Rick thought for a moment. "Jack, go grab a few people."
Jack was one of Rick's students and had been close to him before the apocalypse. When everything collapsed, Rick recruited him along with another man. Together, the three controlled more than a hundred students.
In the corner, Jack heard Rick's words and immediately grabbed a few strong male students, throwing them out of the gymnasium.
The gymnasium's sewer was located near the flower bed between the gym and the university cafeteria. The five male students stumbled forward through the storm; the heavy rain blurred their vision, and it took them more than twenty minutes to reach the flower bed.
Meanwhile, in a large classroom inside a teaching building two kilometers away from the gymnasium, over twenty students sat silently, eating moldy bread with downcast eyes.
Holly forced herself to swallow the stale bread and drank some water, but suddenly her face went pale. She rushed to the window, gasping for fresh air.
"Holly, what's wrong?" Mike asked with concern, though his gaze briefly lingered on Holly's graceful figure before he quickly looked away, afraid she might notice.
At University, every male student had one crush in their heart — Holly, the university's undisputed school queen. It wasn't that there were no other beautiful girls, but Holly's beauty was unparalleled. She was stunningly beautiful, with a devilish figure and the intelligence of a genius. Even professors and the principal treated her with respect.
Mike was one of them. Back in peacetime, they were classmates — not particularly close, but they spoke occasionally. When the apocalypse began, Mike had helped Holly through several crises and managed to become her friend. However, he never dared reveal his feelings, knowing her pride; Holly was a woman who would rather die than lower her dignity.
By the window, Holly's face was pale and sickly. She couldn't bear to look out toward the flower bed near the cafeteria, where five male students were struggling through the storm.
"Holly, what's wrong?" asked Mia, her best friend. She had never seen Holly like this before.
The others looked on in confusion, not understanding what was happening.
"You have a fever? You're burning up — lie down and rest!" Mia said anxiously, touching Holly's forehead.
"What? Jingqi, you have a fever?" Mike's anxious voice burst out. Seeing his beloved goddess sick made him more worried than she herself seemed to be.
"It's an acute high fever," Mia said seriously. "If it's not treated soon, it could worsen and cause brain damage."
"What should we do? There's no medicine left in the university," said Evan, another boy nearby. He too admired Holly but knew her pride made her impossible to approach, so he had shifted his attention toward Mia instead — who was also beautiful, though not as breathtaking as Holly.
The group of students chattered anxiously. Some were worried, others were indifferent, and a few secretly rejoiced — many girls resented Holly's arrogance, and seeing her brought low by illness filled them with a hidden sense of satisfaction.
Mia glanced at Evan and Mike, hiding her disdain. She didn't know what was going on in these boys' heads — if she didn't need them for food and protection, she wouldn't have bothered to talk to them at all.
Mia herself had a seductive charm — a slender waist, full curves, and a pretty face that carried a teasing allure. She was the kind of woman that stirred a man's imagination.
She sighed softly. "Holly's fever is bad. Without medicine, her brain could burn out," she said to the anxious boys.
Hearing that, Mike panicked. "The Hospital is just two kilometers east of the university. There should definitely be medicine there!" he said quickly.
Evan, jealous that Mike had spoken first, added, "Yeah, a few of us should go there and get medicine for Holly!"
The other boys' faces darkened. They liked the girls too, but they weren't stupid — outside were zombie rats and floodwaters. Going out now was almost certain death.
"There might be people trapped in the stadium," Holly said weakly, leaning against a stool. "I just saw someone opening a manhole cover…"
Her fragile voice and delicate expression made the boys' hearts stir. Several of them couldn't stand to see her suffer and immediately volunteered to help find medicine.
A faint smirk flickered across Mia's face. Perfect, she thought. Once they open the sewer, the floodwaters will drain… and the zombie rats will be lured away.
At that moment, the five male students reached the flower bed and began trying to lift the manhole cover.
"No good — it's too heavy! The water pressure's holding it down. We'll need an iron rod to pry it open."
"Where are we supposed to find one?"
"Maybe by the cafeteria — we can break off the door's handrail."
"You're crazy! That noise will attract the rats!"
"No choice. If we don't act, we'll drown anyway. Better to take a chance!"
After a brief argument, two of them ran toward the cafeteria to look for tools.
Meanwhile, a swarm of enormous rats began swimming through the floodwaters.
The three remaining boys at the flower bed didn't notice. But upstairs, Mike and Mia, who were watching from the window, saw everything — and their faces turned pale.
The rats drew closer through the heavy rain. When they reached the flower bed, only three students remained. The boys, still focused on prying open the manhole, didn't realize the danger behind them.
With a loud clang, the manhole cover finally lifted.
"Yes! It's open — the water can drain now!" one of them shouted in relief. As the water rushed into the opening, they could see inside — the drain was blocked by debris. The boys quickly cleared it, and the floodwater began to recede.
Suddenly, a mutant rat lunged from the drain and bit one of the boys in the neck.
The creature's fangs tore through flesh with terrifying ease, ripping his throat open. Blood sprayed across the flower bed, staining the water red.
Mutant rats were, in some ways, even more terrifying than zombies — faster, smaller, and able to hide anywhere. They were predators of the apocalypse.
The remaining two boys screamed and tried to run toward the gymnasium, but they couldn't outrun the swarm. Dozens of rats leapt onto them, and within moments, nothing but bones remained — even the blood had been licked clean.
From the classroom window, several students witnessed the scene. Their faces went white with terror.
"Hurry!" Mia shouted. "Those rats went after the two who ran to the cafeteria! The flood's receding — now's our chance to leave!"
The boys hesitated, glancing at each other. They had bragged earlier, and to back down now would be humiliating in front of the girls. Gritting their teeth, they opened the door and rushed out.
Fortunately for them, the rats had already gone after the others. The four survivors sprinted through the rain, avoiding the gym entirely, and ran straight for the university gate.
At Hospital, Ethan was using the system to transfer abilities to his sister, Emily.
He had earned more than a thousand points earlier — just enough to help her grow stronger. If it weren't for concerns about potential side effects, Emily would have been the first person he taught his own ability to.
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