Chapter 37 Conditions for Mercy
"Don't come any closer, or I'll shoot!" Zachary Powell held a somewhat old semi-automatic rifle, his fingers gripping the gun stock, turning white with tension.
He had to be nervous because he was facing some ruthless criminals.
Luckily, Zachary hid in the dormitory's mailroom during the disaster. He witnessed scenes that were even more gruesome and bloody than in horror movies.
After hiding for several hours, hungry and thirsty, he decided to come out to find food. He intended to go to the supermarket on campus, but he found countless zombies gathering around before he could enter. Once again, he was lucky to escape and hide in the armory, where he unexpectedly encountered some classmates, including Natalie, his senior sister, who was now a popular internet celebrity, and these criminals.
Zachary listened to several surviving classmates accusing these people, learning about the heinous crimes committed by these idle individuals in the cafeteria and how they had reached this place by sacrificing students along the way.
Zachary was angry at these people, but his anger was just that—he didn't even dare to give them fierce warnings.
It wasn't until Zachary and seven or eight classmates found some guns that they gained the courage to confront these people, even though they didn't know if these guns could fire bullets.
Jason, cigarette in mouth, gun in hand, looked at the students with indifference.
Deep down, he was frustrated. After a busy night, he had gained nothing. He had planned to dig up a lot of crystals in the teaching building, thinking of taking them back for research. Who would have thought the crystals were taken back by someone else?
Later, hearing gunshots in the tennis court, he and his subordinates rushed over but found nothing except zombies. They even encountered a terrifying giant lizard that bit off the head of one of his subordinates, causing them to hurriedly retreat in fear.
Returning, he was even more furious. The students become bolder because of their absence and the addition of some new recruits. They not only took many guns from the armory but also openly resisted Jason.
Although he regretted not leaving two men to guard the armory, Jason didn't pay much attention to it. He had played with guns before and knew that these Type 56 semi-automatic rifles were outdated, with mediocre performance and poor maintenance. Moreover, in the armory, there were many of these old guns but few bullets. After taking some earlier, these students probably had at most a dozen bullets in their hands. What could they do with so few bullets? If a conflict arose, these students who only touched second-hand guns a few times might end up shooting the bullets onto the ceiling.
Furthermore, they also had guns with plenty of bullets, which were enough to deal with these students.
He had initially planned to wait until dawn to see what happened, but one of his students who had sided with him informed Jason of something—there was a woman among the students with a strange willow branch, left by the man who killed zombies easily!
This news made Jason restless. He was convinced that the man held a secret, and if he could grasp that secret, he would become incredibly powerful!
So Jason demanded that the students hand over the woman with the willow branch.
This tough stance was immediately met with strong opposition from Lucy and others, who were originally very principled!
Now, with a considerable number of students and guns in hand, they had become much bolder and were ready to resist under threat.
However, both Zachary and Lucy were secretly very afraid. After all, these people were not good people, and if a conflict arose, these thin and weak students might not be able to withstand it.
"Hand over that woman with the willow branch, and we can coexist peacefully. If you don't..." Jason sneered at the group of about fifty or sixty teachers and students, suddenly grabbed a student nearby, and pulled the glasses-wearing, skinny male student to the wall by his hair.
Jason tossed the gun to his henchman Oliver and drew an exaggerated dagger from his back, plunging it directly under the student's shoulder blade without hesitation!
The attacked student instinctively wanted to scream in intense pain, but Jason knew he would, so instead of pulling out the dagger after stabbing, he punched the student's face, abruptly cutting off the scream.
Blood flowed from the back and mouth, the bright color stimulating everyone's nerves.
Some female voices let out short screams, but they were quickly muffled by others. Everyone knew that noise would attract the outside monsters.
"My patience is limited. Hand over that woman, and this will end here. If not, I'll slaughter each one of you!" Jason grinned like a lion eyeing a lamb with a broken spine.
Jason's fierce demeanor silenced the teachers and students, causing those holding guns to feel their arms go weak, the muzzles slanting toward the ground. They were afraid, whose initial resistance was shattered by Jason's recent actions.
Many people began to look at Natalie in the crowd, all thinking the same thing.
Perhaps handing her over wouldn't be a bad idea.
Natalie, under the cold gazes, began to slowly retreat, tightly gripping the willow branch. Although she had only spent a short time with the man, she believed he would return, and she needed to protect this thing.
Just now, these teachers and students had given her new hope, especially the chance encounter with high school junior Zachary, who had vowed to protect her. This made Natalie believe there were many choices to survive. But now, it seemed that none of these people could compare to that man's little toe.
"No, if we yield now, their excessive demands will follow one after another. Perhaps the next person handed over will be one of you!" Lucy saw the situation turning grim and tried to encourage the students to be more alert.
However, she underestimated the students' resilience under pressure and their resistance to authority and coercion. After struggling for a while, none of the students dared to step forward.
Deep disappointment surged in Lucy's heart.
Jason chuckled maliciously, his eyes filled with ill intent as he looked at the beautiful and well-built Lucy. He pushed aside the students' wobbly guns and strode toward Natalie.
"Wait a minute."
Zachary suddenly stopped Jason, the leader of the thugs, turning his head, his ferocity evident.
"If, if I tell you a secret, will you let her go?" Zachary's body trembled, looking at Natalie's charming face, and in a trembling voice, he said, "You have to promise, or I won't say."
"Secret?" Jason walked up to Zachary, snatched the gun from his hand into his own, and menacingly said, "Speak up quickly, or I'll kill you!"
Zachary trembled and glanced at Natalie's charming face, saying with a trembling voice, "You, you have to promise, otherwise, otherwise I won't say."
"Fuck, you dare to set conditions? Are you looking to die?" Oliver rushed forward and slapped Zachary, cursing and about to beat him up.
"Stop." Jason reprimanded his subordinate, looking down at Zachary, saying, "Fine, I agree. As long as your secret is helpful to me, I'll let her go."
Zachary took a deep breath, glancing at his beloved senior, uttering, "I know the purpose of those crystals."
