Just as Lin Dilei fastened her suitcase, Song Fei decisively paused the music, withdrew his hand, and closed the door. His interference mission was complete; as for whether his comrade could successfully return to the closed stacks, he was more concerned.
The infiltration route started from the balcony, and the return route would naturally be the same. After putting the locked phone in his pocket, Song Fei turned around, about to walk forward, but then looked up and stopped.
The window, which had been slightly ajar, was now wide open, letting in a stream of dry, cold air, making the already chilly archives room even colder. He clearly remembered closing the window after entering the room, though he hadn't closed it completely to allow for a quick escape should the door be closed in time and zombies rushed in. But with the barely perceptible breeze today, it was far too weak to blow open the heavy windowpanes.
The doorway is about 20 meters from the window, separated only by a narrow passageway. Neatly arranged filing cabinets, all over two meters high, line both sides of the passageway, making the already dimly lit room, which was not very bright due to the cloudy weather, even darker.
Song Fei could clearly feel his heart racing. He tried to suppress it and listened intently, but the archives room remained eerily silent.
Holding his breath, he drew a pair of scissors from his waist, gripping them tightly in his hand with utmost gentleness and slowness. Then, almost silently, he removed one shoe and threw it away forcefully!
The shoe traced a sharp, horizontal line through the air, piercing the passageway and slamming heavily against the wall beneath the window with a loud thud.
Just as the sound rang out, a zombie suddenly rushed out from between the third and fourth filing shelves on the left front, heading straight for where the shoe had landed!
Song Fei decisively rushed to the nearest filing cabinet, pulled out a drawer to use as a ladder, and climbed up using both hands and feet.
Hearing the sound, the zombie that was lunging at the shoe turned around, its dark pupils suddenly shrinking!
Song Fei finally climbed to the top of the filing cabinet, the thin sheet metal creaking under his feet. Just then, the zombie threw down its shoe and came up beside him, mimicking his actions!
Hold!
Song Fei cursed inwardly, then leaped up and landed on top of the second filing cabinet. The metal frame, unable to bear the weight, let out a miserable scream.
The zombie that had climbed to the top of the cabinet seemed to be stimulated by the noise and let out a beast-like howl!
Song Fei was all too familiar with this kind of howl, which translated to "I've been bullied, guys come and help me!"
Bang bang bang! Song Fei jumped to the filing cabinet closest to the window in one breath. Just as he was about to jump down, a leg suddenly stepped through the window!
Song Fei remained frozen above.
A female zombie entered, her white sweater filthy and covered with several patches of congealed blood. As if highly sensitive to smells, the female zombie immediately looked up and locked her gaze on Song Fei without hesitation!
With a roadblock in front and a wolf chasing from behind, Song Fei gritted his teeth, jumped down towards the female zombie, and used the speed of his fall to plunge a pair of scissors straight into her skull!
The female zombie couldn't dodge in time and was knocked down by the huge impact! Song Fei held tightly to the scissors stuck in her head and fell backward with her!
The female zombie crashed to the ground, and although Song Fei was on top of her, he was also momentarily dazed from the fall. When his vision cleared again, the other zombie was already pouncing from the side!
Song Fei's heart sank. He knew he should dodge, but it was too late!
Just as the zombie was about to bite his shoulder, a foot suddenly flew in through the window and kicked the zombie directly in the face!
The zombie was kicked two meters away. Song Fei turned around and saw Qi Yan!
Qi Yan ignored him and headed straight for the zombies!
Song Fei forcefully pulled the scissors off the female zombie's head, while Qi Yan was already entangled with the zombie.
The zombie was not only agile but also incredibly strong. Qi Yan tried to poke its head several times, but the zombie swatted her hand away each time. Song Fei rushed over to help, but before he could reach her, Qi Yan had already been pounced on by the zombie and pushed between two rows of filing cabinets!
Clang!
The ear-piercing sound of something hitting the filing cabinet startled Song Fei, who rushed over and saw Qi Yan being pinned down by a zombie on the drawer that he had previously pulled out to use as a staircase!
The loud noise came from Qi Yan's waist hitting the edge of the drawer!
Enraged, Song Fei rushed over and plunged a pair of scissors into the back of the zombie's head! Without pausing, he pulled it out with a "plop," then plunged it in again, stabbing it five or six times in a row!
"Alright," Qi Yan said, unable to stand it any longer.
Song Fei paused for a moment, then came to his senses, but his expression remained unfriendly.
Strangely enough, even though only the eyes were visible through the gas mask, Qi Yan could easily sense the other person's emotions: "What are you angry about?"
Song Fei angrily pulled out the scissors: "Don't hit someone in the face, don't bump into someone in the waist, a man's waist is very important!"
Qi Yan was both amused and exasperated. Then, a thought struck her, and her eyes darkened. She murmured in a hoarse voice, "Let it crash. We don't need it now anyway."
Song Fei forgot what she wanted to say next, and sighed helplessly: "Brother, who gave you the courage to still be thinking about driving at a time like this?"
Qi Yan didn't say anything more, but just quietly looked at him through her goggles.
Song Fei felt that the man's eyes were smiling, but he couldn't be sure. In fact, if the mask weren't on, he could see clearly that Qi Yan was not only smiling, but smiling very gently, like a spring breeze blowing across the corners of his eyes and brows, full of warmth.
A sudden noise came from the window, and alarm bells went off in Song Fei's head. He was about to get up when the person was already faster than him, rushing in down the corridor—
"Are you all alright...?"
Dongfang Shenlu Qiao was stunned on the spot. It was a rather indescribable scene—Song Fei was pressing down on a zombie, the zombie was pressing down on Qi Yan, and Qi Yan's back was against a drawer.
Wang Qingyuan, who arrived next, was also slightly shocked, but his resilience was obviously far superior to Johns'. He quickly regained his composure and broke the awkward situation: "If you're going to kill zombies, just do it properly. Do you have to use such difficult positions?"
Song Fei: "..."
Qi Yan: "..."
Song Fei was extremely embarrassed and quickly got up.
Qi Yan pushed the zombie off her and stood up straight. Without looking at Wang Qingyuan, she replied to Qiao Siqi, "It's nothing. The two zombies probably climbed up from the third-floor balcony."
As soon as Qi Yan finished speaking, the other three friends also arrived at the balcony, and in an instant, the seven dragons gathered together, looking at each other through the window.
Before his comrades could speak, Song Fei said first: "I'm fine, I just ran into two zombies and got delayed."
The three comrades on the balcony were finally relieved.
Zhou Lu looked around to make sure there were no more zombies climbing out the window, then looked at Song Fei again and said seriously, "It's definitely because you're that local music library guy, that's too much of a nuisance."
Song Fei was speechless: "..."
Lin Dilei softened considerably, giving him a half-resentful, half-joking glare: "We were so worried about you."
Song Fei breathed a sigh of relief; at least there was a sliver of warmth in this cold world.
"Can you worry about me first, okay?!"
From what seemed like a distant place, came Li Jingyu's pitiful cries.
The four people inside immediately went to the balcony and joined their three comrades. The seven dragons all looked in the direction of the sound—outside a dozen windows, at the corner of the building at the end, Li Jingyu was embracing the first balcony railing after turning around with utmost sincerity. One leg seemed to want to step over here, but the other leg and his whole body exuded a firm refusal.
"You guys must have all been suspended by wires…" Li Jingyu still couldn't believe that his comrades' agile skills were not special effects.
Lin Dilei comforted him, "Take it slow, we grow gradually too."
Feeling somewhat guilty, Li Jingyu gritted his teeth and finally took a step forward, managing to hook onto the edge of the next balcony. Trembling, he released his arm on the same side, slowly reaching out, and at the moment he touched the balcony, he gripped the point of leverage, swung his body, and leaped over, landing steadily.
"Another one!" Li Jingyu was a little excited. He could feel his skills becoming more and more proficient.
Comrades far away also offered encouragement.
Lin Dilei: "Well done!"
Song Fei: "Go for it!"
Luogeng: "No rush!"
Zhou Yilu: "We're waiting for you!"
Qiao Siqi: "!"
After a long and thrilling fourteen minutes, Li Jingyu finally rejoined the main group. Seeing his teammates giving him thumbs-up, he felt the power of teamwork for the first time!
Unable to resist grasping the hand of the nearest monk, Luo Geng, Li Jingyu's heart pounded with emotion: "What do we do now!"
Luogeng gripped her hand tightly: "Let's climb back together!"
Li Jingyu: "..."
Back in the closed stacks, Li pondered life for a long time. His comrades, considerately, didn't disturb him, but instead helped Lin Dilei inventory her spoils.
Chestnuts, wafers, M&Ms, Maltesers, jelly, instant noodles, beef jerky, and more were mixed with broken glass and filled a whole box. Lin Dilei wanted to pick what she wanted, but the male classmates wouldn't let her. In the end, Song Fei had to pull her aside and half-forcefully confiscate her gloves.
Lin Dilei reluctantly sat down to the side, glancing occasionally at her comrades who looked like groundhogs, and finally couldn't help but say, "Can you guys stop treating me like a woman?"
Song Fei glanced at her briefly: "Please, treat us like men."
Lin Dilei chuckled and gave up arguing.
The snacks were quickly picked out, and the broken glass was dumped in a corner of the bookcase. Thus, the four-story vending machine operation was a success.
"What a waste of those drinks." Qiao Siqi was still brooding over the other vending machine that had been abandoned.
"Drink more water and less of those drinks. Sugary drinks aren't good for your health," Qi Yan replied to Qiao Siqi, but her eyes kept glancing at Song Fei.
Song Fei smiled, reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle of AD calcium milk, inserted a straw and started sipping.
Qi Yan lowered his eyes, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly pressed his lower back with his hand, his brows furrowed as if he was enduring pain.
Song Fei immediately spat out the straw and asked with concern, "Does your back still hurt?"
Qi Yan pursed her lips and gently shook her head.
However, the shaking was very difficult and slow, and Song Fei was almost frantic: "Don't force yourself, just say it if you're in pain. Oh, right!" Song Fei remembered the day they first arrived at the library, when the other person fell, it seemed like they hit their shoulder, "How's your shoulder? Does your shoulder still hurt?"bookshelf
Qi Yan froze, a hint of confusion flashing in her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a knowing forbearance: "Well... it's alright."
To Song Fei, it was alright, but not quite: "If it hurts, you should speak up, otherwise what if it gets worse?"
"Now I'll tell you," Qi Yan said quietly, looking at him. "What's your plan?"
Song Fei was stumped. He wasn't a doctor, so what could he do?
Qi Yan immediately replied, "I do."
Song Fei stopped and listened attentively.
Qi Yan blinked gently: "Give me a kiss."
Song Fei: "..."
The person involved was speechless for a moment, while their comrades who were listening were completely devastated. When they were listening intently, they thought something serious had happened to Qi Yan, and their hearts were pounding. But when they heard the end, it was just a bowl of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection)!
Luo Geng grabbed Qiao Siqi and interrogated him, "What exactly were they doing in there? They were just two zombies, why did they have to fight until their shoulders and backs hurt?"
Qiao Siqi recalled the shape of the human sandwich, swallowed hard, and told the truth: "It was all done when I went in."
Luo Geng stared in disbelief: "W-what's over?"
Qiao Siqi: "The fighting is over."
Luo Geng: "Can you please stop omitting words in the future?!"
In the end, Song Fei ended the beautiful moment with the words, "You can continue to suffer." Qi Yan had expected this, and not only was he not angry, but he also found it surprisingly comfortable when Song Fei rolled his eyes at him.
It was a very strange feeling, and Qi Yan didn't know how to describe it. He just suddenly remembered the four words he used to use to describe Song Fei: shameless. At this moment, he seemed to understand that kind of joy.
At the other end of the library.
Zhou Yilu: "I think we need to have another class meeting."
Qiao Siqi: "Contents?"
Luo Geng: "Improve combat discipline!"
Wang Qingyuan: "Dating within the class is prohibited."
Lin Dilei: "I am neutral."
Li Jingyu: "..."
Lin Dilei: "Little whale, what's wrong with you? You look like you're dehydrated."
Li Jingyu: "He, he, the two of them..."
Zhou Yilu: "He's gay."
Josh: "I heard they started dating last semester."
Wang Qingyuan: "We've broken up now."
Luo Geng: "But the possibility of reconciliation cannot be ruled out."
Lin Dilei: "You knew nothing about this?"
Li Jingyu: "...I'm a transfer student!!!"