chapter 9;I Became Abigail and Started Making Trouble in the multiverse

Afterward, the two of them left. Qi Zhou went inside to gather weapons, while Hirano continued to keep watch outside, ready to provide support if needed.

Abigail, with nothing else to do, returned inside and spotted a crossbow tossed aside. She picked it up casually.

"This thing's mine now," she said.

After fiddling with the crossbow for a while, Abigail threw it along with some bolts into her personal storage space, then followed Hirano outside.

At that moment, another wave of zombies started gathering outside the house. The sound of the explosion earlier had been too loud, drawing in zombies from afar.

However, there weren't many of them, so dealing with them wasn't a big problem.

Soon, the group gathered in front of the military Humvee.

The Humvee had plenty of space, so even with a few extra reincarnators on board, it was still roomy enough.

Inside the vehicle, Alice found herself cradled in Abigail's arms, completely confused.

"Uh, why are you holding me like this?" Alice asked, puzzled.

"No reason, I just felt like it," Abigail replied.

The others looked at Abigail's actions and simply assumed she was happy to see someone her age, so no one paid much attention to it.

Abigail, feeling the soft presence of the loli girl in her arms, was filled with satisfaction. Loli were the best, she thought. She found herself enjoying her new body more and more. In her old form, behaving like this would have labeled her a creep, but now? No one would think anything was wrong. Then again, what did her old self even look like? Strangely, Abigail realized she couldn't quite remember.

She shrugged it off. Who cares? Enjoying a cute little girl was more fun. Causing a little mischief wasn't bad either.

Satisfied with herself, Abigail glanced around at the group, all looking relaxed inside the vehicle, and smirked.

*Boom...*

As the armored vehicle moved, a sudden explosion echoed nearby.

"What just happened?" Takagi Saya asked.

"No idea. Seems like something else just blew up. And there's a loud roaring sound too," Hirano responded.

"A roar? Must be zombies attracted by the explosion," Takagi Saya said nonchalantly.

"No, something's off. That sound... it feels familiar, like I've heard it before." Ding Muyu furrowed his brow, sensing that things weren't as simple as they seemed.

"It's that huge monster from the school, right? That big, big one," Shizuka Marikawa chimed in.

*Boom...*

Just as Shizuka finished speaking, a massive figure fell from the sky, landing directly in front of the Humvee, forcing it to a sudden halt.

*Roar...*

The deafening roar jolted everyone's nerves.

"Drive, now!"

Driven by instinct, the Humvee sped off as fast as it could.

But just as it darted away, a large boulder smashed into the spot where it had been moments before.

*Thud... Thud... Thud...*

The huge beast started to run. Back at the school, it hadn't seemed fast, but now it moved with surprising agility, its speed even outpacing the Humvee.

"Faster! Go faster!" Takagi Saya screamed urgently as the creature closed in.

"I know, stop yelling! I need to focus!" Qi Zhou shouted back, feeling the enormous pressure. One wrong move and it could be game over for them all.

---

The streets of Bed City were particularly chaotic tonight.

In a narrow alleyway, a military Humvee was speeding dangerously, dodging between obstacles. At such speeds, a crash would be fatal. But the driver wasn't suicidal; he was trying to survive. Chasing behind them was a massive monster, its speed almost matching the Humvee's.

"What the hell is going on? Last time we saw this thing, it was so slow! How's it running so fast now? And where did it even come from? Nothing made a sound before it showed up. What's happening to this world, with monsters like that running around?" Takagi Saya clutched her head, rambling in disbelief.

"Saya, calm down. We'll make it through this," Komuro Takashi tried to reassure her.

"How? That thing's catching up to us. If it gets us, we're dead!" Saya replied, terror in her voice. No one could argue with her; it was the grim truth.

Everyone in the vehicle was tense. No one wanted to die, but the one under the most pressure was Qi Zhou. He was responsible for their lives, every single one of them. He was driving with the weight of their survival on his shoulders.

"I can't hold out much longer. You guys need to come up with a way to lose this thing," Qi Zhou said, using the brief straight stretch of road ahead to speak.

"We can't just sit here waiting to die. We need a plan," Ding Muyu agreed.

"But how do we stop something that big?" Shizuka Marikawa made a gesture to indicate the monster's size. Aside from a certain "good kid" in the car, she was surprisingly calm.

"Normal methods won't work. We need to get creative," said Rei Miyamoto.

At that moment, Saeko Busujima, who had been observing the beast closely, crouched down.

"I've been watching it. It can't be stopped by buildings; it'll just plow through them. But it doesn't seem very smart."

"It's like a giant battering ram," Komuro Takashi remarked.

"I have an idea. What if we lure it into a trap?" Jing Tianhua suggested.

"What do you mean?" Saeko Busujima asked, intrigued.

"Well, it's huge. Even though it's fast, its size is a weakness. If we can lead it into a spot where it's easy to trap it—like quicksand or something—it might just get stuck, and we could escape," Jing Tianhua explained.

"That's not a bad plan. How did you come up with it?" Ding Muyu asked.

"I just thought of Lelouch. His tactic of flipping the floorboards seemed perfect," Jing Tianhua replied.

"But where would we find such a place? I don't think there's anywhere nearby that could stop something that big," Komuro Takashi pointed out.

"I actually have an idea," Hirano said, having observed the monster closely.

Everyone turned their attention to the chubby guy.

"You're forgetting—river mud is soft," Hirano pointed out.

"Wait, mud? Won't we sink into it too? That would just make things worse," Saya asked, skeptical.

"Relax, this vehicle can cross rivers, just like a boat. We won't sink," Hirano assured them.

"If Hirano's right, we should go with it. We don't have many other options," Saeko Busujima said.

"Alright, let's do it. Hirano, keep an eye on that thing and try to slow it down," Komuro Takashi instructed.

"Got it," Hirano said, sticking his head back out to monitor the beast.

"Anyone familiar with the area?" Komuro Takashi asked.

"I am! I know this place well," Shizuka Marikawa raised her hand.

"Alright, Ms. Marikawa, please guide Qi Zhou to the river. We need to move fast."

"Will do!" Shizuka said, climbing up to the front to give directions.

Now all they could do was wait and hope their plan worked.

---

At the back of the Humvee, Alice clung to Abigail, trembling with fear.

"Alice, don't worry. We're going to make it out of here. I promise," Abigail said, gently stroking the little girl's head.

Abigail had to admit, she respected this group for coming up with a solution so quickly. No wonder they were the protagonists of this story. However, her reason for triggering this attack wasn't just a whim. It was to toughen them up for what was coming. After all, the real showdown was yet to come. If the heroes weren't ready when the final boss appeared, where would the fun be?

Of course, a little mischief was part of it too.

The Humvee roared through the dark streets, racing toward survival.

But just as they thought they had a chance, the vehicle shook violently, as if it had hit something.

"Damn, there are too many zombies ahead. We're blocked!" Qi Zhou shouted.

"Crap! Is there another route?" Saeko Busujima asked, eyeing the mass of zombies swarming in front of them.

"I remember an underground parking garage nearby. We can get out that way, but…" Shizuka Marikawa said hesitantly.

"We don't have time to worry about that now. Tell me where it is," Qi Zhou said quickly. The vehicle was already slowing down due to the zombie horde.

"It's just ahead. Turn left at the next corner," Shizuka directed.

"Got it," Qi Zhou said, glancing at the turn before flooring the gas pedal.

Outside the Humvee, Hirano was feeling immense pressure. The huge beast was getting closer and closer, and Hirano felt adrenaline surging through him.

Gripping his rifle, it gave him a sense of confidence.

The monster was nearly within striking distance when Hirano felt a strange sense of clarity. With steady hands, he aimed at the beast's head.

*Bang...*

*Boom...*

The bullet struck the creature's eye just as the monster's fist slammed down, narrowly missing

 the Humvee.

"Hahaha... Come on, monster! As long as I'm here, you won't harm anyone!"

Bang... Boom... Bang... Boom...

Each gunshot was followed by a dull thud.

For every attack from the massive creature, Hirano found an angle to counter, adjusting his aim and sniping. First, he hit the eye, then the leg, then the shoulder. Each shot disrupted the creature's attack trajectory at just the right moment.

Although his sniper rifle couldn't inflict real damage, its powerful impact was enough to alter the creature's movements to some extent.

At that moment, Hirano felt as if he had become one with the gun, like a sharpshooter possessed.

"Come on, monster! Bring it on!" Hirano roared, his excitement palpable.

Suddenly, the creature crouched, bringing its feet together, and leaped into the air.

Seeing the massive figure rising, Hirano knew he could no longer stop it.

"Qi, move the car to the side! The monster's jumping!" Hirano shouted, ducking down.

But instead of panic, the others remained calm.

Boom...

Before Hirano could process what had just happened, there was a loud crash, followed by the sound of the vehicle entering an indoor space.

"Hirano, we're in the underground parking garage now. I doubt that monster can get in here," Saya Takagi said confidently.

Indeed, given the creature's size—two stories tall—it wouldn't fit into the garage. Even if it forced its way in, the confined space would severely slow its movements.

In other words, they might not even need to cross the river to shake off this monster.

However, reality is often harsher than expected. Just when they thought they were safe, the hulking creature appeared again in their line of sight.

"Damn it, why is this thing so persistent?" Saya Takagi muttered, frowning as she saw the monster closing in again.

This time, the creature was no longer standing upright but crawling on all fours, moving slower than before.

"Looks like we'll have to stick to the original plan," Saeko Busujima said, watching the creature's pursuit.

"You know, it almost feels like this thing is targeting us specifically," Jing Tianhua remarked casually, which suddenly sparked doubt in Ding Muyu's mind.

Right. The monster did seem to be chasing them specifically. If it were just for food, it should have headed to the bridge where prey was easier to catch. No creature would ignore readily available food to chase something uncertain, especially not when the food wasn't particularly unique.

Wait a minute—we are unique. We're reincarnators. Now it makes sense. No wonder the main task seemed so simple; the real challenge was here all along.