Ch 89: Opening a Survival School Before the Zombie Outbreak

The livestream chat instantly filled with question marks.

[Are you okay? That sounded really loud just now.][Did Fishy get into a car accident?][Streamer, please say something so we know you’re safe! That was terrifying!]

Very soon, a slender hand reached into frame, picked up the fallen phone, adjusted it, and Sun Wei’s masked face appeared on screen.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry, everyone. I’m going to check what happened,” she said quickly.

After reassuring viewers, she muted her microphone, but in her haste forgot to turn off the camera. After some shaking and bumping, the phone seemed to be shoved into her pocket.

Knowing she was unharmed, Su Huaijin and the others watching her window, along with the audience, all let out a collective sigh of relief. Meanwhile, conversation in the livestream began drifting further and further off topic.

Most viewers focused on the stream had not noticed the news yet and were unaware that the outside world had already changed dramatically. But since nearly everyone elsewhere was discussing it, messages soon began appearing in the chat saying chaos had broken out outside.

Someone joked:

[Feels like the apocalypse actually arrived. Zombies and everything.]

[Holy crap, TaoTao predicted it. Doesn’t this deserve a trending topic?]

[Stop joking. Things outside really look serious. Go check Weibo.]

[I’m getting kind of creeped out…]

…

The moment Sun Wei muted her mic, Song Rushuang set down her phone and immediately used her student wristband to call her directly.

Sun Wei answered quickly and explained in a few short sentences.

She had already exited the highway and was speeding toward campus when, while waiting at a traffic light on a major road, a chain-reaction collision suddenly occurred, completely trapping her truck in traffic.

This time it was not simple bad luck. It was already past 2:30 p.m. The crash was likely caused by someone mutating and losing consciousness, or a passenger attacking a driver and causing loss of control.

“Only three kilometers left…” Sun Wei stared helplessly as the navigation map changed. Roads that had been green moments ago turned deep red after refreshing.

The red spread outward like a stain, radiating across nearby streets. Who knew how many people would be trapped in that traffic, like prey caught in a crimson spiderweb, attacked before they even realized they should abandon their cars and flee.

Swearing under her breath, Sun Wei clenched her jaw.

She had left as early as possible. She had calculated everything, except encountering an accident severe enough to trap her for nearly four hours.

A journey that should have taken just over three hours had doubled, leaving her still short of campus after 2:30.

Song Rushuang knew Sun Wei carried a truck full of supplies and had her parents with her, meaning she could not abandon the vehicle. She made a decision immediately.

“Share your location. I’ll come get you.”

Sun Wei agreed, ended the call, and activated sharing.

The wristband’s positioning was far more precise than a phone’s, accurate within one meter. There would be no wandering around missing each other by a street corner.

On Song Rushuang’s wrist projection, a map of the campus surroundings appeared. Sun Wei’s location showed as a glowing dot marked with her avatar.

Song Rushuang stood up abruptly.

Xu Mingyu and the others were still anxiously scrolling through their phones, new reports appearing one after another, chilling them to the bone.

Looking closely, every post described incidents in different locations, with different casualties. Unlike typical nationwide discussions focused on a single major event, this time countless horrifying incidents were happening simultaneously across the country and the world.

It no longer felt distant. It felt immediate, close, as though danger could swallow anyone at any moment.

What was happening?

Under extreme tension, Xu Mingyu’s nerves were stretched tight. The instant Song Rushuang stood, she reacted like a startled bird, grabbing her daughter’s wrist.

“Where are you going?”

Song Rushuang steadied herself and lifted her phone.

“A classmate of mine is returning to school today too. She got stuck in a chain collision nearby. I’m going to see if she needs help. Her whole family is in the car. What if something really happened?”

Xu Mingyu hesitated, her grip loosening, but she still said, “What can you do alone? If needed, we’ll go together.”

“Yeah, I’ll come too,” Zhang Feng added. “More adults means more help. If someone needs to go to the hospital, you kids won’t know how to handle it.”

Song Jianguo and Liu Zhen nodded in agreement.

Being called “kids” again left Song Rushuang and Zhang Han helplessly amused.

But it was obvious the parents were frightened by the news and unwilling to let them out of sight.

Just as they hesitated, Fu Qing’s voice suddenly came over the cafeteria broadcast system.

“Hello everyone. This is Fu Qing, president of Fangzhou University. We have an urgent announcement.”

“Following directives from higher authorities, multiple regions across the country have experienced sudden unexplained attacks, resulting in casualties. To ensure student safety, the university will temporarily restrict campus access to returning students and their accompanying family members only.”

“Anyone wishing to leave campus must submit an application and receive approval before exiting.”

“Empty dormitories are available for temporary accommodation. The cafeteria will remain open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The external situation is still unclear. Please remain calm and stay on campus while awaiting further notice.”

“Policy updates will continue to be announced via broadcast. Thank you for your cooperation.”

Perhaps because many parents were present, Fu Qing unusually adopted an official tone, even adding a polite “thank you for your cooperation” at the end.

Normally, failure to cooperate simply meant being sent to clean the cafeteria.

Students found it strangely amusing but dared not show it in front of their parents, afraid they would be asked how unreliable their principal usually was.

Fu Qing did not mention any “virus.” With everyone carrying phones, that lie would collapse instantly. Instead, “orders from higher authorities,” which were harder to verify, sounded far more convincing.

And since the announcement came directly from the university president, parents immediately believed most of it.

Still, many had only expected to drop off their children and leave. Now they were suddenly trapped on campus with no clear timeline, and anxiety spread quickly.

“I have work on Monday. How long are we supposed to stay?”
“I have a flight tonight. Will the school reimburse cancellation fees?”
“I didn’t bring clothes or toiletries!”
“It’s summer. How can we not change clothes? How long are we staying?”

As parents grew increasingly agitated and some suggested confronting school administrators, the students who had prepared in advance quickly stepped in.

“At a time like this, planes and trains definitely aren’t safe! Didn’t you see that subway fight video? In a closed space like that, you couldn’t even run!”

“What matters more, money or your life? What if you lose your life over work?”

“Exactly! Mom, if there’s no clear timeline, doesn’t that mean even the government can’t grasp the situation yet? People in our group chats said they saw violent fights breaking out on the streets. Here at least everyone is familiar. It’s safer.”

“We stocked tons of toiletries in our dorm bathroom. Come back with me later and I’ll give you some.”

“I even have disposable travel underwear. You can wear my pajamas too. I prepared some for men as well.”

“…” After blurting it out, the last girl, blunt by nature, suddenly realized something was wrong. A sweat bead the size of a bean slid down her forehead.

It was too late to take it back.

Her dad immediately raised his voice. “You prepared men’s, too??”

“Hao Ling, tell me the truth. Why are you stocking men’s underwear in your dorm?!”

Her mom shot to her feet and started spinning in place, falling back on pure instinct, looking for something handy to use as a weapon so she could beat her child.

Hao Ling: “…”

Oh my god.

She weaved through the cafeteria tables and chairs, her excuses weak and pale as she shouted, “Mom, if I say I prepared them for my dad, will you believe me?”

“I really did prepare them for my dad!”

The students watching: “…”

It was the truth, but the more she insisted, the more suspicious it sounded.

The farce did at least distract Hao Ling’s parents for the moment. They stopped thinking about the embarrassment of being stuck on campus and the chaos outside, and focused wholeheartedly on “disciplining” their kid. Only for some reason, the kid was unusually slippery today and hard to land a hit on.

Everyone watching drew the same conclusion: for now, they still could not tell their parents about the apocalypse.

Otherwise, parents would probably think they had read too many novels and lost their minds. Not only would they fail to get cooperation, they might even make things worse.

They would have to ease them into it.

Better yet, get the parents to realize the severity of the situation on their own.

The students couldn’t help recalling the timeline the principal had given. It would still be several days before the authorities officially confirmed the existence of an unknown virus. Until then, they might have to keep acting for a while.

But Song Rushuang did not have time to wait.

The moment Fu Qing’s broadcast ended, Xu Mingyu and the others went pale. Liu Zhen asked uncertainly, “That accident your roommate ran into… could it be connected to the chaos outside?”

“Maybe,” Zhang Feng said, not daring to think too hard. “Nobody knows what’s causing it yet. Multiple places at once… it can’t be some kind of terrorist attack, can it…”

He glanced at Zhang Han, thinking only of one thing: his daughter had to be safe. “How about this. I’ll go out with Uncle Song and drive over there. You and your mom stay on campus. We’ll bring your classmate back safely.”

Song Jianguo nodded repeatedly. “Yes, that’s the way.”

Zhang Han puffed out her cheeks, about to protest, but Song Rushuang tugged her, then turned and said, “Uncle, the school’s controlling entry and exit tightly now. If my classmate needs the hospital later, and you go out without a student, you might not be able to get back in. It’s better if we go with you.”

Zhang Feng frowned.

But Song Jianguo glanced at his daughter’s expression and noticed she didn’t look frightened by the news or the announcement at all. Her calmness made him feel, again, that she was hiding something.

That feeling had been around for a long time.

He had talked privately with Xu Mingyu, and she felt it too.

Especially lately, Song Rushuang would often stare blankly at the news. Even when she acted bright and cheerful around them, they sometimes caught something that looked like anxiety on her face.

It made them worried and it hurt to see.

Song Jianguo wanted to know what secret his daughter was carrying.

More than that, he wanted to know whether her parents could shoulder some of it with her.

Song Rushuang’s point made sense. Zhang Feng couldn’t really refute it, and finally relented. “Fine. Then the four of us go together.”

He thought that with him and Song Jianguo there, nothing serious would happen.

Liu Zhen still looked uneasy. “Shouldn’t I go too?”

“Don’t bring too many. If something really happens, a crowd is just a burden,” Zhang Feng said, then forced a joke to ease her tension. “Besides, we’re not going to start a fight.”

With that, Xu Mingyu couldn’t press further. She held Song Rushuang’s hand, trembling slightly.

Song Rushuang saw her mother like this and wanted to comfort her, but Xu Mingyu suddenly let go.

“Go.”

She patted Song Rushuang’s shoulder and realized her daughter seemed a little taller than she remembered. A swirl of emotions rose in her chest.

“Just come back early.”

*

They decided to take the car Zhang Han had rented.

To fit the luggage, she’d rented a seven-seat SUV. Counting heads, if Sun Wei’s vehicle broke down, they could bring her whole family of three back.

Of course, that calculation was only because Zhang Feng and Song Jianguo had no idea Sun Wei had hauled an entire truckload of supplies from far away.

Song Rushuang and Zhang Han had already decided: even if it was just for that truck of frozen meat, they would carry Sun Wei’s vehicle back to campus if they had to.

Before getting in, Song Rushuang went to her own car and brought back an unremarkable backpack.

Song Jianguo started to ask about it, but Zhang Han, quick on the uptake, smoothly changed the subject. “I know the roads near the school. I’ll drive.”

Before the two dads could react, she plopped herself into the driver’s seat.

Song Rushuang immediately took the front passenger seat beside her.

They had both buckled up, and only then did Zhang Feng and Song Jianguo sit there, stunned.

Weren’t they supposed to be the main muscle on this trip? How had it turned into them being their daughters’ accessories?

Under “Driver Zhang Han’s” urging, they got in. But before they even left the garage, they ran into someone they never expected.

Fu Qing.

She wore black from head to toe, tactical gloves on her hands, and a crossbody bag at her waist with something inside, hard to tell what.

Zhang Han squealed the brakes and leaned her head out of the driver’s window. “Principal?”

Fu Qing looked up and quickly guessed the reason. “You’re going to find Sun Wei?”

“How did you know?” Zhang Han jumped.

Song Rushuang understood immediately. The publicity team was under the principal’s direct supervision, and this livestream was almost certainly authorized by her. She had likely been watching. She probably knew Sun Wei had run into an accident near the campus.

Fu Qing’s direction suggested she was heading to a vehicle as well. An idea sparked in Song Rushuang’s mind, and she asked boldly, “Principal, are you going out? If it’s on the way, do you want a lift?”

“It is.” Fu Qing didn’t bother with politeness. She yanked open the door and hopped in, then gave the two parents in the back a small nod.

Song Jianguo and Zhang Feng hadn’t expected to run into the principal at all. They stiffened and hurriedly greeted her.

With Fu Qing along, there was no need to apply to school leadership for permission to leave. They saved a lot of time.

In the car, Song Jianguo, emboldened by having met Fu Qing once before, asked cautiously, “Why did you suddenly keep everyone on campus? What exactly is happening outside?”

Zhang Han had already driven up to the gate. As the doors slowly opened, the street scene slid into view.

Fu Qing, seated by the window, swept her gaze outside, then casually shifted aside as if inviting him to look for himself.

Song Jianguo and Zhang Feng leaned past her toward the window.

They squinted for a long moment before noticing a shape curled on the road, shoulders hunching and jerking. Hearing the vehicle approach, it snapped its head up.

It was a person.

Judging by his looks, he was probably a nearby villager or a laborer. His bare upper body was dark from the sun, and his pants were shredded from scraping the ground. Beneath him was a mangled, bloody mass, too torn up to recognize. Only scraps of fur and broken claws remained, suggesting it had been some kind of wild animal.

A mutated person wouldn’t attack animals on purpose, but if an animal attacked first, their heightened aggression would explode.

And Fangzhou was near the mountains. Animals on the road weren’t rare. Fu Qing only needed one glance to understand what had happened.

But her face was so calm that Song Jianguo and Zhang Feng had no time to brace themselves before the horror fully registered.

They looked again, disbelieving, and realized the man was gnawing on the animal.

The blood, shredded flesh, and severed limbs on the ground had been ripped off with his teeth.

They sucked in a sharp, trembling breath.

“That’s what’s going on,” Fu Qing said.

₊˚.🎧📓✩

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