Chanting

"What about casualties?"

At the mention of an immediate cleanup, Xu Ye glanced at the students around him. Counting this year's seniors, teachers, support staff, and everyone else, there were still at least a thousand people at school.

Once they took action, those people would likely be caught up in it. A thousand deaths would undoubtedly be a tremendous disaster.

"There's only one way. Our staff will escort the unaffected people out and make proper arrangements for them."

Li Yunyao furrowed her pretty, willow-leaf brows. "As for the rest, there's nothing else we can do. We'll save whoever we can. Besides, we don't know how many of the contaminated people here have become Aberrants."

"This is actually a relatively manageable case. The contamination spreads in a single way and targets a specific group, which has prevented widespread contamination. Screening for these Aberrants is also fairly easy. They aren't very intelligent. If we check them one by one at close range with our equipment, we won't miss any energy fluctuations."

"Based on the energy of the Aberrants that appeared earlier, the Pollution Source should have around 100 units of energy, putting it right around the completion of its first aberration."

Soon, the school's loudspeakers came on.

"Students, please assemble on the sports field immediately for an impromptu flag-raising ceremony."

Although the students were puzzled by the timing, most still walked out, grumbling.

Only the contaminated students remained in their classrooms as if they had heard nothing, their bloodshot eyes fixed on their textbooks.

"There are about a hundred people left. Judging by their backgrounds, all of them come from the bottom of society." Using facial recognition, Li Yunyao quickly retrieved information on all of them.

Lu Mingwang followed He Li as she checked the classrooms one by one. Their faces were twisted, as though they were possessed. The more severe cases kept tugging at their hair, ripping it out with chunks of scalp.

Bright blood ran over their foreheads, down the sides of their noses, past their mouths and chins, before dripping onto their textbooks.

But they felt no pain.

Some had even defecated and urinated where they sat, leaving a foul smell drifting through the air.

Most were sallow and thin, dressed in patched clothes. Their families had spent nearly all their money on their education, but they simply weren't cut out for studying.

Xu Ye stood at the classroom's back door, watching Wang Yong in his seat.

Wang Yong kept his head lowered. From the very beginning, his pen had been scrawling frantically across the test paper, leaving chaotic doodles and disordered strokes as his body trembled slightly.

There was no telling what he was thinking or what he was writing.

"Xu Ye, I told you there was something wrong with this guy, but you wouldn't believe me! Hurry up and kill him!" Alice waved her little fists.

"Why didn't my test pick it up earlier?" Xu Ye rolled his eyes, feeling puzzled.

Aberrants were emotionally unstable, and stimulation could easily trigger fluctuations in their energy.

"Maybe he's good at hiding it? Look, he said bad people would definitely be punished, and then Zhang Xuliang died. You can know someone's face without knowing their heart. We Cat People are much better-we don't have any hidden agendas." Alice smiled proudly.

By then, Lu Mingwang and He Li had reached Xu Ye's side.

The two watched Wang Yong warily.

"There's another problem. If we provoke the Pollution Source, the contamination in mild cases could suddenly worsen. If that happens, these hundred people might become incurable," Xu Ye said quietly.

Before Li Yunyao could speak, Lu Mingwang timidly raised his hand.

"I have a way to handle that. We just need to calm these contaminated students down so they can briefly resist the stimulation from the Pollution Source."

Xu Ye gave him a puzzled look.

He Li smiled. "I forgot to tell you. Your fellow alumnus's Sequence Talent is 9-234 [Bard]."

Before Xu Ye could even think it over, Lu Mingwang's expression turned solemn and serene. With one hand behind his back and the other half raised before him, he stepped forward half a pace and began chanting a pastoral poem that soothed the heart.

"One day, in the twilight haze, we walked, after the rain..."

"Along the park wall, where the beautiful trees were dreaming..."

"We followed for a long, long time, as time slipped quietly away..."

"The hand of night was mending cracks in the old wall..."

"But in this pale hour, what troubled you..."

"What was trimming the black hands of that fence..."

"..."

"And the branches swayed, silent." ("The Pale Hour")

Under the influence of his second personality, the timid little boy, Lu Mingwang's voice had taken on a childlike quality, yet it suited the poem surprisingly well.

The youthful, peaceful voice nearly lulled Xu Ye to sleep. He focused a little and pinched himself, narrowly avoiding slumber.

His mind, however, had become much calmer.

What surprised Xu Ye was that He Li only paused briefly before recovering, even faster than he had.

Whew...

Was it because she had a special Taboo Object on her?

As Lu Mingwang recited, ripples spread outward in every direction. His voice seemed soft and low, yet it reached the entire floor.

This gave Xu Ye a new understanding of Sequence Talents.

Meanwhile, all the contaminated students swayed, their heads bobbing, before slowly slumping over their desks.

Snores rose one after another.

Except for Wang Yong, Xu Ye's deskmate, the chubby boy, and Zhao Qianqian.

Wang Yong still had his head lowered, hiding his expression.

But now, he cut his arm with a carving knife.

Blood trickled steadily out.

His whole body shook violently.

Meanwhile, the chubby boy and Zhao Qianqian stood up. The skin on their faces cracked apart in patches, and two large, pale legs sprouted from each of their waists and abdomens.

Their bodies slowly lowered to the floor, and they crawled like spiders.

"Aah!!"

Lu Mingwang cried out and immediately ducked behind Xu Ye.

Xu Ye knew this was the influence of his second personality.

Bang!

Bang!

He Li, beside them, acted decisively.

She fired two shots straight at the Aberrants. The instant they dodged, her curvaceous yet exceptionally agile figure shot into the classroom like a cheetah.

As she swung her hands, two fiery-red curved blades appeared.

The sharp blades swept across their backs, leaving two exceedingly fine lines of blood.

The next second, both Aberrants were sliced cleanly open. Blood sprayed everywhere, instantly staining the floor, desks, and chairs.

He Li never paused. Like a female secret agent, she gripped both blades, turned her body slightly sideways, and brought one down toward Wang Yong's neck.

Meanwhile.

Xu Ye frowned slightly.

He kept feeling that something was wrong.

When his heart began to writhe, his pupils abruptly contracted. This is bad! A tentacle tore through the air and swiftly wrapped around He Li's wrist.

"Wait, something's wrong!"

He Li was startled, unsure what was happening.

At that moment, Wang Yong, who had kept his head down all this time, suddenly looked up, revealing grotesquely exaggerated, distorted features as he picked up the carving knife.

A sudden change struck!