Holding Xiao Wanqing's fragrant, soft, smooth, and boneless wrist, Li Jiayu could feel her pulse beating rapidly. Clearly, she was afraid of something, or perhaps blaming herself for something. After all, the shock she received was immense. As a young married woman and a principal, seeing a pregnant woman, and a close subordinate at that, have her belly ripped open by Venomous Spiders – being able to control herself and not scream was already quite commendable.
"Don't let your thoughts run wild, Principal Xiao. You are not a god, merely a woman. You don't need to shoulder the burden of the various tragedies happening on campus, because it's already far beyond your capacity to bear... You just need to stand behind me, let me protect you, that's enough, understand?"
When they reached the door of the third room, Li Jiayu suddenly said this quietly without looking back. Xiao Wanqing was slightly startled, sighed softly, and said dejectedly:
"Xijiang University suffering such a catastrophe, I find it hard to accept for a while. Don't worry, I'll adjust my mindset soon... Don't mind me, hurry up and save people."
"That's natural! Teacher Jiang Lihua's tragic death has completely ignited my fury!"
Li Jiayu pushed the door, only to find it locked from the inside. Without further ado, he slashed the camphor wood door panel, which had a note saying "Landscape Painting Research Association, Non-members Do Not Disturb," instantly destroying the lock. Then he kicked the door open and rushed in abruptly!
Inside the room were many glass cabinets, and numerous landscape paintings with profound artistic conception hung on the walls. However, no one was appreciating them now. Several bottles of ink had been knocked over on the floor, staining it black. Many landscape paintings were splattered with dripping blood, ruining their aesthetic beauty. And five or six middle-aged men lay haphazardly on the floor, unfortunately, all with ruptured abdomens. One bald man's intestines had even been pulled out and hung on an antique brush rack...
"...Looking at their postures, they probably wanted to jump off the building to commit suicide, but were forced back by Venomous Spiders breaking in through the window, and then killed one by one..."
Li Jiayu shook his head, no longer wasting time, and rushed towards the next room. However, he noticed that the Dark Octopus's team seemed to have started fighting in the room opposite. A heart-wrenching scream could be heard; likely one of the axe wielders had died tragically?
Not far away, the small team led by Chu Xiang was ramming a door. Chu Xiang held the large air conditioner weighing several hundred kg and slammed it violently against the wooden door with bang bang bang sounds, seeming to shake the entire twelfth floor.
The fourth room was the headquarters of the "Traditional Literature Association." Just as Li Jiayu reached the entrance, he heard low sobbing coming from inside!
"There are survivors!"
Li Jiayu's eyebrows twitched, his movements becoming even faster. Two slashes destroyed the door, and he darted in like a wild wolf. He saw three male corpses and two pools of corpse water lying on the floor, while in the corner, two girls and one boy huddled together, faces showing expressions of collapse, trembling uncontrollably.
There were few enemies in the room, only one Venomous Spider and one Acid Bug.
The Venomous Spider had clearly eaten its fill and satisfied its sadistic craving, so it wasn't in a hurry to kill the remaining two girls and one boy. The Acid Bug had probably sprayed too much concentrated acid earlier and hadn't brewed new sulfuric acid yet. At this moment, it was happily on the corpse water, using its funnel-shaped mouthpart to suck it up – for it, the corpse water formed from corroded humans was the most delicious food.
"Tsk tsk... quite leisurely, aren't you? Waiting to digest what's in your stomach before continuing to kill? Too bad you won't get the chance!"
Li Jiayu's expression changed drastically, his heart sinking. He casually grabbed a nearby LCD monitor and threw it at the Venomous Spider. Simultaneously, his figure flashed like lightning, closing in on the Acid Bug in less than a second. The Acid Bug was startled and just about to flap its wings to fly when Li Jiayu's Hyorinmaru had already pierced through its head!
"Screech!"
The Venomous Spider was hit on the mandibles by the LCD monitor and was immediately angered. Its six spider legs scrambled wildly, lunging towards Li Jiayu with extreme agility. Unfortunately, its fate was the same as its predecessors – turning into a frozen corpse.
"You three! What are you standing there stunned for! Hurry up and get to the thirteenth floor!"
Li Jiayu coldly shouted at the three dumbfounded individuals, then said no more, returned to the doorway, grabbed Xiao Wanqing, and set off again, leaving only a cold and aloof back view for the three.
After a long pause, one girl finally parted her lips stiffly, her expression filled with extreme panic:
"...What just happened?"
"Don't know... only saw Principal Xiao and a handsome white-haired guy come in..." the other girl said with an expression of disbelief, tear tracks still visible on her face, smudging her makeup into a mess.
"Then a few slashes... and the insects were cleanly killed..."
"We're saved... Everyone pull yourselves together, we don't have to die! Run quickly, listen to him, go to the thirteenth floor for refuge."
"But... what about Ah Tao and Ah Guang's bodies..."
"Don't worry about that for now. The dead are gone; the living are what's most important."
Without needing anyone to lead the way, these three survivors supported each other's weakened bodies and ran towards the thirteenth floor. Only upon reaching the thirteenth floor and seeing so many classmates did they finally vent their negative emotions like a flash flood, crying uncontrollably.
Under the actions of Li Jiayu and the other two small teams, most rooms on the twelfth floor were cleared within three minutes. A total of eighteen Venomous Spiders and nine Acid Bugs were killed, and fifty to sixty survivors were rescued.
The axe wielders in the two small teams also suffered losses. One PE teacher, relying on his strong physique and having learned a few moves watching movies, was overconfident. He rushed ahead of the Dark Octopus to chop at a Venomous Spider, but failed to notice an Acid Bug above him spraying strong acid, instantly melting him into a pool of corpse water!
One senior student, from a martial arts family, bold due to his high skill, also rushed to show off while dealing with a Venomous Spider. As a result, rigidly adhering to Xingyiquan fighting stances, he neglected the Venomous Spider's agility and low profile, accidentally getting bitten on the ankle and dying from the poison!
When Li Jiayu regrouped with the two small teams in a girls' restroom and heard about this, he let out a long sigh.
Indeed, some people are destined to die; no matter how you try to stop it, you can't.
In Li Jiayu's impression, that senior student was supposed to use protecting Sun Weiwei as an excuse to demand her virginity tonight in a remote storage room...
Logically, he should have genuinely died protecting Sun Weiwei during the first escape, falling prey to a Purple-Blood Centipede. Unexpectedly, due to Li Jiayu's rebirth disrupting the trajectory of fate, it let him die even faster...
Actually, that senior student was quite pitiful. He pursued Sun Weiwei for a whole year but was always politely rejected. Although later taking advantage of her vulnerability to take her virginity was somewhat dishonorable, dying while protecting her was quite decent. At least he was a man with some sense of responsibility. Li Jiayu had originally wanted to properly cultivate this senior student with some real skills, of course, provided this senior wouldn't harass Sun Weiwei – forget it, the person is dead, no point dwelling on these things.
And according to the few Awakened, Dragonoid Chu Xiang's team seemed to be doing well. Chu Xiang served as the main combatant, and Ran Hongxia, unexpectedly stepped up as the second main force, which truly made Li Jiayu look twice. He thought Ran Hongxia would need a long time to overcome her fear.
Naturally, Chu Xiang needed no introduction. His incomparably strong body and immense strength, eight times that of an ordinary person, meant he felt no fear facing the insects. His only shortcoming was his slow reaction speed, slightly sluggish movements, and shallow combat awareness; otherwise, he alone would be enough to suppress two Venomous Spiders.
Ran Hongxia truly fought more fiercely as the battle progressed. Although she hadn't fully grasped "Sword Qi" yet and could only occasionally produce faint inches of "Sword Glow" while swinging the fire axe, its power was still considerable. Coupled with her courage, agility, well-developed motor nerves, and good combat awareness, a total of five Venomous Spiders and two Acid Bugs met their end under her axe!
And Sonic Warrior Chen Kun also seemed to perform well. Although he often only roared air and probably needed seven or eight roars to produce one sonic cannonball, it was better than nothing. His sonic cannonball counted as a ranged attack; if a spider was hit, even if not killed, it would enter a "stunned" state, waiting only for death!
As for Fire Mage Feng Liaoyuan, he basically had no chance to perform. Lan Xiaoyue, needless to say, was already pale as paper, too scared to speak, let alone expect any performance from her.
The remaining thirteen axe wielders also seemed to have gained valuable experience. Even without many combat opportunities, they slightly understood how to fight. At least when they saw Venomous Spiders now, their bodies weren't as tense as at the beginning.
"Mm... all did well..."
In a girls' restroom at the end of the corridor, Li Jiayu had already dismissed the boys and girls hiding inside. At this moment, he looked at the members of the other small teams, a faint smile playing on his lips:
"Exceeded my expectations... Chu Xiang and Chen Kun have probably started adapting to your powers? Well done, much faster than I imagined... You warriors of the 'Suicide Squad' are also not bad, keep it up... Ran Hongxia, you truly didn't disappoint me..."
At times like this, saying a few nice words to boost morale was necessary. But when it came to the last sentence, Li Jiayu still felt stifled inside. Only seeing Ran Hongxia's expectant gaze seeking his approval did he force down his aversion and praise her slightly.
Sure enough, receiving Li Jiayu's praise, Ran Hongxia's clear, water-like black eyes instantly lit up, a satisfied and shy smile blooming on her lips. She herself couldn't understand why she was so happy at that moment.
"Thank you... I will continue to perform well... Li Jiayu, you... you are the target I pursue..." Looking at Li Jiayu's handsome face and cold white pupils, Ran Hongxia blushed slightly and managed to say this.
"Is that so... Then in this life, you'll probably be eating my dust."
Li Jiayu gave a faintly mocking smile, clapped his hands, and addressed everyone:
"Alright, the monsters on the twelfth floor are basically cleared... Mm, your name is Fang Zizhou, right? Could you trouble yourself to go to the thirteenth floor and inform them? Tell them to send people down to the twelfth floor, see if there's anything still usable, move it up to the thirteenth floor... This floor is all clubs, associations, and the like, still holding lots of food, especially in the 'Music Research Society,' seems like they prepared lots of fruits and milk tea..."
"Yes! I'll go right away."
Fang Zizhou naturally understood the importance of food in an apocalyptic crisis. After all, there were nearly two thousand people on the thirteenth floor; who knew how much food they needed to consume daily? He acknowledged and quickly left.
"Then, we should clear the eleventh floor next..."
Li Jiayu waved his hand, just about to set off, when he saw the Dark Octopus beside him looking strange. Its huge copper-bell eyes narrowed slightly, its body flushed. He was startled and quickly asked:
"Octopus, what's wrong with you? Can't your body hold up?"
The Dark Octopus shook its head, its face wrinkled, looking quite lewd. Its voice sounded like a middle-aged train groper:
"No... nothing wrong... Octopus just feels... the air here... is very nice... girls' restroom... feels really good... Octopus wants to wash up..."
"Good my ass! Wash my ass! Why don't you just go die for me!"
Li Jiayu, furious, punched the unrepentant Dark Octopus on the forehead, cursing exasperatedly.