Chapter 9: Searching for Someone

Hao had originally thought that pulling out a gun would be enough to scare the noisy woman into silence.

However, the scene that unfolded was entirely beyond his expectations.

Instead of retreating, Teacher He surged forward, violently swiping the handgun aside, her shouting growing even louder.

"Who the hell do you think you are?! You think you can bluff me with a toy gun? Do you even know how many years it's been since China banned firearms? Do you really think this is the land of the free, America?!"

"If you've got the guts, pull the trigger! Do it!!"

Hao was momentarily stunned. He had never expected the woman before him to be so oblivious to the reality of the situation. But since she had issued the challenge, he saw no reason to be stingy. Just as he prepared to squeeze the trigger, a thought struck him, and he tapped his own head. He then reached behind his waist, pulled out a finger-length black metal tube, and began calmly screwing it onto the muzzle of his gun.

Seeing the scar-faced man ignore her and start tinkering with his "toy gun," He Shufen became even more convinced that he was just posturing, and immediately adopted the authoritative air of a teacher disciplining a student.

"Let me tell you, it's your bad luck to have crossed me today! Scum of society like you belongs in jail!"

"I've already called the police, do you hear me? Don't you dare walk away!"

"I'm talking to you! Are you deaf? Listen—"

"Pfft!"

Before she could finish, He Shufen suddenly felt as if her lower leg had been violently kicked. A gunshot wound bloomed like a bloody flower, a sight of shocking, visceral beauty. The excruciating pain flooded her brain instantly, forcing a sharp scream from the high-and-mighty teacher.

"Ah!!"

Hao did not kill He Shufen outright. He knew that if he wanted to find someone in this school, an old security guard alone wouldn't be enough.

"I heard you. Is one shot enough?"

Hao crouched down, pressing the still-smoking muzzle against He Shufen’s chin, his eyes indifferent.

"That’s a real gun... How could you! I’m going to have the police arrest you, I’ll make sure you rot in prison!!"

He Shufen seemed unable to grasp the severity of her situation, her hysteria only intensifying. She struggled, trying to grab the handgun from his grip. Hao stepped back half a pace, a flicker of disbelief crossing his cold eyes. Do teachers these days really have such a strong sense of security?

Without further hesitation, Hao fired another shot into He Shufen’s other leg.

The second wave of agony finally made He Shufen realize that something was terribly wrong—this scar-faced man seemed genuinely capable of killing her.

"Is it enough now?" seeing the woman finally fall silent, Hao asked again.

He Shufen clutched her leg and nodded repeatedly, all traces of her arrogance vanished. She even added with a hint of sycophancy, "You’re looking for Zhao Hui, right? I know him, he’s a student in Grade 12, Class 8..."

Old Li, the security guard, watched the teacher’s 180-degree turn in attitude and then glanced at the gun in Hao’s hand, whispering a reminder: "Teacher He, handing a student over like this... is that really okay?"

"What could be wrong with it?! The big boss specifically asked for Zhao Hui; what’s wrong with us helping out?" Old Li was silenced by her retort and shut his mouth.

Hao nodded in satisfaction. "Then take me to him."

He Shufen’s sweat-drenched face squeezed out a smile. "But sir, my leg is injured; I can't walk..."

"Make him carry you." Hao pointed the muzzle at Old Li.

He Shufen looked at the old security guard with disdain and made an excuse. "Um... sir, there are monsters out there. Why don't I just tell you where he is? Grade 12, Class 8 is on the second floor, right around the corner at the top of the stairs..."

"Make him carry you, and you lead me to him." Hao’s expression grew impatient, and he tapped He Shufen’s face with the gun barrel. "Don't make me repeat myself. My time is very, very precious."

"Yes, yes, of course! Old Li, hurry up and carry me..." He Shufen nodded like a bobblehead, frantically urging Old Li to move.

The three of them soon left the guard room and headed toward the teaching building. Just as they stepped onto the second floor, a notification appeared on their respective panels.

[Level rankings generated. Players may view them in the world interface.]
[Location information sharing complete.]
[Challenge mechanism activated. Initial duration: 12 hours.]

Hao glanced at the leaderboard and saw that the player ranked first at Lv. 2 was Ying Zi'an.

"Chinese? Which district?"

Hao casually opened the location information. When he discovered the coordinates were also at Yongcheng No. 1 High School, a look of surprise finally crossed the scar-faced man's eyes.

"What the hell, this guy is at the high school too?"

Hearing Hao’s mutterings, He Shufen turned her head and chimed in obsequiously, "This Ying Zi'an is also a student in Grade 12, Class 8. He and Zhao Hui are very close..."

"Oh?" Hao pondered. He guessed that the person he was looking for might have awakened some ability that helped players level up quickly. After all, the first player in the world to reach Lv. 1 was Zhao Hui, and Ying Zi'an, who was close to him, had become the first to reach Lv. 2.

Although Hao felt that these two lacked restraint and were far too high-profile, he considered the alternative. If they hadn't been high-profile, how would they have been discovered by Brother Jin, and thus gained the chance to join the Zhao family?

"Zhao Hui and Ying Zi'an—I want to see them both," Hao ordered coldly.

Setting Ying Zi'an aside for the moment, if he could bring Zhao Hui back, his support-type ability could help the Zhao family increase their strength much faster.

"Heh, maybe it's the same as Sister Hong's ability..."

The "Sister Hong" Hao referred to was Luo Hong, the wife of Zhao Jin. At the dawn of the apocalypse, she had awakened a very special ability: [Corpse-to-Crystal Condensation]. This Jade-tier superpower allowed Luo Hong to condense any corpse she touched into an elemental crystal. For a single monster, an ordinary player could only obtain one crystal, but with Luo Hong’s ability, the corpse itself could also be condensed into a crystal, greatly increasing the speed of acquisition!

Just as Hao was fantasizing about the bright future where the Zhao family stayed one step ahead of everyone else, He Shufen’s fawning voice broke his train of thought.

"S-sir, we're here..."

"Hmm."

Hao glanced at the class sign on the door and stepped inside. The classroom was filled with a strange odor, like bloody meat that had been seared too long on a pan. Tables and chairs were toppled over, haphazardly piled into the corner. A dozen students nearby seemed to be discussing something; seeing someone enter, they all shut their mouths and fixed their gazes on him.

"Is there someone here named Zhao Hui?" Hao flashed his gun and asked the students nearby.

The students shrank back in fear, but one girl with delicate features stepped forward.

"Are you Zhao Hui's family?"

Before Hao could speak, He Shufen raised her voice again: "Xu Xiao, don't think that just because you're the class monitor you can waste time with nonsense. Hurry up and call Zhao Hui out!"

Xu Xiao frowned, didn't ask any further questions, and instead pointed to the pile of bodies in the corner of the classroom.

"Zhao Hui is already dead."