Rhodes' words instantly caused a commotion among these people, including the male students who had been keeping quiet.
"There's bread! There's bottled water!"
"However, will Professor Ira agree to it?"
"Professor Ira, you have to agree!"
"Rhodes, what's the difference between you and James if you do this?"
"No, Professor Ira, you can't go!"
At this moment, Rhodes's frosty voice rang in their ears again. "I can give you bread and bottled water for Ira's sake. However, if you keep up this commotion, you won't get anything at all!"
"Professor Ira, agree to his request!"
"That's right. This way all of us will survive!"
"Nonsense!"
"Professor Ira has protected us for so long, but you want to trade her away as though she's an object!"
"However, think about the bigger picture. In exchange for Professor Ira alone, most of us will be able to survive!"
"Even a child would be able to see this!"
"F * ck, you ingrate! I'll kill you right now!" At this moment, an athletic male student rose to his feet and punched a long-haired man wearing glasses.
The long-haired man was not going to take it lying down so the fight escalated.
At this moment, Ira's voice that was as melodious as a nightingale rang in the air. "Okay, stop fighting. I'll go!"
Upon hearing Ira's words, the men stopped fighting. When she looked at the people around her, she could feel a sense of alienation. Sadness weighed heavy in her heart as she walked toward Rhodes' side.
Once Ira stood next to him, Rhodes threw some food and bottled water across the small room.
They flew in a beautiful arc before they landed on the floor. Then, chaos descended in the room. People were fighting over the backpack; they were no different from the zombies outside at this moment.
"Professor Ira, how do you feel seeing this? These people look like they're fighting for food, but in fact, they're fighting over your flesh and blood! Do you think they're any different from the zombies? When I threw the supplies in there, did they even spare you a glance?"
Rhodes' words were like a sharp knife stabbing into Ira's heart. She could not withstand the sadness and fell to the ground, crying.
Rhodes did not comfort her. He just stood aside as though he was watching a circus.
Most of the males in the room had managed to snatch some food and water for themselves.
Meanwhile, the females barely managed to grab anything. At most, some of them only grabbed enough to fill their stomachs now. Who knew who hungry these beauties would be again when night fell?
Moreover, at that time, Ira who had always protected them would be gone.
Who knew what would happen at that time?
Meanwhile, Rhodes looked at the sky outside that was gradually turning red. Then, he lowered his head to look at Ira who had stopped crying. He said in a low voice, "Let's go! We won't be able to leave at night!"
After he finished speaking, he did not wait for Ira. He turned around and made his way to Julie.
Looking at Rhodes' retreating and strong back, Ira rose to her feet and looked at the meeting room on the fifth floor one final time. This time, there was a hint of coldness and determination flashing in the depths of her eyes. With that, she turned away and hurriedly caught up to Rhodes and left the west gate's stronghold.
…
During the journey back to the safe house, Ira followed behind Rhodes quietly, feeling awkward. She did not know what to say and only followed as Rhodes continued to search for supplies.
After some time had passed, they finally arrived at the safe house.
At this moment, the sky had darkened.
Although Beth was slightly surprised when she saw Ira walking in with Rhodes, she still greeted him with a smile. "You're back!"
Rhodes handed the backpack on his shoulder to Beth as though it was a matter of course, and Beth took it from him as though she was an obedient and submissive wife.
Rhodes did not spare the two women an extra look as he brought with him to clean up, leaving the two women to size each other up.
Upon seeing Rhodes leaving, Ira felt even more embarrassed and awkward. She did not know what to do.
Beth took the initiative to speak. She said lightly, "Professor Ira, I didn't expect you'd follow Rhodes…"
"That's right..." Ira replied as a faint blush appeared on her beautiful face again.
Upon seeing the shy expression and the blush on Ira's face, Beth lost all interest in chatting.
The two women sat down silently, listening to the sound of running water.
Soon after, Rhodes emerged from the bathroom with Julie in tow. He looked at Ira and said, "Ira, I didn't have any ill intentions when I asked you to leave with me. I want you and Beth to look after Ira during the day since I would need to go out to scavenge for supplies! Since Beth is alone, she won't be able to do much on her own. Don't overthink things. You can pick any of the rooms to live in and food and water will be taken care of. All you need to do is look after Julie on my behalf while I'm away… Understand?"
Ira looked at Rhodes blankly and nodded.
"Alright! Since you understand, you can have a shower and rest!" After Rhodes finished speaking, he no longer cared about two women in the common area and brought Julie back to his room.
The night passed by silently without any incident.
…
In the morning.
After Rhodes had gotten up and washed up, he left the temporary safe house.
According to Ira, the hordes of zombies were gathered at the south gate. With that in mind, he set off early to the south gate.
Rhodes soon arrived in an alley on the way to the south gate. He was not in a hurry to make a move because he had heard the sounds of zombies growling. He could tell the zombies were not far away from him. He cautiously followed the noises and took a peek when he arrived. After a while, he noticed there was nothing unusual. He wondered to himself in confusion, "What are they doing?"
After observing a little while longer, he began to feel bored and decided to continue on his journey to the south gate. Just as he was about to leave, a black shadow flashed across his sight, shocking him. "What the f*ck is that?"
Since his interest was piqued, he was no longer in a hurry to leave this place. He wanted to see what that speedy zombie was doing. He hid himself better before he began to observe the zombie with an extraordinarily fast speed. However, what he saw frightened him.
The ordinary zombies who were growling like beasts earlier were now gathered around a thin zombie. At this moment, they looked as though they were communicating with each other in low voices.
Although Rhodes could not understand them, he could somehow sense they were communicating.
Soon after, the zombies' meeting seemed to be over.
The thin zombie sped away as though it had received the information it wanted.
After the thin zombie left, the group of zombies dispersed as well.
Meanwhile, Rhodes muttered to himself in shock, "Did they evolve and gain intelligence?"