"I... I didn't expect so much," Li Yifei sighed.
"We're grateful that you came down to save us," the boy bowed slightly. "But unfortunately, your retreat plan is not feasible."
"Then do you have a better plan?"
"Hold our ground," his voice was calm. "These monsters may look terrifying, but they're not so powerful that we can't resist. As long as we keep reinforcing the doors and windows, holding them off is not a problem. I believe someone will come to rescue us soon."
Li Yifei fell silent for a moment and then looked at the boy in front of him again, the one wearing glasses who appeared to be quite gentle.
"I still don't know your name."
"An Qingyu."
"An Qingyu? Are you the one who ranked first in the city?" Li Yifei widened his eyes in surprise.
"Grades don't matter to me," An Qingyu's gaze fell on the disgusting chunks of bloody flesh scattered outside the hallway, and his eyes flashed with a strange light. "Seems like this world... is much more interesting than I thought."
For some reason, Li Yifei felt a chill run through him when he saw the look in An Qingyu's eyes.
"Since you don't want to come with me, I'll head back to the fifth floor," Li Yifei turned to leave, realizing there was no longer a need for him here and that there were still many students on the fifth floor.
"I think you might not be able to leave now."
An Qingyu walked to the window and pointed at the three monsters charging down the right hallway, while another three monsters crawled up from the left side.
They were surrounded.
The most critical thing was that one of the monsters had casually shredded the thick rope hanging outside the hallway, cutting off their only escape route!
Li Yifei's pupils contracted sharply!
They might be able to kill two monsters with the chairs and fire axes, but facing six at once... they would certainly die!
"Quick! Move the desks and chairs back!"
The boys inside the classroom quickly moved the desks and chairs that had been pushed aside back into place. Soon, the monsters arrived at the outside of the classroom, their bodies and sharp teeth shaking the desks and chairs, making them teeter precariously.
More than twenty boys used all their strength to push against the desks, their faces turning purple.
Inside and outside the classroom, it was a battle for their lives!
The girls inside the classroom were pale with fear, screaming as they huddled in the corners, while the remaining boys looked just as grim.
Only the thin An Qingyu stood to the side, frowning as he observed the scene, seemingly deep in thought.
"By killing two monsters, six more appeared, which means these monsters have a shared mental network... controlled by a central brain that has a high level of intelligence, on par with humans.
But the problem is... how did they know to cut the rope?
Assuming all the monsters share vision, when Li Yifei and the others descended using the rope, they shouldn't have been able to see anything from the monsters' perspective... How did they know that the rope was the key link between the two floors?"
As An Qingyu pondered, the pressure from the monsters outside caused Li Yifei and the others at the front to start retreating under the growing strain.
Dammit... we can't hold out much longer!"
Just as they were about to collapse from exhaustion, a figure flew swiftly past the window, a faint blue blade flashing like a crescent moon. The next moment, a monster's head was sent flying.
The remaining five monsters hadn't reacted in time when the figure shifted his stance, twisting his body and striking in a strange, almost unnatural position.
The blade cut through the nearest monster from shoulder to waist, cleaving it in two!
Blood sprayed out, and the remaining four monsters finally reacted, howling as they pounced on the figure!
Just as they were about to reach him, two blazing balls of light suddenly exploded in his eyes, like molten furnaces, blindingly bright!
The terrifying divine might surged like a tidal wave, overwhelming the four monsters' minds!
Their movements froze instantly!
Then, a faint blue blade flashed once more, cutting through the monsters' necks in smooth, perfect arcs!
The entire process was seamless, as smooth as flowing water!
Though the youth quickly retreated, the blood splattered across his uniform, dyeing it red. He furrowed his brow, and the furnace-like glow in his eyes slowly dimmed, disappearing without a trace.
The blade returned to its sheath.
A group of students stood nearby, staring in shock.
What did they just see?
A high school student, wearing the same uniform, took down six monsters with just a few strikes?
"QiYe, you're finally here!" Li Yifei saw him and his voice cracked with a hint of grievance. "I thought you had abandoned me."
"Quit with the mushy stuff," Lin QiYe rolled his eyes.
"Student... are you here to save us?" someone in the crowd asked excitedly.
"Sort of," Lin QiYe nodded, turning to Li Yifei. "Give me a quick rundown of the situation."
"Alright," Li Yifei organized his thoughts and began, "After that strange scream, most of the monsters went berserk and chaos broke out in the whole building.
We're lucky on the fourth floor. One of the classes on the first floor had half its students turn into monsters, slaughtering the rest of the classmates and blocking the stairs. We couldn't get down. Some people tried to jump from the second floor, but they were torn to pieces as soon as they landed.
So, most of the students started running upstairs.
I led a group of boys with fighting ability, killed the monsters on the fifth floor, evacuated the students from the second, third, and fourth floors, then sealed off the stairway and prepared to fight them. Later, I heard there were survivors on the third floor, so we came down."
Lin QiYe asked, "What about those you weren't sure were monsters?"
"Fortunately, you told me before that Han Ruoruo is a monster. She hadn't transformed but was hiding among the crowd. I spotted her right away, and to avoid alerting her, I locked her and a few boys who had been in contact with her, along with several girls from the same dormitory, in a classroom, with someone keeping watch."
Lin QiYe nodded in approval. "Good thing you were here, or more students would have died."
Li Yifei scratched his head, grinning. "I've been doing so well, shouldn't have a problem joining the Nightwatchers, right?"
"Not much of a problem."
Lin QiYe seemed to notice someone's gaze and turned his head to meet the eyes of the boy with glasses.
From his eyes, Lin QiYe sensed something different from the others.
While others looked at him with fear, respect, admiration, or affection...
This boy's gaze... was like he had discovered some rare species and wanted to take him back for research.
"You are...?" Lin QiYe asked, puzzled.
An Qingyu stepped forward, politely extending his right hand. "Hello, I'm An Qingyu."
Lin QiYe hesitated for a moment before shaking his hand.
"I'm Lin QiYe."