The sun hung high in the sky, tilting slightly toward the west.
It shared its scorching heat impartially with the entire city of Tokonosu.
Su Yan sat in his "throne"—his personal seat in the back of the classroom.
Half a month had passed since Marikawa Shizuka last took a leave of absence.
Su Yan still hadn't seen the true face of her best friend, Minami Rika.
According to Shizuka, Rika's job was quite specialized, making it difficult for her to resign just like that.
Fortunately, after an entire day of Shizuka's persistent pleading and reasoning, Rika had finally agreed and promised to quit and return as soon as possible.
Even if her resignation wasn't approved, she would try to apply for leave. One way or another, Shizuka insisted Su Yan would meet her before the zombie crisis erupted.
Those were Shizuka's words, at least.
Su Yan accepted them... probably.
In truth, he suspected that the airheaded Shizuka had simply been played by her clever friend.
Su Yan was becoming borderline obsessed with his curiosity regarding this woman who only existed in Shizuka's stories.
Over the past year, Shizuka had mentioned her countless times. Every time she said Rika was about to return, she would inevitably take it back, claiming some last-minute work had come up.
As for worrying about her safety, he didn't feel the need at all.
While she might not match a prodigy like Busujima Saeko in close-quarters combat, when it came to firearms, the entire main cast put together probably wouldn't stand a chance against her.
After all, the drawers in Rika's room back home were practically overflowing with trophies and medals from various shooting competitions.
Furthermore, her marksmanship was supposedly ranked within the top five in the entire country.
So, rather than worrying about a tough character like her, he was better off worrying about that ditz, Shizuka.
Su Yan's gaze drifted casually toward the window.
It seemed Rika wouldn't make it back before the zombie crisis started.
He could already see the commotion at the school gate—the prologue to the anime's plot unfolding.
Clearly, the outbreak was destined to happen today.
"Let's go."
Su Yan stood up and calmly spoke those two words to Miyamoto Rei.
"Go? Where?"
Rei, who was diligently following the lesson, was momentarily stunned.
Although she didn't know why Su Yan was suddenly saying this to her...
Her body stood up as if on autopilot, following behind him.
"Excuse me, you two, where do you think you're going? Class is still in session."
The middle-aged teacher at the podium, naturally unwilling to let such blatant truancy slide, immediately called them out.
"Um... actually, I'm not feeling very well, and I wanted Su Yan to..."
Rei's mind raced, barely managing to scrape together a plausible excuse to brush him off.
She was an honors student to begin with, and since she was repeating the year, these second-year lessons were entirely optional for her.
However, the experience of skipping class with Su Yan was far more precious.
Even if she had no idea what he had planned.
But before she could finish, Su Yan, walking ahead, replied coldly, "On a date."
"Eh?!"
In an instant, the entire classroom gasped in unison, followed by waves of astonishment.
Even the students who were usually lethargic snapped to attention, their minds sharper than ever.
They had never realized their class housed such a legend.
Gutsy. This guy was way too gutsy!
How could someone have balls of steel like that?
The eyes of some students practically began to sparkle as they looked at Su Yan.
Their inner turmoil was no less than what Cao Cao felt when he witnessed Yuan Shao tell Dong Zhuo, 'My sword is just as sharp.'
Then, everyone's eyes swiveled in unison toward the middle-aged teacher.
How would the teacher respond?
"Well..."
Feeling the weight of their gazes, the teacher's scalp tingled. If he didn't handle this right, he would become the laughingstock of the school.
However, because it was Su Yan who said it, he lacked the confidence to actually scold him.
Leaving aside Su Yan's rank as the second-best student in the grade, he was also the most skilled member of the Kendo Club after Busujima Saeko. His combat prowess was undeniable.
Most importantly, he had that University of Tokyo prestige.
As Su Yan's history teacher, he knew full well that despite Su Yan consistently ranking second overall...
The kid had never passed a history test. In fact, it was rare for his score to even break into double digits.
'If I reject him and make him angry, will he come over and hit me?'
'It's just a job. No need to risk my life.'
After reaching this conclusion, the teacher looked at Su Yan and Rei, who were already at the back door, and forced a gentle smile.
He chose to selectively ignore Su Yan's previous statement and said, "I see, so Miyamoto is feeling unwell. Then I'll leave it to Su Yan to take her to the nurse's office to rest."
Su Yan didn't care what the teacher said. Even without permission, he wouldn't have stayed.
Before leaving, he swept his gaze across the room and added coldly, "By the way, since we're classmates, here's some advice: leave school and go home immediately."
Without waiting for a reaction, he left the classroom without a backward glance.
He didn't have much of a relationship with the others, and he wasn't some saint.
You couldn't expect a single University of Tokyo student to save the whole country, could you? A kind warning was already generous enough.
And his warning wasn't without merit.
In a place like Fujimi Academy, there were thousands of students and teachers packed together.
Once the zombie virus began to spread, it would be an absolute disaster for anyone still inside.
If they could seize the chance to leave now, their survival rate would be much higher.
Rei kept her head down, clutching the hem of Su Yan's shirt as she followed him silently.
Her face was flushed bright red, and she didn't dare look at her classmates.
Yet, she felt an indescribable thrill.
Skipping class for a date...
The mere thought of it made her mind reel with excitement.
As soon as the two left, the classroom erupted into noise.
The students, completely unaware of the looming danger, excitedly discussed Su Yan and Rei's departure.
"Quiet!"
The teacher struggled for a while before finally using his authority to suppress the rowdy crowd.
But just as he went to wipe the sweat from his brow, another voice rang out abruptly.
"Teacher, I'm not feeling well either. May I go to the nurse's office to rest for a bit?"
A surge of nameless fury ignited in the teacher's heart as he turned his gaze toward the speaker.
He was about to snap, but the moment he saw who it was, his anger vanished like a doused flame.
Not only was she the top student in the grade, but her family's influence in Tokonosu City was enormous.
The apartment he lived in probably wasn't even as big as her bathroom.
He couldn't afford to offend Su Yan, and he certainly couldn't afford to offend this little princess.
Such was the helplessness of a middle-aged man.
The teacher wiped away more cold sweat and forced a nervous laugh. "Is that so? Takagi, you really do study too hard. No wonder you're number one in the grade. You should take better care of yourself."
"Thank you, Teacher."
Having secured permission, the pink-haired girl known as Takagi hurried after Su Yan and Rei.
This pink-haired girl was the final female member of the main cast.
Takagi Saya!
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