"Marikawa-san?"
From the stairs leading to the second floor, a strikingly attractive nurse called out to Shizuka.
"Joy-san?" Shizuka responded, recognizing the nurse by her pink-blonde hair, illuminated by the flashlight attached to the shotgun Saya was aiming.
"Goodness, you're alive!"
Joy excitedly ran down the stairs, rushing toward Shizuka as if to hug her in relief.
"I'm glad you're safe as well—"
Shizuka cheerfully welcomed her with open arms—at least until Nach swiftly stepped in front of her, his axe hidden behind his back but ready to strike if Joy came any closer.
"Stop right there! Don't approach us!" Saya shouted, keeping her shotgun aimed at Joy, her finger ready on the trigger.
Joy halted her approach as soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs.
"What's wrong, Nach?" Shizuka asked, peeking from behind him.
"Please be careful with the trigger, Takagi-san," Kohta said, remaining alert for any undead that might emerge from the darkness surrounding them.
While everyone else was confused by Nach and Saya's actions, both of them knew better than to trust someone they found alone in such a dangerous place—especially a hospital, which should have been crawling with undead patients, nurses, and doctors.
Not to mention, Joy's undeniably erotic white nurse uniform was stained with blood.
Their suspicion, however, began to ease as more female nurses came down from the second floor, all wearing the same bloodstained white uniforms.
"Is something wrong, Chansey?" said the nurse leading the group of six.
"I don't know... I'm not sure what's happening..." Joy murmured, her voice trembling as she shifted her gaze between Nach and Saya.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with them, Nach," Shizuka whispered, beginning to consider the possibility that Joy might be a half-undead like Saki.
Looking at Joy and the other nurses, there didn't seem to be any visible bite wounds on their arms or legs. But like Saki, they could be hiding them beneath their uniforms.
It wasn't like Nach could ask them to strip naked—even if he wanted to, for both safety and lustful reason.
Still, the idea of multiple half-undead nurses working together to deceive them and lower their guard seemed unlikely.
If they truly were half-undead, with their strength and numbers, they could have easily overwhelmed their prey.
Or so Nach and Saya concluded in the brief moment they exchanged glances.
"We cum in peace—" Nach said, attempting to lighten the mood—only for Saya to kick his right leg, cutting off his intended pun.
"Stop with that perverted joke already," Saya said before apologizing to Joy. "We didn't mean to be rude or scare you. We're just being cautious."
"So, take us to your leader," Nach added, finishing his joke.
"That's not what we're here for, pervert!"
After clearing up the misunderstanding, Shizuka introduced the pink-blonde nurse as Chansey Joy, a friend from her university.
She then briefly explained that their group was in the hospital to gather supplies, including medicine, equipment, and food.
In return, Joy volunteered to accompany them to the laboratories, seeing that they had enough manpower and weapons to deal with the undead lurking on the ground floor.
Meanwhile, the other nurses returned to the upper floors to tend to the remaining patients.
***
ROAR!!!
Multiple undead emerged as they illuminated the corridor.
BANG!!!
Kohta fired several shots, thinning their numbers just enough to prevent Nach from being overwhelmed in close-quarters combat.
"Good job, Kohta," Nach said before rushing in, eliminating the remaining undead with his axe.
As Nach and Kohta continued using the same tactics to push their way toward the laboratories, Saya and Shizuka questioned Joy about what had happened in the hospital during the week since the outbreak began.
"I expected the hospital to already be swarming with undead," Saya said. "So how did you manage to survive this long?"
"It's because of the head doctor, Doc Oak," Joy replied, her eyes gleaming with admiration as she mentioned his name.
"You mean Professor Samuel, right?" Shizuka said with a knowing smile, understanding the look in Joy's eyes.
Probably another perverted adult, Saya thought before asking her real question.
"So, what did the head doctor do to keep the hospital secure?"
Joy continued her explanation, not missing any opportunity to praise him.
On the day of the outbreak, the head doctor dispatched other doctors, nurses, and maintenance staff throughout the city—especially to evacuation shelters—while keeping only selected personnel in the hospital.
Following his instructions, the nurses moved patients to the upper floors, while the remaining maintenance crew barricaded the hospital, leaving only a few designated entrances open for survivors. Unfortunately, some of those survivors were infected, causing the ground floor to become overrun with undead.
"How convenient. It's almost like he knew the outbreak was coming," Saya said, glaring at Joy with suspicion.
"If he did know, then it's because he's a great doctor!" Joy replied, once again praising him.
"Then what about the ambulance... that drove outside earlier...?" Saya trailed off, slowly realizing something.
"Ahh!" she shouted, drawing everyone's attention.
"Why is that ambulance still working after the EMP blast?!"
"EMP blast?" Joy asked, confused.
"The explosion in the sky that caused the blackout and fried all electronics!"
"Ah! That massive fireworks."
Joy explained that since then, the maintenance crew had been working nonstop to repair the hospital generator. They also fixed the ambulance so they could search for the parts needed to restore power.
Saya then remembered that their technician, Matsudo, had also been trying to fix the vehicles back at their mansion.
Shizuka, however, had a different concern.
"What about the cold storage in the blood bank?" she asked. "Is the blood plasma still preserved?"
"I'm not sure. No one has been there since the blackout," Joy replied, though she suspected most of it had already been ruined.
"You said your group is looking for medical equipment, right?" Joy added, changing the subject after noticing Shizuka's saddened expression. "But most of the hospital equipment stopped working after the explosion."
"Ahhh!" Saya screamed again, and everyone waited for her next realization.
"That's right—even microscopes have electronic components. How could a genius like me forget that?"
"If it's just microscopes, the hospital still has older manual models, right, Joy-san?"
"Mhm! The interns have been using them."
Although Joy's answer reassured Saya that their trip wouldn't be pointless, it only made her grumble more about not thinking of it sooner.
In the end, she could only blame one person.
"It's all that pervert's fault. I'm becoming an idiot every time he pats my head."
***
Author's Note:
Hey'a—It's UelUel, your lazy and lousy PoruShark writer.
I'm writing a new book for the Webnovel Rising Star contest.
I would really appreciate it if everyone could add it to your collection, give it a read, and leave some comments and reviews.
The title is—Isekai Livestream: Netori
Please search for it in the meantime since it isn't in my profile yet.
As for what the story is all about, here's the short synopsis:
A Goddess Scammed Me into Streaming a Fantasy World—Now My Viewers Want Me to Steal the Heroines
Of course, it involves the genres R18, Harem, and Netori.
That's all—I'll be expecting your support.
Also, please consider sending Gifts and Subs to my ongoing book, Returner Fantasy