“Zombies!”
“Zombies!”
Liu Huan felt her hands and feet turn ice-cold in an instant. A moment later, she came back to her senses, hurriedly crept back into her dorm, and frantically sent those two messages into the group chat.
She forced herself to calm down before trembling as she continued typing. “There are zombies downstairs! I saw them with my own eyes!”
Those eerie green eyes in the darkness were as terrifying as a starving wolf in the wilderness.
If they spotted a human, zombies would rush forward at all costs and devour them.
She thought that at such a high floor, the zombies probably had not seen her.
But if someone from a lower floor stepped onto the balcony to look outside, they might very well be discovered.
Once the zombies went berserk, their situation would become dangerous.
Liu Huan’s first instinct was to spread the information as much as possible, to prevent students on the lower floors from going out.
[121 Qiu Xi: Are they really zombies?]
[121 Qiu Xi: I was just saying it casually earlier T^T!]
“I saw them with my own eyes. Green eyes, I recognized it immediately.” Liu Huan repeated her description over and over, afraid they would not believe her.
[619 Liu Huan: Don’t go onto the balcony]
[619 Liu Huan: I heard zombies go crazy when they see people]
[619 Liu Huan: They can even bend iron railings open]
…
As the messages in the Lanzhou Garden Building 2 group chat kept refreshing, everyone felt a chill run through their hearts.
Zombies were right outside the dorm building. They curled up cautiously in the corners of their beds, not daring to make a single sound, afraid of attracting attention.
Because of the cold and fear, even wrapped in blankets, their bodies trembled uncontrollably.
[303 Lu Shan: But didn’t Senior Lin and her team already deal with all the zombies?]
[303 Lu Shan: There are also special surveillance alarm devices at the school gates]
[303 Lu Shan: So why have zombies suddenly appeared again?]
[519 Yan Ruyu: Exactly]
[114 Hui Yi: The school even arranged for us to go out today]
[108 Lin Hewan: Anyway, I’m not going out now]
[108 Lin Hewan: I value my life]
[503 Lu Ningxia: +1]
Everyone was terrified of zombies. Hearing “zombies are here” had the same effect as elementary school students hearing that the homeroom teacher had arrived.
Except the teacher would not kill them, but zombies would.
As for what was happening outside, whether the zombies were still wandering beneath the dorm building or had already left, no one knew.
Chen Jianwei carefully switched her phone to silent mode before daring to discuss the situation with her roommates in their small four-person group chat.
“What should we do now?” Luo Mushi sent the message, her hands trembling.
New messages from the dorm group kept popping up on her phone. She stared at each one nervously, afraid of missing any important information.
Most people were sighing anxiously.
Some were so scared that they spammed the group chat with crying messages.
Some were so agitated that they wanted to grab kitchen knives and rush out to kill the zombies.
Others even impulsively declared that if zombies broke in, they would hang themselves in the dorm.
…
Since Duan Minmin had not been woken up, only the three of them were chatting in their small group, occasionally speaking in the larger group shared with the four dorms.
Liu Huan seemed to be badly frightened. Wu Zhenyi tagged her several times in the group chat, but she did not respond.
For now, no one dared to act rashly. They could only wait in their dorms for more news.
As for confirming the zombies’ movements, they did not dare to take such a risk.
The night was eerily silent. Even the loud noise they had heard earlier now felt like a half-dream illusion.
Chen Jianwei wrapped herself completely in her blanket, leaving only her head exposed.
At the slightest movement outside, they pricked up their ears in alert.
But after a long stretch of silence, and with it already being deep into the night, the warmth of the blanket began to make them drowsy.
Chen Jianwei hugged the still-warm hot water bottle and started nodding off.
“Ah Wei, Ah Wei.”
She vaguely heard Luo Mushi calling her in a hushed voice. Chen Jianwei opened her eyes groggily and asked in a sticky voice whether there was new information about the zombies.
“Ruyan said she’s going downstairs to kill the zombie. Do you want to come?” Luo Mushi asked, pulling aside a corner of the bed curtain.
Chen Jianwei was still half-asleep and confused about why things had suddenly become so aggressive. She peeked out and saw that Ying Ran was already fully dressed and ready to go.
Luo Mushi quickly explained in a low voice that Qiu Xi from Dorm 121 had said the zombie was currently outside her dorm’s balcony. However, it seemed to have been frozen stiff by the cold, with frost covering its body, and even its hands frozen to the ground.
They thought this might be an opportunity. Otherwise, once the sun came out tomorrow and the temperature rose slightly, the zombie would thaw and start attacking people again.
But a few people alone would not dare to act at night, so Qiu Xi had asked in the dorm group whether anyone was willing to join.
They lived on the sixth floor. Even if zombies got in, the lower floors would suffer first.
But if the zombies were left unchecked, sooner or later it would be their turn.
Besides, eliminating one more zombie meant reducing one more threat.
Liu Ruyan was bold by nature, and she actually had real fighting skills.
As soon as she heard Qiu Xi’s description, she immediately felt it was her responsibility to step forward.
It was just one zombie, and a frozen one at that.
However, since the dorm doors were locked, they had to find another way out.
For example, like the girl yesterday morning who had used a rope to swing down from the second floor.
Of course, they could not simply swing down like that, otherwise they would not be able to come back.
Chen Jianwei opened the dorm group chat again and saw that everyone was already discussing it.
Xu Qiang from Dorm 606 said that her dorm still had a roll of rope left over from a dorm culture festival last semester.
But she was currently alone in the dorm and could not quickly weave a rope ladder by herself.
So she asked in the group whether anyone who was still awake and good with handicrafts could come to Dorm 606 to help.
Since they were all on the sixth floor, it was more convenient for them to go over to Xu Qiang’s dorm.
There was about one hour left before dawn, and the time before sunrise was also the coldest.
If they wanted to deal with the zombie downstairs, this was their last hour.
Still groggy, Chen Jianwei wrapped herself in a down jacket, grabbed her dorm key and phone, and quietly followed Luo Mushi and Ying Ran out.
They silently closed the dorm door and crouched as they hurried to Dorm 606 across the hall.
Following their agreement, they knocked lightly on the door three times, and soon heard it open.
Xu Qiang opened the door and ushered them inside.
Inside Dorm 606, there were already four people. Chen Xiaoqi and Liu Ruyan were also there.
They had already pulled out a long length of rope. After sitting down, everyone began weaving together under Xu Qiang’s guidance.
Xu Qiang briefly explained how to make a rope ladder.
Two ropes of equal length were crossed and woven proportionally, with tight knots tied at each intersection.
Then two additional ropes were used to secure both sides of the ladder.
The distance from the second floor to the ground was three meters, so the ladder only needed to be five meters long.
The extra two meters were reserved for slack and the height of the second-floor railing.
They each took positions at different knotting points, while Xu Qiang held the ropes, threading and adjusting the lengths precisely.
With several people working together, the process went quickly. Xu Qiang, who was especially skilled at handicrafts, controlled each segment well and assembled the rope ladder efficiently.
By the time they finished, it was nearly 5:30, and the sky was already dimly gray.
They went down to the second floor to meet up with Qiu Xi and the others, then began discussing how to proceed.
Since someone needed to stay upstairs to hold the rope ladder steady for safe ascent and descent, and given that a fall in such cold weather could easily cause dislocation or fractures, they had to plan carefully.
Xu Qiang came down carrying a kitchen knife, while Liu Huan held a baseball bat.
Seeing the wide variety of “weapons,” it was quite an eye-opening sight.
In the end, they decided that Liu Ruyan, who claimed to have the strongest combat ability, would lead the group downstairs.
They watched as Liu Ruyan gripped the rope ladder and cautiously climbed down. Below was soft snow.
One by one, they climbed carefully, also worried that their “weapons” might accidentally injure themselves or others.
In the end, Xu Qiang and three others remained upstairs to hold the rope secured to the railing and observe the surroundings from above.
The night wind was bitterly cold. In such weather, even they, dressed in thick layers, felt as though they might freeze stiff, let alone a zombie.
When Xu Qiang spoke, her breath came out as white mist.
Thinking about it, their plan was extremely risky.
If anything went wrong, it could easily end in total disaster.
But since they had come this far, someone had to deal with the zombie.
If they did not eliminate it while it was frozen, it would eventually thaw and start attacking people again.
Chen Jianwei watched as the others climbed down one by one, then carefully climbed up onto the railing herself.
Holding onto the railing with both hands, she felt for the first rung of the rope ladder and stepped onto it. One hand gripped the railing while the other moved onto the ladder, then she shakily held onto both sides.
The rope ladder swayed, making it difficult to control her balance. Only because it was against the wall did it not swing outward.
Chen Jianwei slowly exhaled, feeling the thin ropes dig painfully into her palms.
With the cold wind blowing against her, she felt her entire body stiffen.
Damn this weather.
She cursed inwardly and continued climbing down.
They had not cut any corners while making the ladder, so it was very sturdy.
Step by step, she moved down each segment.
The cold wind kept blowing as Chen Jianwei finally felt her feet touch the soft snow.
The group, brimming with determination, set out carrying knives, bats, and whatever weapons they had.