Chapter 216 A Desperate Struggle

Xu Fatty's suspicions are not without reason. 

Not to mention ordinary people; even he, without adequate preparation, was nearly killed in an instant by that black monster. 

Moreover, considering its size, the amount of food it needs is extremely massive, at least dozens of times that of an ordinary person. 

Xu Fatty could not imagine how it had survived to this day without eating the people at the school. 

However, Zhang Yi did not think so. 

"There is something you didn't notice just now." 

"This guy didn't intend to harm us at the beginning." 

Zhang Yi looked at Xu Fatty and said, "If you hadn't suddenly attacked it and provoked it, perhaps things wouldn't have ended this way." 

Xu Fatty looked confused, "Huh? Did I provoke it? But it was terrified at that time!" 

Zhang Yi recalled the gaze of that monster and felt that it had a certain intelligence; it didn't seem completely irrational, only instinctively hunting. 

"Mutation may have enhanced its intelligence to a very high level, possibly not weaker than humans." 

"And I did hear Yang Xinxin's voice on that phone call. Surely, it couldn't have been the monster." 

He walked to the huge pit and looked down. 

The pit was large enough that even a vehicle could easily navigate through it. 

If the monster needed to pass through, the drilled-out cave provided air circulation from the outside — perhaps this was why they hadn't suffocated. 

Zhang Yi thought for a long time before making a decision. 

"Let's go down and take a look!" 

"What? Go down from here!" 

Xu Fatty was shocked, "What if we run into that monster again? This is its territory!" 

Zhang Yi gave Xu Fatty a deep look. 

"Do you want to think again about what you are saying?" 

Xu Fatty felt a bit lost under Zhang Yi's gaze. 

Zhang Yi sighed deeply, "Did you forget what your ability is?" 

"You are an ice-type ability user and yet you're afraid to fight in the snow!" 

Xu Fatty suddenly realized. 

"Ah, that's true!" 

With his ability, the more snow there is, the stronger his combat power becomes. 

Even if he went deeper into the snow, if that monster dared to attack, Xu Fatty could bury it under tons of snow in an instant! 

Embarrassed, Xu Fatty scratched his head, "I was just a bit scared before, hehe!" 

Zhang Yi didn't criticize him any further. 

Among the three of them, Xu Fatty had the least combat experience, and he was also the most timid. 

As he went through more battles in the future, his strength would grow. 

The might of an ability is not the only determining factor for combat power. 

Intelligence, courage, and even luck are important components of strength. 

With Xu Chunlei's abilities as a base, along with Zhang Yi's absolute defense and Uncle You's solid meat shield, they were not afraid of encountering the monster underground. 

Zhang Yi stored the two snowmobiles in his dimension space, and the three of them jumped down the cave that the monster had created. 

Once they hit the ground, they discovered that the world beneath the snow was vast and interconnected. 

This was the monster's territory, and many passages had been opened up by it, although it was somewhat dark. 

Zhang Yi took out a miner's lamp, and when he turned it on, it instantly illuminated a distance of over a hundred meters ahead. 

Now, even if that monster wanted to launch a surprise attack from the darkness, it would be impossible. 

Zhang Yi took out two boxes of colored markers and said, "Let's use these to make marks so we won't get lost underground." 

"But we can't find our way down here. What should we do?" 

Xu Chunlei asked. 

Uncle You sniffed cautiously and said, "There's a strong smell of blood in the air." 

Xu Fatty immediately said, "It must be from that monster! I wonder how many people it has eaten. We should head towards the passages with less blood smell." 

Zhang Yi looked at the timid fatty and rolled his eyes helplessly. 

"We're all here, and the snow is your stronghold. Can you be a bit braver?" 

"If we really encounter it, it'll be fleeing it that we'll be doing!" 

As Zhang Yi spoke, he pulled out a golden handgun and began loading bullets into the magazine at a leisurely pace. 

Uncle You recognized the gun instantly: "Desert Eagle!" 

"That's right," Zhang Yi replied lightly. 

The Desert Eagle is one of the most powerful handguns in the world. 

In terms of lethality, it's ten times more powerful than the service pistol he used before! 

It's fair to say that even the famous AK rifle does not match its energy output. 

The downside is that it is heavy and has strong recoil, making it difficult for an average person to handle. 

But with armor-piercing rounds, if they encountered that monster head-on, they could inflict significant damage. 

Zhang Yi finished loading the bullets and chambered one, then said to Uncle You, "Uncle You, your scouting ability is stronger. Let's follow the direction of that monster!" 

"It hunts for food, so it will definitely head toward the living. As long as we follow it, we can find where the survivors are." 

Xu Fatty was still feeling a bit afraid. 

The strength of the ability didn't make his courage grow. 

"What if we encounter it? That wouldn't be good!" 

Zhang Yi squinted, "What are you afraid of? We're here! If we really run into it, you just use ice and snow to trap it." 

"If it behaves itself, that's fine; but if it goes on the attack, then we'll deal with it!" 

Hearing Zhang Yi's confident words, Xu Fatty felt reassured. 

Having such a big brother leading him is really great! 

"Okay, got it, boss!" 

Uncle You sniffed the blood scent and led the way ahead. Zhang Yi would mark the snow wall with a colored pen every three or four meters, leaving only a small tail. 

This way, they could avoid the markers being discovered and destroyed by the monster. 

… 

Tianqing Academy Gymnasium 

Teacher Liang Yue had been in the gym with the more than forty surviving students for three days. 

Their last food search was three days ago. 

This means that everyone in the gym is starving. 

For Liang Yue, she was now caught in a huge dilemma. 

The monster was lurking around them, and as soon as they showed any weakness, it would attack and kill the students for food. 

Liang Yue couldn't leave the students to search for food alone. 

But letting others leave would essentially be sending them to their deaths. 

Ordinary people faced with those mutated creatures would be completely devoured in less than a minute. 

If the students were hidden in closed rooms, with the thin air below the snow, they would suffocate before the monster got to them. 

Liang Yue had the strength to deal with the monster but couldn't take the students to search for supplies. 

They had tried that before. 

The result was that the monster ignored her and directly attacked the students' group, causing heavy casualties. 

Now, she stood guard at the entrance of the gym with a Tang knife. 

For three days, the monster had not launched another attack. 

But the fighters directly told her that the monster was nearby. 

"We can't keep dragging this out!" 

Liang Yue opened her eyes, a hint of fatigue flashing in her gaze. 

For three consecutive days, she had eaten barely any food, and the hunger pangs in her stomach made her restless and anxious. 

If this continued, they wouldn't even need to wait for the monster to strike; some would starve to death. 

Liang Yue wanted to protect all the students; this was her responsibility as a teacher and a specially appointed bodyguard. 

But reality is this cruel, forcing you to make sacrifices.