Ch 65: Opening a Survival School Before the Zombie Outbreak

People in the countryside went to bed early, and by this hour most homes had already turned off their lights.

When word spread that a wild boar had entered the village, everyone hurriedly threw on coats and rushed outside to see the commotion.

By the time Shen Qingqing arrived with Zang Lijun and Shen Mingjiang, quite a crowd had already gathered around Old Zhang’s vegetable field.

Several young men stood at the very front of the onlookers, gripping farm tools, ready in case the boar suddenly turned and charged.

Shen Qingqing found an empty corner and narrowed her eyes, following the direction everyone was pointing. Sure enough, in the darkness there was a massive, blurry shape, its long snout rooting through the stripped vegetable patch.

She was genuinely startled, and also a little dazed.

She hadn’t been lying. Her hometown bordered forested land, so she paid close attention to news about wild boars coming down from the mountains. In recent years, because of ecological changes, fewer natural predators, and food shortages caused by land development, reports of boars entering human settlements had indeed increased. Some had even run into cities, injuring people and damaging vehicles.

…But she hadn’t expected that casually mentioning it would actually summon a huge wild boar into existence.

And Grandpa had technically been right. The Shen family’s region wasn’t normally within wild boar territory. Villagers went into the mountains often and rarely ever saw one.

What a coincidence.

Still, it was a good thing. Shen Qingqing couldn’t help thinking that if there really were boars in the nearby mountains, then once the apocalypse arrived, that meant an additional meat source.

A large boar could weigh four or five hundred jin, packed with calories. Too bad she’d heard the meat didn’t taste very good.

While the villagers worried anxiously about the boar entering the village, the young woman watching among them was already calculating, with alarming practicality, how to add the animal to her future food reserves.

“Hey! Step back a little more, this thing’s vicious!”

“Back up, back up, it’s dangerous.”

The two young men holding a pitchfork and a hoe proudly directed the crowd to retreat.

Since they were the only ones holding “weapons,” and perhaps because villagers instinctively felt young men brought a sense of security, everyone obediently stepped back.

Some older villagers even sighed admiringly to the young men’s parents.

“Big young fellows like that are dependable.”

“This is when having sons really pays off.”

The praise made the young men puff up with pride. One of them replied readily, “Of course. Hailin’s built solid muscle from working every day. That boar doesn’t even look that big. We’ll see if we can find a chance to kill it and share the meat.”

Someone seized the chance to give Zhao Hailin’s arm a squeeze. He quickly tensed his muscles beneath his padded jacket.

He immediately earned another compliment. “Yep, those muscles are real firm.”

“Wonderful!”

Listening to this, Zang Lijun and Shen Mingjiang grew quieter and quieter. Even the rare New Year excitement lost its appeal.

But while they stayed silent, others deliberately stirred trouble. Spotting them with Shen Qingqing, someone called out with a grin, “Oh! The college student’s back!”

When Shen Qingqing’s exam results had come out, plenty in the village had been jealous. But in a moment like this “crisis,” it was still boys who stood at the front. Didn’t this just prove the value of having sons?

Zhao Hailin’s parents straightened proudly and joked along. “Qingqing, they don’t teach pig killing in college, do they?”

Laughter erupted around them, and people glanced sideways at Shen Qingqing.

Unexpectedly, instead of looking embarrassed as they anticipated, she burst out laughing at the remark.

Because, honestly, college really had taught her that.

She laughed for quite a while before finally composing herself and putting on a serious expression. “Aunt Wang, wild boars are classified as protected wildlife with important ecological, scientific, and social value. Under the Wildlife Protection Law, private hunting is illegal. If you’re caught, you can face criminal charges. We should call the forestry department and have professionals handle it.”

As she spoke, she glanced at the pitchfork in Zhao Hailin’s hand.

It looked intimidating enough, fine for show, but the handle was still wood. How could it possibly withstand a wild boar charging at forty kilometers per hour?

Forget fighting head-on. If the boar actually charged, Zhao Hailin would be doing well just not to panic and run.

And he wanted to kill it? What a joke.

Although Shen Qingqing’s village lay close to the mountains, most residents were farmers who had worked the land for generations. Even when they went uphill, they stayed near the foothills. Very few truly understood how dangerous wild boars were.

If wolves, tigers, or bears had appeared, everyone would have fled instantly. Yet with a boar, they dared to stand at a distance and watch, even though a boar almost never lost in a one-on-one fight with a wolf.

Shen Qingqing sighed inwardly.

Her words frightened some people, but others remained skeptical.

“No way, right? Since when did a pig become a protected animal?”

“But Qingqing is a top student. What she says should be right…”

“Why call the police? If we can’t kill it, just have Hailin and the others drive it out of the village. It’s such a hassle this late at night.”

Zhao Hailin felt the focus of attention had suddenly been stolen by Shen Qingqing. He frowned slightly, looking at the thin girl next door, and said, “Yeah, Qingqing, you all should stand farther back. Leave this to us.”

Shen Qingqing raised a brow and said kindly, “Alright, Hailin-ge, but be careful. Don’t let the boar ram you into a fracture.”

That remark practically insulted the well-verified muscles everyone had just praised.

Zhao Hailin didn’t take it seriously. “I’m not like you. It’s just a pig…”

He turned casually, only to meet the wild boar’s gaze in the distance. He blinked. “Huh. It’s looking this way.”

A bad feeling flashed through Shen Qingqing’s mind.

Without thinking, she grabbed Zang Lijun and ran, urgently calling for Shen Mingjiang to follow. “Run!”

The moment her words fell, the boar locked eyes with the frozen Zhao Hailin for two seconds. Then its forelegs scraped the ground, head lowered, tusks forward, and it charged straight ahead.

The charge exploded with the force of a massive cannonball. To the crowd, it looked like a streak of black lightning tearing through the night, arriving before anyone could react.

Up close, they realized the boar was far larger than expected. Its sharp tusks made Zhao Hailin’s heart lurch, fear spreading rapidly through him. His hands trembled so violently he could barely hold the wooden shaft of the pitchfork.

In the blink of an eye, the beast crossed an entire field, reached the ridge, and without slowing leapt upward, jumping two or three meters into the air.

Who would have thought such a bulky animal could jump so high? Wouldn’t that mean it could easily clear the fences of a rural courtyard?

Fortunately, boars running at full speed could not turn easily. The people directly in its path had already screamed and scattered. The animal charged forward blindly and slammed straight into a tree trunk as thick as a bowl.

The trunk was already partly rotten. Under the tremendous impact, it cracked in half with a sharp snap and collapsed with a thunderous crash.

The boar staggered, temporarily stunned, shaking its head dizzily.

Seeing the ferocious beast so close, Zhao Hailin finally lost control of his fear. His calves trembling, he backed away two steps, suddenly shouted, “I’ll call the police!” and bolted toward his house without looking back, pitchfork on his shoulder.

His fleeing figure was astonishingly agile.

In moments he left behind the slower elderly villagers.

Shen Qingqing, still pulling Zang Lijun along, ran quickly but couldn’t match the young man’s speed. She sighed, “So Hailin-ge’s muscles are for running away.”

The Zhao parents, who had just been proudly praising their son: “……”

Zang Lijun smacked her daughter’s hand lightly. “This isn’t the time for jokes. Run!”

Back when Shen Qingqing lived at home, she never joked like this. Zang Lijun felt her daughter seemed more cheerful this visit, and it secretly made her happy.

But happiness would have to wait until the boar problem was solved.

Up close, the animal was terrifying, destructive like a small car crashing wildly through everything.

Zang Lijun deeply regretted coming out to watch the excitement with her daughter.

After recovering from the collision, the bad-tempered boar grew enraged and charged toward the nearest courtyard wall, smashing into the brickwork with a loud bang. Someone inside screamed, and Shen Qingqing heard panic creeping into people’s voices around her.

“Help! Help!”

Their small group had fled in the same direction as Zhao Hailin. Because he had drawn the boar’s attention first and fled so noisily, the animal ignored others and pursued them instead.

With nowhere to hide, nearby residents slammed their courtyard gates shut in fear. They dared not stop and had nowhere to shelter, forced to keep running blindly forward.

Even Zhao Hailin’s parents began to resent their son.

The crowd’s constant screams agitated the boar further. It showed no sign of stopping. Realizing the situation was worsening, Shen Qingqing decisively released Zang Lijun.

“Mom, Dad, you go first.”

As she spoke, she spotted an axe resting atop a pile of firewood by a wall. She grabbed it and weighed it in her hand.

Zang Lijun and Shen Mingjiang skidded to a halt. Even the usually quiet Shen Mingjiang couldn’t stay silent. “Qingqing, what are you trying to do?!”

He reached to pull her back, only to find he couldn’t move her at all.

“Dad, don’t worry about me. I’ll try to draw the boar’s attention. You two find somewhere safe to hide.” She didn’t bother explaining further. Under a nearby porch light, she examined the axe and realized it was dull, reluctantly setting it down.

She would need another plan.

Shen Mingjiang couldn’t understand what his daughter was doing. The way she examined the axe didn’t resemble someone handling a familiar farm tool. It looked more like a warrior judging a weapon.

The calmness in her eyes felt strangely unfamiliar.

Zang Lijun panicked. “Are you crazy? Come home with me!”

She tried to stay behind to help cover her daughter’s retreat, but Shen Qingqing pushed her away. “I’ll be fine, Mom. Don’t you trust me?”

Shen Qingqing was never talkative and had no intention of wasting words convincing them. After saying that, she ran toward the boar, placing her thumb and forefinger in her mouth and blowing a long, piercing whistle.

The boar turned toward her, snorting heavily. The fleeing villagers couldn’t help stopping in shock.

Seeing her run toward the beast, they clutched their chests in disbelief.

“Has she gone mad?”

“Studied so much she broke her brain!”

“But… she’s buying us time to escape…”

After running a distance, Shen Qingqing stopped. Fighting the boar head-on gave her no advantage, and she had no intention of being reckless. Running the opposite direction was simply to create distance between the animal and her parents.

Once the gap was wide enough, she slowed, observing the boar while calmly analyzing the situation.

Dangerous as it was, it was still just an animal. Compared to the brute-type zombies she had faced, it was far less terrifying.

She had once fought alone against a brute zombie in the simulation chamber for over ten minutes. Facing a boar alone did not frighten her.

More importantly, this was her hometown. Every blade of grass and every tree was etched into her memory. Here, she held far more advantage than inside any simulated battlefield.

Here, she moved like a fish in water.

Animals possessed sharp instincts. Translated on Hololo novels. After confronting Shen Qingqing for a moment, the boar seemed to realize she was not afraid. It grew wary instead of attacking immediately, snorting and pawing the ground, its agitation obvious.

The murmurs among the villagers gradually quieted.

They stared at Shen Qingqing in disbelief.

She was only a young woman, yet her calm composure before a wild beast filled even neighbors who had watched her grow up with shame.

The girl who had always been quiet, serious, and buried in her studies… had this side to her?

So… she hadn’t been lying. She truly could draw the boar away.

₊˚.🎧📓✩

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