After fumbling the phone once, Shizuka managed to pick up the call and brought it over to her ear.
"Rika! I'm so glad..."
"Yeah, I'm safe for now. What about you?"
"Ohh, I'm so sorry to hear that," tears started dropping from Shizuka's face. Hearing that Rika's comrades had all been turned into zombies or eaten by them saddened her. It also dawned on Shizuka that everyone she knew had suffered the same fate, except for the people currently with her.
At least... Rika was also safe, but... for how long? Shizuka glanced at Jin, the one that had saved them, and got her hopes up. Maybe he can save Rika as well? It wouldn't hurt to ask.
"It's all because of Jin-kun! He has suffered through so much and is such a poor soul, but he still has a good heart! If it wasn't for him..." Shizuka didn't finish her sentence, but it was clear to all who heard her what she meant.
Jin looked down, still playing his 'part,' knowing that at least one person had believed him. In his mind, however, Jin was giddy with happiness. There was at least one more person that was still alive. He took a deep breath as if making a decision before looking at the blonde nurse.
"Shizuka, can I please speak with your friend?"
"Jin-kun wishes to speak with you, Rika. I'm handing you over to him, okay? Don't be too hard on Jin-kun. He has already suffered enough," Shizuka said before handing the phone to him.
"Hello, Rika. This is Jin speaking," he introduced himself, not bothering to use the honorifics. He thought they were pointless in an apocalyptic world.
"So, you are the one that saved Shizuka, huh?" Came the commandeering voice of Rika from the phone. Just from that alone, Jin knew that she was someone that led people, a high-ranking police officer or part of the military. He also heard the faint sounds of waves in the background, getting an idea where she might be.
"Yes, but that doesn't matter right now. Where are you, so we can quickly come and gather you?" Jin asked, despite having a faint idea.
"Hmpf," Rika huffed, but she still answered him. "A bit off the coast in a dinghy."
The Takagi estate North just outside the Tokonosu while the ocean was South of the city. They were that far from the coast, but there was no clear path leading to it from their location.
"We are in the Takagi estate, so if you move to the North and wait there, I can come pick you up in a few hours."
"And how do you plan on picking me up?" Rika asked with a snort.
"Just do as I say, and you will see. If you don't trust me, then at least trust Shizuka. I will hand you back to her now," Jin said. He wanted to go save Rika as soon as possible, but he had to clear the manor of zombies.
"Oh, and before that. Don't hang up and keep the call going. It's not like there is any phone company left to bill you for it. And just one last question. Do you know if the zombies can swim or not?"
"They don't swim nor float. A few zombies tried chasing me, but they sank down like anchors," Rika answered him.
"Good to know," Jin replied and handed the phone back to Shizuka before dashing towards the manor.
Rushing inside the building, he started killing any zombies that he encountered there in happiness. Rika was the fifth member that he needed to add to his group. As long as he saved her, he would have one part of the Scenario complete.
The next part would be harder to complete as Jin needed to find a place that will be safe from zombies, have a constant source of food and water, and survive for a whole year with his group. The estate would've been a good choice had it not been so close to the city.
Knowing about the boss zombies, Jin was sure they will tear the place down if enough of them united. However, he did have a few ideas in mind, which could work. He just had to gather enough recourses and get his group to a safer location.
Jin checked all the rooms and killed any zombies he encountered. His enhanced senses helped him pick up on any odd sounds, and he was pretty sure he had cleaned the building, except for a single place.
"What is this? Some kind of bunker?" Jin asked no one in particular as he stopped in front of a large metal door in the basement. There was a keypad on the wall next to it, but he didn't know the code for it.
"Helloo. Is anybody there?" Jin knocked and placed his ear next to the door. After not hearing anything, he backed away. Jin could've destroyed the door with his kagune, but the bunker could be useful for their brief stay there. That is, as long as Saya knew the code to unlock it.
Leaving the manor, Jin made his way over to the garage that the girls were hiding. There didn't seem to be any zombies nearby, and he even heard Shizuka talking with Rika on the phone.
"The manor is cleared of zombies, safe for one place in the basement. It looked like a bunker, but I don't know the code for it," Jin informed them and saw Saya perk up, hope burning in her eyes. Ever since she saw the state of the place, she had been severely depressed, but now she felt there was still a chance.
"Yes! That's a bunker! I know the code for it!" Saya stated and started marching towards the manor with conviction. There was a chance her parents were still alive!
The rest followed after her, and Jin started, "There are about two dozen corpses in the building, and it will be a good idea to throw them out, but we can do that after I return with Rika or the day after. There are also a bunch of guns scattered around, and it will be a good idea to gather them, so all of you have a way to defend yourselves."
"But for now... you should just enter the bunker and wait for me to return with Rika."
The girls nodded to him in acceptance. They've had a long day, and they were all tired. Resting in a safe place sounded like a very good idea in their ears.
When they reached the bunker, Saya quickly put the code in while Jin memorized it. "75457789."
The large metal door opened up, and a woman's voice came from within. "Who's there?!"
They shortly saw a purple-haired woman holding a shotgun aimed at them. She looked like a taller and more refined Saya, except that she had purple eyes and no glasses.
"Mother!" Saya yelled and rushed up to her, enveloping her in a tight hug. Her mother dropped the gun and hugged her daughter just at tightly.
While the two were having their moment, Jin looked around the place. It was quite spacious, filled with a few sleeping bags, large bottles of water, and canned food. In one of the corners of the bunker, there was the headless corpse of a zombie. All in all, the place wasn't too bad, and they can use it for a base for the time being. However, it wasn't what Jin was looking for.
After nodding to himself, Jin addressed the group. "I'd suggest grabbing a few guns just in case and locking yourselves in. I will swoop around the manor in case there are any stragglers that we've missed before going for Rika. Shizuka, are you still talking with her?"
"Yes, Jin-kun. Rika is slowly making her way up North," Shizuka answered him with a smile. Seeing Saya reunited with her mother made her happy, as at least one good thing happened today.
"Good! I will be off now. Stay safe," Jin said and ran out of the manor.
"Who was that?" Yuriko Takagi, Saya's mother, asked in bewilderment. Jin looked to be just a few years older than her daughter, yet he gave out orders like a charismatic leader with years of experience.
Technically, Jin didn't have that much experience, but he had absorbed the memories of people and ghouls that have been leaders. Plus, he had the Charismatic Leader Perk, so it came naturally to him.
"Well... he... it's complicated," Saya said in a moment. She looked over at the corpse in the corner shortly after and recognized the torn suit on the body.
"That's..." Saya's eyes watered at the sight of it.
"Yeah..." Yuriko said sadly and hugged her daughter tightly. Both to reassure Saya and also herself.
Jin swooped around the estate a few times and dealt with any stragglers that he found. As disgusting as it was, he used that chance to fill his everlasting hunger with a couple of them.
Afterward, Jin took off running towards the coast. He wasn't sure how fast he was, but he was moving extremely quickly through the forest. Surprisingly enough, Jin greatly enjoyed the sensation of the wind against his face and the feeling of freedom that running gave him.
However, the good feeling was soon shot down as Jin heard multiple massive explosions in the distance. He jumped on top of a tree to get a better view, but just one look from they came from made him grimace.
"Nukes... fuck." The mushroom cloud was a dead giveaway, though thankfully, they were a great distance away from Tokonosu. Still, that was far from good, and the city became even a more dangerous place with the nukes in play as he didn't know if any more would be fired.
For a moment, Jin considered just returning back to the estate. However, that wouldn't make a big difference. If a nuke dropped on the city, the girls will either survive in the bunker or die. Jin being there won't change a thing. Nevertheless, he increased his pace by pushing himself to the limit as he rushed towards the coast.
It took him at least an hour, but Jin finally arrived there. At that point, the sun was already going down, but he had no problem seeing in the dark. Being a ghoul, err, half-ghoul had its advantages. Looking around, he spotted a few zombies on the shore, which he promptly took out.
Jin also saw a dinghy in the water with a beautiful woman on it. Rika was a tanned female with purple hair who wore a black combat suit with a bulletproof vest.
"What's with all the beautiful purple-haired woman in this world," Jin murmured to himself as he shook his head. He didn't mind it at all, but it was still odd.
"Rika," Jin called out to her shortly and waved his hand for her.
The woman in question stayed still for a moment. Shizuka and the other girls with the blonde nurse had informed her of Jin, but she found it hard to believe that one man or whatever he was had taken down hundreds of zombies by himself. Yet now she witnessed him killing a dozen on his own with ease. The girls had told her that he had incredible abilities, but damn, seeing them was something else alright.
Jin was dangerous, that much she was sure off. However, he had also saved Shizuka and the rest, so she could trust him for the moment. After letting sigh, Rika started her dinghy and drove it over to him.
Neither of them said a word as they observed each other from a short distance. Jin noted that she had a bunch of weapons with her on the dinghy. While Rika studied his physique and how he held himself.
"So, how much of your sob story was true?" Rika asked. Shizuka had told her about Jin being experimented on, but he didn't act like it. Maybe there was some truth to it, but he held himself like a man with power, like someone who knew what he was doing.
"As much as you want to believe it," Jin said and shrugged his shoulders. He gave the story with the hope of gaining some pity points and having an excuse to use his powers. Right now, he didn't care that much if they believed it or not since they needed him to survive.
"You're dangerous," Rika stated while holding her gun tightly.
"Obviously," Jin replied.
"What's stopping me from shooting you right now?" Rika asked and aimed her gun at him.
"The fact that I'm your best bet of survival, of Shizuka's survival," Jin stated. Rika cared about the blonde nurse, judging by how she had called her, so he used that to his advantage.
"Or the fact that a simple gun won't work on me, and at most will annoy me," Jin said that with absolute confidence. He was sure that he will be able to regenerate even if he was shot in the head. From the memories of the CCG members that he had absorbed, Jin knew that normal bullets weren't effective against ghouls. The organization had been forced to use special ones coated with melted down kagune, and they didn't exist in this world.
"I don't trust you," Rika said, but she dropped her gun and got out of the dinghy.
"And as I told you, Rika, you don't have to trust me, but Shizuka and I plan on keeping her safe no matter what," Jin said it with such conviction that she had no other option than to believe it. And he meant it as he needed the blond nurse to complete the Scenario.
"Fine, but I will keep my eye on you," Rika said with a sigh.
"And I will keep my eye on you," Jin replied, looking her up and down. The woman was beautiful, and there was no denying it.
Letting out a scoff, Rika asked, "So how are we going back to the estate?"
"I'm gonna carry you, so grab whatever gun you can easily carry and hop on my back," Jin answered her.
Rika stared at him for a few moments before asking, "You serious?"
"Yes! Now grab whatever gun you can easily carry and hop on my back!" Jin repeated with a more authoritative voice. Rika's eyes widened at that, feeling she had been given a command from the higher-ups. She followed his orders, but his voice reaffirmed her suspicion of Jin. He was definitely not normal.
After strapping a few to herself, Rika walked over to him. Jin turned around and bent slightly, so she could climb on his back. Rika got on, and he got up while placing his hands on her firm ass.
"If you wanted to feel me up, you should've just asked," Rika said with a chuckle.
"I will make sure to take you up on your offer later," Jin said and gave it a squeeze before spriting quickly towards the Takagi estate.
