"Hahaha, thank you for letting me leave earlier. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had the chance to circle around to the back."
Emma Smith and Oliver Jones carried the unconscious boy back to the library. However, as soon as they entered, they sensed the atmosphere was wrong.
The sun had fully risen, brightening the room.
She saw several girls gathered in a corner, comforting a crying girl.
Meanwhile, Zack Martin and a few others were cornered against the wall by Lucas Wilson and his group.
"What's wrong? What happened?!"
When Emma Smith saw that the crying girl was Alice Brown, her face instantly darkened.
There was a bright red handprint on Alice Brown's face.
"What happened?" Emma Smith demanded.
Lucas Wilson opened his mouth but ultimately remained silent.
It was Bella Taylor who, upon seeing Emma Smith, immediately stepped forward to report.
"After you guys left, it was just Alice Brown and a few weaker girls hiding in the library. Zack Martin cursed at Alice Brown, and Alice Brown cursed back. So, a few of them ganged up, held her down, and slapped her."
Hearing Bella Taylor's account, a fire exploded in Emma Smith's brain.
Her eyes turned red as she looked at Zack Martin.
Zack Martin spoke with disdain: 'she deserved it. I told her if she dared to say another word I'd beat her, and she still ran her mouth. If that's not asking for a beating, what is?"
Emma Smith gripped the steel bar in her hand tighter.
The other end of the bar was still stained with the Evil Seed's blood. It hadn't fully dried and emitted a strong, foul stench.
"We risk our lives going out to find supplies for everyone, and not only do you not help, but you bully people in the base who can't defend themselves?" Emma Smith was so angry her vision went black for a second.
Alice Brown was her roommate. Her first friend in university. Her best friend.
She had meticulously planned everything, not just for herself, but for every single person surviving here!
Yet, looking at Zack Martin's indifferent face, Emma Smith really wanted to end them right then and there.
Emma Smith took two steps forward, but her wrist was caught by Oliver Jones.
"Calm down." Oliver Jones said flatly.
Calm down?
She wanted to be calm too!
But she couldn't!
'this is zombie blood I traded my life for." Emma Smith looked at the steel bar in her hand, the tip coated in tacky gore.
"And that is a slap print those things left on my friend's face just by lifting a hand in the safety of the library." She looked at Alice Brown, curled up in the corner.
"How can I be calm? Calmly let these people continue to bully my friend?" Emma Smith never vented her anger on the innocent, so even though she was shaking with rage while speaking to Oliver Jones, she maintained a terrifyingly level tone.
Looking at Emma Smith, who was holding back so much, Oliver Jones sighed.
He looked at Lucas Wilson, Hannah Miller, and the others: "What do you all think?"
"He must pay the price." Hannah Miller said firmly.
Almost all the girls behind Hannah Miller nodded in agreement. Even Bella Taylor stood on Hannah Miller's side.
Lucas Wilson glanced at Zack Martin: "I also agree that he needs to pay."
…
Zack Martin panicked immediately, shouting exasperatedly at Lucas Wilson: "You're a f*cking man! How can you speak up for a woman?"
Lucas Wilson ignored him.
The people behind Lucas Wilson also supported his stance.
With that, excluding the unconscious boy in green, out of the forty-two people present, thirty-one supported punishment.
Jessica Williams silently picked out a thicker steel pipe from the pile and looked at Zack Martin.
Zack Martin completely lost his composure. His voice trembled as he threatened: "I'm warning you, don't push me! If you push me too far, I'll run out and tip off those Evil Seeds outside! I'll tell them to kill you all! I know where the base is!"
"Go ahead. Feel free. Just so you know, people bitten by Evil Seeds have a one-in-three chance of dying. The other two-thirds turn into monsters. If you're willing to risk being eaten alive to do that, be my guest." Oliver Jones chuckled, his voice lazy and unbothered.
Oliver Jones placed the roast chicken and peanuts on the table.
The roast chicken smelled incredible, and everyone's eyes lit up with hunger.
Before anyone did anything else, they decided to eat the chicken first.
They hadn't had a proper meal in days; they probably wouldn't have the strength to beat Zack Martin without eating first.
With over thirty people, everyone only got a small piece, but they savored it endlessly, tearing it into tiny strips to taste it fully.
The scent of roast chicken filled the library.
The dozen or so people who supported Zack Martin naturally didn't get any chicken. They were corralled in the corner, watching with hungry eyes as the others ate, scratching their heads in frustration.
Seeing the group finish without leaving even a bone for him, Zack Martin clenched his jaw, forcing himself to look away.
He thought the punishment was over.
But then, he saw Jessica Williams finish her portion of chicken, stretch her back, pick up the steel pipe again, and walk toward him.
Zack Martin got soundly beaten.
Alice Brown leaned into Emma Smith's embrace; she had been comforted.
Noticing the blood on Emma Smith's cuffs, Alice Brown pulled her arm over to look, then hugged Emma Smith's waist tightly, pressing her face against Emma Smith's chest: "Don't take risks like that anymore. You're the only friend I have..."
Emma Smith patted Alice Brown's head and smiled: "It's okay. With me here, no one can bully you."
As Emma Smith and Alice Brown leaned against the wall, Oliver Jones's gaze swept over them, lingering on the spot where Alice Brown was leaning. The air pressure around him dropped slightly.