Everyone was ready.
Clad in black jeans, a black long-sleeved jacket, and black sneakers, Emma Smith's tall, slender figure stood at the forefront of the group like an upright flagpole.
Looking at the library stairwell leading down, she took a deep breath before saying in a low voice: "Let's go."
…
At 4:00 AM, a faint glimmer appeared on the horizon. Insects and birds unaffected by the virus rested quietly in the shadows of the trees. aside from the subtle vibrations of their footsteps in the dawn, the entire world seemed completely dead.
Where had the Evil Seeds gone?
As the group hunched over to cross through the bicycle shed, Emma Smith glanced toward the boys" dormitory. It was quiet, eerily quiet.
For some reason, in this atmosphere, Emma Smith instinctively felt a sense of danger.
Evil Seeds were no longer human; they likely didn't need rest, only a constant supply of blood to keep them vigorous.
So, were they hiding somewhere, waiting for hungry humans to come out on their own?
Maybe they were quietly staring out from the first-floor windows of some building, their crimson eyes filled with anticipation as they waited for prey to appear.
"Careful!" Jessica Williams stopped and warned in a low voice.
Emma Smith looked where Jessica Williams was pointing. It was half of a body, still twitching. The person had already turned into an Evil Seed and was casually gnawing on the flesh of another corpse.
The cut on the body was clean and flat. It didn't look like it was hacked by a knife, but rather sliced by a chainsaw.
The thought of a chainsaw made Emma Smith feel sick.
The construction site had axes and hammers, and of course, chainsaws and drills.
Had the Evil Seeds been there already?!
They were invincible enough as it is. If they also got their hands on weapons beforehand, wouldn't survival difficulty just jump to "Hell Mode"?
Jessica Williams walked over and smashed a fist ruthlessly into the back of the half-bodied Evil Seed's head.
Its head exploded instantly.
Jessica Williams wiped her hand in disgust. After confirming there were no other Evil Seeds around, she signaled for the group crawling behind to follow.
Passing by the gruesome corpses of the Evil Seeds, everyone's faces turned pale.
After crossing the bicycle shed, they had to go around the girls" dormitory.
Arriving at the girls" dorm, Hannah Miller, Bai An'an, and Lucas Wilson came out with three others.
"Let's split up. We'll go get Bai An'an's car keys." Hannah Miller said to Emma Smith.
Lucas Wilson spoke up: "Emma Smith, maybe you should come with us to get the keys. You never even go to gym class; getting weapons is too dangerous for you."
Emma Smith shook her head: "It's fine. I'm more familiar with the construction site terrain."
The construction site was half-finished, the ground littered with rubble. It was an open area with no cover, and right next to it... was a three-story cafeteria.
The construction site was overly dangerous. That was precisely why Emma Smith had to go; she could only feel at ease if she personally handled the critical tasks.
Splitting up from Hannah Miller and Lucas Wilson's group, the remaining team of fifteen was led by Emma Smith and Jessica Williams.
Watching the sun rise inch by inch, Emma Smith urged everyone to pick up the pace.
Soon, they bypassed the girls" dormitory and headed straight for the construction site.
The site was covered in loose gravel, making walking difficult without lights.
Before long, Jessica Williams found the rebar that had been cut and neatly stacked in a nearby clearing.
Each piece of rebar was about as thick as a thumb and around a meter long.
Emma Smith didn't know much about construction or what these were for, but they were perfect as weapons.
The reason she thought of using rebar was that when her family built a house during her childhood, she used to use similar steel rods to beat the weeds by the roadside...
There were many of these short steel rods, roughly over a hundred.
Even if they couldn't use them all, they should take as many as possible.
While Jessica Williams led people to carry the rebar, Emma Smith took two people with her and looked toward a blue steel cabin not far away.
Tools like hammers, axes, and chainsaws needed for construction should be stored in that steel cabin...
…
The blue steel cabin stood quietly, backed by the school's shrubbery.
In front of the cabin, the faint dawn light spilled across the ground.
In the grass behind the cabin, something was moving slightly.
Emma Smith looked at the three-story cafeteria facing the blue steel cabin. The cafeteria building was pitch black, yet Emma Smith felt very nervous.
They shouldn't be discovered; it was still very dark. They just needed to pick the lock.
Emma Smith picked up a piece of wire, walked over, and skillfully bent it. She inserted the wire into the keyhole and gave it a practiced flick.
Click. The door opened.
Watching Emma Smith's practiced movements, the people following her were stunned.
Damn, that smooth?
Did this sister have a side hustle before this?!
Several of them slipped silently into the steel cabin. The room was empty.
Emma Smith used the lowest brightness setting on her phone to illuminate the corners of the room. She quickly found repair and construction tools like electric drills, hammers, and wrenches in the corner. She also found gasoline, automotive lubricant, and spare car belts.
Furthermore, on the table in the cabin, she found a vacuum-packed roast chicken, a bottle of Erguotou white liquor, a bag of spicy peanuts, and a tin of luncheon meat.
The corners of Emma Smith's mouth couldn't help but curve upward.
The harvest was too bountiful.
Aside from what she wanted to find, the most important discovery was a large 20-liter drum of gasoline. No need to worry about fueling the car now!