Of course, Lulia Smith wasn't going to just leave with James Lone.

She didn't even know who he was. Compared to this unfamiliar stranger, she at least had some level of trust with her colleagues and students here at the school—despite her dislike for Doris García and some of the other leaders.

Since she wasn't planning to leave the school, she needed to maintain her relationships here.

She immediately distanced herself from James Lone, saying firmly: "I'm sorry, I don't know you. I won't go with you."

Doris García was overjoyed and sneered triumphantly: "See that, boy? Lulia Smith is part of our school. Who do you think you are?"

The others also breathed a sigh of relief.

Nobody wanted the group's healer to leave.

Fjall García chimed in, "And you, sir... Are you a student at the New York Film Academy? I don't think I've seen you before."

He scrutinized James, trying to exert pressure with his authoritative demeanor.

But James Lone smiled calmly, his expression unwavering. He repeated himself: "Professor Lulia Smith, I want you to come with me. I have plenty of food and a safe living environment."

Lulia shook her head resolutely. "No, I won't... ah! What are you doing?!"

James Lone didn't bother arguing. He hoisted Lulia over his shoulder and turned to leave.

"Let me go! I'm not going with you! Help!"

Lulia struggled desperately, but her strength was nothing to James—she might as well have been scratching an iron wall.

The room fell silent.

What the hell? Is this guy just... kidnapping her?!

Instinctively, some of the bystanders thought about calling the police—only to remember there were no police anymore.

Doris García panicked. If Lulia was taken away, who would heal her injuries in the future? She stepped in front of James, glaring at him with her bull-like eyes. "Put her down—"

SMACK!

James casually slapped her across the face, sending her staggering backward with blood dripping from the corner of her mouth.

"Move," he said coldly.

Doris was enraged. "You dare hit me?! I'll kill you!"

In an instant, her body transformed—her fat condensed into hardened muscle, and she charged at James with her fists raised in a wild flurry.

Looking for death.

James's eyes turned icy. He struck back with a single punch, landing it squarely on Doris's face.

CRACK! THUD!

Doris flew backward, slamming into the wall before crumpling to the ground.

"What? Doris García was defeated?!"

The crowd stared in disbelief, horrified to see Doris's face caved in, her breaths shallow and labored.

Lulia, still slung over James's shoulder, was completely stunned.

The New York Film Academy survivors had been relatively shielded from the worst of the apocalypse. Thanks to early efforts by the school leaders, they'd faced hunger and death but had largely avoided outright violence and slaughter.

She couldn't comprehend how brutal the outside world had become.

But James Lone wasn't finished.

You have to uproot the weeds. If you've already attacked an enemy, they can't be allowed to survive.

Abilities in this world were unpredictable—who knew if Doris could recover? James wasn't about to leave a threat behind.

He approached Doris and delivered a bone-shattering kick.

BAM! CRACK!

Doris's neck twisted at a grotesque 90-degree angle. She died instantly.

"AH!" Lulia fainted in terror.

The room fell deathly silent as James casually carried Lulia out the door.

Even Fjall García, trembling with fear, didn't dare utter a word.

At that moment, two other ability users came rushing down from upstairs, shouting: "Who's causing trouble?!" "Is it you, kid—oh crap!"

Halfway through their accusations, they saw Doris's lifeless body and froze, their faces going pale.

Doris García is dead?

And it only took a few seconds?!

Though both of them had abilities, neither could even hope to defeat Doris. Facing James Lone, they were paralyzed with fear.

James glanced at them indifferently.

The two men shivered, quickly stepping aside to clear a path. They didn't dare make the slightest move to stop him.

"Smart," James said with satisfaction. He carried Lulia downstairs, disappearing into the purple mist under the stunned gazes of the other survivors.

Only after James was out of sight did Fjall García rush to Doris's corpse. Staring at his wife's lifeless body, he was filled with shock and anger—a feeling like the end of the world crashing down on him.

He had always known that his behavior had earned the resentment of others, but as long as Doris was around, he had nothing to fear.

But now Doris was dead!

Fjall felt the noose tightening around his neck. Desperation and rage clouded his mind as he turned on the two ability users. "Why didn't you stop that man? He killed my wife! He's a murderer! He needs to be executed!"

The two exchanged a glance, their faces grim.

This bastard... That was your wife. Why didn't you do something about it? Why should we stick our necks out?

The older ability user frowned and replied impatiently, "Principal García, that's easy for you to say. Doris couldn't beat him, so how could we?"

The younger ability user's expression turned even darker as he glared at Fjall.

We only respected you because of Doris's strength. Now that she's dead, who the hell are you? This isn't a school anymore, and there's no one left to enforce your authority.

Fjall, realizing his weakness, began shouting angrily, "Bullshit! Just because you can't beat him doesn't mean you shouldn't try! What kind of attitude is that? You're ability users—you should lead by example! You're supposed to protect the group, even if it means facing danger head-on—"

The younger man's patience snapped, his eyes burning with fury.

You've got to be kidding me, you bastard. I had no power before and got bullied. Now I have an ability, and I'm still getting bullied? What's the point of having this power if it doesn't change anything?!

Meanwhile, Fjall kept rambling, spouting moral platitudes in an attempt to buy himself time. "Just yesterday, I held a meeting to align everyone's thoughts and goals. Have you all forgotten how the organization taught us to—"

He didn't notice that the younger ability user was clenching his fists, his knuckles turning white.

At that moment, a middle-aged woman burst into the room, throwing herself onto Leo Jones's body.

"Leo! Leo! How could you die?! What am I supposed to do with the children now?!" she wailed.

Fjall had no choice but to stop talking, panic flashing across his face.

A kind-hearted female teacher tried to comfort the woman. "Ms. Lewis, please don't cry. The dead can't come back. Be strong..."

But Lewis was inconsolable. "Where's Lulia Smith?! Why didn't she save Leo?!"

Another teacher who was close to Lulia spoke up: "García forced Professor Smith to treat his wife first, even though it was just a scratch. You know Smith doesn't have the stamina to heal two people in a row..."

Lewis turned to Fjall in disbelief. "Principal García, is that true?"

Fjall froze, stammering, "Ms. Lewis, actually... Doris's injury was quite severe..."

The younger ability user sneered coldly, "Yeah, it was so severe it was about to heal itself."

Fjall's face turned pale.

Lewis lost all restraint and lunged at Fjall, clawing at him furiously. "You heartless bastard! This is all your fault!"

Fjall screamed in pain, trying to shield his face as Lewis tackled him to the ground.

Lewis had completely snapped. She pinned Fjall down, yanking his hair with one hand and scratching his face with the other.

Rip, rip, rip!

Fjall howled as blood streamed down his face. "Help! Get her off me! My face—disinfect it! Hurry!"

The others pretended to help but didn't put in much effort.

The younger ability user even took the opportunity to deliver a couple of sneaky kicks, knocking the wind out of Fjall and leaving him speechless.

A few minutes later, Fjall passed out.

When they finally pulled Lewis off him, Fjall's body was in shambles.

Blood covered his face, arms, and neck, and a chunk of flesh had been bitten off his shoulder.

The crowd exchanged uneasy glances.

With such severe injuries, Fjall was as good as dead.

The younger ability user smirked coldly to himself.

Meanwhile, James Lone didn't return home immediately. Instead, he carried Lulia Smith through the campus, using his Perception to observe other survivor groups.

The fact that Building 16 housed so many survivors suggested the area wasn't overly dangerous. It was a good opportunity to assess the situation.

If he found any beauties, he'd take them back too.

And if he ran into trouble, he could just run.

If things got too dicey, he could always use Lulia as a meat shield.