… I didn't mean to, Aunt Yuriko…"
Takashi tried to explain—weak, rambling, barely coherent.
"…Besides, even if Uncle Takagi used it, it might not have worked. Then we both would've died. But I was the lucky one. If they can use my blood to develop a vaccine, then Aunt Yuriko and Saya can become immune to the dead's virus too."
At first he sounded guilty.
By the end, he sounded like he'd done nothing wrong—like he deserved credit.
Yuriko's expression didn't change, but inside, her revulsion hit its limit.
She could tell Takashi's "logic" had Shido all over it. It was like he'd been coached—brainwashed. Those lines didn't sound like something Takashi could come up with on his own.
But Yuriko felt no pity.
If Takashi could be twisted into saying things like this, it only proved what he was underneath: stupid, selfish, and rotten.
And the reason she hadn't shown herself earlier was simple.
She wanted him to climb all the way up on hope—then fall into despair.
That little performance had been suggested by the man beside her, too. An ugly sense of humor.
Yuriko didn't interrupt Takashi as he kept babbling. She just signaled quietly.
A few Takagi men stepped forward, dragging a dead body with them.
Right in front of Takashi, they deliberately let it scratch them. Bite them.
Then they raised their wounded arms for everyone outside to see.
And they said nothing.
The silence spread.
It infected Takashi's momentum like a cold fog. His flushed, excited face drained back into pallor.
"Takashi," Yuriko said at last, voice edged with ridicule, "it looks like you're not the only one 'favored by heaven.' Everyone here who's taken Earth Elixir is 'favored by heaven.'"
That single sentence shattered a high school boy's "savior" fantasy.
Takashi's face began to warp—cracking into something ugly and twisted.
(End of Chapter)
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