Ch 67: Opening a Survival School Before the Zombie Outbreak

Fu Qing and Zhao Yunxiao quietly processed the newly obtained information.

The fact that the severed limbs carried no consciousness from the Zombie King at least meant things would not turn into a typical horror-movie scenario. No severed tentacle suddenly coming alive, crawling out through ventilation shafts or sewer pipes in the middle of the night, then reappearing to slaughter the protagonists.

Also, Lu Yan’s comparison of infection to “spitting” was honestly disgusting.

Fu Qing could not help imagining the hooded woman, Skull, and the others lined up in reverent rows, devoutly waiting to be spat on one by one.

The absurd image flashed through her mind and disappeared. Then she suddenly frowned.

“If it can sense remains… then it should already have located Fangzhou.”

Lu Yan nodded.

Along with the hooded woman’s severed limbs, several infected corpses had also been transported back to Fangzhou. There had been too many students present that night at West Mountain to completely erase all traces, and with firefighters about to arrive, time had been short. Fu Qing had no choice but to bring the bodies back.

Fortunately, the infected had always operated secretly. Their disappearance over several days had attracted no attention.

Zhao Yunxiao and Lu Yan both looked at Fu Qing, waiting for her decision. Instead, she began communicating silently with the system.

“Will this cause trouble?”

[No.] The system answered without hesitation. [Before the apocalypse begins, infected individuals cannot enter the campus boundary.]

After the apocalypse started, the campus would transform into a shelter. Only then would danger appear.

And shelters, by definition, could fall.

Fu Qing considered the system’s certainty with a strange feeling. Translated on Hololo novels. It sounded less like analysis and more like a fixed rule.

She thought again of Zhao Yunxiao’s “failed protagonist theory.”

Perhaps this world truly was a story written by someone else, and she herself merely a creation of a higher-dimensional author.

But there was no meaning in dwelling on that now.

The system changing hosts had already proven that no matter how many times events restarted, as long as she chose to act, her fate remained in her own hands.

She dismissed the vague speculation and, reassured about safety, casually relayed the system’s explanation to Lu Yan and Zhao Yunxiao so they would not continue worrying.

Zhao Yunxiao, who knew about the system, visibly relaxed.

Lu Yan, trusting Fu Qing completely, did not even think to question it. Or perhaps his attention remained fixed on the corpses he had dissected. He showed little concern about safety and instead continued expanding on his earlier conclusion.

“Later on, once zombies can infect each other, the Zombie King’s control over those not directly infected by it should weaken.”

In other words, ordinary zombies in the apocalypse would not necessarily become the Zombie King’s surveillance network.

Otherwise, survival would become nearly impossible.

Fu Qing nodded, understanding the limits of the Zombie King’s abilities.

The only thing she could not figure out was this: Fangzhou’s location had only been exposed after this incident. So during the West Mountain assessment, how had the believers found the students?

That was clearly not a question dissection could answer. She pondered for two seconds, found no clue, and moved on.

“And the second point?”

Someone had very proudly raised two fingers earlier.

“Oh, the second point…” Lu Yan suddenly lost the enthusiasm he had shown while explaining the first. He paused, seeming briefly distracted, then smiled. “Figuring out how the believers are infected isn’t important enough to count as the second discovery?”

Fu Qing expressionlessly stepped forward to grab his collar. Lu Yan yelped and bent away to dodge.

“Alright, alright. I do have another hypothesis. But remember, this is only a guess.”

He casually smoothed the wrinkles in his lab coat.

“After you cut off several of the hooded woman’s limbs that day, although they regenerated quickly, her body weight noticeably decreased. That means her regeneration ability is not limitless. And we now know that ability comes from the Zombie King.”

Fu Qing said, “You mean the Zombie King’s power also has limits.”

“Exactly. This creature isn’t invincible,” Lu Yan confirmed. “At the same time, we know it’s the source of zombie abilities. So I’ll make a bold hypothesis: if we kill the Zombie King, zombies across Blue Star will stop evolving.”

Fu Qing had been listening while idly observing an eyeball soaking in formalin. At those words, she suddenly looked up.

She thought of Skull, whom she had killed months earlier.

Compared to the believers they encountered this time, Skull’s abilities were clearly different. In comparison, Skull had been little more than an ordinary mid-level zombie with enhanced senses and physical strength. The believers now each possessed distinct supernatural abilities.

That was undeniably a form of evolution.

Just like during the five years after the apocalypse first broke out, when zombies had continued evolving without pause.

Back then, humanity believed the progression from low-level to mid-level to high-level zombies was simply the natural evolution of a new species. But now it seemed clear that those abilities actually originated from the Zombie King behind them.

As the Zombie King grew stronger, the zombies grew with it.

Considering that Skull’s power had also come from the Zombie King, yet he possessed no special abilities, Fu Qing even began to suspect that the evolution from low-level to mid-level zombies had likewise been granted by the Zombie King.

“If we find a way to kill the Zombie King the moment the apocalypse begins,” Fu Qing said, her thoughts racing, “would we be able to limit all zombies on Blue Star to only mid-level ones?”

Zhao Yunxiao blurted out, “If that happens, zombies won’t be an unbeatable threat anymore! Back then, we were already on the verge of successfully creating the serum!”

He could not remember the formula. Even with a second chance, humanity would still have to repeat the same research steps as in the previous life.

But compared to endlessly chasing zombie evolution only to remain one step behind forever, this time felt filled with hope.

Zhao Yunxiao’s eyes quickly reddened with emotion.

No one understood better than he did how much humanity had sacrificed on the road to developing the serum, nor the crushing despair they had faced just as dawn finally seemed within reach. Remembering that moment alone made his breathing grow heavy.

Lu Yan nodded solemnly. “Exactly. But we need to note something important. In this life, infected individuals appeared even before the apocalypse began, and some have already developed specialized evolutionary paths. That puts the timeline nearly two years ahead of the previous world.”

“Once the apocalypse starts and the virus gains transmissibility, anyone bitten by these special zombies may inherit their abilities and become far stronger than ordinary low-level zombies…”

Fu Qing immediately followed his reasoning. “In other words, mid-level zombies might appear right at the beginning this time.”

“We have to eliminate the Zombie King as soon as possible. The earlier, the better. Only then can we halt zombie evolution.”

“On the other hand, based on our earlier conclusions, current infected individuals can only be created through direct infection by the Zombie King, meaning their numbers are extremely limited. We must gather forces and eliminate these believers as quickly as possible, so that even after the Zombie King dies, the virus cannot continue spreading through them.”

Lu Yan inclined his head in agreement.

Fu Qing took a deep breath. Everything seemed to be moving, invisibly yet inevitably, toward a predetermined outcome.

“So,” she said slowly, “we need an elite squad capable of killing the Zombie King, and another team dedicated to confronting the secret organization known as the Believers. They must be capable, trust one another, and coordinate seamlessly during coordinated hunts.”

“The group cannot be too large, or information about the operation may leak and alert the Believers. But it also cannot be too small, or they won’t stand a chance against powerful enemies. Two thousand people… is an appropriate number.”

As for the elite squad…

There was no one in the world more suited than Fu Qing to lead it.

Fangzhou itself seemed as though it had been created for this very day.

Lu Yan stared at her, half suspicious, half astonished. “I think I need to get to know you all over again. Be honest. Did you arrange all of this on purpose?”

Fu Qing tugged at the corner of her mouth, unable to produce a real smile.

If anything, she was the one who had been meticulously arranged by the system.

Still, finally having a clear direction for confronting the apocalypse was undeniably uplifting.

The system had remained silent throughout the discussion. Fu Qing interpreted that silence as avoidance after being seen through, and after a moment’s thought, generously chose to forgive it.

On this important day, when humanity had gained hope while preparing to leave the old year behind, the principal decided to personally fund a year-end bonus for all faculty.

With a wave of her hand, Fu Qing said, “Call Mingyue and Bai Tang. Let’s all go to the supermarket together.”

For a principal burdened with massive infrastructure expenses, spending the points required for so many people to leave campus at once was already an extravagantly generous reward.

₊˚.🎧📓✩