A tall man with a white cloth covering his mouth stepped forward on the road and held out a hand to stop the students from continuing.
"I must advise you to turn back or stay there. In either case, I can not allow you to go beyond this point," he said with a loud and clear voice.
Zach walked closer to the man by two steps. He smiled.
"And why is that?"
"As you can hear," the man nodded toward the city. "There's an ongoing pandemic. We have set up a quarantine to prevent it from spreading. Although you guys are students of the Academy, we have to prioritize everyone's health, not your whims."
"Does that mean you are also preventing people from leaving the city?" Zach asked, still smiling brightly.
"Of course," the man answered with a gruff tone.
"Idiots." Zach's smile faded, and he looked at the man coldly.
"What?" The man glared back at him. But Zach continued before he could repeat his question or say anything else.
