Chapter 49: Death and Escape

Endless hordes of zombies, stimulated by the scent of fresh flesh and blood, violently slammed against the heavy doors. Knowing they couldn't hold them back, Li Gang kicked off the door, spun around, and sprinted backward, waving his arms as he yelled, "Run! It's all zombies!"

Over on the side, Shinto was also facing a relentless assault. The moment the lock was disengaged, the entire heavy double door was smashed clean off its hinges. The boy in the middle of opening it didn't even have a chance to react before the sliding bolt struck him unconscious. The terrifying zombies bursting through were immediately drawn to the fresh, blood-smeared bait, charging forward with wild, frenzied rage...

Seeing the zombies break through the doorway and roar savagely as they locked onto the blood-soaked fresh meat, they lunged forward instantly.

At that exact moment, Shinto's blade flashed and vanished. The bloodthirsty zombie had no idea what had happened before its life was entirely extinguished...

Shinto swung his sword frantically, holding back the surging tide of monsters. Yet, he could feel the pressure mounting with every second. He turned his head and shouted, "Get him out of here!"

However, the moment he looked back, his heart turned cold. Everyone who had previously stood beside him had already fled, leaving only himself and the unconscious boy sprawled on the ground!

"Damn it!" Shinto cursed, his blade hacking even faster!

"Shinto! Fall back!" The dark blade sliced through the air like a fierce gale, directly beating back the zombies swarming toward Shinto. Jiang Yi held his weapon in his left hand while his right hand grabbed Shinto, pulling him along as he broke into a sprint!

Shinto cried out, "There's still someone else!" Jiang Yi glanced coldly at the boy on the ground and said, "He's beyond saving. Look after yourself first!"

It was only then that Shinto realized that in this brief span of time, several zombies had already set upon the boy, tearing him past recognition. Jiang Yi dragged Shinto back, while an seemingly endless stream of zombies poured out from behind them!

Amidst a sharp whistle through the air, several tiny wind blades materialized, plunging heavily into the thick of the corpse horde behind Jiang Yi, instantly blowing up a bloody crater!

Jiang Yi gave a forceful heave, hurling Shinto forward. Unleashing his full speed, he finally managed to break free from the perimeter of the zombies!

Temporarily safe, Jiang Yi raised his eyes and saw that Dongfang Tian had also just managed to break through, though only four or five people remained with him.

Clearly, this sudden ambush had cost Dongfang Tian a heavy toll in subordinates! With a single swing of his sword, Dongfang Tian cleaved a zombie in half. Guarded by Li Gang and the remaining few, he successfully rendezvoused with Jiang Yi and urged anxiously, "We can't stay here, let's go!"

Without a moment of hesitation, they led the group toward the exit of the cafeteria!

Yet, the moment they rushed out the front doors, accompanied by a piercing scream, Dongfang Tian and Li Gang stumbled back inside in disarray. Jiang Yi's pupils constricted as he watched a fresh wave of zombies flood in wildly from outside!

"Oh no, we're surrounded!" Shinto stepped in to protect Guo Hansue, his heart sinking as he witnessed the scene.

Meanwhile, while dodging the surrounding attacks of the zombies, Jiang Yi scanned the surroundings with divided focus: "Don't lose heart! It's too early to give up!"

It was precisely at this moment that Jiang Yi's superhuman speed came into play. No matter how dense the crowd of zombies grew, he could weave through their encirclement as casually as taking a stroll in a courtyard!

As Dongfang Tian hacked down zombies, he glanced at Jiang Yi, who appeared entirely composed amidst the horde of corpses, and then at Shinto and Guo Hansue guarding him. The murderous intent in the depths of his eyes finally erupted without restraint!

Why? Why could Jiang Yi move with such ease, while he, a dignified club president, was reduced to such a pathetic state...

Unaware that Dongfang Tian's murderous intent toward him had reached its absolute peak, Jiang Yi quickly surveyed the cafeteria interior and finally spotted a glimmer of survival! He pointed abruptly toward a window and shouted, "Quick, run toward that windowsill!" With that, his dark blade flashed, clearing a path for Shinto and Guo Hansue!

Hearing Jiang Yi's instructions, nearly everyone turned their gaze toward that specific window. Upon closer inspection, they realized that just outside that window lay a protruding platform!

Dongfang Tian's eyes lit up. He suddenly remembered that there was an ornamental platform on the first floor that could be easily reached by climbing out of a second-story window! Zombies didn't know how to scale balconies; once they successfully climbed over, they could simply jump from the platform to the ground and be safe!

"Charge!" Every single survivor practically rushed toward the window like madmen!

Jiang Yi was the fastest. Dodging left and right, he reached it first, wrenched open the window, and tore through the screen mesh. Instead of climbing in first, he turned back to look for Shinto and Guo Hansue! Fortunately, backed by Guo Hansue's ranged arrow strikes and Shinto's close-combat blade work, the two of them were only a few steps behind him!

Without any hesitation, Guo Hansue grabbed Jiang Yi's outstretched hand for leverage and vaulted onto the balcony, slipping straight through. Before her feet even touched the ground, her golden bow was already drawn to its full tension. With a rapid, violent twang, an arrow shot straight through the window, piercing several zombies closing in on Shinto!

Shinto smoothly extricated himself and vaulted over the balcony as well. On the other side, Li Gang smashed the window glass with a heavy iron pipe. Ignoring the cuts from the shattered glass, Dongfang Tian managed to leap across, followed closely by Li Gang, while the remaining few behind them screamed as they scrambled upwards in a chaotic scramble!

Just as safety seemed within reach, a rotting yet robust zombie hand suddenly shot out from among the ordinary undead, clamping tightly onto the boy on the windowsill. The joy of survival instantly transformed into stark terror for the young man. Dongfang Tian watched helplessly as his club member was dragged bodily backward through the window amidst shrieks of agony, vanishing into the horde in a fraction of a second!

The scent of fresh blood further excited the zombies. Nearly all the windows were shattered as countless ashen-gray claws tore wildly into the open air!

A flicker of excitement crossed Jiang Yi's eyes—another prime opportunity to farm experience points!

However, on Dongfang Tian's side, the five remaining members were completely paralyzed by fear. In particular, the sight of that visibly distinct, stronger zombie stripped them of even the strength to lift their weapons!

Desperate to escape with their lives, their first instinct was to jump down! One boy, evidently overly confident in his leaping ability, spun around and threw himself downward without hesitation!

A miserable scream echoed out. The boy slammed heavily onto the concrete pavement outside the cafeteria, clutching his leg and rolling on the ground in agony!

The others who were preparing to jump froze simultaneously.

The screams drew Jiang Yi's attention. He glanced down from above, and then a horrifying scene unfolded: from concealed angles all around, a massive wave of zombies suddenly emerged from nowhere. In the span of a single shriek from the rolling boy, he was torn apart limb from limb!

Cold sweat poured instantly down Dongfang Tian's forehead, and he instinctively pulled back the leg he had already stepped over the ledge! Raising his head, he caught the gaze Jiang Yi cast from not far away. A profound wave of humiliation caused Dongfang Tian to bite his lips until they bled.

Jiang Yi swept a glance over the remaining people on the opposite side, his heart sinking slightly...

Right after that, a panicked voice shouted, "What do we do? What do we do? We're dead!"

With the exterior of the first floor now swarming with zombies, their last shred of hope was thoroughly extinguished. Having had their mental resilience shattered step by step, these individuals were on the verge of a total psychological collapse...

Li Gang delivered a fierce slap across the boy's face and roared furiously, "Shut your damn mouth! One more word and I'll throw you out there!"

"Jiang Yi, we can reach the third floor from here!" At that moment, Shinto called out to Jiang Yi while steadying himself against the exterior unit of an air conditioner. Following the direction of his hand, Jiang Yi looked up. Sure enough, the air conditioning unit mounted beside the second-floor window was less than a meter away from the third-floor windowsill. Anyone with decent physical stats could easily step across it!

Shinto's words successfully redirected the focus of Li Gang and the others!

Reborn from despair into a new ray of hope, the group pushed all hesitation aside and surged forward in a chaotic scramble!

Fortunately, there were plenty of air conditioning units on the second-floor platform, allowing two people to climb upwards simultaneously. Shinto was the first to leap onto the machine, cautiously peering into the third-floor window. Finding the room empty, he smashed the glass, reached inside to unlatch the window, and climbed right in!

Dongfang Tian narrowed his eyes as he watched Shinto enter and then poke his head back out, reassuring himself before climbing up from the opposite side. Jiang Yi used his blade to parry the corpse claws lunging at Guo Hansue from both sides of the air conditioner, taking the opportunity to slice down numerous zombies. If he hadn't been worried about drawing Dongfang Tian's suspicion, he would have preferred to wipe out every single zombie on the second floor.

By the time he was the last to scramble into the third-floor room, he didn't even have a moment to survey the environment before noticing the exceptionally tense atmosphere in the room—so tense that weapons were practically drawn. "What's going on?" he asked in a low voice.

Shinto said with a grim expression, "One of them was scratched by a zombie, and Li Gang wants to kill him!"

"Stay back! I haven't lived enough yet! Why is it that you people can boss me around however you want, but the moment I get hurt, you talk about executing me without a second thought? Dongfang Tian, I sustained this injury trying to protect you, and you're just going to stand there and watch Li Gang murder me?"

Among the four remaining survivors, a tall, heavily built boy pointed his blood-stained watermelon knife straight at Dongfang Tian, ferocity flashing in his eyes.

Yet, Jiang Yi could perceive that beneath that ferocious glare lay sheer, unadulterated despair. Indeed, once bitten, he was a dead man!

"Jia Chuan! Don't lose your head! That's not what Li Gang meant, he's just worried about you!" Dongfang Tian attempted to pacify Jia Chuan while stepping forward to close the distance. However, Jia Chuan right now resembled a wounded, vicious wolf, refusing to grant anyone the chance to draw near.

While Dongfang Tian wore an expression of utmost concern and attempted to soothe him, his right hand never once loosened its grip on the sword hilt at his waist.

Clearly well aware of Dongfang Tian's true nature, Jia Chuan let out a desolate laugh. "Ever since the apocalypse began, I've gone through fire and water following you. I always knew a day like this would come, and I don't blame you! But you shouldn't have denied me even my last shred of dignity. You're forcing me to hate you!"

With that, Jia Chuan suddenly shifted his gaze to Jiang Yi leaning against the window, then glanced at Shinto, and burst into bitter laughter. "Shinto, though I was defeated by you, I never held a grudge. In fact, I've always envied you—you found a good captain! If you're going to follow the strong, you better keep your eyes wide open!"

Dongfang Tian's face darkened completely. "Jia Chuan, what nonsense are you spouting!" With that, he cast a sharp warning glance toward Li Gang.

Jia Chuan suddenly lashed out with his blade, forcing Dongfang Tian back with a flurry of reckless swings. "Stay away from me! Dongfang Tian, I know you'd never let me live, and I'm not afraid to die! Let me tell you, I've grown sick of living like this a long time ago!"

Jiang Yi sheathed his dark blade back into its scabbard, looked at Jia Chuan—whose complexion was ghastly pale—and interjected, "Actually, there's a chance you might not die! You might even awaken an ability!"

Everyone present started in shock, turning their gazes toward Jiang Yi simultaneously. Jia Chuan shuddered violently, a fierce craving for life flaring up in his eyes. "What do I need to do? Tell me, quick!"

Jiang Yi rested his arms, holding his blade: "Eat a zombie core. Consume it, and you just might survive! If you survive, you'll awaken..."

Overjoyed, Jia Chuan immediately fixed his glare upon Dongfang Tian! Dongfang Tian's expression turned intensely gloomy as he roared through clenched teeth, "Jiang Yi, what are you talking about? Everyone knows ordinary people who eat zombie cores die without exception!"

Jiang Yi straightened up and held out his hand. "Then what about me? Guo Hansue knows—I awakened my ability precisely by eating a zombie core!"