Everything was ready, and they were about to set off when Zhu Hao asked, "Where's Gu Ping?"

Another boy named Chang Junyan replied, "He just went to the restroom. He should be back soon."

Chen Mu said, "Let's start walking slowly towards the exit and wait for him there."

Wei Dalei pushed the handcrafted skateboard made by Chen Mu and took the lead at the front.

The metallic parts made an eerie creaking sound as they rubbed against each other, which sounded particularly loud in the quiet surroundings.

However, just as they were about to reach the door's opening...

"Ah...!"

They heard Gu Ping's desperate cry from outside.

Everyone froze for a moment, but Chen Mu was the first to react and immediately rushed outside, his weapon, a spear, forming at his waist.

When they didn't know what danger they were facing, long-range weapons seemed safer.

Wei Dalei slowed down for a moment but quickly ran ahead as well.

In his hands was a giant wolf-tooth club specially crafted by Chen Mu, and the iron spikes on it were enough to terrify anyone.

Although Wei Dalei started a bit later than Chen Mu, his strength-enhanced body allowed him to run at a speed surpassing that of an average person.

After all, the source of speed ultimately came from strength.

Wei Dalei caught up and passed Chen Mu in the blink of an eye.

Chen Mu hurriedly shouted, "Old Wei, don't rush up. Assess the situation first."

Upon hearing Gu Ping's plea for help, Chen Mu had already prepared for the worst. Even though they were just classmates, even if their relationship wasn't that great, he couldn't be indifferent. He was ready to help if it was just a few ants, but he didn't want to risk their lives if it turned out to be larger animals like rats or frogs.

He was the first to rush out because he didn't want others to take unnecessary risks, but he had forgotten about Wei Dalei, the reckless guy.

By the time he tried to remind him, it was too late.

Wei Dalei had already charged through the door opening.

However, as soon as he got outside, Wei Dalei suddenly froze, looking at the scene in front of him in shock.

Chen Mu followed a few seconds later, and when he saw what lay ahead, he was also stunned.But he only stood there for a second before hurriedly pulling Wei Dalei back, yelling to Chang Junyan and Zhu Hao, who had just come out, "Go back, don't look!"

However, human curiosity is a strange thing. Despite knowing how dangerous it was, Zhu Hao and Chang Junyan couldn't resist taking a quick glance.

And that single glance nearly scared the pants off them.

It was a dark red centipede, as if it were a giant python, rolling and biting the frail body of Gu Ping.

Gu Ping's miserable cries didn't stop, but they grew weaker and weaker.

The centipede showed no signs of stopping at all.

The instinct to survive prompted Zhu Hao and the others to turn back and run before they could even wet their pants. When Wei Dalei was pulled back by Chen Mu, he immediately realized the danger and retreated as well.

Though he might be reckless, he wasn't stupid. Even with his strength enhanced, he knew he wasn't strong enough to take on the centipede at that moment.

Although it was a small centipede in size, a single bite from it contained enough venom to be fatal to a human at this time.

The four of them ran back to where the others were before finally coming to a stop.

"What happened?" Dong Junwei realized that something might have happened to Gu Ping.

"Gu... Gu Ping... centipede..."

As soon as Chang Junyan mentioned these two words, he covered his mouth and rushed to the side, vomiting continuously.

Thinking of the colorful centipede with its rhythmic two rows of long legs and its alluring whiskers dancing on its head, and then picturing Gu Ping's miserable and bloody plea for help, Zhu Hao was also enticed into vomiting.

Chen Mu and Wei Dalei were doing a bit better, but their stomachs were still churning uncomfortably.

"Old Wei."

Seeing Wei Dalei still looking dazed, Chen Mu thought he might be scared silly. If the team's strongest combatant lost it due to fear, it would be a huge loss.

But to his surprise, Wei Dalei suddenly looked sorrowful and said in a teary voice, "Boss, I really wanted to save him... I really did. I wanted to go up and save him..."

Chen Mu sighed, patted his shoulder, and said, "I know you did your best."

The group of girls who stayed behind finally understood what had happened. Though they hadn't seen it firsthand, witnessing Zhu Hao and Chang Junyan vomiting uncontrollably was enough to give them an idea of the horrifying scene.

When Luo Hui died before, they were relatively far away, and Yanzhi's flash of light didn't have such a strong impact on them.

"What should we do? Can the centipede crawl in through the door crack?""If that's the case, what do we do?"

"Maybe we shouldn't split up anymore."

...

Gu Ping's death had sparked great unease among the group. Even Chen Mu felt a bit scared.

To be honest, luck had played a big part in their survival so far.

Leaving the restroom outside the door was something almost everyone had done, but unfortunately, Gu Ping was just unlucky enough to encounter a centipede.

Looking at it this way, the idea of standing guard at night was simply self-deception. Just a few crickets and centipedes would be enough to wipe out these people.

Resistance seemed meaningless.

"Will that centipede come in?" someone asked anxiously. Since it happened at the door, it was a possibility.

"It probably... just ate and should be full now."

This response seemed a bit heartless, but it's hard to blame anyone for being selfish. In this environment, it's natural for people to put their own survival first, especially when Gu Ping didn't have particularly close relationships with anyone.

On the other hand, Wei Dalei, who had conflicts with Gu Ping, was filled with remorse at the moment.

"Chen Mu, what's your plan?" Dong Junwei asked.

Chen Mu fell silent for a moment and said, "We still need to move the stuff. To be honest, staying here is just as dangerous as going out. We can't keep hiding here forever; that's a death sentence too."

"So... the plan remains the same?"

"I suggest we all stick together," Chen Mu said after pondering for a while.

Dong Junwei quickly understood what Chen Mu meant.

If the boys who went out encountered danger, the remaining girls had almost no means to protect themselves, and they would likely suffer a slow death. It was better to stick together and boost each other's courage.

Dong Junwei nodded in agreement and asked everyone, "What do you all think?"

Zhao Xiaoyan, Du Jiajia, and others thought about the place where Gu Ping was eaten by the centipede at the door, and they didn't want to stay alone here at all. They all agreed resoundingly.

This group of students from Class 4 in Grade 12 originally had 11 members, but after Luo Hui and Gu Ping's deaths, only 9 remained.

Chen Mu counted the people and felt a sense of sadness seeing that there weren't even double digits left.

Who would be the next one?

Though mortals would eventually die, in times like these, the human survival instinct became even stronger than in peaceful times.

Life is unpredictable.

Who could have imagined that the same group of high school students who were just discussing about toilet paper would now be facing life-and-death challenges?