Lin Yuzhi looked down at his current outfit—just a tank top and a pair of mid-length shorts. Before hearing Xu An’s analysis, his only thought had been to avoid being bitten to death.
Now, seeing things clearly, even a scratch could lead to infection.
He had traveled all the way from Lin’an Elementary School to the People’s Hospital dressed like this; the chances of having been scratched were a hundredfold.
Shuddering at the thought, he muttered, “Mom’s spirit must be protecting me.”
He then turned his gaze back to Xu An. “Scholar God, do you have any spare clothes? I’m starting to panic. I won’t feel safe unless I’m more covered up.”
“In the wardrobe,” Xu An said, pointing toward it. He added, “But they might not fit you properly.”
Lin Yuzhi felt that his life was more important than a perfect fit. At the very least, extra layers would provide some peace of mind.
He waved his hand dismissively. “It’s fine, it’s fine! If they’re too big, I’ll fold them; if they’re too small, I’ll stretch them out. I can definitely make them work.” With that, he pulled a brown bag out of the wardrobe.
Reaching inside, his fingers brushed against a transparent plastic card holder with a lanyard attached—the kind doctors and nurses often wore around their necks.
Finding nothing inside the card holder, he didn’t give it much thought and pulled out a set of casual clothes: a white jacket and black trousers.
He had initially worried they would be too small, given how thin Xu An appeared, but once he put them on, he realized they were actually quite large. The trousers even dragged slightly on the floor.
Lin Yuzhi stood at 182 cm. Was Xu An actually taller than him?
Bewildered, he asked, “Scholar God, how tall are you?”
“186 cm,” Xu An replied, looking up at him with a hint of curiosity.
He immediately understood Lin Yuzhi’s confusion; the clothes were clearly a bit oversized on him.
Lin Yuzhi clicked his tongue. Taller than him? That didn’t seem fair.
Looking at Xu An sitting in the wheelchair, he hadn’t gotten the impression that the man was taller than himself.
Rubbing his chin, he leaned in closer to inspect Xu An’s legs, trying to figure out where those extra centimeters had come from.
Xu An looked at him, utterly perplexed. “What is it?”
“Do you drink milk every single morning?” Lin Yuzhi looked up at him. He was convinced that daily milk consumption was the secret.
He remembered seeing Xu An drinking milk once back in the day, whereas he himself had barely touched the stuff growing up. He concluded that the few centimeters of difference must be entirely due to the milk.
When Xu An nodded in affirmation, Lin Yuzhi immediately pulled out his phone and navigated to the Top Student Store. He checked the price of milk: it was cheap, only two points.
Excellent. He was actually looking forward to the tests now. He was going to have a bottle of milk every day.
He nodded to himself, feeling inspired.
Xu An had no idea what was going on in Lin Yuzhi’s head. He simply found the boy incredibly cheerful, as if the horrors outside hadn’t truly touched him.
He looked at the pink head of hair hovering near him; it looked so fluffy. He really wanted to reach out and touch it.
Of course, he didn’t act on the impulse. Once Lin Yuzhi sat back down, Xu An went back to writing the assessment problems.
For lunch, Lin Yuzhi only had two small pieces of chocolate. Since Xu An was busy with the questions, Lin Yuzhi spent his time monitoring the situation outside the door and peering through the window to see what was happening on the streets and in the opposite buildings.
Occasionally, he saw cars speeding past, followed by swarms of zombies giving chase.
When there was absolutely nothing to do, he browsed the Top Student Store, his eyes gleaming with greed. Sooner or later, he would buy everything in there.
Eventually, he checked the class group chat. The number of people talking had dwindled even further. Someone was asking if they should try to head out.
After a moment’s thought, Lin Yuzhi decided to speak up. He warned them not to go outside and shared everything he had learned today. As for what they should do next, he honestly didn’t know.
He tried calling emergency services (110) during the lulls, but the line never went through, remaining perpetually silent.
Ding—
A moment later, a new text message arrived. It was a municipal emergency alert.
He glanced at it and quickly handed the phone to Xu An. “The city sent a message! It says there’s a city-wide ‘riot’ in Lin’an and we should all stay indoors.”
Regarding the zombie outbreak itself, the authorities didn’t seem to understand the nature of the crisis yet, only referring to it as “rioting.” They urged survivors to stay home and avoid going out unless absolutely necessary. If they did have to go out, they were told to take defensive measures.
The message was a mass broadcast, similar to the “Welcome” texts one receives when entering a different province.
Xu An glanced at the screen and nodded. “It seems we have no choice but to stay here and wait for rescue.”
Lin Yuzhi nodded, but he wondered if rescue would ever actually come.
He didn’t know for sure, but he felt this infection was exceptionally severe. Thinking back to the movies he’d seen, he said, “I think this infection is exactly like the zombie movies. You get bitten or scratched, and you turn into a man-eating living corpse. In the movies, it’s always a global outbreak. Unless they develop a serum, I don’t think it can be controlled.”
“Do you think they are ‘zombies’?” Xu An asked.
Lin Yuzhi nodded. “Yeah, it’s really bad. I saw a mother who had been partially eaten—her intestines were literally hanging out—but she still crawled up to try and eat me. It’s just like the movies. So, that’s what I call them now. And the weirdest part? Yesterday, when we were hiding in the bathroom, a zombie actually knew how to open the door. I don’t know why. Scholar God, you’re smart; why do you think that happened?”
“Perhaps they retain some of their habits from when they were alive?” Xu An hadn’t seen it himself, so he could only offer a simple deduction based on Lin Yuzhi’s description.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yuzhi couldn’t help but slap Xu An’s arm enthusiastically. “Yes, yes, yes! That’s it! I was trying to think of that phrase all day yesterday but couldn’t. ‘Retaining habits from when they were alive.’ I thought they were evolving or something. As expected of the Scholar God!”
How can one head be so smart? If he had a brain like that, he would definitely get top marks on every exam. He’d be swimming in points.
The thought made him giddy with excitement. As he laughed, his pink hair swayed, and the little cowlick on top of his head wobbled along with it.
Xu An watched the spirited cowlick and felt a bit of Lin Yuzhi’s infectious joy.
He then handed over the notebook filled with problems. “Alright, that’s enough for now. Try doing these. If you run into something you don’t know, just skip it. I just want to see your baseline.”
Lin Yuzhi’s excitement vanished instantly. He deflated, and even the cowlick on his head seemed to go limp and wilt.
He scratched his head and took the notebook with a sense of dread. Looking up, he asked, “Uhh… what if I don’t know how to do a single one?”
He wasn’t joking; there was a very real possibility he would be completely clueless.
“It’s okay,” Xu An said, watching the wilted cowlick. He could tell the boy was genuinely afraid of the test, but it had to be done. “Even if you can’t solve a single one, it will still show me your baseline. But don’t just guess randomly—write down whatever thoughts you have.”