Chapter 6: Game
Yu Xian endured the dilemma of whether to report the Aberrant Parasties or not until the class bell rang, marking the end of the class.
After the teacher left, he walked out of the classroom. Standing by the corridor railing, he absentmindedly gazed into the distance.
A cool breeze swept past. He closed his eyes, but before he could take in the fresh air, the foul stench flashed by again, and the momentary ease in his heart was instantly replaced by heaviness.
He was afraid of death, especially the kind his father had suffered: a slow and painful wait for the end. It was precisely because he had personally taken care of everything for his father that he understood the agony and despair of being unable to move, of needing machines even to breathe and swallow.
To be devoured until only the brain remains...
Yu Xian knew that this was undoubtedly a fate worse than his father's, and because he understood, he could empathize.
Yu Xian took a deep breath. He had made up his mind. I'll report them to the authorities.
Although he was no longer a human, he could not abandon his humanity. A man had to know what he should or shouldn't do. Even if ten thousand stood against him, he still had to press forward!
If his identity were exposed because of this, the worst-case scenario would be that he had to flee deep into the wilderness, only returning to human society once he had become invincible. He refused to believe that vampires could find him in the wilderness. After all, he did not need blood or normal food. As long as the sun continued to rise, he feared no war of attrition.
With his mind made up, he walked toward the windows to Zhang Shou, who was bent over with his rear sticking out, chatting with Chen Ling.
"Zhang Shou, lend me your phone," he said.
"What happened to yours?" Zhang Shou asked as he pulled out his phone, unlocked it, and handed it over to his friend.
Yu Xian took out his own phone, which had a cracked screen, and helplessly said, "I dropped it. I don't even know if it can be repaired."
With Zhang Shou's phone in his hand, he returned to the corridor railing and dialed the Public Security Bureau. Feeling a bit tense, he immediately spoke as soon as the call was connected. "Hello, I have something to report."
—What would you like to report?
Yu Xian calmed his nerves. "I am calling to report that Aberrant Parasites have infiltrated Silver City. Many people have been infected, and the situation is extremely urgent. Please send—"
Before he could finish, a different voice, that of a high-pitched man, came from the other end.
—Oh dear, looks like we've been exposed.
Yu Xian's eyes widened instantly. His mouth hung open, yet no words came out. Even the sunlight falling on his body could not dispel the chill rising in his heart.
As if completely unbothered by their secret being exposed, the voice on the other end leisurely continued the conversation.
—Since we have been exposed, let's play a game. Thank you for your call. Try not to die, Little Brother."
Beep, beep, beep!
The call was disconnected. Yu Xian gritted his teeth and crushed the phone in his hand. "Bastard! Have the Aberrant Parasites already infiltrated the Public Security Bureau?"
Before he could think about his next move, a chemical plant in the distance erupted with blinding light. A split second later, a deafening roar accompanied by violent tremors surged from afar, shattering the school's windows.
The students erupted into panicked screams. Then, the ones who had been infected by the Aberrant Parasites expressionlessly rose from their seats. As if they had all received the same command, six crimson tentacles, each three meters long, burst forth from each of their backs. The other students, who had just recovered from their panic, widened their eyes in horror.
Zhang Shou, who had been in the middle of a conversation with Chen Ling when he caught sight of this, instantly vaulted through the window into the corridor. A tentacle lashed toward him at that instant. Before he could even react, it had already coiled around his neck. However, the next moment, a silver light flashed, and the tentacle was severed on the spot.
Condensing what little Silver Blood he had at his fingertips, Yu Xian shouted, "Get behind me!"
He charged toward the window and leaped into the air, flipping into the classroom. Mid-flip, he casually sliced through a tentacle coiled around Chen Ling's neck.
Still shaken and gasping for breath, Chen Ling muttered, "Thank you!"
Yu Xian shoved her behind him. "Stay with Zhang Shou. Don't stray too far from me."
He severed several more tentacles that were lunging toward them. Then, grabbing a chair, he swung it and slammed a charging Aberrant Parasite straight into the floor. He stomped down hard, crushing its head, and whirled the chair in rapid succession. Everywhere it swept, Aberrant Parasites were sent crashing to the floor.
To him, the chair was simply too light. Swinging it around took almost no effort. With his normal physical strength of one ton, if he had a suitable weapon, the Aberrant Parasites would pose no threat to him. Unfortunately, he didn't have any such weapon. After only a few strikes, the chair had already warped out of shape, utterly unfit for prolonged use.
Zhang Shou was also holding a chair for self-protection, and the sight of Yu Xian left him speechless. "Holy shit! Don't tell me Salted Fish ate a Forbidden Fruit?"
Chen Ling's eyes sparkled. "How come I never noticed before? Yu Xian is so handsome, so manly!"
After glancing at the two from the corner of his eye, Yu Xian irritably said, "Quit standing around and help the others!"
The Aberrant Parasites had caught some students off guard, knocking them to the ground. Whether they were dead or alive was still unknown.
Even more infuriating was Nora. Despite being a vampire, she was helplessly dangling in midair, a tentacle wrapped around her neck. Her legs, too long to be concealed even by her school uniform skirt, kicked around wildly.
At first, Yu Xian had suspected that Nora had transferred to his school to deal with him. But seeing her pathetic display, he instantly dismissed all his concerns. With a performance like that, even an ordinary person could easily handle her.
Behind Yu Xian, a tentacle shot toward Zhang Shou. Zhang Shou raised the chair to block the attack, only for it to be ripped away instantly. Helpless, he shouted, "Salted Fish, save me!"
Yu Xian turned around, his brow furrowing. Clearly, the students in other classrooms had already been wiped out, and the Aberrant Parasites from the other classrooms were closing in on his class.
With doors at both the front and back, holding up in the classroom was out of the question. They had to make their way up to the rooftop, as there was only a single access point up there. If they secured that choke point, they could wait for reinforcements from the official authorities.
Yu Xian hurled the chair in his hand, instantly knocking the Aberrant Parasite that had just snatched Zhang Shou's chair to the floor. Then, he leaped over two desks, picked up a chair, and smashed it into the head of the Aberrant Parasite that was strangling Nora.
He shouted, "Retreat! To the rooftop!"
Hoisting the fallen Nora onto his shoulder, he rushed out of the classroom, with the surviving students following closely behind. They broke through in a straight, violent rush. Any Aberrant Parasites standing in their way were either sent flying or instantly killed by his brutal punches.
Luckily, the academic building was only six stories high, and Class 3 of Grade 12 was located on the fifth floor. Therefore, it took them less than a minute to make it to the rooftop.
At the rooftop, Yu Xian set Nora down and pushed her toward Chen Ling. He turned around to guard the entrance, kicking the Aberrant Parasites tailing behind down the stairs before closing the door.
Finally getting some respite, he leaned his back against the door and absorbed sunlight to recover his stamina. The other students were also panting heavily, bent over with their hands on their knees, drenched in sweat.
After a brief rest, Zhang Shou couldn't help but ask, "Salted Fish, what's going on? Why are there so many Aberrant Parasites in our school?"
A student panicked. "No way! The Aberrant Parasites from Hibiscus City have made their way to our school?"
Chen Ling snorted. "What do you mean by 'no way'? The reality is staring us right in the face. What we fought just now were Aberrant Parasites. The real question is what are they trying to do?"
She turned to Yu Xian, hoping to get an answer from him.
Yu Xian sighed and shook his head. "I don't know."
He truly had no idea what the Aberrant Parasites' objective was. Worse, the mysterious man on the other side of the call had cast a massive shadow over him. Anyone who could command a swarm of Aberrant Parasites with a single sentence was a dangerous entity he absolutely could not afford to provoke.
After catching his breath, he said, "It's not safe here. Once they take control of the entire school, they will definitely launch a full-scale assault on the rooftop. I can't hold them off alone. Check around and see if there's anything we can use."
The Aberrant Parasites were not zombies. The students couldn't avoid them just by staying quiet and hiding.
"What if we rip down the wire mesh and wrap it around the door?" Zhang Shou suggested.
A wire mesh fence lined the edge of the rooftop of the academic building. With Yu Xian's monstrous strength, ripping it down was possible.
At that moment, Nora weakly spoke up. "Um... It's 4:30 PM right now. It's only two and a half hours away from nightfall. If we can just hold off until then, my guardian, Roche, will definitely rush over. We'll be saved then."
Nora felt completely useless. She had come to this school to assassinate Yu Xian, yet she had been saved by him. The reason she had stayed silent until now wasn't shyness but shame.
Nora wasn't weak. She even had Blood Flame as her trump card. Yet when she was under attack, she had frozen up like a dazed goose again.
It was far too embarrassing.