When leaving, Xu Jie intentionally drove slower, wanting to see if the school really had a way to handle the situation.
Suddenly, the sky darkened without any warning, as if splashed with thick ink, turning completely black.
A fierce wind raged, sweeping up sand and stones that clattered against the car windows.
A bolt of thunder struck, shaking the earth as if it trembled, and the dark clouds on the horizon seemed torn in two.
“Heavens, what’s going on?!” Xu Jie quickly pulled over to the side of the road.
Lu Chen looked back and saw a massive pillar of light rising above the school, followed by deafening explosions and dense gunfire.
Staring at the soaring yellow flames and billowing black smoke, Xu Jie was stunned.
“With firepower like that, they must have emptied the entire armory.”
The explosions lasted a full ten minutes and hadn’t stopped even as they drove farther away.
Meanwhile, at the school refuge.
Jing Fu was in the monitoring room, watching the surveillance footage of the school entrance and directing the battle.
There were five to six hundred zombies heading toward the school, several times more than the number of survivors inside.
Despite the formidable enemy, the people in the school were neither panicked nor chaotic, calmly carrying out their tasks in an orderly manner.
They had been rooted in the school for half a year, scavenging all areas within a thirty-kilometer radius and finding many usable weapons.
Jing Fu’s awakened supernatural ability allowed him to manipulate and perceive electromagnetic fields.
Before the apocalypse, Jing Fu was a mechanical engineer, and his ability complemented his skills perfectly.
Using the tools at his disposal, he created surveillance and exploration equipment, defensive electric grids, landmines, and bombs—enough to withstand a thousand zombies.
Everyone in the school trusted him deeply, and since non-combat personnel were unaware of the situation outside, no chaos ensued.
“The scale this time is a bit large. Can we handle it?”
Another man, wearing a leather jacket and sporting a buzz cut, entered the monitoring room.
The man was tall and muscular, with a stubbled face, sharp and cold eyes, and his hands casually tucked into his pockets, looking utterly nonchalant.
Without looking up, Jing Fu kept his eyes on the surveillance screen and said, “Don’t worry, Brother Xiao. It’s not a big problem.”
Xiao Yong stared at the surveillance screen for a while, nodded, and patted Jing Fu’s shoulder with a laugh.
“Good. With the things you’ve invented, I can rest easy.
By the way, are all the cars in the garage usable? I’ll take some people out to see if we can lure the zombies elsewhere.
After all, our ammunition is running low.”
Only then did Jing Fu look up, staring at Xiao Yong for a moment before replying calmly,
“The three large vehicles aren’t repaired yet, but some of the smaller cars should be usable. They’re perfect for luring the zombies away.”
Xiao Yong grunted in acknowledgment, said nothing more, and quickly walked out.
A while later, Jing Fu glanced at the surveillance footage of the garage in the corner.
Xiao Yong was leading a few trusted subordinates, loading supplies like food and water—essential for survival—into the cars.
Luring zombies away wouldn’t require such items. By the looks of it, they were clearly planning to flee.
Jing Fu watched calmly, without sending anyone to stop them.
He had been injured by a zombie while fleeing and was later brought back to the school by Xiao Yong.
Xiao Yong was both an awakened and the leader of this refuge.
Later, when Jing Fu awakened his supernatural ability and proved his worth as a mechanical engineer, Xiao Yong held him in high regard.
Jing Fu was quite grateful to Xiao Yong for saving him. If Xiao Yong had simply killed him back then, he wouldn’t have held any resentment.
After all, the chances of surviving after being infected were extremely slim.
But precisely because Xiao Yong didn’t kill him, he was able to awaken and survive.
Although the school wasn’t a particularly safe refuge, fortunately, the town’s location was remote and the area was spacious enough. As long as they strengthened their defenses and prepared for battle, they could live there long-term.
As he produced more and more weapons, his status also rose higher and higher.
During that period, he was constantly busy researching weapons and defensive equipment, so he wasn’t very familiar with the situation at the school.
Until one day, when he saw Xiao Yong allowing his subordinates to bully others, he realized that Xiao Yong wasn’t a good person at all.
Later, after making inquiries, he learned that Xiao Yong had been involved in life-threatening activities even before the apocalypse, and those underlings were also desperadoes.
Xiao Yong took these people in and provided them with food and shelter, partly because he needed manpower for chores, service, and protection, and partly because he planned to use them as human shields when fleeing.
Jing Fu didn’t like his methods, but alone, he couldn’t bring about any change.
Xiao Yong noticed his attitude, but because he still had use for him, he didn’t break off relations with him.
He merely kept his distance and sent people to watch him.
Jing Fu had thought many times about simply leaving. He had a supernatural ability and could create chaos to escape at any time.
But without him, those clueless guys would break all this equipment within a month.
Thinking about all the innocent people struggling to survive here, he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.
It might be better if Xiao Yong just ran away. Once he and his gang left this place, it wouldn’t be so easy for them to return.
The departure of Xiao Yong and his group caused panic among the others.
Many people came knocking on the monitoring room’s door, and the frontline combat personnel grew restless upon seeing Xiao Yong leave.
Looking at the chaotic scene on the monitors, Jing Fu could only turn on the broadcast:
“Everyone, don’t panic. The current situation is still under control.”
Clearly, Xiao Yong’s departure had left everyone feeling uncertain.
Many believed that Jing Fu had been abandoned to hold them back and create an escape opportunity for Xiao Yong.
Listening to those voices of doubt, Jing Fu took a deep breath and, after a long silence, said:
“If you trust me, stay and help defend against this zombie horde. If we survive this, not only will we be safe, but we’ll also no longer have to endure the injustices of the past.
If you don’t trust me, you can leave right now. I won’t stop you, and you can go wherever you want in the future, but this place will definitely not welcome you back.
Whether to stay or go is your own decision.”
Some chose to leave, and Jing Fu had someone open the back gate to let them out.
Most of the combat personnel chose to stay.
Others might not know about the defensive measures set up around the school, but they were well aware.
Even if there were just a few hundred zombies, let alone a thousand, they wouldn’t be able to breach the defenses.
As long as they survived this zombie horde, without Xiao Yong and his gang oppressing them, they could live a good life.
The sky was dark and heavy, and landmines exploded one after another in the distance.
Some zombies surged in from the sides, either shot down or electrocuted with crackling sounds by the barbed wire outside.
Among those who had chosen to leave earlier, some ran too slowly and were surrounded by zombies guarding the rear of the school. Not many managed to escape alive.
Seeing this scene, Jing Fu couldn’t help but frown.
He hadn’t seen any zombies behind the school on the monitors earlier. When did they get there?