"Dad! You really found someone to save me?!"
Sitting in the cab, Anna was overwhelmed with joy. She never imagined she would see her father again after the sudden outbreak.
"Yeah, your old man got lucky. Met a great guy on the road. It was him who brought me to save you. You should've met him already. We'll have to thank him properly in the future."
As Bob spoke, he slammed the accelerator. The truck engine roared as it plowed straight into the small forming zombie cluster at the school gate.
The students in the cargo bed were thrown off balance by the sudden acceleration, slamming into the side panels.
Lux Twilight crouched down, bracing himself against the barrier.
The nauseating sound of bones being crushed rang out again as the heavy truck smashed through the zombies blocking the gate and sped freely onto the road.
"My name is Lux. Let me make this clear first: I'm not a soldier, and I have no obligation to save you. I came here because I was moved by a father's love for his daughter. You were just along the way."
"Now, I need to confirm something. Anyone with an injury, step forward and let me check. No matter how small, you must come out."
"I'll decide whether you're at risk of turning into a zombie."
"If you don't step forward and I find out later, I will throw you off the truck without hesitation."
Lux said coldly.
"How can you do this? What right do you have? You're not even military."
Roy, who had been cut by the bone fragment, shoved his hands into his pockets and shouted angrily. After finally escaping the school, he didn't want to be thrown out again.
"What right? This is my truck. Do you think the whole world owes you something?"
"If someone turns in the cargo bed, everyone here could get attacked and infected. This is for your safety."
Lux sneered at Roy. He hadn't expected this flamboyant guy to be such a troublemaker.
"And at a time like this, you still dare challenge me."
"Lux is right. If someone suddenly turns into a zombie, we'd all get bitten to death."
Catherine, whom Lux had carried, immediately spoke up in support. Many students nodded along.
"I… I cut my finger on a soda can two days ago. That won't infect me, right?"
A boy stepped forward cooperatively, raising his hand.
"Take off your jacket. Leave only a tight T-shirt. Roll up your sleeves. I'll check your arms for wounds."
Lux said calmly.
These students clearly hadn't changed clothes. If there were injuries on their torsos, blood would have seeped through the thin fabric anyway.
Roy's face grew even paler. The situation was clearly turning against him. He absolutely didn't want to survive alone in this world.
"Everyone, are we really going to follow his orders from now on and live like slaves?"
He desperately tried to rally his classmates to his side.
But since the injury check was in most people's interests, not even his former close friends spoke up for him. A sense of betrayal burned in Roy's chest.
"Roy, why are you so against the injury check? Could it be that you're infected?"
A girl in the crowd questioned him.
Roy's face instantly turned deathly white.
Sensing his hesitation, the students around him quickly backed away, isolating him.
"Come to think of it, he's had his hands in his pockets the whole time since getting on the truck."
Whispers spread through the group. Lux locked his gaze onto Roy.
"Take your hands out of your pockets. Take off your jacket."
Lux ordered in an unquestionable tone.
"Heh, so you think I'm infected? You want me dead?! I get it now—you all want me to die!"
Roy shouted hysterically.
"No one wants you dead, you ain't that important. I just need to check whether you've been bitten by a zombie."
Lux stepped forward, closing in on Roy.
"I'm not infected, damn it! I already told you I'm not infected! Fuck! If I'm going to die, then we all die together! It's all that damned woman's fault—why the hell did she kick me down there!"
Forced into a corner by Lux, Roy lunged at him, mouth wide open as he tried to bite Lux's neck.
"I never told you to get into the driver's seat. So why did you go there?"
Along with Lux's cold voice, the broken half of a katana stabbed straight into Roy's forehead. Lux twisted his wrist, instantly shredding Roy's brain.
Roy's lifeless body collapsed heavily inside the truck. The girls who witnessed the bloody scene screamed in terror.
Lux ignored their screams. Grabbing Roy by his clothes, he flung the corpse straight out of the truck.
He disliked disobedient people like this—acting as if the world owed them something, with no sense of gratitude whatsoever.
But the forest was big, and all kinds of birds lived in it. Selfish people like that were hardly rare.
If anything, people like Bob and his daughter, who wouldn't abandon their companions, were the real minority.
"Let's continue. I don't want to waste words. After checking whether you have any wounds, I'll give each of you one compressed biscuit and one bottle of mineral water. After that, I'll take you to a shelter established by the military."
To Lux, these students were nothing but a burden. Not only could they not use the system, he also had to feed them.
Although he planned to establish a settlement, that didn't mean he would take in any piece of trash.
As for these people, Lux intended to hand them over directly to the military shelter.