Ch 28: Opening a Survival School Before the Zombie Outbreak

After a chaotic night, Sun Wei appeared in the principal’s office on time the next morning, dark circles hanging beneath her eyes.

Fu Qing asked, “Did they explain everything clearly?”

Sun Wei’s mind was still filled with the overnight crash course videos Shen Qingqing and Zhang Han had shown her. In the footage, Fu Qing moved like Spider Man, easily leaving several terrifying zombies like the one from yesterday far behind. There was also Zhang Han’s vividly dramatized retelling of the barbecue restaurant incident:

“You have no idea, I was there! The principal slapped that troublemaking drunk straight into the wall. He was stuck there, couldn’t even be peeled off…”

Sun Wei had been utterly shocked at the time and immediately shared what she had witnessed on Pedestrian Street with her new roommates:

“I saw it with my own eyes! The principal stopped a crazed off road vehicle with her bare hands, stabbed the driver full of holes, and then walked out of the police station completely unharmed…”

After finishing, the two of them clicked their tongues and shook their heads together, completely ignoring Shen Qingqing’s subtle look and quiet muttering from the side:

“So this is how rumors are born…”

Now, sitting in front of Fu Qing and watching the principal calmly drink strawberry flavored soy milk through a straw, Sun Wei felt that beneath her peaceful exterior lay something unfathomable. She answered honestly, “They explained everything.”

Perhaps because she had nearly been run over the day before, Sun Wei now felt strangely detached about life and death and had accepted the coming apocalypse with surprising ease.

She asked cautiously, “Why did you ask me to come here?”

From Zhang Han and the others, she had learned that very few students had ever met the principal one on one, so she felt extremely nervous.

“Two things. First,” Fu Qing said, tossing a wristband toward her. “You were supposed to receive this on enrollment day, but since you hadn’t arrived on campus, it was delayed until now.”

Sun Wei’s enrollment procedures had been completed online through a special application. Translated on Hololo novels. She had also submitted medical documentation to request leave.

Flustered, Sun Wei caught the wristband and quickly put it on. Her eyes practically sparkled.

After hearing Shen Qingqing and Zhang Han’s introduction yesterday, she had been eagerly anticipating this magical communication device. Now that she finally had one herself, excitement welled up inside her. “Thank you, Principal!”

“The wristband can also take photos and record video. It automatically identifies image content. If you share within the campus forum or send it to classmates, it is fine even if simulated zombies appear in the footage,” Fu Qing explained briefly. “Explore the rest of the functions yourself or ask other students.”

“Okay.”

Sun Wei understood. The wristband essentially provided a more flexible internal communication platform with built in review rules.

Once again, she marveled at how advanced everything was.

Fangzhou felt less like a school and more like a secret organization holding highly classified knowledge and technology beyond the current era.

And their goal was to save the world.

Sun Wei felt her inner chuunibyou spirit burning brightly.

When Zhang Han and Shen Qingqing had explained things the night before, only one part had remained completely unchanged, without exaggeration or embellishment: Fu Qing’s speech at the opening ceremony.

“This is the greatest crisis in human history, but you have a chance to change it.”

That simple sentence, initially met with confusion and fear, had gained a deeply stirring power as time passed.

When Zhang Han and Shen Qingqing repeated it, they had recited it almost word for word. Then the two exchanged glances, noticing the medicinal patches visible on each other’s exposed skin, their expressions turning complicated.

Nearly a month later, after enduring the initial hardships of training, they had finally begun to understand the hope and burden the principal had entrusted to them.

Although Sun Wei only partially understood, she firmly engraved the sentence in her heart.

“The second thing,” Fu Qing asked, “…you run a self media account, don’t you?”

From her filming style and the large amount of equipment in her luggage, the answer had been easy to deduce.

Sun Wei did not deny it. “Yes.”

Caught off guard by the sudden shift in topic, she was briefly confused before assuming the principal must have seen her filming yesterday and wanted to conduct further review.

She quickly took out her phone and opened her profile page. “Don’t worry, I haven’t posted anything about the school.”

Fu Qing looked at the screen and quietly inhaled.

Sun Wei’s account was called @Sister Wei of Society. Judging by the cover and content, she mainly posted daily vlog style videos and talking makeup videos featuring close up chats. On this platform alone she had 680,000 followers, unquestionably a sizable creator.

“I started doing self media in high school. Since this type of account involves sharing daily life, I mentioned getting accepted when I received my admission letter, but I censored the school name. Will that cause any problems?” Sun Wei asked uneasily.

Fu Qing shook her head. “It won’t.”

She had already discovered that simply revealing the name “Fangzhou,” or letting outsiders know the school existed, did not expose its special nature.

With so many people living and studying on campus, the school’s existence could not be hidden anyway. Cafeteria ingredient purchases, deliveries, couriers, students’ families and friends all inevitably came into contact with the name. Yet through observation, Fu Qing noticed that even when outsiders knew about it, they felt no curiosity.

For example, the bus driver on the route near the gate and Zhao Tingting, who had visited Fangzhou before, never discovered its secrets. People naturally assumed Fangzhou was some kind of martial arts school or slightly mysterious specialized academy, then lost all desire to investigate further.

So even if Sun Wei’s followers searched for the school out of curiosity, they would find nothing meaningful.

Even if someone particularly obsessive dug up Sun Wei’s location, their attention would remain focused on her personally, not on Fangzhou itself.

Of course, if any stalker actually dared come to Fangzhou, they would have to consider whether they could safely leave under the righteous encirclement of the students.

As long as nothing excessive happened, the system would suppress everything. After all, it was the one that least wanted news of the apocalypse exposed.

Sun Wei relaxed slightly. “Don’t worry. I’ll post a hiatus announcement in my next video and focus on studying.”

There was no material to film anyway. She had already decided the previous night to spend the next semester training seriously in preparation for the apocalypse.

She felt a little reluctant. After all, she had carefully managed the account for years, maintaining strong engagement and steady growth. But hobbies and income mattered far less than survival.

Most of the money she had earned through self media had been saved and was already enough to begin stockpiling supplies.

Seeing Sun Wei looking ready to sever ties decisively, Fu Qing quickly stopped her. “There’s no rush for that.”

After a moment of consideration, she said, “There’s an opportunity to earn points. Are you interested?”

Sun Wei: “?”

She already knew from her roommates how valuable points were. She also knew that because of her injured leg, she could not participate in running check ins, meaning she had lost one of the easiest ways to earn them and had been worrying about how to make up for it.

Fu Qing’s question struck directly at her greatest concern.

“Yes! Please tell me!”

……

Five minutes later, Su Huaijin, who had received a private message, arrived at the principal’s office together with the remaining three members of the publicity group.

The freckled girl immediately gasped when she saw Sun Wei. “Sister Wei!”

The girl majoring in broadcasting and hosting also recognized her. “I’ve seen your videos! I didn’t expect we’d actually go to the same school.”

Only Su Huaijin, who rarely went online, and the boy who did not watch beauty bloggers looked completely confused.

What should have been a normal meeting between classmates somehow turned into a fan meetup, leaving Sun Wei slightly embarrassed.

Fu Qing tapped the table lightly with her fingertip, interrupting them. After having both sides briefly introduce themselves, she looked at Sun Wei. “She will be responsible for short videos aimed at young audiences from now on. You should communicate more with each other.”

Sun Wei had extensive experience managing social media accounts and brought her own traffic. With her joining, their outreach could expand further.

Although the publicity team had become relatively well rounded after these four members joined, their “completeness” only applied to articles and short videos targeting parents. There was still a large gap between their content and what younger audiences preferred.

The four members of the publicity group had not expected the principal to recruit such a heavyweight over a single weekend and were thrilled.

After her initial surprise, Su Huaijin felt slightly embarrassed about holding the team leader position. “Sun Wei has much more experience than I do. She should be the leader.”

Sun Wei had just heard about Su Huaijin’s impressive academic background and felt intimidated in front of a top student. “No, no, no, you understand this school better. You’re more suitable as leader.”

“No, no, you’re more professional in this area.”

“No, no…”

Fu Qing sipped her drink through a straw while watching the two go back and forth with “no, no” for quite a while.

Only after finishing her soy milk with a loud slurp did she say, “What are you two being modest about? Being team leader doesn’t come with extra points anyway.”

Su Huaijin: “……”

The principal’s question was devastatingly effective. She opened her mouth. “Oh… I forgot…”

Everyone: “……”

*

“Right here. Pause.”

Following the older officer’s instruction, the younger officer beside him clicked the mouse with a click.

Song Rushuang recognized her own figure in the frozen surveillance footage.

Song Jianguo and Xu Mingyu, seated beside her, leaned forward as well. “Hey, isn’t that us?”

They, along with Song Xiang’s family of three, were sitting in the police station’s waiting area. They had come today to cooperate with statements.

The case involved too many people, and nearly all available officers had been mobilized. Since the incident yesterday, everyone had been working nonstop to provide answers to the victims and the public as quickly as possible. The group had originally been scheduled to come yesterday, but because Xu Feng complained of chest discomfort and went to the hospital, it had been postponed to today.

The station was crowded. Some people were clearly visiting a police station for the first time and looked around nervously. Some were victims’ family members, faces numb and eyes swollen red. Others had come to report unrelated cases, shouting insults at defendants who refused to admit wrongdoing, nearly breaking into fights before being stopped.

All the varied scenes of human life were compressed into this small space.

They had already finished their statements, but before leaving, the police stopped them and brought over a computer to show them surveillance footage.

The older officer was Officer Chen, whom they had met briefly the day before. He remembered Song Rushuang for her bravery. Using the end of a ballpoint pen, he pointed to a figure on the screen and spoke gently.

“This is surveillance footage from outside a shoe store on Yongxin Road during the time of yesterday’s incident. This person is you, correct?”

“That’s me.” Song Rushuang gripped the hem of her clothes, confused.

Song Xiang smirked beside her. “What is it, Officer? Did my sister get into trouble?”

Being stopped by police rarely meant anything good.

Officer Chen glanced at him calmly without replying and signaled his partner to continue playing the video.

The footage sped forward before quickly cutting to the moment the off road vehicle burst into the scene. Screams sounded faintly in the background audio, and Officer Chen returned the playback to normal speed.

The camera had captured the entire sequence clearly, including Song Rushuang reacting first, waking her parents, finding a suitable shelter and guiding them inside, calling out to Xu Feng who was running blindly, and correcting Song Xiang’s escape direction.

The surveillance included audio, making every word spoken at the storefront perfectly audible.

When Song Rushuang shouted “Shut up!” at Song Xiang, the expressions of several people present turned subtly awkward.

Song Aiguo broke the silence with a joke. “Xiao Shuang, being that fierce as a girl might make it hard to find a boyfriend later.”

Xu Mingyu, meanwhile, was busy admiring her daughter’s heroic appearance. When had she ever realized her daughter could be this cool? She had practically saved the whole family! She was even wondering whether she could get a copy of the footage.

Hearing Song Aiguo’s remark, she did not even raise her eyelids and let out a cold laugh. “It’s better for girls to be a little rough. Otherwise none of us might be sitting here safely today.”

She was clearly responding to Xu Feng’s earlier criticism of Sun Wei being “rough.”

Song Jianguo added irritably, “Aiguo, what kind of thing is that to say? Didn’t Xiao Shuang save your son too?”

He did not mind praising Song Xiang himself, but he could not stand others speaking poorly of his daughter.

His wife and child had been saved by Xiao Shuang. Instead of praising her, Song Aiguo was finding faults. If anything had happened to Song Xiang yesterday, would his younger brother have blamed Xiao Shuang for not saving him?

Song Aiguo had not expected to be rebutted twice in a row. His expression darkened, and only after a few seconds did he realize his wife had not spoken up to support him this time.

Officer Chen spoke calmly, “That shout was well done. Staying this calm at a critical moment deserves praise.”

“Ordinary storefront glass walls cannot stop a vehicle impact. Yesterday, in any shop where people hid but were discovered and rammed by the suspect, the glass doors were basically shattered. Hiding behind counters didn’t help either. Even the counters were pushed out of place, and people got trapped between the counter and the wall. Fortunately, the SUV didn’t continue pursuing them. Otherwise it would have been worse. As it was, they suffered broken ribs.”

“Additionally, some people were struck in the head and face by shattered glass. I heard one victim needed more than twenty stitches at the hospital. But in a case this large, surviving with only disfigurement is already considered a fortunate outcome…”

He trailed off, shaking his head, pained by the suspect’s cruelty and the victims’ misfortune.

Song Xiang and Xu Feng had already gone pale. When they heard about someone being trapped behind a counter, their chests tightened.

Hearing about disfigurement, they instinctively touched their own faces.

In a single night, how many lives had been forever changed.

If they had merely gotten lucky and avoided the attack, they might be voicing gratitude for their good fortune right now. The problem was, their safety was not just a matter of luck…

Song Xiang and Xu Feng each had their own thoughts, holding back and not looking at Song Rushuang.

Song Rushuang, for her part, did not particularly care about her cousin’s family’s gratitude. She had not saved people for that. What she cared about was why Officer Chen had kept them there. “Officer, you asked us to stay on purpose… was it just for this surveillance video?”

To be honest, she was a little uneasy. After all, she was only eighteen and had not dealt much with the police. If her parents had not been here too, she would probably have felt even more restless.

“Yes, partly, and there are a few other things,” Officer Chen said. “First, if we combine this store’s footage with the store across the street, it can serve as supporting material proving your act of brave intervention. Take a look. Is everything fine?”

As he spoke, he dragged the progress bar back, showing the segment where Song Rushuang rushed toward the roadside trees to rescue Sun Wei.

Song Rushuang nodded. Hearing this, Song Aiguo’s family’s expressions grew even worse.

An act of brave intervention did not only come with a reward. It could also go on a résumé, which would likely help with finding work later.

They could already imagine how Song Jianguo and Xu Mingyu would boast about it to friends and relatives during every holiday gathering.

“Second,” Officer Chen continued, “when we were reviewing surveillance yesterday, we saw this clip. I said right then that this young lady handled it especially well.” He smiled briefly. After a day of nonstop work, his heavy, exhausted expression rarely changed. “A lot of people see a car charging at them and reflexively run in the opposite direction. But a person can’t outrun a car. The correct move is to run toward either side of the car’s front. That makes it harder for the driver to turn and follow.”

He did not mention that Fu Qing had used a similar approach afterward.

They had also pulled Fu Qing’s footage, but it was frankly too bloody and not suitable to show the public.

Song Rushuang blinked. She had not expected the police officer to keep her for the purpose of praising her. Meeting Officer Chen’s steady, gentle gaze, seeing the dark shadows under his eyes, she suddenly relaxed.

What was there to be nervous about? The people in front of her were the least likely in the world to hurt her.

Embarrassed, she said, “Actually, we talked about it in class. I just happened to remember.”

Fangzhou did not offer a dedicated course on emergency avoidance, but most of its teachers were versatile. After living through the apocalypse for so long, they could mention anything in passing beyond the syllabus, and teach a little of everything.

Bai Tang had even taken half a class to speak specifically about maintaining a good mental state during the apocalypse and emphasized the importance of psychological health.

Whenever teachers felt something was important, they never hesitated to spend a few extra minutes offering brief guidance.

After the apocalypse, social order would be chaotic, and vehicle ramming incidents would be far more common than before. Bai Tang had covered the theory, and Hao Zhenye had demonstrated avoidance methods in PE class.

“Your school even teaches how to respond to a sudden vehicle attack?” Officer Chen’s eyes lit up. Fu Qing’s figure appeared in his mind, and he felt oddly unsurprised.

With a principal like that, it was not strange for the students she led to be both brave and shrewd.

Officer Chen could not help praising them. “Your principal has real foresight. Right now, a lot of schools’ safety education still focuses on common natural disasters and accidents like earthquakes, tornadoes, and fires. But lately, there have been more and more social incidents too. We’re planning to carry out a series of safety lectures and practical drills across the city’s primary and secondary schools and universities, including how to respond to vehicle rammings and random knife attacks.”

“That’s great,” Xu Mingyu nodded involuntarily. “This incident was terrifying. I saw news before where someone went to the gate of a kindergarten and attacked people with a knife, targeting innocent children. People like that should go to hell.”

As a mother, she felt furious every time she saw news like that.

“Our safety education in this area hasn’t kept up either. We panicked more than the kids did. Thank goodness Xiao Shuang learned at school,” Song Jianguo said too. “If you hold lectures, it’d be best to bring the parents as well. Adults need to be taught too.”

Officer Chen nodded along, then shifted the topic. “So we kept you here because we want to ask whether we can blur this clip and use it as teaching material.”

“Real footage is more persuasive. When we produce course handouts later, we’ll probably include her response method as an example,” he explained patiently.

Hearing this, everyone froze.

Song Jianguo and Xu Mingyu were overjoyed. Their daughter’s footage had been recognized like this, and it would be used for teaching. Wouldn’t that mean students across the entire city, from elementary school to university, would see it, use her as a reference, and learn her actions?

That was far more impressive than bragging among relatives.

Song Aiguo, Xu Feng, and Song Xiang, after their shock, felt a mix of embarrassment and humiliation.

Without even thinking, they knew they would become the negative examples in the teaching materials. Every time teachers praised Song Rushuang, they would have to criticize them in the same breath. It was… it was simply…

Officer Chen continued seriously, “This case happened in S City, and the nature of it is extremely severe. Next, at minimum, our city will carry out a series of actions in response. Public places like metro stations may also need to play promotional videos. If there’s a need, we’ll contact you again.”

“Oh, of course, everyone involved will have their faces blurred. Please don’t worry.”

Song Xiang’s family went pale again and again.

How was it going to be played in the metro too?

Song Jianguo and Xu Mingyu were delighted and had no time to consider their younger brother’s family’s reaction. “Th this is our honor. Use it however you like. Right, Xiao Shuang?”

Song Rushuang felt a little embarrassed, but she thought it was a good thing, so she nodded. “That’s fine.”

“Thank you for your help,” Officer Chen said with a smile.

“When you go back, tell your principal thank you as well. We really owe it to her.”

Afraid they might not take it seriously, he said sternly, “Preventing danger in advance can save a life at a critical moment. We always stress the importance of safety drills and safety education. This is the best example.”

Song Rushuang nodded repeatedly, but she thought to herself that their school’s safety drills were not limited to just this.

The principal’s “foresight” and “preparing before trouble arrives” extended far beyond these things.

It was just that people outside would never know.

Song Aiguo and Xu Feng did not even dare say they disagreed. Refusing would only be more humiliating. Since it would be blurred anyway, they could just close their eyes and pretend they did not know it was them.

With the statements finished and the footage discussion settled, Officer Chen personally walked them out to the station entrance.

Song Xiang had been holding it in all the way and finally could not resist. “About that surveillance footage…”

He wanted to ask whether they could avoid showing real footage. Even an animation would be better. Song Aiguo and Xu Feng could ignore it, but Song Xiang was still a student. Who knew whether the clip would end up being shown at his own school?

He had even posted a big boast in his social media feed yesterday, claiming he was a survivor of the Yongxin Road Pedestrian Street incident. He had received many private messages asking about it. In the chats, he had even described the rescuer as himself.

If the surveillance footage was shown at school someday, how could he live it down? Even with blurred faces, close classmates and roommates could probably recognize him from his usual clothes.

His scalp tingled with embarrassment, and he deeply regretted running his mouth. Why could he not have waited one more day before showing off?

And not only had he shown off, he had given details…

He looked at Officer Chen awkwardly, still thinking how to phrase it, when he saw Officer Chen look as if he had just remembered something. “Oh, don’t worry about the surveillance footage. We’ll only use the portion after the incident.”

Only the portion after the incident? Song Xiang did not understand at once and stared blankly.

Officer Chen had already changed his expression.

As a veteran detective, when he wanted to be intimidating, he could do it effortlessly. Under his gaze, Song Xiang felt chilled to the bone.

Officer Chen reprimanded him. “But I must remind you, harassing girls is extremely bad behavior. Verbal harassment alone, if serious, can violate the Public Security Administration Punishments Law. Do you understand?”

Xu Feng did not quite follow. “What? Breaking the law? When did Xiao Xiang break the law?”

Song Xiang thought for a second, and his face suddenly went deathly pale.

He remembered. In front of that store, he had whistled at the blond girl who came out with them and said a couple of things. Had it been caught on camera?

How could he be so unlucky? The case happened, that store just happened to have surveillance, and the police reviewing it just happened to see him…

He went white and did not dare mention the surveillance again.

Song Aiguo tried to say something, but Xu Feng, suddenly realizing what was happening, yanked him hard.

A cold sweat broke out on Xu Feng’s back. She understood. Officer Chen had said “if serious,” which meant Song Xiang’s behavior was not considered too serious, and a verbal warning would end it. If the parents started making a fuss, it might actually escalate matters.

Already in a bad mood, the family had been frightened and now looked even worse, avoiding eye contact and not daring to speak.

Song Rushuang looked at Song Xiang, then at her uncle and aunt, and almost laughed.

When her cousin had harassed someone yesterday, had he not insisted he only wanted a contact? Had her uncle and aunt not been displeased by Sun Wei’s refusal?

So they did know it was wrong.

They acted so convincingly she had thought they truly did not know.

Standing at the station entrance, Officer Chen surveyed the family of three with stern authority. Then his peripheral vision caught a figure, and he gave a short laugh. “Perfect timing. The person involved is here. You can apologize to her.”

Song Rushuang turned her head. It was indeed Sun Wei.

Sun Wei had received police notice and taken a taxi from school to give a statement. She had not expected to run into her roommate, and she caught Song Rushuang’s look.

Seeing Song Xiang drooping beside Officer Chen and hearing the word “apologize,” she understood. She smiled. “An apology, huh? Then I’ll record it.”

“Honestly, I didn’t sleep well at all last night. If I keep an audio recording, I can listen to it later and feel better.” She deliberately needled him. “That okay, Officer?”

Recording by the person involved was part of a lawful process. Officer Chen said nothing, but Song Xiang was so angry his nose practically twisted.

Still, with Officer Chen there, he did not dare act up. He muttered an apology in a deliberately low voice. When he looked up, he realized Sun Wei was recording with a small clip on mic attached to her collar. He was so shocked he nearly lost control of his expression.

“Sorry, occupational habit. I usually carry recording gear with me,” Sun Wei said with a smile, replaying it once. “Mm, very clear. I accept the apology.”

Song Aiguo pointed at her, words failing him. “You, you…”

His son had lost face badly this time. Song Aiguo did not dare vent at his older brother, niece, or the officer, so he poured all his resentment onto the girl who had suddenly appeared.

“Looking so young, already going out to work. Of course you’re not anything decent,” he muttered under his breath, only to be glared at by Officer Chen. “Watch your language!”

Song Rushuang cleared her throat. “Right, I forgot to introduce you. This is my roommate, Sun Wei.”

“We’re both members of the ‘scored over six hundred on the college entrance exam and still suffered’ alliance.”

She smiled at Song Xiang. “Cousin, say hello.”

The expressions on Song Xiang’s family’s faces finally twisted completely.

₊˚.🎧📓✩

Sandy: I asked for a 5 star and received a 1 star. Very sad now 😔😔😔

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