Clayne no longer paid attention to the Tiny World for the moment.

Although the events that had occurred inside the miniature cultivation realm were astonishing, he knew very well that his greatest danger did not come from those tiny cultivators. The real danger existed outside the walls of the school building. The real danger existed in the city consumed by the apocalypse. The real danger existed in the countless undead, the mutated creatures, the strange red mist, and all the unknown phenomena that continued appearing one after another.

The egg sac remained in his hands.

Even after surviving the terrifying heavenly tribulation, the thing appeared strangely calm.

However, Clayne could still sense life moving inside.

The creature within was growing.

The creature within was changing.

The creature within was becoming stronger with every passing moment.

For some reason, merely holding the egg sac caused him to feel that he was carrying something extremely dangerous. It was similar to carrying a dormant volcano. Everything seemed peaceful on the surface, yet one instinctive part of him continuously warned him that the thing inside could one day become something beyond imagination.

Still, Clayne did not panic.

The Beast Enslavement Spell was still active.

The connection between him and the creature remained stable, no, in fact he felt it’s gotten stronger.

As long as the connection existed, he would at least have some degree of control.

After reassuring himself, he shifted his attention back to the Tiny World.

The heavenly tribulation had left Silent River Hill in terrible condition.

Large portions of the terrain had been damaged.

The once beautiful rivers had become muddy.

The forests looked as though they had been struck repeatedly by natural disasters.

Many areas were filled with cracks and scorched earth.

Clayne clicked his tongue.

He had spent quite a bit of effort improving the place.

Now it looked terrible again.

Without hesitation, he gathered several bottles of water and began pouring them into the Tiny World.

The water flowed down like rivers from heaven.

Streams washed across the damaged terrain.

Dust disappeared.

Blood stains disappeared.

The cracked land gradually became moist once more.

The rivers regained their clarity.

The trees appeared healthier.

The grass slowly recovered its color.

Clayne nodded with satisfaction.

The place finally looked somewhat normal again.

Just as he was preparing to put the Tiny World away, however, he suddenly felt a vibration beneath his feet.

At first, he thought nothing of it.

The vibration was extremely faint.

It lasted only a brief moment before disappearing.

Yet several seconds later, it happened again.

This time, it was stronger.

The floor trembled slightly.

The walls vibrated.

A few loose particles of dust fell from above.

Clayne immediately frowned.

The feeling was wrong.

The building had remained stable for days.

There should not have been any sudden tremors.

The vibrations continued.

Each one became stronger than the last.

The metal reinforcements he had placed around windows and hallways emitted faint creaking noises.

The walls groaned.

The floors shook.

The entire structure seemed increasingly unstable.

Clayne immediately moved toward the nearest window.

The moment he looked outside, his expression changed.

The red mist had returned.

Not only had it returned, but it was emerging from everywhere.

The roads.

The sidewalks.

The cracks in the concrete.

The drainage systems.

The underground parking areas.

Every visible opening seemed to be releasing red mist.

That’s far stronger when the Mother Mantis gave birth to the egg sac.

The scene reminded him of the first day of the apocalypse.

Back then, the red mist had transformed ordinary people into monsters.

Back then, the red mist had been the beginning of humanity’s nightmare.

Now it was appearing again.

But something else caught his attention.

The mist was moving with purpose.

It was not drifting randomly.

It was not spreading naturally.

Instead, it was flowing.

Like rivers.

Like countless streams converging toward a single destination.

Toward the school.

Toward the building.

Toward him.

More specifically, toward the egg sac.

Clayne’s eyes narrowed.

He immediately understood what was happening.

The mist was not interested in him.

The mist wanted the creature inside the egg.

Without wasting another second, he grabbed the egg sac and rushed toward the bathroom.

The damaged cubicle remained exactly where he remembered.

The hole connecting the fourth floor to the third floor was still there.

Clayne entered the last cubicle and carefully lowered the egg sac through the opening.

The moment the egg landed on the third floor below, the reaction was immediate.

The entire building shook violently.

The floor beneath his feet trembled.

The walls emitted loud cracking sounds.

Windows rattled.

The stairways vibrated.

The intensity of the tremors increased dramatically.

At the same time, the red mist surged upward from every direction.

What had previously looked like streams now resembled floods.

The mist poured through broken windows.

It rushed through corridors.

It climbed staircases.

It invaded every part of the building.

Soon, the lower floors were completely covered.

The hallways turned crimson.

The classrooms turned crimson.

Every visible area became submerged beneath a sea of red mist.

Yet the mist never lingered.

Everything flowed toward the egg.

Every strand of mist was absorbed.

Every trace vanished into the sac.

The creature inside consumed it endlessly.

The more mist it absorbed, the stronger the tremors became.

A rhythmic pulse began echoing throughout the building.

It sounded almost like a heartbeat.

Not a normal heartbeat.

A gigantic heartbeat.

Each pulse caused the structure to tremble.

Each pulse seemed to spread outward through the city itself.

Clayne stood silently as he listened.

The sound became stronger.

Then stronger.

Then stronger again.

Soon, another sound joined it.

A howl.

Then another howl.

Then dozens.

Then hundreds.

Then thousands.

The sounds came from every direction.

Some resembled wolves.

Others resembled insects.

Others resembled birds.

Still others sounded like creatures Clayne had never heard before.

The howls carried madness.

They carried hunger.

They carried violence.

Most importantly, they carried fear.

Every creature seemed to be reacting to the existence of the egg.

The sounds continued growing louder.

More numerous.

More disturbing.

Even Clayne felt chills running down his spine.

Because these creatures felt different from before.

When the Mother Mantis had first appeared, the surrounding creatures had been dangerous.

However, the creatures responding now felt far more terrifying.

It was as though ancient predators hidden throughout the city had suddenly awakened.

It was as though monsters that had remained dormant until now had finally opened their eyes.

The pressure they emitted was enough to make even Clayne uneasy.

...

Far away from the school, Urduja Wells and the surviving students continued moving through the city.

The group had become increasingly exhausted during the past few days.

Everyone was hungry.

Everyone was tired.

Everyone was afraid.

Nevertheless, they continued following Urduja because she seemed to know what she was doing.

One male student finally gathered enough courage to voice the question that had been bothering everyone.

"Why are we following the route of the undead tide?"

Several others immediately nodded.

They had wanted to ask the same thing.

Every instinct told them to avoid areas previously occupied by massive undead hordes.

Yet Urduja continued choosing those routes.

Urduja glanced at them before answering calmly.

"Because the tide never returned."

The students exchanged confused looks.

One girl hesitated before speaking.

"What do you mean by that?"

Urduja continued walking while explaining.

"The undead tide moved away."

"They never came back."

"Something important enough to pull away millions of undead. I’ve never seen one."

She paused briefly.

"If something can attract an entire undead tide, then that thing is far more dangerous than random survivors like us."

The students still did not fully understand.

However, before they could ask another question, the ground suddenly trembled.

Everyone stopped.

Another tremor followed.

Then another.

Then another.

Urduja’s expression immediately changed.

One of her blood tails stiffened.

The treasure-sensitive tail.

The tail that had guided her to countless opportunities.

The tail that had never been wrong.

It was reacting violently.

Urduja immediately turned around.

The moment she did, her pupils contracted.

A distant rumbling sound echoed across the city.

At first it sounded like distant thunder.

Then it became louder.

And louder.

And louder.

Until it resembled a gigantic tsunami racing toward them.

The students looked confused.

Then terrified.

Because the sound was coming from behind them.

The same direction they had traveled from.

The rumbling intensified rapidly.

Buildings shook.

Windows shattered.

Dust rose into the sky.

Then someone screamed.

"The undead!"

Everyone turned.

Their faces instantly became pale.

The tide had returned.

The streets were completely filled.

Every visible road contained undead.

Every intersection contained undead.

Every alley contained undead.

The sheer number was impossible to estimate.

It looked less like a horde and more like a living ocean.

Worse still, they were moving much faster than before.

Urduja immediately realized something catastrophic had happened.

"Run!"

Her voice exploded through the air.

"Run now!"

"Do not stop!"

"If you stop moving, you will die!"

Panic erupted instantly.

The students sprinted with everything they had.

Some nearly tripped.

Some cried.

Some screamed.

Yet none dared slow down.

The rumbling behind them continued growing louder.

The undead tide was approaching.

The distance between them continued shrinking.

Every glance backward stole more color from their faces.

The endless sea of undead swallowed roads.

Swallowed vehicles.

Swallowed entire sections of the city.

Urduja gritted her teeth and released her blood tails.

She grabbed slower students and practically threw them forward.

"Hurry!"

"Keep moving!"

"Do not look back!"

The group ran desperately.

Their lungs burned.

Their muscles screamed in pain.

Their legs felt ready to collapse.

Yet fear forced them onward.

Then, finally, they saw a building ahead.

It was tall.

It was sturdy.

Most importantly, it was intact.

Urduja pointed immediately.

"There!"

Without hesitation, the entire group changed direction.

They rushed through the entrance.

They charged up the staircases.

They ignored exhaustion.

They ignored pain.

They ignored everything except survival.

One floor.

Two floors.

Three floors.

Four floors.

Five floors.

Only when they reached the upper levels did they finally stop.

Everyone collapsed.

Some fell onto their backs.

Some cried openly.

Some gasped for air.

Others simply stared blankly at the ceiling.

Outside the windows, the undead tide surged past the building like a living flood.

The sound continued for a long time.

The rumbling never seemed to end.

Yet eventually, the tide moved on.

The building remained untouched.

The students remained alive.

Only then did they finally realize that they had survived.