Lin Yuzhi turned and bolted the moment he saw them, his mind nearly going blank with shock.
Good grief, why are there so many?!
Had a whole class been having PE when the outbreak started? But this location was quite a distance from the playground; why were they all huddled here?
Now wasn’t the time for questions. He sprinted toward the school wall, intending to climb over it. However, before he could reach it, he saw another swarm of zombies rushing in from the other side. There were dozens of them.
Lin Yuzhi spun around, but the zombies behind him were already closing in. As one lunged, he swung his baseball bat, connecting solidly with its head. He kicked another away and scrambled toward the main road. Fortunately, he knew No. 5 Middle School well and knew every shortcut.
As he sprinted past the front of the administration building, the sound of shattering glass erupted from above. A moment later, a rain of zombies began falling from the upper floors. Lin Yuzhi glanced back to see those who hadn’t died from the fall scrambling up and joining the horde in pursuit. To make matters worse, more zombies were falling from the front of the building, likely drawn by the noise below.
Lin Yuzhi veered onto a narrow side path to avoid being crushed by falling bodies. The path led past a pond with a stone bridge in the center. Just as he crossed, a zombie wearing a school uniform lunged out of the water, grabbing for his ankle.
Lin Yuzhi leaped over its hands by sheer reflex. He glanced back, stunned that there were even zombies in the water. The creature was completely bloated, its face so swollen and distorted it was unrecognizable. A large chunk of torn flesh hung loosely from its cheek. The stench of rot mixed with the metallic smell of blood hit him, making him gag.
He scrambled back as the horde behind him reached the water. Some zombies lunged blindly into the pond, but many others crowded onto the stone bridge. Because the pond wasn’t deep, several zombies simply waded through the water toward him, splashing violently.
Lin Yuzhi didn’t dare stop. He rounded the pond and sprinted forward, only to have several more zombies burst from the nearby flower beds. He swung his bat, knocking them down, and kept running. As he rounded the next corner, he found yet another swarm ahead of him.
He was trapped between the “wolves” in front and the “tigers” behind.
Lin Yuzhi veered onto a grassy slope and finally spotted the school wall. There were a few zombies near the base, and they snarled as they spotted him. Instead of changing direction again, he charged forward, swinging his bat. He cracked one across the skull and knocked another aside. Using the body of a fallen zombie as a stepping stone, he scrambled up the wall.
He nearly collapsed once he reached the top, his strength momentarily failing him. He looked down at the countless zombies swarming the base of the wall. Their blue-and-white uniforms were tattered and stained with massive patches of blood.
Gasping for air, Lin Yuzhi stood atop the wall. There were dozens—maybe a hundred—zombies here. Was there not a single living person left in No. 5 Middle School?
He watched them for a moment, shook the tension out of his hands, and looked ahead. The administration building and the teaching buildings were now a considerable distance away. He had circled back almost to where he started. He realized he would have to find a way to approach from the teaching building’s side. Walking through the campus was suicide; if every student had turned, there could be thousands of them, and that wasn’t even counting the seniors.
By sheer coincidence, summer break at No. 5 Middle School usually began around July 10th. The outbreak had hit in early July. If it had been just a week later, the school would have been empty save for a few security guards and dorm managers.
Lin Yuzhi felt lightheaded, though he couldn’t tell if it was from the running or the heat. He pulled out his phone. It was nearly 8:00 AM. He couldn’t believe so much time had passed since he entered the school. The sun was punishing.
He fished around in his pocket and found a small box—the heatstroke medicine he had bought earlier. He used the scissors he’d taken from the stationary store to pop out two pills, careful not to touch them with his dirty hands to avoid accidental infection.
He didn’t leave the wall. Instead, he walked along it until he reached a spot shaded by overhanging trees. He sat down to rest, pulling at the back of his shirt to let some air in. His back was soaked with sweat, but he didn’t dare take off his jacket.
He had been right to come a day early. If he had waited until the 6th, he wouldn’t have even made it to the classroom, let alone taken the exam.
He didn’t waste his rest time. He pulled out the predicted questions the Academic God had prepared for him and began to memorize them. He didn’t care if he fully understood the logic yet; even just recognizing the patterns would help. Below him, the zombies followed his movement, leaving a trail of bloody handprints on the wall.
Lin Yuzhi stared at the math problems. He couldn’t wrap his head around the concepts yet, but since time was short, he relied on rote memorization. After about fifteen minutes, he felt rested enough to stand.
The horde below was as thick as ever. Instead of heading back into the campus, he turned toward the outside of the wall. There were a few zombies on the street, likely drawn by the noise inside. He spotted three nearby.
He climbed down carefully. The three zombies immediately lunged. Lin Yuzhi dodged the first and swung his bat into the head of the second. As it fell, he knocked the third aside and then finished the first. The bat wasn’t heavy enough to kill with one blow, so he merely disabled them before sprinting toward the road opposite the school gate.
He planned to circle around the outside of the school to reach the teaching building. It was risky, but safer than crossing the central campus. The road was littered with wrecked cars. He saw a zombie gnawing on a driver through an open window. Hearing him approach, it abandoned its meal and gave chase.
Lin Yuzhi didn’t stop. As the zombie neared, he swung his bat, knocking it down. He delivered several more blows until it stopped moving, then stopped next to the car. The man in the driver’s seat had his stomach ripped open and a large chunk of his neck missing.
Suddenly, the driver’s eyes snapped open. He lunged at Lin Yuzhi, snapping his teeth. However, the seatbelt held him back.
Lin Yuzhi pulled the other pair of scissors from his bag—the student version with rounded tips. He aimed for the zombie’s eye and stabbed, but the tool wasn’t sharp enough to penetrate the bone. He took his baseball bat and hammered the handle of the scissors, driving the metal deep into the skull. The zombie went limp.
He dragged the body out of the car and checked the ignition. It worked. He pulled the keys, locked the door, and tucked them away. His pink moped was likely at its limit; if he could use this car to get back to the hospital, it would be much safer.
He sprinted back toward the school wall near the teaching building. A lone zombie met him at the base. He smashed its head with the bat and continued striking until its skull gave way, splashing putrid blood across the grass and his weapon.
The air was sweltering. Sweat dripped down his face. So hot.
Lin Yuzhi looked up at the scorching sun, squinting against the glare. He gave his bat a violent shake, flinging the brain matter and blood off the surface. The once-clean pink bat was now permanently stained.
He climbed the wall and paused at the top to observe. Seeing only two zombies below, he jumped down onto the grass. He dispatched the two creatures quickly and moved toward the side of the teaching building.
His breathing was heavy. The constant sprinting and fighting were taking a toll on his stamina. His arms ached, but he didn’t dare relax. A breeze blew past, carrying the heavy scent of decay.
The stray hairs on his forehead were plastered with sweat. His pink hair was jarringly bright in the sunlight. He swallowed hard and looked toward the front of the first floor. From his angle, the ground floor was a disaster zone. The corridor was littered with bodies in school uniforms—some bitten, some fallen from the floors above. It was a bloodbath.
Lin Yuzhi had seen many bodies in the hospital, but it seemed there were even more here. Perhaps it was because he had bypassed most of the hospital’s interior, whereas here he had to navigate open ground.
He couldn’t be sure if there were zombies inside the first-floor classrooms. He could only see the entrances of the nearest two rooms. The doorways looked clear, but he couldn’t see into the corners. Above him, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors also showed signs of struggle, with blood smeared across the railings. The building had six floors; Class 12 was on the third.
He caught glimpses of shadows moving behind the windows on the upper floors. It was clear there were far more zombies inside the building than on the ground.
Taking a deep breath, he hugged the wall and turned the corner, creeping cautiously toward the end of the first-floor corridor, his eyes locked on the threats ahead.