“I don’t care how many of you are ability users, but don’t even think about playing tricks. The moment I catch anyone trying to escape, my people will act immediately. In my eyes, your lives aren’t worth a single cent.”
The group assignments were completely arbitrary. To assert his authority, the middle-aged man pointed and assigned people at will.
Li Ge saw Bai Sui quietly hiding behind Xi Zhou and snorted inwardly. She casually shifted half a step forward, closing the distance between them.
“You guys.”
Soon it was their turn. The man waved his hand, and when Li Ge saw the result, her eyes darkened.
“Li Ge, be careful. I’ll come find you soon,” Xi Zhou whispered when no one was paying attention.
The four of them had been standing together, yet they were split apart—and Li Ge was the one separated.
“No need. I’ll go to the east gate myself to find you.”
To prevent collusion, only the supervisors knew the destinations for gathering supplies.
Xi Zhou frowned. “You don’t have any abilities. Don’t act alone—stay where you are as much as possible.”
“Xi Zhou, she already said she doesn’t need it. Stop worrying. Didn’t you see yesterday? She fights even better than us men,” Sun Hengrui said, pulling him back at Bai Sui’s subtle signal.
“That’s not it. Li Ge is still just a girl. There are so many zombies outside—I’m worried she won’t be able to handle it.”
Bai Sui chimed in, “Xi Zhou-gege, just trust Xiaoge. She’s always been very capable.”
If they kept talking, they’d draw suspicion. Li Ge cut them off. “Searching aimlessly for people will only increase danger. I’ll meet you at the security office.”
Even the farthest convenience store was less than 500 meters from the east gate. Her fingers pressed lightly against her pocket—she was confident.
“For now, that’s the only plan,” Xi Zhou said helplessly. “If we don’t see you, we won’t leave first. Try to rally your group members—one more person means more strength.”
At 8 a.m., the gym’s side door opened. Li Ge cast one last glance at Xi Zhou. He had already grasped how to use his fire ability—if he didn’t do anything unnecessary, he should be able to survive.
But with Bai Sui around, there was always an unstable variable. She just hoped Xi Zhou would be a little more selfish and not make irrational decisions for others.
As she passed by, Bai Sui paused for a second and said, “Xiaoge, you must be careful.”
Li Ge curled her lips faintly in response. As if something could happen to me. She hadn’t even taken revenge for her past life yet.
Unfortunately, their group’s destination was the convenience store farthest from the east gate. However, the boys in the group were happy—it was the closest to the gym.
“Lucky! We’ll get to eat our fill this time.”
Before the boy could finish speaking, a zombie suddenly lunged from a blind spot behind the steps. Its sharp fangs tore into his neck, the sound of flesh being chewed clearly audible.
“Ah! The zombies have gone crazy!”
Five or six boys panicked and ran back in chaos. They hadn’t even gone 20 meters from the gym—there was still hope of returning.
“You think you can go back without supplies?”
The two supervising men blocked their path with dark expressions. The gym doors were already locked—no supplies, no entry.
In their panic, they didn’t notice the zombie had already released its prey. Compared to a corpse, living, moving people were far more attractive.
Before the zombie could bite a second person, Li Ge swiftly drew a scalpel and stabbed it straight into the temple. Her expression remained calm throughout, even as foul-smelling blood splattered onto her clothes.
The boys turned in shock. They hadn’t expected the only girl in the group to be this fierce.
“If you don’t want to die, fight with everything you’ve got. You’ve seen it—these zombies are faster than yesterday.”
Stepping on the twitching body, Li Ge pulled out the scalpel and skillfully extracted a crystal core the size of a candy.
Faced with danger, they had been less composed than a girl. The men lowered their heads in shame, while even the ability users coughed awkwardly.
“You—walk in front. If you see a zombie, don’t hesitate—kill it,” they said, pointing at Li Ge.
Li Ge couldn’t be bothered, but when she didn’t move, the eight people behind her didn’t either. The moment she took a step, they rushed to follow, treating her like a protective charm.
“Follow if you want. I’m not responsible for your safety.”
There were even more zombies along the way. To them, living humans were irresistible prey. Though she said she wouldn’t help, Li Ge still instinctively struck whenever zombies approached.
Finally, they rushed into the convenience store and shut the metal door, blocking the zombies outside. Li Ge panted heavily—this body wasn’t trained, and just ten minutes of high-intensity activity had nearly exhausted her.
“Hurry and gather supplies. We’ll still be relying on you on the way back,” the two ability users grinned.
Including Li Ge, only five people survived—far better than yesterday’s survival rate.
“Can’t you use your abilities against zombies?” Li Ge asked coldly. The four who died had all been used as shields—she didn’t think she deserved any credit.
“Abilities? They’re only good for scaring people. Totally useless.”
One produced a small handful of water, while the other tossed out some sand—indeed, completely useless.
After witnessing Li Ge’s strength, they didn’t dare control her. Instead, they lorded over the two ordinary boys, ordering them to collect supplies.
Li Ge stuffed a few packs of compressed biscuits into her bag until it was full, then filled her pockets with chocolate. Sitting on a crate, she opened a boxed meal and started eating.
Food was incredibly precious in the apocalypse. Even in her previous life as a high-ranking figure in a base, having a full meal had often been a luxury.
While the others were busy eating, they didn’t notice her quietly rolling up her sleeves and strapping fruit knives to her arms. She hid more knives along her calves—once covered, they were completely invisible.
After finishing, she quietly moved toward the door. Xi Zhou had suggested persuading her teammates, but she had no need for companions who only hid behind others.
Meanwhile, Xi Zhou’s group had been assigned to the eastern cafeteria, just 100 meters from the east gate.
Their progress was much smoother. Along the way, Xi Zhou demonstrated powerful fire abilities—any zombie that approached was driven back by flames. All ten of them reached the cafeteria kitchen unharmed.
While he dealt with the zombies inside, Bai Sui used her “campus goddess” charm—appealing emotionally and logically—to persuade the others. One by one, the boys switched sides. Even the two accompanying ability users joined their escape plan.
“Xi Zhou-gege, this is great! We can finally leave!” Bai Sui beamed, her earlier gloom gone at the thought of seeing her parents soon.
“Mm. Thanks to you for convincing them. I’ll make sure you get home safely.”
Before setting out, they ate their fill. Fortune favored them—the kitchen still had plenty of preserved meat and sausages. Everyone stuffed their bags to the brim.