Every single one of these halls could hold up to at least hundreds, if not a thousand people, and still would not appear cramped.
The thirteenth floor was relatively different to the other floors as there were no cla.s.srooms, only four halls which contained several other utility rooms. The halls were extremely s.p.a.cious and were mostly used for large-scale lectures, debates or even indoor performances, each capable of holding up to at least hundreds, if not a thousand people, and would still appear s.p.a.cious.
At present, the halls had a sense of overcrowding similar to sardines tightly packed into tin cans. Ninety percent of the survivors seemed to be congregated here and there were approximately two thousand of them. Shifting his gaze upwards, he noticed the faces of either panicked girls who were frightened to tears or boys who had turned deathly pale. Rather than terror and apprehensiveness which had spread through the crowd, it was despair.
"W-what in the world is going on!?"
"Is it the apocalypse? Am I dreaming?"
‘How did so many insects suddenly appear? Every single one of them seem terrifyingly and hideous. They even gnawed on the bones of the deceased... G.o.d... Was this not a peaceful era? A lawful society? Why did such a large number of students die in just these few instances? Who will tell me that all of this is just a dream!?’
There were nearly two thousand humans spread across the four halls and although they huddled close to one another, none of them felt the slightest shred of security and instead, trembled in fear. There were people who only knew how to cry while some stood dumbfoundedly. There were also others who drew “十” symbols before their chests, praying for G.o.d to send angels down to rescue them.
Unfortunately, let alone G.o.d dispatching legions of angels, even if Buddha sent the eighteen Arhats, it would’ve been too late as they realized… that from the outside, another group of green, long-bodied insects was quickly approaching!
The elongated bodies of these insects were connected from loop to loop, similar to silkworms. However, they appeared significantly larger; possibly several hundred times larger! Every last one of them measured at least a metre long and twenty centimeters in diameter. Coupled with its glistening green skin, they looked like a bunch Chinese squash at first glance!
Contrary to the existing knowledge about organisms, these insects had wings that resembled those of bees. Although their speed was nothing to boast about, they were, however, extremely terrifying when formed into groups. When seventy to eighty of these insects swarmed together, the crowd felt as though their souls had escaped their bodies!
“W-what… What insect is that? So disgusting!”
“Who knows... Anyways… They’re definitely terrifying, like the giant red-colored insect. It was able to snap my dormitory mate in half with ease…”
“Ah! They’re flying towards us! What do we do?”
“Waaa!!! We’re done for! We’re done for! It looks like we’re all done for! No one can save us!”
“Don’t be silly! Stop being silly! These insects are invincible. They’re so savage, the human race isn’t their match… Ah Tao, maybe we should leap off the building…”
“It can’t be! Is everyone going to sit by and do nothing? No! We must survive! We must do something!”
“Guys! Guys hurry up and form your groups!”
“Girls stay back! Stay back!”
“Don’t panic! We number at least five to six hundred people and only twenty worms flew in! We hold a greater advantage in numbers! As long as we unite and pick up our courage, we can still defeat the worms!”
“Hold this! It’s a worn-out stool I found in the utility room… and this kendo sword, stronger men have the priority of choosing weapons!”
In an instant, both students and lecturers, spread across all four halls, stirred! They were tangled into a chaotic mess. Even the older lecturers attempted desperately to form several groups but it was not much of a help. After all, their morale was extremely low and the weapons were crude. With screams and cries filling the halls, where would they seek brave boys in order to form a group capable of resisting?
Soon, those swarm of glistening green insects reached the windows!
As they held their breaths, everyone felt as though their heart had stopped beating!
The windows were several layers thick and each layer was made of strengthened gla.s.s. Both the thickness and toughness achieved the standard criterion of strengthened gla.s.s. It was so tough that even if a football was kicked at full force against the window, it would not be able to leave a scratch.
‘Those silkworm-like insects look meaty. They shouldn’t be able to break through the gla.s.s, right?’
The higher the antic.i.p.ation, the greater the disappointment. These facts showed that the insects from the Insect World were far beyond human imagination!
The students felt shivers all over their body after witnessing the green worms’ funnel-like mouths spewing acid.
Yet, the alloy window emitted a ‘chi la’ sound. Unexpectedly, black smoke arose and a series of interlocking holes formed as the gla.s.s pane melted rapidly!
“Impossible! Strengthened gla.s.s wasn’t normal gla.s.s! How did it get corroded?”
“What frightening acid!”
“It’s over! It’s over… The liquid that it squirts out was definitely an acid that exceeds that of Aqua Regia(a type of corrosive acid). If the skin comes into contact with even the slightest drop of that, it would probably corrode half of the body…”
“f.u.c.k! Then what are we resisting for! No! This can’t be! If we fight with the worms that have bellies full of lethal acid and we come into contact with the acid… Dying without a proper skeleton, just vanishing completely into smoke... Ahh, you can have this wooden sword instead!”
It was at this moment that a small corroded hole emerged on the strengthened gla.s.s, allowing the first green insect to enter!
The crowd felt their scalps turn numb as they retreated subconsciously. Nevertheless, there was a brave male student who grabbed a stool and hurled it mercilessly with full force! The Sulphuric Acid Worm’s speed was not very fast and due to it being unvigilant, one of them squeaked after it was struck on the head by the flying stool!
“Wow! Great job!”
Their morale soared the moment they knew the insects weren’t invincible. As long as they took caution and performed “long distance attacks”, it would still be possible to inflict harm onto the insects!
However, their happiness was short-lived as the Sulphuric Acid Worm did not suffer much damage but became enraged instead! With a groan, it raised its head. Its foot-long conical mouth then ejected liquid toward the old professor who turned out to be the nearest person in the vicinity!
The elderly lecturer’s figure staggered. Then in a short moment, his chest gradually felt as though it was being combusted. It turned completely into scattered ashes and dispersed into smoke!
From his chest, it began to spread to other parts of the body: the head; the abdomen; then the four limbs. In less than three seconds, all that remained was a turbid puddle of foul-smelling, yellow liquid. There was no trace nor evidence of the elderly lecturer ever existing!
The students gazed at the scene with pale complexions. They had previously thought the image of Crimson Crowned Beetles gnawing on human remains was already a grotesque sight. However, the moment they bore witness to a living human being melted to death, they now knew there was such a way of dying that made their blood run cold!
"Oh, benevolent G.o.d, why do you permit such savage existences..."
In an instant, the fear in the students’ hearts peaked.
Yet, when fear reaches the peak, humans experience a change in their emotional states. They become either frightened to the point of not knowing what to do or they forget the existence of fear and resist desperately with their lives on the line!
Shortly thereafter, more than twenty Sulphuric Acid Worms entered from outside the window. Amidst the over five hundred students, there were thirty to forty people with crude weapons who then began to step forward bravely in preparation for their final struggle.