Star Sea Throne

Chapter Two. Could she be the female lead?

After daybreak, the mutated beasts are less active, and the most dangerous time is at night when hordes of mutated rats and cats roam the campus.

The entire campus was deathly silent, with gleaming white bones and tattered clothes scattered everywhere. Any places nearby where food and water could be found had already been searched countless times.

Originally, there were more than 30 people who survived, but many of them became food for the mutated beasts while searching for food.

There are even more mutated beasts outside the campus. Many people have tried to escape the campus, but they have all disappeared without a trace.

Communication is completely cut off again, and nobody knows what's happening outside. The once vast Haihe University, with its thousands of students and faculty at its peak, now has only about thirty people left.

Dongfang Bai led the team to the front of the Academic Affairs Office building and assigned personnel.

They started searching for usable supplies in pairs, and she and Xu Youran were put in the same team.

She sensed that Xu Youran wasn't in good condition and was worried that something might happen to him, so she wanted to take care of him herself.

As the two turned to the side of the Academic Affairs Office building, a dozen or so mutated wildcats that were foraging for food spotted them.

Upon seeing the live food, the mutated wildcats pounced on it.

The two were unlucky enough to encounter a pack of wild cats in broad daylight.

Having practiced martial arts since childhood, Dongfang Bai was agile and shielded Xu Youran behind him, getting into a fighting stance and engaging in combat with several wild cats.

The wildcats infected with the virus have clearly evolved, their size increasing dramatically to the size of a normal Alaskan Malamute.

This wasn't the first time Dongfang Bai had fought the mutated wildcats, but it was the first time he'd encountered so many. At first, he fought quite well, using punches and kicks to drive the wildcats back.

But soon, these wild cats were aroused and began to meow and pounce, their claws and teeth sharp, and they almost caught Dongfang Bai several times.

Dongfang Bai was caught between fending off the wildcats and protecting Xu Youran, and was momentarily overwhelmed. However, her sharp, knife-like palm strikes still managed to leave cuts on the wildcats.

The stench of blood further enraged the wild cats, and more joined in to attack the two. The cries of wild cats could be heard from not far away, and more wild cats were rushing over after hearing the commotion.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Dongfang Bai was also anxious and secretly glanced at Xu Youran, who was still under her protection.

Yes, true to his name, he was very relaxed and obedient, accepting her protection.

Although Dongfang Bai was somewhat annoyed, he couldn't abandon him and run away alone. With a heavy heart, he stomped his foot and raised his hand.

With a loud bang, a wild cat that pounced through the air seemed to have run into an invisible grenade and was blown in two, its blood and flesh splattering through the air.

Xu Youran was startled behind him, and the dozen or so stray cats were also frightened. Perhaps everyone had the same question: What just happened?

There was nothing in the air, so how did it explode?

The dozen or so stray cats hesitated to approach and instead circled around the two of them.

Although Xu Youran was puzzled, she knew that now was not the time to ask questions.

Since Dongfang Bai had made up his mind, he no longer hesitated, since he had already been exposed anyway.

With a flick of her wrist, another stray cat was struck in the abdomen by the blast, blood gushing out and its internal organs shattering on the ground.

The remaining wild cats, driven mad by the smell of blood, pounced on the attack.

Some came up to bite, some scratched, baring their teeth and claws, extremely ferocious.

Although Dongfang Bai possessed extremely strong close-combat skills, he was also constantly bombarded with invisible grenades.

Unfortunately, there were too many stray cats, and she also had to keep an eye on Xu Youran, who was leisurely hiding behind her.

Before he knew it, a stray cat had pounced on Dongfang Bai's back from behind.

When Dongfang Bai spotted the stray cat, there was no time to dodge or defend himself.

A chill ran through her. Was she going to die at the hands of this wildcat today?

At the same time, I felt a surge of bitterness and resentment.

He took pity on Xu Youran because he was weak and sickly, so he took him on as a team and protected him. But Xu Youran just watched him die from behind.

Just as she was filled with despair and on the verge of disaster, she suddenly heard a soft "whoosh" followed by a loud "bang".

She didn't feel any stray cats grabbing her back, so she quickly spun around and kicked away several stray cats.

When I turned around, I saw Xu Youran holding a large, dark iron shield in her left hand, smiling leisurely.

The large shield was a simple, medieval European-style knight's shield, and it seemed to be engraved with some exquisite patterns.

Before Dongfang Bai could even ask where the large shield came from, two more wild cats pounced on her back amidst the chaos, and she was about to turn around to deal with them.

Xu Youran reached out with his left hand and pulled her into his arms, the large shield protecting almost her entire body.

With a flick of his right hand, two extremely sharp black iron spikes shot out from the ground with a "whoosh," impaling the two wild cats in mid-air.

Xu Youran spun Dongfang Bai around in his arms, and the large shield swept away all the wild cats before she gently released Dongfang Bai.

Seeing the large shield and the spikes, Dongfang Bai seemed to have an idea.

Xu Youran should also have mastered the awakening skill, but like me, he has never shown it.

Xu Youran held the shield in his left hand, protecting Dongfang Bai behind her again, and asked, "Was that explosion of yours an air-type awakening skill?"

"I named it the Air Grenade."

"Not bad skill, how come I've never seen you use it?"

"If it weren't for covering for you, would I need to use my awakening skill?"

Both of them possess awakened skills, making the battle much easier when they no longer need to hide them.

A stray cat pounced, Xu Youran swept her shield horizontally, Dongfang Bai blasted the stray cat half to death in mid-air with an air grenade, and Xu Youran finished off the stray cat with a ground spike.

Xu Youran's large shield provided defense, while the ground spikes delivered the fatal blow.

Dongfang Bai possesses formidable close-quarters combat skills and unpredictable, elusive air grenades.

With their superb teamwork, the two beat the wild cats so badly they howled in agony, their flesh and blood flying everywhere.

The sight of human flesh and blood strongly motivated the wild cats, who fought to the death.

Working together, the two managed to get rid of the dozen or so stray cats in just a few minutes.

The scene of corpses and mangled flesh reeked of a nauseating stench of blood, attracting a large number of mutated beasts. The two quickly moved away from the scene and found a clean office where they did a quick cleanup.

While wiping the blood from his face, Dongfang Bai asked, "When did you awaken?"

"I was bitten by accident a few days ago, and I might have contracted rabies," Xu Youran said casually.

"Rabies virus? That's a deadly virus!" Dongfang Bai stopped what he was doing and looked at Xu Youran with some surprise.

"Indeed, it was very painful when the disease struck. I thought I was going to die and never live again." Xu Youran still felt lingering fear when she thought about the pain of the attack.

Dongfang Bai continued wiping the blood splattered on his body. "You're amazing. I had pneumonia back then, and I coughed up blood for a few days before I recovered."

He glanced at Dongfang Bai furtively. This beautiful woman had also mastered an awakening skill. Could she be the female lead?

The design is nice, but the performance is lacking.

"How about we leave school and go out and try our luck?" Dongfang Bai asked tentatively.

Dongfang Bai's suggestion made Xu Youran's eyes light up.

Yes, now that we've mastered awakening skills, do we no longer need to fear those mutated beasts?

At least I have a basic escape skill. Damn, I can't think about that anymore, it's too embarrassing!

"Shall we go outside the campus and check out the situation?" Xu Youran pondered the feasibility while turning on the tap to wash her hands.

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean. If we stay here and hold out until we run out of ammunition and food, we'll still die. We might as well go out and look for an opportunity."

“Alright, let’s not delay. Let’s split up and gather everyone back together immediately.” With that, Xu Youran opened the door and went out.

Dongfang Bai hesitated for a moment, "What if someone doesn't agree to go out?"

Xu Youran said firmly, "Then leave them behind, and the two of us will go on our own! They don't want to live, what can we do?"

"Let's try to take everyone with us. They're all teachers and classmates, so there's bound to be some connection between us."

Xu Youran remained noncommittal. These so-called teachers and classmates had ridiculed him countless times, and for more than a year, they had only assigned him to keep watch at night.

Upon discovering that Dongfang Bai had also mastered an awakening skill, Xu Youran had some new ideas.

I contracted rabies and awakened the Earth Shield and Earth Spikes.

Dongfang Bai contracted pneumonia, which awakened her sharp fingernails and air grenades.

Two viruses, two diseases, and four completely different awakening techniques.

What if the infection is caused by a different virus? They would likely acquire other types of awakening techniques.

The system clearly states that the number of awakening skills you can master depends on the number of viruses you can infect.

If that's the case, that would be really interesting.

This is encouraging me to get infected with more viruses; to put it simply, it's encouraging me to court death.

The group of more than 30 people quickly regrouped in front of the dormitory building. There was nothing to pack, and their destination was Yurun Supermarket, which was about one kilometer away.

They walked out of the school gate, carrying homemade weapons. They had looked out from inside the gate a few times before; the streets outside were desolate.

Bones, debris, and dust—in just one year, the once bustling and prosperous university town was completely transformed into a ghost town.

There were hardly any living creatures to be seen; even the center of the street was overgrown with weeds, and abandoned cars were parked haphazardly.

Everyone walked this one-kilometer stretch with trepidation, constantly observing their surroundings with vigilance.

Suddenly someone shouted in terror, "On the roof!"

Several stray cats, about the size of large Alaskan Malamutes, were looking down at them from the roof.

Without human intervention, wild animals reproduce at an exceptionally rapid rate.

Everyone huddled around Dongfang Bai, as if she could bring them a sense of security.

Xu Youran was speechless. What was so scary about a few kittens? The two of us just killed a whole bunch of them. It would scare you to death if I told you.

Dongfang Bai gripped the iron rod in his hand and said in a low voice, "Spread out a bit, retreat slowly, and watch out for what's behind you while you're fighting."

At this point, everyone looked around in a panic, but thankfully they only found these few cats for the time being.

"Meow!" The cats meowed and then gracefully leaped down three floors, landing on the ground.

At the same time, they encountered several wild cats that looked like leopards, which made everyone panic.

The cats paced quietly in front of the group, as if looking for an opportunity to strike.

Dongfang Bai thought about his air grenade and Xu Youran's black iron shield.

His confidence soared, and he charged forward, swinging the iron rod.

Everyone grabbed kitchen knives, iron bars, wooden sticks, and mops and rushed out of the school gate. Being alone meant death, and running away meant dying even faster.

Iron bars flew about, and cats scratched wildly. The sounds of iron bars striking cats and cats screaming in pain could be heard intermittently.

Dongfang Bai's physical abilities improved significantly after his awakening, and his years of martial arts training were not in vain.

Seeing that Dongfang Bai was handling the situation with ease, Xu Youran didn't go up to help, and instead joined the others in fighting the other wild cats.

Fortunately, everyone's physical fitness has improved significantly over the past year. This isn't the first time we've fought wild cats and mice, so we have some experience.

Dongfang Bai quickly dealt with the wild cat she was fighting, then turned around to help the others, and soon the group had taken care of several more wild cats.

They checked each other and found that, apart from the stray cat's blood, no one was injured.

In this situation, no one will show off their legs for beauty anymore.

Almost all of them were fully armed from head to toe, wearing canvas gloves to prevent being scratched by mutated beasts.

The group encountered a pack of stray cats as soon as they stepped outside, making their already tense nerves even more vulnerable.

The group walked for more than half an hour in just one kilometer. Along the way, they encountered a few mutated beasts, which they easily dealt with by swarming them.

After finally arriving at the supermarket entrance, the group pushed open the heavy glass door.