Lin Yuzhi quickly looked down at the sound of the scream. He saw the two people who had been clutching the bedsheets; they had reached the first floor, but not quite to the ground—they were dangling right in front of the first-floor window.
In their haste to escape, they hadn’t checked if there were zombies inside. As soon as they reached the window, two zombies lunged out, grabbing the lower person and biting straight into his stomach.
Blood sprayed everywhere, accompanied by a blood-curdling shriek. The man tried desperately to kick the zombies away, but one had already ripped open his abdomen. Trembling in agony and terror, he reached up and grabbed his companion’s leg.
“Save me! Save me!”
The companion was already paralyzed with fear. Forget saving him—he didn’t even dare to look down. Because of the noise, more zombies from the first floor rushed into the room, clawing and pulling at the man to drag him inside.
The companion, face pale with horror, tried frantically to climb back up the rope. But the man below, blood gushing from his mouth as he spoke, held onto his foot with a death grip. “Save me, don’t leave!”
“Let go! Let go!” The companion was trapped, unable to climb, while the zombies below began disemboweling the first man. Intestines were pulled out and devoured; blood splattered across the walls.
Witnessing this horrific scene, the companion began kicked the man’s head with all his might, screaming for him to let go. Even with his stomach torn open, the man somehow found the strength of the dying to hold on.
Driven by a feral survival instinct, the companion continued to stomp on the man’s face. However, the zombies inside the room yanked the first man inward. Since the companion’s foot was still caught, he was dragged down with him. He lost his grip on the bedsheets and was pulled into the room. Instantly, the sounds of screams and wet gnawing filled the air.
Lin Yuzhi, who had been about to climb down, witnessed the entire thing. He frowned, knowing there was no saving them now. He looked up toward the fifth floor and saw Xu An peeking out. Though he couldn’t see the other’s expression, he knew the Academic God must be worried.
He couldn’t do anything for those below now, and he needed to leave immediately. The commotion would have alerted every zombie in the vicinity; they would be converging on this spot any second.
He looked around and spotted a tree directly in front of the window next to his. Going down to the first-floor window was suicidal, so he had to find another way. He gripped the sheets and maneuvered himself toward the window of the adjacent room, which was directly across from the tree.
The zombies in that room, drawn by the previous noise, were already crowding the window, snarling and leaving countless bloody handprints on the glass. Lin Yuzhi glanced at them, marveling at the sheer number of zombies in the hospital. The glass was already showing cracks; he couldn’t stay a second longer.
He grabbed the bedsheets and tore off a large, blood-stained section. He did this to ensure that if Xu An pulled the rope back up after he left, the zombies wouldn’t be able to grab it and follow. This was currently his only way in and out; trying to move through the hospital’s interior would be far more difficult. Furthermore, since zombies sometimes retained habits from their past lives, there was a risk they might try to climb the rope. Tearing it was the only way to protect Xu An on the fifth floor.
The tree was still a bit of a distance from the wall. The sound of glass cracking nearby grated on his nerves. Finally, he gripped the shortened sheet, took a leap toward the tree, grabbed a branch, and hooked his legs around the trunk. He let go of the sheet and scrambled down.
Fortunately, he had spent his childhood climbing trees to steal bird eggs; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been this coordinated.
The moment he hit the ground, the glass on the second floor finally gave way with a sharp crack. Zombies began tumbling out of the window, hitting the ground hard. Some landed on rocks, their heads splitting open instantly. However, those that landed in the flower beds scrambled up and immediately began sprinting toward him.
Lin Yuzhi didn’t linger. He pulled his axe from his backpack, buried it in the neck of the nearest zombie, and kicked it away. Then, he fished the car key from his pocket. He pressed the unlock button while sprinting toward the wall, dodging another lunging zombie. If he couldn’t find the car, he’d just have to climb the fence. He didn’t believe zombies could climb walls.
Just as he was beginning to think the key wouldn’t work, he heard the distinct chirp of a lock disengaging nearby.
“Mom, you really do love your son!” Lin Yuzhi shouted, sprinting toward the sound. His luck was holding out—of all the cars parked in various lots, the one belonging to this key was right within his reach.
More zombies were emerging from around the corner behind him. As he ran toward the sound, a group of zombies also rushed out from the path ahead.
“Wait, Mom, you can’t just protect me halfway!” he grumbled at the zombies in front, but his pace didn’t slacken. The horde behind him was even larger; turning back meant certain death.
Finally, just as he was about to collide with the two converging groups, he found the vehicle.
But… why was it a moped?
Looking at the pink moped parked next to a black sedan, he felt a bit conflicted. He liked the color, but was a moped really up to the task? There was no time to debate its merits; it seemed this was his only option.
While running, he shoved his axe back into his bag, leaped onto the moped, inserted the key, and twisted the throttle. He swung the front around and sped off toward the path ahead.
Luckily, he knew the hospital layout well and knew where all the gates were. A zombie lunged at him from the front, and he kicked it aside. The moped wobbled from the momentum, but he quickly stabilized it, speeding forward while simultaneously pulling on his helmet. If he crashed, at least he wouldn’t crack his skull open.
Bypassing the inpatient building, he headed for the relatively isolated North Gate. The main entrance was the South Gate and the side entrance for the inpatient department was the East Gate; the North Gate was in the back, so there were fewer people.
There were still plenty of zombies, though—mostly doctors and patients who had wandered out from the first floor. The horde behind him was relentless. He twisted the throttle to the limit. Having grown up driving three-wheelers and mopeds, he handled the vehicle with ease. He had to keep it at max speed, or the zombies would catch him.
Finally, after a sharp turn, he sped out of the hospital and onto the main road. The streets were littered with wrecked cars and wandering zombies. Lin Yuzhi didn’t dare stop, praying that the moped’s battery would last until he reached No. 5 Middle School.
The road was a scene of devastation. Only a few days had passed, yet it looked like years had gone by.
Back at the hospital, Xu An watched until Lin Yuzhi disappeared from sight on the pink electric scooter, but he still couldn’t relax. He had seen the hordes of zombies—even those that fell from the second floor and landed in twisted heaps managed to get back up and run with terrifying speed. The nature of this virus was truly horrific.
He quickly pulled the bedsheets back up to prevent any zombies from grabbing them. He noticed the bottom section had been torn off and knew Lin Yuzhi had done it because of the zombies on the first floor. He had watched those two people get dragged inside, unable to do anything. If the sheets hadn’t been torn, the zombies might have grabbed them after finishing their meal and climbed up.
After pulling the rope in, he remained by the window, waiting.
Lin Yuzhi’s moped was fairly fast. No. 5 Middle School wasn’t in the city center, but it was close. He was a local who had traversed every inch of Lin’an, and he had actually attended No. 5 Middle School himself. Consequently, he didn’t even need the map provided by the Scholar System. In about half an hour, he arrived.
Instead of approaching the school directly, he parked a short distance away and found a spot to hide the scooter. Conveniently, there was a shop nearby that sold textbooks.
Today was the 5th; the exam wasn’t until tomorrow. He had time. Since he was already here, he decided to find the books Xu An wanted now, so he wouldn’t be in a frantic rush when he left the school later.
Recalling the practice books Xu An had mentioned, he crouched in a corner and watched the zombies on the street ahead. There were many, but fewer than there had been at the primary school—likely because the high school students hadn’t been dismissed yet when the outbreak started. If that was the case, the interior of the school was probably a purgatory, just like the hospital.
He looked at a nearby wall. Entering through the main gate was impossible; he’d have to climb over a fence. As a former student, he knew the layout of the teaching buildings and classrooms well.
He went to the bookstore first. The glass door was wide open, smeared with blood. Lin Yuzhi stepped inside and surveyed the area. Once he was sure there was no immediate danger, he looked back outside. The zombies hadn’t noticed him, so he carefully closed the glass door.
It was then that he heard a faint, wet gnawing sound coming from the back. He gripped his axe and moved inward. Rows of shelves filled with books of all kinds lined the room.
Stepping forward cautiously, he finally saw a zombie in the back corner. It was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and was hunched over a corpse on the floor. Judging by the victim’s clothes, it looked like the shop owner.
The zombie turned its head. Its eyes were blood-red, its face was rotting with chunks of flesh hanging off, and its mouth was dripping with gore. As it opened its mouth, blood spilled out, and the stench of decay hit Lin Yuzhi’s nose. It was still clutching a large piece of flesh in its hand.
Lin Yuzhi instinctively took a step back, raising his axe. The zombie lunged, snarling. Lin Yuzhi swung his axe into its head, the blade lodging itself in the skull once more.
He stepped on the zombie to pull the axe free and then struck again, stopping only when the head was completely split open. Then, he delivered two more blows to the owner’s head for good measure. He didn’t know when the owner had died, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
His hand felt numb again. The axe dealt heavy damage, but the weight was hard to manage. He realized he needed to find a more suitable weapon.
Just as he was about to look for the practice books Xu An had requested, he heard a sound behind him.
Bang—Bang—
Something was hitting a door. Lin Yuzhi turned toward the sound and saw a closed door at the back of the shop. The banging grew louder and more violent.