The Scout’s Gambit

Immediately after, a dozen or so people, led by a middle-aged man, squeezed in from outside the classroom.

“I heard there are other living people in here?”

The man at the front shouted from within the crowd.

Yodel, pulling Yali and the male student, stepped forward, halting when they were approximately five meters from the man.

“Indeed, may I ask who you are?”

“Bob, you can just call me that… Hmm? So you little brat aren’t dead? Why didn’t you come back to report? Were you trying to escape alone?”

The “little brat” he spoke of was clearly the male student.

The male student shrunk back, uncertain whether he should stay behind Yodel or rejoin Bob.

Yodel subtly raised a hand, shielding both Yali and the male student behind him:

“Hello, Yodel Finn is my name.”

Bob searched his memory for the name, yet came up empty-handed.

“His surname is Finn? An unfamiliar name… There shouldn’t be a family like that in Langdon City. He must be an unknown nobody.”

Adopting the air of a superior, he commanded Yodel:

“I don’t care who you are; now, the three of you must obey my command. I will lead you to escape!”

Yodel spat inwardly. ‘What an utter idiot? He forced three students to the front as cannon fodder to scout ahead within ten minutes, and now he has the gall to claim he’ll lead us out.’

Despite his internal curses, Yodel genuinely wished to avoid conflict with this man. If they were to attract the living corpses, he certainly didn’t want to die alongside such an idiot.

Composing himself, Yodel suggested, “Brother Bob, how about this: we split up. If one team manages to escape, they can go find rescuers to help the other team. What do you say?”

Bob smiled, revealing a prominent gold tooth in his mouth.

He had no intention of considering Yodel’s suggestion for even a moment. Ready-made cannon fodder, and they still thought they could run?

‘No chance!’

“Dream on, little brat. You, and that girl next to you, get to the front and scout for me. If you dare to run, I’ll throw you down to feed the living corpses.”

Yodel felt a surge of helplessness; he was now caught between a rock and a hard place.

He neither wanted to obey the idiot before him, nor did he want Yali to get hurt if a genuine confrontation erupted.

After weighing his options, Yodel decided to play along, obeying for the time being. He could foresee death, after all, and if they truly encountered danger, it was uncertain who would end up as whose cannon fodder.

“Alright, Yali, stay behind me.”

Seeing Yodel’s “submission,” Bob smiled with satisfaction. The team had gained another expendable, which meant his own hope of escaping had increased severalfold.

He turned around and announced to the survivors, “Now, as your leader, I’ve determined that those monsters will soon arrive at this building. Therefore, we must quickly relocate to the East Teaching Building. That building is very close to the campus wall, and once we reach it, we can be rescued!”

A glimmer of hope ignited in everyone’s eyes upon hearing this. With Bob’s pronouncement, it seemed as if their chance of escaping this hell was finally within reach.

Yodel’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly as he gazed at the death premonitions that had suddenly appeared, uniformly, on everyone around him, unsure what expression to adopt.

Bob, evidently oblivious to Yodel’s unusual reaction, continued to boast. As he concluded his speech, he pointed at Yodel and commanded:

“Now, you must scout the path exactly as I’ve instructed. Don’t harbor any crooked thoughts.”

Unbeknownst to Bob, his command directly hindered Yodel from utilizing his death premonitions to navigate, thereby inadvertently lowering their collective chances of escape.

“Sigh…”

Yodel rolled his eyes, left with no choice but to follow the perilous route Bob had designated.

Reassuring Yali with a glance, Yodel strode confidently to the front.

During the first half of their journey, everything proceeded with remarkable smoothness, causing the group’s spirits to lift considerably. It seemed Bob hadn’t lied after all; this route was indeed safe!

Only Yodel, leading the way, maintained a solemn expression, but the others merely attributed it to nervousness and gave it no further thought.

However, the observant Yali noticed that her brother wasn’t actually adhering strictly to Bob’s prescribed route. While the general direction remained correct, her brother would occasionally take a small detour when they encountered a fork.

Furthermore, she observed that her brother’s pace also varied; he would sometimes accelerate, then pause, as if actively evading something unseen.

Her intuition told her that the absence of living corpses on this stretch of road wasn’t due to the accuracy of Bob’s designated route, but rather to her brother’s series of subtle maneuvers, which had guided them past the vast majority of dangers.

Pondering this, Yali clenched her small fists:

‘Humph… That villain named Bob, forcing my brother to scout ahead! Once we’re out, I’m definitely going to complain to Principal Abbas Heliq!’

While she was momentarily distracted, Yodel came to a stop at a corner. This was no mere temporary pause, but a complete halt, and even though Bob behind him repeatedly threatened with gestures, Yodel remained utterly motionless.

Before a minute had even passed, Bob’s patience was already wearing thin. It wasn’t that he was inherently impatient, but rather that a large horde of living corpses might be right behind them, and he dared not waste a single moment.

Just as he was about to rush forward and reprimand Yodel, something appeared that made everyone’s hearts seize in their chests.

It was a living corpse, emerging from the very corner where Yodel stood.

Though they had safely navigated the first half of their journey, what was destined to happen eventually did: they had finally encountered a living corpse.

Even though Yodel had exerted himself to the fullest, using his death premonitions to bypass the vast majority of living corpses, the sheer number of them was overwhelming. This time, there was truly no way to avoid a confrontation.

Yali watched helplessly as the living corpse drew closer to Yodel. She yearned to do something, anything, but feared she would only hinder her brother.

However, the ensuing scene stunned everyone, including Yali herself.

Yodel did not flee; instead, he launched an offensive.

One must remember that battling these creatures allowed for no margin of error; a single bite or scratch would condemn one to become one of them. Furthermore, Yodel was unarmed, engaging in a desperate, close-quarters struggle with the living corpse.

Yet Yodel, having already charged forward, remained remarkably calm, for he saw no death premonition upon himself.

Before the living corpse could react, Yodel raised a hand to grip its throat, preventing it from lowering its head to bite. His other hand struck fiercely, causing it to lose its balance. Yet these were not Yodel’s ultimate objectives; it was unrealistic to expect to kill a living corpse with bare fists.

Thus, maintaining his grip, he charged forward, slamming the living corpse against the corridor’s glass like a battering ram.

The glass shattered with a resounding crash. Yodel, quick as a flash, grabbed the living corpse’s leg, flipped it, and hurled it out of the broken window.

The heavy thud of a body hitting the ground echoed from below.

Yodel clapped his hands together, then walked back to the main group.

He raised a hand and pointed at Bob:

“I’ve finished scouting the path. Now it’s your turn.”