Ch 61: Opening a Survival School Before the Zombie Outbreak

Translator has something to day

Hey everyone! Quick update about the novel 🙏

It looks like this novel listing got merged with another translator’s version on Novel Updates, so a lot of the ratings and reviews I had before disappeared.

If you’ve been enjoying the story so far, I’d really appreciate it if you could take a moment to leave a 5-star rating again. It helps more readers find the novel and supports the work I’m putting into it.

Thank you so much for your support 💙

…

Lou Han was genuinely startled by Zhang Han’s unexpected reaction speed.

When the blade tip neared her face, he had clearly seen her pupils contract in fear, yet she shook it off almost instantly, managing to stay calm enough to call for help while escaping.

She was clearly not the ordinary person he had assumed.

—but so what?

Lou Han sneered inwardly. Since he was already exposed, he abandoned stealth altogether and leapt out of the bushes.

Zhang Han had already gained some distance when she suddenly heard heavy footsteps crushing fallen leaves behind her. She glanced back and nearly swore aloud in shock.

At first, the middle-aged man had seemed utterly unremarkable to her. Short, with clouded eyes and weathered dark skin carved by years of hardship, he looked like any ordinary laborer one might pass on the street, far less threatening than a zombie.

If not for the principal’s instruction to immediately report enemies, she might even have tried fighting him herself.

But now, that same forgettable man was charging toward her like some grotesque aberration, running on all fours at terrifying speed.

Every joint and tendon in his body seemed impossibly flexible. His soft-looking limbs pushed off snow, tree trunks, rocks, anything solid enough to grant leverage, rapidly closing the distance between them.

Like a crawling spider, except his head remained perfectly still, that weathered face staring expressionlessly at Zhang Han.

The sight delivered a massive psychological shock. Her footing faltered, and she tripped over an exposed tree root, crashing to the ground as Sun Wei shouted nearby.

Song Rushuang and the others were not far away, but Lou Han was closer. He struck again, the dagger thrusting forward. Zhang Han twisted and rolled on the spot, narrowly dodging once more.

The posture was ugly, but effective.

She was not good at fighting, but half a year of relentless physical training, weekly simulation pods, and monthly holographic exams had forced her into direct confrontations with hundreds of zombies. At the very least, she had learned how to survive.

As Zhang Han summarized it herself: survive first, then look for opportunities. As long as you stayed alive, the enemy would eventually make a mistake.

Eager to kill her before reinforcements arrived, Lou Han struck with great force. The dagger sank halfway into the mud. Seizing the moment, Zhang Han, lying on her back, kicked him hard in the shoulder.

It felt like kicking a stuffed doll. Translated on Hololo novels. She barely sensed bones beneath her foot and immediately realized the force had been dispersed.

He was unharmed. Instead, he used the moment to yank the dagger free with startling speed. Zhang Han scrambled to raise her hand axe just as the blade swung toward her.

Metal clashed against metal, numbing her arm, yet she couldn’t help letting out a surprised “Huh?”

“Hanhan!” Shen Qingqing rushed over, confirmed Zhang Han was unharmed, and immediately slashed at Lou Han with a firewood cleaver.

Lou Han, who had been crouched on all fours, suddenly darted aside like lightning. He sprang upright, dashed toward the nearest tree, and within seconds slithered up to the treetop like a snake.

Even his running looked unnatural, as though his body weighed almost nothing.

Sun Wei and Song Rushuang pulled Zhang Han to her feet, all four staring up at him warily.

Judging by his speed alone, Song Rushuang already knew they were no match.

“He’s faster than a mid-level zombie,” Shen Qingqing whispered. “A special evolution type.”

Basic classification divided zombies into three stages: low-level, mid-level, and high-level.

Mid-level zombies appeared roughly one year and three months after the apocalypse began. Their defining feature was the ability to climb, along with overall enhancements to physical attributes.

These mid-level zombies were not particularly difficult to handle. Their behavior patterns remained largely unchanged from low-level zombies, and students adapted to their increased strength within three months. With coordinated group hunting, they could be eliminated quickly. Some elite students could even defeat ordinary mid-level zombies alone.

However, as mid-level zombies became more numerous, humanity began discovering variants with special evolutions.

Some were gigantic brute types, larger, tougher, and stronger than others, like monstrous versions of the Hulk.

Others were small, thin-limbed runners with incredible speed.

There were also blind night-stalker types whose hearing was terrifyingly sharp.

These special zombies were extremely rare and usually solitary. According to Zhao Yunxiao, early human theories suggested such mutations stemmed from unique genetics or personal experiences prior to infection.

But later appearances of toxin-bearing zombies and ones with limbs hardened into blade-like weapons overturned that theory entirely.

Humanity could no longer explain zombies through biological science, and this realization drove many surviving scholars into psychological collapse.

The Lou Han before them was clearly one of these specially evolved “zombies.”

“A runner?” Shen Qingqing guessed.

“No. His joints are even more flexible than a runner’s. He’s a type we’ve never encountered,” Song Rushuang corrected.

Lou Han bared his teeth in a grin, revealing sharp, uneven fangs. Whether caused by evolution or natural structure, the sight churned their stomachs.

“You know more than I expected,” he mocked.

So Skull’s death truly had not been simple.

Song Rushuang said coldly, “More than that. We also know many things you don’t.”

Lou Han scoffed dismissively.

Sun Wei, who had remained silent until now, suddenly said in a low voice, “Done.”

She had already transmitted the four of their positions, along with an approximate classification of the zombie type.

Shen Qingqing and Song Rushuang’s earlier discussion had not been casual chatter. They were explaining details for Sun Wei, who was responsible for sending the report.

Her words acted like a signal. Without needing to discuss it, the four girls instinctively moved closer together, stopping at distances that allowed mutual support while still leaving room to swing their weapons freely.

This coordination was born from countless assessments and simulation pod exercises. Their goal was simple: hold out until reinforcements arrived.

Lou Han showed no concern that the four girls could cause him trouble and watched them with interest.

His abilities were best suited for forest terrain. Even if he failed to eliminate them quickly, he was confident he could escape.

Feeling the breathing, heartbeats, and warmth of her roommates beside her, Song Rushuang gradually steadied herself.

Gripping her blade, she focused completely on the attack she knew was coming.

Rustle—

Leaves trembled as Lou Han leapt down from the tree.

His figure expanded rapidly in her vision. His limb movements were too fast for the eye to follow. For a moment, Song Rushuang felt she was facing something that should not exist in this world, neither human nor beast, triggering an uncanny, instinctive terror.

Her nerves stretched to their limit. Every cell screamed.

Can’t win. I want to run.

But the sound of her roommates’ hurried breathing filled her ears.

She couldn’t retreat.

Gritting her teeth, she narrowed her eyes and finally caught the trajectory of Lou Han’s high-speed strike. She raised her blade to block.

Clang!

The weapons collided, but the tremendous downward force still pushed the blade three inches closer to her throat.

Just as blood seemed inevitable, Zhang Han slashed in from the side.

Metal shrieked as it scraped together. Lou Han was knocked aside, flipping once before landing steadily, anger flashing in his eyes.

“Knew it!” Zhang Han blurted. “I already thought it was weird I could block him one-handed! He’s fast, but his hits feel soft. His strength’s probably only a little higher than mine. That means his body durability isn’t that high either—”

Before she finished, the enraged Lou Han charged her again. Zhang Han raised her axe to block, but just before the blades met, his dagger flicked upward, sliding along the axe’s surface.

“So what if my strength is lacking? Humans can’t keep up with my speed!” Lou Han snarled.

The heavy axe could not adjust fast enough. Zhang Han’s neck lay completely exposed beneath the blade.

The other three felt their minds explode with alarm.

“Zhang—!”

“Move!”

Their shouts overlapped as a figure suddenly burst from a blind spot, slamming into Lou Han like a cannonball and sending him crashing to the ground.

The two bodies rolled several times across uneven snow. Dizzy, Lou Han finally broke free and flipped the attacker beneath him, raising his dagger high.

Then his hand froze midair.

The attacker beneath him had blood-red eyes, mouth wide open to reveal sharp canine teeth. Completely indifferent to the dagger above, it thrashed wildly, trying to bite him.

“You… you—” Lou Han stammered in shock and fury.

The thing beneath him was clearly a mindless zombie.

“If humans can’t keep up with your speed,” Lu Yan said calmly as he stepped through the foliage, “what about zombies?”

Seeing the four girls shaken but unharmed, he subtly relaxed. He motioned for them to stand behind him, then smiled faintly at Lou Han.

“Are you going to attack your own kind?”

Before leaving earlier, Fu Qing had modified the commands of all twenty simulated zombies, changing their target priority from students to zombies. They were dispersed evenly throughout the exam area, and teachers were granted control authority.

After receiving Sun Wei’s distress signal, Lu Yan, being closest, had rushed over with one of them.

He had adjusted it into a “runner-type” zombie, increasing speed while lowering defense, barely arriving in time to save Zhang Han.

Lou Han’s face darkened as he drove his dagger into the simulated zombie’s eye socket and rose from its limp body, thoroughly enraged.

Lu Yan sighed, pulling a surgical scalpel from the strap at his thigh.

“…Troublesome.”

*

Bang!!

Qin Yufei staggered backward after taking a punch to the shoulder, barely regaining balance. Half his body went numb as cold fear surged through him.

The punch had originally been aimed at his temple. If it had landed…

The man before him stood over two meters tall, broad-shouldered and massive like a wall. Yu Cheng circled from behind and stabbed toward the man’s side with a knife, but the blade sank only a few centimeters before locking firmly between dense muscle.

Yu Cheng: “…”

Realizing the danger too late, he failed to retreat and was kicked squarely in the chest by the brute-like man, sent flying as blood burst from his mouth.

“Yu Cheng!” Wang Huai and another roommate froze mid-charge, unsure whether to attack or check his injuries first.

Lying on the ground, Yu Cheng felt stabbing pain through his ribs with every breath. Tears streamed involuntarily as he gasped, forcing out, “Go… help Qin Yufei.”

Only one minute had passed since they sent the distress signal. They would not last much longer.

Through his fading awareness, he heard distant shouting.

“Over there!”

“Hey! We’re here to help! Hang on!”

Flashlight beams shook through the trees as figures rushed closer.

Nearby squads were arriving.

Just as Yu Cheng began to relax, Qin Yufei failed to evade the next attack. The giant man grabbed his collar and lifted him effortlessly with one hand.

A tall young man over six feet suddenly looked fragile, feet kicking helplessly in midair as oxygen deprivation turned his face crimson.

The massive hand pressed against Qin Yufei’s head, as if intending to twist it clean off—

Yu Cheng’s breathing quickened, eyes wide with terror. “No!”

Whoosh!

An axe spun through the night, gleaming coldly, carving across the man’s arm with tremendous force. Translated on Hololo novels. His hardened flesh split open instantly, blood and tissue tearing apart.

The man screamed in pain and released Qin Yufei, clutching his injured arm as he staggered back.

Hao Zhenye stepped forward through fallen leaves, his gaze immediately locking onto the man’s pale face.

A face bearing unmistakable zombie traits.

After nearly half a year, in a world that still seemed peaceful, he had encountered a real zombie again.

Hao Zhenye’s brows rose sharply. His chest heaved from sprinting, yet as he looked at the man, a slow grin spread across his face.

Perfect.

He hadn’t killed enough yet.

Yu Cheng suddenly felt that…at this moment, Instructor Hao looked far more like a dangerous beast than the monstrous zombie standing before him.

₊˚.🎧📓✩

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