Su Yu lay listlessly on his desk,headphones plugged in,listening to the news broadcast,with a small radio tucked away in his desk drawer.
Su Yu had been greatly influenced by his grandfather and had developed a fascination with listening to news reports on the radio during his free time.
In the lecture hall,Professor Ma,who was teaching"Deng's Theories,"was speaking passionately,gesturing animatedly,but sadly,few students were paying attention.
This led Professor Ma to sigh inwardly at the seeming incorrigibility of these students.
It was around 2:45 p.m.,the first class of the afternoon.The location was AJ Vocational and Technical College,a university so mediocre it barely ranked among the fourth or fifth tiers.
The class was"Computer Science Class Two,"with a total of twenty-seven students.
Su Yu shifted his sleeping position to make himself more comfortable and glanced around.
His deskmate and best friend,Zhang Zhongmou,was already snoring softly,drool pooling from the corner of his mouth,and occasionally rolling his eyes slightly.This guy had quite a few quirks when he slept.
Three seats ahead on the left,his dream girl,Ning Yan,sat quietly,attentively listening to the lecture.
Ning Yan was the undisputed class beauty of the Computer Science Department,the object of admiration and fantasy for Su Yu and most of the boys in the department.
From Su Yu's current vantage point,he could only see the back of Ning Yan's neck,as smooth and white as snow,her jade-like skin,and her casually coiled hair,all exuding an indescribable charm.
Su Yu swallowed hard,his drowsiness diminishing somewhat.
The girl sitting next to Ning Yan suddenly turned her head and caught Su Yu's gaze.
This girl,aware of what Su Yu was looking at,suddenly glared at him,her eyes sharp with a clear warning.
Su Yu quickly averted his gaze,feeling somewhat guilty.
This girl,who shared Su Yu's surname and was named Su Yu,lived nearby.Not only did they share the same surname,but their names even sounded similar,and they had played together since childhood.
By a strange coincidence,they had attended the same kindergarten,primary school,and middle school,and even ended up at the same university and in the same class.
Though they could be considered childhood sweethearts,their relationship was far from sibling-like;in fact,it was the opposite.They often found each other irritating.
Su Yu's temper was fiercer than that of a boy,and when he first encountered Su Yu in college,he had almost wanted to burst into tears—why had he run into this ill omen again?
Intimidated by Su Yu's glare,Su Yu lay back down on the desk,closing his eyes while still listening to the news through his headphones.
Actually,Su Yu wasn't sleepy;he just couldn't muster the energy to listen to Professor Ma's lecture.To him,it was far less interesting than listening to the news.
"…Recently,the frequent appearance of'sinkholes'across various regions has drawn attention…According to the latest reports,at around 10:35 a.m.today,three consecutive'sinkholes'suddenly appeared on the north section of People's Road.The largest'sinkhole'had a diameter exceeding fifteen meters,and a'Jinhua Supermarket'was nearly swallowed up,with three people missing.Rescue operations are ongoing,and experts predict…"
The headphones were broadcasting news about"sinkholes,"which had been a recurring topic worldwide.These sinkholes appeared without any warning,and the most terrifying one was a super-large sinkhole over one kilometer in diameter that had emerged in the center of a small foreign city,nearly swallowing half of it.
The"sinkhole"incidents had caused quite a bit of panic,with some even linking them to the 2012 doomsday prophecy.Although experts and professors came forward to debunk these claims as natural geological phenomena,they couldn't suppress the growing fear.
Su Yu listened to the news on his radio,and although the"sinkholes"were terrifying,they seemed so distant to him at the moment.His mind was more preoccupied with how to strike up a conversation with Ning Yan,what to have for dinner,whether the玄幻novel he was following would update a few chapters that night,and when Diablo III would be released…
Suddenly,a"thunderous"roar erupted,followed by a continuous"rumbling"sound from beneath the teaching building,causing everything to shake violently.
Those who were sleeping,reading novels,texting to chat with girls,or chatting on QQ all looked up.Some showed shock and astonishment,while many others still looked bewildered.
Professor Ma on the podium stood agape,forgetting to close his mouth.Then,as if suddenly realizing something,he silently fled the classroom,his speed rivaling that of a world sprinting champion.
Su Yu hastily pulled out his headphones and looked up in surprise.
His best friend,Zhang Zhongmou,was still fast asleep.The shaking and thunderous noise woke him,and he groggily wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth,saying,"I was just about to touch her thigh.Why is there thunder…Hmm,is it dark already?"
The"rumbling"and shaking lasted only a few seconds before disappearing,and everything returned to normal.However,the sky outside suddenly turned dark.
"What was that?An earthquake?"
"It must have been an earthquake,but why is the sky dark?Is it going to rain?"
The students in the class finally snapped out of their brief daze,stood up,and looked out the windows.Many were curious,while others were still shaken.
Outside,there was a buzz of noise.Clearly,those few seconds of shaking and loud noises had caused a commotion throughout the college.
"Cough,cough!"A cough came from the doorway.Professor Ma,who had been the first to flee,returned,looking somewhat flustered.He said,"There might have been an earthquake.To be safe,everyone should leave quickly and go to the playground.Don't stay in the buildings or stand next to them."
As soon as Professor Ma finished speaking,he was the first to leave again.It was fortunate that the teaching building hadn't collapsed during those few seconds of shaking.Who knew what might happen if another quake struck?
The entire building was now in an uproar,with everyone rushing out of the classrooms and crowding the exits,eager to leave.
"What's happening?"Su Yu squeezed into the corridor and looked up at the sky.It was overcast,with dark clouds piling up,creating an indescribable oppressive atmosphere.
Just moments ago,the sky had been clear and blue.How did it turn so dark after the building shook?
Looking down,he saw crowds pouring out of the various buildings,forming several streams of people heading toward the open playground.
The school was taking precautions,evacuating everyone from the buildings and gathering them on the playground.
Everywhere was a cacophony of noise,with people pressing against each other.Su Yu was stuck in the corridor on the third floor,unable to move forward or back,but he was worried about his best friend,Zhang Zhongmou,and his dream girl,Ning Yan.
"In times of crisis like this,one can truly display chivalry.Unfortunately…where is Ning Yan?"Su Yu daydreamed,turning his head to look around but not spotting Ning Yan anywhere.
As people continued to pour out of the teaching building,the crowds thinned,and Su Yu sighed inwardly at not seeing Ning Yan,missing a chance to impress her.
Just as he was lamenting,suddenly,a scream echoed from the distance.
In his twenty-one years of life,Su Yu had never heard such a blood-curdling scream before.It was like a sharp nail piercing directly into one's skull and soul,sending a shiver down his spine.
Not just Su Yu,but everyone who heard the scream turned pale and looked toward its source.
Su Yu distinctly remembered it was the school gate.
This was a third-rate university with a small campus,only three teaching buildings,two dormitories,along with a library,cafeteria,convenience store,and a sports field.The facilities were poor,and the school gate wasn't far from the teaching building.
As he thought of this,a second scream of terror rang out.
Su Yu instinctively recalled that there were two security guards on duty in the guard room by the school gate.From his vantage point on the third-floor corridor,he looked down and witnessed something he could scarcely believe.
A group of green-skinned,naked creatures,each about the height of a fourteen or fifteen-year-old child,charged in from the school gate.
Su Yu had good eyesight and could see the creatures clearly.They had enormous eyes,sunken noses,and a gaping mouth,their entire bodies a vivid green,wielding wooden clubs akin to baseball bats.
Su Yu could hardly believe his eyes.Around him,everyone else was similarly stunned,their eyes wide with shock.For a moment,almost everyone was left speechless,their brains short-circuiting.
First,the teaching building had shaken and rumbled,then the sky darkened within seconds,followed by screams,and now these creatures appeared?
Was this all a nightmare?Some people even pinched themselves to check if they were dreaming.
The group of about a dozen green-skinned creatures,wielding wooden clubs,moved swiftly,heading straight for the sports field where a large number of students had gathered.
Most students were stunned,but a few reacted,letting out screams of terror and scattering in all directions.
"Slash!"
From his vantage point on the third floor,Su Yu saw clearly as the fastest-moving green-skinned creature swung its club with terrifying speed and force,striking a student who stood there dazed with glasses.
Then,the student's head shattered,blood splattering like cherry blossoms,mixed with white brain matter.
Aren't skulls supposed to be the hardest part of the body?How could they shatter so easily?
At that moment,a strange thought crossed Su Yu's mind.Then he recalled that these green-skinned creatures resembled the Kobolds from many of the games he had played.
In those games,the Kobolds were green-skinned imps.
As the first student fell, the group of green-skinned creatures had already rushed into the crowd, each striking with their clubs, felling students one by one. Those who were too terrified to flee were knocked down, their heads splitting open.
The glaring blood and gruesome scenes caused students still on the teaching building to vomit.Panic had erupted on the sports field, students darting about like headless flies, screaming and running in all directions."Quick, call 110—"Finally, someone snapped out of it, screaming as they ran while thinking to dial the emergency number.At this moment, Su Yu also regained his senses.
Fortunately, he often helped his mother with chores like slaughtering chickens and cleaning fish, so he was used to the sight of blood. Unexpectedly, although the scene below was bloody, he didn't vomit. Like most people, his first thought was to call for help.He took out his phone, only to find that there wasn't even a single bar of signal. Some people, in disbelief, frantically tried to make calls, but none got through."Ah, they're coming up! They're charging up here!"
Suddenly, someone up ahead screamed in terror. Su Yu stiffened, looked down, and saw one of the green-skinned creatures charging into the building, followed by screams echoing from within.Panic erupted anew. Some people instinctively fled to higher floors, while others, too frightened to think, jumped down regardless of the floor they were on."Quick, everyone back to the classroom—" Suddenly, a hoarse female voice pierced the chaos.Su Yu's heart skipped a beat as he recognized the voice of Lei Rui, the class monitor, a girl in a dress and glasses.
Amidst the pandemonium, her voice cut through, and the students scrambled back to their classrooms. Su Yu hurriedly followed suit, and without needing to be told, everyone hurriedly shut the windows and doors."Quick, move the desks to block the doors," Lei Rui commanded, her usually gentle demeanor replaced by a surprising aptitude for leadership in this critical moment.
Su Yu and several male classmates pushed several desks to barricade the front door. Outside, the screams drew ever closer, and the young men and women in their early twenties, all full of youth, were now pale with fear, their first brush with the proximity of death.Among them, several girls huddled together, crying softly. Their legs were so weak with fear that they collapsed to the ground, unable to stand."S... Su Yu, are we going to die?" Suddenly, Su Yu felt someone tugging at his clothes.
Turning around, he saw it was Su Yu. Normally, the two would bicker at every meeting, but there was no time for that now. For the first time, Su Yu noticed the terror in Su Yu's eyes, which stirred an odd sensation within him. He turned away, his voice hoarse as he replied, "I don't know... With so many of us... it'll... it'll be okay..."He swallowed the rest of his words as a thunderous crash shook the door, as if struck by some massive object.
Su Yu and four or five boys nearly tumbled backward along with the desks they were holding up."Quick! Hold it steady!" Lei Rui screamed from behind, rushing forward to help.Su Yu felt a sudden pressure at his back as Lei Rui recklessly pressed against him, pushing with all her might.
An action that under normal circumstances would have been incredibly alluring was now utterly inconsequential. Clenching his teeth, Su Yu pushed back against the door with all his strength. Suddenly, he turned his head and shouted, "Look out—"A brittle crack echoed as a wooden club smashed into the window glass, shattering it into countless shards that flew everywhere.
A creature with emerald-green skin and a face like a nightmarish demon appeared outside the window. Up close, its features were even more grotesque and evil, sending a shiver down the spine of anyone who dared to glance at it."Other classes have students too, right? Why are they only coming for us—" A girl, overwhelmed by terror, suddenly screamed in a fit of madness."I don't want to! I don't want my head smashed to pieces—" Another voice wailed in sheer horror.
Witnessing the green-skinned monster relentlessly pounding the window, someone, driven by fear, flung open another window and leaped out.Beyond that window lay not the corridor but open air; jumping meant a direct fall. This classroom was on the third floor.With the jump, Su Yu distinctly heard a piercing scream."Monster—" A boy suddenly bellowed, hoisting a desk and hurling it at the window.
The green-skinned creature had just poked half its head through when it was struck.The facilities at their fourth-rate university were subpar, with all desks and chairs detached and movable, which ironically proved useful in this situation.Su Yu glanced over and recognized the boy as Qin Jiagui, the class sports committee member, an excellent basketball player, and a tall, handsome figure with numerous admirers on campus.His girlfriend was the belle of the neighboring "Computer Science Class One." It was said that after failing to win Ning Yan's affections, he settled for the class beauty from the first class, and the two were now living together.
Many of the guys, including Su Yu, had envied him for it.Qin Jiagui lived up to his role as sports committee member, possessing considerable strength. He managed to lift and hurl an entire desk, though the green-skinned creature, having inserted only half its head, retreated just in time, avoiding a direct hit.Watching this, Su Yu quickly grabbed a chair and shouted, "Use the chairs!"Qin Jiagui caught on and also picked up a chair, waiting for the creature to poke its head in again before striking it.
The green-skinned monster, relatively short in stature, could easily squeeze through the divided iron-barred window. However, each time it attempted to enter halfway, Qin Jiagui would smash it back with his chair. After three unsuccessful attempts, the creature's scalp was finally split, oozing a greenish fluid akin to blood.Enraged, the monster retreated a few steps, then suddenly let out a shrill whistle.
It stood in the corridor, glaring at the students inside through the window with a look of pure malice."What's it doing? Why has it stopped?" A girl, still shaken, couldn't help but ask Qin Jiagui.Qin Jiagui shook his head, equally puzzled.Su Yu pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized with a start, "It's calling for reinforcements. This isn't good—"No sooner had he spoken than several sharp whistles pierced the air, followed by thunderous impacts on the classroom door.
These green-skinned creatures were incredibly strong; the door shook violently under their assault, sending the students into a fresh wave of terror. If the monsters breached the door, everyone would be doomed.