As if she could refuse not to go.
Li Ge glanced at the girl expressionlessly and walked past her.
When the groups were divided earlier, she had already kept an eye out. There were certain medicines in the infirmary she needed to get as soon as possible—she had no time to waste here.
Watching Li Ge’s back, Bai Sui felt puzzled. She stopped by the pillar and said, “Li Ge didn’t mean it. I’ll apologize to you on her behalf.”
“No need. You’ll all be dead soon anyway.”
The girl replied irritably. Bai Sui opened her mouth to explain, but Xi Zhou gently shook his head at her.
Soon, everyone gathered at the entrance. Outside was the plaza filled with zombies. With her sharp eyes, Li Ge noticed that the fire axe taken from her earlier was now in the hands of a boy.
The last supervisor dragged the girl from earlier over, opened the door, and shoved her out.
“Go to the infirmary. Anyone who tries to run will not be spared,” the young man said coldly, already imitating the brutality of the middle-aged leader.
“Ah! Help!”
The girl fell to the ground and was instantly surrounded, becoming food for the zombies. Her screams were heart-wrenching.
But it also drew the zombies’ attention—taking advantage of that, the group rushed out.
With over forty people moving together, they were an obvious target. Everyone tried to squeeze into the middle where it felt safest. In the chaos, five people were lost before they even made it out of the plaza.
Li Ge was focused on watching the zombies when suddenly a force came from her side. She staggered dangerously—if Xi Zhou hadn’t caught her in time, she would have fallen.
She kicked away a lunging zombie and glared fiercely at the person who pushed her. The chubby boy showed not a trace of guilt—instead, a hint of regret flashed in his eyes.
“Push me again and I’ll throw you to the zombies,” Li Ge warned coldly. Just a warning was already too lenient.
The boy’s heart jolted. He squeezed his bulky body deeper into the crowd.
“Stop arguing! If you’ve got energy, run faster!”
After that incident, no one dared to make a move against Li Ge again. Still, she realized she had been careless.
After surviving five brutal years in the apocalypse, she had actually made a rookie mistake—believing she was safe.
Whether five years into the apocalypse or on the very first day, you must never underestimate human nature.
Bai Sui, who stayed in the center of the group, noticed everything. Her gaze darkened, her nails digging into her palms without her realizing it.
The infirmary was located in a quiet corner of the campus, usually deserted. Even so, after dealing with over a dozen zombies, only thirteen people remained in their group.
The cruelty of the apocalypse was obvious.
As medical students, they had some knowledge of medicines. Once inside the pharmacy, they grabbed common drugs like antibiotics.
Li Ge scanned the shelves a few times before locking onto a box in the corner.
“Oh my god, Li Ge, why would you take that kind of medicine?” Bai Sui exclaimed, pointing at the box in her hand.
The boys in the group saw the words “contraceptive pills” and turned away with disdain. Life and death were on the line, yet she was taking something like that—it said a lot about her, in their eyes.
Li Ge simply packed the medicine without explaining.
“You…” Xi Zhou also noticed. He sighed lightly. “If you’re having any difficulties, you can come to me.”
Since she was teaching him how to use his ability, he was willing to help her however he could.
Li Ge gave him a complicated look, wondering if she should clear up the misunderstanding.
Right in front of him, she calmly opened a box and swallowed two pills.
These medicines would increase her chances of survival, so she packed all of them into her bag.
Xi Zhou froze. Even with his intelligence, he couldn’t figure out why she needed so many contraceptives.
Under the intense gaze of others, he quietly slipped two boxes of painkillers into her hands, distracting the supervisors.
It wasn’t easy to reach the infirmary, and everyone wanted to take as much medicine as possible. But carrying too much weight could be fatal, so they could only choose the essentials.
After filling her bag, Li Ge stopped and moved to the window, observing the zombies outside. Their earlier commotion had drawn a crowd—many zombies were now gathering at the entrance.
“If we don’t leave now, we won’t make it back,” she said coldly.
“Shut up. No one leaves until everything is taken,” a supervisor snapped.
Greed never ends well.
Li Ge pushed the window open. “Look for yourself. If we don’t go now, we won’t be able to leave later.”
It was already too late—the zombies had surrounded the main entrance. When they left, they had to take a side exit and make a long detour.
By the time they returned to the gymnasium, only eight people remained.
All the medicine and food had to be handed over to the middle-aged man. As soon as Li Ge poured out a few boxes, his face darkened with anger.
“I sent you to the infirmary for this? You dare fool me with contraceptives? Are you tired of living?!”
He snatched her bag and dumped everything onto the floor. Aside from two boxes of painkillers, the rest—over a dozen boxes—were all contraceptives.
His face turned green with rage.
“You won’t get any food tonight. Go eat your pills if you can!”
Whispers spread throughout the gymnasium. From that moment on, Li Ge didn’t see a single normal gaze directed at her.
As for why she took so many pills—it was because she wanted to live.
That night, the zombies would evolve. Their sense of smell would sharpen, especially toward blood.
Women on their menstrual period almost never survived encounters with zombies. Some people would even push them out to distract the zombies. Even female ability users were at greater risk during that time.
Li Ge herself had once nearly wiped out her entire team because of it.
Later, she consulted a doctor at the base and learned the reason why there were so few newborns—most women had made a difficult choice.
Sitting alone in a corner, Li Ge fell into memories of her past life—none of them pleasant.
A shadow suddenly fell over her.
Xi Zhou blocked others’ view and quietly handed her half a piece of bread.
“Eat. This is for you.”
At that moment, his expression was just like in the poster—warm and comforting.
He probably didn’t have much food himself. Li Ge had no intention of taking it—until she noticed Bai Sui pouting unhappily nearby.
Raising an eyebrow, she accepted it and took a bite.
“Mm. Thanks!”
Only after she finished eating did Xi Zhou relax and sit beside her.
“I’ll teach you how to use your fire ability. It’s still weak now, but once you reach Level 1, your attack power will increase significantly.”
Xi Zhou nodded seriously.
Their voices were low, and those around them had no idea they were missing out on something incredibly valuable.
The methods for using abilities had only been fully understood after three years of trial and error. Every word Li Ge said would give Xi Zhou a qualitative leap in mastering his power.