The group moved slowly along the maintenance path behind the science buildings. The night had deepened and the cold air made everyone more aware of the silence around them. After everything that had happened since morning, their bodies were tired, but none of them dared to relax.
Several students kept looking back toward the direction of the laboratory building.
That was where Josh had fought the strange infected creature earlier.
No one had forgotten it, how could they!
The memory of that fight stayed fresh in everyone's mind because the difference between that creature and the others they had seen before was obvious. It was stronger and faster, and it moved in a way that looked almost intelligent.
Yet Josh had managed to kill it.
That fact alone was enough to make people uneasy.
Mira stayed close to him as they walked. She had not spoken much since they left the lab, but she noticed the way some of the others were looking at Josh now.
Those looks were no longer simple curiosity.
They were carefully measuring and studying like a predator on a prey.
Somewhere ahead, Silar and two security officers were discussing their next move while they walked.
"We cannot go back toward the main buildings," one of the officers said. "That area is already filled with infected."
Silar nodded.
"The southern maintenance road leads toward the outer fence. There should be an emergency gate somewhere ahead."
"That gate might be locked."
"Then we will find a way to open it."
Their voices stayed controlled, but everyone could hear the tension inside them.
Behind them, the students were whispering among themselves.
Victor was one of the loudest.
He walked with two other large students who had joined him since they left the rooftop earlier.
Victor glanced at Josh again before speaking.
He spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.
"We need to talk about something."
The group slowed down.
Victor pointed toward Josh.
"That sword you used earlier. Where did it come from?"
The sudden question made several people look toward Josh.
Mira immediately felt uncomfortable.
Josh remained calm.
"It was something I found earlier during the chaos."
Victor crossed his arms.
"Found where?"
"In one of the equipment rooms."
Victor did not look convinced.
"And the way you fought that creature?"
Josh answered simply.
"I reacted the way anyone would when something tries to kill them."
The explanation sounded reasonable.
But not everyone believed it.
Victor looked around at the others.
"You all saw what happened. That thing moved faster than any of us could react, but he handled it like he had done it before."
A few students nodded slowly.
Greed and fear were mixing together inside the group.
Victor spoke again.
"If we are going to survive, we need to know what resources we actually have."
He pointed at Josh again.
"That sword is clearly useful. Maybe we should share equipment instead of one person holding it."
Mira immediately stepped forward.
"That sword saved everyone earlier."
Victor shrugged.
"I am not saying he should not use it. I am saying we should decide as a group."
Josh finally spoke again,His voice stayed calm.
"I will use it when we need it. Right now we should focus on leaving the campus."
Victor stared at him for a moment.
He clearly did not like that answer.
"That sword of his appeared out of nowhere."
One of the boys beside him nodded.
"I saw it too. One moment his hands were empty, and the next moment he was holding it."
The third student scratched his head.
Victor shook his head.
"No. I was watching him when that creature attacked in the lab. He did not pick anything up."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"That weapon is not normal."
The others stayed quiet for a moment.
They had all seen the fight.
Even though Josh had not made a big show of it, the way he moved during the battle did not look like the movements of a normal student.
Victor spoke again.
"Right now everyone is scared and confused, so no one is thinking clearly. But if we want to survive, we cannot ignore something like that."
One of the boys asked quietly, "What are you planning?"
Victor looked ahead at Josh's back.
"We talk about it soon."
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Not far away, another small group of students had their own conversation.
A thin boy named Daniel looked nervous.
"I do not like this situation," he said. "Everyone is acting like we are already a team, but we barely know each other."
A girl beside him crossed her arms.
"That is because we have no other choice."
Daniel shook his head.
"People show their true nature when things get bad."
His eyes briefly moved toward Victor's group.
"And some people are already trying to take control."
The girl noticed the same thing.
"I saw the way Victor was talking earlier on the rooftop."
Daniel nodded slowly.
"He is gathering people."
Their quiet discussion showed something that was slowly happening across the group.
Fear and survival instincts were beginning to push people into smaller circles.
Josh was not paying attention to most of those conversations.
He was watching the environment around them.
Every building, every corner, every possible path that could lead to danger.
The sword he carried was hidden beneath his jacket again, and he made sure no one saw him holding it directly.
Inside his mind, the system interface appeared again.
The Inventory space still amazed him.
When he focused his consciousness into it earlier, he had seen a massive dark space that stretched so far he could not see the end of it. It did not look truly infinite, but it was easily larger than anything he could imagine storing.
Right now the sword rested inside that space when he did not need it.
Aegis had also opened the Shop earlier.
But the items inside it were far from cheap.
Even the simplest combat knife cost five points, and the stronger weapons required far more.
Josh remembered the points he had earned so far.
Most of the infected he killed gave 0.2 points.
The anomaly creature he fought in the lab gave two full points.
Even after all that, his current total was still not enough to buy most of the useful equipment inside the shop.
The system wasn't really making things easy for him.