I held up my hand, signaling the boys to stop. The "Whirlwind" buffer slowed down with a low whine.
At the far end of the lobby, near the clinic doors, stood another group. There were five of them—all men, mostly from the campus security or gym staff. They were big, and they were armed with heavy crowbars and fire axes. They were currently trying to bash the clinic's reinforced glass.
"Wait," I whispered. "They have the numbers, and they're already agitated. If we charge in, we'll lose people."
"But they're taking the supplies, Viv," Nicholas hissed, gripping his bat.
"Let me handle the human element," I said. I handed my thesis book to Neveah and stepped out into the open lobby, my hands raised. I made sure my graduation gown was visible. I wanted to look like a student, not a threat.
"Hey!" I called out. My voice was steady and loud, using the 'Authority' tone I had practiced in speech labs.
The five men spun around. Their leader, a tall guy with a 'Campus Security' jacket, stepped forward. He looked stressed, his eyes darting around the room.
"Back off, kid!" he yelled. "This clinic is ours. We need the meds for our people."
[SKILL ACTIVATED: COGNITIVE REFRAMING] Can calm allies down to stop the [Panic] debuff, keeping the team steady in a fight.
"I'm not here to fight you," I said, keeping my voice calm and low. I walked forward slowly, stopping at a safe distance. "I'm Vivienne. We're 'The Alumni.' We have a Nurse and a Combat Engineer with us."
I pointed back to Neveah and Grayson.
"You guys have the muscle to break that door, but do you have anyone who knows how to use what's inside?" I asked. "If you smash those cabinets blindly, you'll break half the vials. And if someone gets a fever or an infection, do you know the dosage for an IV?"
The leader hesitated. He looked at his men, then back at me. I could see the 'Panic' debuff fading from his expression as my calm voice forced his brain to think logically.
"We have a guy with a bad leg," he admitted, his shoulders dropping slightly. "He's bleeding out in the gym."
"Then we make a deal," I said. "Our nurse, Neveah, will patch up your man and show you what to take. In exchange, we split the supplies 50/50. You get your friend back, and we both walk away with full bags. If we fight, we both lose people, and the noise will bring every zombie on the quad right to this lobby."
The leader looked at the heavy glass door, then at my team. He saw Nicholas's bat and Grayson's terrifying floor buffer. He realized that a fight would be messy.
He lowered his fire axe. "Fine. 50/50. But your nurse works fast."
[NEGOTIATION SUCCESSFUL]
[EXP GAINED: VIVIENNE ROMANOV]
[LEVEL UP: LEVEL 2 BEHAVIORAL ANALYST]
"Neveah, you're up," I said, exhaling a breath I didn't know I was holding.
Current Rank: #42 (The Alumni moved up by playing it smart!)
I gestured for Neveah to step forward. She moved with a professional focus, quickly assessing the man with the leg wound while the "Security" team watched us like hawks. While she worked, I kept my eyes on the air in front of me.
The golden window was still active, and the numbers were shifting in real-time.
[REGIONAL RANKING UPDATED]
[RANK #42: THE ALUMNI]
[RANK #12: THE IRON JUNKYARD]
I looked at the group of men. That must be them—The Iron Junkyard. The name fit. They were all muscles and aggression, a classic "Alpha" group dynamic. My psychology training warned me: groups like this were stable only as long as they were winning. The moment things got desperate, they'd turn on each other—or us.
"We're done here," Neveah said, standing up and wiping her hands on a sterile wipe. She had split the antibiotics and bandages into two piles.
The leader of the Junkyard looked at the supplies, then at me. "You guys are smart. We could use that. Why don't you join up with us? We've got the gym fortified. We've got plenty of 'meat' to keep the doors held."
I looked at Nicholas, who was gripping his bat, and Grayson, who was still hovering near the power switch of his buffer. They didn't look comfortable.
"Thanks for the offer," I said, my voice polite but firm. "But we have our own objectives. Too many people in one spot makes for a loud target. We'll take our half and head toward the Science labs."
The leader shrugged, his eyes cold. "Suit yourself, Professor. Don't get eaten."
We gathered our bags and backed away toward the hallway leading to the labs, never turning our backs on them until we were behind a set of double doors.
"That was tense," Nicholas breathed, finally letting his shoulders drop. "Those guys were huge. Why didn't we join them? Rank twelve seems a lot safer than forty-two."
"It's a trap, Nick," I explained, checking the weight of my reinforced thesis. "In a group that size, with that much testosterone and no clear hierarchy, the weakest members get sacrificed first. We're a balanced team. We don't need 'meat'—we need mobility."
I looked at my own stats as the Level 2 notification finally settled.
Vivienne Romanov: Level 2 Behavioral Analyst
New Passive Skill [Pattern Recognition]: Vivienne can now see the "Level" and "Health Bar" of human survivors, not just monsters.
Skill Upgrade [Cognitive Reframing]: Range increased. Can now affect up to 3 people at once.
"We moved up six spots just by talking our way out of a fight," I pointed out. "The System isn't just ranking kills. It's ranking survival efficiency."
"So, what's the next move, Professor?" Grayson asked, a smirk playing on his face.
I looked down the long, sterile hallway of the Science Wing. The lights were humming, and I could hear the distant sound of glass breaking.
"We find a place to barricade and sort these meds," I said. "And then, we find out why those portals opened in the first place."