"Ready?"
"Hmm. (Novel)"
"Let's go then."
"Wait a minute, let me think about it."
"You've been thinking for half an hour!"
"Nobody told me when I filled out my college application that I would have to engage in armed struggle to get into university!"
Under a clear blue sky, a window on the west side of the top floor of the library has been opened and closed repeatedly for quite some time.
With a "vending machine looting and rioting defense war" imminent, for safety reasons, the group decided to train Li Jingyu and Wang Qingyuan, who had no combat experience whatsoever. However, it was easier said than done.
Song Fei sighed, softened her tone, and gently patted Li Jingyu's shoulder: "Look at these lovely classmates behind you. None of us came here to survive in the wilderness, but now, the cruel reality is forcing us to grit our teeth and be strong to save ourselves!"
Li Jingyu glanced at the craft knife in his hand, then at his classmates who were "gritting their teeth"—two were playing Connect Four on their own drawn grids, one making circles and crosses, one was engrossed in reading by the bookshelf, one was wearing a face mask, and one was sitting next to the one wearing a face mask, dreaming about their bright future together...
That's completely unconvincing!
"Why don't you think about it some more? Let's go first." Wang Qingyuan's voice was calm and natural, but Li Jingyu could inexplicably tell that he was getting impatient.
Taking a deep breath, Li Jingyu decided to go for it: "Let's go!"
Before long, the three of them climbed out of the window and onto the balcony. Song Fei nimbly jumped to the next room, then to the room after that, quickly creating a six-window gap between them and the other two.
After staying for a few days, Song Fei and his group discovered that the top floor of the library, where the closed book stacks were located, was mostly comprised of closed book storage rooms or storage rooms. Apart from the tea room, no students usually came here, and the rooms were always closed. As a result, no zombies broke in after the incident, and the entire row of balconies was relatively safe.
Having slightly shifted his position, Song Fei took out his phone and started playing music. To improve efficiency, he specifically chose a song with a lively and upbeat melody.
"You said you're my brother~~I can always trust you~~We'll share the good times and the bad~~That's what a good brother is... Don't touch my girlfriend~~Even if you've had a few drinks~~I want to see right now what a true friend you are..."
Song Fei clutched her phone, her eyes fixed on the ground below. Sure enough, as soon as the chorus started, seven or eight zombies gathered downstairs, and one even rushed out from the second-floor balcony. Song Fei's heart skipped a beat; thankfully, she hadn't encountered it while climbing the balcony.
"Look closely, get used to their appearance, and their weakness is in their brains... Are you two even listening to me?!" Song Fei nearly died of anger when she looked up. She was preaching and teaching, while the two of them were infatuated and had blank stares, their minds seemingly wandering elsewhere.
Li Jingyu was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses: "Uh, what did you say?"
Wang Qingyuan pushed up his glasses: "From now on, just choose some mindless, catchy songs to lure enemies, don't use anything so rich in content..."
Song Fei is speechless. Is it my fault that my taste in music is too good?
Fortunately, the zombies had been lured out. Song Fei turned off the music on her phone and earnestly explained to the two the characteristics of the zombies they had summarized while in the supermarket.
Wang Qingyuan and Li Jingyu were both quick learners, grasping theory with ease. But in actual combat, it wasn't so simple. Although they knew mentally that it wasn't human, neither of them could bring themselves to do it. In the end, Song Fei didn't force them. In the current situation, overcoming fear was already a chance of victory; as for the rest, they could only learn through practice.
Two blissful days of eating and sleeping soundly passed in the blink of an eye. I used to think that there was plenty of time ahead, and that I should work hard first before indulging in luxury and extravagance. But now everyone truly understands that life is short, and you never know when you might lose your life, so naturally you have to be true to yourself.
The food reserves at the courier station are almost gone; everyone knows it's time to take action.
Early in the morning, Wang Qingyuan's phone alarm was the first to ring, followed by Lin Dilei, Zhou Yilu... one after another. After getting up, the friends weren't as lively as usual, as if they knew they were about to face a tough battle, and they were all somewhat silent.
After washing up in the tea room in batches, the eight refreshed and energetic young people of the motherland reunited. Luo Geng took out two gas masks from his bag and handed them to Wang Qingyuan and Li Jingyu, who quietly accepted them.
But still no one spoke.
Song Fei was so frustrated that she finally yelled to the sky, "I can't take it anymore, let's have a class meeting!"
The seven friends looked at each other, and finally elected Lin Dilei to ask on their behalf: "What class?"
"Class 1: Never Surrender, Even at the Cost of Death." Song Fei had this idea for a long time. "The eight of us are now a collective. It doesn't matter what department or college you were in before. From today onwards, we are a class!"
Qiao Siqi raised his hand: "I agree with unyielding, but that 'seeking death'... can you use a different word?"
"Sure," Song Fei said, "I'm just throwing out an idea to get the ball rolling. Everyone is welcome to speak their minds."
Lin Dilei: "Whether it's being strong and unyielding or being indomitable, it's fine."
Zhou Yilu: "Powerful and imposing."
Luo Geng: "Where's the class monitor? Shouldn't there be a class monitor in the class?"
Song Fei: "...At this point, let's not get into power struggles. We're all equal, and we're all the masters of our class."
On the sixteenth day after the zombie outbreak, Class 1 of the Mighty and Unyielding Survival Team held its first class meeting. At the meeting, the positions and responsibilities of each student in the upcoming battle were planned in detail. After the plan was completed, the whole class took an oath, and the atmosphere was enthusiastic and passionate.
Finally, the students stood in a small circle, eight little hands pressed together, palms touching back to back—
"Unyielding and courageous, survival 1! All demons and monsters shall perish!"
With a unified chant, eight little hands slammed down, and in the blink of an eye, the students scattered and headed to their respective strategic locations!
The new campus library has a rectangular structure, similar to many modern shopping malls, with an open center. Reading rooms, study rooms, and other rooms are built around the perimeter. Standing in the lobby on the first floor and looking up, you can see the corridors on each floor, leading to the roof. The corridors on each floor are also similar, forming a continuous loop. The library has two elevators, located on the east and west sides in the center, and a staircase at each of the four corners. Vending machines are located at the southwest corner staircase entrance.
The library in the early morning seemed to be still asleep, and the zombies wandering in the corridors were as quiet as ghosts.
Song Fei climbed up the balcony to the archives in the southwest corner, broke the window and went inside. Wang Qingyuan remained in the closed shelving unit in the northeast corner, while Li Jingyu returned to the tea room in the northwest corner.
Qi Yan, Zhou Yilu, Qiao Siqi, Luo Geng, and Lin Dilei quietly slipped from the balcony into a safe room in the southwest corner.
Song Fei tiptoed and opened the solid wood door of the archives room a crack. Looking around, he found that the first floor hall was teeming with zombies, followed by the second floor corridor. The number of zombies in the third floor corridor had decreased significantly, and there were only about seven or eight on the fourth floor.
Song Fei was very lucky; these seven or eight people were distributed on the west and south sides of the corridor, and he was right at the turning point in the middle.
Take a deep breath, now is the time!
Song Fei flung open the door, leaned halfway out into the hallway, and shouted, "Hey, I'm here—"
Seven or eight zombies stopped abruptly, staring blankly in this direction. The next second, they sped up and rushed over!
Song Fei's palms were sweating as he gripped the doorknob. Several times his feet wanted to back away, but he endured it all. Finally, when the first zombie that arrived was just two steps away from the door and about to pounce, he decisively pulled back, slammed the solid wood door shut, and locked it!
Almost simultaneously, all five people in the southeast corner room rushed out. Lin Dilei and Luo Geng headed straight for the vending machine, while Qi Yan, Zhou Yilu, and Qiao Siqi ran towards the stairwell. With a crash, the glass from the vending machine shattered, and the metal chair in Luo Geng's hand was smashed to pieces! Lin Dilei, wearing Qi Yan's black leather gloves, didn't hesitate to scoop handfuls of snacks mixed with glass shards into the box! In this race against time, she couldn't afford a moment's delay, let alone pick and choose!
The loud crash attracted the zombies that had been gathered in front of Song Fei's door. The zombies on the first, second, and third floors also heard the sound and kept looking up. Some of the quick-reacting ones had already gone up the stairs in the southeast corner!
Fortunately, the number wasn't large, and Qi Yan, Zhou Yilu, and Qiao Siqi could manage. But as things continued to develop, the number would inevitably increase, while Lin Dilei and Luo Geng were still not finished!
In the blink of an eye, Wang Qingyuan and Li Jingyu opened the door at the same time!
"The roc rises with the wind in a single day, soaring ninety thousand miles high—who wrote this poem and what does it have to do with me?"
"You talk about Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio~~ I talk about Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio too~~ Joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness all come to mind~~"
Two phones playing two songs, one from the Northeast and one from the Southwest, suddenly disoriented the zombies who had just been drawn by the broken glass from the Southeast, leaving them unsure of where to go. This was especially true for the densely packed zombies in the lobby on the first floor, who could only keep looking up, searching but never quite locking onto their targets.
This is the effect our team wanted: we're not afraid of chaos, we're afraid of it not being chaotic enough!
The fourth-floor zombies were better off because they could hear the loudest voices, whether it was Wang Qingyuan's or Li Jingyu's. They would run towards whichever was closest!
However, before they could even reach their preferred doorways, the person who had initially teased them stealthily peeked out from behind the solid wood door, a hand holding a telephone—
"You're from Pandora~~ I'm from Tianmen Mountain~~ You're green with a hint of blue~~ I'm a yellow loser~~ Come on, let's party together~~"
The zombies were in complete chaos.
Qi Yan kicked down the last zombie, then looked back to see Lin Dilei slamming her suitcase shut and locking it!
"withdraw!"
Lin Dilei acted decisively, grabbing her suitcase and rushing back first!
Luo Geng, who was a beat late in getting up, was startled, because there was still a zombie on the way to the closed stacks! Lin Dilei was unarmed…
Clang!
The zombie was slammed against the glass railing of the corridor by a suitcase. The force was so great that half of its body leaned over the railing, and it looked like it was about to fall.
Lin Dilei didn't give it a chance to stand still, and swung the box again with a loud bang!
The zombies, like kites with broken strings, plummeted to the side.
The suitcase landed heavily on the ground with a dull thud. Lin Dilei didn't pause for a moment, gripping the handle with fluid ease, and continued running forward!
The hem of the blue wool coat fluttered in the wind as she sped along, graceful and charming.