Chapter 63: Recollection
Clayne quietly stared outside the hallway window while the endless tide of undead continuously moved throughout the ruined city like a massive ocean of corpses swallowing everything alive in its path.
Meanwhile, his expression slowly became absent minded afterward.
Because suddenly...
He remembered someone.
That strange girl before the apocalypse began.
The more Clayne recalled her...
The clearer the memory became continuously inside his head.
Back then, before the school descended into complete chaos and bloodshed, that girl had already started acting strangely.
At first, nobody paid attention toward her behavior.
Because before that day...
She had always remained quiet. Bullied. Mocked. Ignored.
Several students continuously targeted her because she rarely fought back against anyone.
Meanwhile, many people inside the classroom treated her like some invisible existence nobody truly cared about.
But then suddenly...
She changed completely.
Clayne still remembered that moment extremely clearly now.
One of the girls inside the classroom attempted slapping her again earlier that day.
Yet instead of lowering her head silently like before...
The girl suddenly grabbed the bully’s wrist calmly.
And then...
She threw her away effortlessly.
The entire classroom became stunned afterward.
Meanwhile, the girl herself simply stood there expressionlessly.
No panic. No hesitation. No fear.
Her eyes looked completely different already.
Determined. Cold. And strangely experienced.
Meanwhile, everyone inside the classroom immediately started arguing loudly afterward.
Several students accused her aggressively.
Others shouted at her.
Some became angry because of what she did.
Yet the girl merely looked toward everyone calmly.
Then afterward...
Right at that moment...
The girl spoke.
"Most of you will lose your minds and become animals soon.
"So please...
"Enjoy the last moments of your life."
Back then...
Everyone inside the classroom only thought she became insane.
Several people even laughed afterward.
Others cursed her.
Yet Clayne remembered clearly.
He kept staring toward her eyes silently afterward.
Because for some unknown reason...
He understood that look.
That determination.
That coldness.
Those eyes resembled his own back then.
The same eyes he possessed after leaving the Corrode Family.
That feeling of completely severing oneself away from everything else.
Meanwhile, the more Clayne recalled that moment now...
The stranger everything felt continuously.
Because back then...
He already sensed something wrong about her.
Especially after her sudden change in demeanor.
So afterward...
Clayne made a gamble.
A reckless gamble.
At first, even he himself barely believed her words completely.
Yet something inside him still urged caution afterward.
So instead of remaining downstairs together with everyone else...
Clayne quietly left the classroom.
As a part time student worker inside the school building, he possessed several spare keys used for maintenance and cleaning after classes.
Meanwhile, without attracting too much attention, he immediately climbed toward the upper floors afterward.
The fourth floor.
Then eventually...
He chose one of the empty rooms located near the highest part of the building.
Immediately afterward, he unlocked the classroom quietly before entering.
Then he locked it tightly afterward.
At first...
Even Clayne himself thought he might simply be overthinking things.
But then...
The screams started.
And the moment he looked outside afterward...
He saw an undead devouring a fellow student alive.
That was the exact moment he finally realized.
The girl earlier was right.
Meanwhile, now that he recalled everything carefully...
Clayne suddenly felt strange.
Because earlier...
When he nearly exploded after consuming the heavenly tribulation dried mango...
He vaguely remembered her again.
That girl. Urduja. Or whatever her name truly was.
The more Clayne thought about it...
The stranger his emotions became continuously.
Because despite everything that happened afterward...
He still remembered her eyes clearly.
Especially that expression she carried before the apocalypse started.
Meanwhile, outside the hallway window...
The horrifying sea of undead continuously advanced throughout the ruined city endlessly. Growls echoed nonstop throughout distant streets. Buildings occasionally trembled violently.
Several screams erupted from afar before disappearing quickly afterward.
Yet despite all that chaos...
Clayne remained seated quietly near the window while silently wondering about the girl.
"Why did I suddenly think about her..."
Clayne muttered quietly afterward while staring toward the endless undead tide outside continuously.
...
Meanwhile...
Not far away from the school...
On top of a tall building...
Urduja Wells quietly stared toward the endless tide of undead below.
The cold wind continuously blew against her black hair afterward while countless undead flooded throughout the nearby streets like gigantic rivers of corpses.
Meanwhile, behind her...
Several frightened survivors remained gathered together nervously.
Most of them looked exhausted already. Hungry. Terrified.
Several girls continuously trembled while staring toward the horrifying streets below.
Because the sight outside truly looked hopeless.
The entire city had already drowned beneath endless undead.
Meanwhile...
Urduja herself remained unusually quiet.
Because for some unknown reason...
Her stomach still felt strange afterward.
Not painful.
But strange.
Especially after what happened between her and Clayne earlier.
The moment she remembered it...
Her expression immediately became complicated again.
Especially after realizing her body itself had transformed tremendously afterward.
Five parasitic tails.
Even now...
She still found it difficult believing completely.
Meanwhile, the strange feeling inside her stomach continuously bothered her afterward too.
Then suddenly...
One of the girls behind her spoke nervously.
"Miss... are we really safe here?"
The girl asking wore the same school uniform as Urduja while continuously trembling afterward.
Immediately afterward, several other survivors also looked toward Urduja anxiously.
Because right now...
Urduja had become their only source of safety.
Meanwhile, hearing the question, Urduja calmly looked toward the streets below before replying quietly.
"To survive the tide...
"You need buildings between six and ten floors tall.
"The lower floors get overwhelmed first.
"The higher floors attract flying and climbing variants.
"This height gives the best survival chance.
"Their tide was constantly moving, they won’t stay idle, so they won’t check higher floors."
Meanwhile, the frightened survivors quietly listened afterward.
Because unlike them...
Urduja clearly understood far more about the apocalypse.
Then afterward...
Urduja suddenly remembered Clayne again.
The one who took her purity.
The one she left behind at the school earlier.
Even now...
She still felt conflicted regarding him.
Because despite everything...
He still saved her life.
Meanwhile, the more Urduja thought about him...
The more curious she became continuously.
Especially after realizing something strange.
Clayne did not resemble the members of the Corrode Family she knew from her previous life.
Not even remotely.
Back then...
Urduja encountered countless members of the Corrode Family personally.
And every single one of them remained monstrous.
Cruel. Arrogant. Cold blooded.
Meanwhile, the surname Corrode itself eventually became synonymous with disaster throughout countless survivor cities in her previous life.
Massacres.
Resource monopolies.
Human experimentation.
Civil wars.
Undead tides.
Everywhere the Corrode Family expanded...
Disaster followed afterward.
Yet Clayne...
Did not resemble them.
Not completely.
She can’t recall him.
Meanwhile, after remaining silent briefly, Urduja slowly took out Clayne’s school ID afterward.
The small card remained slightly bent already.
Yet his face still remained visible clearly.
Immediately afterward...
One of the girls behind her suddenly gasped.
And the reaction immediately did not escape Urduja’s eyes.
"You know him?"
Immediately afterward, the girl froze nervously.
Meanwhile, Urduja narrowed her eyes slightly afterward.
"Tell me everything you know about him."
The girl hesitated immediately.
Meanwhile, the other survivors also looked nervous afterward.
But then Urduja calmly spoke again.
"Everyone already became undead."
"There’s no point keeping secrets anymore."
"Speak."
Meanwhile, the girl slowly swallowed nervously afterward before speaking quietly.
"Clayne..."
"He works for us part time..."
Immediately afterward, Urduja’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Meanwhile, the girl continued speaking nervously.
"My father..."
"My father was actually threatened by his family."
"He was ordered to monitor him secretly."
"To make sure he wouldn’t embarrass their family."
Meanwhile, Urduja immediately froze afterward.
The girl continued speaking quietly afterward.
"He said he came from a powerful background."
"But he ran away from home."
"And..."
"He always stayed alone."
Meanwhile, the more Urduja listened...
The more shocked she became continuously.
Because suddenly...
Everything connected together inside her mind.
The surname.
The strange attitude.
The hidden background.
The isolation.
The way he behaved.
And most importantly...
The timing.
Immediately afterward...
Urduja suddenly dropped Clayne’s ID accidentally.
Her pupils contracted violently.
Meanwhile, killing intent and disbelief mixed throughout her expression completely.
Then finally...
Urduja muttered tremblingly afterward.
"I know now..."
"I know who he is..."
