20demayo Thoughts and Bomb.
Thoughts and Bomb.
I didn't linger in misery for long; I didn't want to keep the rest of the group waiting, and I also wanted to start the stream. It's curious how I used to view streaming as an obligation, but I was starting to see it as something fun.
Interacting with viewers got me more excited. It was strange at first, but it seemed like I had gotten used to it, adapted to streaming in a way.
Shaking my head, I looked one last time at the face in the mirror and went to take a shower. Nothing too long. Then, I changed, taking off that outfit I still wasn't sure if it was a kimono or a yukata, and put on something more to my liking.
Before leaving the room, I sighed and took a deep breath, relaxed my muscles, and let a faint smile come to my face. Everything was okay; I didn't need anyone to find out otherwise.
I took my phone from the inventory. Interestingly, the bag seemed to have become something more, metaphysical? That wasn't the right word. It still existed, as I had found it on the bedside table, right next to the bed, but even if it wasn't there, I felt like I could "call" it, so to speak.
It was as if it existed on the bedside table and on my waist at the same time. I could just "pick it up" from the bedside table, even from a distance, and it would appear on my waist.
Before opening the stream, I went to the "Shop" to buy other camera angles. Stark had donated SP for this. I could spend it on other things, of course, but that wouldn't be cool.@@@@
[Camera Models:
First-person camera: 10,000 SP.
Long-distance camera: 7,000 SP.
Angle camera: 4,000 SP.
Omnidirectional camera: 30,000 SP...]
There were several camera models. These were the most "basic" ones, as they had infrared, Mana camera. I suppose they were for viewers to literally see the Mana or something like that.
(SP: 32,482)
I had just over thirty thousand SP. Even after upgrading the VoidBag twice, it was still a decent amount. I wish I could buy all the cameras, but I didn't have the right to do that. So, I bought the ones I thought were the best and wouldn't leave me almost broke.
[First-person camera: Acquired]
[Angle camera: Acquired]
Spending fourteen thousand SP, I closed the store and opened the streaming app.
As I started the stream, I got ready. According to the time on my phone's clock, I had slept, or in this case, passed out for only a few hours. It hadn't even been a day yet, but I still felt like some people might have worried during the time I wasn't online.
It was early, 8 in the morning to be exact. So, I didn't expect many people to join the stream, but to my surprise, as soon as I opened it, the number of viewers quickly rose. Not everyone, but a good portion, four to be exact.
[GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: Damn! I knew you didn't die, DS, tough cookie! (Iron Man relieved emote).
[RedHuntressLive]: Devas! Are you okay? How's the arm? It all happened so fast that I didn't even realize what happened until you were out of the car!
[WiseWizardGleam]: I'm glad you're okay, boy. You had me worried for a moment, but I didn't think something like that would stop you. (Relieved old wizard emote).
[JiraiyaIsAnIdiot]: You gave us a hell of a scare, boy. The stream ended just before you guys reached that rich guy's house. We didn't know what happened to you. (Waving frog emote).
I put on a more genuine smile on my face. It's nice to know that there were people who cared about me, and if I didn't know who this person was before, now I was sure; that frog emote gave it away.
I had no idea why Jiraiya chose this kind of nickname, but it didn't matter to me. I didn't want to know what was going on inside the Sannin frog's head, or any of the Sannin's heads, to be honest. But I'm glad he decided to trust me enough to show that it was really him.
Interestingly, I knew I could change the camera angle just by thinking. If I didn't want to, I could let the stream choose how and when to change on its own. But this time, I chose to leave it on the angle camera.
I could feel that I was now being recorded from my right side, just above my shoulder, a few meters away. I knew I could change it to my left side as well, both in front and behind me.
Leaving the camera on my left side but in front of me, as it would be easier to talk that way, I smiled and started speaking.
"First of all, I'm fine, don't worry." I pointed to my injured arm. "It's still like this because I prefer to avoid questions about why I healed 'out of nowhere.'
I didn't mind if 'my group' knew, as I trusted them to some extent, but the potions were too precious. I couldn't risk letting them become public knowledge.
I shook my head and pointed to the room. "Anyway, I didn't start the stream earlier because I was sleeping. I woke up just a few minutes ago here; the rest of the group gave me a summary, but this is Saya's house, they went ahead. I'm going to meet them now."
I changed the camera angle back to third person and put my hand on the doorknob, but before opening it, I said without showing my face to the camera.
"And... Ruby, don't worry, I have a promise to keep, remember? I don't usually break my promises, so don't worry too much when it happens." I knew it wouldn't be the first time, after all, I would probably be fighting a lot from now on.
Opening the door, I found myself in a huge corridor. The mansion really seemed out of place from what I thought of Japan; it looked more like something from a European Renaissance era or something like that. The walls were painted in a dark beige, almost brown.
Walking slowly through the corridors, I could see people through the windows. Most of them were men, carrying trucks loaded with boxes, perhaps planning to move out of the mansion or just to store supplies, I didn't know.
"Ears! Now!"
The group, by this point, was used to listening to what I said, so they didn't hesitate to cover their ears, but it seemed Alice had other ideas, as she covered Zeke's ears with her hands, leaving hers unprotected.
Reacting as best I could, I grabbed Alice with my good arm and placed one side of her head on my leg, covering her ear with my hand while covering the other with my hand.
Now came the problem: I only had one hand, which I was using to cover one of Alice's ears; even if I leaned my head against my shoulder, I would still have one ear exposed.
Luckily, I remembered the VoidBag's update. I wasn't exactly sure how it worked because I hadn't tested it yet, but my instinct was to wish for something to protect my ears, which was good because I could feel two earplugs appearing inside my ears a few moments before the sound reached us.
It wasn't as loud as I expected, as it didn't seem to have shattered any glass within my field of vision, but judging by the reaction of the people on the property who were covering their ears in pain, it didn't seem pleasant.
Practically at the same moment, I could hear the machines being used shutting down out of nowhere, and then a noise, not as loud as the explosion, but it seemed closer.
Looking at the group, I could see that they were fine. The worst was Zeke, who seemed a bit stunned by the noise, but Alice's reaction in covering his ears seemed to have helped the little dog.
I sighed with relief and wished for the earplugs to return to my inventory; they practically disappeared from my ears at the same moment. This new function was useful. I could already think of several ways to use it, both in combat and out.
"Are you guys okay?" I asked, receiving various nods. Looking in the direction of the explosion, I could see that there wasn't much smoke. It didn't seem like an atomic bomb, and judging by the machines' reaction, I knew what type it was, Stark did too.
"An EMP, damn it!" I muttered, but it seemed like the others had heard me, given their reactions.
[GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: An EMP! Who was the idiot who had the brilliant idea to drop that in the middle of a city?! Practically every appliance is dead now! (Indignant Iron Man emote).
[RedHuntressLive]: A bomb?! Why a bomb?! (Confused Little Red Riding Hood emote).
[WiseWizardGleam]: This doesn't bring back good memories... (Sad old wizard emote).
[JiraiyaIsAnIdiot]: Was that a weapon?!!! (Surprised frog emote).
Ignoring the (CHAT) and the looks I was getting from the group wanting an explanation, I turned towards the mansion's main gate, just before hearing a loud shout.
"THEY'R COMING!"
Shortly after that shout, I heard people screaming and running away in fear from the area I was looking at, while several men ran towards the gate with various weapons.
I clicked my tongue and furrowed my brow slightly. Of course, the EMP would have messed up the machines at just the right time to cause a security breach and let the zombies in.
Turning around, I opened the car door at the same time I started giving orders. "Shizuka, take the wheel, keep Alice safe." I placed the frightened little girl in the back seat and closed the door.
I could see that the nurse was already heading for the driver's seat, so I turned to Kohta. "Get up on the hatch, I trust you with the rifle." The boy seemed to flip a switch because he waved quickly while smiling in a manic way and ran to the trunk to grab his weapon.
Saya wasn't a fighter, but she wasn't useless. While I spoke, she went to the trunk with Kohta and helped retrieve the others' weapons, in this case, Saeko's wooden katana, Takashi's baseball bat, along with the trash lid I had given him, and one of the makeshift spears I had made earlier for Rei.
Looking at the group gearing up and ready for the fight, I quickly broke the cast on my arm, exposing my wounded arm to the open air. It looked bad, with bruising in several places, but I knew it should have been much worse. Shizuka hadn't mentioned any surgery, which I was sure was necessary with the injuries I had.
It seemed like my natural regeneration had somehow increased, or when I gave Saya the potion mouth-to-mouth, the potion also partially healed my injuries.
Hissing slightly with the sharp pain that came from my arm, I grabbed one of the last three potions in my inventory and drank it quickly.
I could feel the bones in my arm returning to the right place, while the muscles reconstructed and reshaped themselves. It wasn't a pleasant sensation, but it was better than the pain.
In a few seconds, my arm was as good as new, even the slight ache I had felt in my left shoulder had disappeared. Great! Now it was time to see if one of my ideas worked.
I stood as still as I could and closed my eyes, picturing a mental image of myself wearing my armor. I could feel my clothes getting heavier. When I opened my eyes, I could see that I was wearing my chainmail, along with the greaves, and gauntlets.
A smile appeared on my face; this had potential, a lot of potential.
Turning around, I could see that the group was already geared up for battle. Saya had also gotten into the Humvee, and Shizuka had already started the car, waiting for orders on what to do.
Some of them seemed to want to ask about my transformation, but they held their tongues, seeing that it wasn't the time or place. I nodded to that and began to speak.
"Shizuka, follow us closely with the Humvee, if necessary, run over the zombies." I turned to the other three fighters in the group. "Don't go too far, we'll help wherever we can, but don't expose yourselves." Seeing them nod, I turned lastly to Kohta. I didn't need to say anything, just nodded, to which the boy with the manic smile nodded back and got into a firing position.
I took my copper sword from my inventory, as I somehow still hadn't had time to sharpen my iron sword, and began walking toward the mansion's gate.
I ignored the queasiness I felt in my stomach; it wasn't the time to hesitate, even though the zombies now seemed more human to me than before, they were still monsters, no matter what.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again.
"Let's kill some zombies."