"They've gone far away?"
"That's about right, it's been about four songs already."
"None of your four songs sound like they're about human society."
"It's because you don't know how to appreciate it."
"Okay, as long as they like it."
Zhou Yilu glanced down at the swarm of zombies surrounding him, making sure even the tallest one couldn't reach his feet with his arms outstretched, before feeling somewhat relieved. His hands, which had been gripping the protruding wall, were stinging from the wind and were now numb. He carefully pulled them back, struggling to maintain his balance as he tucked his hands into his sleeves, letting the warmth slowly restore their sensation.
Perhaps because of his slender build, Qiao Siqi was much more stable standing on the windowsill. He didn't need to grab onto anything for balance like Zhou Yilu did. His paper-thin body pressed against the glass, and he was completely embedded in the window frame.
"I'll never complain about your department building being weird again," Qiao Siqi suddenly said.
Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow, completely baffled by this sudden remark.
"If it weren't for its unusual design, we wouldn't be able to climb up here. If it were like the cafeteria or the Gewu Building, with smooth exterior walls that made it impossible to find a foothold, we'd still be running laps with zombies down there." Qiao Siqi felt a pang of unease whenever he thought about this.
Johns' rare objectivity and fairness comforted Zhou Yilu, who was about to agree when a loud slap came from behind him!
Zhou Yilu was so frightened that his whole body was about to fall out, but fortunately at the last moment he raised his left hand and braced himself against the top of the windowsill, which helped him stabilize his body. From Qiao Siqi's perspective, it was a standard imposing posture of someone about to blow up a bunker.
But at this moment, Qiao Siqi couldn't care less about complaining; to be precise, he kept quiet because he couldn't see what was in Zhou Yilu's window from his position. He could only wait anxiously for his comrade's report.
Zhou Lu, standing tall and imposing, stiffly turned his head and met a grim face through the glass.
In the dim light, Zhou Yilu couldn't tell if the other party was human or ghost, nor dared to make any rash moves, and could only stare at it silently. However, less than two seconds later, the other party suddenly opened its blood-red maw and pounced ferociously!
Zhou Yilu was jolted awake and instinctively tried to back away, but as soon as he moved his feet, he realized that it was a windowsill and he had nowhere to retreat!
Thump!
The zombie's entire face slammed heavily against the glass, its features twisted horribly from the force of the impact.
Zhou Yilu breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, there was glass.
Qiao Siqi, though unable to see, understood and nervously whispered, "Zombies?"
Zhou nodded wearily.
"Are the windows in your building sturdy?" Qiao has always been very aware of potential dangers.
Zhou Yilu rolled her eyes at him: "Don't worry, even if you break your head, it won't shatter."
Qiao Siqi's face darkened: "You gave me that example. What good would it do you if I drew blood?"
Zhou Yilu thought about it seriously for a moment: "...Awesome?"
If it weren't for the two windows separating them, Qiao Siqi would have loved to deliver a fatal kick: "I risked my life to come fight alongside you, I'm not exactly a hero, but I'm incredibly loyal, and this is how you treat your brother?!"
Qiao Siqi's voice choked with emotion, which startled Zhou Yilu, who quickly poured out his heart: "I know you're a good friend. If you didn't consider me a brother, would you have gone crazy and left the whole group suffering here with me?"
"You know it in your heart, so why don't you say it? No, even if you did, not a single word would be pleasant to hear!"
"Aren't good friends just about loving and fighting each other? I want to hold your hand and say, Qiao Siqi, thank you for coming into my life. With you, the winter nights are no longer cold, the wind and snow no longer howl, the world thaws, and all things revive. You are electricity, you are light, you are my only faith. Do you want to hear that?"
"I love it very much."
"Do you have to be so dramatic!"
"I'm just that sentimental! Fragile! Sensitive! A little princess!"
"..."
When someone's self-assessment is accurate to two decimal places, they can accept any ridicule without flinching. Zhou Yilu has nothing left to struggle with. Besides, someone would risk their life for you: "Qiao Siqi, thank you for..."
"Oh my god, stop it, that's disgusting."
"You just said you really love it!"
"I regret it."
"..." Heavens, why isn't there any thunder yet?! Even a golden light would be better than thunder, to subdue this monster!
Thump!
The thunder didn't come down, but the zombies did.
Turning around irritably, Zhou Yilu was about to confront the zombie separated by a glass partition again when he discovered that the face behind him was no longer visible in the glass.
Where did that impact sound come from?
Zhou Yilu was puzzled when he heard Qiao, filled with righteous indignation, criticize the perpetrator: "It's okay to scare Zhou Yilu, but it's wrong of you to scare me. Besides, if you really want to eat me, then come out. What kind of skill is it to scare people through the glass..."
They couldn't see what was happening inside Josh's window from here, but Zhou Yilu knew that if the zombies could knock on his window, they could certainly knock on Josh's too. And compared to his own brute force, Jonhs clearly preferred a more thorough spiritual cleansing of the zombies—
"Given your current behavior, I can only offer you four words: I despise you! Not enough? Here are eight more: You... don't open the window!"
Zhou Yilu stared wide-eyed as the window in front of Qiao Siqi was slowly opened from the inside. Just as he was in a state of complete disbelief and shock, he heard a loud bang as Qiao Siqi reached out and pulled the window back towards him.
One living person, one zombie, one outside, one inside, both brimming with power, evenly matched, sharing the same window, the same dream.
"You fucking come help me!"
"Why are they opening windows?!"
"Can we discuss this issue once I'm safe?"
Qiao Siqi's shout jolted Zhou Yilu awake. He immediately reached out his hand, which had been hidden in his sleeve for a long time, and firmly grabbed the protrusion on the wall. At the same time, he reached out his other hand to Qiao Siqi without hesitation: "Jump over here!"
Qiao Siqi felt a surge of warmth in his heart, and almost couldn't hold back his tears again: "Your arms are too short, I can't fucking reach them—"
Zhou Yilu resisted the urge to help the zombies devour their comrades: "Then let's climb up!"
Fortunately, Qiao was obedient enough to quickly look around, find a foothold, and let go of the window sash without a word. The zombie, which had been struggling against him, was caught off guard and fell backward with a thud.
Qiao Siqi seemed to be possessed by Zhao Feiyan. With a light step, his lithe body left the windowsill and clung to the building. In no time, he climbed up to Zhou Yilu's diagonal height.
Zhou Yilu wondered if he was seeing a fake Qiao Siqi, and asked incredulously, "When did you become so agile?"
Qiao Siqi was speechless: "I've been on the run for almost a month, I can't have made no progress at all."
Zhou Yilu thought about it and realized it made sense. A month ago, he was still cutting sushi; now the knife is still the same, but the dish is different.
When life was peaceful, he felt that five years was no different from five days—just going to school, studying, and flirting with goddesses, though he never succeeded. But when that peace was shattered, those short twenty-odd days felt like an eternity.
"Hey," came Josh's voice from above, "Should we find a classroom to hide in first? It's too dangerous to be out here looking so delicious."
Zhou Yilu agreed with Qiao Siqi's proposal, but did not respond immediately, instead falling into some kind of contemplation.
Qiao Siqi thought Zhou Yilu was still hesitant, so he pressed on: "Even if we want to run, we have to wait until these people below disperse. We're so handsome, how can they disperse if we don't disappear?"
"Yes." Zhou Yilu finally spoke.
Qiao Siqi rolled his eyes so hard they almost reached the sky: "You only agree if I tell you you're handsome, huh?"
Zhou Yilu was completely bewildered, then finally came to his senses: "I was thinking about where we should hide!"
"You've figured it out?"
"Yes," Zhou Yilu said, his eyes shining, "there is a place that is absolutely safe."
In terms of intellect, Qi Yan ranks first; in terms of physique, Zhao He ranks first; in terms of dirty tricks, Song Fei ranks first; in terms of martial arts, Luo Geng ranks first. In short, if you combine the two martial arts classes, Zhou Yilu is probably not at the top of any list.
However, this person is well-rounded.
He's got a bit of brains, a bit of physique, a bit of mischief, a bit of martial arts skills, and on top of that, a bit of courage and loyalty. This makes him very reliable; he won't suddenly act crazy like Song Fei, nor will he be as unpredictable as Zhao He. His comrades, like Johns, also trust him completely.
Zhou Yilu said there is such a place.
Joschi believed it unconditionally.
but--
"Is that place upstairs?"
Why do you ask that?
"Because if we don't climb up, we might be pulled down."
Zhou Yilu instinctively looked down and saw that seven or eight new faces had appeared among the zombies downstairs at some unknown time, climbing up at lightning speed. The fastest of them was about to reach the window between the first and second floors!
"Get to the top floor!" Zhou Yilu shouted, and began to flee upwards using both hands and feet!
Qiao Siqi, who was already above Zhou Yilu, immediately sprang into action upon hearing this. After climbing only a couple of steps, he instinctively glanced up at the so-called "top floor," and felt utterly devastated: "Couldn't you have chosen a spot closer?!"
The Luban Building has ten floors in total. Qiao Siqi is currently at most three floors away from the top floor. It is truly a long and arduous journey.
What's even more deadly is that the zombies' climbing speed is getting faster and faster!
In the blink of an eye, Zhou Yilu had already kicked away a zombie that was trying to grab his ankle!
Qiao Siqi, who had just turned his gaze away from the rooftop, caught a glimpse of this scene and nearly went crazy: "How did he suddenly become so agile?!"
Zhou Yilu kicked away another zombie that had crawled up to him, on the verge of tears: "It must have come from Yixin Building!"
"Why does your architecture school have to be next to the art school?!"
"Human beings share a common appreciation for beauty!"
"..."
Perhaps spurred on by the pursuers, Zhou Yilu overtook Qiao Siqi when they reached about the sixth floor. Consequently, the zombie chasing Zhou Yilu became Qiao's neighbor.
At first, Qiao Siqi only noticed Zhou Yilu and was about to complain about him for not helping the younger students. But before he could speak, his arm was pulled, and if he hadn't broken free quickly, his wrist would have become someone else's meal.
Upon closer inspection, the zombie was only an arm's length away.
Qiao Siqi's scalp tingled with fear. He dared not utter another word and climbed with all his might, trying to shake off his deskmate. But deep down, he knew it was futile; a fierce battle was inevitable soon. And a battle on the building's facade meant he'd fall within two moves!
Instead of doing that, it would be better to find any room we can get into and stabilize the current critical situation!
Thinking about it this way, Qiao Siqi immediately wanted to tell Zhou Yilu. But when he looked up, he was stunned. Above him were only buildings, and there was no sign of his comrade.
A sudden pang of sadness welled up inside me, and my heart was in turmoil.
"Zhou Yilu ahh ...
Qiao Siqi's scream was so heart-wrenching that it extinguished the light of the world, and even the grass and trees were moved.
"What are you shouting for?!"
Zhou Yilu's voice suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Qiao Siqi was already crying and sniffling. Hearing this, he froze, half a snot hanging there in the wind. Not knowing which way to face it, he just stared blankly at the unknown place: "You...you didn't fall?"
"Are you happy or disappointed?!" A familiar head finally appeared in the window on the seventh floor.
Qiao Siqi was overjoyed, not only because Zhou Lu was safe, but also because the other party had the same idea as him!
Suddenly, a flash of cold light appeared before his eyes, and the sushi gun shot out of the window, blasting away the zombie that had quietly crept up to him.
"Come in quickly!" Zhou Yilu had already given up complaining about this single-minded comrade who could never multitask, let alone keep an eye on everything.
Qiao Siqi then realized that the window where Zhou Yilu was located had no glass. To be precise, the glass had been broken and fallen off for some reason, leaving only some fragments stuck to the frame. No wonder Zhou Yilu could enter so easily.
And now, through this empty window, the hand of a comrade-in-arms reaches out once again.
This time, Qiao Siqi didn't complain about his teammate's short arms. Instead, he took a deep breath, grabbed the top edge of the windowsill, stepped on a protrusion, and suddenly pushed himself up half a meter. Before he could stand up, he quickly reached out and grabbed Zhou Yilu tightly!
Zhou Yilu instantly gripped his hand tightly and repeated sharply, "Come on up!"
Qiao Siqi was filled with excitement, and with a sudden effort, he slipped.
Zhou Yilu felt his arm being suddenly pulled hard! Fortunately, he reacted quickly, tensed up, and pulled back as soon as he felt something was wrong, so that there was some resistance and elimination between the forces, otherwise his shoulder would definitely have dislocated!
"What are you doing!" Zhou Yilu exclaimed angrily.
Qiao Siqi, whose entire body was swaying in mid-air, also wanted to slap himself along with his comrades: "I slipped and lost my footing, waah..."
As he spoke, Qiao Siqi had already grasped Zhou Yilu's hands with both of them. Just from the warmth of his palms, the latter could feel the overwhelming sense of "I don't want to die."
He was about to drop the sushi gun and reach out with his other hand to pull his comrade when he suddenly felt something was wrong behind him. He turned around and sure enough, zombies were rushing towards him!
When Zhou Yilu jumped into the house, there were no zombies in sight, but he didn't have time to lock the door, so it's not surprising that some zombies were attracted by the sound.
The shot missed its mark!
The zombies are right in front of us!
Zhou Lu used his headbutt to knock his opponent back two steps, but half of his body was being held back by his comrades outside, preventing him from pressing his advantage. He could only turn his head and shout out the window, "Hurry up, I can't hold on much longer—"
Outside the window, Qiao Siqi was desperately trying to find a foothold, but it was proving incredibly difficult. Every time he thought he was about to land, his comrade's arm would suddenly tremble violently, causing him to be thrown off balance.
"Don't move!!!" Qiao Siqi almost pointed his toes to reach the foothold, but he always failed.
The comrade inside the window was also in a terrible state: "If a zombie wants to eat me, how can I not move?!"
The word "zombie" sent a chill down Qiao Siqi's spine, and he almost reflexively cried out, "Then please, please don't let go!!!"
"If you don't come up, I'm really letting go!"
"If you dare let go, I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"
"as you like!"
"I'll whisper English in your ear every midnight so that you dream of Lily, Lucy, i, Lilei, Jim, Unclewang!"
"...Aaaaaaah!!!" Zhou Yilu's soul was possessed by a string of childhood nightmares' names. He roared to the sky and finally pierced the zombie's head with a gun. With all his might, he pulled Qiao Siqi in!