3 Chapter 3 - Close Call

Store?? You mean like those shops that offer you gear when you get isekai'd to another world?

I take a closer look at the map

The location doesn't seem that far away... Do I try and find it?

The map was somewhat like a radar with a green beeping dot probably showing the location of the "drug store"

With a red dot at the centre probably signifying my own location

Although I know it is to the south of where I am currently, exactly how south away is it?

I opened the closet and changed into a fresh set of clothes and left the school compound

It was around 12pm by the time I left and made my way

Strangely enough... this place strongly resembles what Japan looked like before I was bedridden

This feeling... I spot a convenience store and purchase a bottle of coke. When I arrived at my apartment room, there was a by of spare change by the table beside my phone.

Ahhh! This taste! It's so much better Tan that boring hospital water that I was given everyday

I should be there soon, it's been about a 10 minute walk and I closed up about half the distance already. I guess I walked about.. 500metres?

*1 Person Has Been Infected*

Oh another one...

*3 People Have Recovered*

???!!!

Already? How are they recovering so fast? It hasn't even been that long

Shiki, wasn't paying attention to the fact that people could consume medication or find other remedies in order to recover more efficiently from sickness.

Instead, he was so fixated on infectivity that he never did pay attention to how long a infected person remains symptomatic.

*If all infected recover, game over*

Why was this not mentioned before??!!

I need to get there quick! There must be something in the drug store that can help me out.

Making a mad dash towards the store the front door was closed with a "closed" sign over it

What the.... I kick open the door and a man who seemed to be the store owner looked at me.

"Show me your pass" he said

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Name : Shiki

Date of Birth : 30/08/04

Occupation : Student

Infected : 3

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"Oh no wonder your here.... your about to die aren't you"

He showed me towards the backdoor which led into an underground compartment of the shop

It had a futuristic design laced with a absurd amount of those holographic panels

Each one displayed a unique item ranging from evolution upgrades to prototype cures for your virus

(Prototype cures are for "Viruses, bacteria etc" to realise and test out how vulnerable they are to cure. These prototype cures are the most effective way of curing a certain disease, preparing them for human medication and evolving to counter the supposedly "most suitable cure")

*2 People Have Recovered*

What....

BRUH. ...

I don't remember kids recovering from a cough this fast...

It was then a thought struck Shiki's head,

"Resistance!!" I need something to improve the survivability of the virus

Scanning through the panels, I tried to find something that would help

Comparing to the 5 boys that recovered... they took roughly 2hrs from infection to recover

I have a bit of time before the last guy recovers

___

Evolution - Duplicate 1

virus cells in a infected's body can reproduce

(Recovery rate 7 Days > 10 Days)

Cost : 1000 DNA Strands

___

Oh so that's what the strands are used for and ... Wtf?? 1000? Shouldn't viruses be able to reproduce in the first place

The man walked up and looked at the frantic me.

"Ah so your broke and about to die."

"Please help me" I faced him and almost fell to my knees as they swayed wobbly.

Unfortunately he shook his head and proceeded to ask me

"How many dna points do you have?"

"11"

"Good luck dying" he winked at me before turning his back and walked towards the door

"NO WAIT PLEASE!"

"Fine. The most I can do is tell you that there is a slot machine by the corner of this room, each use costs about 10 strains but everyone rarely gets anything out of it."

"It is like a 0.1% chance..."

I look at the machine and rush towards it

____

Insert 10 Points?

____

Yes

I spinned, praying it will give me something

*You have won 2 random evolutions!"

______

Evolutions gained

Environmental resistance 1 - Virus can survive longer for a larger range of temperature

(r0 increased by 0.3)

Drug Resistance 1 - More resistant to traditional forms of medicines (does not include vaccines and any form of surgery)

(r0 increases by 0.4)

-10 DNA points

_____

*You have unlocked the achievement "Sustainability" - r0 is currently at 1.0*

(When r0 is 1, it means for every new infected person, at least 1 person is infected by that person)

"You actually managed to get a win on the lottery, impressive" the man said, "It's the first time I've seen someone actually win using that piece of junk"

My body was drenched with my own sweat as I stared at the achievement screen that showed up infront of me

*1 Person has been Infected*

That's a lifesaver...

The TV by the right side of the room starts playing

"Quarantine shall go into stage 4 as new strains of the FOV-2 virus have been found to be extremely contagious and deadly. All citizens are to remain on home quarantine until further notice. Anyone that fails to abide by it shall be punished by the law under 'Threatening the safety of civilians'"

The shopkeeper said "That newcomer is really making a ruckus isn't he.... already infecting 100 thousand in such a short time, even killing some in fact."

"100 thousand? Wasn't it 65 a while ago?"

"That's what surprises me, the younger viruses sure do evolve fast."

I left, crossing by the convenience store for some supplies to sustain myself in my dorm room.

Let's see... ramen, coke, ramen, noodles and coke. Ok settled

"That will be 2000 Yen please"

Handing over the cash and headed back to my dorm when it was nearing 2pm

Panel

Leaderboards...

Infection count

_____

...

...

6. FOV-2 - 117293

...

999+. Black - 2

_____

That's really fast...

It's already nearing 120 thousand

I wonder how he or she is doing it

And why the hell am I here in the first place

I wonder.... how is mom and dad doing now, if they are here... will they recognise me?

_____

Name : Black

Type : Virus

r0 - 1

Infected - 2

Killed - 0

DNA Points - 1

—Evolution—

Coughing 1

Drug Resistance 1

Environmental Resistance 1

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