11 – Cafeteria
The acid rain poured relentlessly for a full day and night before finally subsiding.
As soon as the rain stopped, Ye Jin immediately headed to the university. The air was thick with a nauseating mix of decay and blood, churning one’s stomach.
Not a single living soul was in sight along the way—everyone was hiding indoors, too terrified to venture out.
Whenever she encountered zombies on the road, she simply drove straight through them. The modified vehicle crushed these low-level zombies without any resistance.
Upon entering the university, the number of zombies noticeably increased. The university district, being densely populated, had been the first to fall in her previous life.
Zombies relied on scent and sound to detect prey. The car’s engine was too loud, and she only wanted to retrieve Zhang Yiyi quickly, fearing that attracting too many zombies would be problematic.
She stored the car in her Dimension and drew her Ancient Blade.
Two security guards-turned-zombies at the school gate caught Ye Jin’s scent and lunged at her simultaneously. With a swift upward slash, she decapitated them, then reversed her grip to cleave through their skulls. Both zombies crumpled to the ground instantly.
This was her first time using this Ancient Blade, and it proved to be an excellent weapon—effortlessly slicing through zombies.
She probed the zombies’ heads with the blade tip but found no Nucleus Crystals inside. It seemed they would only appear after the zombies evolved.
Upon reaching the girls’ dormitory, she dispatched several female zombies lurking in the corridors with ease.
Arriving at Zhang Yiyi’s dorm room, she knocked but received no response. Hearing zombie growls inside, she kicked the door open.
It was the roommate who had turned into a zombie at the onset of the apocalypse in her previous life. As the zombie bared its teeth to bite, Ye Jin’s blade descended, sending its head rolling.
The room was empty except for the zombie—Zhang Yiyi was not there.
In her past life, when the apocalypse erupted, both she and Zhang Yiyi had been in the dorm. Ye Jin had been unconscious, and it was Zhang Yiyi who barricaded the zombified roommate with a bed, buying them some time.
Someone in the adjacent dorm seemed to have heard the commotion and cautiously called out, “Is anyone there? Is it safe outside?”
“It’s safe! You can come out.”
Zhang Yiyi had few male admirers but was well-liked among the girls. Ye Jin recalled that several girls in the neighboring dorm were on good terms with her and might know her whereabouts.
The door opened, revealing a girl who happened to be one of the few who didn’t get along with Zhang Yiyi. Ye Jin remembered her—Feng Yuan, who had previously spread malicious rumors about her at school. When Yi Yi found out, she had confronted Feng Yuan.
Ye Jin lost interest and turned to leave.
“Hey, wait a moment!” Feng Yuan eyed the Ancient Blade in Ye Jin’s hand, still dripping with black blood, and hesitated. But she was starving, and staying put meant certain death. “Can you take me with you?” she pleaded.
Ye Jin chuckled coldly. “I’m here to find Yi Yi, not to rescue strangers.” She held no goodwill toward this woman.
“I know where she is!” Feng Yuan blurted urgently. “I saw her with your cousin in the cafeteria before the rain started.”
Yu Ruanruan? She certainly knew how to pick her timing.
Ye Jin turned and strode away. “I’ve cleared the zombies in the hallway. You can leave.”
“You’re just going to let me go like that? There are monsters everywhere outside!”
“What? Do you expect to follow me?” Ye Jin thought, did she expect a personal bodyguard?
“I’m going to the cafeteria to find someone. Follow if you want!” Without another glance at Feng Yuan’s reaction, she hurried toward the cafeteria.Feng Yuan was furious – the cafeteria was the most crowded place on campus. Going there now was practically suicide! But she had no choice; she didn’t dare act alone and could only follow.
Ye Jin ahead only focused on clearing the path. Feng Yuan’s safety behind her was none of her concern. In the apocalypse, those who lacked the courage to face even these low-level Zombies wouldn’t survive long.
Feng Yuan wasn’t stupid either. Knowing Ye Jin wouldn’t protect her, she picked up a thick tree branch as a weapon and followed closely behind Ye Jin.
Ye Jin moved with sharp efficiency. From the dormitory to the student cafeteria, Feng Yuan followed behind her without any Zombies getting within two meters.
The cafeteria hall was indeed densely packed with Zombies, but there was no sign of Zhang Yiyi or Yu Ruanruan.
Feng Yuan said anxiously to Ye Jin, “I really saw them in the cafeteria. Maybe they went somewhere else.”
Ye Jin ignored her and headed straight for the cafeteria’s back door. Using her Mental Power, she could sense people in the kitchen.
Sure enough, many Zombies were crowded around the back door, likely attracted by the people inside. Ye Jin drew her blade, each strike fast, precise, and ruthless – only going for the head. They were quickly cleared out.
Seeing the Zombies eliminated through the window, the people inside immediately opened the door.
No wonder Zombies had gathered here – there were quite a few people inside, some with familiar faces. Ye Jin walked over to Zhang Yiyi, who was still feverish and appeared unconscious.
“Ye Jin, don’t touch her! She’ll turn into a monster!” Yu Ruanruan said from nearby.
“Yeah, yeah, we should just throw her out,” someone else chimed in.
Ye Jin’s brow furrowed sharply as she glared fiercely at the speaker. Throw her out? If she had arrived any later, would Zhang Yiyi have been thrown out to feed the Zombies?
The person glared back discontentedly, “It’s true! Someone with a fever just turned into a Zombie!” They pointed to the corner.
There lay a still-transforming Zombie body, its neck half-severed and covered in wounds – likely killed preemptively by them.
“Having a fever doesn’t necessarily mean turning into a Zombie. One might awaken a Special Ability instead.”
Ye Jin added, “Even those bitten by Zombies might awaken Special Abilities!”
To convince them, she released a small Water Orb from her hand.
Indeed, her Special Ability had fully awakened right when the apocalypse began, much faster than in her previous life when it emerged only during crises. Though still slightly feverish, she didn’t understand why.
Everyone stared in shock at the Water Orb in Ye Jin’s hand. What was this?
Someone immediately asked excitedly, “What is that? It looks like movie special effects!”
“This is called a Special Ability. I’m not the only one who has it. Many people awaken them after their fevers break. On my way here, I saw someone using Fireballs to burn Zombies to death.” Ye Jin couldn’t let them think she was extraordinary – these abilities weren’t unique to the apocalypse. She knew some people were powerful even before the end of the world, like that mysterious man earlier.
Previously thinking all feverish people would turn into Zombies, they now felt somewhat unbalanced knowing these people might become exceptionally gifted.
“But this only shows they might become Ability Users, but they could still turn into Zombies! You can’t put us in danger!”
“Exactly! One Zombie could kill us all.”
“Yeah, you can’t disregard our safety like this!”Once someone took the lead, others quickly followed, all chiming in with agreement.
Ye Jin sneered coldly, “Whether Zhang Yiyi awakens a Special Ability or not, I’ll be standing guard right here. If she bites anyone, she’ll bite me first. Any more objections?” She slammed her knife down heavily and glared at the crowd.
Everyone had just witnessed Ye Jin wielding that knife to chop down monsters as easily as slicing watermelons. Even if Zhang Yiyi did turn into a zombie, she wouldn’t be able to harm them first, so they stopped complaining.
They only demanded that the other person still running a fever be thrown out.
Xia Li had never gotten along with this group anyway. As a poor orphan who relied on government aid to attend provincial university, he was practically invisible in this social circle that worshipped the rich and looked down on the poor. With his reclusive personality, nobody cared whether he lived or died.
Ye Jin glanced at the young man. If someone didn’t turn into a zombie within twenty-four hours, it meant they were awakening a Special Ability. It had already been well over twenty-four hours since the acid rain began.
Moreover, there wasn’t the slightest trace of zombification on him. If he were turning into a zombie, his fingernails would have changed color first. He must be awakening a Special Ability.
“Just leave him here. I’ll keep an eye on him too. If he turns into a zombie, I’ll deal with him myself!”
Hearing Ye Jin’s words, they fell silent. Since someone was taking responsibility, they were happy to be free of the burden. After all, it was still a human life.
Ye Jin took a bottle of mineral water from her backpack, to which she had added a few drops of Spirit Spring Water, and fed it to both Zhang Yiyi and Xia Li.
In her previous life, Zhang Yiyi hadn’t fallen unconscious nor awakened any Special Ability, so she didn’t know when Yi Yi would wake up. The Spirit Spring Water should help.
“Ye Jin!”
Yu Ruanruan, who had been watching from the sidelines for a long time, finally found an opportunity to speak with Ye Jin.
Sitting in the corner, Ye Jin had no intention of engaging with her. If there were no one around, she wouldn’t hesitate to stab Yu Ruanruan right through the heart!
Seeing that Ye Jin was ignoring her, Yu Ruanruan persisted, “Ye Jin! Wake up, let’s talk for a while. I’m scared!”
What does your fear have to do with me?
Just as Yu Ruanruan was about to say more, Ye Jin’s eyes snapped open, glaring coldly at her.
“What exactly do you want to say?”
Yu Ruanruan faltered under Ye Jin’s gaze. “I… I just wanted to chat with you for a bit.”
Chat? Chat about how to screw me over?
“Go ahead and say what you want to say.” She was curious to hear what Yu Ruanruan had in mind.
“Hehe, it’s nothing really. I just remembered—didn’t you used to have a jade pendant or something?”
Ye Jin immediately became alert. In her previous life, Yu Ruanruan shouldn’t have known about her Space Jade Pendant at this point in time.
Could Yu Ruanruan have been reborn too?!
Ye Jin decided to test the waters. “I have many jade pendants. Which one are you referring to?”
“The one you used to wear often! The one with the lotus carving!”
“Oh, that one.”
“Could you take it out and let me see it?”
Hmph, as if I’d fall for that!
“It’s just an ordinary jade pendant. I gave it away a long time ago.”
“You gave it away?!”
Yu Ruanruan became agitated immediately, demanding, “How could you give it away? Who did you give it to?!”
That was a Storage Space! How could she just give it away?
Ye Jin sneered inwardly. How ridiculous—it’s my possession, who are you to tell me what to do with it?
It seemed Yu Ruanruan hadn’t been reborn. In her previous life, Yu Ruanruan knew she had given the pendant to Fu Yihao. Since that was the case, she might as well let him take the blame.”I think I gave it to Fu Yihao, but I don’t remember very clearly either.” Ye Jin asked in return, “Why are you asking about this?”
“Nothing… just curious.”
After saying this, Yu Ruanruan didn’t ask anything more and went to rest by the wall corner on Ye Jin’s right side.