Chapter 39: I’m a Vibe of Delicate Weakness (8)
The system thought Jiang Zhiyan was truly cunning. This move was like killing three birds with one stone: gaining everyone’s favor, capturing Si Xu’s heart, and having a delicious, satisfying meal.
After eating, Jiang Zhiyan swayed back to Si Xu and leaned against her, startling both Si Xu and the others.
“Are you uncomfortable?” Si Xu asked anxiously, putting her arm around Jiang Zhiyan’s shoulder.
“Yes.” Jiang Zhiyan nodded. “I ate too much, my stomach is uncomfortable.”
Jiang Zhiyan took Si Xu’s hand and placed it on her stomach, yawning: “And I’m sleepy.”
Si Xu breathed a sigh of relief and massaged Jiang Zhiyan’s stomach.
For the next three days, Jiang Zhiyan and the other representative from the ordinary people kept eating the alien meat, trying various cooking methods. Apart from eating too much and getting bloated, they didn’t experience any other problems.
Because she was relatively free, Jiang Zhiyan even wrote a paper. It introduced which parts of E1 were the most delicious and suitable for different cooking methods, and compared it with other types of meat.
“What a demon, writing a paper even during the apocalypse. Thinking of my half-finished paper, I don’t even know if my advisor is still alive.”
Some people in the auditorium exchanged glances and fell silent.
They didn’t have much time to observe the two. The extra meat, after their first meal, was processed into jerky, and soon the exercise equipment next to the sports field was covered with rows of drying meat.
The longer the aliens were gone, the less time they spent outside the auditorium. Although no one said it out loud, everyone had a strong feeling that the aliens would return soon.
There were now 167 people in the auditorium, 39 of whom were evolved humans. More people, but not many more evolved humans. The groups were reassigned, and Si Xu’s team was starting to take shape. The eight people in their vanguard team were all evolved humans.
Six working vehicles were parked in the underground parking lot, and two more were outside the auditorium, loaded with supplies, prepared for escape. However, even with eight vehicles filled to capacity, they could only take about forty people. Some would definitely be left behind.
However, they didn’t know if the cars could outrun the second batch of aliens. Leaving might not be a good thing, staying might not be a bad thing.
They hadn’t been so anxious while busy at the school, but now, idle, their hearts pounded. Waiting for the aliens was more nerve-wracking than seeing them wandering around outside.
To keep everyone occupied, Qian Rongrong initiated the First A University Apocalypse Dawn of Tomorrow Dou Dizhu Tournament, the prize being a precious and complete bar of chocolate.
Jiang Zhiyan didn’t participate. She leaned lazily against Si Xu.
“It’s the middle of summer, and you’re still clinging to each other, aren’t you hot?” Qian Rongrong, passing by, said pointedly.
Jiang Zhiyan stared at Qian Rongrong for a moment, then shouted at the person powering the central air conditioner in the distance: “Senior Qian thinks it’s too hot! Is the AC broken?”
“No!” The emotionless power generator shouted back, their feelings complicated.
At first, they thought their electricity was the “smash aliens with lightning bolts” type of electricity and were worried they wouldn’t have a chance to use their abilities. In the end, they realized their electricity was the “power station” type, the “portable charger” type. There was no shortage of work for them. The air conditioner needed electricity, the refrigerator needed electricity, a bunch of phones were waiting to be charged, and occasionally they had to power the lab. Everyone needed them. Although they didn’t know what the signs of leveling up were, they could clearly feel themselves rapidly improving.
The Dou Dizhu tournament was in full swing, explosions (a move in the game) sounding left and right.
Jiang Zhiyan calculated the date, the time was almost here, tomorrow. Looking at the cheerful people in front of her, she wondered how many would still be alive tomorrow.
Early the next morning, aliens fell from the sky like meteors, crashing into the ground, jolting everyone awake. Hearing the sound, everyone immediately returned to their assigned posts as they had practiced, staying quiet. Some wanted to cry but held back their tears.
The auditorium shook violently, as if there was an earthquake. Some aliens crashed onto the roof, and the top few floors probably collapsed. They could feel many things hitting the ceiling, the noise constant. Fortunately, Song Lingqing had been working overtime to reinforce the entire auditorium; otherwise, most people here would have been crushed to death.
The air conditioning stopped working, and all the curtains were drawn, plunging the auditorium into darkness. Hearts pounded in the stifling heat. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the noise above finally stopped.
“Oh no, we haven’t collected the jerky yet!”
“Who cares about that at a time like this, be quiet!”
They fell silent again, listening intently to the sounds around them.
A few minutes later, a rustling sound came from somewhere. The evolved humans with good hearing tried to locate the source, the sound filling them with unease.
“The ground! Watch out for the ground!” Si Xu was the first to react, but it was too late. The ground cracked open, and a monster, as large as the entire auditorium, emerged, the people hiding there screaming as they fell into the darkness.
Ordinary people couldn’t see it, but evolved humans could. It looked like a combination of a fly and a cockroach. The antennae on its head twitched slightly, severing the bodies of several students. Blood splattered on the people nearby, and everyone quickly retreated.
Many fell into the pit during the retreat. Some tried to rescue them, but it was too late. The moment someone fell, countless small insects swarmed up like a wave, swallowing them whole. They couldn’t even scream.
They couldn’t go to the underground parking lot, this thing crawled out from underground, who knew what was down there? As for outside…
The situation outside wasn’t any better. The first person who ran out was immediately killed by the aliens waiting at the entrance.
These aliens were clearly much more ferocious than the previous batch. Even without making any sound or moving, they would still be caught.
“Senior, don’t worry about me, I can protect myself.” Jiang Zhiyan said.
“Be careful.”
As she left, Si Xu looked back at Jiang Zhiyan several times. After confirming that Jiang Zhiyan was still being ignored by the aliens, she breathed a sigh of relief and went to save others.
The aliens lurking outside had slender, twisted bodies, over two meters tall. Jiang Zhiyan couldn’t tell if the things on the sides of their bodies were arms or legs. They looked like giant, upright centipedes, with eight eyes on their abdomens. Some of the more timid people fainted from fright.
“The weak spot is on the left side, below the second pair of eyes!” Xue Lin shouted. The bodyguard assigned to him carried him away at high speed, dodging several attacks with nimble movements.
“Sigh.” The system sighed. “This world’s plot is truly messed up. Newbies fighting level 50 monsters, and there’s even a level 80 boss that can summon minions, how are they supposed to fight this?”
“Heh.” Jiang Zhiyan sneered. “So, have they replied to you? Is the world consciousness behind this? The male lead should appear at this point, why isn’t he here yet?”
“No, this world’s consciousness isn’t awake. The male lead is on his way, he should arrive in about half an hour.”
“Half an hour, so slow, everyone’s going to be dead by then.” Jiang Zhiyan quickly located a few key people, stood in a blind spot, and started throwing hidden weapons. “But even if he comes, it probably won’t be of much use. Hopefully, he’s not coming here to die.”
To help Jiang Zhiyan find the key people quickly, the system marked them with small red dots. Small yellow dots marked other survivors, black dots were the monsters. The yellow dots were rapidly decreasing, while the black dots only decreased one every now and then. This was practically a one-sided massacre. Some people simply gave up on survival and sat on the ground, waiting for death.
Jiang Zhiyan could only protect a few people, she was realistic. Saving even one person was a win. For her, as long as Si Xu was fine, it was enough. She kept part of her attention on Si Xu, constantly watching her. Si Xu had improved a lot, actually exchanging blows with that ugly creature, her weapons were just not very good.
Jiang Zhiyan scanned her system inventory, picked a few decent items, and thought about how to get them to Si Xu naturally.
She glanced at the person being surrounded not far away, her fan flying out, a silver-black arc piercing through the hearts of six aliens. They collapsed, heavily injured. The person they had been attacking stared blankly at the sky, covered in their foul blood, then fainted.
Qian Rongrong kept running. She was terrified of insects, especially those with many legs. If it weren’t for her strong survival instinct keeping her conscious, she would probably have already fainted.
“If only I could fly.” She repeated this in her mind again and again.
As she ran, Qian Rongrong suddenly found herself slowly rising into the air. She discovered her arms had transformed into eagle wings. As she was momentarily stunned, her body suddenly plummeted. Seeing herself about to fall into the pile of insects, she desperately flapped her wings, trying to fly upwards. If anyone had noticed her at this moment, they would have seen her hands moving so fast they were a blur.
In times of crisis, people could always unlock hidden potential.
The two evolved humans who could generate electricity cooperated with two other evolved humans. Two of them controlled the water, the other two discharged electricity. Even if they couldn’t electrocute the insects directly, it still hindered their movements, although it might also injure their comrades.
The shield-bearer carried the healer, moving through the chaos. His shield had been broken several times, his face pale, his energy depleted. He was just barely holding on. The healer didn’t look well either, constantly healing her companions, the two protecting each other.
The smell of blood and decay permeated the entire school.
The survivors struggled to hold on, refusing to think about their most likely fate, hoping for a miracle.
Half an hour later, several vehicles entered the campus, heading straight for the auditorium.
Jiang Zhiyan breathed a sigh of relief, put away her fan, and moved closer to Si Xu. The male lead had arrived. Although he was just a background character, she still needed to be wary.
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