At 7:50 PM, in Classroom 3 of Senior High, which was Ling Chen's classroom.
The light from the incandescent bulbs overhead flickered on and off, casting every terrified face in a ghostly pallor.
“Hold it! Push harder!”
Li Mingyu’s voice was hoarse, his entire body weight, along with his almost exploding muscle fibers, pressed desperately against the constantly trembling oak front door!
He didn’t know what was happening; he and his classmates were in evening self-study when a blood-red moon suddenly appeared, followed by an earthquake, and then, in a mix of terror and elation, he discovered he had become an “Ability User” from a novel.
He would bet that even Tyson wasn't as strong as him now.
...But he seemed to have no time to use his ability to defeat Tyson.
(Ability: 【Buli (Brute Force)】, Enhancement Type, Physical Enhancement System, Offensive.)
Sweat mixed with grime on his face flowed into his collar, and his thick arms trembled wildly from the extreme exertion.
The force of the impacts on the door panel was unimaginably great; each heavy “thump!” made him feel his internal organs vibrating!
“What the hell… what is this thing?!” Sun Qiang, the sports committee member who was also holding the door with an iron-like body, squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth, the veins on his forehead looking like they would burst.
That’s right, an iron-like body. Sun Qiang had also awakened an ability, Metallization, and now his entire body gleamed with a metallic luster.
(Ability: 【Iron Wall】 Enhancement Type, Special Enhancement System, Defensive.)
The heavy footsteps outside the door and the increasingly close “crunching” sounds, mixed with beastly roars and bone friction, made one's scalp crawl.
“It’s the people from Class 2… they… they’ve all changed!” Wang Lei, curled up in a corner, clutching a copy of “Advanced Mathematics,” suddenly shrieked, the book crumpled in his grasp.
“Liu Yang… he just looked at me through the classroom door crack and smiled at me… his mouth split to his ears! All blood!”
His words were like the last straw, causing several girls to lose control and sob.
“Quiet! Do you all want to die?!” Wu Tao, the class monitor, roared in a low voice, half-leaning against the doorframe, the blade of the utility knife in his hand already aimed at the expanding, hideous crack in the door panel, the hilt soaked with sweat, his eyes filled with the despair of a desperate struggle.
His face was paler than paper; he swore, he would never, ever, attend evening self-study again in his damn life!
At the back of the classroom, Lin Wei, the usually quiet and timid chemistry class representative, now pressed her lips together, squatting on the ground, pouring bottles of alcohol and perfume she could find onto torn strips of curtain fabric, preparing makeshift combustibles. Her hands were trembling, but her mind was exceptionally clear.
She suddenly looked up, her voice not loud but clearly cutting through the oppressive sobbing: “Only Mu Xi and Ling Chen aren’t in our class!”
Her amber eyes reflected the crimson outside the window under the flickering light.
“Mu Xi has been on leave since yesterday afternoon… she said she had a terrible headache and was burning up… when she left, her face looked strange!”
Her words stopped short, yet they were like a cold lightning bolt that instantly flashed through everyone’s minds—in this mutation disaster sweeping the entire school, other classes were in chaos. Only Class 3 of Senior High had no one mutate into a monster and were temporarily “surviving.”
Was it simply because the only “catalyst” that fit a certain pre-outbreak sign wasn't here?!
As if to confirm Lin Wei’s deduction, and also a mockery of this “survival”—
“Boom—!!!”
A terrifying crash, like a drum beating on everyone’s heart!
The front door lock suddenly bulged inward! The metal lock core groaned under the strain! The previously expanding crack suddenly burst and widened! The center of the entire door panel was like a biscuit hit by a giant fist, with splinters flying everywhere!
“Ah!” “I can’t hold it!” “The door’s breaking!”
Li Mingyu and Sun Qiang, who were at the very front, were thrown back as if hit by a speeding truck!
Both grunted, blood instantly splattering from their mouths and noses, their bodies violently flung away by the immense impact! They crashed into a pile of overturned desks and chairs!
“Wu Tao!” Someone shrieked!
Just before the door panel completely exploded, that terrifying giant claw, covered in dark veins, carrying a strong stench of blood, suddenly grabbed towards Wu Tao, the class monitor closest to the door! It was too fast! The target was clear!
Wu Tao’s pupils constricted! He instinctively thrust the utility knife in his hand forward, but that insignificant glint of cold light was ridiculously tiny in front of the massive, inhuman giant claw!
The scent of death rushed towards him!
Just at this critical moment, as the giant claw was about to crush Wu Tao’s head, a figure suddenly flashed in through the window.
“Close the door!!”
An urgent, almost tearful warning finally exploded in the ears of the stunned crowd!
Li Mingyu was abruptly dragged up from the ground by Sun Qiang!
Both unleashed a dying burst of strength simultaneously, joined by Wu Tao, who had just narrowly escaped and whose eyes were bloodshot, and several other boys who had reacted.
Like crazed beasts, they crashed into the almost completely shattered remnants of the door panel, using their shoulders, their backs, and even their heads, without regard for anything!
“Bang!!!”
The broken door panel, mixed with the metal frame, was violently slammed shut by everyone’s full-force impact!
The massive figure outside the door, which was adjusting its center of gravity, was solidly slammed against the hard, cold corridor wall by this sudden, all-out collision!
Roars, impacts, and the dull thud of bones breaking erupted violently outside the door!
The door, unbelievably… was temporarily pushed back?!
The metal bolt was frantically reinserted and temporarily propped up by a broken table leg!
Everyone collapsed to the ground, as if just pulled from water, panting heavily, looking with lingering fear at the twisted, deformed, almost falling apart but miraculously re-“closed” door, their eyes filled with disbelief and trembling apprehension.
In the dead silence of their panting.
There was only the faint sound of dripping water.
Everyone instinctively turned their gaze to the key point that had caused the miracle—the soaking wet, disheveled young man by the window.
It was Ling Chen!
Ling Chen leaned against the cold wall, slowly sliding to the ground. He hung his head, his hair, which had been carefully styled when he left school that afternoon, was now soaking wet. He slowly hugged his head, looking fragile and helpless.
“Ling… Ling Shao? You… how did you…”
Li Mingyu panted heavily, his throat as dry as sandpaper. He looked at Ling Chen’s disheveled state, the bloodstain at the corner of his eye, and his heart was filled with questions.
He clearly… seemed to have come from the window side…? Oh, right, Lin Wei said… only Mu Xi and Ling Chen went out this afternoon!
This thought sent a chill down Li Mingyu’s spine.
Sun Qiang wiped the blood and sweat from his face, his gaze towards Ling Chen also extremely complex. That “watch out” just now was too coincidental!
Was it really a coincidence? This kid was strange all over!
Was he… still Ling Chen?!
Ling Chen seemed to not even have the strength to look up and speak, only burying his head lower, as if suppressing something.
Li Mingyu and Sun Qiang exchanged glances, reactivated their abilities, and lunged fiercely at Ling Chen.