On the morning of the fifth day of the zombie siege, students in dormitories 2 and 3 first heard eerie 80s disco music, then vaguely smelled a strangely familiar, pungent odor. Some of the braver students opened their balconies to look out, but the fog and haze were too thick, and they found nothing.
Unbeknownst to anyone, five students were tiptoeing and holding their breath as they moved forward through the smog.
It's like the blindfolded tag game we played as kids. The faceless zombie is the unlucky kid who loses rock-paper-scissors and has to be blindfolded, while the five classmates are the clever and mischievous rascals, sidling up to him, tiptoeing, crouching, and slowly inching forward.
Song Fei and the others couldn't understand why Luo Geng would carry floral water while fleeing for his life, especially since it was winter and he was carrying the extra-cooling, invigorating kind. But miraculously, this stuff completely masked their human scent. To be precise, they couldn't even feel the presence of their faces, necks, hands, or any other exposed parts of their bodies that had been sprayed with the "divine water."
At their closest, they were just one step away from the faceless zombies.
Even through the PM2.5 particles, Song Fei could clearly see the face of the person representing the unity of the entire nation. Just one glance was enough to make Song Fei's hair stand on end. He suppressed his nausea and slowly shuffled away from the person; the strong scent of floral water still couldn't completely mask the stench emanating from them.
That's not the smell of a human.
Song Fei could no longer even call them mutants, nor could he use "he" anymore.
Zombies.
Song Fei had experienced firsthand how ruthless a person could be when they were devouring them. At this moment, for the first time, he truly understood the meaning of the word "corpse." Lifeless, devoid of vitality, possessing only the decay and decay of someone on the verge of death.
The five people arrived at the dormitory entrance without any major incident.
Perhaps all the zombies were attracted by the great Genghis Khan, because the dormitory area was quiet, like a winter morning during a winter vacation. There were very few students staying on campus, and silence and desolation permeated the area.
They can only judge it as silent, but dare not assert that it is desolate.
The road ahead was shrouded in white.
The five men gripped their weapons tightly and advanced in a 1-2-2 formation.
Luo Geng led the way, not because he volunteered or because his military boxing skills were top-notch and everyone expected him to be there, but because he had an extra mask compared to the others. Before setting off, when Luo Geng was looking for a mask, everyone laughed at him, saying, "It's the apocalypse, what's the use of protecting yourself from bad air?" But when Luo Geng took out that helmet-like mask that looked like a gas mask, everyone instantly fell silent and unanimously elected him as the squad leader. Not for any other reason than that if they were to be eaten alive by zombies, his chances of infection would be lower. And if they encountered someone with bad teeth, he might even be able to knock off a few of their weapons.
Luo Geng was only 1.71 meters tall and rather thin, but upon closer inspection, he was all muscle. However, with a mask on, one didn't need to look closely; at first glance, he appeared imposing and majestic.
As the group moved further away from the dormitory area, the sound of the phone music gradually faded away. A cacophony of noise, the source of which was difficult to discern, began to appear around them.
Luogeng could already vaguely see the supermarket sign in the hazy light.
He swallowed hard and continued to patiently maintain a steady, slow pace.
There were definitely zombies around; Luo Geng could sense it. But they had no human scent on them now. As long as they weren't seen, they could hide in the smog and sneak around...
Well.
Luo Geng's forward-moving body suddenly stopped. He silently lowered his head, and sure enough.
Qiao Siqi, who was behind him, was confused and asked in a breathy voice, "What?"
You only realize how little you know when you need it most. Luo, a math major, racked his brains to come up with just a few words: "i stepped on the foot..."
Johns couldn't adjust his language center's translation system in time, and his comprehension was in chaos. Meanwhile, the person who had been stepped on had grabbed Lu Geng's shoulder and was about to bite him!
Luo Geng's English wasn't great, but his fighting skills were, and he was currently protected by a gas mask. When the enemy lunged at him, he simply charged straight at them, face to face!
The zombie was knocked off its feet and lost its balance, releasing its grip on Luogeng's shoulder.
Instead, Luo Geng grabbed the other man's arm, pulled him back to him, and then delivered a dagger strike!
The four friends only felt a flash of cold light, and when they looked again, three-quarters of the military dagger had already sunk into the zombie's forehead.
Luo Geng gripped the handle of the dagger tightly, dark red blood slowly flowing out from the small section of metal that hadn't penetrated the zombie's brain. His companions finally understood why it was called a triangular bayonet; the metal spike, which at first glance resembled an awl, was neither flat nor round, but a true triangular structure. Once it pierced, blood immediately flowed out along the groove—it was practically a deadly weapon.
More importantly, because of its triangular structure, the inserted part does not adhere to the skin or muscle, and the lack of pressure makes it easier to pull out than to insert.
The zombie collapsed into Luo Geng's arms.
It didn't make a sound from beginning to end.
Luo Geng carefully placed it on the ground, as if it were the most precious girl in his heart.
The other four remained vigilant, though the muffled sounds of fighting were not very noticeable outdoors, none of them could guarantee absolute safety.
Finally, the zombie lay down steadily on the ground.
Luo Geng squatted there and stared at him quietly for a while, then suddenly looked up: "I killed someone..."
His lips trembled slightly, and his expression was filled with confusion, as if asking, "Who am I? Where am I? What exactly happened?"
This wasn't the first time he'd pushed someone outside, nor was it the same as yesterday when he witnessed Qi Yan and the others kill Cui Menghan. This was the first time Luo Geng had personally killed a zombie. The feeling of metal piercing flesh was real, both intensely hot and cold, both courageous and terrifying.
"They're not human anymore," Song Fei reached out and gently patted his shoulder. "You did a great job."
Luo Geng blinked, his mind slowly clearing with the pressure on his shoulder, and then, a wave of sorrow washed over him: "My dream was to be a math teacher..."
Song Fei gently helped him up: "Be gentler with your students in the future."
The three large characters "Fenduoduo" finally appeared in the gray fog.
Whether it was a stroke of good luck, the effectiveness of the floral water, or the truly pitifully low visibility, aside from the one whose foot was stepped on by Luogeng, they didn't bump into a second insane classmate in the fog.
However, the supermarket was bustling with activity.
Judging from the entrance alone, there were at least a dozen students loitering around, and no one knew how many more were there.
The five people hid in the flower bed, and with perfect understanding, they took out their phones again.
Zhou Yilu: "Isn't this kind of combat method, which consumes a mobile phone every time, too extravagant?"
Luogeng: "At nine o'clock in the morning, you sweat so much, what other way is there to do it...?"
Zhou Yilu: "Do you dare to take off your mask before you speak?"
Song Fei: "He said there's some truth to that, but do you have any other ideas?"
Qiao Siqi: "Your Chinese listening comprehension is absolutely god-like."
Qi Yan pondered for a moment: "This time we don't need to throw the phone."
The Fenduoduo supermarket occupies a large area, but it only has one floor with a ceiling height of 3.5 meters. This was something Zhou Yilu explained to everyone when they were researching the plan. At this moment, the group quietly approached the supermarket from the side and, in a human pyramid fashion, climbed onto the supermarket roof.
Luo Geng, who had the most stable base, was the last one to be pulled up. With his shoulders almost shattered, he vowed that if he ever did a human pyramid again, he would never fucking use a base!
The supermarket roof is not completely flat, but because of its large area, the slope is very gentle.
The five people cautiously approached the main gate and climbed onto the roof, clinging to the eaves and lying down side by side.
Qi Yan: "Are you ready?"
Song Fei took off the bicycle lock that had been hanging around his neck the whole way, gently turned the key that had been inserted into it, and clicked it open, the lock turning from a coil into a chain. He slowly tightened his palm, his gaze resolute: "After locking up a thermos for a year, it's finally time to do something big."
Qi Yan smiled. He was very nervous, but as long as Song Fei opened her mouth, he felt that there was no hurdle he couldn't overcome.
"Remember to open the window," Qi Yan said.
Song Fei turned to look at him, and for some reason, her eyes welled up with tears. As if possessed, she leaned over and gave him a peck: "Remember to come back."
Qi Yan's response was to lick her lips with satisfaction.
Without further ado, Qi Yan took a deep breath, slowly stood up, bid farewell to her teammates who were still lying in a row, and walked without hesitation towards the diagonal direction opposite the main entrance of the supermarket.
Qiao Siqi reassured Song Fei, "Don't worry, he's so strong, he'll be fine."
Song Fei nodded: "Yes, he's very strong, I know."
Qiao Siqi felt it was really inconvenient to continue this topic, and turned to find other companions to get back on track, but unexpectedly met two pairs of shocked eyes—
Zhou Yilu: "Everyone says that true friendship is revealed in times of trouble, but these two, these two, these two..."
Luo Geng: "They fell in love after only five days?!"
Although his teammates were focusing on something a bit off, Qiao Siqi still told the truth: "It seems like I've known them before, but I don't know the specifics..."
Song Fei pretended not to hear and focused on peering down.
Just then, a cheerful and rhythmic melody drifted from the opposite side of the rooftop. The song wasn't violent, but the bright drumbeats and the lead singer's energetic performance gave it a captivating, almost magical quality.
"I love spicy food~ green spicy food~ green spicy food~~~ I love spicy food~ green spicy food~ red spicy food~~~ You should study hard in school~~ You must go to university in the future~~ Going to university means you'll get a job~~ With a job, you'll have a good life..."
If Qiao Siqi's local music library opened the door to a new world, then Qi Yan's local songs on her phone made Qiao Siqi's new world seem exceptionally wonderful.
In particular, Qi Yan turned the speaker volume up to the maximum, and the quiet supermarket area suddenly became agitated.
First, one zombie ran out, then two, then three, and the ones that came out later ran faster and faster, as if they were carrying some kind of hatred that had been engraved into their bones, desperately rushing towards the source of the song!
The three people above the main entrance stared intently down below. By the time the song reached its end, no more zombies were running out. After the song finished playing, it started looping again. The three people made a snap decision, jumped down quickly, and rushed into the supermarket like lightning!
Qiao Siqi went straight to the back of the left door, and Zhou Yilu went straight to the back of the right door. In the blink of an eye, the two of them had tightly closed the glass door!
Song Fei seized the opportunity and swiftly locked the door!
Everything went exactly as planned—except for a beautiful face suddenly appearing on the outside of the glass door after it was locked.
The so-called "beautiful face in a golden age" means that even if you're squeezed into a glass and look completely out of shape, you still feel comfortable looking at you.
But no matter how pleasant it is, it can only be appreciated.
Song Fei shrugged at the door, not caring whether the person outside could understand him: "Sorry, zombies are not allowed to enter."
The face on the glass was moved back five centimeters, restoring its original appearance.
The three boys inside the glass door gasped in unison. It was a face that was deathly pale, yet still breathtakingly beautiful!
Song Fei felt an overwhelming pang of sorrow in his heart: "I'm sorry, young lady. Maybe in the next life. In the next life, run fast and don't get bitten. I'll definitely take you in."
The girl's expression suddenly turned sorrowful, tears welled in her eyes, and her lips moved slightly: "Save me..."
The voice was as melodious as a nightingale's song, yet as sorrowful as a cuckoo's mournful cry; Song Fei felt as if her heart was about to break.
Qiao Siqi and Zhou Yilu, who were standing nearby, also realized that this was not a zombie, but a classmate!
The three of them worked together, some unlocking the door, others prying open the door, as if they wanted to open their arms to the outside world in an instant.
But that's often how things are; the more you rush, the worse you get. Song Fei was incredibly efficient at locking the door, but clumsy at opening it. Locking only required a twist and pull, but opening required reinserting the key, and the more he rushed, the less he could get the key into the lock.
Finally, once the key was in, Song Fei glanced guiltily at the girl while rapidly spinning the lock. That glance nearly made him flinch and break the key inside the lock.
At the same time, Qiao Siqi and Zhou Yilu also opened their mouths in horror, the latter even pointing tremblingly behind the girl.
The girl seemed to sense something and suddenly dodged to the side!
With a loud crash, it was as if a zombie covered in filth and blood had emerged from underground and slammed into the glass door!
The loud noise and the grotesque face distorted by the glass startled the three people inside the door. The zombie, however, had no interest in the three people separated by the door and quickly pushed itself up to pounce on the girl who was within reach!
The girl was terrified, but her feet seemed to be rooted to the spot, and she wouldn't move an inch. She waited for the zombie to come close, and whether it was a sudden inspiration or a lucky accident, she grabbed the thermos in her hand and swung it hard at the zombie's head!
The girl was very tall, almost as tall as the zombie, and this blow really made the zombie lose its footing, staggering to the side. The girl chased after it and swung again!
The immense impact and the angle of tilt caused the lid and stopper of the thermos to fall off, and the cold boiled water poured into the air with a splash!
The zombie, struck a second time, was powerless to fight back and collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Song Fei and the others were dumbfounded, but the girl over there came running back with the empty thermos in her arms, slapping the glass door hard.
"I haven't lived enough in this life yet! Open the door, you son of a bitch!!!"