The next morning, Lin Yuzhi woke up and immediately got busy scavenging for more bedsheets, though he didn’t dare venture too far.
Because Xu An’s ward was close to the stairwell, there weren’t as many zombies nearby, but the deeper one went into the floor, the more crowded it became. Several times, as soon as he approached the inner corridor, a swarm of zombies would rush toward him, forcing him to hide in empty wards.
Eventually, he decided to head down to the fourth floor—or rather, climb down to it using the sheets. The fourth floor consisted of multi-bed wards, meaning there were plenty of duvet covers and linens to be found.
After knotting the sheets together one by one, he tossed them down to test the length; it was just about right. He pulled them back up and bundled them near the window. He didn’t want any zombies to develop a “climbing habit” and follow the sheets back up to them.
Meanwhile, Xu An’s predicted questions were ready, written out in great detail. Lin Yuzhi sat beside him, glanced at the notes, and found one problem strangely familiar. “This looks so familiar. Have I done this before?”
“There was a similar type on the paper I gave you yesterday. I just changed the numbers so you could get a feel for the pattern,” Xu An explained. He was worried that if Lin Yuzhi only practiced a type once or twice, he would panic during the actual test. By changing the variables and the scenarios, he was reinforcing Lin Yuzhi’s memory so he wouldn’t freeze up when facing something similar.
Lin Yuzhi gave him a thumbs-up. “Makes sense. I feel like it’s already etched into my brain.” As he spoke, he took a pen and began working through the solution alongside the notes.
Due to the limited time and the sheer number of subjects—and the fact that Lin Yuzhi might not be able to memorize everything—Xu An only focused on the most typical, high-probability questions. Although Xu An didn’t fully understand Lin Yuzhi’s obsession with this specific test, these “typical” problems were the most likely to appear on any baseline assessment.
July 5, 2027, 6:30 AM
Lin’an City People’s Hospital
Lin Yuzhi tucked his axe into his backpack, leaving the head exposed; he had even taken the time to wipe it clean. He glanced out the window—it was so high his vertigo almost flared up. But he had no choice. He had to reach the school today so he could start the exam tomorrow morning.
He pulled a few packs of biscuits and the last bottle of Bear Brand water from his bag and placed them on the table. “I probably won’t be back until the seventh,” he said. “I’ll leave these here. If you’re hungry or thirsty, eat up. Don’t make any noise, don’t open the door, and if someone calls out, don’t go out. The zombies can see people and hear us talking. I’ll message you as soon as I’m back on the seventh.”
As he spoke, he took Xu An’s phone and added him on WeChat. Xu An’s profile picture was a simple line-art cat drawn on paper; it was quite cute. His username was simple: XA—evidently his initials.
Curious about the drawing, Lin Yuzhi asked, “Did you draw this?”
Xu An nodded. “I drew it in a textbook when I was bored. I thought it was cute, so I made it my avatar.”
“So you like cats,” Lin Yuzhi remarked. He saw Xu An nod again—he actually did.
Xu An noticed Lin Yuzhi’s avatar as well: a fish-shaped biscuit. Seeing his gaze, Lin Yuzhi laughed. “It’s a fish biscuit. It sounds like my name. My mom gave me the nickname ‘Little Dried Fish’ (Xiao Yu Gan). Isn’t it cute? She loves it.”
He didn’t linger on the topic, turning back to the logistics of his departure. “The signal shouldn’t cut out just yet. I’ll be back before nightfall on the seventh. When the time comes, throw the sheets back down. It’ll be a bit of a struggle, but if we take it slow, it should work. Oh, right—my scissors.” He placed his scissors by Xu An’s hand.
He continued, “Just in case—and I mean just in case—if a zombie tries to climb up the sheets after me, use these to cut the fabric. These scissors are very sharp, so don’t worry. I’ll find another way back up if that happens. Don’t worry about me. I’ll bring you a big watermelon when I get back—the chilled kind.” He laughed as he said it, as if he were simply heading out to a local market. His pink hair seemed to fluff up with his confidence.
Xu An nodded before adding, “We still don’t know the full habits of the zombies. Besides sight and sound, they might be able to smell. You should find something with a strong scent to mask your own. It’s not certain, just a theory.”
“Now that you mention it, I noticed they were acting weird when I was outside the inpatient building,” Lin Yuzhi recalled. “I used a stone to lure them away, but when they were still some distance from the entrance, they suddenly turned and ran straight toward me. I don’t think they saw me because I threw the stone in the opposite direction.”
It had felt strange at the time, and now that Xu An mentioned it, it seemed even more suspicious. He then told Xu An about hiding under the reception desk—how the zombies had been chasing him but didn’t follow him inside once he was under cover.
“Your first hiding spot was the restroom, the second was under the reception desk, and the third is my ward,” Xu An noted. “All three places have very strong scents. It’s highly likely they do have a sense of smell. If that’s the case, you must be extremely, extremely careful.”
Xu An couldn’t help but worry. The more traits these zombies possessed, the greater the threat they posed.
“Got it. I’ll see if I can find some soy sauce, cooking wine, or vinegar on my way down. I’ll pack some just in case.” Lin Yuzhi secretly hoped they were overthinking it. If zombies really had a sense of smell, they would essentially be living trackers—virtually invincible.
After a few more instructions, he went to the window and looked down. Seeing no zombies directly below, he tossed the knotted sheets out. He kept the end short, ensuring it didn’t quite reach the ground.
Lin Yuzhi was still a bit panicked—climbing down from the fifth floor was no joke. He turned back to Xu An. “Academic God, lend me some of your exam luck.” He grabbed Xu An’s hand to “borrow” the fortune.
Xu An didn’t let go, letting him hold his hand. He had never believed in “exam luck” before—though many people had tried to borrow it from him in the past—but now he truly hoped he possessed it.
Lin Yuzhi felt a surge of energy. Was this the legendary power of the God of Exams? He looked at Xu An and said, “Just wait for your Brother Yu to bring that watermelon back.” With that, he grabbed the sheets and climbed out the window.
A wave of heat immediately hit him. Even though it was only 6:00 AM, the air was already sweltering. Without air conditioning and wearing long sleeves and pants for protection, he was instantly drenched in sweat. As he climbed down, his palms grew slick, and he barely dared to look down.
The ward directly below Room 505 on the fourth floor was empty. He had solved the zombies there when he broke the glass earlier and had closed the door, so he wasn’t worried about that floor. His main concern was the third. He carefully braced his feet against a protrusion in the wall and crouched to look down, keeping the sheet wrapped around his hand to prevent a fatal slip.
There were no zombies on the third floor, but there were two survivors.
Both of them jumped in fright when they saw a head peek into their window—a pink head hanging upside down. Once they realized it wasn’t a zombie, they rushed over.
Lin Yuzhi breathed a sigh of relief. No zombies. The two people on the third floor quickly opened the window. “Are you here to rescue us?”
“No, I’m from upstairs,” Lin Yuzhi said, pointing upward.
The two were visibly disappointed, but they quickly regained their composure. “Then where are you going? Are you escaping?”
“I’m going to pick up my nephew at school,” Lin Yuzhi said, not wanting to explain further. He fabricated the excuse and continued his descent.
The two looked at each other, then grabbed chairs and prepared to follow him down. Lin Yuzhi noticed the movement and glanced up. He knew they would follow him the moment he saw them; he couldn’t stop them, since the “rope” passed right by their window. As long as they didn’t cause trouble, he didn’t care; he just wanted to reach the ground as fast as possible.
However, as he reached the second floor, a zombie suddenly slammed against the window. The room inside was a nightmare—blood everywhere and several corpses. A moment later, the zombie began violently bashing the glass, trying to shatter it. The noise attracted more zombies from the hallway, and soon three or four more rushed into the room.
Clearly, the second floor was far more crowded than the ones above.
The glass couldn’t withstand the combined force of so many zombies. It shattered, and hands immediately began clawing at the sheets, trying to pull the rope inside.
Lin Yuzhi frowned. He knew he had to deal with these zombies if he wanted to pass. He did a quick count, wrapped one hand tightly in the sheet, and used the other to swing his axe into the upper pane of glass.
The upper pane shattered instantly, and the zombies reached upward, having spotted him. Falling glass shards sliced into several of them. One large shard embedded itself directly into a zombie’s neck, and putrid blood poured out, but the creature felt nothing. it just kept lunging toward Lin Yuzhi, its mouth agape in a snarl.
Lin Yuzhi waited for the right moment. Gripping the sheet, he kicked off the wall and swung himself hard. He loosened his grip on the sheet for a split second to slide down rapidly. Just as he reached the level of the zombies, he swung back in, kicking the lead zombie squarely in the chest and sending it flying back into the room. He followed through, rolling into the second-floor ward.
Fortunately, the zombies weren’t in a single cluster, or he never would have made it in. He rolled across the floor and scrambled to the door, slamming it shut.
Immediately, the remaining zombies in the room rushed him. Lin Yuzhi raised his axe and buried it in the face of the first one. Over the past two days of killing, he had found a certain rhythm with the weapon, so he wasn’t as exhausted by the weight and could dispatch them quickly. He kicked another lunging zombie away, retreated a step, and swung again.
Up on the fifth floor, Xu An was gripping the end of the sheets tightly. Even though sitting in a wheelchair meant he couldn’t offer much leverage, it was the only way he could feel somewhat useful. He noticed the sudden tension and shifting in the sheets and knew something had gone wrong below. He leaned out the window as far as he dared, but all he could see were two other people hanging onto the rope. He couldn’t see Lin Yuzhi at all. He was gripped by anxiety but didn’t dare make a sound.
Inside the second-floor ward, Lin Yuzhi had already dispatched two zombies. The exhaustion from using the axe was setting in, but he didn’t dare slacken. As another zombie lunged, he swung and caught it in the neck. He kicked it away and turned to the last one, buried the axe in its shoulder, and then quickly struck its head.
The two people from the window above had reached the second floor by now, but they only spared him a glance before frantically continuing their descent.
Lin Yuzhi ignored them. He made sure the last zombie was dead and didn’t forget to deliver a finishing blow to the one whose head was hanging by a thread. Its head was nearly severed, yet it was still trying to move.
The room was a mess of putrid blood and the sickening stench of decay. He wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve and prepared to continue his climb down.
But just as he reached the window, a commotion erupted from below.
“Get away! Get away! Help!” A piercing scream rang out, loud enough to echo through the entire hospital.
Author’s Note:
Little Fish: “Little Fish” is the name Mom gave me.
Little Cat: I like cats, and I like little fish.