The dormitory building wasn't far from the cafeteria, only a two or three-minute drive.
But along the way, Han Ning and the others saw white bones scattered sporadically on both sides of the road.
The bodies of most of the dead had long since been devoured by wandering Soul Beasts, leaving nothing but bare skeletons.
A few had yet to fully decompose; tattered flesh still clung to the bone, with swarms of white maggots crawling in and out, making the three of them turn pale.
"Even Hell can't be much worse than this." Chen Linyu's eyes reddened as he clutched the Silver Lotus Wood in his arms.
It wasn't just the sides of the road; corpses, long dead, also lay on the pavement itself. However, an advance party had clearly cleared a path, moving some of the bodies aside to create a narrow passage.
"Speed up. Soul Beasts have heard the noise and are closing in."
Han Ning fought back the urge to vomit, his eyes fixed on their surroundings. A Soul Beast could lunge out from behind any one of these corpses and attack them.
Just then, on the grass about ten meters from the road, three Demon Eye Frogs spotted them and began to slowly approach.
Thankfully, the car was fast. Lin Tianhe floored it to 100 km/h, the engine roaring. In less than two minutes, a large, rectangular building appeared in their view.
A few dozen meters away, about a dozen cars were parked together. More than fifty people had formed a large circle, wielding all sorts of weapons and constantly fending off the Soul Beasts that were sporadically closing in from the perimeter.
Lin Tianhe parked the car next to Teacher Zhou. As soon as they got out, Teacher Zhou, holding a compound bow, spoke to them urgently:
"Han Ning, you three hurry inside and search for supplies! Our group just got here, so the Soul Beasts might not have fully reacted yet. If we wait too long, more and more will show up, and it'll get dangerous!"
Although their voice trembled slightly and the hand gripping the compound bow shook, Teacher Zhou still stood protectively in front of them.
"Teacher Zhou, you all be careful. We're heading in."
This was no time for idle chat; every second was precious. After a quick word with Teacher Zhou, Han Ning's group of three, each carrying a large urea sack, rushed toward the second floor of the cafeteria without stopping.
The second floor of the cafeteria had a convenience store and a dozen food stalls, so there should be plenty of supplies inside.
They didn't go to the first floor because other students were already searching there; too many people would just hinder efficiency.
However…
Just as the three of them reached the corner on the second floor.
Suddenly, a piercing, agonized scream came from up ahead.
The sound made them instinctively stop and look forward.
Beyond the transparent glass sliding doors, the floor of the several-hundred-square-meter space was crowded with densely packed, football-sized white eggs.
Many spiders had already hatched, their bodies soaked in thick green fluid, and were crawling slowly around their broken eggshells.
Huge, snow-white webs hung between the dining tables and the ceiling lights.
Three giant spiders, each as tall as an adult, stood gracefully on the dense webs. Their eight legs were covered in sharp, red barbs.
Their twelve walnut-sized eyes, with their milky-white pupils, showed no trace of emotion.
Only a cold, merciless indifference.
Below, a middle-aged man with graying hair had been pierced through the chest by a strand of snow-white spider silk and was being rapidly pulled toward the three giant spiders.
Bright red blood streamed down his body to the floor, leaving a long trail.
Ten or so students, around Han Ning's age, were wielding a chaotic assortment of weapons—baseball bats, cleavers, and shovels—and frantically fighting off the tide of spiderlings surging toward them.
"Teacher Zhao!"
The moment Han Ning and his friends recognized the middle-aged man's face, their expressions changed drastically.
It was their advanced mathematics teacher.
Teacher Zhao's pupils were dilated in terror. He stared intently at the students by the door and screamed himself hoarse in a crazed roar:
"Go! Get out of here! Don't worry about me!"
"Teacher Zhao, we'll definitely get you out!"
Among the students, a sturdy-looking boy with red-rimmed eyes swung an aluminum baseball bat, relentlessly smashing the spiderlings that leaped at him.
In front of him stood a Silver Lotus Wood, about forty centimeters tall. Its surface was slightly darkened, and two slender, two-meter-long vines, each as thick as three fingers and covered in thorns, extended from its sides, swatting away the pouncing spiderlings.
The giant spider in the hall watched this scene coldly. It slightly raised a sharp foreleg and stabbed toward Teacher Zhao's head.
SQUELCH~
Blood splattered.
The light of life faded rapidly from Teacher Zhao's eyes.
"Motherfucker!"
In an instant, everyone, including Han Ning, stared with murderous fury.
"You bastards! You bastards! I'll kill every last one of you!" The large boy and the other students went berserk. Their eyes turned crimson, adrenaline surged through their veins, and they charged into the hall as if their lives meant nothing.
"Han Ning, we have to go help." Lin Tianhe roughly wiped his eyes and tightened his grip on his compound bow, ready to charge in.
It all happened so fast. In the blink of an eye, Teacher Zhao was dead, and Han Ning barely had time to react.
"Right!"
Han Ning took a deep breath, suppressing the wave of grief in his heart. He followed the others to the entrance of the hall and stared coldly at the spiders hanging on the webs.
He held Yin Yi in his arms, discreetly hiding in the crowd. He adjusted his position to give Yin Yi a clear shot at the giant spider that had killed Teacher Zhao and whispered, "Yin Yi, Silver Thorn!"
As if sensing Han Ning's fury, the green light shimmering from Yin Yi grew several shades more intense than usual.
A brilliant green flash shot through the air.
THWIP!
The green thorn plunged into one of the giant spider's compound eyes and immediately exploded.
HISS!!
Pale green blood splattered.
The giant spider let out a sharp shriek and fell backward.
Seeing this, Han Ning shouted, "Everyone, be careful! Help me tie up these bastards, and I'll wipe out their whole damn family!"
The words had barely left his mouth when the fallen spider, with a sudden lurch, scrambled back to its feet.
Half of its head had been blown to bits by Yin Yi's Silver Thorn. Its remaining compound eyes stared down at the humans below, glowing with a blood-red light.
The three giant spiders shrieked in unison. With a sweep of their long, sharp limbs, their massive bodies leaped nimbly into the air. Their bladed legs swung toward the dozen or so people below like scythes.
The sweeping attack tore deep gashes across the chests of the foremost students, and they collapsed one after another.
Then, one of the giant spiders opened its monstrous maw slightly. A thin strand of silk shot out, accurately piercing through a student's head and pulling out flecks of white brain matter.
It was about to make another move when it suddenly felt its body restrained by a powerful force.
A short distance away, the slightly darkened Silver Lotus Wood abruptly shot out two thorny vines, wrapping them tightly around the giant spider's bladed limbs.
A flash of green light streaked past, and the giant spider collapsed to the ground.