Five minutes earlier...
Class 3-2.
Unlike before, when the room had been empty save for the survivors huddled inside,
the classroom's layout had now changed in a strange and eerie way.
The desks and chairs, which had been scattered all over the place, had been put back in order by some unseen force, arranged into four neat rows of four, for a total of sixteen seats.
What sent a chill down everyone's spine, however, was that there were only thirteen sets of desks in the classroom.
The last three seats had chairs but no desks, as if they had been left for some invisible "classmates."
Only the seat by the window had a normal desk and chair.
The next second,
a swaggering figure ignored everyone's strange looks and strode straight over to that seat, plopping down into it.
He unbuttoned his black school uniform, revealing a solid chest, then crossed his long legs and propped them right on the desk.
His chair tilted back to a perfect halfway-reclined angle, swaying slightly with the shift of his weight.
Then he pulled a piece of Memo Paper from his pocket and covered his face with it.
He went to sleep.
That man was Jiangnan.
After being inexplicably teleported to the changing room and then following the Guide here,
he showed not the slightest awareness that he was a transfer student. He simply treated the place like his own Sleeping Palace.
At the podium,
Lu Shiyan held a cigarette between his fingers, his brows furrowed as he watched the man with Memo Paper over his face.
"This guy... sure is one of a kind."
That was right. The ones who had gone downstairs to meet them earlier were him and Yekaterina.
Only...
This guy named Jiangnan was absurdly high and mighty.
He hadn't said a word the entire time, leaving all communication to the bespectacled girl who worked for him.
He had the sort of air that said he was the only person who mattered. Even a girl would hand over her... well, you know.
"And he's so cold-blooded toward his subordinates, too?"
"He actually left one of them to wait for someone who'll never come."
Lu Shiyan thought back to the chubby kid left behind in the changing room.
That changing room was a trap along the only way through, and Wandering Corpses often appeared there.
Besides...
That Perception Type supernatural ability user would never make it there, either.
If anyone at the school broke a rule, everyone would be punished...
But the punishment was random, and whoever got picked would naturally...
"Ugh."
Lu Shiyan sighed and tapped the ash from his cigarette.
"Forget it. Maybe that guy's supernatural ability is strong in a fight. What's an old-timer like me got to worry about?"
With that thought, he looked at Liu Yuqing, seated in the middle of the first row, and asked tentatively,
"Hey, young lady."
"That partner of yours, Wang Meng—he's pretty strong, right? Otherwise, why would your boss dare to leave him there by himself?"
Liu Yuqing was wiping her glasses. At his words, she didn't even look up as she answered bluntly,
"No."
"He's just a little tougher than an ordinary person."
Lu Shiyan: "..."
"Not strong? Then why'd your boss leave him there? Isn't he afraid Wang Meng'll die?"
Lu Shiyan couldn't understand.
"My boss's orders are orders!"
Liu Yuqing replied coldly, sounding like a fanatical believer.
"..."
Lu Shiyan was at a loss for words.
She was obviously brushing him off.
So he put on a kindly smile, trying to appeal to her feelings.
"Come on, young lady. You don't have to be so hostile."
"I'm Huaxia, too. We're fellow countrymen."
"In a hellhole like this, we should be helping each other. I'm not a bad guy."
"Hmph!"
If he hadn't brought that up, it might've been fine. The moment he did, Liu Yuqing let out a cold laugh.
"When fellow countrymen meet, one shoots the other in the back!"
"In this apocalypse, who knows if someone like you, hanging around with Cherry Blossom Country people, is some kind of freak? Don't try to cozy up to me!"
As she spoke, Liu Yuqing raised her middle finger, giving him an internationally recognized friendly gesture.
"Get lost!"
Yu Shishi, sitting beside her, joined in, making a face.
"Bleh! Stinky Uncle! You can't fool us!"
"Our boss said you look like a real piece of work!"
"I..."
Lu Shiyan was so furious his scalp prickled, veins throbbing in his forehead.
If he could, he'd have turned into Jingfu right then and given those two clueless brats a round of "Intentional Bombardment Fist."
But... they did have a point.
He really had been trying to fish for information.
What really infuriated him, though, was this: just what about him made him look like a bad guy?
He was clearly a charming, elegant, weathered, handsome uncle with stories to tell, for crying out loud!
Looking for some validation, he turned to Yekaterina, seated in front of Jiangnan, and pointed at his face.
"Yekaterina, tell me honestly. Do I look like a bad guy?"
Yekaterina glanced at him and nodded solemnly.
"Lu, you need to know yourself."
"Your looks? In Su Country Prison, they'd lock you up without even bothering with a trial."
"..."
Lu Shiyan was utterly crushed.
He said nothing more, quietly turned away, and curled up in a corner of the podium, drawing circles.
Below the podium,
Liu Yuqing watched Lu Shiyan's defeated back, her eyes narrowing.
Though she'd been quick with the insults, she'd remained on her guard.
That uncle and the White-haired Woman were unfathomably strong.
Then she turned her gaze toward the other two people on the podium.
They were two women dressed in "teacher uniforms."
One was Chen Tong, clumsily trying to straighten her tie, dressed in a black, form-fitting skirt and looking terribly nervous.
The other had bandages wrapped around her thighs, a sharp, mean-looking face, and a cold, sinister gaze.
At that moment, a petite girl was crouched beside the sharp-featured woman.
Soft White Light glowed from her hands as she treated the gunshot wound in the woman's leg.
[Appraisal!]
Liu Yuqing pushed up her glasses, activating her skill.
[Name]: Kujo Ran
[Race]: Human
[Overall Physical Data]: F+ Rank
[Status]: Gravely Injured (Recovering...)
[Potential]: D Rank
[Supernatural Ability]:
Eagle Eye (C Rank): Grants extremely long-range dynamic vision and keen powers of observation.
[Name]: Hoshino Hikaru
[Race]: Human
[Overall Physical Data]: F- Rank
[Status]: Healthy
[Potential]: D Rank
[Supernatural Ability]:
Healing Light (B Rank): Can rapidly heal external injuries without consuming energy, and can even regrow severed limbs.
"Going by their names... two people from Cherry Blossom Country, and both have supernatural abilities."
Liu Yuqing rubbed her chin.
Then she thought back to the Humvee at the school gate, wrecked beyond repair, and the heavy weapons mounted on it.
"These two are probably military personnel from Cherry Blossom Country."
"That one called Kujo has a dangerous look in her eyes. I'll have to be especially careful from now on."
Analysis complete.
Liu Yuqing looked at Chen Tong on the podium, still struggling with her buttons.
Chen Tong had once been a foreign-language teacher, and she had a stunning figure.
But now, faced with so many eerie students and unknown dangers, she was clearly panicking. Her hands were trembling.
"Teacher Chen."
Liu Yuqing reassured her softly, "Don't be afraid. Our boss is down here keeping watch."
"Just pretend you're teaching a bunch of little radishes. If anyone acts up, the boss will beat them into shape."
At that, Chen Tong instinctively glanced at the sleeping figure in the back row. The panic in her heart eased at once.
Meanwhile,
Yekaterina, sitting in the second-to-last seat in the back row, turned around and stared at Jiangnan behind her.
This man...
How had he killed that "Hungry Ghost" so easily?
And how had he peeled the skin off an S-rank eerie and turned it into a car cover?
As a woman of the Warrior Race, she had a natural admiration for the strong, along with the desire to conquer them.
Her immense curiosity had made her deeply interested in Jiangnan.
"Hello."
Yekaterina spoke first.
"Let's get acquainted. My name is Yekaterina."
"I'm from Su Country."
"My mother is from Su Country, and my father is Huaxia."
"In other words... I'm half Huaxia."
She confidently tucked her white hair behind her ear, showing off her delicate profile.
However,
Jiangnan didn't even raise his head, let alone open his eyes.
He took the paper off his face and flicked it away, apparently without a care.
Smack.
A piece of Memo Paper landed flat on Yekaterina's high nose.
Yekaterina froze.
Annoyed, she pulled the paper off.
When she saw what was written on it, her eyebrows shot up, and fury filled her blue eyes.
Because it bore just one bold, powerful character.
[Get lost.]
"You..."
Yekaterina gritted her silver teeth.
She considered herself breathtakingly beautiful, even the universally acknowledged Ice Snow Goddess at the military academy in Su Country.
She had no idea how many suitors lined up just to say a single word to her.
And this man had actually told her to get lost?!
Little did she know...
In the Campus Belle's eyes, Jiangnan looked at her as if she were a joke.
Women?
Sorry, they'd only slow down how fast I could draw my blade.
Jiangnan had never had any particular requirements when it came to looks.
As long as she was average-looking, kindhearted, obedient, and not a self-righteous saint, that was good enough.
What?
You're asking why Chen Tong was so beautiful?
And had such an amazing figure?
That was an exception.
That was a privilege reserved for the boss.
That was because he, Jiangnan, had forgotten his roots.
Just then...
A male student from Cherry Blossom Country sat beside Yekaterina, across the aisle. His gaze was suddenly drawn to the view at the front of the classroom.
He licked his cracked lips, his eyes fixed on Chen Tong as she adjusted her stockings.
"Yoshi..."
The boy let out an extremely lewd cry of admiration.
His gaze roamed Chen Tong's body without the slightest restraint. He even reached out as if to make some obscene gesture.
However...
What he didn't know was...
That was the last sound he would ever make.
In the back row, by the window...
Jiangnan still had his eyes closed, the Memo Paper on his face rising and falling gently with his breaths.
But his right hand, resting on his thigh, slowly lifted.
He raised his thumb and extended his index finger.
He aimed the finger-gun gesture at the back of the boy's head.
Bang!
Jiangnan's lips moved slightly, silently forming a single word.
The next instant...
Splurt!!
It was like a watermelon smashed by a sledgehammer.
The head of the Cherry Blossom Country boy, still lost in lewd fantasies, exploded in an instant!
Red and white matter sprayed out, splattering all over the companion beside him.
The headless corpse swayed, then toppled beneath the desk with a thud.
The entire room fell silent.
Jiangnan gently blew on his finger, and a sheet of Memo Paper floated from his hand.
His lazy, cold Inner Voice rang out.
[You think you're worthy of looking at my woman?]
Before you continue