Redemption - Chapter 5 - Omens

The two stood up and walked toward the school cafeteria. Just as they entered the hallway, the door of one classroom suddenly flew off its hinges-it had been kicked from the inside. The door shot out into the hallway, heading straight for Zong Rui and Jia Wei.

“Watch out!” Jia Wei shouted. The two quickly stepped back just in time to avoid the stray door. Their quick reflexes spared them from being struck. But before they could fully process what had just happened, a student was kicked out of the classroom after it.

“Careful!” Jia Wei shouted again as they retreated further. The disheveled student, their uniform in tatters, landed in a heap right at their feet. Zong Rui immediately crouched down, concern evident on his face. “Are you okay? Who did this to you-” he began, but Jia Wei interrupted with yet another cry.

“Watch out!”

Reacting on instinct, Zong Rui dove backward several steps, narrowly avoiding what came next-a black blur leapt at the fallen student, followed by a chaotic tumble as the two figures began wrestling on the ground. Without hesitation, Zong Rui and Jia Wei lunged forward to break up the fight. It took all their strength to pry the two combatants apart, their limbs twisted like spiders locked in a deadly embrace.

Pinning the aggressor firmly from behind, Zong Rui called out, “What kind of grudge do you have that you have to fight like this? Can’t you resolve things peacefully?”

The attacker, still fighting tooth and nail, snarled angrily, “This has nothing to do with you! Stay out of it!”

Zong Rui let out a light chuckle. “Sorry, but that’s not an option. I am a member of the Student Council. I can’t just stand by and risk someone getting killed in front of me.” With that, he deftly maneuvered the assailant into a submission hold, pinning them to the ground.

But the aggressor only grew more frenzied, thrashing and cursing wildly. Meanwhile, Jia Wei was restraining the victim, who seemed every bit as agitated. The victim squirmed desperately in an attempt to break free, but Jia Wei held him firm despite breaking into a sweat.

“What’s with this guy? This is unreal…” Jia Wei gasped. Suddenly, his voice rose into a shout. “Zong Rui! Look at their eyes! Check their eyes!”

Zong Rui turned to the victim for a closer look and froze. The student’s eyes had turned a horrifying blood-red, the pupils obscured entirely. All that remained was a terrifying crimson glow filling the sockets.

A shiver ran down Zong Rui’s spine, and he involuntarily loosened his grip on the attacker. The moment he did, the aggressor sprang to his feet and launched himself at Zong Rui. For the first time, Zong Rui noticed the same vivid red filling the attacker’s eyes-it was the same unnatural, menacing hue.

The assailant lunged, closing the distance in an instant. Zong Rui stood frozen in shock, the red orbs burned into his mind. Before the attacker could reach him, a flash of black darted across the scene.

A powerful kick hit the attacker squarely, sending him flying. A sharp voice rang out: “Enough already! Seriously, how many of these incidents are we dealing with today?”

Zong Rui finally snapped back to reality and saw Jia Ying standing in front of him. He quickly asked, “Jia Ying, are you hurt?”

Jia Ying replied with a noncommittal, “What do you think?”

Zong Rui let out a sigh of relief. “Looks like you’re fine. But their eyes…”

Jia Ying nodded solemnly. “I saw them. It might be some kind of illness. They’d better get home and rest. But before that…” She glanced at the two students, who had seemingly calmed down after her arrival, and said, “You two, head to the administration office. Fighting and causing chaos at school, destroying school property-this isn’t a trivial matter. Your condition needs to be-huh?”

Her words abruptly stopped, because…the students’ eyes. At some point, their eyes had returned to normal.

Jia Wei wiped the sweat off his forehead. “Maybe they got too worked up, and there was some kind of bloodshot reaction in their eyes. Once they calmed down, it went away. It’s probably…nothing serious.”

“I hope so…” Zong Rui sighed. After a pause, he added, “By the way, Jia Ying, have you eaten yet?”

Jia Ying shook her head. Zong Rui let out another sigh. “Got it… Okay, I’ll treat. Jia Ying, Jia Wei, let’s head to the cafeteria.”

The three of them headed into the cafeteria together. The school cafeteria was clean and orderly-at the very least, it felt sanitary enough to put one’s mind at ease while eating. As they walked toward the food counter, they discussed the strange incident that had just occurred.

Suddenly, the overhead lights in the cafeteria flickered a few times. Moments later, they felt the ground beneath their feet start to tremble.

Before they could make sense of it, a series of high-pitched, blood-curdling screams erupted from the girls behind them. The sound was so terrifying, like a scene straight out of a horror film, that their instincts kicked in. Without hesitation, they spun around to see what was happening. The sight that greeted them made Zong Rui’s pupils contract to pinpoints.

Against the backdrop of the girls’ anguished screams, an enormous black mass-something resembling a moving carpet-swept across the center of the cafeteria at an alarming speed. It surged rapidly toward the three of them, rushing straight for their feet.

Zong Rui froze, his mind a complete blank. What was that? What could it be? As the black mass loomed closer, the three of them finally saw it clearly. The realization sent chills down their spines.

It was cockroaches. Hundreds, no, thousands of cockroaches.

They formed a massive swarm, a dense, writhing army that moved like a living tide. Accompanied by a pungent, nauseating stench, the swarm surged toward Zong Rui and the others with unstoppable momentum. The sound of their countless tiny legs scrambling across the ground, a faint chittering and scraping, was enough to make one’s scalp tingle.

Zong Rui was the first to break out of his daze, shouting, “Run!” Jia Wei and Jia Ying snapped back to their senses and bolted toward the exit, narrowly avoiding the edge of the swarm. The cockroach horde, however, didn’t stop; instead, it swarmed relentlessly into the kitchen.

Perhaps one of the cockroaches had short-circuited a wire, because they suddenly heard the ominous crackling sound of electricity. Moments later, every light in the cafeteria abruptly went out, plunging the entire space into complete darkness. Some lights even emitted sparks before they died. Chaos erupted instantly. Students, screaming like they’d seen ghosts, scrambled to escape in all directions.

Amid the panic, tables and chairs were knocked over and sent sprawling, countless plates and utensils were crushed underfoot in the confusion, and the two main doors of the cafeteria were battered off their hinges, left hanging crookedly. In the pitch blackness, people fell, some were injured, and groans of pain echoed from all directions.

Zong Rui, Jia Ying, and Jia Wei fumbled through the darkness, helping some of their classmates back to their feet and guiding them out of the cafeteria.

Outside, Zong Rui dusted himself off, feeling like he’d narrowly escaped death. What had just happened inside was so shocking and grotesque that it left him deeply unsettled. He doubted anyone who witnessed it would dare to eat here again.

Even though they had managed to get out, Jia Ying stood staring blankly at the battered cafeteria doors, her voice a quiet murmur. “What is going on today? What…what on earth is happening?”