Through the crack in the door, Lin Yuzhi peeked outside.
He saw many bloody handprints and smear marks on the walls, and a lot of bloodstains on the floor. However, it was exceptionally quiet, and not a single figure could be seen.
Have they all gone out?
He wondered in confusion, then looked towards the other side.
But just at that moment, a bloody hand suddenly reached over from the edge of the wall. In the next second, a head lunged in after it. Its face was chewed into a bloody pulp, and its lips seemed to have been entirely gnawed off, leaving a row of teeth exposed—it was exceptionally terrifying.
Even in this state, the head could still move. It opened its mouth wide, letting out a roar, and its hand reached in alongside it, attempting to bite Lin Yuzhi.
This sudden scene scared the group so much they almost screamed out loud.
The person next to him holding the door hastily pushed against it, absolutely not daring to let go.
Lin Yuzhi also subconsciously grabbed the door handle and smashed it down toward the zombie’s head. Using the glass end, he smashed it heavily, not daring to stop for even a moment.
The girl beside them also reacted, rushing to help hold the door.
At the same time, the man holding the mop tried to push the zombie outside. When he couldn’t push it out, he joined in smashing the zombie’s head.
Finally, with this strike from Lin Yuzhi, the zombie’s skull was directly smashed open, its brains spilling all over the floor.
The stench of rot mixed with the smell of blood was so nauseating that the few of them almost threw up.
Lin Yuzhi hurriedly pushed the zombie out. The next second, they quickly shut the door.
None of them dared to breathe loudly, afraid of drawing the attention of the zombies outside. Especially since they had just beaten a zombie to death, there was a good chance the commotion had been heard outside.
They lowered their heads, clenching their teeth tightly.
Lin Yuzhi also leaned against the door, afraid that zombies might rush over and bust it open.
Fortunately, they waited for a while and there was no movement outside. It seemed they hadn’t attracted any zombies.
However, it actually made sense. Their current position was quite far from the entrance. If those zombies were all outside, it was normal for them not to notice.
But just in case, when they opened the door again, they still only opened a tiny crack.
Lin Yuzhi looked out through the crack. The zombie on the ground was completely dead, its skull entirely smashed open, with hair and brains spilled all over the floor.
He forced himself to hold it in to keep from throwing up.
After doing a rough sweep and seeing no zombies, he looked at the man holding the mop. “Stick the mirror out and take a look.”
“Mm-hmm.” The man nodded, stood by the door, and carefully stuck the end tied with the mirror outside.
The mirror wasn’t big; he needed to adjust the angle properly to barely see.
As the mirror was fully exposed, the scene outside appeared in its reflection.
The stationery store was a complete mess. Items were scattered everywhere, and large sections of cabinets had fallen to the ground, but no zombies were in sight.
Looking further outside, they found no zombies either. Who knows if they had gone somewhere else.
Seeing this, he quickly pulled the mirror back in and shut the door at the same time.
“How is it?” Lin Yuzhi asked in a low voice.
The man shook his head. “None. There are no zombies inside the store, and I didn’t see any at the entrance either. But I don’t know what it looks like further out.”
Visibility was limited; that was as far as they could see.
Lin Yuzhi thought for a moment. “Do you guys have any plans after getting out?”
The current situation was the best time to leave, but they still had to see what the conditions were like further outside.
But before leaving, it was best to confirm their destinations first. Otherwise, running around like headless flies once outside would be worse than just staying put here.
The three of them looked at each other. The girl said, “I have to go home. My parents are still there. I messaged them last night, and they wanted to come find me. I told them not to. I have to go back.”
She was terrified of her parents coming to look for her. Right now, she couldn’t even protect herself. If they came looking for her, she didn’t dare imagine whether something might happen to them on the way.
Lin Yuzhi nodded, then looked at the other two. “Are you two also going home?”
The two nodded, indicating they were heading home.
Lin Yuzhi replied with an “okay.” However, he didn’t say anything else immediately. Instead, he thought for a moment longer before asking, “Do any of you three have a car?”
“I do. My parents just bought it for me this year. But my driving skills aren’t great; I’ve only driven it for a few days,” the girl spoke up, then hurriedly rummaged through her bag for her car keys.
This was probably the only car they had keys for, and it would be the quickest one they could get into.
But, where was the car?
So, he asked, “Where is your car?”
“Right across from the school gate. I was just passing by to buy some fried skewers, and then I ran into this mess.” The girl was somewhat regretful; she shouldn’t have been so greedy for a bite.
Lin Yuzhi could see her regret. “It’s normal. I’m actually the one selling those fried skewers. That craving is hard to resist. I eat them as I fry them; they’re super crispy. Next time, I’ll treat you to a Family Bucket. It’s a combo I created myself—got everything from chicken wings to chicken drumsticks. It’s only 19.90, really cheap.”
As he was talking, he suddenly paused. Why was he suddenly pitching his Family Bucket?
The other three probably hadn’t expected Lin Yuzhi to suddenly say all this either. However, perhaps because of his words, their initially taut nerves finally relaxed a little.
Especially the girl; she couldn’t help but laugh. “Then next time, I’ll come find you to buy some.”
“We’re life-and-death comrades now, so I’ll give you a discount: 18 bucks. I’ll give you two a discount too.” Lin Yuzhi generously offered them all a discount. When he smiled, his little canine tooth looked incredibly cute.
Coupled with his head of pink hair, even though all of them were in a sorry state, Lin Yuzhi somehow looked ridiculously pretty.
The bits of blood on him seemed like nothing more than an embellishment.
The other two nodded, indicating they would go find him to buy skewers once this was all over.
Lin Yuzhi stopped joking around. Right now, focusing on the serious matter at hand was more important.
So, he said, “How about this: in a bit, we’ll go to the entrance first and check the situation. Going towards the school gate will probably be tough. It’s perfect that your car is right across the street. We’ll just run straight across the road. Which one of you is an experienced driver?”
“I drive trucks,” the man who had previously checked outside with the mirror spoke up.
Lin Yuzhi signaled the girl to give the keys to him later, then said, “In a bit, once you find the car, just get right in. Don’t worry about anything else; just drive and go.”
“What about you?” The girl noticed the issue.
Lin Yuzhi didn’t hide it. “I have to go find my tricycle. I’m going to a different place than you guys. I need to make a trip to the People’s Hospital.”
Mainly, the People’s Hospital was a bit far. Going back and forth, there was a good chance things could go south.
“Is it for a family member?” they asked, puzzled.
Lin Yuzhi thought about it. I guess so. Whether I can eat well and live comfortably in the future all depends on that Academic God.
However, he was actually more worried that the Academic God was already dead, which would mean his trip there would be for nothing.
But for now, he could only go looking. Just in case he was still alive.
He didn’t refute them, just nodding in agreement.
The group understood. They nodded and then each began to look for tools.
Lin Yuzhi stuffed his terribly scored exam paper deeper into his pocket. Just in case he found Xu An, he’d still need him to explain the questions to him. He couldn’t lose this thing.
He patted his pants pocket, only feeling reassured after confirming it wouldn’t fall out.
In no time, they had all found tools. Actually, there wasn’t much—just two mops.
They snapped them in half, taking half a stick each. Having something was always better than nothing.
Lin Yuzhi still held onto his door handle. Not gonna lie, it was quite handy. Though, it would definitely be best to find an axe or a knife or something—those would definitely be more useful than the thing in his hand.
Listening for any movement at the door and confirming there was no sound outside, they quietly opened it.
Lin Yuzhi poked his head out first and looked around. Aside from the completely dead zombie by the door, he didn’t see any other zombies. So, crouching down, he carefully stepped out.
The others followed behind him, equally cautious, holding their only weapons in their hands.
Just to be safe, they swept through the entire room once.
Only after confirming it was clear did they head to the entrance.
The glass door at the entrance was completely shattered. The remaining shards of glass were covered in fresh blood, and there were even chunks of flesh scraped onto them.
It looked as if a zombie had scraped against the glass when barging in, and a whole chunk had been torn off. Blood covered the ground, making one’s hair stand on end just looking at it.
As Lin Yuzhi passed by the collapsed shelves, he didn’t forget to scoop up a handful of ballpoint pens. He didn’t care about the color—blue, black, or red—as long as they could write, it was fine. Highlighters worked too.
He stuffed them all into his pockets, but there were too many; they really couldn’t all fit.
He noticed the small satchels meant for kids hanging on the wall. He casually grabbed one, slung it across his chest, and stuffed all those pens inside.
As for his phone, considering the Top Student System was strictly one device per person, he simply put it into the bag as well.
If he accidentally tripped and the phone fell out, he might not have time to go back and pick it up. It would be safe in the backpack. Though, who’s to say? If the bag got snagged, it would fall off just the same.
Look on the bright side. Look on the bright side.
Lin Yuzhi comforted himself in his mind before darting over to the doorway.
The others beside him saw his actions and couldn’t help but marvel inwardly. This big boss loves studying way too much, doesn’t he? Things are like this, and he’s still thinking about picking up pens.
If I had been as diligent as him back in the day, wouldn’t I have gotten into a top university long ago?
A pink head poked out from the stationery store, looking around.
After a whole night, the outside was already a complete mess. The ground was littered with blood and corpses. Many of them were mutilated bodies, with chunks of flesh and organs scattered all over.
The scene was so gruesome it was almost impossible to look at.
Especially with the weather being so hot. Over the course of a night, the corpses seemed to have already started rotting. One body would be bad enough, but they were everywhere outside. The overwhelming stench made it even more nauseating.
Lin Yuzhi couldn’t help but frown. This stinks way too much.
Holding his breath, he observed the surroundings. There were zombies on both sides of the stationery store, but not many. They were mainly clustered around the school gate—mostly parents who had come to pick up their kids, along with elementary schoolers, densely packed together.
There were also many zombies on the road directly across, though slightly fewer than at the school gate.
Crossing straight over to the opposite side was definitely the better option. The only problem was that his tricycle would be hard to retrieve. However, it seemed he could cut through from the opposite side, because the spot where he had set up his stall was a bit of a distance from the school.
If it had been right next to the school like he used to do, it would basically be a lost cause.
So, he turned his head to look at the others. “Let’s go, let’s go. In a moment, you guys go get the car. I’m going to cut across the opposite side to get near the school. If fate allows us to meet again, I’ll give you another discount: 15 bucks a bucket.” After saying that, carrying the door handle, he swiftly bolted out of the stationery store.
Little Fish Lin bending over to earnestly pick up ballpoint pens.