Night had fallen deep.
But the students in the classroom, due to immense psychological pressure, didn't even dare to blink, no matter how sleepy they were.
From time to time, someone would peek out the window, looking at the empty corridor.
Strangely enough, ever since that giant mutated creature was collectively driven out of the classroom, the dense monsters in Linghui Academy seemed not to have noticed them, or rather, seemed to have disappeared.
But the deeper the silence, the more it amplified people's fear in the dark, and everyone dared not make a sound; the only sound came from the mutated Wang Lei, who had been forcibly tied up.
Wang Lei was tied up like a zongzi and thrown into a corner, his gasping throat sounding like a leaky bellows.
The air was thick with the bloody and sweet stench of corpses, making one's lungs feel heavy.
Ling Chen was leaning against the teacher's desk, and Lin Wei, the chemistry class representative, was tightening bandages for him.
Those three deep claw marks, visible to the bone, showed torn flesh in the dim light, with tiny beads of blood seeping from the edges.
Throughout the process, Ling Chen occasionally let out a groan of pain.
To others, his brows were furrowed, and he was breaking out in cold sweat from the pain, but in reality, his eyes were incredibly calm. He was gazing at his wound.
He had to fake an ability for himself; in the early stages of the apocalypse, ordinary people couldn't possibly resist a mutated creature's assimilation through self-healing.
And his classmates weren't fools either.
In fact, the entire High School Class 3-3 now had time to breathe, all because of Ling Chen.
He controlled the surrounding zombies.
This was actually a suppression and attraction of high-level mutated creatures over low-level mutated creatures. First-stage mutated creatures were almost indistinguishable from wild beasts, naturally following the communal instincts of animals, like ant colonies or beehives.
And now, in the early stages of the apocalypse, mutated creatures had only just begun to kill; they had no chance to devour flesh and blood.
Wouldn't they kill and eat at the same time? This brings us to the consumption process of early-stage mutated creatures. (This is a setting supplement; readers who don't want to know too much about the logic can skip it directly.)
For zombies who have completely lost their ability to think and have no intelligence, as long as it's blood food, whether dead or alive, or even covered, it's their meal. Even some of their own kind who have lost the ability to move, they will never eat, but they will never eat their own kind who still have vital signs. This is a law etched into their instincts, in their DNA, or rather, in the DNA of all carbon-based life on Earth, absolutely forbidding cannibalism. Humans eating humans can get Kuru disease; zombies are not afraid of Kuru disease, but they follow their instincts, which forbid cannibalism, so they will absolutely not eat their own kind who still have vital signs.
So why can't they eat humans? Or other animals? Humans and animals, in the early stages of the apocalypse, are infected by zombies in less than half a minute for the entire process, and even by the 20th second, they have already stood up and started attacking; the remaining ten seconds are just for the internal structural modification of the body. (You can refer to Wang Lei.)
In his previous life, a large number of second-level mutated creatures only appeared on the seventh day of the apocalypse. Why?
Because the berserk state of the zombies and the limit of burning their lifespan was seven days. After seven days, a large number of zombies starved to death. The zombies who starved for a few seconds were lucky enough to eat the corpses of their starved comrades and complete their advancement to the second stage.
So, now, among this circle of mutated creatures, the highest level was clearly Ling Chen, who had a bloodline. So he naturally became an existence like an ant king.
Of course, he only had one bloodline, and the number he could control was just a dozen or so zombies that had just run over from upstairs or downstairs.
The high school building design of Linghui Academy was very special: one building per grade, with each building having six floors, and each grade having six classes.
In other words, one class per floor.
This design could be said to be incomparably extravagant, being one of the most expensive projects among all high schools in Jiuan City.
It was precisely this design that allowed Linghui Academy's high school students ample time to briefly adapt to this cruel apocalypse.
Of course, this was only limited to the high school section, which had fewer students.
A middle school grade had over 1,600 students, compared to the high school's 300 students per grade, there was simply no comparison.
Two grades shared three buildings, and even so, on average, each floor had more than seven classes, with an extremely high population density!
That was the real disaster area. In his previous life, many powerful and bizarre mutated creatures appeared there.
Although they didn't start like Mu Xi, who devoured an entire class's excellent resources and luck, many of them did possess special characteristics.
While Ling Chen was pondering, Lin Wei had already finished bandaging the wound. Her fingertips accidentally brushed against Ling Chen's arm.
—A faint warmth came from her fingertips. Lin Wei paused, her hand resting on Ling Chen's calf, unmoving.
No, he had just lost so much blood. How could the skin near the wound be warm?
Skin near a bleeding wound usually cools down.
When a wound bleeds, blood loss reduces local blood volume, and the heat supplied to the wound also decreases, causing the temperature of the nearby skin to drop.
Furthermore, when bleeding occurs, the body activates a stress response, causing peripheral blood vessels to constrict to ensure blood supply to vital organs, which also lowers the skin temperature near the wound.
However, the sensation from her fingertips was clearly warm, as if... he hadn't been injured at all?
Her delicate brows furrowed slightly; she felt something was wrong.
This scene was just noticed by Li Mingyu, who was on guard nearby, occasionally glancing over. He looked at Lin Wei in surprise and said,
"Oh, Brother Chen is awesome!"
That shout attracted the attention of the whole class. Lin Wei quickly withdrew her hand, as if she had been burned.
Seeing Lin Wei's unnatural expression, Sun Qiang quickly nudged Li Mingyu with his elbow.
"That's their business, why are you making such a fuss?"
As he spoke, he secretly glanced at Ling Chen, who he thought was a bit shy.
"Does it hurt?" Lin Wei asked distractedly, her attention entirely on that abnormal sensation. Her eyes were fixed on his bandaged wrist.
It seemed overly warm, lacking the expected cooling of an injured wound.
"I'm used to it."
Ling Chen closed his eyes, his voice as weak as a wisp of smoke in the wind.
No one knew the torment he was currently enduring.
The incredibly powerful self-healing ability of a zombie was rapidly repairing his wound. If he healed too quickly, it would be his fatal flaw.
After all, his previous performance didn't at all resemble that of an enhanced ability user with powerful self-healing.
Moreover, the ability he intended to fake later had nothing to do with powerful self-healing.
For now, he could only try his best to control his body's instincts with the powerful willpower brought by the Soul Jade Physique. Fortunately, the self-healing ability of the zombie stage was not too strong, and it was also within the range invisible to the naked eye.
But the more critical point was that mutated creatures healed by relying on the blood energy stored in their bodies. Once the blood energy was depleted, they would either drop in level or re-enter a state of unconscious frenzy, a frenzy that even The Boulder could not suppress.
Perhaps a higher-level Unfettered Mirror Physique might offer hope, but something like a physique could simply not be obtained twice.
No, I must create some incidents, and my "ability" cannot awaken too abruptly, Ling Chen thought to himself.
With a thought, he controlled a group of mutated rats downstairs.
"Gnaw... gnaw..."
A teeth-grinding gnawing sound seeped from the base of the west wall, like countless tiny, sharp teeth scraping concrete! The tense crowd instantly jumped in fright.
"Downstairs!" A female student named Xu Weiwei by the wall suddenly covered her ears, her face pale, "They... are digging at the foundation! It sounds like a hundred rats grinding their teeth!"
Panic instantly erupted! The crowd suddenly stirred!
"Damn!" Li Mingyu slammed his fist against the wall, cracks spreading like a spiderweb, "We have to block the ventilation ducts! Who's going?!"
In the darkness, a slender student moved half a step forward:
"I... I'll try..."
His voice trembled, but his eyes were exceptionally firm.
"In the iron sheet gaps..."
Ling Chen suddenly coughed, his voice thick with a bloody, sticky quality.
"...There's something nesting, don't startle them..." His gaze swept over Xu Weiwei, implying something.
No sooner had he spoken!
"Clang—!!!"
The heavy alloy grille of the ventilation opening above suddenly bulged inward! As if struck by a giant hammer! The rusted iron bars groaned with metal fatigue!
A giant rat claw, covered in dark green scales, wet and sticky, like a ghost claw reaching out from hell, forcibly squeezed through the deformed grille gap! Its sharp claws scraped against the metal edge, sending up a dazzling shower of sparks and a scalp-tingling "zzzz" sound!
"Ah!" The timid girls screamed and curled up.
"It's the Rat King!"
Sun Qiang roared, his arms instantly taking on a cold, metallic gray luster, instinctively blocking the crowd.
"Die!" Li Mingyu's eyes were bloodshot, and with a burst of immense strength, he grabbed a heavy steel laboratory table leg nearby, like a war hammer, and smashed it towards the invading giant claw!
"Don't—!" Ling Chen's urgent warning was drowned out!
"Clang—!" A terrifying metallic crash exploded in the confined space! Steel splinters flew!
This blow was like igniting a powder keg!
"Boom—!!!"
The entire ventilation grille was completely blown away by an overwhelming force! Large twisted iron plates and shattered pipe fragments shot in like cannonballs! Accompanied by a suffocating wind howl and a strong, foul, musky odor, a dozen huge gray shadows crashed down like rotten meteorites!
They were rats! Each one the size of a wildcat! Their fur was matted with grease and blood, and their crimson eyes glowed in unison in the darkness! They landed silently, their sharp "squeaks" intertwining into a soul-stealing demonic sound!
These rats had clearly all mutated, and according to Sun Qiang, they were a group of "Rat Kings."
The Rat King leading them was even larger, like a leopard, with bulging muscles beneath its sleek black fur! It kicked its hind legs, and a putrid hurricane rushed towards a girl named Chen Xue, who was closest! Its open snout, with its blade-like, finely-spaced, pale fangs, gnawed at her neck like a rotating meat grinder!
The speed... was too fast!
Chen Xue didn't even have time to scream!
In the nick of time!
Ling Chen, in the corner, suddenly trembled violently, letting out a stifled groan of extreme suppression! As if his bones were cracking under an unbearable burden! A field of energy suddenly erupted from his curled body—as if pausing the movements of the entire rat swarm!
Their crimson rat eyes still held madness, but their limbs were stiff and unable to move! Even their sharp squeals seemed to be choked in their throats!
This deadly delay lasted less than half a second!
But it was enough!
"Flashlight!!!" Wu Tao's roar startled everyone awake! He grabbed a powerful flashlight he had finally found, almost pressing it against the Rat King's nose before turning it on!
"Hiss—!" The blinding beam of light sprayed onto the Rat King's face like molten lava! The Rat King let out a heart-wrenching shriek! The strong light burned its light-sensitive rat pupils! Its forward lunge came to an abrupt halt!
Almost simultaneously!
"Die, beast!" A boy named Zhou Yunguang roared! Ling Chen remembered him; he was the physics class representative.
He had no weapon by his side, so he grabbed the heavy, rough, dust-covered old projector lamp housing by the podium, and, like swinging a meteor hammer, with all his fear and will to survive, he smashed it fiercely towards the Rat King's head, which was blinded by the strong light!
"Boom—!!!"
The metal casing of the lamp housing deformed and shattered upon impact! The Rat King's head took a heavy blow, but its mutated skull was incredibly hard, leaving no trace of injury.
—In the corner, Ling Chen had intended to stop the rat swarm again, creating an opportunity for them, but then a faint light flashed deep in his pupils! A slight smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Someone had awakened an ability. It seemed he wouldn't need to act.
The switch of the dilapidated projector lamp housing was accidentally pressed open!
"Buzz—!!!"
A sudden change occurred!
A condensed, almost tangible, searing white light erupted from the shattered lamp head! It wasn't a beam, but a burning spear composed of pure light! It carried all the kinetic energy from Zhou Yunguang's arm swing and the destructive energy of light itself, precisely piercing into the Rat King's widely opened snout, which was agape from the stinging pain!
"Puff—splash!!!"
The Rat King's large, leopard-like body was ignited like a gasoline-filled balloon!
The light spear passed through its body! Fur, fat, and bones instantly carbonized, exploded, and vaporized in the extreme heat and light! Charred internal organ fragments mixed with viscous, black, oily liquid sprayed everywhere like fireworks from a hellish celebration! The intensely suffocating smell of burnt flesh instantly dominated the entire space!
Light! Light of destruction! Light of creation!
Zhou Yunguang froze! The heavy lamp housing buzzed and vibrated in his hand, scorching hot, with a searing white afterglow still lingering around the lamp head, illuminating his astonished face like a sculpture.
Intense white light bloomed only in the palms of his hands, illuminating the entire classroom as bright as day!
The fear in his eyes was completely replaced by an indescribable shock—he saw it! That destructive light erupting from his own hands!
Ability: 【Angel's Gaze】 Element type, Light element, Ranged attack type.
"It's light! They're afraid of light!!!" Li Mingyu's wild roar ignited everyone's blood! "Zhou Yunguang! Blind them to death! Wu Tao! Support!"
The chaotic scene immediately restored some order.
Zhou Yunguang, as if holding a divine scepter, clumsily but incredibly firmly wielded the heavy, broken, and somewhat ridiculous projector in his hand!
But it could indeed emit destructive light; the mutated rats shrieked miserably, their fur burning, their flesh and bones charring!
Sun Qiang transformed into a wall of bronze! Where his iron fist struck, rat brains burst; where his metal arm swept, bones fractured and tendons snapped!
Lin Wei, Xu Weiwei, and others frantically threw all the light sources they could find, even lit fabric, into the shadows in the corners! The intertwining net of light became the most deadly barrier! The rat swarm rapidly disintegrated under the light flames and iron fists!
After a short battle, the classroom was once again enveloped in a thick, deathly silence. The remnants of tables and chairs that had been used to plug the broken windows were still trembling.
Li Mingyu gasped, slumping to the ground, "Damn, these rats have gotten so big. How big would a mutated cat be?" As he spoke, he reached out to pat the giant rat's body.
"Don't move!" Ling Chen had approached at some point, his expression serious. "Inside this beast's neck... there's something!"
Everyone looked closely and then noticed a rice-grain-sized, glowing blue light point flashing behind the Rat King's neck.
Ling Chen had already stepped forward, holding a simple pair of tongs made of two pencils.
"One of my hands is injured. Who can help me?"
Everyone's attention was immediately drawn.
Li Mingyu, hearing this, no longer hesitated. With a low growl, his bulging muscular arm plunged into the charred, bloody hole in the Rat King's neck, where the Guangren (Light Blade) had pierced through!
"Squish!"
Accompanied by teeth-grinding tearing sounds and the squelching of mucus, his thick fingers churned and groped through the viscous flesh and shattered bone fragments. Sun Qiang's brows furrowed, and his metallic skin seemed to break out in goosebumps.
"Damn! There really is something!" Li Mingyu's eyes lit up, and he suddenly pulled out a handful from the bloody cavity! Viscous black blood and broken tissue dripped through his fingers, and in his open palm, several rice-grain-sized, irregularly shaped crystals, emitting a faint, ethereal blue glow, lay clearly!
"I feel abundant spiritual energy from them. These should be good things for cultivation!"
Li Mingyu looked at the small crystal, his eyes shining.