The whole nation is trying to survive on the cable car; I'm choosing one of three options at ea

Behind me, the vines spread faster and faster. Like a green tide, they surged in from all directions, covering the ground, walls, and tree trunks. Everything in their path was swallowed up... flower beds, streetlights, trash cans, corpses—all were entangled, wrapped, and devoured by the vines.

Su Mu kept looking back as he ran.

The vines were spreading much faster than he had anticipated. They were spreading at a pace almost like jogging on flat ground, and even faster on walls and tree trunks. At this rate, the entire dormitory area would be covered in vines in less than five minutes.

Su Mu quickly calculated in his mind.

What level are these vines? He used his area awareness to probe them, and the information the system returned made his heart sink.

There is no data at all. I don't know if it's because this part is undetectable or because the level is too high.

But Su Mu recalled what had happened before. During the area exploration, the highest level monster he encountered was level 8.

Therefore, the highest level of this vine should be level 8, but in terms of quality, Su Mu guessed it was definitely not just blue, but a higher level like purple.

Su Mu didn't dwell on it. He quickened his pace and sprinted towards the school gate.

Running out of the dormitory area and into the teaching area, the scene ahead was even more shocking.

The tree-lined avenue was littered with corpses. Not the corpses of monsters, but human corpses... no, not all of them were human.

Some of the corpses were grotesquely shaped, with disproportionate limbs and heads, resembling some kind of humanoid monster. They were scattered along both sides of the road, some hanging from streetlights, some wedged between tree branches, and some suspended in mid-air by vines, like skewered jerky.

The air was thick with the stench of blood and decay, a mixture that made one want to vomit. A thin layer of blood mist rose from the ground, like morning fog, but its color was dark red.

Su Mu's gaze swept over the corpses, and he quickly made a judgment in his mind.

These corpses didn't die today. Some were dried and blackened, some were rotten to the bone, and some were still in their dying poses... struggling, reaching out for help. They had been dead for at least several days, or even longer.

And those vines are "cleaning up" them one by one.

Ahead, the school gate was less than a hundred meters away. The iron gate was half-open, its frame covered with vines like a green curtain. Outside, the street was bathed in sunlight and open... there were no vines there.

Not yet, at least not yet.

Su Mu quickened his pace.

Just then, the vines on both sides moved.

As if sensing the presence of their prey, they sprang up simultaneously from the ground, walls, and tree trunks, coiling towards Su Mu and Lin Xiaohe. Their speed was astonishing; the tips of the vines twisted like snakes, reaching for their limbs, necks, and waists.

Su Mu did not hesitate.

He pulled a grenade from his backpack, removed the safety pin, and threw it towards the densest patch of vines on his left. Then he threw another one, this time towards his right.

"boom......!"

"boom......!"

Two explosions rang out almost simultaneously. Flames erupted, shrapnel flew everywhere, and the vines were blasted to pieces, splattering dark green sap. The vines, as if startled, recoiled abruptly, leaving a charred mark on the ground.

Hand grenades are useful. They're afraid of exploding.

Su Mu wasted no time and continued charging forward. As he ran, he pulled grenades from his backpack and threw them at the vines on either side. Explosions rang out one after another, flashes of light flickered in the blood mist, and the vines were blasted backward.

However, the number of grenades is limited.

He hadn't brought many grenades with him today; he'd used some at the military base, some at the evacuation point, and the rest were in his backpack. He quickly estimated... he had about a dozen left.

A dozen or so hand grenades wouldn't last until the school gates were open.

Su Mu gritted his teeth, took out all the remaining grenades from his backpack, and handed them to Lin Xiaohe behind him.

"Throw it to both sides. Don't stop."

Lin Xiaohe took the grenade, her hands trembling, but she didn't hesitate. Following Su Mu's example, she pulled the safety pin and threw it towards the vines on her right.

"boom......!"

Another explosion was heard.

Su Mu didn't stop to throw grenades. He summoned his spear and charged forward.

The school gate was right in front of us, less than fifty meters away. But there were too many vines on the gate frame, densely intertwined, like a green wall. A grenade could blast a path through, but after the explosion, the vines would quickly gather back together.

He needed to rush out in those few seconds.

Su Mu took a deep breath, gripped his spear tightly, and charged toward the school gate.

The distance is thirty meters.

Twenty meters.

ten meters.

"Throw it!" Su Mu shouted.

Lin Xiaohe threw the last grenade towards the school gate. The grenade arced through the air and landed where the vines were densest.

"boom......!"

A burst of fire erupted, blasting a huge gash through the vines. Dark green sap splattered everywhere, and charred fragments of vines flew through the air.

Right now.

Su Mu charged into the breach, his spear sweeping across. He wasn't sure how powerful his newly learned skill truly was, but he couldn't afford to think about it now... If he couldn't eliminate these creatures, he would be in real danger.

The moment he swung his spear, a blur appeared behind him. The blur made the exact same movements as him, but faster and more rapid. With a single swing, the blur exploded, transforming into hundreds of tiny spear beams that shot out in all directions.

Each spear thrust struck a vine with pinpoint accuracy, tearing countless tiny cracks in the green curtain.

The damage numbers floated up densely... [-1][-2][-1][-1]... Each number floated twice, clearly indicating that the extra attack had also been triggered.

The lowest damage was only 1 point, but the sheer number of attacks was overwhelming. Hundreds of attacks rained down simultaneously, tearing the vines apart as if they were being sliced ​​into pieces, scattering fragments and flying sap.

What surprised Su Mu even more was that those afterimages not only copied his basic attacks, but also included the special effects of his skills.

Each afterimage triggers an additional attack, effectively turning one strike into two, two strikes into four, spreading exponentially. Previously, he could deal 300% damage to a single monster; now, with this effect, it's at least 400%.

The vines were forced to retreat steadily by this wave of ferocious attacks.

They seemed to possess some rudimentary sensory ability, distinguishing between prey that could be devoured and an insurmountable threat. At this moment, Su Mu was clearly the latter in their eyes.

The vines that had been rushing forward began to retreat, as if they had been burned, quickly shrinking back into the gaps in the ground, walls, and door frames.

A narrow passageway was revealed in front of the school gate.

Without hesitation, Su Mu holstered his gun, turned around, and shouted to Lin Xiaohe, "Don't throw it away, come with me!"

Lin Xiaohe had already thrown out the last grenade and immediately followed upon hearing this. The two rushed out of the school gate one after the other, and as soon as their feet touched the concrete road outside, the vines behind them surged up again, completely blocking the gap.

Outside the school gate, the sunlight was blinding. Su Mu stopped and looked back... The green vines wriggled wildly inside the gate, but not a single one dared to extend beyond. They were like a tide sealed within the campus, repeatedly testing the boundary, yet unable to cross it.

Su Mu gasped for breath, stared at the vines for a few seconds, and then turned around.

"Let's go," he said.

Lin Xiaohe nodded and followed behind him. The two walked briskly along the street, heading away from Ash University. Behind them, the greenery inside the school gates gradually subsided, as if nothing had happened.

......