Zombification

Hey, guys. I know that I have been taking a lot of breaks lately and I promise you that this will be the last major one in a while.

After this, I am going back to a weekly update of 5 chapters a week!

Also, I would like to thank every one of you for reading my story! It took a while but we finally reached 100K! Next, Iet's aim for 1 Million views and to do that, we need more power stones to make the story more popular so keep those stones coming boys!

Thank you and enjoy the story! :)

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

In one of the school buildings, Mr. Lu was impatiently tapping his fingers on the desk as a couple of thoughts passed through his mind.

'School is supposed to be where students come to study right? But now....',his thoughts trailed off as he looked at the nearly empty classroom in front of him.

'Where the hell are the students?!',Mr. Lu thought as his cheek twitched from annoyance.

It was considered normal if a student showed up maybe 5 or 10 minutes late but this....Practically the entire class disappeared!

Out of his 40+ students, barely 5 remained in their seats as they too looked around in a confused manner.

They wondered if there was even school today to begin with.

School was supposed to start at 8.45a.m. but now, it was already 9.25a.m. with no signs of any students whatsoever.

Most students came to school early at around 7.30a.m for various reasons whether it was to play basketball early morning, talk to friends or even escape from their parents but now, there was practically no one here.

Looking at this, Mr. Lu wondered if he had been too strict lately.

Did the students stage a rebellion against him as a sign of protest to his strictness?

'Well....I wouldn't call it strict. I would call it tough love!', Mr. Lu tried to comfort himself but looking at the class, he started thinking if that was possible.

After all, no student would come over 30 minutes late. Their parents would surely call in since they were still in elementary school.

As Mr. Lu thought of this, he became a bit worried as there was no texts or calls from the school administration about any absentees in his class.

Thinking about this, Mr. Lu wondered if they were in any sort of trouble.

As a parent himself, he might be overly strict at times but he still cared for his child's safety and as such, his fatherly instincts came out at that very moment to ensure his students safety.

So, standing up from his desk, Mr. Lu announced to the remainder of the class.

"I'm going to find the whereabouts of the other students. Do not leave the class under any circumstances before I return"

He was soon replied with brief answers of agreements from the students.

Seeing their responses, Mr. Lu nodded his head and walked out of the classroom.

Once Mr. Lu was outside the classroom, he began thinking of his next course of action.

Should he call their parents first? Or should he directly bring the issue to the principal himself?

Mr. Lu was caught in a dilemma.

Which option should he go through first?

All of it were major decisions.

Informing the parents could make them overly worried while informing the principal might get him in trouble for waiting so long to inform him.

Sigh....All of it were such important decisions.

Then, just as he was thinking about this, he noticed a couple of people gathered at the corridors.

With a second look, Mr. Lu immediately recognized them.

They were his coworkers. The homeroom teachers of the other classes.

'What are they doing outside? Shouldn't they be teaching their classes as well?', Mr. Lu wondered as he started walking towards them.

The teachers in the group soon noticed Mr. Lu's presence as one of them called out to him.

"Lu-san, could it be that your class is almost empty as well?"

"Eh?", Mr. Lu was surprised.

Was this guy a fortune teller or something? How did he guess that his class was almost empty?

Seeing Mr. Lu's confusion, the man quickly explained to him.

"It's not just you. All of us have our classes empty as well"

Mr. Lu stood there blankly for a moment before opening his eyes wide in shock.

"Huh?!"

Now, Mr. Lu was even more confused.

Multiple classes were missing the majority of their students? Just what was going on here?

The other male teacher then spoke once again.

"Lu-san. How many students do you have in your class now?"

"Huh? 4 students", Mr. Lu replied without thinking.

Immedietly, one of the other teachers replied in a frustrated voice.

"Damn it! I only have 2 left!"

Another teacher couldn't help but butt in, "That's nothing! My class doesn't even have any students at all! How do you think I feel?!"

When the other teachers heard this, they couldn't help but give that teacher a pitiful look.

At least their classes had the minimum of a single student remaining while this fella had none. It was truly a sad case for a teacher to experience this.

Mr. Lu then got back to the topic at hand.

"Does anyone know what happened to our students?"

The rest of the teachers shook their heads helplessly. They too were in the dark for this matter.

After all, more than a 100 students disappeared from all their classes at the same time.

"C-Could it be....That they thought today was a holiday?", one of the more timid teachers asked from the back.

This time, everyone kept quiet.

This had indeed passed through their minds but did it make sense?

It was fine to say that either 1 or 2 students did so but this was over a 100 students!

Did some major calendar company make a mistake in their printing or something? How else could this happen?

Then, the teacher who initially called Mr. Lu spoke up.

"I think it's best if we confront this situation with the principal. Since all of our classes are missing students, then none of the blame can be shouldered on us"

Hearing that teacher's suggestion, the other teachers started to agree with him.

If none of them were going to be blamed, then it would be in everybody's best interests to confront the principal about it.

Seeing that the others were on board with this, that teacher immediately began to lead the way to the principal's office.

Along the way, the teachers began to discuss of the possibilities for the disappearance of their students.

"Did all of them really think that today was a holiday?"

"That might be a possibility but I don't think so. After all, this would be big news if it reached the media outlets"

"C-Could they have been kidnapped?"

All heads snapped towards that one teacher who made that last comment.

It was the same timid teacher who made that comment if the students thought that today was a holiday.

"You big buffoon!",an elderly immediately brought his fist down on that young man's head with no mercy.

Watching that young man cradle his aching head, that elderly teacher pointed at him and berated loudly.

"How can you even think of such a horrible thing?! How the hell are you even a teacher?!"

The other teachers also had unsightly looks on their faces.

Kidnapping was the worst crime in their perspectives as teachers and very well hoped that it never happened to their students.

It was at this time that they were thankful for living in Japan where the crime rate was one of the Top 10 lowest in the world!

To even entertain the idea that over 100 students had been kidnapped was too much for them.

Forget the local media outlet, it would become a national incident if that were to happen!

For small time teachers like them, they wouldn't dare to even entertain the idea.

The timid teacher immediately became frightened as he realized that he had said something that should not have been said.

"I-I'm s-sor-",however before that young teacher could mutter an apology, he was interrupted.

"Quiet!", the lead teacher raised his hand up to initiate silence.

When the young man saw this, his heart was gripped with fear.

Could it be that these teachers were not willing to accept his apology?

The mere thought made this man's hear quiver. As such, he attempted to repeat his apology once again.

"N-No. I'm really so-"

Again he was cut off by that lead teacher waving his hand and shouting.

"Quiet! Can't you hear that?!"

This time, all the other teachers were confused as well.

Hear? Hear what?

Still, they followed the lead teacher's command and kept quiet.

Within a few moments, they were finally able to hear something.

It was faint but it was also made up of many voices. It sounded like....cheers?

"Is that cheering? Is there an event going on today that we don't know about?", one of the teachers couldn't help but question.

The other teachers couldn't help but think about it as well. Was there really an event that they weren't aware of?

One of the female teachers closed her eyes for a moment as she tried to pinpoint the direction of the sound.

After a while, she finally came to a conclusion.

"It seems to be coming from the school canteen", that female teacher announced.

Hearing this, the lead teacher nodded and said to the other teachers, "Alright. Let's go to the canteen first. Hopefully,we can find our students there as well".

With that, that group of teachers once again moved forward as they headed towards the school canteen.

However, they noticed one thing.

As they got closer and closer to the deafening cheers, they realized that the sound was not coming from the school canteen but from the school gym beside it!

Feeling even more confused, the teachers made their way into the school gym with all kinds of speculations in mind.

However, when they entered the gym, they were met with an even greater surprise.

The entire gym was packed and as the teachers looked around, they could scarcely make out the faces of their missing students.

So, they were here after all!

They were in school all this while but instead of attending classes, they came to the school gym instead!

Just thinking about this made these group of teachers infuriated.

Were they really not good enough to even attract the attention of their students?

Some of them were even more evil as they were already planning to give a mountain-load of homework once they chased these brats back to class.

"Oh? You're finally here?", an old voice came from behind them.

Stunned, the teachers immediately turned around to meet the source of that voice.

They'd recognize that voice anywhere!

Turning around, they saw an old man who looked to be in his 70s with a hunchbacked figure and a kind look on his face.

He was sitting on chair as he gazed at the teachers in front of him.

The lead teacher finally mustered his courage to ask the principal.

"P-Principal, how long have you been waiting here?"

The principal just gave the lead teacher a glance as he turned back to the crowd of students.

"I'm guessing it's been around 2 hours? Time does pass when you see something interesting"

While he principal's voice sounded casual, the teachers felt cold sweat drip down their backs.

2 hours?! The principal had been leisurely watching the students gather here for around 2 hours while they were searching heads and tails for their students!

This was just an embarrassment for them!

No doubt that they would get a severe scolding from the principal during the next teacher's meeting, citing them on their lack of attentiveness as young teachers while he, an old goat had taken notice of them for over 2 hours.

However, the scolding came sooner than expected.

"I'm deeply disappointed in all of y'all. School was supposed to start over 30 minutes ago but here you are only coming now"

"Aren't you all ashamed that an old man such as myself has more dedication to my work than you young buggers?! If the media were to get hold of such news, not only would you be ridiculed but the entire school administration would face an unprecedented humiliation as well!"

When the teachers heard this, they couldn't help but lower their heads in shame as what the principal said rang true.

Seeing the teacher's not responding, the old man let out a sigh as his frowning face began to ease up.

"Still, it's not all bad. I got to witness something miraculous today", the principal muttered.

The teachers looked up when they heard this.

Their principal had a stern attitude whether it came to studies or basketball and was not so easily impressed. After all, he had seen multiple geniuses over the span of his long life.

For the principal to say that something caught his eye, it made the other teachers very curious to know what it was.

As if sensing the other's curiosity, the principal prompted to explain.

"Look at the center of the crowd"

Hearing this, the teachers began to look at the crowd as their gazes narrowed towards the center of it.

Right there and then, they saw....Reo!

Clothes drenched as if he was teabag that had been soaked soggy in a cup and breath ragged as he panted heavily with bloodshot eyes while dribbling a basketball in hand.

The teachers were all stunned.

How did this student end up in such a miserable condition?

"Reo?", Mr. Lu couldn't help but mutter out unwittingly.

The principal's ears perked up when he heard Mr. Lu mention Reo's name.

"Oh? You know him, Lu-san?"

Mr. Lu put on a respectful look as he explained to the principal.

"Yes, Kazuki-sama. Recently, Reo has proven himself to be an exceptional genius in my class"

"Previously, he was able to answer one of the Top 10 hardest questions in the history of the Math Olympiad at the middle school level and all his recent homework has been submitted with a perfect 100% score!"

"Hmm?!",the principal's eyes widened when he heard this.

"Lu-san, it's not good to lie to the principal like that. Everyone knows that Reo is one of the worst students in the history of this school"

"After all, he only gets a zero for every test that he takes", one of the teachers couldn't help but butt in.

Mr. Lu quickly refuted this teacher lest he be deemed a liar by the principal himself.

"It's true! This is what happened...."

Quickly Mr. Lu began to explain in detail about what happened in the class, 3 weeks ago.

From Reo claiming to be a genius to how he answered 3 middle school Math Olympiad questions in a row.

Of course, Mr. Lu left out the part of where he made a deal with Reo to not pay attention in his class. If the principal knew that he was not giving special care to such a genius....forget the scolding, even his salary might get cut down!

Once the principal finished hearing Mr. Lu's explanation, he began to calmly stroke his beard.

"A hidden genius in studies and also a monster in basketball. Surely, the young will always surpass the old", the principal muttered softly.

The principal then looked up in Reo's direction.

"That boy....Tell me, what do you see?"

Hearing this, the other teachers turned towards Reo as they heard Mikasa call out the score.

"A score of 4-2? I think he's winning?", one of the teachers mentioned in uncertain manner.

"Hmm....keep looking", the principal said in a calm manner as he watched Reo's match.

After a few minutes of repeated confrontations, the match finally ended with a score of 5-3.

This time, the teachers were confused.

Winning with a score of 5-3 was nothing special so why did the principal want them to pay attention to this match?

However, Mikasa's next announcement chased away all that confusion.

"Hundred and fifty-third round winner, Reo Fuji!"

Almost all the teachers had their jaws on the floor when they heard this.

153?! This fella actually completed 153 matches in a row?!

How long had it even been?! It should have been only over 2 hours and yet, this boy had taken down over 150 students!

This wasn't just about being skilled anymore! It was about having such monstrous talent at such a young age!

This meant that on an average value, each match would have lasted only around a minute!

Theoretically, it was possible but counting on the ball resets and short breaks in between, it would have placed a strenuous burden on the person's body.

By the time they were done, they would surely have motionless on the floor or in the worse case scenario, knocked out.

But Reo was still standing! For this to happen, one could tell that this young boy who had not even crossed the age of 11, had a monstrous amount of stamina in him!

With Reo's short figure and slim build, many of the teachers wondered where all that stamina came from.

At this time, the principal spoke up.

"I think it's time to end the matchups. Forgetting that it's been over 30 minutes since school officially started, the boy has already run out of stamina"

"It would be a good thing to help him out now. After all, a talent such as this does not deserve to be defeated here. His defeat should only come on a grand stage against a real formidable opponent"

The teachers just stood there with an awkward look on their faces.

What the principal said was good but....it was too cringe!

Most of them were modern folk and such talks were quite common among the older folks but to them, it seemed a bit out of context.

Still, they didn't argue and right after Mikasa announced the results, the teachers decided that it was time to interfere.

"Oi, you brats! What do you think you're doing?!",the lead teacher yelled out.

A vast majority of the students immediately stiffened up from hearing that voice.

Since they were kids, they were supposed to have an immature voice but that voice that shouted out....sounded like an adult!

And the only adults that were present in the school at this moment.....were the teachers!

As everyone realized this, they also realized that something was wrong if the teachers were here.

Subconsciously, many of them glanced at the watches on their wrists and quickly, they were given a big shock.

It was past 9.30a.m! They were over 30 minutes late for class!

When Nakamura realized this, he was even more scared.

He was not allowed to use gadgets during school times and if the teachers caught him using his phone at this very moment, there was a high chance that it would get confiscated!

If that happened, not only would he lose his phone, he would also get a nice earful from his parents once the school authorities contacted them about this.

Thinking about this, Nakamura quickly announced to the livestream.

"Sorry, everyone but the challenge is currently over and do remember to subscribe for daily content! Thank you and have a nice day!"

With that, Nakamura quickly switched off the livestream as he proceeded to disable the stand before pocketing everything into his backpack in lightning-like fashion.

The viewers of the livestream were dumbfounded.

It had all happened too fast. One moment they were happily watching the livestream but in the next moment, they got a message saying that the livestream had ended.

If one should know, the viewership amount had grown to a frightening number of over 50000 viewers which was ever so close to attaining an impact factor of Level 3.

This showed how popular Nakamura's livestream had gotten and for him to end the livestream in such an abrupt manner brought confusion to the sea of viewers.

However, that confusion quickly turned into anger as they began spamming the comments section.

[F*ck! They actually ended it like that?! It's supposed to go on until Reo loses, damn it!]

[What kind of shitty host is this to end the livestream like this?! I'm definitely giving a dislike!]

[Complain! I'm definitely going to complain! No live streamer should be this disgusting!]

[Yes! If JSport doesn't care, then we will make them care! Brothers, lets spam the reports section!]

And just like that, the Shibuya City branch of JSport had gotten their largest daily complain amount since the founding of JSport. It was truly a historic moment on that day.

Back to the gym, the students were terrified as they thought of the possibility of them getting reported to their parents. As such, they tried to defend themselves.

"Teacher, it wasn't our fault! We just forgot about the time!"

"Yes, teacher! Please forgive us! I promise it will never happen again!"

"*T-Teacher, please. I will do anything so don't call my parents p-please!"

Many of the students were close to tears while some of them were already bawling on the spot.

Still, the lead teacher wasn't moved by their tears.

"You lots come to school for studying but here you are playing basketball instead! Have you no concern for your studies whatever?!",the lead teacher scolded.

Some of the students started tearing up as some cried even louder.

They were just kids after all. They couldn't endure such ruthless scolding.

However, after a huff of frustration, the lead teacher proceeded to say something else.

"We won't call your parents but we will be giving you over one week's worth of homework as punishment!"

As the teacher said this, he thought about making the calls to their parents but after thinking of the number of students here, he quickly shook it off.

After all, no teacher would be willing to do over 300 calls just for this small mishap. Just by the number of calls they would have to make, they could already imagine their telephone bill crying from over expenditure.

When the students heard this, they nearly cried from relief.

However, before they could celebrate, an exhausted voice interrupted them.

"T-Teachers, I'm innocent. I wanted to leave but they wouldn't let me"

"They forced me to do this"

Reo who was currently on his butt, spoke to the teachers in a tired voice.

He had nearly reached his breaking point sooner than expected.

Seems like finishing off 200 challengers was still too much for him at this current stage.

When the other students heard this, they forgot their tears as they glared daggers at Reo.

It was this bastard's fault that they were all in this situation in the first place but now he wanted to blame it all on them?!

Unforgivable!

'Reo, you scum! I hope you trip and die on the way home!'

This was the thoughts of most of the students.

To them, Reo had become Public Enemy Number 1!

At this time, the principal suddenly walked towards the students as he announced.

"Now, now. I know you all had your fun but now, it's time for learning so all of you hurry back to your classes"

Hearing this, the students were all relieved.

If the principal wasn't going to condemn them, then the teachers would not do so as well.

At most, they would just get a harsh scolding and a mountain load of homework but other than that, they were in the clear.

Then, the principal turned to Reo.

"Except for you. With how tired you are, I'm willing to bet that you will fall asleep within 10 minutes after going back to class"

"You should go home and rest. I'll get a teacher to send you back later"

Reo was surprised when he heard the principal's words as were the other teachers as well.

'Isn't this too much special treatment?', the teachers wondered.

It seemed that the principal deeply favored Reo to such an extent where he was willing to get a teacher to send Reo back.

Hearing this, the other students began to get jealous as well.

This bastard didn't do anything but he got to go home early?! No fair!

Injustice swirled in the hearts of all the students but there was nothing that they could do about it. These words were said by the principal himself and they would be damn fools to question him.

Meanwhile, Reo was happy.

After defeating over 150 students, he could finally go home and have a good rest.

Then, right at that moment, the system notification rang out.

[Small-scale tournament completed! Rewards are being calculated!]

[Randomizing contents...]

'Sweet!', Reo thought when he saw this.

After a tiring matchup, he was finally going to reap the benefits of completing this exaggerated challenge.

However, he had forgotten one important thing.

[Ding! The host has failed to complete the Punishment!]

[All rewards are now locked!]

[Secondary Punishment is being generated!]

[Secondary Punishment: Finish 2 hours of intense training within a 1 hour period starting now!]

[If the Secondary Punishment is still uncompleted, all pending rewards will be lost and all rewards gained within a one week time period will be nullified!]

When Reo saw this, he felt as if he had died once again and landed in hell instead.

What the fuck was this?!

Two hours of intense training that should start within an hour?! What bullshit was this?!

Then, at this moment, the system couldn't help but talk to itself.

[I really wonder if I can hack into devices!]

[That way I can broadcast the start of World War Z to the entire world! After another 2 hours of intense training, I really wonder if you would turn into a zombie or a mummy?!]

[Hahaha! Still, I'm willing to bet that it would be a zombie!]

[Well, whatever! I look forward to your zombification! Muahahahaha!]

Reo really wished that he could just die again.

He was already depressed from seeing those notifications but now, he has to deal with this idiot as well!

For God's sake, he was too tired to even argue with that stupid system!

As such, he could only weep quietly at how miserable his life was.

Still, there was nothing he could do except to go through with this Secondary Punishment.

He was not willing to give up the rewards for today and not earn any EXP during next week's Street Ball Rumble!

As such, he could only grit his teeth and prepare himself....for the path of zombification!