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*****
After 30 minutes,
Raccoon City Elementary School.
The group finally arrived at the school. The courtyard was littered with burnt-out cars and stray corpses. The faint groaning of the undead echoed somewhere in the distance, carried by the cold breeze.
Inside the school's cafeteria, chairs were toppled over, trays still filled with half-eaten meals. Someone had clearly left in a hurry.
They gathered there to regroup and plan. Wandering blindly through the school wasn't going to help them find Angela.
Luke stood in the center.
"Alright, here's how we do this. Peyton and Terri will stay here. The rest of us will split up and search."
He turned toward each person as he gave orders. "Alice, you take the second floor. Jill, you cover the first. Selene will move between both levels and keep an eye out in case things go south. I'll handle the ground floor. We regroup here in thirty minutes, no matter what."
His tone left no room for argument.
"So," Luke added, glancing around the group, "any problems with that setup?"
It was a solid plan. Splitting up covered the ground faster, and each team had someone capable.
Jill adjusted her grip on her handgun. "No problem here."
Alice loaded her magazine with a clean, confident click. "Fine by me."
Selene gave a simple nod, her usual calm expression unshaken.
"Good," Luke said. "Then let's move."
As the three women stepped out, Luke looked back at the two left behind. "You two stay here and don't attract trouble. If anything dangerous shows up, just shout. I'll come running."
Terri gave a nervous laugh. "Right, sure. Just yell and pray you're close enough to hear."
Luke smirked faintly before heading out the door with the others.
Once they were gone, silence settled in the Dining hall.
Terri looked at Peyton, slumped in a chair with his leg bandaged. "They think we're dead weight, don't they?"
Peyton gave a half-laugh, half-grimace. "No need to think itâthey're right. You can't fight, and I can barely walk thanks to this bite. That makes us prime zombie bait."
Terri frowned, crossing her arms. "You don't have to say it that bluntly."
"Blunt's better than dead," Peyton muttered, glancing toward the door. "Let's just hope this place stays quiet. The last thing I need is another close encounter."
***
On Luke's side,
While searching through the dimly lit hallways for Angela, Luke's mind wasn't entirely focused on it.
His attention kept drifting to the faint blue panel hovering beside him â the ever-present system screen only he could see.
And this time, something new was there.
A small icon pulsed faintly near the edge of his interface, labeled: [Evolution].
It hadn't been there before. He remembered clearly â it appeared right after his system devoured that so-called "Avatar of Evolution."
"So this is what I got from that bug freakâŚ" he muttered, tapping the air lightly.
[Race: Human (Conditions met for Evolution)]
"So⌠does this mean my race as a human can evolve?"
If that was true, it was a potential game-changer. Evolution wasn't just some stat upgrade â it could mean a completely new body, new abilities, maybe even a whole different level of existence.
But then, the image of that insect freak from earlier flashed through his mind. He grimaced.
"Yeah, no thanks. I like having a face. And being male," he thought dryly, shivering at the memory.
The last thing he wanted was to end up like that eunuch-looking bug thing â neither man nor woman, just⌠nightmare fuel.
Still, curiosity always wins. He tapped on the glowing icon.
[Enhanced Human (Stage 1 Evolution)]
[Traits: Stronger, faster â peak human potential]
[Possible Perks: +Stat growth (Strength, Agility, Intelligence scale better), Enhanced healing.]
[Condition to unlock: Have consumed the special awakening factor.]
"Awakening factor?" Luke murmured, raising an eyebrow. "When did I even consume something like that?"
He paused, then blinked as memory hit. "Ah⌠the Corvinus blood."
Maybe that counts.
"So that's it, huh?" he muttered, rubbing his chin.
He skimmed the description again, unimpressed. "So basically, the next stage just makes me a slightly better version of myself. Peak human. Not bad, butâŚ" He glanced at his stats.
"âŚI'm already close to that. Doesn't sound that great."
As he was browsing through the system panel, movement caught his attention.
From the half-open bathroom door, a zombie stumbled out, dragging one foot behind the other. Its soaked janitor uniform still dripped mop water, mixing with black stains on the tiles. The poor guy probably died doing his job.
Luke didn't even blink. He was too busy scrolling through his system panel, still weighing his options about this whole evolution thing.
The zombie moaned again, arms reaching forward like a sleepwalker.
"Yeah, yeah⌠give me a sec," Luke muttered without looking up.
When the creature finally got close, Luke just sighed, turned slightlyâ
âand slapped it across the face.
THWACK!
The janitor zombie spun in mid-air like a broken mop and slammed into the wall with a wet crack, then slid down, motionless.
Luke stared at it for a second, unimpressed. Then, he went right back to browsing his system panel.
Ever since losing his arm in the last fight, he'd kept Stone Skin active by default. It didn't drain much mana, and his recovery rate easily balanced it out.
Even a bite from a zombie couldn't pierce him now â worst-case scenario, it'd just break its own teeth.
A lesson learned the hard way. Precaution is better than cure.
But as he was scrolling, a thought sparked in his mind. "Wait⌠the T-Virus."
His eyes brightened. A reckless idea formed. "If the T-virus rewrites DNA and causes mutation⌠maybe it can trigger a more powerful evolution."
It wasn't a bad theory â in a horrifying kind of way.
"ThoughâŚ" he frowned, thinking it through. "Wouldn't that technically count as changing my race? Would the system lock prevent it?"
Before level 30, he couldn't change his race or body â but with this new Evolution function, maybe those old restrictions didn't apply anymore.
He sighed. "Whatever. I'll just test it. If it goes wrong, I can use the antivirus Angela has. Simple."
His gaze fell back on the dead zombie he'd just slapped.
Luke stared at it for a long moment. "Ughh⌠I really don't like where this is going," he muttered, grimacing. "Please don't make me regret this, brain."
He crouched next to the corpse, eyeing the puddle of dark, half-coagulated blood spreading from the janitor's neck.
The smell hit him like a physical slap â sour rot and disinfectant mixed together into something uniquely hellish.
"Arhhh, smells gross⌠but gotta do this," Luke said, pulling a combat knife from his inventory.