Chapter 328: The counting begins.

“Make sure you check their bodies thoroughly,” Ivy instructed Darren, who was in charge of the male students, her gaze fixed on him to ensure he understood the importance of her words.

While Darren attended to the boys, Ivy continued examining the female students one after another, carefully checking their bodies for any wounds that might indicate a monster’s attack. Fortunately, none of them had sustained any injuries.

Once she was satisfied with the results, the girls began putting their clothes back on. However, one person remained standing behind the wall, her arms wrapped tightly around her body.

Rose.

“Huh? You haven’t taken off your clothes yet, Rose?” one of the female students asked, raising an eyebrow as confusion spread across her face. “Are you still shy? We’re all behind this wall, and the boys can’t even see us.”

“What’s the problem, Rose?” Ivy asked, turning her attention to the girl. Although she was growing increasingly impatient, she made an effort to conceal her frustration. They had already wasted enough time, and the last thing she wanted was another delay when their survival depended on finding a way out of the underground.

“I really don’t feel comfortable doing this,” Rose replied firmly, tightening her arms around herself as though that would protect her from the uncomfortable situation. “Even my own mother doesn’t walk into my room when I’m naked before the apocalypse began. Why should I have to take off my clothes in front of everyone else?”

“If you refuse to take off your clothes, everyone will have reason to suspect that you’ve been infected by the monsters,” Ivy retorted, her tone leaving little room for argument.

BANG!

Suddenly, a deafening gunshot echoed through the underground, sending waves of terror down the students’ spines.

“Ahhh!”

Several students screamed in fright, instinctively covering their ears as they crouched behind the wall. Others clutched one another, their faces drained of color as they struggled to comprehend what had just happened.

“Are the monsters here?”

“Are they already killing people? We’re doomed! We’re still going to die!” some of the students whispered frantically among themselves, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

“Everyone, keep quiet!” Ivy ordered, pressing her index finger against her lips in a stern gesture.

Her authoritative voice immediately silenced the students. Even those who were on the verge of bursting into tears forced themselves to remain quiet, afraid that making another sound might attract the monsters.

Ivy cautiously leaned her head around the edge of the wall, trying to see what was happening on the other side.

A male student lay in a pool of his own blood, his body undergoing a horrifying transformation. His teeth had become jagged and unnaturally sharp, while his head had begun splitting into two. His entire body twitched violently as the transformation progressed, leaving little doubt about what he was becoming.

A monster.

However, before the transformation could be completed, another gunshot rang out.

BANG!

The bullet struck the creature’s head, bringing its terrifying movements to an abrupt halt. Its body went limp almost immediately, and the transformation stopped.

Darren lowered his gun and turned toward Ivy, who was watching him from behind the wall.

“It’s fine, Captain Ivy,” he assured her, his voice steady despite the horrifying scene before them. “He was bitten and was about to transform into a monster. I had no choice but to eliminate him before he could become a threat to everyone else. There was no time to waste.”

Ivy studied him for a moment before giving a small nod.

Taking a deep breath, she turned back to the female students.

“It’s fine, girls. The infected student among the boys has been eliminated. There’s no need to panic,” she announced, attempting to reassure them. “Just remain calm and follow my instructions.”

Her gaze soon settled on Rose again, and the patience she had been trying so hard to maintain began to wear thin.

“Now, hurry up and stop wasting my time, Rose!”

Rose’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“The monster among the boys has already been eliminated, hasn’t it?” she questioned, her voice rising with frustration. “Then why do you still insist on checking my body? If I were really infected, shouldn’t I have started transforming by now? That gunshot was frightening enough to make everyone panic. Surely, if I were carrying the infection, all that fear should have accelerated my transformation!”

She shook her head, clearly unwilling to accept Ivy’s demands.

“Let’s just continue our journey and find the exit instead of wasting more time here. We don’t even know how long we can remain underground without running into monsters!”

For a moment, Ivy stared at her in silence and soon she tightened her grip on her gun and took a step toward Rose.

“If you still refuse to take off your school uniform by the time I count to ten, I’ll have no choice but to treat you as a monster and shoot you down immediately,” Ivy warned, her voice turning dangerously cold.

Rose’s face instantly paled.

“And if I shoot you, then check your body afterward and discover that you don’t have a single wound, you’ll be dead for nothing. So, unless you’re prepared to take that risk, I suggest you do exactly as I say.”

With that, Ivy raised her gun slightly, making it clear that she wasn’t bluffing.

Rose swallowed hard, her gaze darting between Ivy’s cold expression and the weapon in her hand. The other girls remained silent, too frightened to intervene on her behalf.

“Ten…”

Ivy began counting, her eyes never leaving Rose’s face.

“Nine…”

Rose’s breathing became increasingly uneven.

“Eight…”

Fuck! She’s crazy!

Rose cursed inwardly, her heart pounding furiously against her chest.

Is she seriously going to shoot me? She’s actually going to pull the trigger just because I refuse to take off my clothes?

With trembling fingers, she slowly reached for the buttons of her school uniform.

Her hands shook so badly that she struggled to undo the first button. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to continue.

“Seven…”