Watching Eric's retreating figure without looking back, Lisa grumbled, "Eric really is opportunistic! He must feel like carrying us two women is a burden. So he wants to abandon us and seek refuge with that Jeremy!"
Bonnie remained silent, understanding Eric's reasoning.
But for her to lower her pride and seek Jeremy's protection was something Bonnie felt she couldn't do.
In the corridor, as Eric emerged, Jeremy was nowhere to be seen outside.
The occasional roar of monsters in the night made Eric's heart race.
But he wasn't ready to give up.
Eric had a clear understanding of himself. He knew that to survive in this post-apocalyptic world, he needed someone to rely on, even if just temporarily.
Eric cautiously moved along the corridor, alert to the monsters and noises around him.
Fortunately, it didn't take long for him to find Jeremy in a laboratory reserved for teachers, tinkering with test tubes.
This sight made Eric heave a sigh of relief.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he smiled, "So you're here, Jeremy. You really had me looking."
Jeremy was somewhat surprised by Eric's arrival. But he had a rough idea of his purpose.
Before Eric could speak, Jeremy cut straight to the point, "If Principal Eric is here to ask me to protect you, I'd advise you not to bother. I won't waste my time and energy caring for people who have no relation or value to me."
Jeremy's words made Eric swallow the speech he had prepared.
Jeremy was straightforward. To gain his protection, one needed to demonstrate their value.
Initially, Eric thought he could deceive Jeremy given his youth. Now, he understood that the young man before him possessed a maturity far beyond his peers.
At this moment, Eric looked at Jeremy with not a hint of underestimation in his eyes.
His mind raced, thinking of how to prove his value.
The scene might have looked strange, yet it felt perfectly natural.
In this post-apocalyptic world, Eric's vice principal status was worthless in Jeremy's eyes.
And Eric, very much aware of his own situation, understood this clearly.
Soon enough, sweat formed again on Eric's brow.
He sadly realized that aside from his corpulence, he seemed to lack any other abilities.
Having been in the workforce for so many years, Eric had long abandoned his original skills to become a businessman only looking for opportunities. His mind was filled with nothing but how to gain advantages and avoid risks.
He pondered for a moment, then attempted, "I can help you manage and deal with affairs. Many of the affairs at Moonlight Middle School were under my management, I…"
"The end times require sufficient strength, not what you're proposing." Jeremy interrupted, adding a drop of liquid into a reactor without turning back. "Principal Eric, it seems you don't meet my criteria. Please, leave."
Eric, unwilling to give up, wanted to say more. But seeing Jeremy's calm demeanor, he knew he couldn't deceive him. This young man was much smarter than he had imagined.
"Can you give me a chance? I want to survive." Eric said with a bitter smile, feeling powerless for the first time in many years, especially in front of a young man.
Jeremy frowned, turning to glance at Eric.
It must be said, Eric was indeed smarter and more clear-headed than many. Even after being explicitly rejected, he still sought to seize another opportunity for himself.
Jeremy thought for a moment, then said, "I need trichloromethane. It should be in Teacher Hale's possession."
Hale was Jeremy's chemistry teacher. His office was also on this floor. But Jeremy had yet to clear the area of monsters.
He also wanted to test Vice Principal Eric, to see if he truly had the capability to be of use.
With that, Jeremy fell silent.
Eric hesitated, being just an ordinary person with little ability to resist the monsters. If he were to risk his life for this, it would be a bad deal for him.
But in the end, Eric agreed.
He wasn't sure he could make it out of the school alive. And even if he did, he doubted he'd survive in the post-apocalyptic world long enough to encounter another expert like Jeremy.
After Eric left, Jeremy continued to work with chemical reagents in the lab.
Opening the bronze treasure chest required a large amount of energy crystals, but farming monsters alone was too slow, and Jeremy wasn't keen on hunting elite monsters. It was too reliant on luck. So he thought of a faster way to farm monsters.
A homemade bomb.
And not just any bomb, but a high-powered liquid bomb.
That's why Jeremy had asked Eric to fetch trichloromethane.
Making bombs was basic knowledge, something any mercenary would know.
However, Jeremy wasn't making a common nitroglycerin bomb, but TATP, a substance with a power comparable to TNT, often used in terrorist attacks in his past life.
Jeremy gently stirred the chemical liquid in a glass vessel, waiting for a large amount of white precipitate to form in the reactor. After sealing and letting it sit for a while, until the chemical liquid became clear again, Jeremy added some clean water and started stirring again. The next steps would require trichloromethane.
Jeremy waited quietly.
"Jeremy, help!" Not long after, a panicked cry for help came from outside the lab, mixed with the roars of monsters.
In the hallway, Eric was running fast, holding a glass bottle. His face was pale, with two deep cuts on his chest. His white shirt stained red, but he dared not stop.
Behind him, two large black wolves were hot on his heels.
Seemingly stimulated by the scent of blood on Eric, the wolves were exceptionally ferocious and fast.
Despite Eric giving it everything he had, the distance between them was closing visibly.
When they were about two meters apart, one of the wolves, its eyes gleaming with ferocity, powered its hind legs and leaped forward, opening its fanged maw towards Eric's head.
Eric heard the movement behind him, feeling a gust of wind and even the strong scent of blood from the wolf.
A look of despair flashed in Eric's eyes, as if he could already see his own end.
Just as the wolf's gaping jaws were about to close on Eric's head...
"Whoosh!"
A sound of something tearing through the air suddenly came. Eric felt as if a black object had grazed his scalp, the force so strong it even cut off a section of his already sparse hair.
"Ow!" Then, right by Eric's ear, came a pained howl, followed by the thud of a heavy object hitting the ground.
Turning around, Eric was shocked to find a military knife embedded in the neck of one of the black wolves.
The blade of the military knife had completely penetrated the neck of the black wolf, and blood flowed out. Soon, a pool of blood formed under the black wolf's body, making it impossible for him to survive.
The other wolf skidded on the hallway floor, forcibly stopping itself.
"Arrr!" It bared its teeth at Eric, emitting a threatening growl.
Immediately afterwards, the black wolf seemed to have seen something terrifying, with a strong fear in its eyes and its low roar turning into a whimper. In an astonishing turn, under Eric's bewildered gaze, it spun around and fled, moving even faster than when it was chasing him.
"What are you standing there for?" A calm voice suddenly sounded beside Eric.
Eric shivered, coming back to his senses. He turned to see the door to the lab had opened at some point, and Jeremy was standing in the doorway, looking at him calmly.
Eric glanced at Jeremy, then back at the corpse of the black wolf and the knife, filled with shock and awe.
Throwing a flying knife can solve a monster. Who exactly is this young man?!
If anyone suggested Jeremy was just an ordinary teenager, Eric would never believe it. What kind of teenager possessed such terrifying skills?!
At that moment, only one thought crossed Eric's mind:
He had truly rode on coattails!
Jeremy glanced at the wounds on Eric's chest without saying much, merely stating, "There's hemostatic medicine and bandages I prepared in the lab. Go treat your wounds yourself."
Eric nodded eagerly, his respect for Jeremy deepening from the bottom of his heart.
Initially, he had thought Jeremy was just a youth who had awakened some power, not paying much attention.
But having witnessed Jeremy's methods and capabilities, he was thoroughly convinced.
Jeremy, for his part, didn't dwell too much on it. With the trichloromethane now in his possession, he continued to work on his liquid bomb.
Jeremy's movements were quick and skilled, showing he had plenty of experience with this kind of work.
Before long, several glass tubes filled with a transparent liquid appeared in his hands.
TATP liquid explosive, successfully created!