"Three."
The countdown to death.
"I'm talking!"
The man in the knight's armor didn't hesitate; he knew that if he continued to delay, blood would be spilled on the spot.
"I'm Clive, from the School of Physical Education... The academy has a total of 37 awakened individuals, um, well, now it should be 36. The strongest... There is no one who is the absolute strongest. There are only two publicly recognized strongest individuals. One is Lenny from the School of Engineering, an Earth Element awakened, and he's Double 1st Tier."
"The other is Norm from the School of Physical Education, a physical enhancement type awakened. He... should also be Double 1st Tier. No one has seen him go all out."
Dirk frowned slightly. Two Double 1st Tier awakened individuals and 36 other awakened individuals? It was no wonder the people from LJ City's academy were so arrogant. It also explained why Clark had advised them to be cautious. With a lineup like this, the display of their strength might not necessarily intimidate this group of people.
In Dirk's mind, a trace of doubt passed by. Perhaps Clark might not be able to subdue them either?
Clive noticed the change in Dirk's expression and couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. The reason they had been able to clear out a significant portion of the academy in such a short time was precisely because of their large number of awakened individuals. However, he knew better than to display too much emotion since his life was still in the hands of others.
"The entire academy had around 30,000 students and staff. Currently, there are approximately 3,000 survivors left. As for other survivors, I believe there are none," Clive explained. "Regarding the safety zone, most of the academy has been cleared, except for the dormitory buildings. There, the zombies are well-hidden. We once organized a group of ten awakened individuals for a clearing mission, but even with that, they were ambushed and one of them got infected."
"Since the area doesn't have much in terms of supplies, we decided to abandon the effort. There should be no other significant threats in the academy," he added.
Clive's eyes gleamed with a hint of intrigue when he noticed that Dirk didn't press for more information. He continued, "We are certain there are zombies, but they are scattered and confined to the sealed-off area in the dormitories."
"Oh, and we've encountered four of those Lickers. Fortunately, with Norm and Lenny's help, we managed to eliminate them. Those things are terrifying!"
Clive emphasized "The Licker" but observed that Dirk remained expressionless, showing no reaction. It was clear that this person had likely never encountered mutants and probably didn't even know what a "Licker" was.
Clive couldn't help but sneer inwardly. It appeared that the person before him had no knowledge of these monsters. If anyone had seen and survived encounters with such creatures, upon hearing news of their elimination, they would undoubtedly show some emotional response. Those creatures were far beyond the capabilities of a mere few awakened individuals.
After hearing the information provided by Clive, Dirk fell silent. Clark had given them only one day to "persuade" these people, and Dirk wasn't sure if it was achievable.
"Two awakened individuals who came from afar, I don't know if you could release our people first," a voice sounded in the distance, followed by ten individuals who rushed out of the academy gate at incredible speed. The speaker had a deep and robust voice, and his tone carried a sense of displeasure.
Though the words sounded polite, Dirk sensed the strong undercurrent of discontent.
In just a few seconds, the eleven awakened individuals who had come from inside the academy surrounded them. Various colorful auras emanated from these individuals, shimmering with power.
The leader of the group appeared to be around thirty years old. He glared coldly after seeing the body in the deep pit that belonged to their group. Stepping forward slowly, he spoke with a chilling tone, "Release our people, or you will die."
Dirk remained unfazed, holding his dagger firmly. Being surrounded was expected, as their ultimate goal was to enter the academy. Releasing the hostages would mean losing the upper hand. They needed to clarify the situation first to set the tone for the discussion. If the other side resorted to violence again, it would make their previous plan of persuading the academy to cooperate a difficult endeavor.
Arnold's fiery temperament had shown when the fire-based awakened individual threatened the ordinary people behind him. However, Clive seemed hopeful as the awakened individuals from the academy arrived.
"Burt, help me!" Clive pleaded, addressing the middle-aged man as "Burt."
Burt raised his hand to stop Clive and spoke sternly, "Young man, although I don't know what has happened here, if you don't release our people, you won't like what happens next."
Their people were still in the hands of the others, and they weren't foolish enough to provoke them. Their earlier stance had already made it clear: if the other side wanted to stay alive, they needed to release their people. Killing their people and openly taking their students hostage, did they really think the academy was an easy target?
Burt let out a cold snort. The wind around him began to swirl, indicating he was likely a wind-based awakened individual.
Dirk and Arnold exchanged a look before speaking, "Bullying? We didn't come here to provoke you. We're here to discuss matters with you."
"If your people hadn't been disrespectful and had tried to attack ours, we wouldn't have taken action," Arnold added with a huff. He pointed to the scorch marks on the ground from the fire attack that the red-haired awakened individual had unleashed earlier.
"You can ask your own people if you don't believe us, to confirm that it was your people who initiated the violence."
Burt turned slightly to look at the awakened individual with the severed arm hiding behind him. The beastly-handed awakened individual's face displayed some discomfort, but under Burt's gaze, he chose to admit it.
Burt remained silent for a moment. In fact, he had some suspicions even before they received the report. As members of the same academy, he was aware of the behavior of the fire-based awakened individuals. If they were willing to harm their own academy students and almost cause a deadly incident, it was unsurprising that they'd resort to violence against ordinary people. It wasn't unheard of that these three awakened individuals stationed at the earthen wall were troublemakers.
"Very well, for now, let's put aside the matter of you killing our people. We will investigate it further later," Burt stated.
While the mistake originated from their side, Burt had no intention of letting it slide. Even if he agreed, the people from the academy wouldn't necessarily do the same. However, he wasn't like the inexperienced students. He felt a sense of threat from Arnold and Dirk, especially from Arnold. With the academy's most formidable forces stationed in the back mountains, initiating a conflict now would undoubtedly lead to casualties. Each awakened individual was crucial, and they couldn't afford any more deaths.
"You say you have something to discuss with us. Could you tell me what it's about?" Burt was somewhat puzzled. He had initially thought that this group, which appeared to consist of elderly, sick, and weak individuals seeking refuge, had heard the broadcast and wanted sanctuary. However, it seemed their intentions were different.
Dirk contemplated for a moment and then spoke directly, "I need to meet with the responsible individuals here, preferably gathering all awakened individuals for a discussion."
They had only one day to work with, and they couldn't afford to waste time. If they had to approach each one individually, it would be a prolonged process.
"all awakened individuals?" Burt inquired.