Ch 60: Opening a Survival School Before the Zombie Outbreak

Hearing this, Fu Qing immediately opened the system panel.

Though she appeared relaxed, she had actually been monitoring the situation the entire time. After checking again, she confirmed that all two thousand-plus students were still moving obediently within the designated exam boundaries.

No one had sent a distress signal, and no wristband had issued an automatic alert for abnormal life signs.

From the data alone, everything looked normal.

If anything was wrong, it could only be something Lu Yan had sensed through instinct during his repeated trips into the mountains.

While Fu Qing stared at the floating panel, Lu Yan waited quietly. He seemed to understand she possessed certain secrets, yet neither cared nor wished to pry.

Only after her gaze returned to him did he ask softly, “Didn’t find anything?”

Fu Qing shook her head and silently asked him to explain.

Lu Yan frowned. “Honestly, I don’t know either. I just keep feeling like… during all those trips back and forth, I overlooked something.”

Five students were still nearby. Translated on Hololo novels. The ones who had been poisoned earlier had recovered somewhat after medication and rest. Since they had already scored zero on the unified exam anyway, they quickly recovered emotionally and wandered over to watch out of boredom.

Hearing Instructor Lu admit he “didn’t know,” they exchanged glances.

—Instinct? Was that reliable?

If it was instinct, why hadn’t they noticed anything?

Fu Qing and Hao Zhenye said nothing. People who frequently walked the line between life and death trusted instinct deeply.

Because sometimes it was not mystical intuition, but the senses detecting danger before rational thought could process it.

As for why the students noticed nothing… they were simply too inexperienced.

Seeing Lu Yan still deep in thought, Fu Qing stopped waiting and quietly followed the path he had taken earlier, heading deeper into the forest.

Snow beneath her feet compacted into clear footprints trailing behind her.

They overlapped precisely with the tracks left when the two had returned earlier.

The campfire Xu Mingyue had used for hot pot still burned faintly. Hao Zhenye periodically gathered branches from the forest, brushed off the snow, and left them to dry before adding them to the fire. The flickering light filtered through the trees, allowing Fu Qing to study the footprints carefully.

One set had evenly spaced steps, some partially overwritten by later prints, clearly belonging to the person walking ahead in long strides. The other staggered, drifting sideways every few steps before being dragged back onto the path.

—the “unknown force” was obviously Lu Yan’s peculiar rope.

Following the tracks, Fu Qing walked farther back. The nighttime forest was utterly silent. Students moved in groups of four for safety, but the principal walked alone without hesitation, as calmly as if strolling through her own backyard.

After nearly five hundred meters, she suddenly stopped.

The campfire’s light no longer reached this far. She took out a spare teacher wristband from the system space and activated the flashlight, directing the beam toward the base of a tree.

The tree stood tall and imposing, its canopy dense enough to block the sky. Its trunk was thick enough that a person could barely encircle it with both arms. At its roots lay a small, barely noticeable pile of loose snow.

Most people would never have noticed it while passing by.

Fu Qing looked up.

Several branches a few meters above showed patches where snow was missing, clearly disturbed by someone stepping there.

A chilling possibility formed in her mind.

When Lu Yan and the student had passed earlier, someone had been standing in that tree.

Hidden among dense branches, silently watching the teacher and student walk by.

Perhaps falling snow shaken loose by breathing, or a faint rustle of leaves, had triggered Lu Yan’s instinct. But the disturbance had been too subtle for him to detect the person directly.

Fu Qing narrowed her eyes, gazing toward the dark mountains lying in wait ahead.

*

“You’re saying… there’s someone else in this mountain?”

Lu Yan repeated Fu Qing’s conclusion. The five students’ eyes widened as they instinctively huddled together.

Someone hiding several meters up in a tree did not sound like normal human behavior. Could it be some escaped lunatic?

Hao Zhenye’s expression turned serious. After thinking, he suggested, “Could it be a simulated zombie?”

Simulated zombies could climb trees, and since they were programmed to attack only students, it was possible one would silently watch Lu Yan, a teacher, leave.

Fu Qing shook her head. “There are too many students constantly changing positions, so I can’t memorize them all. But there are only a limited number of simulated zombies. I check the map periodically. I’m certain none passed through that location within the last hour.”

It clearly was not a student either. The situation was too strange.

Few hunters or villagers entered the mountains during winter. Even if someone did, who would sit hidden in a tree for no reason?

Snow had been falling intermittently over the past days, and fresh snowfall quickly erased traces on branches. That meant the person had left only recently.

After eliminating other possibilities, one answer surfaced almost immediately in Fu Qing’s mind.

—the Devout Believers.

Accustomed to hiding in darkness, moving strangely and unpredictably, harboring intense hostility toward her. Only they fit all these conditions.

【Host, should we issue an announcement canceling the assessment?】

The system, worried about student safety before the apocalypse even began, asked cautiously.

Fu Qing was about to agree when her thoughts shifted, and she rejected the idea internally.

“Not yet. They don’t know they’ve been exposed. Calling students back now would alert them. I’ll first see what they intend to do.”

Her advantage lay in being able to contact all two thousand-plus students instantly through wristbands. If danger escalated, she could change plans immediately.

Besides, after two months without any trace of the Devout Believers, letting them escape now after finally revealing themselves would be a waste.

Having decided, Fu Qing explained her suspicions briefly to the two teachers and quickly drafted a message.

【All Notice: Warning. Unknown individuals detected in the forest. Threat level and numbers currently unknown. Assessment objectives are temporarily modified. All students must follow wristband instructions. Form squads of four, with five squads combining into one large unit. Operate only within designated zones and maintain constant communication with teammates while awaiting further instructions.

Priority one is personal safety. Report immediately upon encountering danger or suspicious individuals. Await instructions before taking action. Do not take unnecessary risks.】

The notice was sent simultaneously to all student and teacher wristbands. Lu Yan and Hao Zhenye immediately understood Fu Qing’s intention.

“West Mountain is huge. Our current position is nearly the center of the exam area,” Lu Yan said, quickly pulling up the map.

While sending the notice, Fu Qing had already assigned team structures individually. Nearby squads quietly merged into larger groups while remaining in their original zones. To outside observers, nothing appeared different, yet alliances had silently formed.

Four-person squads combined into twenty-person groups. Across more than two thousand students, the mountain range was rapidly wrapped in an airtight net.

Less than five minutes after the announcement was issued, such a precise and concealed trap had already taken shape.

This was the advantage created by the communication network of the student wristbands.

“If that person was near us not long ago, then in such a short time, they definitely couldn’t have escaped the exam boundary,” Lu Yan analyzed. “No matter which direction they go, they’ll run into students. If you gradually have the squads at the perimeter move inward and tighten the encirclement, the chances of capturing them increase. You want the students to try apprehending them?”

With more than two thousand people moving through the forest simultaneously, their movements were already difficult to track. Translated on Hololo novels. And unlike Fu Qing, the other party did not possess a god’s-eye view of student locations.

They would only realize something was wrong after noticing they were encountering students more and more frequently.

By then, it would probably already be too late.

Fu Qing shook her head. “No. We don’t know their numbers or abilities. Students can only attempt containment. I don’t want them confronting these people head-on this early.”

She had fought Skull before and knew how dangerous it was. Unlike ordinary zombies, it possessed intelligence, and its strength, speed, and senses were greatly enhanced.

Although the students’ physical fitness and combat skills had improved over the semester, their training focus remained on survival rather than combat. As principal, no one understood better than Fu Qing that most Fangzhou students still lacked the ability to directly fight zombified humans.

If fully prepared, that would be one thing. But in unfamiliar mountain terrain, simply protecting themselves was already fortunate enough.

Hao Zhenye spoke up. “But what if there are too many of them…”

“Then we’ll just have to work harder,” Fu Qing said, glancing around with genuine relief. “Good thing it wasn’t Bai Tang or Zhao Yunxiao who came. Those two are practically willows in the wind.”

As for Granny Liu, Fu Qing had already removed her from the combat roster entirely.

Hao Zhenye: “……”

Was it really appropriate to roast people like that in front of students?

He said nothing more, silently pulled a military knife from his pocket, checked it, and slid it back into place behind his waist.

They had all brought weapons for proctoring in case of accidents, originally expecting threats like wild boars. None had anticipated facing something far more unsettling lurking in the forest.

The five students who had been brought back listened to the entire discussion and finally understood what was happening. One seized the moment and asked quietly, “Principal, Instructor Lu, Instructor Hao… are you going to capture those people?”

“Are they the early-virus carriers you’ve been searching for?”

“Then we…”

Fu Qing assumed they were worried about being left vulnerable in camp after the teachers departed and was about to reassure them when the girl continued anxiously:

“…is there anything we can help with?”

Fu Qing paused.

Another student stretched his arms. “Yeah, my stomach doesn’t hurt that much anymore. I can help search.”

“Same here.”

The students who had just been groaning moments ago suddenly sprang back to life.

Fu Qing looked at their pale lips, amused. Before she could respond, Lu Yan suddenly appeared behind her like a ghost, expression dark, voice cool.

“Did I say you were allowed to get up?”

The four students froze.

Another boy with a sprained ankle hopped over from behind Lu Yan, unaware of the terrifying expression. “Principal, I could act as bait. I look easy to attack with this injury. You could ambush nearby and—whoa!”

Before anyone realized what happened, he pitched forward headfirst toward the ground, only to be caught mid-fall by Lu Yan.

Only Fu Qing clearly saw what happened. As the boy hopped closer on one leg, someone had quietly extended a foot at exactly the right moment, tripping the unfortunate victim, then calmly retracting it as if nothing had happened.

A medic’s duty was simple: as long as they themselves could still move, no injured person who should be resting would be allowed onto the battlefield.

As for how to make injured patients stay put… that was not something outsiders needed to know.

The four food-poisoned students swallowed hard and finally understood the consequences of ignoring medical advice.

“That’s about time,” Fu Qing suddenly said after checking the time.

At that moment, rustling sounded from the surrounding forest as more than a dozen figures emerged, startling the five students.

Looking closer, they were all Fangzhou students.

“These fifteen are assigned to your team. They’ll ensure your safety,” Fu Qing explained.

The fifteen had deliberately smeared dirt and leaves across their clothes and faces to look battered. Some clutched their stomachs, others limped as they converged from different directions.

“For this unified exam, a total of twenty-one Fangzhou students are unable to continue due to injury. One has been sent to the hospital for food poisoning. The rest will remain here awaiting the exam’s end and return together. Understood?”

Fu Qing’s expression shifted instantly into official authority.

“Understood!” everyone replied reflexively. Only afterward did a warm feeling quietly spread through their chests.

“Injured students remain here and rest. Instructor Lu, Instructor Hao,” Fu Qing continued briskly, assigning tasks. “Divide the exam area into three sectors centered on this location. Each of us covers one. I’ll synchronize student updates to your wristbands.”

“If you encounter Devout Believers, capture them alive if possible. They won’t show mercy. Prioritize your own safety.”

Fu Qing did not know whether hired teachers could be re-recruited if they died again, or whether they would disappear completely from this world.

Though she and the teachers were technically already dead, she had no intention of risking it, nor losing companions again.

Lu Yan and Hao Zhenye voiced no objections. They listened quietly, noting especially her phrase “if possible.”

The students, though experienced through simulation pods, were facing real enemies for the first time. Translated on Hololo novels. Anxiety was inevitable.

Yet watching their calm principal and teachers discussing strategy, the tension in their hearts gradually settled.

As long as they were here, it felt like nothing truly frightening could happen.

“What comes next should be much easier for you than teaching,” Fu Qing said.

She drew the dagger strapped to her thigh, spun it lightly in her hand, and when she looked up, the sharpness in her eyes gleamed brilliantly.

“Let’s move.”

*

The clouds parted, revealing bright moonlight.

Fu Qing bent low as she passed through a patch of shrubs, her shadow nearly merging with the trees behind her.

To avoid exposure, she kept her flashlight off. Under moonlight, visibility improved greatly, benefiting both her and the other teachers. In darkness she had relied on occasional system prompts to navigate, while Lu Yan and Hao Zhenye were likely still waiting for student updates.

Although her plan had seemed meticulous when issued, Fu Qing still could not understand how the Devout Believers had found her.

And more importantly, how had they known Fangzhou would hold a school-wide exam on West Mountain today?

Her first thought was that someone inside the school had leaked information.

But the exam had been announced only that day. External workers like garbage collectors had already gone on holiday before the New Year and could not have learned of it in time.

The possibility of students or teachers leaking information was dismissed immediately.

All Fangzhou students had been screened by the system and then screened again during entrance assessments. Their character and loyalty were reliable. Nearly half a year of observation had only strengthened Fu Qing’s trust.

As for the idea that a Devout Believer had been surveilling Fangzhou long-term and simply followed the large student movement into the mountains, she considered it briefly and found it unlikely as well.

Each time she returned to the school, Fu Qing would repeatedly confirm that no one was following her. As for why the body disposal site had been discovered so quickly last time, she suspected the secret lay with Skull.

There was likely some unknown connection between the Zombie King and the zombies it assimilated, something outsiders did not understand.

Fangzhou, however, was different. It remained under the system’s protection at all times and theoretically should not have been so easy to locate.

So how had the information leaked?

It could not possibly all be coincidence. Had the other party simply happened to be active on West Mountain and just happened to run into Lu Yan?

Avoiding dry branches on the ground, Fu Qing stepped onto softer snow nearby, moving swiftly and silently while her thoughts continued racing.

She could not figure it out.

An information gap meant a potential disadvantage in confronting the Devout Believers, and the realization left her faintly irritated.

…

Meanwhile.

After receiving the notice, the four members of Dorm 1111 followed the principal’s instructions, pretending the assessment was still ongoing and continuing their activities as usual.

Before this, they had already set up camp and successfully caught two fish from a still-unfrozen stream to fill their stomachs. Shen Qingqing had grown up in the countryside and was far more skilled at handling raw fish and meat than the others. Compared to most students, the four of them had eaten quite well that evening.

If not for this sudden incident, they would likely have passed the assessment with high scores, so all four now simmered with frustration.

Zhang Han was especially furious. She had unfortunately failed her physical training exam this semester and had finally hoped to balance her GPA by riding her roommates’ coattails for a high score, only for that so-called Devout Believer to ruin everything.

Squatting in a patch of bushes, still grumbling, she suddenly saw the half-person-tall shrub in front of her tremble.

A rabbit? A pheasant?

It couldn’t be a wild boar… right?

Remembering Shen Qingqing’s earlier rundown of edible wildlife on West Mountain, Zhang Han immediately grew alert and fell silent, pulling a small hand axe from behind her back.

The “simple tool kit” permitted by the principal contained tools students were already familiar with. Song Rushuang preferred a military knife, while Zhang Han, stronger by nature, excelled with the hand axe. It could chop wood or people alike, versatile in every way.

She recalled the earlier announcement.

The principal had said the assessment objectives were temporarily changed, but never said they wouldn’t change back. Maybe once the danger passed, their previous performance would still count?

Clinging to a struggling student’s hopeful optimism, she decided to hunt extra prey as proof. She softened her steps, held her breath, and carefully pushed aside the brush.

A flash of white light streaked toward her.

Behind the bushes was not the fuzzy outline of an animal, but a blade slashing straight at her face.

…

Lou Han had been watching the girl for quite some time.

Unlike the other three in her group, she looked the weakest. Whenever they moved together, the others subtly kept her protected in the center.

The blonde girl aside, the other two hunters carried an unusual presence. He did not know why two young female students felt so battle-hardened, but Lou Han trusted his instincts.

After repeated consideration, he chose the big-eyed girl as his first target.

Phoenix had said their mission tonight was to kill as many students as possible. Even if killing proved impossible, they were to leave them severely injured, unable to function normally for at least half a year.

After observing all night, Lou Han concluded that compared to tall male students moving in groups, these girls were clearly easier prey.

He deliberately made noise, and as expected, the girl took the bait, approaching with wide, harmless eyes, curiosity and excitement written across her face…

Now!

Lou Han drew his dagger decisively. The blade cut through the cold air and reached the girl in an instant.

But the excitement on her face suddenly shifted to surprise, followed immediately by… anger?

Why wasn’t she afraid?

Lou Han hesitated for half a beat, and in that instant the girl rolled sideways with astonishing speed and an utterly inelegant maneuver.

Lou Han: “?!”

“I’ve trained for half a year on how to run away, you think I’m joking?! Trying to assassinate me? Shameless!” the supposedly harmless Zhang Han shouted, then immediately twisted around and bolted, projecting her voice from deep in her diaphragm as she ran. “Qingqing! Xiao shuang! Weiwei! Help meeeee!!!”

Her cry for help instantly echoed through the forest.

Practiced, as if this exact scenario had happened countless times before.

Lou Han: “…???”

His mind blanked.

Out of the corner of his eye, three girls brandishing blades were already charging toward him with murderous momentum.

₊˚.🎧📓✩

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