Becoming a Monster

Chapter 191: Chapter 191: Confidence Breed’s Results

The gloomy situation from before now held a confrontational unease, and that tension all stemmed from the confidence and strength oozing from the students within the room. The ’two’ factor leaders could tell from the small group that they weren’t merely coming to them to understand the next plan of action that they decided. Looking at Mark’s demeanor, both Raven and Peterson understood that look; the look of someone addressing them as an equal or perhaps even as someone who intended to challenge their leadership.

Raven’s eyes narrowed as she studied Mark, her frustration barely concealed. It wasn’t just his male presence that irked her, but the realization that this young man, someone she looked down on when she first met him, now stood before her as if they were on the same level. The situation might have been less irritating if one of the young women behind Mark had been the one to take charge. No matter how irrational she could be, her perversion to the male gender couldn’t be swayed, and it didn’t help that the effects of Mark’s aura from before that seemingly manipulated her feelings, still freshly lingered in her mind.

Peterson, on the other hand, stood rigid. His mind replayed Levi’s earlier warning, and now, facing Mark and his group, those words felt like a haunting prophecy. He couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that the youth before them might indeed have the power to make good on Levi’s cryptic remarks.

The sounds of Peterson’s knuckles snapping unintentionally filled the room as he clenched his fist, trying to maintain control of both his rising frustration, and his fear.

Peterson’s inadvertent icebreaker triggered him to no longer hold himself back. His voice was tight with his restrained irritation. ”What exactly do you want, Mark? Because I can tell you’re not just here for a friendly chat.”

Peterson’s words seemed to trigger something in Mark, whose forced smile faltered as he glanced briefly at his sister before replying, trying to regain his composure. ”I think you’ve got the wrong idea, Peterson. We didn’t come here to stir up trouble. We came to help. There’s no need to look at us like we’re the enemy.”

”But if you’re asking what ’we’ want... it’s simple. We want to make sure we all survive.”

The room remained still, Mark’s words weren’t implying any threats, but it made his stance clear. They weren’t simply there as just followers to their lead.

Peterson narrowed his eyes, studying Mark’s demeanor. He could feel the weight of the younger man’s words pressing down on his already fraying nerves. ”Help? And what makes you think we need your help? Last, I recall, if it wasn’t for us, you all would’ve died back at the station.

Raven, standing nearby, silently observed, her mind racing as she tried to read between the lines. The confidence Mark and his group exuded wasn’t something to be taken lightly, and though she loathed to admit it, the situation had been growing increasingly dire. Despite how she felt about another male trying to tell her what to do, something Mark said resonated with her, she wanted ’everyone’ to survive. Yet, the last thing she wanted was to appear weak or indecisive, leading to her conflicted turmoil.

Seeing that Mark wasn’t going to resolve the issue quicker unless he used his aura from before, Jasmine, whose appearance went through a drastic change that made her seem otherworldly, spoke up. ”There’s no point in comparing our achievements or bickering over who’s in charge. The truth is, without everyone’s efforts, none of us would be here.” She paused, letting her words sink in. ”We just want to know what plan you’ve come up with and see if we can help in any way.”

Peterson’s frustration wavered for a moment, partly from her direct approach but even more so from her beauty. There was something about her that made his eyes continue to gravitate towards her, not realizing her features until now. And it wasn’t just him, both men and women alike couldn’t remove their eyes off of her, entranced as if under a spell.

Her features strikingly resembled an elf in almost every way now. She had flawless skin, while her eyes held a magical luster that seemed to pull you in. Including her long now silken hair, and the pure nature aura that radiates from her made almost every action she took seemingly carry a perfected grace.

Her aura wasn’t something that she could just simply turn off like Mark’s situation. With her evolution, her racial traits played a huge part in her transformation, and the aura surrounding her radiated a sense of harmony with nature. It was as if she had become a living embodiment of the earth itself.

Her charm was able to affect everyone in the room, but it still wasn’t as powerful as Mark’s, allowing the others to realize their current states.

Peterson shook his head, almost forgetting the reason for his anger in the first place as he took a deep breath, his gaze hardening again. ”Fine. We’ll work together,” he muttered, his voice rougher than intended, ”but this doesn’t change anything. We’re still trapped, there’s not many left who can still fight, and the risk of being infected is too great.”

”You’re right, Peterson.” Mark took the chance to re-enter the conversation. ”The risk is high, and we’re running out of options. But if you aren’t able to come up with a plan, how about letting us have a try?”

Not only Peterson and Raven, but the others in the room now glared at Mark. His confidence that was easily mistaken for pride and arrogance, instantly gained the animosity of the others in the room. Their glares were met with an awkward smile, as Mark knowingly understood their sentiments, but in this case, he couldn’t do anything about it. He could reword his earlier statement, but tiptoeing around the conversation was getting them nowhere.

Unlike the others, Levi watched the tense exchange with amusement, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. He wasn’t surprised by the friction; in fact, he was expecting it. His expectation for a show grew after observing the students’ changes, especially with how Mark’s presence, despite his good intentions, naturally ruffled feathers. It wasn’t pride or arrogance that made people bristle; it was the fact that Mark radiated the confidence of someone who didn’t need anyone’s approval. That, Levi knew, was the quickest way to draw animosity from people who were used to being in charge.

It wasn’t as if Levi was passionate about senseless banter, what he desired was for the two specific people to stop policing his decisions and downplaying his role to the group. There was the off chance that Mark’s group could prove to be the same as Raven and Peterson, maybe even worse, but he believed that people who were able to follow that monster that did so many inhumane things wouldn’t have such a strong conscience for the things he wanted to do.

”So,” Mark continued, ”just give us one chance to prove ourselves. Just cooperate with us this once and if we don’t obtain results that satisfy you, then we will continue to only follow your lead.”

Raven crossed her arms, her brow furrowing. ”You still haven’t told us what you plan to do. We’ve seen what happens when people get too confident.”

”Confidence doesn’t breed recklessness, it breeds results. If one doesn’t have the confidence to believe in themselves, then they are bound to fall, I’m sure you’ve experienced that as well.”

Mark intentionally made a jab at her, not forgetting the way she belittled him during their first meeting. He couldn’t hold back his smug smile, especially noting her balled fist and the way she bit down on her lips.

”But our ’plan’ is simple. First, we wait. We shouldn’t do anything tonight, but tomorrow morning, if there are still zombies preventing us from leaving then we will just show you the power that we all obtained.”

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The night seemed to last forever as everyone couldn’t help thinking about what was going to happen. The bags under majority of the people’s eyes were a clear indicator that almost no one was able to get a good moment’s rest.

The room where the meeting took place was now much more crowded than before. The bystanders were all the people who were able bodies, ready to fight. Only the innocents were the ones left behind on the second floor, clustered together, awaiting for another battle that would dictate their life and death.

Despite so many people standing by, everyone there didn’t appear as if they were going to fight. Instead, everyone was staring towards the window, specifically towards the three figures standing there. Mark stood between two women, Jasmine being on his left, while Alicia was on his right. His hands rested on their shoulders while the two looked out from the gaps of the blinds.

Only those who were close to the other set of windows in the room, and the windows in the adjacent apartments were able to have a clear view of what was about to go down.