Ch 27: Opening a Survival School Before the Zombie Outbreak

When Fu Qing reached the school gate, Sun Wei was sitting on her suitcase with a mournful face, checking the SD card and letting out waves of anguished wails.

Fu Qing slowed her steps and glanced at the mountains embracing the campus in the distance.

The massive mountain range lay dark and profound beneath the night sky. The deserted school entrance, the dim yellow streetlights, and Sun Wei’s grievance filled howling together created the eerie atmosphere of a horror movie set.

Except the “ghost” was crying, “My~ foo~tage~~”

Fu Qing found it a little amusing.

With the system in place, Fangzhou’s confidentiality measures were probably stricter than some key facilities. Food delivery and courier services could not enter. Everything had to be sent to designated locations and then transported into campus by robots. Students could not even speak about zombies to their parents, yet Sun Wei had tried to film videos here. Of course it would not work.

The SD card had been directly destroyed under the system’s interference, fortunately without damaging the camera itself.

Fu Qing glanced at Sun Wei’s apparently expensive camera and quietly felt relieved.

“Filming is prohibited on campus,” she reminded her.

“Principal?” Only then did Sun Wei notice her and quickly put down the camera. “Did I disturb you? Sorry about that. But… what do you mean filming isn’t allowed?”

She did not understand.

In her impression, only military zones or special locations prohibited filming. A normal university had students coming and going every day. How could filming be banned? What if someone wanted to photograph the blackboard or record campus life?

Before entering university, Sun Wei had imagined possible difficulties, like roommates objecting or classmates gossiping. But she had never expected the campus itself to forbid photography.

Could there be something wrong with West Mountain?

For example, maybe a secret military base hidden inside… Perhaps any camera equipment entering the area automatically received interference. Otherwise it was hard to explain why her SD card had suddenly burned out the moment she filmed the campus interior.

In an instant, Sun Wei’s mind ran wild with possibilities.

Looking down at the completely unusable SD card in her hand, she suddenly formed another eerie association and shivered.

“C could our school be haunted?” Sun Wei asked nervously. “Did I accidentally film something… unclean?”

Fu Qing: “…?”

What exactly had she imagined in those few seconds?

Fu Qing said, “I have not heard any such rumors for now. But if you keep wailing like this, there might be some by tomorrow.”

It took Sun Wei three seconds to understand the principal’s meaning. She obediently mimed pulling a zipper across her mouth.

Seeing that Sun Wei truly seemed unaware of anything, Fu Qing asked in confusion, “Where is Song Rushuang? Didn’t she introduce you to the school situation?”

Had she not handed off that troublesome task to her? Had that student run off halfway?

“Oh, her aunt seemed a bit frightened, so her parents called her to the hospital afterward. She said she would show me around campus tomorrow,” Sun Wei explained. “I think she wanted to help me move my things, but I felt bad troubling her, so I came early by myself.”

As she spoke, she pointed at the pile of luggage on the ground. “I have a lot of stuff, so I planned to hire some delivery helpers to move everything in. I didn’t expect the school wouldn’t allow outsiders to enter.”

Fu Qing followed her gaze toward the luggage. Judging by the shapes of the bags, there were likely tripods and similar equipment inside. Not only were there many items, but their weight was clearly considerable.

Recalling Sun Wei’s earlier video introduction, something stirred in Fu Qing’s mind.

Leaning on her crutch, Sun Wei looked troubled. “So… what do I do now?”

“I can help you bring them to the dorm,” Fu Qing suddenly said.

Startled, Sun Wei immediately waved her hands to refuse. “How could I trouble you with that…”

“It’s no trouble.”

Fu Qing shifted her gaze into the distance. A robot was slowly approaching.

It moved on wheels, with a small transport platform attached behind it. Normally it was responsible for delivering parcels from the drop off point, one of the system maintained pieces of campus black technology.

The size of the robot and platform was just right to fit inside the dormitory elevator.

“Deliver these to Room 1111 of the women’s dorm,” Fu Qing instructed.

“Command received.” A click sounded as the connection between the robot and platform detached. It bent down and began loading the luggage one by one.

Sun Wei’s eyes widened. This is incredible, what kind of black tech is this?! She hurried forward and helped place two lighter pieces onto the platform.

Off to the side sat an oversized suitcase containing Sun Wei’s books and valuable photography equipment. When she looked at it, her expression tightened with unease.

When she arrived earlier, she had hired two movers to carry it downstairs. She had repeatedly warned them it was extremely heavy. The two tall, experienced workers had laughed and said it was nothing. But the moment they bent down and lifted, both their faces turned pale.

In the end, the two men had to shout in rhythm and strain together for quite a while just to move the suitcase downstairs.

While loading it into the vehicle, one of them had said earnestly, “Next time, maybe don’t pack dumbbells inside your suitcase.”

Embarrassed, Sun Wei had slipped them an extra two hundred yuan before leaving.

Remembering that painful experience, she did not dare gamble on the durability of the small robot before her. She said tactfully, “This suitcase is… a bit heavy. Maybe we should call two guys to help…”

After a pause, she added even more awkwardly, “Preferably two stronger ones.”

Fu Qing glanced at her, stepped forward, tested the suitcase’s weight, then exerted a bit of force and thud moved it onto the platform. Ignoring the heavy sound when it landed, anyone watching might have thought the suitcase was quite light judging by her movements alone.

Sun Wei: “……”

She felt as though she had read confusion in that single glance from the principal.

Was this school’s leadership decided by combat power or something??

Unaware that she had accidentally guessed half the truth, Sun Wei watched Fu Qing’s retreating figure with deep emotion. She really wished she had recorded that moment just now.

What a pity.

The robot dragged the luggage away, while Fu Qing and the crutch supported Sun Wei followed slowly behind.

It was already close to ten o’clock. Since it was the weekend, there was no lights out rule, and the campus was still lively. As they walked, they suddenly heard someone behind them shouting breathlessly, “Make way up ahead!”

Sun Wei hurriedly stopped and hopped twice toward the roadside on one foot. Just as she steadied herself, someone shot past her with a whoosh.

His movements were so agile he was practically a blur. In Sun Wei’s understanding, people usually only ran that fast when chased by a dog.

Curious, she turned her head, and in the next second her pupils shook violently.

A humanoid creature was crawling on the ground, charging toward her at high speed using both hands and feet!

Before Sun Wei could scream, the thing swept past her like a gust of wind, completely ignoring her, and lunged straight at the person ahead. After a chase of several dozen meters, it finally tackled him violently to the ground.

Along the tree lined path, students returning from exercise and others out for a stroll passed by constantly. They seemed used to the sight, though a few still stopped beside the fallen boy, pointing and commenting.

The boy lay face down where he had been tackled, unmoving for several seconds.

Trembling, Sun Wei asked, “Is he dead?”

Fu Qing observed for a moment and replied with a slightly strange tone, “No.”

He had simply misjudged himself and set the zombie’s stats too high, resulting in social death instead.

“But what exactly was chasing him…”

Sun Wei could not figure it out. That thing clearly looked humanoid, but it could not actually be a person, right?

She had seen online claims that crawling helped spinal health, but she had never heard of anyone daring to crawl publicly like that. Were college students’ mental states really this advanced now?

Sun Wei cautiously stepped closer and finally saw the humanoid creature climb off the boy. Translated on Hololo novels. Under the streetlight, its side profile looked completely bloodless. There was even a pale crack across its forehead, exposing lifeless, decayed flesh.

It turned its head and saw Fu Qing standing beside Sun Wei. Its lips slowly spread apart. Its facial features were unmistakably not those of a living person.

If Fu Qing had not stopped her in time, Sun Wei, whose mobility was limited, might already have scrambled away on all fours just like the zombie earlier.

She stared at Fu Qing with trembling pupils, wearing the expression of someone thoroughly deceived. After a long moment, she said aggrievedly, “You said the school wasn’t haunted!!”

Ever since asking whether the boy was dead, her focus had seemed slightly off…

Fu Qing explained calmly, “That isn’t a ghost. It’s a zombie.”

Sun Wei let out a breath of relief. “Oh, not a ghost, it’s a zombie…”

“…Wait, what difference does that make??”

Could someone please explain why there were zombies on campus?!

……

Ten minutes later, Room 1111 of the women’s dormitory received a friendly delivery from the principal.

A new roommate who was very good looking but, for some reason, staring blankly ahead with a dull expression.

“Explain the situation to her and have her come to my office at nine tomorrow morning,” Fu Qing said, tossing out the instruction before decisively leaving.

There was no way she was explaining it herself. Repeating such a long explanation would be worse than going out to fight zombies.

“Yes, yes, we’ll do it. Please take care on your way,” Zhang Han said with repeated nods, personally seeing the principal off and promising to complete the task. After closing the door, she curiously examined the new roommate, feeling that she looked oddly familiar.

Could she be some celebrity?

Shen Qingqing held Sun Wei’s hand and asked, “Xiao Shuang really didn’t tell you anything?”

“She… she just shared several novels with me and told me to read them when I had time,” Sun Wei said absentmindedly. “I thought she was really nice, recommending a reading list right away…”

The two roommates: “……”

Sun Wei: “So what’s actually going on? That really was a zombie, wasn’t it?”

“Relax, relax. It’s not a real zombie. It’s called a simulated zombie, a training tool we use.” The two carefully chose their words. Before they could finish, Sun Wei visibly relaxed. “As long as it’s not real. What tool did you say? A filming prop for the movie club?”

Shen Qingqing: “N no, not…”

Her explanation was interrupted by a thump thump sound coming from the balcony.

Zhang Han got up and opened the balcony door. At that exact moment, Sun Wei clearly saw a bundle of long black hair hanging upside down from above!

The bright full moon was half covered by drifting dark clouds. Under the gloomy sky, the woman’s long hair swayed slightly in the wind, creating an utterly terrifying scene.

From above came a chilling voice: “Is… anyone… there…”

Sun Wei said nothing. Her vision went black, and she collapsed with a thud.

Shen Qingqing and Zhang Han: “!!!”

The “female ghost” on the balcony received no response and persistently knocked again on the balcony door with the clothes drying pole in her hand. Then she pulled the pole back, brushed aside the hanging hair with her other hand, and revealed an upside down face.

“Oh, you’re here. Why didn’t you answer me?”

“I came to borrow a hair dryer. Long hair is really hard to dry.”

The girl complained.

Shen Qingqing: “……”

Doing her best to remain calm, she said, “If possible, please use the door next time you borrow something. Also, did you forget to return the safety harness from PE class?”

She recognized the girl. She lived upstairs in Room 1211.

The girl grinned. “Ah, I forgot. I’ll return it tomorrow. But using the stairs is such a hassle. Our dorm is so far from them. Climbing over is way more convenient. Hey, Zhang Han, why are you crying?”

She jumped in surprise.

Zhang Han clutched the unconscious Sun Wei, crying loudly, “Waaah, you scared our new roommate to death! Give me back my roommate, waaah…”

₊˚.🎧📓✩