After everything settled down, Sun Hengrui kept thanking the boys repeatedly, bowing at a full ninety degrees. Having just escaped death, he couldn’t hold back his tears.
Xi Zhou, recovering from the shock, also let out a breath.
“Thanks to you for saving us. Thank you!”
With teary eyes, Bai Sui nodded in gratitude.
If the boys hadn’t opened the door in time, given the situation just now, they would’ve been in real danger. Just as Li Ge was about to thank them as well, she sensed a strange and ominous presence approaching.
In the two-meter-wide corridor behind the door stood over a dozen burly male students. Hearing the words of thanks, they looked at one another—then suddenly burst into strange laughter.
“They’re actually saying thank you…” they laughed uncontrollably.
“You saved us—shouldn’t we thank you?” Bai Sui asked, confused.
Li Ge wished she would just shut up. With the situation unclear, it was better to say less. She had no idea how someone so naïve like Bai Sui had survived five years in the apocalypse.
“No, no, you should thank us… the kind of thanks where you hand over everything you own.”
A rough voice came from behind. A middle-aged man with a fierce expression and a face full of flesh stepped forward. The boys quickly pressed themselves against the wall to make way.
“Wasn’t it hard for you to survive?” the man said with a grin—then his face suddenly turned cold.
“Hand over all your money and food. Weapons too. Anyone who refuses gets beaten and thrown out to feed the zombies.”
The “good people” who had saved them from the zombies turned out to be nothing more than a den of robbers.
This just got interesting.
There were four of them. The two men were already exhausted, Bai Sui was as useless as she looked, and Li Ge wasn’t arrogant enough to think she could fight off a dozen or twenty men by herself.
The fire axe, iron rod, and wallets were all taken. That still wasn’t enough—they were even taken to the restroom for a body search.
“Robbers! Aren’t you afraid of being arrested?” Bai Sui’s eyes reddened, unwilling to endure the humiliation.
The middle-aged man pulled out a gleaming dagger.
“If you don’t want to cooperate, get out. I run this gym.”
The ruthless aura around him clearly wasn’t something developed in just two hours—he looked like someone who didn’t value human life at all.
Frightened, Bai Sui fell silent, looking at Xi Zhou helplessly.
Xi Zhou shook his head slightly. In a situation like this, they could only endure for now.
Inside the women’s restroom, three girls were already waiting—it was obvious this wasn’t their first time doing this. As soon as Li Ge and Bai Sui entered, they were dragged into separate stalls.
“Well, well, who do we have here? Isn’t this our campus goddess, Senior Bai Sui? Why are you crying like this? Where are all your knights in shining armor now?”
The leading girl sneered sarcastically. The other two immediately understood and shoved Bai Sui into a stall.
Before the apocalypse, Bai Sui had been recognized by male students as the campus goddess—beautiful, elegant, and from a good family. Perfect in every way. Many girls had secretly envied her. Now that they finally saw her in such a miserable state…
“I only have a wallet on me. Take it if you want.” Bai Sui knew she couldn’t avoid it and handed it over directly, unwilling to waste words.
Even in distress, her noble demeanor remained. The slight redness at the corners of her eyes added a hint of charm. Before the apocalypse, she was like a white lily among green mountains and clear waters—now she resembled a cold, proud plum blossom.
“Hmph! Our job is to search you. Who knows what you might be hiding under that skirt?”
The three girls sneered and approached. Soon, rustling sounds came from the stall.
After a while, they came out arrogantly. Behind them, several black footprints were now visible on Bai Sui’s dress.
Li Ge was also taken into a stall. The search was clearly malicious, but she shrugged indifferently.
“I don’t have any money or food.”
She had already eaten the chocolate and milk, and had thrown away the wallet.
The three girls barely even looked at her—just going through the motions. In less than a minute, they shut the door and left, their eyes full of disgust.
Naturally—her clothes were covered in zombie blood. No ordinary girl would want to touch that. But clean and spotless Bai Sui hadn’t been so lucky.
Li Ge washed her face and stood in front of the sink, staring at the unfamiliar face in the mirror.
Very ordinary—the kind you wouldn’t notice in a crowd. Young and unrefined, completely different from the hardened face she had before.
If there was anything similar, it was only her bright, sharp eyes.
She lowered her eyelids, concealing the constant sharpness within them.
She was no longer the level-four ice ability powerhouse from her previous life. Without awakened abilities, she was too weak. Like just now—she had willingly entered the restroom for a body search. She needed time to grow stronger.
And Xi Zhou…
Just as Li Ge was about to leave, Bai Sui blocked her path, clenching her fists, her eyes full of accusation.
“Why didn’t you help me? Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell Brother Rui’an?”
Help her?
Li Ge had to use all her strength to suppress the urge to kick her.
“Who do you think you are? Not everyone will revolve around you.”
Ignoring her, Li Ge walked straight out of the restroom. In the corridor, she saw Xi Zhou repeatedly glancing toward the women’s restroom. When he saw her, he simply nodded, but his eyes were still filled with concern.
Li Ge snorted inwardly, deliberately avoiding his gaze. She absolutely wouldn’t spoil him.
Only when the boys waiting outside grew impatient did Bai Sui finally come out. The footprints on her dress had been wiped clean.
After the search, they were led into the interior of the gym.
The once spacious and bright gym was nothing like before. Over two hundred students huddled in the northeast corner, far from the main entrance, trembling in fear. The rest of the space was occupied by a dozen men, led by the fierce middle-aged man.
“Stay put. Anyone tries anything funny gets thrown out to feed the zombies.”
At his feet lay two bloodied corpses. Beside him, a man kept kowtowing desperately, his scalp already split open, yet he didn’t stop.
“Please, spare these children! They’re all students—you can’t send them to their deaths!”
The middle-aged man grew irritated and slashed him down with a knife. The pleading stopped instantly.
“Old bastard, stop getting in my way! They’ll do whatever I say. Who dares refuse?”
Most of the people in the gym were university students in their early twenties—how could they have ever seen such brutal violence? Suppressed sobbing and vomiting sounds filled the air.
Li Ge sat down against the wall. The so-called safe shelter was just as dangerous as the outside.
She glanced at Xi Zhou beside her—his face was only slightly pale, far better than Bai Sui, who was trembling in fear.
“He killed the principal,” Sun Hengrui said in a low voice, his expression grim.
The principal?
Killing the principal in front of so many students—its intimidation effect was obvious. Few here would dare to resist now.
Not long after they entered, another five or six people were brought in through the side door, their faces pale as they were shoved into the corner.