I Built a Safe Zone in the Dead World Chapter 58: Night The Tower Started Changing

The tower did not recover after Daichi Moriyama’s death. It simply continued surviving because there was no other choice. Morning passed slowly beneath heavy tension while exhausted civilians moved carefully through the hallways carrying water containers, food crates, broken weapons, and wounded survivors between floors. Every corridor still slled like blood and smoke from the previous battle. The lower levels remained partially destroyed after the giant infected broke through the main barricade, forcing soldiers to use furniture, steel pipes, broken vending machines, and even apartnt doors to create temporary defensive walls. Nobody complained anymore while helping rebuild. People had beco too tired for complaints.

But fear still existed everywhere.Fear in the way civilians whispered whenever soldiers walked past them.

Fear in the way parents pulled children closer after hearing sudden noises.Fear in the way ard survivor groups guarded food supplies like wild animals protecting territory.

And above all—Fear of another outbreak happening inside the tower again.

Arata Kurozawa walked silently through one of the residential floors while observing everything carefully. Since Daichi’s death, people had unconsciously started looking toward him whenever problems appeared. Soldiers reported situations directly to him now. Civilians stepped aside when he walked past. Even argunts inside the hallways beca quieter whenever he entered the area.

The tower had started recognizing him as its protector.And Arata hated that feeling.

Because every ti soone looked at him with hope, he rembered Daichi’s corpse lying beneath blood-covered concrete.

[SYSTEM NOTICE]

[Host Psychological Burden Increasing]

[Warning: Emotional Suppression Detected]

[Recomndation: Release ntal Stress]

Arata ignored the blue screen imdiately.

The system had started speaking more frequently after reconnecting yesterday, but Arata still didn’t fully trust it. Sotis it felt helpful. Other tis it felt like sothing silently observing him from the darkness waiting for him to change into sothing else entirely.

Yuna suddenly appeared beside him while carrying two stolen cans of coffee she sohow found inside the tower.

"You’ve been walking around looking depressed for three hours," she said while tossing one can toward him.

Arata caught it easily. "...I’m thinking."

"That’s the problem." Yuna opened her can before drinking lazily. "Too much thinking after soone dies is dangerous."

Arata glanced toward her slightly. "...You seem calr today."

"I’m not calm." She leaned against the nearby wall while staring toward several civilians carrying supplies nearby. "...I’m irritated." Her expression darkened slightly. "Daichi died because this place depended on him too much."

Silence followed.Because both of them understood that truth.

Yuna looked toward Arata carefully after several seconds. "...And now everyone’s starting to depend on you the sa way."

Arata didn’t answer.Because again—She was right.Further down the hallway, Airi treated wounded civilians beside several volunteer helpers while Reina and Kaede trained a small group of survivors how to use basic weapons properly. The soldiers remaining after yesterday’s battle were exhausted and understaffed now, so civilians capable of fighting needed preparation too.

The atmosphere remained tense but slightly more stable compared to yesterday.

At least for now.Then suddenly—

[Ergency Notification]

[Quest Progress Updated]

[Condition 1: Stabilize Civilian Panic — 42%]

[Condition 2: Maintain Soldier Structure — 61%]

[Condition 3: Eliminate Hidden Infection Source — Incomplete]

[Additional Hidden Threat Detected]

"...Additional threat?"

[Unable To Fully Analyze]

[Threat Activity Increasing During Night Hours]

[Recomndation: Investigate Lower Restricted Floors]

Lower restricted floors, Arata’s expression darkened slightly.

Below the survivor zones existed several maintenance levels connected to underground parking structures and utility tunnels beneath the tower. Most entrances had been sealed after the apocalypse began because infected overwheld those areas early during the collapse.

Nobody used them anymore, At least officially.

"...You made that face again," Yuna said suddenly.

"What face?" he said

"The one where you’re about to do sothing reckless."

Arata looked toward the lower stairwell quietly.

"...I need to investigate sothing."

Yuna sighed loudly. "...See? Reckless."

Before Arata could respond, footsteps echoed nearby before one young soldier approached quickly while breathing heavily.

"...There’s a problem upstairs," he said nervously.

"Another fight?" Yuna asked imdiately.

"Worse." The soldier swallowed hard. "A civilian disappeared."

The atmosphere shifted instantly.Arata’s eyes sharpened.

"Where?"

"Tenth floor residential area."

The group moved imdiately.When Arata reached the tenth floor, terrified civilians already crowded the hallway while soldiers tried maintaining order. A crying woman sat near one apartnt entrance surrounded by several neighbors attempting to calm her.

"My husband wouldn’t leave alone!" she cried desperately. "He went to check the water station and never ca back!"

The hallway looked disturbed.A broken flashlight lay near the corner.

Several faint blood stains marked the floor nearby.

And once again—Too little blood.Arata crouched silently while studying the scene carefully.

Reina crossed her arms slightly nearby. "...Dragged?"

"Most likely," Kaede answered quietly.

Yuna clicked her tongue. "...I officially hate this building."

Arata’s eyes moved slowly toward the dark hallway leading deeper into the maintenance corridors connected to the water systems.

[Threat Signature Detected]

[Caution Advised]

[Unknown Variant Activity Confird]

Unknown variant.Arata stood imdiately.

"I’m going down."

Yuna groaned. "...And there’s the reckless part."

"You’re not going alone," Reina said instantly.

Airi looked worried imdiately. "...What if it’s another evolved infected?"

"It is," Miyu answered calmly while adjusting her glasses beside them. Everyone looked toward her. "The disappearance patterns match predatory adaptation behavior."

Yuna blinked slowly. "...Can you say normal terrifying things instead of smart terrifying things?"Miyu ignored her.

Several soldiers volunteered imdiately after hearing the situation, but Arata shook his head.

"Too many people create noise."

The older soldiers hesitated before finally agreeing reluctantly.

In the end—Arata, Yuna, Reina, Kaede, and Miyu descended toward the restricted maintenance floors beneath the tower together.

The deeper they moved underground, the colder the air beca. Ergency lights barely functioned here anymore, forcing everyone to use flashlights while moving carefully through narrow maintenance hallways filled with pipes, leaking water, and thick darkness.

Every sound echoed unnaturally.Dripping water, Footsteps, tal creaking sowhere distant.

Yuna held her bat across her shoulder while glancing around suspiciously. "...This place is absolutely where people die in horror movies."

"Be quiet," Reina whispered sharply.

"...That usually happens right before dying too."

Kaede silently aid her rifle toward the darkness ahead while Miyu checked movent patterns through the system interface. Arata remained at the front while observing everything carefully.

Then suddenly—A sll reached them, Rotting flesh, Fresh blood.Everyone stopped imdiately.

The flashlight beams slowly revealed several torn corpses scattered across the maintenance floor ahead.

Human bodies, Or what remained of them.

Airi would have vomited seeing this.The corpses looked partially eaten.

Not infected, Hunted.

Yuna’s expression darkened imdiately. "...Okay. I changed my mind. I officially hate this city."

Kaede crouched beside one corpse carefully before narrowing her eyes slightly. "...Not random feeding behavior."

"What do you an?" Reina asked quietly.

Kaede pointed toward the body. "...Precise damage patterns." Her expression beca colder. "...It targeted weak points first."

Silence followed.Because that ant intelligence.

Then—A sound echoed deeper inside the darkness.Dragging, Slow, Heavy.

Everyone imdiately aid weapons toward the sound.The dragging noise stopped, Complete silence followed.

Then suddenly—One flashlight flickered violently.And a shape moved across the ceiling, Fast, Too fast.

"ABOVE!" Reina shouted instantly.

The creature dropped directly from the ceiling toward them.Yuna swung imdiately while Reina fired simultaneously, but the creature twisted unnaturally midair before slamming into the wall and disappearing back into darkness with terrifying speed.

Nobody saw it clearly, Only pale skin, Long limbs, And glowing eyes.

"...What the hell was that?" Yuna whispered.

[New Variant Identified]

[Crawler-Type Mutation]

[Classification: Hunter Variant]

[Threat Level: High]

[Specialization: Ambush / Intelligence / Stealth]

Arata’s grip tightened slightly around his blade.The creature was hunting them.

Then another sound echoed behind them.

Dragging, Another from above, Then another ahead.

Everyone realized the truth instantly, There wasn’t only one.

Yuna slowly smiled despite the tension. "...Well... this is bad."

The darkness around them suddenly erupted with movent.

Crawler variants burst from ceilings, walls, and ventilation shafts simultaneously while shrill screams echoed through the maintenance tunnels.

The battle exploded instantly.Reina fired controlled bursts rapidly while Kaede’s rifle shots pierced through moving targets with terrifying precision. Yuna smashed one crawler directly into the wall before another creature leaped toward her from behind.

Arata intercepted instantly.

His blade tore through the creature’s torso midair before another crawler lunged from above imdiately afterward.

These variants moved differently from normal infected, Smarter, More coordinated.

One suddenly retreated instead of attacking after seeing Arata kill another variant beside it.

"...It’s observing us," Miyu warned sharply.

Then the crawler scread loudly, And the other variants responded, The entire tunnel suddenly filled with movent.

"...RUN!" Reina shouted imdiately.

The group retreated deeper through the maintenance corridors while dozens of crawler variants chased them through walls and ceilings like predators hunting trapped prey. tal pipes shook violently overhead while claws scraped across concrete from every direction.

Yuna smashed another crawler off the wall before grinning wildly. "...Okay THIS is exciting!"

"You’re insane," Reina shouted while firing backward.

"Probably!"

Arata moved through the center protecting Miyu while constantly intercepting crawler attacks appearing from impossible angles. One variant suddenly lunged toward Miyu through a ventilation shaft, but Arata grabbed its head midair before slamming the creature directly into the wall hard enough to crack concrete.

Black blood exploded everywhere, Still more ca, Too many.

Then suddenly—The tunnel opened into a massive underground parking structure beneath the tower, And everyone froze.

Hundreds of corpses covered the area, Not dead infected, Stored bodies, So half-eaten, So hanging from pillars, So still moving weakly despite missing limbs.

The crawler variants had created a nest beneath the tower.

Yuna’s grin disappeared imdiately.

"...No way."

Then sothing enormous moved in the darkness ahead.

Heavy footsteps echoed slowly through the underground structure while several crawler variants retreated backward almost submissively.

A larger creature erged, Nearly four ters tall.

Pale mutated flesh covered its massive body while multiple distorted arms extended unnaturally from its torso. Its glowing eyes stared directly toward Arata with terrifying intelligence.

And unlike normal infected—It smiled.

[Mutation Leader Detected]

[Evolutionary Command Variant]

[Threat Level: CRITICAL]

[Ergency Combat Recomnded]

The creature suddenly spoke in a distorted broken voice."...Humans..."

Everyone froze, Yuna blinked slowly. "...Absolutely not."

The monster tilted its head unnaturally while staring directly at Arata, "...Strong..."

Then the crawler variants scread together simultaneously before charging again.

And the underground parking structure beca a battlefield.