Chapter 58 — The Last Moment of Humanity
At 2:15 a.m., the ten students from the third floor had safely reached the second floor.
They were now standing together with everyone else inside the broadcast room.
Miss Selena was extremely happy to see them safe. After everything they had been through, seeing all ten of them alive brought a brief sense of relief to her heart.
Saad had also already told everyone that Jinjin, Chen Zheyan, and Adam had come from the fourth floor.
However, only Jinjin and Chen Zheyan were now standing there with everyone else.
Adam had sacrificed his life to save his friends.
The room was silent.
Everyone stood quietly, still trying to process everything that had happened.
Suddenly, Lina broke the silence.
"Chen Zheyan, what happened to your face?"
As soon as she said this, everyone's eyes turned toward Chen Zheyan.
His face had taken on a strange bluish color.
His lips looked slightly dark, almost black, while his normally healthy complexion had turned pale and yellowish. Beads of sweat covered his forehead, and there was an unmistakable weakness in his expression.
Chen Zheyan hurriedly raised his right hand to his face.
"W-what… what happened to my face?"
His voice trembled with confusion and fear.
Jinjin immediately became worried.
She walked over to her brother and carefully examined his face.
"What happened? My brother is completely fine. His face has always looked like this. Nothing has happened to my brother."
She tried desperately to reassure everyone.
But instead of calming them, her words only made the atmosphere more tense.
Worry and uneasiness appeared on everyone's faces.
At that moment, Mr. Simit stepped forward and looked seriously at Chen Zheyan.
"Did you get injured somewhere?"
The moment Chen Zheyan heard that question, a faint tremor passed through his body.
And suddenly, a memory flashed through his mind.
{Some Hours Earlier}
The ten students from the third floor had been making their way toward the second floor.
Chen Zheyan and Michael were at the very back of the group.
The floor was covered in a large amount of blood.
Because of the slippery surface, Chen Zheyan suddenly lost his footing.
His feet slipped beneath him, and he fell forward, landing face-first on the floor.
Fortunately, he wasn't injured by the fall.
However, there was already an injury on his left arm.
He had received that injury earlier when he was climbing down from the ventilation shield on the third floor.
As Chen Zheyan fell onto the blood-covered floor, some of the blood came into contact with the wound on his left arm.
But that blood was not his.
It belonged to the zombies.
And it contained the germs that carried the infection.
At first, Chen Zheyan noticed nothing unusual.
He simply got back up and continued moving with the others.
He had no idea that the infection had already entered his body.
Slowly…
Little by little…
The infection began spreading through him.
By the time he reached the second floor, the changes were still difficult to notice.
But as the hours passed, his condition gradually worsened.
{Back in the Broadcast Room}
Chen Zheyan remembered what had happened and immediately became nervous.
Without letting anyone notice, he slowly moved his left arm behind his back.
But Mr. Simit noticed.
His eyes immediately fell on Chen Zheyan's hidden arm.
He understood that something was wrong.
Without wasting another second, he firmly grabbed Chen Zheyan's left arm.
Chen Zheyan flinched.
As Mr. Simit examined the arm, the truth became clear.
Because the sleeve had been torn, the injury was clearly visible.
There was a wound on Chen Zheyan's left arm, near his elbow, with a small amount of blood around it.
The blood was clearly not fresh.
Judging from the condition of the wound, it had been inflicted several hours earlier.
Mr. Simit's expression immediately became angry.
Still holding Chen Zheyan's arm firmly, he asked,
"How did you get this injury?"
Chen Zheyan became even more frightened.
His entire body began trembling.
He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
His silence only made Mr. Simit more furious.
"Tell me! How did you get this injury?"
His loud voice echoed throughout the broadcast room.
Chen Zheyan flinched.
Fear spread across his face as he finally spoke in a trembling voice.
"I… I got this injury when I was climbing down from the ventilation shield on the third floor. But… that happened quite a long time ago."
Mr. Simit's expression became even more serious.
"Then how did you get that mark on your face, huh?"
Chen Zheyan's heartbeat accelerated.
His breathing became faster.
He stood there as if he had suddenly frozen, unable to find a single word to say.
Mr. Simit grabbed him by the shoulder and shook him.
"Answer me!"
His voice grew louder.
"Speak! Why are you silent now?"
Chen Zheyan's fear gradually turned into frustration.
He was frightened, confused, and overwhelmed by everything happening around him.
Finally, tears filled his eyes.
He shouted through his trembling voice,
"I don't know!"
His voice cracked.
"I don't know!"
Seeing her brother being pressured like this, Jinjin became angry as well.
She stepped forward and stood up for her brother.
"That's enough! My brother has done nothing wrong!"
Jackson stepped forward and said seriously,
"Your brother is at fault, and that's because all of us are now in danger because of him. Can't you see what has happened to him?"
Jinjin looked at her brother.
She couldn't deny that something was terribly wrong.
But he was still her brother.
And she couldn't simply stand there while everyone treated him like a threat.
Miss Selena felt even more sympathy for Chen Zheyan.
He was already terrified, and now he was standing alone in front of everyone.
Seeing the fear in his eyes, she stepped forward and stood directly in front of him.
"Nothing has happened to you. You're completely fine."
As she spoke, Miss Selena gently placed both hands on his shoulders and tried to comfort him.
"We're all with you. Don't think that you're alone…"
Those words gave Chen Zheyan a small ray of hope.
He could no longer control his emotions.
Unable to hold back his tears, he suddenly hugged Miss Selena tightly and began sobbing uncontrollably.
His entire body trembled.
"I… I don't want to become a zombie…"
His voice shook with fear.
"I'm so scared…"
"I want to live too…"
"I don't want to die…"
His words echoed through the broadcast room.
A wave of sympathy swept through everyone's hearts.
Even Lina and Afra could no longer hold back their tears.
Tears streamed down their cheeks as they watched Chen Zheyan's desperate condition.
Everyone standing there looked heartbroken for him.
But they were helpless.
No matter how much they wanted to help him, there was nothing they could do.
Then, suddenly, Hasnain's eyes fell on Chen Zheyan.
His expression immediately changed.
Chen Zheyan's condition was getting worse.
He was still clinging to Miss Selena and crying, but the color of his eyes had begun turning white.
Hasnain immediately realized what was happening.
There was no time left.
He quickly pulled the tie from around his neck.
Without wasting another second, he rushed forward and separated Chen Zheyan from Miss Selena.
The sudden movement caused Miss Selena to stumble backward.
At the same time, Chen Zheyan fell to the floor in the opposite corner of the room.
For a moment, everything became silent.
Chen Zheyan slowly raised his head.
All the emotions that had filled his eyes only moments ago were gone.
His fear was gone.
His tears were gone.
His humanity was gone.
He had completely transformed into a wild zombie.
Chen Zheyan suddenly rose from the floor and lunged toward Miss Selena.
He moved toward her with terrifying speed.
Just as he was about to reach her, Hasnain reacted.
He grabbed Chen Zheyan's arms and forced them behind his back, struggling to restrain him.
Chen Zheyan fought violently against him.
Hasnain quickly rolled his tie and pushed it into Chen Zheyan's mouth, preventing him from biting anyone.
Without wasting any time, Hasnain used the tie Yarm had given him to bind Chen Zheyan's wrists.
Then he secured him to the door handle.
Chen Zheyan continued struggling against the restraints.
His movements became increasingly violent.
Jinjin stood frozen as she watched her brother being restrained.
Then she began crying uncontrollably.
She hadn't even been able to forget Adam yet.
Adam's sacrifice was still fresh in her mind.
And now, before her very eyes, her own brother had become a zombie.
Once again, she could only stand helplessly and watch someone she loved disappear.
Just as she had been unable to do anything for Adam…
She was now unable to do anything for her brother.
Everyone standing in the broadcast room felt deeply saddened by Chen Zheyan's fate.
But they were all helpless.
Jon and Lina were especially frightened.
The broadcast room had been the only safe room left in the school.
Yet now they were trapped inside it with a zombie.
The atmosphere became extremely tense.
Everyone kept watching Chen Zheyan.
His hands were tied, but he continued pulling against the restraints with tremendous force.
His hunger was growing stronger.
And the more he looked at the people standing in front of him, the more violently he struggled.
At that moment, Jackson finally broke the silence.
"We need to move toward the terrace immediately."
As he said this, his eyes remained fixed on Chen Zheyan.
Even with his hands tied, Chen Zheyan continued struggling with all his strength.
His hunger was increasing with every passing second.
And soon…
That hunger would grow into a storm that none of them would be able to contain.