Ch 129: Opening a Survival School Before the Zombie Outbreak

The people inside the vehicle did not understand at first. Zhou Lingxi looked confused. “What?”

If not the assembly point, then what?

The Fangzhou students?

Before anyone could think further, Chu Hai slammed the accelerator at Fu Qing’s signal, and the vehicle shot forward toward Donglin Avenue.

Fu Qing said nothing more. Her gaze fixed faintly on a point in empty space, as though something invisible to the others existed there.

No one dared disturb her. They exchanged uneasy glances, a sense of an approaching storm settling over them.

…

With one downward slash, Su Huaijin’s wristband suddenly lit up. She instinctively lowered her head.

Seeing her pause, the two teammates beside her immediately stepped forward to fill the gap, blocking the zombie away from her.

Seizing the brief moment to breathe, Su Huaijin quickly checked the message that had appeared on her wristband.

During combat, the wristband could be set to Do Not Disturb so sudden alerts would not break concentration.

Under that mode, only messages from specially marked contacts could come through.

For Su Huaijin, that meant only one name.

Fu Qing.

She stepped back half a pace and opened the message. It contained only a single short line:

[Accelerate elimination of the Believers, especially those without special evolution.]

The message had been broadcast to all students near Assembly Point One.

Accelerate elimination?

Su Huaijin frowned and scanned her surroundings.

The street had been divided into countless small battle zones. Believers clashed with student teams, while soldiers stationed along both sides guided evacuees toward Donglin High School. Some provided covering fire, stepping in whenever civilians were attacked, while others guarded key positions as people slipped past the fighting and fled.

The situation was no longer chaotic like at the beginning. In fact, it was almost fully under control.

There were casualties, but far fewer than expected, and most of the dead were Believers.

Over the past week, soldiers had suffered terribly against specially evolved zombies such as runners and brutes. Countless comrades had died at their hands. So this time, after Fangzhou’s advance warning that Believers might include many special evolutions and that intelligent zombies would be even more dangerous, the soldiers showed absolutely no restraint.

First, civilians were everywhere. If an attack failed to kill instantly, provoking the enemy could endanger innocent people.

Second, after witnessing the brutal deaths of comrades fighting beside them, it was impossible not to carry hatred.

Knowing Believers would appear, Tian Xuejun had already informed all participating soldiers beforehand.

Every informed soldier had reacted with fury.

In one week, hundreds of millions had been infected and killed. Learning that these people had willingly sided with the zombies, standing against humanity itself, how could they not hate them?

Believer corpses lay scattered across the street, most with shattered skulls, dead beyond doubt.

Blood flowed along the roadside into drains, the thick metallic stench spreading through the air.

Su Huaijin believed their clearing speed was already fast enough.

So why was the principal urging them to hurry?

She stared at the corpses. After a while, something began to feel wrong.

The principal had emphasized Believers without special evolution. In other words, those like the earlier skeletal type. Physically enhanced overall, but without obvious mutation.

Among today’s attackers, this type seemed unusually numerous.

Unlike runner zombies, gaunt like skeletons wrapped in skin, or giant brutes whose massive bodies remained imposing even after death, these ordinary Believers looked almost identical to normal humans once dead.

And since appearing, they had focused mainly on entangling students and soldiers in combat. Even though they stood among crowds, far fewer civilians had died at their hands than expected.

A strong sense of unease crept into Su Huaijin’s chest.

She had not fully pieced it together yet, but she did not dare waste time thinking. She turned to urge her teammates to speed up.

At that moment, however, a captured Believer nearby suddenly began struggling violently.

Two armed soldiers held its shoulders firmly, but it thrashed wildly. A student bringing down a blade missed by several centimeters, carving a vertical gash across its face deep enough to expose bone.

Its face was nearly split in half. Its body convulsed in agony. For a fleeting instant, Su Huaijin thought she saw a look of grim resolve in its eyes.

So brief it almost felt like an illusion.

The next second, the Believer, dressed like an ordinary refugee and wrapped in heavy clothing, suddenly threw its head back and screamed with all its strength.

“Aaaaaaah—!!!”

“The soldiers are killing people! Help! Help!!!”

“I’m not a zombie! I’m still alive!! Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me!!”

“Please! Please!!!”

Blood covered half its face, wounds distorting its speech, yet the desperate cries rang out across the sky.

Students and soldiers nearby froze in shock.

Even fleeing civilians slowed, drawn by the cries, turning back to look.

Su Huaijin’s expression changed instantly.

She finally understood.

Her eyes widened in fury as realization struck, and she shouted urgently,

“Quick! Kill it! Shut it up!!”

Before anyone else could react, Su Huaijin had already lunged forward.

She was never a front line fighter, but at this moment she no longer cared. Killing intent filled her completely as she drew her blade and charged ahead.

In her urgency, she did not even notice the sharp screech of brakes beside her.

No one saw how Fu Qing appeared. Translated on Hololo novels. The vehicle had barely stopped when she was already out, vaulting past Su Huaijin and the others who reacted a beat too slowly, shooting forward like an arrow released from a bow.

The screaming stopped abruptly.

The Believer blinked once before a kick struck its chest, caving in its sternum. Its body flew several meters through the air, hit the ground hard, and rolled several times. When it finally stopped, the cracking of skull, spine, and limbs breaking together could almost be heard.

Paralyzed instantly, it lay helpless, watching in terror as Fu Qing approached with a cold expression.

The vehicle skidded forward several meters before stopping. Bai Xianglei and the others jumped out in a rush, brushing past Fu Qing as they ran.

“Borrow this.”

Zhou Lingxi suddenly felt lighter. Looking down, she realized her automatic rifle was already gone.

“…!!”

Everyone’s gaze followed Fu Qing.

She stepped onto the Believer’s collapsed chest, raised the rifle one handed, forced the barrel between its teeth, and shoved it straight into its half open mouth.

Pain exploded through its body, even into its throat.

Its tongue tasted cold metal, rust, and gunpowder.

Yet none of that terrified it as much as the look in Fu Qing’s eyes.

“Go on,” she said calmly. “Why did you stop shouting?”

As she spoke, she flicked off the safety.

Click.

The crisp sound made the Believer’s expression change instantly.

With its chest pinned, breathing already difficult, oxygen deprivation turned its pale face an ashen gray. The barrel pressed deep into its throat triggered tears, mucus, and saliva to spill uncontrollably. Fear made its body tremble, yet clinging to its mission, it forced out a weak whimper.

Maybe… maybe there was still hope.

So many witnesses. Maybe she would not dare kill it.

Maybe it could survive.

That fragile hope froze the moment it met Fu Qing’s eyes again.

People were gathering nearby, yet Fu Qing did not even blink.

Her finger settled on the trigger.

At the brink of death, survival instinct finally exploded. The Believer tried desperately to push the gun away with its tongue, pupils dilating in terror.

No. Don’t!

Bang!

Blood burst across the ground, and silence fell.

At the gunshot, a suppressed gasp sounded nearby.

Fu Qing turned her head.

Not far away, a woman holding a child staggered backward, covering her mouth in shock. Their eyes met, and her legs nearly gave out as she turned to disappear into the crowd.

Too late.

Su Huaijin and Song Rushuang, who had rushed over at the sound, reacted instantly and seized her. Seeing the infant in her arms, they eased their grip slightly and dragged her toward the principal.

The woman collapsed limply, trembling violently, unable to look at the mangled corpse on the ground.

“Principal.” Xue Ran, Qin Yufei, and the others arrived as well, watching her warily.

“Principal, were they trying to…” Su Huaijin began, then stopped.

Too many people were nearby. She already knew the answer.

Bai Xianglei and the others had heard cries for help earlier but had not seen who made them. Now, combining Fu Qing’s actions with what she had said in the car, realization struck them all at once.

The Believers’ objective today had never been to infiltrate the shelters.

They wanted a public demonstration.

They intended to reveal the existence of intelligent zombies in front of a crowd, planting a dangerous idea:

That infection did not necessarily mean death. That one could remain alive and rational even after being infected.

Even worse, they aimed to make uninformed civilians believe the authorities were hiding the truth and slaughtering innocent people.

If such rumors spread, what would families of the infected think?

What about those who had witnessed official zombie purges?

Since the outbreak, circumstances changed every moment. Translated on Hololo novels. As infections increased, rescuing survivors inevitably required eliminating infected individuals nearby.

The early policy of capturing and imprisoning the infected had already become impossible. Confinement consumed precious safe space needed for survivors.

It was a decision born of necessity.

People had gradually accepted that infection meant death.

To expose intelligent zombies now would be like dropping a bomb into calm waters.

The fragile unity between military and civilians could collapse instantly.

A chill ran up Bai Xianglei’s spine. Cold sweat broke out across his back.

A few Believers sneaking into shelters meant nothing.

Their true aim was to turn every shelter resident into a potential follower of the Zombie King.

Fangzhou’s people and the soldiers could identify infected Believers, but they could never distinguish ordinary humans harboring hidden allegiance.

In the previous life, society had collapsed quickly, survivors scattered and disconnected. But this time was different. Networks existed. Shelters were everywhere. Believer ideology could spread far faster.

Bai Xianglei watched as Fu Qing bent down and snatched the phone the woman had tried desperately to hide.

The woman offered no resistance, her face gray with defeat.

Fu Qing unlocked the screen. The gallery was open, filled with secretly recorded videos of students and soldiers killing Believers.

After a quick scan, she turned off the screen and tossed the phone to Bai Xianglei.

“She’s not alone. Among the crowd are uninfected accomplices as well as infected Believers. Your cybersecurity department is going to be busy.”

The Zombie King was far more skilled with networks than any ordinary hacker. Even if communications were temporarily cut, it would likely find ways to spread the footage and bypass censorship.

Chu Hai stared, stunned. He had never imagined things would develop this way.

Weren’t they fighting zombies? A disaster, a disease, an alien threat, that made sense. But now it felt like a strategic struggle between opposing factions, almost like espionage.

He could not understand how anyone could stand against humanity, worship another species, and climb upward over the bodies of their own kind.

Disgust crept into his gaze as he looked at the woman.

Then he noticed the baby in her arms.

“There’s a child too!”

“Probably stolen,” Bai Xianglei said, taking the infant away. Among the young people present, he unexpectedly had the most experience holding a child. “The kid’s malnourished, but she looks well fed. Just smeared dirt on her face for disguise.”

Zhou Lingxi immediately grasped the plan. “They wanted to pose as a family of three. After the man died, the ‘wife’ would cry publicly while holding the child. With a baby involved, sympathy would come easily. No one would suspect it was a zombie scheme.”

Even for those who knew the truth, accepting that zombies were now engaging in psychological warfare was difficult.

Popular media had ingrained the image of mindless monsters relying only on brute force.

And this time, they even had human collaborators.

Bai Xianglei called people over, handed the child off for care, instructed them to check whether anyone nearby was searching for a missing infant, then quietly issued further orders.

Personnel subtly gathered around, separating those who had stopped to watch from the larger fleeing crowd.

There was a high chance Believer collaborators responsible for filming were among them.

The remaining civilians were innocent, but they still had to be isolated afterward. First, to prevent hidden threats. Second, because the incident itself might already have influenced them.

A quick count showed several dozen people.

If Fu Qing had realized the Believers’ intent even a moment later, if she had been two seconds slower, if she had not noticed the woman with the child…

The number needing isolation would have been far greater.

Once crowds mixed, the situation would become hundreds of times more complicated.

But Bai Xianglei noticed something else.

Whispers were already spreading through the crowd.

What came next?

How were they supposed to calm and convince these people?

Looking at the horrific corpse on the ground, his mind began racing for an answer.

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