The next day.
"Ummm…morning, honey," Saeko greeted, kissing Akira, who was beside her.
"Morning, honey," Saeko returned the kiss gently.
"Come on, wake up! We have an appointment with Saya and the others today," Akira said to Saeko, reminding her of the promise they made yesterday.
After a brief discussion, the two agreed to help Saya and the others obtain supplies.
After resolving their previous issues, Saya and her group began accepting many refugees into their territory.
As a result, the available supplies became unbalanced, and they had to find more supplies to meet everyone's needs.
Eventually, after searching for some time, they were still having difficulty finding supplies in the surrounding area.
This was certainly possible because, during the nearly two days Akira had been staying at their residence, he not only collected zombies but also scavenged the supplies around him.
So, it was natural that they would have difficulty gathering supplies near their area, having essentially emptied them.
Now they were trying to gather supplies in a more distant area, but due to their limited weaponry and skilled personnel, they could only meet their needs in much smaller quantities.
So, helplessly, I remembered Akira and Saeko and asked if they could exchange supplies for something useful.
However, Akira, who had a lot of stuff in his space, didn't feel the need for the items in this exchange. However, after Saeko mentioned she needed a good sword, Akira agreed to the exchange, stating that they needed a good sword for Saeko.
######
After finishing breakfast, the two of them chose a medium-sized truck to drive, filling it with food and drink supplies.
Behind the driver's seat, Akira, driving the truck, spoke to Saeko about the changes that had occurred over the week since the zombies appeared.
"It seems like they're the only survivors now, having started to adapt to the new situation.
Look at the shops along this road; they've been looted and exploited.
Just a few days ago, the shops seemed to be in good condition, with no signs of looting."
"Oh dear, it seems like those who have survived this far realize the importance of resources for survival.
But unfortunately, they've been overtaken by some," Saeko commented.
"I heard from Saeko's report that more than 5 km from their position, a gang suddenly formed and is rapidly trying to absorb the surviving humans into their ranks," recalling information about the formation of gangs and organizations that existed after the collapse of the world.
Akira told Saeko, "They're just a bunch of idle people. From my subsequent reports, this group of gens primarily targets those who are living and surviving independently.
They'll approach these people and try to be kind at first when recruiting.
But after being rejected, they'll turn into cruel individuals. The gang members won't hesitate to injure or even kill those who refuse and seize all their supplies." Saeko said in a cold tone, absentmindedly stroking the scabbard of her sword, as if she couldn't wait to cut down the gang members if they were in front of her.
"Be patient, dear. You can act once we have enough power.
And then you'll be able to act more freely." As if understanding Saeko's thoughts, Akira didn't see Saeko's words as a bad thing and instead supported her.
After all, he had to earn good points in this world, and as the saying goes, where there's evil, there must be good, right?
Shortly after driving for more than half an hour, they finally arrived at a deserted suburban area.
In this suburban area, besides the dried-up and neglected rice paddies, there were many simple, abandoned residential buildings.
As an area on the outskirts of the city, the area had essentially been desolate. Abandoned by most survivors, the surrounding resources are relatively scarce and extremely difficult to find.
Those who have survived thus far realize that only by continually moving to better locations with more resources can they survive.
Stopping at a seemingly abandoned roadside restaurant, Akira, who stopped the car, didn't immediately rush out with Saeko.
Instead, he carefully observed the surrounding area, trying to find any suspicious presences.
Feeling still unsafe, Akira then released a zombie with low-level demonic powers around him as additional protection.
After that, he asked Saeko to get out of the car and check the outside area together.
"Let's see, the area around this restaurant, the outside area, has been secured by combat zombies (Akira had told Saeko about the new abilities the space has provided, about transforming zombies into stronger and more obedient ones).
So far, Akira's zombie control range is 50 meters, and this can be increased as the space level increases.
After checking the outside and inside of the restaurant, they finally confirmed that the situation was completely safe.
Only then did they contact Saya and tell her where the transaction location they had decided on was.
"There are still some usable items in this restaurant, don't waste them, honey," Sakeo said to Akira as he found several items, such as gas cylinders and some spare food supplies, in the restaurant's warehouse.
Akira also put cooking utensils, such as knives and other utensils, into his space.
As long as they were useful, Akira and Saeko would put them in their space.
Because no one knew when they would need these items in an emergency.
Soon Suddenly, the roar of several cars could be heard approaching their position.
Seeing this, Saeko and Akira became alert and immediately checked the situation.
Only after seeing me and several familiar faces in the convoy did they feel relieved.
The convoy, consisting of two medium-sized trucks and two armed pickup trucks, looked quite intimidating.
So, it was natural for Saeko and Akira to be wary.
"Hey, it's me..." Saeko greeted with a smile when she saw Saya and several people she knew getting out of two open pickup trucks at the front and back of the convoy.