"There are even two women here who had the courage to stand up but you, who call yourselves men, don't have the courage to take a step forward?" Bai Zemin looked at the male students and even the male teachers with undisguised disdain.
Hearing his words, all the men on the scene who did not dare to step forward blushed so much that it seemed like all the blood in their bodies had rushed up to their heads. However, none of them dared to look him back and, of course, none of them dared to step forward.
On the other hand, the two male students who had the courage to step forward could not help but straighten their backs a little more. Even the glasses-wearing and slightly skinny student had more courage than men with bulky bodies.
Bai Zemin no longer wasted his time with these people. They themselves would soon regret the opportunity they had just missed.
"Is it alright with you guys if we go out to look for food now?" Bai Zemin looked at the other three leaders and asked.
"Fine with me." Chen He nodded and picked up his bow as he looked at the woman beside him.
Shangguan Bing Xue simply stood up and walked towards the exit without saying anything.
As for Liang Peng, he just snorted as he picked up his hammer and followed the other two without saying a word. Clearly still upset about what had happened earlier.
Bai Zemin looked at the four people who decided to follow him and slowly said, "You four follow me. You don't need to carry anything, but you should mentally prepare yourselves for what's coming."
The four nodded quickly indicating that they understood. Seeing this, Bai Zemin turned around and walked out with the four students behind him.
"Everyone, please follow closely behind President Shangguan's group and the rest. I hope we all contribute a little bit of each other to improve everyone's lives." Teacher Jia Jiao clapped her hands and tried to raise everyone's spirits.
* * *
The group led by Bai Zemin, Chen He, Shangguan Bing Xue, and Liang Peng walked slowly and with looks full of precaution as they escorted over twenty male and female students.
Taking out over a hundred people and protecting them all was an incredibly difficult task to accomplish. After all, unknown dangers lurked around every corner and slow zombies were the least of the worries of people who had been absorbing the enemy Soul Power and constantly leveling up; but the danger of high-level mutated animals or evolved insects was much higher and was something that even they dared not take easily.
Therefore, to prevent unnecessary losses and to make the job simpler for themselves, the four of them had decided to bring a few more than twenty people to carry the food on this occasion.
Of course, the pretty and shy freshman, Cai Jingyi, had registered all the people who were willing to go out and work but did not have the opportunity this time; these people could eat freely and would be mobilized in the near future... As for those who were not willing to work, they could only eat what was necessary to not starve.
The world had changed and the old rules no longer applied. Slowly but surely there would be necessary changes that would be implemented over time. This was only the first of many more to come.
The four evolved people were divided into four parts, each protecting one side of the rhombus in which the more than twenty people were enclosed.
Liang Peng, whose strength was monstrous, was in charge of the front. When the zombies approached, he would charge forward and needed only a swing of his hammer to turn that zombie into a bloody mess.
Although his hunting method scared many students, the reality was that it worked well.
Shangguan Bing Xue, whose ability to control ice and move it at will was incredibly strong, was in charge of protecting the right of the diamond. Whenever a zombie came too close, an ice spike would appear above its head and pierce its brain silently.
Shangguan Bing Xue's hunting method was extremely beautiful. Not even a drop of blood fell to the ground and the ice fragments floating in the air were extremely charming. Not even a single zombie managed to show any signs of breaking through her defenses.
Chen He, who was at the back of the group, was probably the most relaxed person at the moment. His right hand was holding an arrow and his left hand was tightly gripping his bow.
When a zombie escaped Liang Peng's range due to his normal speed, Chen He casually shot an arrow and the walking corpse fell to the ground with a wound on its forehead.
Bai Zemin, who was in charge of protecting the left side of the group, silently looked on as a zombie slowly crawled out of a building dragging its feet and approached towards the group.
"They really are slow..." He couldn't help but shook his head softly. After so many upgrades to his Agility stat, zombies were like moving turtles from his point of view.
However, although to Bai Zemin they were slow and not much of a challenge, from the point of view of the other survivors they were extremely terrifying creatures.
When they saw the zombie's dead eyes and the amount of bloody wounds on its body, as well as its yellowish teeth full of human flesh or any other living thing stuck in between, it didn't matter if it was male or female; they all shuddered in terror. Many of them even began to sob silently.
In fact, the sound that could be heard most in the group was the restrained cries of the people. They, who had been living safely for six days without having to see such creatures, were again forced to remember that the present world was no longer the world they knew.
"Who wants to go first?" Bai Zemin looked at Cai Jingyi and the other three students as he spoke in a deep voice, "I'll hunt them down for you. You just need to give them the final strike and enjoy the benefits, easy. Don't let me be disappointed, opportunities like this won't always come."
Although the four of them gathered the courage to move forward at that time, when facing the zombie face to face it was natural to feel fear. Therefore, after several seconds, none of them spoke.
Just as Bai Zemin's face was beginning to turn ugly, one of the students slowly raised his hand and in a trembling voice asked, "L-Let me do it first."
It was a bit of a surprise for Bai Zemin to see that the first person was actually the thin student with glasses. This guy was average in every aspect and his body was even weaker than that of a normal young adult without evolving through Soul Power absorption. However, his courage was commendable.
"What's your name?" Bai Zemin looked at him for a moment and asked.
"I-it's Fu Xuefeng!" The glasses-wearing student quickly announced. His eyes looking at the zombie that was slowly but surely approaching and, though his weak body quivered in fear, he took a step forward and asked in a low voice, "Big brother Bai... I wonder if I can ask you something?"
"Oh?" Bai Zemin narrowed his eyes. He was already doing everything he possibly could, but this person wanted more? However, he didn't immediately burst out and asked slowly, "Tell me. What is it about?"
Fu Xuefeng took a deep breath and, while looking at the zombie said words that surprised Bai Zemin, "I hope you will lend me your sword and let me kill that zombie with my own hands. No help, just me!"
Although his voice was quite low, the group was not big therefore many heard his request. Most looked at him in shock and disbelief, others looked at him with indifference, and others looked at him with pity as if they were already looking at a dead man.
You're as thin as a bamboo pole but you want to show off? Many of the men who had been mocked by Bai Zemin's words felt that they could finally vent the bad smell and secretly sneered.
"Okay. Since you have so much resolve and courage, you can do it all by yourself." Bai Zemin's eyes flashed strangely and without another word, he handed the Xuanyuan Sword to Fu Xuefeng silently.
"This... Incredible!" Fu Xuefeng immediately felt the huge boost of Strength rushing through his body after the sword ringed by strange runes touched his hands.
He, who was always considered the weakest, at this moment felt that he could break the bones of even the strongest student!
Under the surprised and scared gaze of many, Fu Xuefeng took a deep breath and while observing the zombie less than ten meters away he tightened his grip on the wielding hilt of the sword.
Although his Strength stat had gone up dramatically thanks to the treasure in his hands, all of his remaining stats were even below average and average at best.
Besides, the fact that one scratch was all he needed to receive for his life to be over was something he knew perfectly well.
Nevertheless, Fu Xuefeng gritted his teeth until his lingual gums bled before stepping forward.
Bai Zemin watched all this with flashing eyes. He was going to give the sword to the four students after hunting the zombies, but Fu Xuefeng's request was something he did not expect.
