January 17
The people inside had, of course, no awareness of the strange changes taking shape outdoors. They were still deep in conversation, discussing the details of greenhouse cultivation.
Without much hesitation, Miranda laid out the problems as she saw them and gave Kyoko her suggestions.
"It's like this, Miss Kyoko. I think we should use crop rotation to keep the planting cycle going. For example, intercrop short-cycle vegetables with medium-cycle crops like tomatoes so we can ensure a continuous harvest. We also need staple foods. If we stay vegetarian for too long, we'll end up malnourished.
"You may have stored a lot of rice and flour already, Miss Kyoko, and you'll probably find more while exploring outside in the future, but we still need to prepare ahead. Once we expand the planting area, I think we should focus on sweet potatoes as our staple crop. Their tubers store well, and even the vines and leaves can be eaten as vegetables. Their yield is about twenty-five grams per square meter per day, so roughly ten square meters can support one person's needs.
"The rooftop area here is over four hundred square meters. Together with the rooftop next door, that's over twelve hundred square meters. Even after subtracting the rainwater collection system, we'd still have more than a thousand square meters left. That's completely enough to support all of us.
"And we should set up an emergency reserve system too, storing a variety of seeds like bean sprouts and arugula. Some seeds can even be grown hydroponically for faster growth. Bean sprouts, for instance, can be eaten in just three or four days.
"That's about all I have for now. What do you think, Miss Kyoko?"
Miranda had spoken so much in one breath that her mouth was dry. She had talked so quickly it was like a train racing down the tracks. Fortunately, her words had clearly moved Kyoko, who now stood there lost in thought.
Watching Kyoko and Miranda from the side, Brent inwardly thought, Just as planned.
The young lady truly was amazing. She knew everything. Brent herself had to perform well now too. At the moment, Takagi Kyoko was clearly the main combat force of the group—but as for logistics and support, there was no one filling that role yet. Brent Hood could absolutely handle it.
If Kyoko had taken her along on the outing today, things would not have become so troublesome.
With two people fighting together, one could stand guard with a gun while the other searched and interrogated captives. It would be far safer that way.
"I think that sounds good," Kyoko said at last. "It complements the original plan I had in mind. Thank you for the advice, Miranda!"
The moment she finished speaking, Kyoko decisively stepped forward and gave Miranda a big hug.
That slightly intimate gesture instantly irritated both Yurizono Huaxiu and Doris Christian, who were standing behind them.
Huaxiu did not show it too openly. After the mistakes she had made when she'd fallen out with her parents and ended up in her current situation, she had learned not to display her negative emotions so easily. Only a few subtle changes in her expression showed that she was displeased.
Doris, however, was far less restrained. Her cute little face darkened at once.
As an extreme siscon since childhood, there was no way she could tolerate her sister being physically close with another girl. Back at home, whenever Miranda's maids got too intimate during dressing or personal care, Doris would drive them away.
Only she was allowed to do those close, personal things with her sister.
Over time, this younger sister's possessiveness had become quite a headache for Miranda. But considering that their father had died years ago and their mother was so busy with work that she had little time for them, Miranda spoiled her younger sister heavily and never really objected to such behavior.
Kyoko / Miranda is mine! Let go of her!
Sensing that his young mistress's mood had gone in a bad direction, Brent hurried over and used the oldest tactic in the book: changing the subject.
"Miss Takagi, perhaps we can leave that topic there for now. It's getting late."
Kyoko, finally setting Miranda down, also remembered there were still two unfinished matters: assigning accommodations for the three newcomers, and dividing the airdrop supplies.
"All right, let's head downstairs first. It really is too cold up here without heating."
The lights went out with them as they left, and the twentieth floor fell back into darkness.
The wind outside was steadily picking up. Heavy snowfall was expected over the next few days, though fortunately Kyoko had already made preparations to deal with it.
As for dividing the supplies, there was not much to argue about.
Kyoko had no shortage of weapons, so all the daggers went to the three newcomers, along with one alloy spear each. The two M72 LAW launchers were split evenly, one for each side. The remaining food, water, clothing, and daily necessities were distributed by headcount.
The radio, water filtration gear, generator, and medicines were designated as shared public resources.
These items would not belong to any one person. The output of the production tools would be allocated by Kyoko, though she herself would also be responsible for maintaining them.
The First Suppression Agent, meanwhile, was entrusted to the front-line combat personnel—meaning Kyoko and Brent.
The plan for the others was this: Huaxiu and Doris would remain at home on guard duty, while Miranda would join the outside team as a logistics support member.
It was getting late enough now that the final task had to be done: assigning rooms to the three newcomers.
There were over a hundred empty apartments in the building complex. In theory, they could choose whichever they liked.
Well, that was a joke. In truth, their options were far more limited. Most of the vacant apartments in the other two buildings still bore bloodstains and filth left behind by their former residents, none of which had yet been thoroughly cleaned. And choosing rooms too far from Kyoko's own place would only create trouble later.
In the end, the three of them moved into Apartment 1603, directly above Kyoko's place. It was only a few dozen steps away, and the interior decoration and furnishing had not yet been altered by Kyoko.
With everything finally arranged and Miranda's group settled in, Kyoko chatted with them for a little while longer before leaving them to rest. She herself was ready to turn in as well.
When she gently unlocked the security door to her own apartment, she found Huaxiu curled up on the sofa, clutching a stuffed toy and waiting for her return.
Sleep had been hitting Huaxiu in waves. Just as she was about to lose the battle completely, the click of the door opening jolted her awake. Startled back to awareness, she looked up and saw her Kyoko sneaking toward her.
"Huaxiu~ Go to bed already. Don't curl up on the sofa like this."
Kyoko crossed the room, scooped Huaxiu up in her arms, and carried her. Huaxiu, already so sleepy she could hardly think, had only one desire left in the world—to go back to the bedroom and sleep.
"Kyoko, put me down first—and go shower already!"
The moment she was lifted up, Huaxiu buried her head into the pale curve of Kyoko's neck. Since Kyoko always wore a scarf when she went out, the skin beneath the fabric stayed protected from dust and grime.
Still, after strenuous movement and all those layers of clothing, of course there would be the scent of sweat.
Poor Huaxiu's nose suffered for it. One deep breath was enough to make the problem painfully obvious.
"What do you mean, you think I smell, but you're still hugging me and biting me?"
"I'm biting you! Biting you! Biting you! Now hurry up and shower! The water is already hot, so go, go!"
Huaxiu flailed with sleepy indignation until Kyoko finally set her down and hurried toward the living room bathing area.
The water temperature was perfect. The fire in the boiler next door had already sunk into a lower, steady burn, and thanks to the rotating feed system Kyoko had designed, it would continue burning until morning.
Kyoko tossed her dirt-stained outer clothes aside. Her more personal garments naturally went into a wooden basin. Then, after removing all her gear and returning to her unarmored, unprotected state, she stepped into the bath.
"There's no way I smell that bad."
She lifted an arm and sniffed under it, but caught no terrible odor at all. In the end she gave up on the question and simply let herself sink into the warm water, stretching out in luxury.
This kind of enjoyment was already incredibly rare in the apocalypse.
About thirty minutes later, Kyoko could not take it anymore. Steam was rising off her whole body, and large patches of her skin had turned a flushed pink. After soaking up just the right amount of moisture, her soft skin had become even more supple and smooth. If she stayed in any longer, it would only wrinkle.
Now was the perfect time to get out.
After drying off, she wrapped herself in a white bathrobe. At that moment she looked, in her own mind, absurdly like a steamed bun wrapped in pale dough—her white robe enclosing skin that glowed pink beneath.
The thick cotton robe was held closed by only a single flimsy sash.
I really want to untie this damned rope.
Then she could skip straight past the preamble and march directly into the main assault.
Putting on slippers, water still dripping from the ends of her hair, Kyoko naturally reached for the hairdryer. With the building now partially powered, she fully intended to make use of the conveniences of modern civilization.
It was just too good.
Since her hair was short, it dried quickly. With that done, she glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already after eleven twenty at night. Huaxiu had probably fallen asleep by now, and Kyoko herself did not plan to do much more—just reload her magazines before heading to bed.
She intended to make one more trip to the equipment room.
And while she was at it, she should also take a look around the building's surroundings. With the place now lit up, infected creatures would certainly notice it. But Kyoko, armed to the teeth, was not afraid. As long as nothing outrageously overpowered appeared, she had no reason to feel timid—not while sitting on more than ten thousand points.
A fortified building, commanding height, tightly laid defenses. Unless something like a high-intelligence infected appeared again—or unless today's so-called Saints Organization returned—
Saints Organization...
No. Wait.
Kyoko suddenly realized she had been too careless.
This was not as simple as she had been thinking. A high-rise with broken staircases could stop ordinary infected, and even a good portion of the less agile special infected.
But once human beings entered the equation, the situation changed completely.
There were only five people spread across these three connected buildings. Even with a strict defensive watch, there would inevitably be weak points.
If she herself was home, fine. But if she was away? Other survivors with weapons would not even need to sneak in. They could simply attack from a distance and kill whoever was inside without warning.
The situation instantly became much more troublesome.
A cold sweat ran down Kyoko's back, startling her badly. The airdrop today—the one containing rocket launchers—was standardized. That meant this was not the only one dropped somewhere in Fukushima.
Damn, damn, damn.
The moment that thought connected, the number of possible threats around her skyrocketed.
"No. I can't go to sleep early tonight. We took out several bastards tied to an organized group today. The people above them are bound to investigate."
She thought things over for a while that night.
After doing some quick maintenance on her gear, she went into Apartment 1502 and discovered that the clothes she had just taken off had already been soaked in a wooden bucket by Huaxiu.
Then she looked at Huaxiu herself.
After soaking Kyoko's clothes, Huaxiu had gone back to the bedroom and fallen asleep. She had already been extremely drowsy, but before turning in she had still taken the trouble to check outside one more time, and then soak Kyoko's grimy clothing. After all, those clothes had not been properly washed in almost two weeks.
Huaxiu had waited and waited for Kyoko to return, but in the end she simply could not stay awake any longer.
As for whether she was worried that Kyoko might have slipped away to go party with that blond, busty Florentine newcomer—
What a joke.
Even though she herself had only known Kyoko for just over a week, that sort of thing was simply impossible, right?
Even if Kyoko started a harem one day, then Huaxiu ought to be the first wife.
Anyway, Huaxiu was already sound asleep, her breathing soft and even. The beauty of the girl, not yet fully unfolded, had the feeling of an unripe fruit standing on the threshold of ripening.
A hero's grave may be found in tenderness and silk, but alas—Huaxiu was simply too fragrant.
Kyoko changed casually into a set of ordinary clothes, then took up her gun and dagger.
The defensive fortification operation had begun.
She spent a large amount of system points purchasing anti-personnel traps and the materials needed to build obstacles. Soon a huge pile of barbed wire, spike traps, and various types of mines lay scattered all across Apartment 1503.
This much military-grade equipment and professional gear in the hands of an ordinary high-school girl would obviously look suspicious—but Kyoko had already prepared her explanation.
Her miraculous neighbors, of course.
In such a huge residential complex, with tens of thousands of square meters of community space, surely there had to be at least a few eccentric residents who liked hoarding all kinds of bizarre things.
With a community of over ten thousand people, it was only natural that a few borderline criminals might have lived among them. Sadly, they had all been infected before they ever got around to using their collections.
After all, had not that German grandfather once managed to stockpile everything from guns and ammunition to missiles and torpedoes, from military motorcycles to a main battle tank, only for federal police nerds to confiscate it all in one sweep?
Kyoko's defensive design centered around a low-cost, high-lethality trap network combined with rear-line fire support, forming a layered defensive system: delay zone, kill zone, and depth defense. Mines and traps would be placed at the front, while intersecting fields of fire would be established behind them, forcing intruders into carefully prepared kill corridors.
If only they had more manpower, it would make for a truly excellent stronghold.
At the broken staircases she laid barbed wire and spike barriers. To avoid causing more structural damage to the building through explosions, she placed far fewer mines this time. Instead, behind the wire and spikes she positioned pre-set directional fragmentation mines with reduced charges.
"Miss Takagi, what are you doing up this late instead of sleeping?"
"Ah, Brent. Why are you awake too? I'm reinforcing the safe zone's defenses."
"As for me—I saw my two young ladies asleep and was just about ready to turn in when I heard all that banging outside. So I came out to check whether something had happened."
Brent's voice came down from the upper floor just as Kyoko was heading up, startling her. I'm staying awake because I need to build defenses. What's your excuse?
Those three had been fleeing for days and had hardly rested at all. Now that they finally had a secure place to recover, why was Brent awake instead of sleeping?
Suspicious.
In truth, Brent had only just gotten up. Though the three newcomers had developed a basic level of trust in Kyoko, they still needed to keep observing her. So the three of them had decided to take turns standing watch at night. Brent would take the first half, Miranda the second. Little Doris, still weak and taking medicine, would be allowed to keep sleeping.
After all, could anyone really bear to force such a frail, recovering girl to stay up and stand guard?
Miranda and Brent certainly could not.
The night had deepened. The cold wind cut through everything, chilling them to the bone. The clouds had thinned so much that the stars were clearly visible overhead, allowing the earth's heat to radiate away. The leading edge of a second cold snap had already arrived.
Working alongside Kyoko, Brent could not begin to guess where this tactical girl had gotten so many supplies from. There were even multiple types of mines. But she also knew better than to pry into someone else's secrets when they had known each other for less than twenty-four hours.
Focused on their work, the two of them noticed nothing of the horrifying scene beginning to unfold in the park a hundred meters away.
A crisis was about to descend.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter116)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 118
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 111
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 80
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 112
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 95
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 89
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 53
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 61
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 65
Uma Musume: From Beginner 61
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 37
Uma Musume: I Want All 35
I Can Copy Unique Skills 36
A Guide to Aid in the Underwor 26
Summoning an Evil God, but the 27
Supernatural Multiverse 27
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