Xu An looked at the person who, just a moment ago, looked like he wanted to stay eight hundred meters away from any practice paper and never touch one again, yet had suddenly turned around and claimed he wanted more.
It truly seemed as though he was desperate to make progress.
In that case, perhaps I should give him some simpler ones, Xu An thought.
He then said, “Alright, I’ll give you some simpler problems so you can get a feel for the types of questions.”
“Great, great! Anything is fine,” Lin Yuzhi nodded hurriedly. As long as it was a practice paper, he didn’t care what was on it.
Xu An quickly wrote out some new problems. They were very simple. He tore the pages out and handed them to Lin Yuzhi.
Although Lin Yuzhi still felt a bit dizzy looking at them, the thought of earning points kept him going. If I’m dizzy, I’m dizzy. I’ll get used to it soon enough.
Picking up his pen, he sprawled out on the floor again to write.
Xu An continued grading the previous work, though there wasn’t much to “grade.” Almost nothing Lin Yuzhi had done was correct. However, some problems did have steps written out; Xu An could tell Lin Yuzhi had wracked his brain to come up with them, even if they were wrong.
This was still a step in the right direction. At least he was writing down steps now, unlike the previous papers where he had left everything blank.
Seeing Lin Yuzhi scratching his head and biting his pen again, Xu An thought that these problems still seemed too difficult for him.
Maybe I should make them even simpler next time.
But if he made them any simpler, he’d practically be regressing to primary school levels.
He pulled his gaze back and began writing down the solutions and logic for the problems he had just assigned. Lin Yuzhi’s foundation was far too weak; to help him catch up, Xu An would have to break everything down into tiny pieces and feed it to him bit by bit.
Silence fell over the hospital room again, broken only by the rustling sound of pens on paper.
The afternoon sun shone through the glass, making it feel as though they were truly in a high school classroom, surrounded by classmates diligently solving problems.
The only difference was that high school afternoons were sweltering, unlike the coolness they felt now. The hospital’s power system hadn’t failed yet, so the air conditioning was still running.
Once the power went out, the real suffering would likely begin.
This paper was simple. Although Lin Yuzhi still found it a bit difficult, he managed to finish it, even though it took a considerable amount of time.
Fortunately, it wasn’t a formal exam. In his current state, he might not have finished before the timer ran out because he would stop and obsess over every problem he didn’t know.
Unless he decided to just write complete nonsense, in which case he would just skip, skip, skip.
During the process, Xu An reminded him a few times to move on, and only then did Lin Yuzhi reluctantly look at the subsequent questions.
Lin Yuzhi handed the completed paper to Xu An and immediately checked the Scholar Store.
Sure enough, his points had jumped from thirty-one to forty-one.
It really does add points! It really works!
Although he only had forty-one points, as long as he did enough papers, the points would slowly climb.
He could afford to spend twenty points to exchange for a bottle of water. He hadn’t had a drink since yesterday and felt like he was about to die of thirst. He’d use the other twenty for some biscuits; those were better for filling the stomach.
However, the bag he was carrying was too small to fit everything, and he couldn’t exactly tell Xu An that he had a “Scholar Store” system.
He looked up, glanced around, and considered his options. “Academic God, are you thirsty?”
“A little,” Xu An said, his voice sounding noticeably raspy.
Lin Yuzhi heard it; he was clearly thirsty too.
It made sense. From what he could deduce, Xu An likely hadn’t had anything to drink since yesterday, just like him.
Lin Yuzhi crawled over to the door to listen. He could still hear the sounds of zombies outside, but they seemed faint.
Perhaps he could pretend to go out, grab the items in a neighboring room, and come right back. It was risky, but it should be fine if he was careful.
He picked up the blood-stained axe leaning against the wall and looked at Xu An. “The zombies outside seem to have drifted away. I’m going to look for some water. Academic God, you stay here. Don’t come to the door and don’t make a sound; zombies can hear you.”
After speaking, he carefully began to move the bed back to the side. Fortunately, the bed had wheels, so he could move it without making much noise. The bedside table wasn’t large, so he just lifted it and set it aside.
Xu An wanted to stop him, but Lin Yuzhi had already moved the furniture and was standing at the door with his axe.
Lin Yuzhi pressed his ear to the door and listened for a while. Once he was sure there was no sound outside, he unlocked it. He didn’t open it immediately but turned back to give Xu An an “OK” gesture. Only then did he open the door and poke his pink-haired head out to look left and right.
The floor was covered in blood, and there were bloody handprints all over the walls. A severed arm lay on the ground.
Then, he heard a faint gnawing sound.
Looking over, he saw a zombie crouched there, chewing on that very arm. Coincidentally, that zombie was missing an arm of its own.
Lin Yuzhi looked at the arm and then at the zombie. The sleeve on the arm matched the clothes the zombie was wearing—this zombie was eating its own limb.
The zombie noticed him and let out a snarl. A moment later, it lunged toward him.
Lin Yuzhi raised his axe and swung. He missed the first time, hitting the zombie’s shoulder, which caused dark, putrid blood to pour out.
The zombie snarled and tried to pounce on him. Lin Yuzhi had no choice but to kick it away. When it lunged again, he buried the axe in its head.
The skull split open with a large gash, splashing putrid blood and brain matter everywhere. The stench of blood was overwhelming.
In fact, the metallic smell in the hallway was already incredibly thick, and there was a faint, underlying scent of rot. He had smelled it when he escaped from the restroom yesterday, which was why he could identify it so quickly now.
He glanced at the zombie and gave it one more blow for good measure before looking around. Other zombies were nearby but hadn’t noticed him yet.
He shook his arm. This axe was too difficult to use; he really needed to work out. His hand felt numb after just one hit.
Treading softly, he headed to the left. He remembered Xu An saying that the patient in the room to the right had been bitten when they were admitted, so going that way definitely wasn’t safe.
The situation to the left should be better.
The first door was closed; he wasn’t sure if anyone was inside. He didn’t risk going in and instead walked a bit further to the next room.
The door was slightly ajar and covered in blood. There was a massive dent in it, suggesting it had been forced open.
Even though he knew zombies could break through doors, seeing it in person was still unnerving. These zombies were terrifying—they were fast and incredibly strong.
He used his axe to carefully push the door open. The room inside was a disaster. Furniture was scattered everywhere; the bed and wardrobe were knocked over. It looked like someone had tried to barricade the door, but the zombies had smashed through.
After a quick scan to make sure there were no zombies, he carefully closed the door and began searching for useful items.
A few steps in, he saw a corpse that had been half-eaten. It hadn’t turned into a zombie, likely because the head was nowhere to be found.
He soon discovered where the head had gone when he heard a growling sound from near the door.
Lin Yuzhi looked back and saw a bloody head sitting by the door, its mouth snapping as it tried to bite him. There were trail marks on the floor where it had rolled; it had likely been kicked there by a zombie.
He walked over and swung his axe down on it. Even though it was just a head and couldn’t walk, it could still roll. If someone accidentally bumped into it and it rolled over to bite them, that would be a senseless tragedy. The best thing to do was to put it out of its misery.
Once the zombie head stopped moving, he opened the wardrobe.
Inside were some clothes and a black backpack, likely left behind by a family member of the patient. What luck! I just needed a bag, and here one is.
He quickly pulled the backpack out. It contained some clothes and a bottle of shampoo. He left the clothes but took the shampoo before putting the backpack on.
He had only come out to find something to hold items, making it easier for him to “find” things from the store later.
Before leaving, he noticed a car key lying near the bed. He picked it up and saw a circular logo on it. It probably belonged to the family member, though he didn’t know where the car was parked. If it was somewhere near the building, they might be able to use it to escape.
Lin Yuzhi walked to the window and looked down. There were several cars below. There was a lot of blood on the ground and even a few corpses wearing hospital gowns, looking as though they had fallen from the upper floors.
They lay there motionless, their heads likely shattered. Since they were quite far away, he could only see bits and pieces.
He was about to try the key when he heard a noise outside the door.
Because the door wouldn’t close properly, he had only left it ajar. Almost the instant he heard the sound, he ducked behind the curtain and crouched on the floor, listening to the movement at the door while peeking through a gap.
He saw a zombie slowly approach the cracked door. A moment later, it pushed its way in and stumbled inside. It was wearing a white lab coat—a doctor from the hospital.
The coat was covered in blood, and fresh blood was dripping from its mouth. It seemed like it had noticed him, yet also like it hadn’t.
Lin Yuzhi looked toward the door to make sure there were no other zombies before giving a soft whistle.
The zombie snapped its head toward him and immediately snarled, charging forward.
Lin Yuzhi stood up. Before the zombie could pounce, he raised his axe and brought it down heavily on its forehead. The axe got stuck in the bone. He kicked the zombie away and struck it again.
Once the zombie was completely still, he grabbed his axe and headed for the door. He didn’t plan on staying any longer in case more zombies arrived. One was manageable, but two or more would be hard to handle.
Poking his pink-haired head out to check the coast was clear, he hurried back to Room 505 and used the key card to unlock the door.
Once inside, he locked the door and moved the barricades back into place.
After Lin Yuzhi had left, Xu An had picked up his fruit knife just in case a zombie got in. Seeing it was Lin Yuzhi, he breathed a sigh of relief. “How is it out there?”
Lin Yuzhi finished barricading the door, put down his axe, and swung his arms to relax. His hand was going numb. He shook his head. “Zombies everywhere. There are bodies no matter where you look. But I found some biscuits and mineral water. If we’re careful, it should be enough.”
He didn’t specify the exact amount, just a general estimate, to make it easier to “find” more later.
He took off the backpack and discreetly exchanged points for a bottle of water and biscuits in the store. He handed the water to Xu An. “Have some.”
“You drink first, I’m fine,” Xu An shook his head.
Lin Yuzhi thought about it and agreed. I should find a cup next time, though. Drinking from the same bottle feels a bit… strange.
But now wasn’t the time for such thoughts. He took a sip and then handed it to Xu An. His throat finally felt better; earlier, it had felt like it was on fire.
Xu An looked at the offered bottle, hesitated for a moment, and then drank from it. He didn’t drink much, just a shallow sip to moisten his throat, before handing it back and thanking him.
Lin Yuzhi waved him off. “Food is included, so water definitely has to be too.” He then pulled out a few packs of biscuits and stuffed them into Xu An’s hands.
Next, he took the car key he had found and went to the window, staring at the cars below.
“What’s wrong?” Xu An asked, puzzled.
Lin Yuzhi shook the car key. “I found this in the room next door. I don’t know if the car is down there, but if we’re lucky and it is, we can use it to leave if no rescue comes.”