Who Else?!

"Damn it! Damn it!! You son of a—!!"

Caw-caw-caw—!

Countless black crows were badly startled by the thunderous roar. They swarmed out of their nests and scattered in every direction like headless flies, as if they bitterly regretted that their parents hadn't given them another pair of wings.

Inside the villa, Otaku roared furiously, his voice nearly making the entire building tremble.

Ji Wen lowered her head in silence, her slender, pale hands clenched tight. Ripples of turbulent energy spread from her body, and the moisture in the surrounding air rapidly condensed into droplets. The drops trembled violently in midair. It was clear that Ji Wen was also struggling to suppress some powerful emotion.

Even Xiong Ba, who looked rough and cruel but was actually the mildest-tempered of the trio, slammed a fist into the ground. With a crack, his savage strength left a huge crater, cracks radiating outward like a spiderweb.

"If I find out who did this... believe me, I'll make him savor the Evil Spirit Curse. I'll make sure he never forgets it for the rest of his life!" Otaku ground out through clenched teeth.

Xiong Ba suppressed the pent-up fury in his heart and said, "Put the rest aside for now. It's already happened. There's no point in getting worked up over it! Don't forget, this was their Entrance Exam in the first place... so even if they fail, I don't think Senior Chong Ming will blame us too much. The most urgent thing is to contact them immediately. Those idiots have rocks for brains if they chose 'Continue Mission'!"

Ji Wen let out a heavy breath. "That's right! A first-year C-rank mission—this is practically as difficult as last semester's final exam. Even we couldn't breeze through a scenario like this. We might even end up dead! We've only just made it to our second year, after all, and there are only three of us!"

Xiong Ba nodded. "Who's going to do it?"

He meant: who would notify the rookie students?

"I'd like nothing more than to kill them!" Otaku gritted out.

Ji Wen said, "You do it, Xiong Ba."

"Fine!"

Xiong Ba seemed to have gotten his temper under control. Looking at the other two, he said, "You two really ought to act a little more like upperclassmen and upperclasswomen! What's the big deal? The worst thing you can do in college is obsess over what might have been... forget it..." Seeing that neither of them was listening, Xiong Ba decided not to waste his breath. He shrugged and closed his eyes...

"Notice: New student Teaching Assistant Xiong Ba has used the 'Whistle' skill."

"Notice: New student Teaching Assistant Xiong Ba, you may now speak. Your words will be transmitted to every surviving new student."

**************************

At the same time that the Teaching Assistant Trio received the Headmaster's notice, all the "Rookie Students" who had survived so far received the same notification.

"Waaah!... The nightmare is finally over. I want to go home..."

"All right, Sixth Sister. It's all over now. Let's choose 'End Immediately'..."

"Exactly, Big Sister's right! We can leave this godforsaken place any second now. It stinks, and it's crawling with disgusting zombies. I don't want to stay another minute!"

"But, Big Sis, if we go back like this... we don't have many Study Points. We can't exchange them for anything. I still want to get the Night Elf Bloodline... I'm still short a lot of Study Points."

"Second Sister, maybe... maybe we shouldn't. It's really..."

"Forget it. Let's just leave right away. If you really want the Night Elf Bloodline, Second Sister, we can pool our points. We should have enough. The reward for the mission we just completed wasn't much, but it ought to be sufficient..."

"Yeah, Second Sister, let's do what Big Sister says. I really don't want to stay here any longer."

"Big Sis, you're the best! Come here, give me a kiss... Mwah!"

"Get lost!"

It seemed the six girls who'd survived had started calling one another sisters, and they appeared to get along quite well...

"What's going on?! Why would the Headmaster suddenly send out a notice like this? I haven't killed enough zombies yet! I'm not going back..."

"Are you stupid? Look at the mission below—C-rank difficulty! Then look at the rewards. Every single one is over a thousand! You think the Headmaster's going to hand out that many points for nothing? You want to die? Fine, but don't drag us down with you."

"Who are you calling a coward? If you're scared of dying, go back. I'm not leaving!"

"Bam! You dare call me a coward? You'll get everyone killed, you moron!"

"Fine, you hit me? I'll shoot you dead!"

"If you're a real man, fight me with your fists. What kind of skill is it to use a gun?"

"Disgusting! You're not a woman, so why would I shoot you? Bah! You want a fight? Bring it on! I'll knock you flat with my fists, too!"

"Let's see who knocks who flat! Take this!"

The two boys immediately started wrestling... Apparently, this was how men settled their problems!

"Damn it! Why's the Headmaster barging in now? I'm in the middle of having a blast! These zombies are sitting ducks. Even though we've never used guns before, we're still pretty damn good with them. Hey, Bull, how many have you killed?"

"Dead Bamboo Pole, why should I tell you first? You tell me—how many have you killed?"

"Thirty-five, ten headshots!"

"Haha, I win! I win! Norman's mine!"

"Why? Tell me, how many have you killed?"

"I killed thirty-six, eleven headshots. You damn Dead Bamboo Pole, you think you can beat me at shooting? Dream on! Ha ha..."

"Hmph! Who says you've won? The competition isn't over yet!"

"What, you trying to weasel out of it?"

"Bullshit! Weasel out of it? I, Zhang Yaozong, may be a rich brat, but I'm a rich brat with a sense of fairness! You think I'm like you, big and burly, with strong limbs and a tiny brain? What? Unless you're scared and want to choose 'Withdraw Immediately'? In that case, I've got nothing to say."

"Bullshit!! Only your grandson would choose 'Withdraw Immediately'! Let's keep going!"

"Bring it on. You think I'm scared?"

And just like that, the two of them chose "Continue Mission"...

These rivals of his really never let up...

Still, if they knew that in ten minutes a strategic nuclear weapon with a 5,000-ton yield would land here, surely even they wouldn't choose "Continue Mission," no matter how many rocks they had for brains. That would be no different from asking to die!

"Waaah! Get away! Get away! Somebody... somebody save... save me! I don't want to die!!"

Right in front of this student was a hideous, horrifying Zombie Dog, its flesh mangled and its intestines dragging along the ground. It was an extremely troublesome mutant creature—faster and more agile than ordinary zombies, with a keen sense of smell and a powerful bite. Almost nothing it set its sights on escaped its jaws... Er, although its intestines were trailing on the ground, that didn't seem to affect its appetite for fresh meat at all. It was like the eunuchs "Little Chun" and "Little Stool" around the emperor, who still went looking for the palace maids.

It didn't seem worried that its prey would escape. Its rotting, pus-covered head dripped with blood as it swayed, and its four legs ambled forward at a leisurely pace, as if it were out for a stroll.

Bang!

Thud!

The student seemed to have bumped into something, and then something slammed hard into his head. He screamed in fright. Once he got a good look, he realized it was a trash can lid.

He turned around and saw a trash can full of garbage.

The boy's eyes suddenly lit up. Somehow, a burst of courage welled up inside him. He hurled the trash can lid at the Zombie Dog, then emptied the can with a frantic yell, clapped it over his head, and curled up inside.

As soon as he received the Headmaster's notice, a hysterical shout came from inside the trash can. "I want out... I want out of here! Hurry, hurry!!"

When the Zombie Dog slammed hard into the can, the boy's shouting grew even more muffled...

Li Shuangmu and Wang Ning, along with Zeng Fei and Qian Qianqian, who had just been woken up, also received the Headmaster's "notice."

"Um... why did things suddenly change like this? Li Shuangmu, Wang Ning, what do you think we should choose?" Zeng Fei patted his still-aching head, seemingly reluctant to think too hard.

Li Shuangmu glanced at Wang Ning and said, "If it were up to me, I'd choose 'Withdraw Immediately.' The reason's simple: staying here is practically asking to die! It's obvious the Headmaster doesn't want us to stay. But the mission time isn't up yet, so he gave us a choice... What I can't figure out is what kind of 'unexpected event' could have made the Headmaster suddenly change the mission's difficulty..."

When he saw Li Shuangmu glance his way, Wang Ning shrugged. "Who knows? Everything about us is in the hands of that mysterious 'Headmaster.' He can do whatever he wants. We can only obediently take it, can't we? But since you're choosing 'Withdraw,' there's no point in me staying either. Anyway... I've made out well. Heh."

Zeng Fei looked at Wang Ning curiously. He had the feeling Wang Ning seemed a little different, but didn't think much of it. "Then I'll choose 'Withdraw Immediately' too. I didn't earn much, but it should be enough. I just wonder how Yin Kuang's doing..."

Wang Ning smiled. "Don't worry. That kid's lucky; he'll definitely escape the zombies. Maybe he's already chosen 'Withdraw Immediately' and gone back!"

Zeng Fei thought that made sense. "Let's hope so..."

There was no need to ask Qian Qianqian. The girl had always seemed gentle and timid, with very little initiative. It looked as though she would follow Li Shuangmu wherever she went.

Almost at the same time, Xiong Ba's deep, slightly angry voice rang out in everyone's minds!

Teaching Assistant exclusive skill: Whistle

Effect: Transmits the Teaching Assistant's words into every student's mind in the form of mental waves.

"You bunch of idiots! Look at the mess you've made! A pack of fools who think they're invincible! I'm warning you: every one of you had better choose 'Withdraw Immediately'! If anyone makes the wrong choice, I'll make sure you pay for it when you get back!!"

What!?

The moment Xiong Ba's voice rang out, everyone froze.

Those who had chosen "Withdraw Immediately" breathed a huge sigh of relief. But those fools who had chosen "Continue Mission" were drenched in cold sweat...

Then the Headmaster's androgynous voice rang in everyone's ears again!

"Notice: Raccoon City will be subjected to a nuclear strike in five minutes! All survivors of Class 04 of Season 12 must make a choice immediately!"

"Notice: Class 04 of Season 12 currently has 16 survivors. 15 have made their choice; 1 has not. Please make your choice immediately!"

A... a nuclear strike!?

There's still one left?!

Who is it!!??