Make Them Get Out of the Way

After the voice disappeared, the classroom was quiet for about three seconds. Then it erupted.

"No more disguises?"

"What does it mean, entering killing mode?"

"Where the hell are they hiding?"

"More than the number of survivors. Two of us died, so there are thirty-four of us left, and there are six Facelings. No, no, if there are more Facelings than survivors, that means..."

"Twenty-two." Jiang Yu'an's voice rang out coldly. "If twenty-two more people die, we're all dead."

"What are you scared of? There are still twenty-two people who can die! It won't be my turn anyway!"

"How do you know you won't be the next one to die?"

"I..."

Lin Yang watched it all without speaking.

He suddenly changed his mind.

The broadcast announcement wasn't just an empty threat.

If he let these people keep dying, he wouldn't escape even if he hid in the storage room and scraped by until the end.

He had seen Zhang Lei's corpse. The wound on his neck hadn't been made by a blade. It had been torn open.

What could tear a person's neck open right under so many people's noses? He didn't know, but he was sure of one thing: it wasn't something one person, or even six people, could deal with!

So, while there were still plenty of people left, he had no choice but to keep them alive.

There was strength in numbers. At least for now, that held true.

Lin Yang looked up, sweeping his gaze over every face in the classroom. There was something in their eyes. It was called expectation.

He had just stopped the fat man from killing someone, giving these people a sliver of order amid the chaos.

Now that sliver of order had turned into dependence, into a collective subconscious belief that "he might have a way."

"Hurry up and think of something!"

"What can he do? He's not a seer, and he's not a god! You'd be better off listening to me than counting on him!"

"Are you as smart as he is?"

"Why wouldn't I be? Everyone, listen to me!"

"Listen to my ass!..."

Everyone was talking at once. Lin Yang's voice exploded through the crowd.

"Enough!"

Everyone stopped their commotion and looked over at them.

"I have a way to keep you alive!"

He spoke in a serious voice, and the classroom fell silent in an instant.

Everyone turned toward him in unison.

"But," Lin Yang said, taking a step forward, "I have one condition."

The fat man was the first to speak. "What condition?"

"Starting today, every one of you has to listen to me!"

There was silence for about a second.

Someone immediately blurted out, "Why should we listen to you? You're not a seer! How can you guarantee you'll keep us alive?"

The speaker was a tall, skinny man who had taken over his storage room. He wore glasses and looked awful; it was hard to tell whether it was from hunger or anger.

Before Lin Yang could speak, the fat man stood up.

He had been sitting on a desk, so when he stood, he towered over everyone, the flesh on his belly jiggling twice.

He reached out and pointed a short, thick finger straight at the tall, skinny man's face.

"Fuck you! He's the smart one here. If we don't listen to him, should we listen to you?"

After Lin Yang had beaten him up earlier, the fat man had accepted it.

The fat man's voice was loud and coarse, making a girl beside him shrink back.

Someone else wanted to argue, but Lin Yang settled them with one sentence. "If I can't save you, I'll die!"

Those words were like a pillar holding the seas in place! They struck a chord with many people.

If he couldn't save them, he'd die? Was this guy crazy?

If the fat man had still had doubts, those words put him completely at ease. Right now, Lin Yang was the only ray of hope in their despair.

The fat man immediately picked up where he left off.

"I believe him! I'm fucking starving to death! If anyone else dares to keep running their mouth, I'll beat them to death!"

The tall, skinny man went pale. His lips moved a couple of times, but he didn't dare make another sound. A few people beside him also shrank back involuntarily.

Lin Yang continued.

"You can choose to believe me or not. Those who will listen to me, raise your hands."

He paused and swept his gaze over every face. Then he added another sentence.

"Of course, if someone doesn't listen to me, even if that person dies, it has nothing to do with me."

He said it softly, but the words landed like a hammer on everyone's nerve endings. He was drawing a clear line.

The silence lasted about five seconds.

Then, hands began to rise.

The fat man raised his hand first. He was the quickest, as though he were pledging his loyalty, but even more like he was desperately trying to grab hold of something.

Yesterday, he had nearly become the target of everyone's anger. Today, he was taking sides to clear his name.

Then came Chen Yu and Jiang Yu'an, as well as the young man.

After that, more people raised their hands. Some hesitated for a while, looking around and seeing that the people beside them had raised theirs before following suit.

Others only raised their hands reluctantly after the people beside them nudged them.

But some still didn't raise their hands, such as the skinny man and the muscular man in the storage room.

They weren't about to submit to anyone!

In the crowd, the girl with the ponytail suddenly spoke up, her voice carrying a note of ill-timed caution.

"Will you make girls sleep with you?"

The classroom fell silent for a second.

Lin Yang's eyelid twitched. He looked at the girl expressionlessly. "No."

The girl blinked, a faint blush spreading across her face. A ripple of quiet laughter came from those around her.

It was one of the few peaceful moments in the classroom.

Lin Yang waited until the laughter had completely died down before clearing his throat.

"All right," he said. "Since everyone agrees, the first thing is..."

He pointed forcefully at the storage room. "Make them get the hell out. Get them out of the way."