A female student had just been shot in the head by Liu Yang right before her eyes.
Even though the girl had begged for it herself.
Even though Zhao Yuting knew in her heart that this was giving the girl a swift, merciful end.
She still couldn't accept watching a student die in utter despair right in front of her.
"Those people are monsters! They aren't human! Sob sob!" Zhao Yuting wept and cursed.
She never imagined those students could commit such horrific, inhuman atrocities. They were far worse than the zombies!
Liu Yang offered a cold warning:
"So, Teacher Zhao, you need to understand that in the apocalypse, everyone's former identity is a thing of the past. Teachers are no longer teachers, and students are no longer students. Everyone has only one identity left: survivor.
"And with no authority left to constrain them, survivors will do things beyond your worst nightmares. If you had run into anyone else today instead of me, your fate would have been no different from that girl's.
"So, protect yourself. Put away your bleeding-heart sympathy, or you'll drag yourself straight into hell."
"Sob sob! They deserved to die! They deserved to die ten thousand times over!" Zhao Yuting sobbed.
"Let's go. There's no time to waste here. I have work to do," Liu Yang said, stepping straight out of the sports equipment room.
Though heartbroken, Zhao Yuting obediently trailed behind him.
Only after surviving this nightmare did she truly grasp how dangerous the apocalypse was-not just because of the zombies, but because of humanity.
At first, she had naive ideas about everyone being classmates. When Liu Yang said the male athletes would kill him if he didn't kill them first, she hadn't believed him.
But seeing the gory horror inside the equipment room shattered her denial completely.
If Liu Yang hadn't eliminated those athletes, they would have slaughtered him and captured her. Her fate would have been even more miserable than that girl's!
She had finally seen the brutal reality of this world.
Surviving here was going to be brutally hard.
And right now, Liu Yang was her only anchor.
...
Soon, the two arrived outside the dormitory complex.
"What are you planning to do next?" Zhao Yuting asked, her curiosity piqued.
"There are tens of thousands of zombies trapped in these dorms. I'm going to burn all ten buildings to the ground," Liu Yang said flatly.
"Ah!" Zhao Yuting gasped in shock. "But there might still be surviving students in there! If you burn the buildings down, won't you burn them alive too?"
Liu Yang replied calmly:
"Whether it's the boys' or girls' dorms, most rooms house four to six people. The rate of turn was roughly seventy percent, meaning at least half the occupants in every room became zombies instantly. Do you really think anyone left alive could survive that?
"Even if someone did, it's not my concern. You've seen how cruel this world is now. If I don't burn these tens of thousands of zombies before they evolve intelligence, even more survivors will die by their hands later."
"But..." Zhao Yuting started to protest, but the gory horror of the equipment room flashed in her mind, and she shut her mouth.
Even if there were survivors, so what? What if they were just like those athletes, torturing their own kind for survival?
She forced herself to bury her lingering pity.
Meanwhile, Liu Yang stepped up to the entrance of the first dormitory.
The zombies inside caught his scent and went wild, hurling themselves against the heavy doors.
Liu Yang pulled containers of gasoline out from his Dark Space and began dousing the hordes through the entryway.
Then, he struck a flame.
Raging fire instantly engulfed the zombies, yet feeling no pain, they continued bashing against the doors while enveloped in flames.
They stood entirely indifferent as the inferno consumed their flesh.
Leaving them to burn, Liu Yang moved on to the next building, dousing it in fuel and setting it ablaze.
Before long, all ten dormitory buildings were engulfed in roaring infernos.
Satisfied with the towering flames, Liu Yang turned to Zhao Yuting.
"Let's go. These dorms are huge, so they'll probably burn for a full day and night. It's time we head back to a safe place."
"A safe place? Where? Is there even such a thing in the apocalypse?" Zhao Yuting asked, caught off guard.
After witnessing the horrors in the equipment room, she questioned everything.
Was this still the world she knew?
In this ruined, broken landscape, could a truly safe place exist?
Where could weak survivors like them ever find refuge?
Liu Yang offered a calm, unwavering response: "Wherever I am, that's where it's safe."
With that, he grabbed Zhao Yuting's wrist and led her toward the villa district.
Zhao Yuting froze for a moment, stunned by his words and his absolute self-assurance.
How could he be so confident?
It was as if an overwhelming brilliance radiated from him, striking and unyielding.
In this dark apocalypse, he felt like a beacon guiding the way-blindingly bright and resolute.
In that fleeting instant, Zhao Yuting genuinely felt that Liu Yang was the most reliable, handsome, and remarkable man she had ever met.
He gave her an indescribable sense of security.
Liu Yang safely escorted Zhao Yuting back to the villa.
The operation was complete.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly without a single hitch.
He had successfully torched the university dormitories and brought Zhao Yuting home.
The moment Zhao Yuting stepped into the villa, He Yushi darted over. But when she caught sight of the woman's face, she gasped in disbelief. "Teacher... Teacher Zhao?!"
Zhao Yuting was her class's math teacher!
She never imagined she would see Teacher Zhao alive in the apocalypse. Overjoyed, He Yushi rushed forward and grabbed her hand.
"It really is you, Teacher Zhao! I'm so happy to see you! Liu Yang, where did you find her? As far as I knew, Teacher Zhao didn't live in this villa area!"
"I was hiding in the school infirmary when Liu Yang rescued me. Yushi, I had no idea you were here too! Sob sob... The apocalypse is so terrifying. I thought I'd never see any of my students again..." Zhao Yuting broke down in tears once more.
The nightmare in the sports equipment room remained seared into her memory.
She had been terrified that her own students might have met the same horrifying fate.
Just thinking about it made her sick to her stomach.
Seeing He Yushi standing alive, healthy, and energetic before her brought a surge of overwhelming relief and warmth to her heart.