Zhu Jiu quickly led the group back to the classroom. The moment Zhang Xinyu saw his classmates, he dashed toward them, his eyes glistening with emotion.
"Xinyu, are you alright?" asked a tall, composed boy at the front of the group.
Despite the chaos, the boy's steady demeanor suggested he was a natural leader.
"I'm okay. What about you guys?" Zhang Xinyu's gaze was complicated. He chose not to share the horrors he'd endured over the past two days.
"We're alright too," the tall boy replied with a faint smile. "Principal Lu's been treating us decently, and with Mr. Wang looking out for us, at least we've been safe."
The boy's words carried an unspoken truth—safety was all they could count on; everything else was uncertain.
While Zhang Xinyu, young and inexperienced, didn't catch the underlying tone, Zhu Jiu did. He could sense the bitterness behind the words. In this post-apocalyptic world, how could anyone truly be "alright"?
Zhu Jiu glanced toward Ruan Qingyan and noticed she was already looking at him. She quickly gestured toward the food supplies, and Zhu Jiu gave her a subtle nod.
Ruan Qingyan immediately understood. "Alright, everyone must be starving by now. Let's eat first and talk later," she said in her crisp voice.
She began distributing the food, carefully dividing it among the group.
Nearly two days of hunger had left the students weak and dizzy. The moment they received their portions, they devoured them ravenously.
Zhu Jiu took a piece of bread for himself and quietly ate in the corner.
"Slow down, there's plenty to go around," Ruan Qingyan urged, her voice tinged with pity as she handed out water to the students.
The room was filled with the sounds of frantic chewing and gulping. Zhu Jiu finished his meal, then glanced at his system panel.
"Nine hours until the second wave of catastrophe."
His brow furrowed.
The first wave had already claimed countless lives. The school, which had once been home to tens of thousands, now held only a few hundred survivors. Entire streets had been emptied of human life.
By Zhu Jiu's estimation, billions of people had perished globally.
In countries with access to firearms, survival rates might be slightly higher due to the effectiveness of weapons against infected individuals. But how many waves could humanity withstand?
"First wave alone killed so many. How devastating will the second be? And how many waves are there in total?" Zhu Jiu pondered, a shadow of gloom in his eyes.
What if humanity was wiped out entirely? What if they became nothing more than a footnote in history, rediscovered by some future species sifting through ancient ruins?
As Zhu Jiu brooded, the sound of hurried, chaotic footsteps echoed from outside.
Suddenly, a male voice shouted, "They're here! There's food in there—lots of it! Hurry!"
Moments later, a horde of students stormed in like a pack of ravenous wolves, their eyes locked onto the piles of food in the corner.
"Who are you people?" Zhu Jiu stood up, his voice low and commanding. His towering frame and the twin blades at his waist instantly cowed the intruders.
The man leading the group—a pudgy, middle-aged man with pockmarked cheeks and shifty eyes—stepped forward.
"I'm the gym teacher. Principal Lu told us there was food here and said we could come to collect it."
Without waiting for a response, he made a beeline for the food supplies, his expression greedy and possessive.
Behind him, the mob of over a hundred students began murmuring restlessly, their hunger driving them toward the food like predators stalking prey.
Inside the classroom, the ten or so students already there exchanged nervous glances, unsure of what to do.
Then, Zhang Xinyu stepped forward. Though clearly uneasy, he stood his ground in front of the gym teacher.
"Sir, this food belongs to Zhu Jiu. Unless he says otherwise, you can't take it."
Zhang Xinyu was small and thin, a stark contrast to the tall, heavyset gym teacher. Despite his fear, he didn't back down.
A second boy, the tall leader-like student, also stood up. He planted himself firmly in front of the teacher.
"Sir, unless Zhu Jiu says it's okay, we won't let you take the food."
The other students, emboldened by their example, rose as well, their eyes filled with defiance.
Zhu Jiu watched this unfold and gave a small, approving nod. These kids still had some spine.
The gym teacher, however, was incensed. He scoffed at the students blocking his way.
"Stupid brats!" he barked, shoving Zhang Xinyu aside. "The school taught you to share! There's so much food here. Do you think you can finish it all before it goes bad? Now step aside and hand it over!"
He strode toward the supplies with heavy steps, oblivious to the growing tension.
"Enough."
Zhu Jiu's icy voice cut through the commotion like a blade.
In a blur, he moved, appearing in front of the gym teacher in an instant. Before anyone could react, Zhu Jiu's fist shot forward.
BANG!
The gym teacher took the full force of Zhu Jiu's punch to his stomach. His bulky body was sent flying across the room, slamming into the doorframe with a resounding crash.
He crumpled to the ground like a boiled shrimp, clutching his midsection as his face turned crimson with agony.
Zhu Jiu barely glanced at him before planting his long blade into the floor with a heavy thud.
"If you want food, fine," Zhu Jiu said coldly, his voice like the edge of a blade.
"There are two options."
"Option one: take a hit from my blade. If you survive, take as much food as you want."
"Option two: follow my orders. Work for me, and I'll provide food and safety. Do well, and there'll even be rewards."
Without waiting for a response, Zhu Jiu pulled a small vial from his pocket and tossed it to Zhang Xinyu.
"Xinyu, drink this."
Zhang Xinyu didn't hesitate. Without questioning what it was, he downed the liquid in one gulp.
"It's sweet! Got any more, Zhu Jiu?" Zhang Xinyu asked, holding up the empty bottle with a grin.
Zhu Jiu smirked. "You want seconds? Keep dreaming."
Before he could say more, Zhang Xinyu suddenly doubled over with a muffled groan. His entire body turned bright red, steaming as if his blood were boiling.
The students watched in confusion, but Fatty and Wang Huannian's expressions shifted drastically.
"This… this is…" Wang stammered, his eyes wide with disbelief. "He's evolving!?"
As a fellow evolver, Wang immediately recognized the signs. Zhang Xinyu was becoming a superhuman.
But the sheer impossibility of it stunned him.
A single bottle of serum? And just like that, an ordinary boy had become an evolver?
Wang Huannian's gaze shifted to Zhu Jiu, filled with shock and awe.
Who exactly is this man?