Qi Yan was jolted awake by a nightmare that caused him to feel sleep paralysis. He opened his eyes abruptly, his first thought being that it was still dark. However, he soon realized that it was indeed light, but not brightly; there was no sun, and even the light in the library was still dim.
Without a shred of gentleness, she yanked Zhou Lu's thigh off her stomach with a soft thud. Zhou frowned, rolled over, and continued to sleep soundly.
Qi Yan sat up, her down jacket slipping down to her lap. The other children were still asleep, their expressions ranging from calm and sweet to nervous and... hungry.
Qi Yan watched with great interest as Song's drool flowed like a waterfall for a long time, but then realized that it was a bit like being a pervert, and reluctantly withdrew his gaze.
Every time I touch the phone, it lights up, and the lock screen displays 8:01 AM Beijing time.
Since losing his cell phone, Qi Yan's daily routine has been completely disrupted. At first, his body still had a biological clock, but there is no regularity in the matter of escaping for one's life. The constant tension, coupled with the relatively closed environment of the library, gradually blurred his sense of time.
Everyone went to bed late last night. After lying down, someone started talking about how to eat in the cafeteria. What started as just some random, whimsical ideas in the festive atmosphere turned into a surprisingly feasible plan through everyone's discussion.
The unexpected success excited everyone. Considering that their food reserves were not plentiful, and that the canteen was a strategically important location, they decided that it was better to act sooner rather than later. So, they raised their hands and voted, with 6 votes in favor, 1 vote against, and 1 abstention, to set off the following night.
Li Jingyu remained silent for a long time, heartbroken. The numb Qiao Siqi put his arm around his shoulder to comfort him, "It's okay, Zhou Yilu and I can't climb trees either. We'll just use a rope to pull them up when they learn." Caught off guard, Zhou Yilu took off a shoe and threw it at Johns, who nimbly dodged it, the sole landing squarely on the little landmine's forehead.
Qi Yan didn't want to recall the rest, fearing it would shake her confidence in life.
Putting on her down jacket, Qi Yan got up and walked to the window. The weather outside was gloomy, as dark as dusk. Scattered snowflakes drifted in the wind; some landed on the windowsill, some hit the glass, and most remained suspended in mid-air, their destination unknown. It was difficult to tell when the snow had started, because the snowflakes were so fine and small that they quickly melted into water droplets wherever they landed. It was more like rain than snow, wetting the edges of the windowsill and leaving water droplets on the glass.
"It's raining?" Song Fei sat up at some point, her face still showing a dazed look, with messy hair and a hint of sleepiness.
Qi Yan turned around, her brow relaxing at his amused expression: "It's snowing. But before you worry about the weather, do you want to wipe your drool?"
Song Fei blinked blankly, then wiped his mouth haphazardly with his hand, and sure enough, his palm was wet.
Qi Yan couldn't help but chuckle. He had always loved Song Fei's appearance right after waking up. Her body was awake, but her mind hadn't caught up yet, making her look silly and clueless—the easiest time to bully her.
Letting out a big yawn, Song Fei was finally about 70-80% awake. Looking out the window again, a hint of worry appeared in her eyes: "Luckily, it's not too big. Hopefully, we can stop when we move tonight."
Over the next hour, the students of Class 1 of the Martial Arts program gradually woke up. The snowy weather made everyone a little depressed, but fortunately it was only the beginning of January, not the coldest time yet. The fine snow wouldn't stay on the ground for long and would mostly melt. As long as it didn't freeze over at night, the partially melted ground wouldn't be too difficult to walk on.
The group moved their planned 6 PM cafeteria rush to 5 PM, since it would be completely dark by then if the weather remained overcast. The rest of the day was dedicated to preparations before setting off—washing their hair and getting ready, packing their things, and checking the plans.
The snow stopped at noon, earlier than expected, but the sun did not come out, and the dim daylight lasted until five o'clock in the evening, when it was completely dark.
Eight friends, dressed in either cotton-padded jackets or down jackets—Wang Qingyuan and Li Jingyu were wearing their coats when they were trapped in the tea room, while Lin Dilei had swapped her wool coat for a brand-name down jacket she'd scavenged from the courier station—donned masks and goggles, equipped themselves with weapons, backpacks, and suitcases, sprayed themselves with Sixgod, and set off!
The wind was biting cold in the evening after the snow.
Eight figures slowly descended from the outer wall of the library, their figures clearly visible under the library's brilliant lights. But soon, they reached the foot of the building and vanished into the night.
If it weren't for the occasional soft scraping of the suitcase's omnidirectional wheels against the ground, everything would have been as quiet as if nothing had happened.
They followed the same pine-lined path, its gentle slope leading them forward. The eight friends moved forward cautiously and in an orderly fashion. They tried to make their footsteps as light as possible, like a group of ghosts.
At the end of the alley lies the main road. Since the incident, everyone has tried to avoid the main road as much as possible because it is too wide and the view is too open, making it difficult to hide. However, the west door of the cafeteria faces this road directly, and the west door is the closest to the kitchen door. This time, they have no way to avoid it.
Along both sides of the main road, a broad-leaved tree is planted every three or four meters. Unlike the small trees in front of the express delivery point, the trees here are tall and straight. In summer, the two rows of trees are lush and leafy, forming a shady avenue. Now that the leaves have fallen, the dry branches can no longer provide shade, and each tree stands alone in the cold wind.
The group stopped about ten meters from the roadside. Looking into the distance, they could see about four or five dark figures wandering on the road—they figured it was unlikely that they were alumni.
"Get ready, I'll go and lure them over," Qi Yan said in a very low voice.
At this point, there was no need for sentimental arguments about who should charge forward. Qi Yan's speed and skill made him the perfect choice, and all everyone could do was to say, "Be careful."
Qi Yan nodded and walked forward.
The friends tacitly dispersed to both sides and hid.
In just half a minute, hurried and chaotic footsteps came. The group held their breath and waited for Qi Yan and the five zombies to enter the ambush range. Then, they rushed forward and divided into groups according to their pre-arranged plan. Two of them fought one of the zombies, while Qi Yan and Zhou Yilu fought one-on-one. The whole process was silent, and it was a bloody battle!
Li Jingyu was paired with Wang Qingyuan, but before he could subdue the zombie that had been tackled, the latter was already straddling its stomach and stabbing it in the head. The zombie was still struggling, so one stab wasn't enough, so two stabs weren't enough, so three stabs were needed, until the zombie stopped moving altogether.
Then Wang Qingyuan turned around and asked him coldly, "Do you understand?"
Li Jingyu nodded stiffly, feeling as if his head was gushing blood, like a zombie's.
After their swift action, the group didn't waste any time and rushed to the roadside trees. Luo Geng, Zhou Yilu, and Qiao Siqi headed straight for the first tree at the intersection, the one closest to the west gate. Song Fei, Lin Dilei, and Li Jingyu ran to the second tree, three or four meters away, intending to become neighbors with the first four. Qi Yan and Wang Qingyuan brought up the rear, but not the third tree, but the fifth, leaving a gap of more than ten meters between them and the main group.
Song Fei and Luo Geng arrived at a suitable spot almost simultaneously, then simultaneously pulled out ropes and lowered them, each pulling up Li Jingyu and Zhou Yilu. Lin Dilei and Qiao Siqi were a little slower, but they still managed to climb up on their own.
As the eight people took their positions, the wind suddenly stopped, as if it foresaw the danger to come and even held its breath.
Looking through the west door, the cafeteria hall was pitch black; you couldn't see anything.
"Ready?" Josh asked nervously.
Luo Geng and Zhou Yilu both gave him a disdainful look: "Just be ready."
Qiao Siqi adjusted his breathing, feeling more stable, and suddenly opened his mouth—
"Help me!!!"
Qiao Siqi's words stuck in his throat, and he was stunned for a long time until the second shout of "Open the door!" rang out, and he finally realized: "It wasn't me who shouted that!"
Of course, his teammates knew it wasn't him who shouted, because there's no tactical maneuver that involves such a desperate cry for help!
The people in the trees looked up in the direction of the sound. As the saying goes, the higher you stand, the farther you can see. They saw that five or six people had come and were banging on the door of the supermarket, which was still lit. They could vaguely see that the door was still blocked by a cotton curtain, and no one answered.
"Please, please open the door!!!"
The students outside the door had already started crying, their cries piercing the heart.
There was no movement inside the door, as if no one was there at all.
But the eight people in the tree all knew that there was something inside the door.
Although it was hard to see clearly, there was a dark mass near the door handle, clearly the same several bicycle locks they had hung themselves. Before leaving, Song Fei had given them all the keys, and even knowing it was useless, he still added, "If any classmates ask for help again, think about how you got in."
Now it seems they really weren't willing to put in the effort.
Zombies chased them out of the dormitory area.
The students knocking on the door couldn't see it, but those in the tree could see it clearly.
Watch out behind you—
Song Fei used almost all his strength to shout, his chest feeling like it was about to explode!
The students in front of the door paused, turned around, and scattered and fled in the next second!
In the vast residential area plaza, where could they find shelter? The zombies that had been following them soon caught up with them. Every time they pounced on one, several more zombies would swarm over and devour it, until finally, there was no one left to pounce on.
Under the moonless night, there was no bloodshed, no ferocity, and not even a clear sound of wailing. Yet all the friends gritted their teeth, as if each bite was being gnawed at their own bodies.
Some zombies in the cafeteria also came out to join the fun after hearing the noise, but perhaps because everything happened too quickly, it wasn't enough to attract enough attention, and the number of them that came out was limited.
Soon, the night gradually returned to silence. A dozen or so zombies were still gathered there, in small groups, quietly gnawing on the flesh, but most of the zombies seemed to have lost interest in the now completely lifeless pieces of meat, scattering aimlessly and continuing to wander.
Song Fei's shout had attracted several zombies from the west gate of the cafeteria, who were now circling around the tree where he stood. However, the tree trunk was too tall, and the zombies were helpless.
"We shouldn't have saved them in the first place," Zhou Yilu said through gritted teeth.
Everyone fell silent.
"It's all because technology is developing too slowly!" Qiao Siqi suddenly complained. "If it were developing faster, everyone would have a QR code printed on their face. Scan it, and if the person is quiet as a chicken, that's a human; if it goes through and beeps and alarms, that's an animal—kill it!"
The group looked bewildered, but Lin Di burst out laughing, easing the tense atmosphere somewhat.
In these few days they have seen and experienced more than in the previous ten or twenty years combined. Perhaps their hearts are still not invincible, but they are slowly becoming stronger.
"Ready?" Qiao Siqi adjusted his breathing and asked for the second time.
Luo Geng and Zhou Yilu: "Hmm."
Lin Dilei and Song Fei: "Mm."
Li Jingyu: "...Hmm."
Qi Yan and Wang Qingyuan's voices finally drifted over: "OK."
Johns took a deep breath and, at the loudest volume he'd ever sung, raised his head and roared, "Ready—Go!"
The first and second trees: "We will, we will..."
The fifth tree: "Rock you!"