Chapter 326: Finding the exit.

His warning immediately silenced the students. Instead of arguing, they huddled together, holding on to one another tightly as fear continued to gnaw at them. None of them dared to make another sound, afraid that even the slightest noise might attract the monsters outside.

“The monsters are definitely out there, Commander Ivy,” Darren whispered, his voice barely audible as he approached her. “Now that they’ve made it to the second floor and even broke into the room, we can’t afford to fight them right now. Doing so would put the students in unnecessary danger and even some of our soldiers considering the fact that these monsters aren’t children monsters.”

He paused briefly, glancing towards the direction of the entrance before continuing.

“It’s not even advisable to engage the monsters when we have the option of hiding. We should stay here for a while and hope they eventually leave. Once they’re gone, we can deal with them later without having to worry about these students getting caught in the crossfire.”

“There’s no need to go through all that trouble,” Elliot suddenly interjected as he walked towards Ivy. “This basement connects to the underground parking lot of the adjacent mall through a back passage.”

“Huh? How are you so sure about that?” Darren asked, raising an eyebrow as confusion spread across his face.

“Is that really the right question to ask right now?” Erick retorted, raising an eyebrow before letting out a scoff. “Who gives a damn how he knows? Let’s just find the passage, get the fuck out of here, and worry about the details later!”

He glanced impatiently between Dareen and Elliot, clearly unwilling to waste another second discussing something that could be resolved by simply checking the passage.

Darren opened his mouth as though he wanted to argue, but after a moment, he decided against it. Instead, he exchanged a brief glance with Ivy, who nodded in agreement with Erick’s suggestion.

Without wasting any more time, Ivy strode towards the partition wall Elliot had indicated. She examined it for barely a second before lifting her leg and delivering a powerful kick.

BANG!

The partition wall burst open with a loud crash, revealing the passage behind it.

Everyone’s eyes widened in surprise at the sheer force of her kick. Even the students, who had been too frightened to move moments earlier, stared at her in disbelief.

However, Ivy paid no attention to their reactions. She stepped through the opening and immediately led the way, with Elliot, Darren, Erick, Antelope, and the others following closely behind her.

They continued through the passage until they finally emerged into the underground parking lot.

The sight that greeted them was completely different from what they had expected.

The entire parking lot was brightly illuminated by the overhead bulbs, which were still switched on despite the chaos outside. Different types of cars were parked neatly in their designated spaces, their polished surfaces reflecting the artificial light above.

Yet, what surprised everyone the most was the complete absence of monsters.

They could still hear the terrifying growls echoing somewhere above them, loud enough to remind them that the creatures were still nearby. However, the sounds weren’t coming from the underground parking lot itself.

For the first time in a while, they could breathe without feeling as though a monster might suddenly leap out and tear them apart.

Just then, one of the students eyes landed on a bottle of water lying in the middle of the parking lot.

Her gaze immediately fixed on it, and before she could even say anything, several other students spotted it too.

“Water!”

The moment the word escaped someone’s mouth, the students rushed towards the bottle as though their lives depended on it.

“I found it first!” The student shouted, stretching out her hand to grab the bottle.

“Let go of it, you bitch!” another female student screamed, grabbing her arm and attempting to pull her away.

“Get your hands off me! I saw it first!”

“You’re not the only one who’s thirsty, you selfish bitch!”

Within seconds, the students were shoving and pulling at one another, fighting desperately over the single bottle of water as though it were the most precious treasure in the world.

And, to them, perhaps it was.

Their voices echoed throughout the underground parking lot as they struggled to claim the bottle for themselves, completely forgetting that they were supposed to remain quiet.

“What the fuck is wrong with those bastards?” Darren demanded, his face darkening with anger as he watched the chaotic scene unfold. “Are they seriously trying to attract the monsters here? What the hell are they doing, fighting over a bottle of water as if they’ve never had a drink in their entire lives?”

“Of course, water is practically a treasure to them right now,” Desmond replied, his expression turning serious as he watched the students continue to struggle. “We’ve been sharing a single bottle of water among ourselves for three days. Sometimes, we have to make one bottle last an entire week, depending on the resources we’re able to find.”

He let out a heavy sigh, his gaze lingering on the students.

“Do you honestly think these people have had enough water to drink since the apocalypse began?”

“Even so, they can’t be allowed to continue acting like this!” Erick argued, his brows furrowing as he took a step forward. “We should separate them before their stupid behaviour ends up getting all of us killed!”

He was just about to approach the students when Ivy suddenly stretched out her hand, stopping him in his tracks.

“There’s no need for that,” Ivy said firmly, her gaze remaining fixed on the students as they continued fighting over the bottle. “The monsters can’t get in here anyway.”

Erick turned to look at her, a trace of confusion crossing his face.

“But, Commander, listen to them! They’re making enough noise to wake the dead. What if….”

“There’s no need to worry about that right now,” Ivy interrupted, her tone leaving little room for argument. “Let’s just find the exit and get the fuck out of here.”

She swept her gaze across the underground parking lot, taking in the rows of parked cars and the surrounding walls. Although the area appeared safe for the moment, she had no intention of lingering there longer than necessary.

“As you can all see, the exit isn’t even visible from where we’re standing. We need to locate it before we can leave this place.”

With that, Ivy turned away from the bickering students and began examining their surroundings.