Dorian did not spend another second with Zion after making up his mind. He had already played his part by warning Sampe about the danger of staying with him. Sampe had the right to make his own decision, and Dorian wouldn't force him.
Clarissa felt pity for Zion—she trusted Dorian's judgment, but at the same time, she was a human being with emotions. As they ascended to the sixth floor, she tried reasoning with Dorian to at least save Sampe if Zion was really going to turn and he refused.
Both of them reached the sixth floor, which was fortunately not as crowded with zombies as the fifth.
Dorian held down some zombies and let Clarissa finish them off, granting her adequate EXP and bringing her closer to her first level up.
The dorm consisted of ten floors. The only floor with more than five zombies was the fifth; the other floors had fewer, and a few had none.
Dorian and Clarissa cleared the zombies.
"How much more EXP do you need to level up?" Dorian asked Clarissa as they strolled back to the entrance.
Clarissa opened her character status and reported, "40 EXP remaining. You need to kill four more zombies, and you'll level up. You'll soon feel the thrill of leveling up."
Dorian smiled.
'Hmm, I think she's going to be okay. She was only scared to kill her first zombie because she knew him and saw him turn. Her second zombie had an unrecognizable, rotten face, and she didn't hesitate to slash at it when I asked her. It would've been better if she were more logical instead of emotional. Emotions in the current world status would only get you killed,' he thought.
Both of them made their way down and reached the fifth floor.
"Help me, Dorian, please!"
Immediately upon arriving on the fifth floor, Sampe's frantic pleading drew their attention.
Dorian frowned and looked toward the voice.
He saw Sampe standing beside a fresh zombie corpse—it was Zion. The bite wound was still very visible on his right hand. Clarissa recognized him easily, and the look on her face turned solemn with pity.
Sampe, on the other hand, immediately began speaking while walking cautiously toward them.
"You were correct! Zion turned and tried to eat me. I had to kill him, but he was able to scratch my hands with his fingers before dying," he began.
"I am sorry for doubting you, Dorian. I won't make such a mistake in my life from now on. I will follow you everywhere you go and obey your every command. Please forgive me and save me," he continued, pleading frantically.
Dorian scoffed at him. "I might consider forgiving you, but right now it's useless. You're going to turn very soon."
This time, even Clarissa was a bit surprised. In her mind, she wondered how a scratch could be so drastic.
Sampe went quiet for a few seconds, rethinking his words. "But it is just a scratch... I was already planning to apply first aid before you two arrived," he spoke up.
"Doesn't matter. How long has it been since you got the injury?" Dorian asked.
"About five minutes ago."
"Then there is no saving you. The virus has already entered your system, and very soon you'll start feeling dizzy and experience a few other symptoms before you finally turn," Dorian shook his head.
"If it was a few seconds ago, you would've had a 20% chance of surviving if you chopped off your hands."
Silence prevailed in the hallway once again. Both Sampe and Clarissa couldn't believe what they had heard.
Unfortunately for both, Dorian had no time to explain—he had already wasted too much time speaking to Sampe.
He grabbed Clarissa and dragged her gently toward the staircase.
Sampe quickly dashed after them, calling out for Dorian to help. In his heart, he believed Dorian had a way to save him but wouldn't because he was mad at him. Thus, he pleaded for forgiveness frantically.
Unfortunately, Dorian really had no way to save him.
As Sampe got closer, Dorian swiftly grabbed the dagger from Clarissa and slashed Sampe's hands before they could touch him.
"Ahhhh! My hands!"
Sampe stared at his profusely bleeding hands and cried out in pain. While he was crying over his hands, Dorian grabbed the baffled Clarissa, and they made their way to the entrance.
They made it out, and Dorian locked the door from the outside.
A few seconds later, Sampe arrived and began banging on the door. "Open the door! Let me out!"
His voice was loud and channeled a lot of emotions—sadness, fear, regret—all of these were easily detectable.
"What is happening? Why is he locked inside?" some of the members from the other teams approached them and asked.
"He has been infected," Dorian replied.
"How? He doesn't sound like a zombie to me," one of them followed up.
"If you have enough time to waste, wait here for about ten minutes and don't forget to share your experience with the others," Dorian replied coldly.
He signaled Clarissa, and both of them left, leaving the others to wonder what would happen next.
"We should wait. If nothing happens in the next ten minutes, then we should open the door and let him out. Who knows, maybe he said a few insulting words to Dorian, and Dorian punished him by locking him in here," one of them suggested.
"Yeah, Dorian is getting his payback on all those who looked down on him and bullied him before the apocalypse. I can definitely see him doing as you said," another agreed.
Some even tried communicating with Sampe. But Sampe was too scared and emotionally shaken to respond to their words. He kept crying for them to let him out, but none of them had the guts to disobey Dorian's orders, even if they wanted to.
Sampe's cries continued normally for the first five minutes. Afterwards, his voice began to change gradually, starting with stutters that soon evolved into unrecognizable words, and then he started shrieking hungrily.
This caught everyone unaware, and they exchanged looks among themselves. "So one can turn into a zombie without even dying? No wonder Dorian always warned us to be very careful!"