Chilami

"Don't go up there. That guy's been possessed by Chilami. Fists are useless. If you get bitten and injected with mutant cells, you're done for."

Su Ming warned Chen Tong.

"You two, stop arguing. That guy seems to have noticed us."

Minke spoke to Su Ming and Chen Tong in terror.

Su Ming and Chen Tong immediately warily turned toward the possessed Zhou Kang. His dark-red eyes were fixed intently on the two of them. Then his mouth split open, and black blood began to seep out drop by drop.

The next moment, Zhou Kang charged at the three of them.

Just then, a rough voice came from behind them.

"Move!"

Su Ming and the other two instinctively scattered.

They saw the burly dorm matron charging at Zhou Kang with a cleaver in hand.

"Don't go, Aunt Li!"

Su Ming immediately warned her.

Aunt Li completely ignored him. She closed in and viciously hacked Zhou Kang in the head. Half the cleaver sank into it—a normal person would have been killed instantly.

Unfortunately, Zhou Kang did not fall. Instead, he grabbed Aunt Li by the throat with both hands.

"Ugh—help, help me!"

Aunt Li's entire face had flushed red.

Seeing this, Su Ming and the other two were just about to risk rushing forward to save her.

At that moment, Zhou Kang opened his mouth and pressed it against Aunt Li's. Then clumps of disgusting black cellular matter gushed from Zhou Kang's mouth and burrowed into hers.

Su Ming and the other two immediately stopped.

Aunt Li, who had been struggling desperately, suddenly went limp. At the same time, her eyes began turning dark red, and the skin across her body blackened and bulged.

The student who had been bitten on the ground also staggered to his feet.

The three infected—Zhou Kang and the other two—simultaneously looked toward Su Ming and the others. The three of them instinctively backed away.

At that moment, screams rang out continuously from inside the dormitory. The area outside descended into chaos, and soon the entire Thirteenth District was filled with the piercing sound of alarms.

"Su Ming, I remember that these things are afraid of fire. Does anyone have a lighter?"

Minke asked nervously.

"What good is a lighter? We need to find a flamethrower. That's the only thing that'll work. This isn't the time to talk about it—run!"

Su Ming remembered that the school kept flamethrowers in reserve. After all, invasions by creatures like Chilami were not particularly rare. He grabbed Minke and Chen Tong and ran.

The possessed Zhou Kang and the other two frenziedly pursued them.

Su Ming glanced back once, then summoned every ounce of strength he had. His body erupted with unprecedented potential as he ran for his life.

Thirteenth District · Administrative Office Building.

Inside a clean, spacious office, a middle-aged man in a white shirt, black suit, and red bow tie sat behind a desk, reviewing a mountain of documents. His features were stern, and his gaze sharp.

A dozen or so administrative officials stood respectfully before him, waiting in silence.

Then he heard the alarms outside the window and stopped his pen.

Thump, thump—

Accompanied by a burst of hurried footsteps, the half-closed door was pushed open. A burly, heavily muscled man in black combat gear hurried inside.

"District Chief Xiao, something's happened!"

"Speak, Ye Wei."

"An invasion of Chilami larvae has broken out in the Thirteenth District."

Ye Wei reported breathlessly.

"They're only larvae. According to the emergency response protocols, just eliminate them. Was it necessary to come running here in such a panic?"

Xiao Lie looked at Ye Wei calmly.

After hearing Xiao Lie's words, Ye Wei hesitated. In the end, he gritted his teeth and continued reporting.

"Although this outbreak involves Chilami larvae, the numbers are enormous."

"What are you doing? Why did you only discover such a massive Chilami invasion now?"

A trace of anger appeared on Xiao Lie's composed face.

"The source of the outbreak was the Yuanda Waste Processing Plant in the lower district. The garbage there is piled as high as mountains, providing Chilami with cover."

Ye Wei immediately explained.

"What the hell was the waste plant doing? They failed to notice anything unusual and report it immediately. This is a serious dereliction of duty!"

The numerous officials in the office angrily criticized them.

In truth, out of fear of infiltration by the Mechanical Race, the entire Thirteenth District had not installed many surveillance devices, leaving numerous blind spots.

Moreover, since they could not rely on intelligent machines, patrols and security had to be handled by manpower.

Once manpower was involved, oversights were inevitable. In the past, they had always patched things up as problems arose, but this time the failure was far more serious than usual.

"That's enough. This isn't the time to assign blame. Mobilize the troops first and resolve this incident. We'll discuss the rest later."

Xiao Lie coldly interrupted the others' accusations.

"Yes."

The others hurriedly acknowledged his order.

Mient Junior Academy.

Su Ming and the other two stumbled out of the dormitory building, panting heavily.

"We finally made it out. We're saved!"

Minke said between breaths.

"That's not necessarily true."

Su Ming sighed and said with a deeply troubled expression.

Minke froze for a moment and looked around. He then realized that everything outside had descended into chaos.

Everywhere, people possessed and infected by Chilami were frantically chasing students who had not yet been infected.

"Help!"

"Don't be afraid!"

At that moment, security guards arrived one after another, carrying portable flamethrowers and spraying fire at the infected people.

"Ahh!"

The infected people instantly burst into blazing flames and let out agonized screams.

However, there were simply too many infected people. The number of security guards was limited, and they could not control the situation at all.

Looking down from the sky, one could see possessed rats crawling out from various drains and hidden corners throughout the campus.

Their scarlet eyes fixed on the fleeing students and the guards carrying flamethrowers. Then they darted toward them at incredible speed.

Qian Feng, who was directing his subordinates, noticed the approaching rats immediately. He quickly swung his flamethrower around and swept it across the incoming rodents.

"Everyone, watch out for the infected rats!"

The other security guards' hearts jolted when they heard this. They all raised their flamethrowers, turned around, and sprayed flames at the rats attacking from every direction.

Sizzle—

The searing flames swept past, setting the incoming rats ablaze one after another as waves of foul stench rose into the air.

But there were simply too many rats. Moreover, the parasitized rodents were extremely difficult to notice under the cover of night, and they moved even faster than the humanoid parasites.

Before long, one of the guards let his attention slip, allowing a possessed rat to leap onto him. He immediately cried out in terror.

"Help!"

"Old Sun, shake it off!"

Security Captain Qian Feng turned his head and immediately shouted.

Unfortunately, it was too late. The rat opened its mouth and bit Old Sun's arm. Black cells seeped from its mouth and entered his body through the wound.

"Ahh!"

Old Sun let out a scream of agony.

"Damn it!"

Seeing this, Qian Feng could only harden his heart, raise his flamethrower, and spray fire at his former comrade.