Ch 84: Opening a Survival School Before the Zombie Outbreak

Taking advantage of her own parents was only natural. If she did not take the opportunity, it would be wasted.

Sun Wei felt completely justified.

She firmly insisted that she had already conducted market research and needed exactly that amount. Anything that could not be consumed would be her responsibility.

Liao Yahui and Sun Miao clearly did not believe her, but perhaps wanting her to learn a lesson, they said nothing more and agreed.

Sun Wei had thought everything through. Once the meat arrived, she would first fill the cold storage shared by herself and her roommates. The rest would be distributed directly to classmates. The school had cold storage facilities anyway, and divided among more than two thousand students, this amount of meat would barely amount to a mouthful each.

If not for fear of arousing her parents’ suspicion, she would have asked for even more.

She worried that requesting too much would make her parents think she was unreliable and refuse cooperation altogether.

In truth, during this period the entire student body had been finding ways to move supplies into the school. Sun Wei’s pretend restaurant plan was not even the most outrageous method.

At first, students simply shopped online or organized group purchases through the forum to buy wholesale directly from manufacturers. Whenever someone found cheap deals, they shared them on the forum.

With more than two thousand students searching the internet simultaneously for bargains, overlaps were inevitable, especially since they shared information with one another. Sometimes several Fangzhou students placed orders at the same shop on the very same day.

Gradually, some vendors began noticing something strange.

Why were so many buyers using the same delivery address, and ordering such large quantities? Translated on hololo novels. The destination was clearly a school, yet the purchases were generators, matches, compressed rations, and other items that students would never normally need.

Even if someone truly wanted to eat compressed biscuits in a dorm, who would buy entire cases?

Did their school not have a cafeteria?

Eventually, after placing orders, some students received private messages from sellers.

One vendor politely and cautiously asked whether the school lacked financial aid policies for poor students, since so many people seemed forced to survive on compressed rations.

“Compressed biscuits are so unhealthy! Tell me honestly, has the subsidy money been embezzled by school administrators? Do you need me to help report it?” the well meaning and righteous seller asked.

The student was so frightened that they hurriedly invented an excuse, claiming they had spent their living expenses on video games and could only afford cheap food at the end of the month, finally dispelling suspicion.

But that was not even the worst incident.

Several students once noticed discounted charcoal being cleared out and jointly ordered an entire truckload, along with several charcoal braziers. The purchase happened near finals week. The moment they placed the order, they received a call from cyber police.

The students were terrified. After some explanation, they learned the seller had reported them because the quantity was so large that it looked like a group suicide attempt using charcoal burning.

The students: “…”

“You’re all so young. Don’t do anything rash. Do you want me to contact your school administration?” the concerned voice asked from the other end of the line.

Buying charcoal alone might not have raised suspicion, but the problem was that the person placing the order had noticed a discounted add on item during checkout and, tempted by the price, added several rolls of wide adhesive tape.

Even they felt the order history looked extremely suspicious when reviewing it later.

Afraid the matter might reach the school administration, they had no choice but to claim they had entered the wrong quantity, finally resolving the issue.

Incident after incident piled up. Even Fu Qing herself would never know how many problems she had unknowingly taken the blame for while students frantically stockpiled supplies.

Group deliveries directly to the school became too conspicuous, so some students suggested jointly renting warehouses on the outskirts of S City and having orders shipped there instead.

Students who owned cars then transported the goods back to campus in batches.

Others, whose family situations resembled Sun Wei’s, began finding solutions through their households. After all, most university students were not wealthy and typically had only a little over a thousand yuan per month for living expenses. Obtaining supplies through family businesses could at least save money for classmates.

One student whose family owned a clothing factory claimed they planned to livestream product sales, took a batch of down jackets to school, and sold them on the forum at cost price. The recovered funds were returned to the family, while the supposed “profit” was claimed personally, though in reality not a single cent was earned.

The price they paid was having to livestream for an entire semester and begging classmates who bought jackets to visit the stream and create traffic so their family would not grow suspicious.

It was mortifying.

Throughout the entire summer, students racked their brains stockpiling supplies and persuading parents and relatives to accompany them to S City.

Those whose families lived farther away became increasingly anxious as the apocalypse approached, checking their supplies and weapons countless times every day.

Song Rushuang pulled the weapons case from beneath her bed more than a dozen times daily just to check whether the blades had rusted. A hiking backpack filled with survival gear already sat in the corner of her room. She had even sewn thick padded neck guards for Xu Mingyu and Song Jianguo, lining them heavily so that even a knife strike would struggle to cut through in one blow.

Even during meals she could not relax, nervously biting her chopsticks while staring at the news playing on television.

“Good evening, viewers. Today is Friday, August 23rd, lunar calendar…”

At exactly eight o’clock, the familiar male and female news anchors appeared on screen as usual. Their steady voices and calm smiles made it impossible to imagine that this was the day before the virus outbreak.

Aside from the more than two thousand teachers and students of Fangzhou and the hidden instigator behind everything, no one else knew that tomorrow a catastrophe would descend, one capable of overturning the fate of humanity itself.

Her parents sat at the table with her, quietly chatting about trivial matters from work. On television, the anchors spoke in calm, measured tones. Children on summer vacation ran noisily downstairs, while farther away in the community square, the first song for evening group dancing had already begun to play loudly.

All these sounds blended together, entering Song Rushuang’s ears before gradually fading into a blur.

Suddenly, her mouth felt dry, and the food in front of her lost all flavor.

The virus would erupt on August 24.

Only one day remained.

What had she not yet done? What else could she still do?

Panic rose within her. For a moment, she even felt that the entire past year had been an unreal dream. Now the dream was ending, yet she did not know what kind of reality awaited when she opened her eyes.

“…Xiaoshuang… Xiaoshuang… Xiaoshuang?!”

Someone gave Song Rushuang’s shoulder a hard shove, jolting her out of her daze.

She felt like a drowning person suddenly dragged to the surface. Her forehead was damp with sweat, her chest rising and falling as she looked at Xu Mingyu in front of her. “…Huh?”

“What’s wrong with you? Heatstroke?” Xu Mingyu, dressed in sportswear, reached out and touched her cool forehead. “Your dad and I are going for a run in the park. Want to come? If not, wash the dishes later.”

After an entire summer of persuasion from Song Rushuang, the two had finally begun developing a habit of exercising. Translated on hololo novels. Xu Mingyu had just pushed past the painful early stage of working out and had started experiencing the pleasure brought by dopamine and endorphins.

She was now completely hooked on running, had even bought new running shoes, and insisted on jogging a couple of laps in the park every evening once the heat subsided after dinner.

“Oh, you guys go ahead. Be careful,” Song Rushuang said, steadying her breathing, feeling slightly ashamed.

A year had passed. In some ways she had changed drastically, yet in others she seemed exactly the same.

She was still that child who grew nervous and fearful before every important moment, wishing she could simply turn around and run away.

In this regard, Shen Qingqing was far better than her.

No matter how difficult the challenge or how powerful the enemy, Shen Qingqing could always adjust herself quickly, as if driven forward by some immense force behind her, never shrinking back, never turning around.

Song Rushuang admired and envied that version of Shen Qingqing.

But she could not become her. All she could do was try her best to be this imperfect version of “Song Rushuang.”

From the hallway, Xu Mingyu, already ready to leave, poked her head back in. “Oh, right. Your phone’s been ringing nonstop. Remember to answer it!”

Song Rushuang got up and picked up her phone.

Opening the messaging app, she saw the dorm group chat was indeed active.

The four of them were all talkative. If she ignored her phone for even a short while, hundreds of unread messages would pile up.

Zhang Han: [Report! Entire family successfully arrived in S City.]

Zhang Han: [Location shared]

Zhang Han: [Look at all the delicious food I ate along the way!]

Zhang Han: [Photo][Photo][Photo]…

Zhang Han had spent the entire summer running around nonstop.

Her family was large. Both sets of grandparents were still alive, and her parents each had many siblings. The relatives were extremely close. She could not possibly bring everyone into the shelter, and this had troubled her for most of the semester. The only comfort was that each elderly relative had children nearby to care for them.

Then, shortly before vacation, Sun Wei shared her plan of pretending to start a business. Zhang Han suddenly had an inspired idea.

If Sun Wei could pretend to start a business, she could pretend to fail one.

Given her usual personality, the story would be highly believable.

Her parents doted on her, giving her several thousand yuan in living expenses each month. During holidays, relatives also gave extra pocket money. She rarely spent it all at school and saved most of it, something her family already knew.

Using this, Zhang Han returned home for vacation and tearfully told her parents she had tried starting a business with online friends, bought large quantities of goods, and failed to sell them, leaving her stuck with unsold inventory.

“I even wanted to buy health supplements for Grandpa and Grandma, but the products they sent me turned out to just be common medicines you can buy at any pharmacy, not expensive at all!” Zhang Han sobbed while showing a huge box of medicine over video call to her grandparents. She cried so miserably that both sets of elders’ hearts broke. Calling her their precious darling, they immediately divided up the medicine and promised to keep it for themselves rather than giving it away.

Zhang Han sniffled and wiped her tears with the back of her hand. “I also bought a lot of food…”

“I wanted to earn more money to buy gifts for everyone, but I got scammed and lost everything. I’m so stupid… I don’t even want to live anymore. I’ve let you all down…”

Her uncles, aunts, and extended relatives responded immediately: “It’s okay, we’ll buy it! We love food!”

“But then there won’t be any gifts…”

The relatives answered firmly, “This is the best and most practical gift possible!”

So the very next day, relatives came over and carried away an entire truckload of rice, flour, cooking oil, and other supplies Zhang Han had “stocked.”

Because they were gifts, and worried she might feel upset if they gave them away, everyone promised not to pass them on to others. A week later, Zhang Han visited their homes and confirmed the food was indeed still stored properly, which satisfied her.

The other three dormmates watched the entire process unfold and were utterly amazed.

It was truly a very “Zhang Han” solution.

To comfort their distressed daughter, when Zhang Han suggested her parents accompany her back to school, they agreed without hesitation.

The three set off two weeks early, traveling around the country before finally arriving in S City on the very last day.

Zhang Han had asked for Song Rushuang’s home address in advance and booked a hotel nearby. Since weapons could not pass security checks and she feared being unable to bring them back later, she had already stored a duplicate of her well used weapon case at Song Rushuang’s home before vacation.

When the time came, the two planned to drive their parents to the school together.

Zhang Han shared a flood of food photos, making Song Rushuang, who had barely felt like eating dinner, suddenly hungry again.

Sun Wei: [I’m so jealous. I’ve been so anxious lately I can barely eat. I’ve just been forcing food down.]

With the apocalypse approaching, only someone as carefree as Zhang Han could still go traveling for half a month.

Zhang Han: [Hehe, I figured that if something really happened, I should at least see all the beautiful landscapes of our country before dying, right? The first eighteen years of my life were already mostly spent studying!]

Zhang Han: [Besides, once we enter the shelter, we’ll probably still be okay, but my parents might not get another chance to come out before the apocalypse ends. I think when they learn the truth later, they’ll be happy they got to travel beforehand.]

Zhang Han: [I’m not as capable as you guys. The only thing I can do for them is give them good memories.]

Song Rushuang fell silent reading this. Zhang Han was not wrong. Of course, she did not regret skipping travel herself.

These past two months she had been busy with other preparations and helping her parents train. She simply did not have that kind of free time.

Everyone faced the coming apocalypse differently. There was no right or wrong way.

Shen Qingqing appeared in the chat and replied to Zhang Han’s earlier message.

Shen Qingqing: [What do you mean “if”? Knock on wood, spit spit spit.]

Zhang Han: [Qingqing… I didn’t know you were superstitious.]

Shen Qingqing: [I just firmly believe the apocalypse will pass and we’ll all survive.]

Zhang Han obediently replied: [Alright, spit spit spit.]

Then she asked how everyone’s preparations were going.

Sun Wei: [Just finished checking and loading the supplies today. I’ll drive myself and leave early tomorrow morning. I don’t trust hired drivers with this.]

She had considered leaving a day earlier, but the drive from City A to S City normally took only four hours. Once they reached campus, even if the principal helped cover for her lie and allowed her and her parents inside, Sun Miao and Liao Yahui would not see any prepared barbecue stall.

Liao Yahui had a fiery temper. Sun Wei worried that if she could not explain things clearly, her mother would think she had lied. What if she got angry and immediately booked tickets back to City A?

At that point the apocalypse would not yet have begun, restrictions would still exist, and Sun Wei would have no way to reveal the truth.

So despite the risk of cutting it close, Sun Wei decided to depart on the morning of the apocalypse itself.

Fortunately, her C1 license allowed her to drive a small refrigerated truck. Otherwise she would have had to follow behind a hired driver in another car, increasing the risk of being stranded if anything went wrong.

Shen Qingqing replied to her: [Drive safely.]

Sun Wei: [What about you? Didn’t you say you were booking tickets for today? Haven’t seen you mention leaving.]

Shen Qingqing: […Something unexpected came up here, so I’m still at home. But it’s nothing serious. I’ll head back early.]

Song Rushhuang frowned at the message and was about to type a careful follow up when someone suddenly knocked on her door.

She opened it. In the dim hallway, a blurry figure lunged forward and wrapped her in a tight hug.

“Surprise!” Zhang Han spread her arms wide and shouted loudly. “Hehe, I came to hang out with you!”

After receiving the address from Song Rushuang, Zhang Han had asked around and found her way over, clinging to her without letting go.

With a proud grin, she asked, “Surprised?”

“Very,” Song Rushuang said, unable to stop smiling.

Even though they had only been apart for one summer, roommates who lived together every day still felt the separation deeply.

The anxiety that had weighed on Song Rushuang lately eased considerably with Zhang Han’s sudden appearance.

“It’s the last day. Don’t stay cooped up at home. Let’s go out. I saw there’s a mall nearby,” Zhang Han said, pulling her toward the door. “I’ve been suffocating these past few days, pretending to look miserable so my parents wouldn’t notice anything…”

Song Rushuang checked the time. The mall was close by and would not close for another two hours. They could indeed walk around a bit.

“Alright, let me tell my parents first,” she said, taking out her phone.

They arrived at the mall shortly after eight thirty. As soon as they entered, Song Rushuang’s attention instinctively drifted toward a small goods shop. “Hanhan, is there anything small you forgot to buy?”

Things like cotton swabs or toothpicks, items you could live without but whose absence made daily life inconvenient.

She had stocked up on such items several times before, but her main focus had been food, medicine, and other necessities.

Passing a ten yuan shop reminded her again.

Zhang Han hesitated. “Maybe we should take a look?”

Like before a long trip, no matter how well you prepared, you always remembered something forgotten at the last minute. Shops in malls were more expensive, but they carried a wide variety of small essentials. Online shopping was already too late now, so this could serve as a final supplement.

The two entered the store. After browsing for a while without finding what they wanted, they unexpectedly noticed a somewhat familiar figure.

At that very moment, the person turned around. Their gaze met Song Rushuang’s and Zhang Han’s. The person froze briefly, and a flash of hostility suddenly appeared in their eyes.

Zhang Han hesitated, searching her memory for a name.

“…Shi Guangyao?”

₊˚.🎧📓✩

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