Chapter 24 – Xia Na’s Awakening

While Ling Mo and Ye Lian were meticulously searching for traces of Mutation Zombies in the teaching building, Xia Na and her group were also engaged in a battle with a Mutation Zombie in a dormitory.

This particular Mutation Zombie was tall and, unlike ordinary zombies, her face wasn’t as grotesquely distorted. Despite the blood and grime covering her face, it was still evident that she had once been a beautiful young woman.

However, when she let out a low growl and forced Xia Na to retreat step by step, any semblance of beauty vanished entirely.

Xia Na was struggling to fend off the frenzied attacks of the female Mutation Zombie. From her movements, it was clear that her arm had been injured, and she was now relying solely on her sheer willpower to hold on. Not far behind her lay the corpse of another Mutation Zombie.

As for Liu Yuhao, he looked exhausted. Although he was still by Xia Na’s side and occasionally helped to alleviate some of her pressure, it was obvious that he was nearing his limit. Of the three people who had been following them, only two remained: Wang Cheng and the boy who had nearly killed Wang Cheng. Judging by their expressions, they were both deeply shocked.

In fact, they had indeed experienced a tremendous psychological blow. After separating from Ling Mo, they had headed straight for this dormitory. Previously, when they left, the remaining teachers and students had stayed in this dormitory. Before leaving, Xia Na, Liu Yuhao, and the others had moved all the food from the school’s supermarket into this building. The food wouldn’t last long, but it wasn’t viable for a large group to stay trapped here indefinitely, so sending some people out to find other options was inevitable.

The best outcome would be to find rescue personnel, like the military. At the very least, they needed to find a safe place to stay, so they wouldn’t be trapped here and starve to death.

However, those willing to follow Xia Na weren’t truly committed to the group’s well-being; they just believed it was safer to stay with her. To put it bluntly, they didn’t trust that Xia Na would return.

In reality, Xia Na hadn’t completely adhered to their agreement. She had returned several days later than she had promised.

This was an unavoidable situation. To break out, many of the classmates who could still fight had died, leaving only the burdens behind. With just Xia Na and Liu Yuhao, it was impossible to break back in, let alone safely extract the remaining group.

Even so, Xia Na did not give up. So when she discovered that Ling Mo was indeed very capable and had taken their “benefits,” she couldn’t help but seek his assistance.

But just as Ling Mo had anticipated, from the moment Xia Na stepped into this school, she had already mentally prepared herself. Perhaps those people were already dead…

However, what she never expected was to be confronted with such a horrifying scene!

In a dormitory that originally housed over twenty people, aside from seven or eight survivors, everyone else had been gnawed to bare bones…

Xia Na had seen bloodier scenes, but this display of cannibalism made her feel a deep-seated nausea and a chilling fear. Liu Yuhao and the others were equally stunned, with two of them even vomiting on the spot.

Zombies eating people could be dismissed as monstrous behavior, but these were rational, sane human beings! They had chosen to kill and eat their companions rather than risk going out to search for food!

What disgusted Xia Na the most was that when these people saw her and the others, they greeted them with joy!

When the nearest middle-aged teacher rushed toward Xia Na with a smile, she almost unconsciously swung her long knife.

“Gurgle…” Blood spurted wildly from the teacher’s neck. He clutched his throat, his eyes filled with disbelief, staring at Xia Na’s pale face as he slowly collapsed.

The others were stunned, and Xia Na didn’t hesitate to turn and leave. As she glanced back, Ling Mo’s words suddenly came to her mind: parasites.

She had previously thought of Ling Mo as somewhat cold and ruthless, but at this moment, she felt an overwhelming disgust for these “parasites.”

Being weak and needing protection isn’t a sin. But being complacent, even taking such behavior for granted, makes people in the apocalypse just as dangerous as zombies. These people should be left to their own devices…

As soon as Xia Na left, Liu Yuhao and the others, still in shock, felt a deep revulsion and fear toward the cannibals in front of them. Almost simultaneously, they turned to follow Xia Na.

Xia Na intended to leave these people to their fate, but she didn’t expect them to go mad after regaining their senses!

“That bitch!”

“We waited so long, and she just…”

“Kill her, kill her!”

Intense hatred swept through these people, and their impulsiveness, like an infectious virus, made them completely lose their last shred of sanity. They charged out, rushing toward Xia Na…

What followed in the dormitory corridor was a brutal massacre. From the moment they charged, Xia Na’s mental defenses completely collapsed. She fought and slaughtered almost unconsciously. She didn’t even notice that as she displayed overwhelming strength, some who came to their senses turned to flee. But she had no intention of letting them go. With a strange smile, she chased them down and swiftly cut them all down.

In Xia Na’s mind at that moment, there was only one thought: they all deserved to die. People like them didn’t deserve to live in this world.

It wasn’t until the sudden appearance of two Mutation Zombies that Xia Na was finally jolted out of this almost delirious state. It was clear these Mutation Zombies were drawn by the intense scent of blood, and with Xia Na’s strength, she couldn’t possibly handle two Mutation Zombies at once.

Using the complex environment to her advantage, she managed to kill one of the Mutation Zombies. But the other one charged at her again.

At this point, besides the seven or eight fresh corpses in the dormitory building, the only survivors were Xia Na and her three companions. The female student had been torn to pieces when the Mutation Zombies first appeared; now, her body was likely in fragments.

If Xia Na hadn’t snapped out of it in time, Liu Yuhao and the others would have been in serious trouble. With Liu Yuhao’s combat skills, he could protect his companions from the crazed survivors, but fighting a Mutation Zombie was an entirely different matter.

Killing the first Mutation Zombie had already drained a lot of Xia Na’s energy. Coupled with the psychological toll from the recent chaos, she was feeling utterly exhausted. During her battle with this female Mutation Zombie, she was almost completely on the defensive.

The female Mutation Zombie didn’t focus solely on attacking Xia Na. Whenever an opportunity arose, it would also target the others. During this fight, Wang Cheng and the other male student frequently found themselves in danger. They didn’t dare stray too far, fearing attacks from other zombies.

Seeing the female Mutation Zombie, Wang Cheng’s eyes flickered slightly. Finally, in a moment when Xia Na was forced to retreat, he quietly lifted his leg and kicked the male student hard in the back!

“Ah!”

With a scream, the male student was shoved between Xia Na and the female Mutation Zombie.

“Pfft!”

The Mutation Zombie’s hand pierced through the male student’s abdomen, and Xia Na seized the moment to stab her knife into the Mutation Zombie’s heart.