They were a hundred meters from the dorm building when a few fat, pea-sized raindrops turned into a torrential downpour, crashing down and blanketing everything.

Yin Yi floated in mid-air, extending dozens of vines and weaving them into a makeshift canopy to shield Han Ning and Egg Pancake from the rain.

But the rain was too heavy for it to do much good.

"Egg Pancake, don’t peek out." Han Ning tucked Egg Pancake inside the front of his shirt, patting its head in warning.

"Squeak~" Egg Pancake was very obedient, vanishing into his shirt with a whoosh and turning into a round bulge.

SPLASH SPLASH. Han Ning sprinted toward the dorms, splashing through one puddle after another, his hands clasped over his head in a token attempt to block the rain.

As he ran, the feeling of his underwear being completely soaked brought a post he’d once seen online to mind. ’How would you describe a heavy downpour without using the word "rain"?’

’This downpour was probably as intense as the one in that melodrama where the heroine gets thrown out of her house by her dad...’

The dense sheet of rain completely obscured his vision, making it seem as if the entire world had turned gray.

"This rain is insane! And it came without any warning."

Lin Tianhe cursed aloud as he ran. He was already soaked to the bone, and wisps of white steam rose from his skin, passing through his clothes and dissipating into the air.

"Hiss... It stings! It hurts!" Chen Linyu yelped as the toxic raindrops pelted him, and he immediately picked up his pace, dashing into the dorm area.

The three of them split up at the dorm entrance, each heading back to dry off.

Back in his dorm, Han Ning gave himself and Egg Pancake a quick rinse with fresh water, then toweled them both dry.

"Chirp!!"

Once Han Ning had dried it off, Egg Pancake zipped over to the windowsill with a whoosh and sat down side-by-side with Sister Yin Yi.

The two little creatures sat side-by-side on the desk by the window, staring blankly at the thick curtain of rain outside.

RUMBLE—

A clap of thunder cracked across the distant sky.

High in the dome of the sky, leaden clouds churned and swirled. Lightning surged within them as the wind roared in fury.

"Squeak!" Egg Pancake’s tail gave a sharp twitch, but it quickly pretended as if nothing had happened and went back to watching the rain.

At the main entrance of Building A, students came sprinting back from all directions in twos and threes, braving the torrential downpour.

Worried that the storm might bring more trouble, Han Ning took Yin Yi and Egg Pancake and headed to the main entrance of Building A to see if he could help with anything.

As soon as he got there, he saw students who had been out exploring returning in a steady stream. They gathered just inside the main entrance of Building A, using towels and tissues to dry themselves off while murmuring to one another and watching the downpour outside.

"What a storm! Good thing we weren’t far from the dorms and made it back in time."

"With rain this heavy, my wheat seedlings are probably done for..."

"The last time it rained this hard, a train appeared out of nowhere. I hope nothing like that happens again."

Fortunately, everyone’s bodies had been strengthened; they were no longer the frail people they’d been when they first arrived. Even when soaked by the rain, the worst they suffered was stinging pain and slightly reddened skin.

"Where’s Dean Wu? Are he and the others still at the processing center?" a student suddenly asked.

"It’s still early. Dean Wu and the mechanical engineering teachers are always at the processing center around this time," Han Ning said, walking over while cradling Egg Pancake. "They drove, so they should be fine."

The asphalt road from the dorms to the processing center had already been cleared of corpses and other obstacles, so the drive back would only take a minute or two.

As if on cue, the sound of car engines echoed from outside. Several vehicles pulled right up to the entrance of the dorm area. Dean Wu, a few teachers from the mechanical department, and a dozen or so students scrambled out and ran for Building A.

In the short, dozen-meter dash from the gate to the lobby, the entire group was soaked through by the downpour.

The few strands of hair Dean Wu had left were plastered to his forehead, creating a comical sight.

"Dean Wu, Teacher Fang, everyone... hurry and dry off."

A few thoughtful girls immediately pulled out towels they were carrying and passed them over.

"Thank you."

Dean Wu wiped the rain from his forehead and looked out with a worried expression. "What’s the situation here? Is anyone still out there? Check with each other and get me a list of anyone who hasn’t made it back."

A short while later, teachers went through each dorm building, knocking on all occupied rooms to confirm the headcount.

By ten-thirty in the morning, all the students who had been outside had returned safely. There were no casualties.

Rainy weather caused a sharp increase in the concentration of the white fog in the air, and some of the weaker Silver Lotus Woods would struggle to perform Purification on the ever-thickening mist.

With the experience from the last time this happened, and with everyone’s abilities having grown stronger, they no longer needed to huddle together in a group of over a hundred people. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Instead, they split into several groups, gathering in the first-floor lobbies of Buildings A through C. Each building was equipped with a walkie-talkie so they could stay in contact while they quietly waited for the storm to pass.

"How long do you guys think this rain will last?"

In the bright lobby of Building A, a pretty student named Zhao Jingjing idly swiped at the screen of her phone, which had no signal.

She had been part of the very first exploration team and held a position of considerable respect among the surviving girls, and indeed, among all the survivors.

As per Dean Wu’s arrangements, Han Ning, Liu Zhiran, Luo Chen, and about twenty other powerful teachers and students were stationed throughout the three dormitory buildings.

They had plenty of power now, so they no longer had to huddle and shiver in a dark lobby like before.

Light, at least, could dispel some of the primal human fear of the unknown.

Teacher Fang, whose arm was wrapped in layers of gauze, pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Storms like this come on fast, but they leave fast, too. I estimate it’ll stop by this afternoon."

As soon as Yin Yi had evolved, Han Ning had brought her to Teacher Fang to treat the bite wound on his arm.

The wound had mostly healed, but some muscle was missing, which affected his arm’s function to a degree. It wasn’t a pretty sight, so Teacher Fang simply kept the scar covered with gauze.

A biology student said worriedly, "Teacher Fang, with a downpour this heavy, our hundred-square-meter experimental field is probably ruined."

Teacher Fang sounded resigned. "Accidents happen when you least expect them. Try to stay calm. If the experimental field is destroyed, we’ll just build another one. The important thing is that everyone is safe."

"Sigh! But we were only a week away from harvesting," the student said, his voice full of frustration.

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE~

The incessant, pea-sized raindrops hammered against the ground, the walls, and the stone pavers, creating a deafening sound like a constant Thunder Roar that threatened to drown the entire world.

Listening to the heavy, oppressive sound of the storm outside, the expressions on everyone’s faces began to subtly change.