Chapter 43 A Mirage
In the pitch-black cafeteria hall, a few pale rays of moonlight shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating the empty tables and chairs. Beyond the edge of the moonlight lay a blurry, indistinct landscape; only those with eyes adjusted to the darkness could discern the silent yet terrifyingly suffocating chase unfolding there.
Qi Yan had already reached the end of the food serving area. The two zombies he had initially attracted were now less than five meters away, while a third zombie was crawling over the glass railing ten meters away.
Qi Yan quickly vaulted over the glass railing, leaving the food serving area behind. He turned and glanced quickly in Song Fei's direction; it was pitch black except for the silhouette of a zombie. The television screen was still black, showing no signs of operation.
Seeing Qi Yan leave again, the two zombies immediately grabbed the railing and stiffly began to climb over as well.
The third zombie, having just managed to crawl in, followed suit and began to climb back out.
Qi Yan didn't think any further. Although he couldn't see him, he knew Song Fei was definitely hiding in the darkness, waiting for his chance to strike. Qi Yan had no idea when this trust had formed; by the time he realized it, it was already so natural and certain.
Two zombies had already emerged. Qi Yan took a deep breath and, according to the original plan, started running in the opposite direction from Song Fei!
In the distance, in the direction Qi Yan had just lost sight of, Song Fei, crouching low, had crawled under a table about three meters from the television. Just a few steps away, he could jump onto the table, turn on the main power switch, and then remotely control the television.
But it didn't work.
The fourth zombie, which had originally headed towards Qi Yan, stopped abruptly as it passed the television, seemingly sensing something. It looked around in confusion, occasionally sniffing the air.
Song Fei was frantic. He could hear hurried footsteps coming from under the table. Hiding under the table, he couldn't see what was happening, but he knew Qi Yan was diligently luring him in according to the tactic!
He was going all in!
Song Fei crawled out from under the table and suddenly stood up!
The bewildered zombie paused, finally locking onto its target.
Their eyes met, and Song Fei trembled, his hair standing on end. Those were no longer human eyes!
The zombie lunged, but a row of tables and chairs separated it from Song Fei. With a thud, its back slammed against the edge of the metal table!
Song Fei had intended to lure it away so he could use his speed to run back and turn on the TV, but the impact jolted it awake.
He swiftly turned, stepped onto the chair behind him, then leaped onto the opposite table—the whole process flowing smoothly in a split second! In an instant, Song Fei landed on the metal tabletop, his eyes fixed on the top of the zombie's head. Without hesitation, Song Fei plunged his chopsticks down!
But the zombie was looking up, and the chopsticks pierced its mouth, exiting through its lower jaw!
Song Fei didn't have time to pull back; the chopsticks were completely embedded, and his hand gripping them collided directly with the zombie's teeth!
He was startled and almost instinctively pulled his hand back the instant he collided with the chopsticks, dropping them altogether. Just as he pulled his hand back, there was a sharp "crack" as the zombie's two rows of teeth snapped shut, violently colliding with the remaining metal chopstick. Had he hesitated even a fraction of a second, it wouldn't have been the chopsticks that got bitten, but his hand!
The zombie felt its jaws tightened and, in a daze, raised its hand to touch its mouth, finally finding the chopsticks. But after several attempts, it still couldn't grasp them, let alone pull them out.
It was the same reason they couldn't grip a rope; at least most zombies were no longer capable of performing the fine motor skills required for peripheral nerve control.
Behind the zombie was the structural pillar holding the television, which was directly above its head, at eye level with Song Fei, who was standing on the table. Seeing the zombie still struggling with the chopsticks, Song Fei steeled his resolve and lunged forward!
As one hand slammed against the cold pillar, Song Fei braced himself, while his other hand swiftly scurried down the side edge of the television, quickly finding a different texture in the lower right corner. He pressed down hard!
A red dot lit up in the lower right corner of the television!
Song Fei was overjoyed and about to retreat when he suddenly realized something was wrong. Looking down, he saw a zombie viciously biting his thigh!
From this height, the zombie was directly facing him there!
Song Fei felt a sharp pain, thankfully not from a bite, but from a chopstick. This chopstick became a barrier between the zombie's sharp teeth and his flesh.
But the zombie wouldn't give up, instead using its arm to tightly grip his thigh!
A terrifying numbness instantly shot from the soles of his feet to the tips of his hair. Song Fei felt his scalp was about to explode, and instinctively kicked his legs!
The zombie held on tightly, attempting to bite again and again!
A kick.
A tight grip.
From a distance, their silhouettes looked like a perfect pair of wind and sand, entwined and inseparable until the ends of the earth!
The resounding Chinese chants still echoed in the sky. Inside the kitchen, Wang Qingyuan, Li Jingyu, and Lin Dilei were each guarding the windows of the front, middle, and back areas, to prevent zombies that couldn't climb to the second floor from going berserk and rushing towards the first-floor windows—that would be disastrous. The remaining three huddled at the door, peering through the cracks—
Luo Geng: "Qi Yan told us to be on the move, but this opportunity is too difficult to grasp."
Qiao Siqi: "I think now is the opportunity; that zombie seems to have fallen in love with Song Fei."
Zhou Yilu: "Okay, I'll go out. You two continue to watch the staircases on both sides, be alert for any zombies coming down from upstairs."
Originally, during the planning, someone suggested locking all three doors of the hall, but this was quickly rejected because no one knew how many zombies were left on the second and third floors. If there were many, closing the cafeteria doors would only trap them. Furthermore, leaving the door open means that if the zombies are truly afraid of the cold, they will return after the singing stops. In a sense, this helps to reduce the number of zombies outside. If the situation changes in the future and they need to leave the cafeteria, or even just go out briefly, this will be more convenient and safer. Later, someone suggested simply eliminating the zombies, but after much deliberation, everyone considered that a large number of living people would easily excite the zombies and cause them to howl wildly. If this led to the zombies outside returning or the zombies upstairs coming down, it would be counterproductive. Therefore, the final plan was for Qi Yan to lure the enemy, Song Fei to activate the device, and the rest of the team to stand by.
But now that Song Fei had already entered combat mode, the team members couldn't stand idly by. Zhou Yilu gripped the sushi gun tightly, his figure flashed, and he silently disappeared!
At the same time, the TV screen suddenly lit up!
To be on the safe side, Song Fei didn't dare to hold the remote control directly in his hand. He thought he would press the main power button first, but after pressing the main power button, he was entangled by zombies. Now, he was struggling to pull out the remote control while being entangled!
Zhou Yilu's forward steps faltered, and Luo Geng and Qiao Siqi, peering through the crack in the door, widened their eyes. Everyone's hearts were in their throats…
The image finally stabilized and became clear. The rapidly flashing, chaotic static resembled countless grayish-white bacteria densely crowding the television screen, a petri dish.
Song Fei, with all his might, delivered his most powerful kick yet, finally pushing the zombie away! Just as the zombie's back slammed against the pillar, he relentlessly pressed the remote control, switching through over a dozen channels.
Still the same.
The densely flashing static was like the campus after a viral outbreak: confusion, madness, despair.
Song Fei finally stopped, momentarily lost in thought.
He hadn't completely ruled out the possibility. But he kept telling himself that TVs and cell phones shouldn't share the same signal, right? TVs use set-top boxes, and if a cell phone has no signal, the TV might. In the end, he almost completely stopped doubting it. This near-obsessive convincing was less optimism and more self-hypnosis, as if believing that the straw in your hand could save your life would actually do so. He lost his balance and landed hard on the table Zhou Yilu's roar also startled Qi Yan, who was still struggling to run in circles with the zombies at the other end of the hall. He reflexively looked over and saw Song Fei sitting on the table , battling the zombies!
In dire straits, people always need a sliver of hope.
But this hope shattered so quickly, so unexpectedly.
"Watch out—"
Zhou Yilu's shout suddenly rang out from afar!
Song Fei felt a dark shadow approaching from below. Just as he instinctively tried to kick, the zombie suddenly grabbed his legs and pulled him forcefully! A sharp pain shot through his tailbone. Before Song Fei could recover, the zombie pounced and bit into his stomach! Fortunately, Song Fei was wearing a down jacket, so the zombie only managed to get a mouthful of fabric and cotton! But that was enough to send a chill down Song Fei's spine—the zombie had somehow managed to knock the chopsticks away! A zombie was already peeking out from the stairwell, whether from the shouts or the fighting, it was unclear. Since the TV was showing static, Qi Yan stopped fighting and jumped onto the table, running all the way to Song Fei's side. When he arrived, Zhou Yilu had already plunged a knife into the zombie's head. Of course, before it died, it had been beaten to a pulp by Song Fei. The three of them, without exchanging words, instinctively made their escape, leaping over the serving rack at top speed and heading straight for the kitchen door. Qiao Siqi and Luo Geng, who were already waiting at the door, opened it without delay, let their comrades in, and then quickly closed and locked it. Song Fei and Qi Yan ran inside and plopped down on the floor. The former was exhausted from fighting zombies, the latter from kiting them. The three guards at the window, seeing them return, immediately crowded around to ask what had happened. Li Jingyu: "What did the news say?" Lin Dilei: "How is it?" Wang Qingyuan: "Is there a signal?" Three questions, three attitudes: from optimistic to neutral, from neutral to realistic. They had considered the possibility of the worst, but before it was confirmed, no one wanted to say anything, as if saying it would somehow confirm the worst. So only after everything had settled would they ask so bluntly. Song Fei, unwilling, could only slowly shake her head, trying to give her friends a less bitter smile: "No signal." "Ah?" Li Jingyu was first surprised, then his disappointment was palpable. Lin Dilei and Wang Qingyuan were more composed; although disappointed, it wasn't too much of a blow. Luo Geng and Qiao Siqi already knew the result through the crack in the door, and shrugged helplessly. "Hey, upstairs!" Lin Dilei suddenly exclaimed softly. Everyone then realized that Class 2 was still howling, their voices almost hoarse from the sound of heavy metal rock. Lin Dilei ran to the farthest point from Class 2's window, and after confirming there were no zombies in front of the window, she quickly opened the window and shouted, "Operation complete—" Lin Dilei's voice had a special quality, perhaps related to the way broadcasters pronounce words; it didn't need to scream, it was very penetrating, piercing through the overwhelming Chinese-style singing. The chorus finally stopped, and the night returned to silence, leaving only the zombies gathered at the bottom of the window, occasionally making some noises. "Damn, my throat is burning," Zhao Heyang sighed, utterly exhausted, "This intensity is comparable to singing karaoke all night." The other guys' throats hurt so much they didn't want to say another word, they could only nod vigorously, expressing their agreement with their lives! Huang Mo was relatively less miserable, at least he could still shout to the distance, "How is it—" Soon, Xiao Dilei's reply came from diagonally opposite: "No signal, just static—" Huang Mo lowered his eyes, sure enough. Zhao He wasn't as calm as Huang. If his friends hadn't stopped him, he would have jumped down, yelling, "Don't pull me back! I'm going to kill them!!!"