Ch 26: Opening a Survival School Before the Zombie Outbreak

Calmly and without a trace of guilt, she tossed the messy job of introducing the campus to the new students back to the student in charge. Fu Qing then followed the officers to the police station to cooperate with the statement.

In a short span of time, her act of bravery seemed to have spread among everyone there. The police treated her with notable courtesy. Even the female officer who poured her a cup of water could not help sneaking a glance at her.

One of the officers responsible for taking her statement was the on site rescue commander from earlier. He introduced himself as Officer Chen. During a break, he spoke in a casual tone about the suspect’s situation.

“According to our preliminary investigation, the suspect, Liu, is twenty eight years old, unemployed, and comes from a relatively wealthy family. The car was a personal asset gifted to him by his parents.” This information would eventually be made public, so Officer Chen did not hide it from Fu Qing. “He had not been drinking before the incident. From his condition during questioning, he did not appear to be driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Of course, we will need to wait for the test results to be certain.”

This aligned with her own observations and what she had gathered from questioning.

The suspect had deliberately modified the vehicle, removing the airbags and the dash cam. She could even be certain that before committing this crime, he had rehearsed it multiple times, which explained the unnatural calm he displayed when the patrol officers moved in to stop him.

Fu Qing did not reveal how much she understood about the suspect. She sipped the tea in her paper cup, listening attentively, occasionally responding with a few remarks. Translated on Hololo novels. She appeared like an ordinary citizen with a sense of justice, showing just the right amount of concern when faced with such a heinous event, neither too little nor too much.

“If his parents gave him such an expensive car, that suggests his family relationships are fairly harmonious. How could he do something like this to retaliate against society? Could someone have incited him?”

Officer Chen shook his head and rubbed the space between his brows. “We still do not know. We will start by investigating his social connections to see whether there were any property or emotional disputes involved. Of course, your speculation is also possible. We cannot rule out the possibility that someone was directing him from behind the scenes.”

He could not say more than that.

Fu Qing nodded.

Seemingly offhand, she added, “There seem to have been many similar cases recently. What exactly is going on?”

Since entering the station, she had noticed that nearly everyone had heavy dark circles beneath their eyes. Even Officer Chen could not conceal his exhaustion.

“Exactly,” the young officer recording the statement blurted out. “This is already the—”

He received a sharp look from Officer Chen and hurriedly corrected himself. “But the previous cases were not mass killings. Mostly neighborhood disputes, couples arguing, arguments that escalated into physical fights, that sort of thing.”

He might as well not have explained.

Fu Qing sighed inwardly on his superior’s behalf, her mood growing heavier.

She had rarely seen reports of these cases in the local news.

Had there been so many that it became abnormal, and in order to avoid panic, some had been deliberately suppressed?

In that moment, Fu Qing suddenly saw a landscape beyond the campus, something she had never seen in either her previous life or this one.

If these were all signs of the coming apocalypse, then it was no wonder the system had urged her to go out more.

Officer Chen stopped the loose tongued newcomer and, in a gentle but pointed tone, said to Fu Qing, “The earlier cases were relatively simple. The vast majority of suspects were arrested on the spot. We have already investigated and found no connections among them. They do not constitute serial crimes or organized criminal activity. Please trust that all officers will do everything in their power to protect the safety of the citizens. S City is very safe.”

A leader was a leader. He knew the art of speaking well.

Fu Qing understood the implication. “I understand. I will not repeat what was said just now. You have all worked hard.”

……

When the statement concluded, a solemn looking middle aged man came specifically to shake her hand and express his gratitude. Fu Qing glanced at him more carefully and realized he was a familiar face often seen in local news.

If she could tell him about the apocalypse…

The thought flickered and vanished. Fu Qing suppressed the unnecessary idea, shook his hand with an ordinary expression, exchanged contact information with Officer Chen, and then left the station.

By the time she stepped outside, a full moon hung overhead.

The moonlight flowed like water, cool and clear across the treetops. The pitch black night reflected the lights of countless households, and behind her, the police station was equally ablaze with light.

Within each square window were the busy silhouettes of officers, like a vast illuminated painting.

Fu Qing looked a moment longer before taking a taxi back to the university.

The night was not over yet.

*

After returning to campus, Fu Qing ate something simple in the cafeteria, then turned toward the principal’s office.

She spread out the notebook she had been using to organize information, flipped to a new page, and rewrote the title.

“Yongxin Road Pedestrian Street Vehicle Ramming Case.”

While eating, she had searched for updates. As expected, the case was already trending. The latest reported death toll had risen to twenty seven. Countless people were offering prayers for the victims on various platforms.

At the same time, it reignited discussion about the recent surge in social incidents.

The earlier disturbance at the barbecue restaurant had been too minor. But this vehicle ramming occurred during Mid Autumn Festival. Its vicious nature, combined with the high death toll, finally made Fu Qing certain.

In her previous life, during this year’s Mid Autumn Festival, nothing like this had happened in S City.

If it had, she could not possibly have forgotten.

Her expression grew darker.

Since her rebirth, aside from the existence of herself and certain teachers, this was the first event that did not align with her previous life.

What had caused this change? Would it affect her knowledge of the future?

After being reborn, Fu Qing’s greatest reliance had been her past experiences.

Personal ability could only allow her and those around her to survive longer. Information about the zombies and the future, however, had the potential to become humanity’s hope.

That was the spark.

If that experience became unreliable, the teachers and students of Fangzhou, as well as she herself, would fall back into darkness, forced to grope once more for a way to survive.

Humanity might not have a third chance.

Fu Qing had to remain vigilant. That was why she had risked being caught on surveillance and arousing police suspicion to question the driver named Liu Yong on the spot.

Once he was arrested, she would have no opportunity to speak to him alone.

The ballpoint pen spun rapidly between her fingers. Anyone watching might have felt dizzy.

But her attention had already drifted, and Liu Yong’s twisted face resurfaced before her eyes.

……

Time had been limited. After the vehicle stopped, she had asked Liu Yong only three questions.

Why did you do this?

Why target innocent passersby?

Knowing you would die, you still did this. What did you want?

There was no need for Officer Chen’s subsequent explanation. From a simple observation of the scene, she could draw certain conclusions. Liu Yong’s car was expensive. He had modified it in advance for the attack, proving it was his own vehicle. His clothes were all designer brands, and the watch on his wrist was equally costly. All of it indicated that his family background was quite good.

There were no extra interior decorations in the car. No cushions. No trace of a woman’s presence. Most likely, he was single.

There had been no smell of alcohol. He had been clear headed. It was premeditated, not a crime of passion, and he did not appear mentally unstable.

Not for money. Not for lust. Then why attack a crowd? A natural born antisocial personality?

No. When he was threatened and in pain, the fear in his eyes had been real. It did not look like a personality disorder.

Her later conversation with Officer Chen had merely been cooperative small talk. In truth, Fu Qing had already reached these basic conclusions at the scene and had constructed the simplest and most effective questions based on them.

……

Fu Qing pressed down slightly with her foot. As the shard beneath her sole cut deeper into flesh, Liu Yong shrieked like a slaughtered pig. “I’ll talk! I’ll talk!”

“There’s no reason! I just can’t stand them.”

“Ever since I was little, whenever I was in a bad mood, I’d take it out on my dad’s subordinates. They never dared say a word. Their whole families depend on my dad’s money to survive.”

“Our family pays a lot of money, a lot of taxes. We support so many people. If that’s the case, what’s wrong with killing a few?”

He muttered, “They’re born inferior to me. Living in broken houses, eating filthy food, sucking our family’s blood. They deserve to die… they deserve to die…”

Fu Qing could tell he was not lying.

He truly believed it, which made it even more disgusting.

As a reward for his honesty, she bent down and pulled a shard out of his body.

Liu Yong’s eyes bulged as he watched blood gush from him like a small fountain. The venom on his face vanished. He began twisting again, whimpering and crying. A stream of foul liquid seeped from between his legs.

That had been his answers to the first two questions. He had responded, but Fu Qing was not satisfied.

Instinctively, she felt that was not the whole reason.

Liu Yong was extremely selfish. He enjoyed his class status and his power. He would not willingly destroy such a life and become a prisoner.

A prisoner, the lowest rung of society, even beneath the ordinary workers he despised. After committing a crime of such magnitude, he would not be naïve enough to believe his father could smooth everything over.

What could make him willingly abandon his current life? After turning it over in her mind, Fu Qing concluded there was only one possibility—

He was pursuing a better life.

Liu Yong believed that by killing these people, he would gain something better than his current identity, status, and wealth.

What made him think that?

Having quickly pieced together this line of logic, Fu Qing asked the third question without hesitation.

Even the clearly foreseeable death penalty did not frighten him. “What exactly do you want?”

Liu Yong lay in the filthy water mixed with the blood of the victims and his own. His face was twisted in extreme pain. He kept begging weakly for mercy. Yet at the moment that question fell, his eyes, half hidden beneath his messy fringe, suddenly burst with brilliant light.

Like a devout believer who had seen his god.

He split his lips in a sharp, crazed grin.

“I want…”

“I want to become an existence above all humans.”

“When the apocalypse descends, when the evolved species rules this land…”

“…I will be the only human who can stand shoulder to shoulder with them.”

……

In the empty office, Fu Qing silently let out a long breath, ending the memory.

Liu Yong’s words reminded her of a group she knew well.

They firmly believed that zombies were a superior species to humans. They claimed that the tougher skin, faster running speed, greater explosive strength and aggression of certain zombies were proof of this.

The outbreak of the virus was the Blue Planet’s self cleansing mechanism, triggered by ecological change and environmental deterioration.

It was humanity’s greed that had brought about its destruction.

When the disaster passed, a new land would appear beneath the sunlight. The zombies who had adapted to the catastrophe would become its new masters.

Fu Qing had once stayed in a shelter for a period of time. One day, a ragged, emaciated refugee arrived, yet her mental state was strangely euphoric. It was from her that Fu Qing had first heard these words.

“Human extinction is the general trend. It is the will of the world,” the woman muttered, her expression entranced. “Look, the virus only spreads among humans. Even if animals are briefly infected, the virus disappears with the host’s death. That is proof.”

“That isn’t a virus. It’s humanity’s sin! We cannot resist it. We can only accept it.”

“Little girl, join us. Become a zombie. That’s the only way to atone.”

She tried her utmost to make Fu Qing believe. Her cheeks were gaunt from hunger, making her large eyes stand out even more, flashing with an eerie, fanatical light.

Fu Qing had no interest in such preaching.

Every day she was busy following volunteer exploration teams to forage for food and search for supplies. She had to chop firewood for the coming winter, mend wind torn and hole riddled clothes. She was exhausted. Who had time to listen to nonsense?

After the apocalypse, many who had once been staunch materialists began seeking faith.

When reality became too desperate, placing hope in something intangible felt normal.

Especially in crowded shelters, people believed in all sorts of things. Whenever new bad news came back, prayers would overlap in chaotic waves, so much so that Fu Qing sometimes wondered whether the gods could even distinguish their own followers.

There were many who believed in Bodhisattvas or in God. Very few believed in zombies.

Because of that, Fu Qing kept an eye on the woman, checking on her from time to time.

After realizing Fu Qing would not be swayed, the woman gave up on her and began spreading her ideas to others. Before long, she had actually gathered several people who listened to her “lectures” every day.

Those people were either depressed because a close relative had turned into a zombie, or physically weak and unable to go out exploring, growing frailer by the day, surviving only on the shelter’s minimum rations and seemingly waiting for death. Yet after coming into contact with the woman, their mental states improved in a strangely noticeable way.

Fu Qing grew wary and made a point of speaking to the shelter’s administrators about it, but unfortunately, she was not taken seriously.

The accident finally happened one day while she was out on an exploration run.

By the time Fu Qing returned, the shelter had completely fallen. According to those who escaped, it was the woman and her companions who had done it.

Taking advantage of a moment of lax security during a shift change, they worked together to push open the gates and lure the zombies inside.

The woman at the front burst into laughter as she rushed into the horde. “This is not death, but rebirth!”

Because too many zombies swarmed her at once, she did not mutate after being bitten. She was torn apart alive.

That betrayal from within humanity led to the deaths of nearly a thousand people in the shelter. It also seared her final words into Fu Qing’s memory.

Later, when Fu Qing encountered others who held the same beliefs, she realized this had not been the ravings of a single madwoman.

It was a secret, hidden organization born of the apocalypse, bound by the same faith and the same madness. They had even developed a complete and convincing logic. Otherwise, they would not have attracted so many believers.

When zombies became unstoppable, wanting to join them began to seem understandable.

The lives of their fellow humans were their initiation offering.

After becoming aware of their existence, Fu Qing even took the initiative to hunt down some of the more fanatical followers. Later still, as the number of surviving humans dwindled, she encountered them less and less.

After all, if their faith had truly been devout, they would likely have already fed themselves to the zombies. There would have been no need for her to kill them.

What Fu Qing had never expected was that such a belief would appear so early.

There were still eleven months and one week before the virus outbreak.

Zombies had not even appeared on the Blue Planet yet. How did Liu Yong know that “a new species would rule this land”?

Had all of this already been quietly unfolding in her previous life without her knowledge, or… had her rebirth caused these changes?

For once, Fu Qing felt unsettled.

She was not afraid Liu Yong would tell the police about their conversation. She knew no one would believe him. If she had not already known the apocalypse was coming, she might have assumed Liu Yong was insane or had fallen for something he should not have believed in.

No. In a sense, the latter was the truth.

That also explained why Liu Yong had willingly abandoned his current life. After the apocalypse, human society would be completely overturned. Class and money would no longer guarantee survival. Liu Yong must have learned from some source, or been indoctrinated with the idea, that only by joining “the zombie side” could he secure his safety and status.

The price was this “sacrifice.”

The question was…

Fu Qing quickly listed several points on paper.

One, and most important, where and from whom had Liu Yong learned about the apocalypse? How much did he know?

Two, besides him, did anyone else know? Was there an extremist organization behind this, similar to the zombie devotees of the apocalypse? If so, how did they contact one another and recruit followers?

Three, what was their goal? Were they connected to the virus outbreak? Could they have directly or indirectly caused it? Otherwise, why worship something so intangible and not yet manifested?

Four, was a large scale attack like Liu Yong’s an individual decision, or a common objective among such people?

If the latter, it meant incidents like the Yongxin Road Pedestrian Street case might occur again. How could they be tracked? How could they be prevented?

According to Officer Chen, at least on the surface, the recent surge in social crimes showed no direct links. Considering that crime rates had risen in many countries recently, it was unlikely that every criminal was someone like Liu Yong.

Otherwise, Fu Qing would have encountered them far more often after the apocalypse. In reality, she had met a “zombie believer” perhaps once every few months.

She believed there was another cause behind the wave of crimes.

Additionally, when Liu Yong spoke of the apocalypse, his mental state had seemed off. She could not be sure whether that had been her imagination.

Fu Qing pressed her fingers to her brow. What should have been a straightforward rebirth now felt increasingly complicated.

She suddenly recalled the idea of the “protagonist theory” that had surfaced in her mind when Zhao Yunxiao had introduced his golden finger ability.

If all of this were compared to a book, then unlike her earlier assumption, this would be a vast, sprawling story. Fangzhou University was not its only stage.

There were many more hidden details.

Zhao Yunxiao had been the protagonist of the previous story. After his failure, the world reset and entered a “second playthrough.”

“I just hope they do not add more hidden stages… although that is common design in a second playthrough,” Fu Qing muttered to herself.

She had no desire for “more, newer, richer” game content.

Just as she was about to close her notebook, the system, which had remained silent throughout her analysis, suddenly spoke.

A golden phantom appeared before her eyes, enveloping the words “zombie devotees” on the page, like the bold prompt that appears in a game when an important clue is discovered.

[Your understanding of this world has deepened!]

[You have received 300 Teaching Points.]

[Please keep up the good work!]

Fu Qing: “……”

Was this not supposed to be a simulation management game? When had it quietly turned into an RPG?

The unexpected 300 points somewhat eased her gloom. When she had received Song Rushuang’s message earlier, it had triggered a sudden event much like the barbecue incident before. Perhaps because fewer students were involved this time, the reward had only been 100 points.

Adding the 100 she had previously saved, along with the 50 earned from upgrading her relationship with Bai Tang, her balance now stood at 550.

Sudden wealth felt unfamiliar.

Then she remembered that 550 points were only enough to purchase one ring of iron spike traps, with 50 left over. She quickly calmed down.

Beyond campus construction and student cultivation, there were now more matters demanding attention. Yet after thinking it through, she realized her immediate priorities had not changed.

Liu Yong had been arrested. She had Officer Chen’s number. When the investigation concluded, she could inquire indirectly.

As a public spirited citizen who had acted bravely, she believed that as long as she did not probe too deeply, Officer Chen would be willing to answer.

With such a high death toll, the police could not ignore any investigative lead. If someone had “instigated” Liu Yong and fed him apocalyptic ideology, perhaps they could trace that thread and uncover the source.

Until then, all she could do was wait.

Before Liu Yong and those behind him, if any, exposed further flaws, there were few clues to pursue.

She exhaled slowly.

Since she had noticed the abnormal crime rate and the possible existence of people like Liu Yong hidden within society, there was at least one thing she could do.

Continue public education. Expand her accounts across platforms. Mobilize students. Encourage more people to develop self protection awareness.

One extra box of canned food might mean half a month more of survival. One extra box of water might mean another month.

Having clearly organized her plans, she was about to return to her dormitory to rest when she heard movement downstairs.

The administrative building stood closest to the main school gate. From the principal’s office, the entire south gate was visible.

Detecting someone entering, the system automatically unlocked the sealed gate.

As the unattended iron gates slowly swung open, an excited voice rang out in the dense night.

“Hey, it opened, it opened! It’s actually automatic. And there’s no security guard? Is this place that high tech?”

“It’s too late today. I’ll show everyone around our school tomorrow. I need to figure out how to move my luggage into the dorm first.”

“I’m planning to rent a place near campus later for filming. Recording in the dorm would bother my roommates. They all seem pretty nice…”

Fu Qing walked to the window and saw a familiar figure.

Under the streetlight, her golden hair reflected into a pale blur, but her delicate features were still recognizable beneath it.

Sun Wei leaned on a crutch. A large pile of luggage sat beside her. She held a selfie stick in one hand, chattering nonstop.

After finishing that segment, Sun Wei reached to press pause. Her smile suddenly froze, her face falling as though the sky had collapsed.

“…Wait, why did my screen go black??”

₊˚.🎧📓✩