The faint sound of sweat dripping onto the ground, mixed with dust, formed a small clump of wet grit.
The dormitory door had just been closed, and no unusual sounds could be heard from the entire building. Ye Zhijian's guess was correct; there weren't many people in the dorms now.
In the past five minutes, most of those who remained in the school had fallen to the ground, only to rise again.
The survivors had scattered, disoriented and unable to tell north from south.
Faint screams could still be heard in the distance.
Having recovered some strength, Ye Zhijian quickly got up and first checked the dormitory manager's office on the first floor.
As expected, the manager, rumored to have been a labor camp convict, was not there.
He always went home early for holidays, leaving the school security to handle student safety during the break. Otherwise, with his physique, whether he had transformed into one of the monsters outside or harbored malicious intentions, he would have been incredibly difficult to deal with.
The dormitory manager's office door was shut tight. Without a key, it would be extremely difficult for them to enter and get supplies.
They would have to return to their own dormitory first.
Climbing up to the fifth floor, the hallway only showed traces of blood, with no sign of monsters or surviving classmates.
Several doors were ajar, but neither of them planned to go in.
The reason they returned to the dormitory was the presence of their phones.
They were currently in a state of confusion. The school broadcast had no announcements, faint sirens could only just be heard, and no one had told them what was happening.
Therefore, their phones were their only source of information.
Besides their phones, there was also the matter of food in the dormitory. The cost of acquiring this food was minimal compared to going to crowded convenience stores or shops.
Inside the dormitory, it was as he had expected. The doors were locked, and their roommates hadn't returned. Some were out online, others were out eating and chatting, or stocking up on supplies.
During their two years of high school, they had managed to get a general understanding of the school and their classmates.
"Fortunately, the guys didn't do anything weird. Otherwise, we'd be in real trouble today, with nowhere to turn."
If they had enthusiastically pounced on them when the door opened, it would have been quite problematic.
Opening the lock, a damp smell wafted out. Fortunately, there was no body odor or any strange smells...
However, they paid no mind to these minor issues. Ye Zhijian immediately found his phone and turned it on.
It was only just past four o'clock, and two emergency notices from the Jingzhou Coordination Office had already arrived.
However, the world had no idea what was happening. Official information only instructed people to take urgent shelter. No further plans were proposed.
He called his parents. The call connected, and both of them were safe.
After hanging up, Ye Zhijian handed the phone to Du Qingyu. The young girl had been waiting anxiously. They were both good students and didn't bring their phones to class.
But after several attempts, the calls were busy and couldn't get through. In their anxiety, coupled with the recent dangerous stimulus, she burst into tears.
"Wuuu wuuu, Yezi, I can't get through! What should we do!"
Ye Zhijian, who had been about to peek out from the balcony to look outside, was almost scared to death by the crying.
He quickly covered her mouth, "Qingyu, don't cry! Otherwise, the monsters will hear!"
He didn't blame her. In this situation, being able to hold back from going crazy was already quite remarkable.
Unable to vent her emotions, Du Qingyu could only hug Ye Zhijian tightly, her body trembling, as if trying to cast out all her fear, terror, and worry.
They held each other for a while before calming down.
The roars from outside the dormitory building rose and fell in succession. The scenes they saw through the phone's camera zoom were nothing short of hell on earth.
Colorful internal organs, bloody flesh and bones, were all being stuffed into the mouths of these "corpses" that had risen again, and then swallowed into their stomachs.
After observing for less than a minute, Ye Zhijian almost dropped his phone due to a physiological reaction in his stomach.
It was too terrifying. It was tens of thousands of times more bloody than the slaughter of pigs at home. Now, their own kind were being slaughtered and consumed by monsters.
It was exactly like the zombies in the movies.
"The situation in the school should be much better than outside. Most people have left now, and there are at most around 200 people remaining in the school. We should focus on how to survive until rescue arrives."
Food, drinking water, and change of clothes. There were some provisions in the dormitory, but when it came to weapons, they couldn't dismantle the iron frame beds. They could only make do with steel stools.
The welds between the legs of these stools were not very sturdy. With a bit of grinding, the stool legs could be broken off.
"Qingyu, there's no time to be pessimistic. We need to survive first," Ye Zhijian said in a low voice, because from his previous observations, he knew that sound would attract the monsters' attention.
He was also grateful that he had covered Du Qingyu's mouth earlier.
Given the circumstances, Ye Zhijian's words were not wrong. Du Qingyu temporarily put aside her worries and silently followed Ye Zhijian to collect usable supplies.
However, when evening arrived, the news from the broadcast made them both feel as if a basin of cold water had been thrown on them in the dead of winter, chilling them to the bone.
Survivors in the biochemical infection zone needed to survive on their own and await rescue and air drops.
Ye Zhijian couldn't quite describe his feelings. He wanted to cry but couldn't, wanted to complain but didn't know who to blame. After extreme helplessness, all that remained was a sense of annoyance towards the world.
They were just two ordinary high school students. How were they supposed to survive?
Living like this was worse than dying!
"Yezi, do you think we can survive? I want to see Mom and Dad again. I haven't seen the snowy mountains or the grasslands yet..."
Knowing that crying would attract zombies, her voice slowly turned into a faint whimper.
"I..."
Ye Zhijian didn't know what to say in reply, but Du Qingyu's words were like a divine revelation, instantly igniting his motivation to live.
That's right.
They hadn't done anything yet, hadn't seen anything. Just waiting to die like this was completely unacceptable!
"It's okay, we will definitely survive! But we can't just sit here and survive, we have to do something!"
His words were like sparks igniting dry grass, quickly igniting their passion.
What kind of youths would they be if they just waited to die!
As soon as he said it, Ye Zhijian found the only utility knife in the dormitory. It was only 5c.
"Currently, it seems we may have to survive in the school for a long time..."
"Boom!!!"
Mid-sentence, a violent explosion occurred on the street in the distance!
The resulting shockwave caused the dormitory windows to vibrate incessantly.
"At this time, it's likely a chain reaction caused by gas tank explosions in restaurants."
The two exchanged glances and quickly crawled to the balcony to observe. Indeed, some of the zombies in the school had been drawn away.
The remaining ones, unable to climb walls and finding doors, could only mill around near the perimeter walls or insurmountable obstacles.
"I also think it's feasible. The number of zombies in the school is very small now, and we can clear them out using the terrain."
"Yes, and I also saw a vegetable truck parked at our school entrance today."
Don't misunderstand, this wasn't delivered to them; it was for the school cafeteria's vegetables to be sold after they were harvested. Since it was a holiday, they had to quickly clear and tidy up the vegetable patch.
"Right! The truck must have had more than just our cafeteria's vegetables; there must have been other things, enough for us to eat!"
The confirmed food source increased their confidence, and they discussed their future plans.
They unanimously decided to set out in two days to clear out the zombies.
Grateful for their own persistence in exercising during the break and after school!
Their current physical fitness was still barely enough to contend with the zombies.
The only thing delaying their plan was the creation of weapons.
However, time would eventually bring them.
"By the way, what did you mean about winter clothes just now?"
"Because our winters here reach minus 20 degrees Celsius. Without thick clothes for warmth, we wouldn't survive at all!"
As Ye Zhijian mentioned it, Du Qingyu also realized. They were in the north of Kyoto, the kind of place where they would be in trouble without heating in winter!
"We need to collect them in advance," after listing the winter warm clothing on a checklist, the two began to make weapons.
...
"Pfft," the blade sank into flesh.
This was their 23rd zombie killed.
Within two days, Ye Zhijian and Du Qingyu had cleared the male and female dormitory buildings, as well as the area connecting to the cafeteria.
Due to the fewer people active after the holiday and some zombies being drawn away by the explosion, their clearing work was actually very smooth. Apart from the initial discomfort, they became increasingly proficient. Even with their sharpened steel pipes used unskillfully, they could still successfully eliminate zombies by utilizing the stairs throughout the school.
"Phew, we can finally have a hot meal today," Du Qingyu said, shaking her head.
Two days of going out to kill zombies had darkened their skin by two shades, making them look full of vitality.
They had become much steadier, without any lapse in caution.
"Indeed, today I want to eat stir-fried chicken legs with green peppers!"
"Hahaha, there are still many unrotted vegetables on the truck. We can try them. I'll cook later, anyway, I always deliver the finishing blow and don't use much energy."
"Okay, okay!" Knowing that his little girlfriend was a good cook, Ye Zhijian had no reason to refuse.
...
"This is the Donghai Flying Shark Special Operations Brigade! Survivors who are capable, please await rescue at a safe location tomorrow!"
"..."
"୧(⁼̴̶̤̀w⁼̴̶̤́)૭!!"
"Rescue is here!!!"
(The End)
(Ahﾟ(ﾟ´Д｀ﾟ)ﾟ｡!!! This book is finally finished after the author's stumbling updates!!! I actually have a lot I want to say! But when it comes to my mouth, I don't know what to say.
First, I want to express my gratitude to all the readers since this book started updating! I am a novice author, and I truly didn't expect to receive gifts from my esteemed readers!
I am truly honored!
In addition, I also want to apologize to my readers. Due to many influencing factors, the updates and content of this book have been unsatisfactory. Without the tolerance of my readers, I might not have been able to continue writing.
And I want to bow to the readers who debated with me. I am truly sorry. Many of the knowledge points in the book were also obtained through my research. If there is anything incorrect, please forgive me, and if I made mistakes, please scold me without reservation.
Finally, the initial intention for me to write novels was because of a promise. A very good girl asked me to write about my own world, and I have always remembered that.
So, I will continue to write.
Lastly, thank you, esteemed readers!!! I wish you all a bright future and a long journey ahead!!!)