She pressed her lips together and lowered her head honestly. “I’m sorry, Professor Jiang. I’m a bit scared… I don’t dare to go out.”
“Coward.” The annoyed voice sounded again.
Jiang Mo ignored it, and Professor Jiang shot a sharp glance in that direction. “Quiet.”
The girl immediately fell silent.
Jiang Mo lowered her head and listened attentively.
“You all understand the current situation. The main issue right now is food. The hotel’s supplies will only last about a week. Drinking water is still usable for now, but we can’t guarantee it won’t be contaminated in a few days. There’s still no news of rescue. So from now on, all food must be gathered together, and everyone will cut one meal per day to make it last longer.”
“We don’t have chefs. Aside from taking turns on watch duty, we’ll have to prepare meals ourselves and handle sanitation. Duty rosters will be announced shortly. We’ll be divided into six groups.”
“Each group will have five guards, four people cooking, and two handling cleaning. The exact assignments can be decided within your group, but every role must function properly, and safety must be ensured.”
“Hao Bin, read out the groups.”
“Group One: Jiang Min, Zhou Zheng, Fan Wenzhang…”
“Group Two: Wang Junya, Wu Jingchen, Xiao Qiqi…”
“Group Three: Zhang Long, Zhuo Hao, Zeng Liang, Xie Lei, Zhu Wenting, Yan Ting, Jiang Mo, Zhao Yafei…”
Hearing her name, Jiang Mo instinctively looked toward the stage. Professor Jiang was speaking quietly with his student, seemingly discussing something.
Whether by coincidence or design, several people in Group Three had issues with her. Two simply disliked her for no clear reason, and two others had confessed to her privately—after being rejected, they became resentful and started targeting her.
There were six men in Group Three. Zhuo Hao volunteered to be the group leader. He was the oldest and most experienced, recently awarded Outstanding Teacher of the Year.
Jiang Mo didn’t know how to cook, so she was assigned to cleaning duties alongside Yan Ting. The girl who had mocked her earlier was also in Group Three, responsible for chopping vegetables and cooking. Since most people didn’t know each other, they introduced themselves briefly before Zhuo Hao led them to their assigned posts.
The hotel’s emergency stairwell, elevator entrance, and the glass window at the end of the corridor were the most critical points. If zombies broke through and the stairwell fell, floors 14 to 16 would be completely overrun.
Jiang Mo’s cleaning duties were in the kitchen on the 15th floor, as well as maintaining the dining area and dishes—keeping everything clean and orderly.
The first day’s shift belonged to Group One. After the meeting, Jiang Mo returned to her room. She lived in a suite at the very end of the 16th floor, complete with a dining room, living room, and an extra guest bedroom.
She hadn’t eaten lunch and was starving, so she tore open a bag of bread and stuffed it into her mouth. The rich milky aroma instantly stirred her appetite.
Jiang Mo loved dairy products—especially milk. She could drink two cups a day. Aside from the food she had hidden, she left out a box of milk, a box of cherries, and a bunch of bananas. She planned to finish everything in the freezer first before moving on to snacks.
Holding a milk carton, she fiddled with the radio her boyfriend had specially given her, adjusting the frequencies while eating.
After some tinkering, she actually caught an official broadcast.
“Bzz—residents—bzz—currently—bzz—Anxi City Third—bzz—five days later—”
Five days later… what?
Jiang Mo tapped the radio, thinking that such an expensive device wasn’t all that great. After listening three times, she finally pieced together the message:
“All residents, please ensure your safety. The government has begun emergency rescue operations. Those capable may proceed to the Third Military District Hospital in Anxi City to join the army. Take protective measures and avoid infection. Zombies’ weakness is the back of the head—striking it will immobilize them. In five days, the army will depart for Base District 3.”
Jiang Mo’s eyes flickered as she looked out the floor-to-ceiling window at the faint green mist spreading outside.
The mist had appeared yesterday morning and had persisted until now. It was gradually growing thicker.
She hadn’t seen any direct effects on humans yet, but instinctively felt something was wrong.
Maybe it was her imagination, but the yellowing plants seemed to be turning green again. It was late autumn, yet outside looked like lush spring.
Jiang Mo felt uncertain. Most people here had come from all over the country—there was no one she could truly confide in.
She thought of Yan Ting, but instinctively rejected the idea. For some reason, she felt a natural aversion toward her.
With nothing to do in the afternoon, Jiang Mo plugged in all her electronic devices to charge: a laptop, a tablet, her phone, a smartwatch, and the radio.
She guessed that a power outage might be coming—and with it, a water outage. She hurried to the kitchen and filled every container she could find with water, even the sink. Then she rushed to the bathroom and turned on the bathtub faucet.
After finishing, she was drenched in sweat. After thinking it over, she decided to take a shower—once the water was cut off, she’d have to rely on wiping herself with a damp towel.
Jiang Mo carefully scrubbed herself. As a southern girl, she wasn’t used to scrubbing baths. She used too much force, leaving her fair skin covered in small red marks.
It hurt so much that tears welled up in her eyes. She shouldn’t have done it.
Especially when hot water hit her skin—it stung terribly. She frowned, mentally cursing the bath scrub seller a thousand times.
She never should’ve trusted a 20-yuan scrub cloth.
It hurt so much.
At dinner time, Yan Ting knocked on her door again. When she noticed the red marks on Jiang Mo’s pale skin, she froze. “Are you injured?”
In a situation like this, injuries were serious—medicine was scarce. Jiang Mo, a delicate girl who would tear up over shaving cuts and cling to her boyfriend for comfort, had always seemed fragile.
At first, Yan Ting thought she was just someone coasting through life. But Jiang Mo surprised her—she worked harder than most, always volunteering for frontline tasks and never avoiding dirty or difficult work.
She cried easily, that was true. Yan Ting had often seen her wiping tears in corners. Afraid of pain, afraid of getting hurt, she carried a whole stash of ointments.
A princess in both privilege and temperament—but also unexpectedly resilient.
Jiang Mo smiled awkwardly. “I… scrubbed too hard.”
Yan Ting: “…”
That must’ve taken some serious force. She wouldn’t dare do that herself.
Jiang Mo asked, “What did you need?”
“I wanted to ask if you have any fever medicine. One of the professors has a fever.” Yan Ting glanced into her room—it was neat and tidy, which surprised her. “Also, don’t open the windows. The green mist outside might be dangerous.”
“Okay, wait a moment.”
Jiang Mo searched through her things. She didn’t have any fever medicine, so she handed over a cooling patch instead. “This is all I have.”
She had hidden the rest—she couldn’t let others know she had plenty of medicine.
“That works. Thanks.”