Chapter 30 The Unknown

Meanwhile, in Province D.

In an ordinary high school classroom, the third-year students were taking a solemn and nerve-wracking mock exam. The invigilating teacher stood tall at the podium, her brow furrowed tightly behind the rims of her glasses, lines of worry stretching taut across her forehead. Even the lenses reflected the sharp glint of her gaze, making every student below, diligently scribbling away at their papers, so tense that they scarcely dared to move, fearing she might swoop down upon them at any moment.

Who on earth would dare to fall asleep at a time like this?

Though everyone was burning with curiosity, none dared to be the first to sneak a glance, cowed by the teacher’s formidable presence.

The teacher stepped down from the podium at an unhurried pace, the sharp click of her high heels echoing in the classroom, each step like a hammer striking their hearts, raising goosebumps on their skin.

With a resounding bang, she slammed her hand twice on the desk of a boy sitting at the back, jolting the more timid students upright.

“Bang! Bang! Get up!” she barked.

He still hadn’t woken up! By now, some students, unable to contain their curiosity, had quietly put down their pens and pricked up their ears.

“If you don’t get up right now, get out!” There was a note of anger in the teacher’s voice. Didn’t he know how precious time was in the third year of high school? To sleep during such an important exam—she was tempted to grab him by the ear and throw him out herself!

But then—silence.

No response. Some students, unable to hear anything, furtively turned their heads.

Good heavens! What did they just see?

A timid girl suddenly let out a piercing scream, shattering the tense silence in the classroom like a spell broken.

The “sleeping” boy’s eyes were now clouded white, his mouth stretched open to an inhuman width, biting into the teacher’s neck again and again! The teacher, usually so strict and irritable, could no longer utter a sound. Her mouth hung open, her eyes bulged wide, her death grotesque and horrifying.

“Help! Somebody help!” The moment the shock wore off, the students raced for the classroom door, shouting and pushing in panic. These girls and boys, usually little tyrants ruling over their classmates, were utterly helpless in the face of such horror. One by one, they were scared out of their wits.

Some retched uncontrollably.

“A monster—!”

But it was already too late.

How could a zombie simply watch its prey escape before its eyes?

The male zombie, sated with fresh flesh, slowly rose from his seat, moving his limbs in a grotesque, twisted fashion, his gaping mouth still smeared with shreds of flesh.

“Hurry! Make way, don’t block the door!” The shortest student at the back pressed his back against his classmates, eyes wide with terror as he saw his once-familiar classmate shuffling toward him, step by step.

“Help! I don’t want to die!”

He tried to push away the monster biting into him, but it was as if the creature felt nothing at all.

He could only watch, helpless and horrified, as the zombie tore open his belly and pulled out his intestines.

A scream, despairing and full of agony, rang out.

Thus, a vibrant and youthful life was extinguished in an instant.

The cries and screams of the students finally attracted the attention of the school staff. The principal, grim-faced, seized a girl and tried to drag her back to her classroom.

“No! Please, no! I don’t want to go back!” the girl shouted. “There’s a monster inside eating people!”

“You really need to stop reading those ridiculous novels. Monsters eating people, honestly—”

But the principal unconsciously let go of her sleeve, his legs trembling. He was struck dumb by the scene before him.

This… this…

“Sound the alarm, now!”

The shrill ringing blared through the halls as classroom doors flew open. Most students, thinking it was just another drill, strolled toward the spiral staircase, laughing and joking, hardly a trace of fear among them.

“Hurry! Run, quickly—!”

But before the principal could finish his warning, his words cut off abruptly, his arm still frozen mid-gesture.

The infected students and teachers rose from the floor, lurching toward the living, hungry for more fresh blood.

In an instant, the once peaceful and harmonious campus was transformed into a hellish slaughterhouse. The white floor tiles were soaked with blood, intestines spilled across the ground, and torn flesh scattered everywhere, each detail enough to make one retch.