Inside the cafeteria.
Two male students were standing guard behind the main entrance, quietly chatting from time to time. When they noticed movement outside the door, they both looked up.
A tall, handsome young man walked in.
His hair was a complete mess, like a bird’s nest, giving him an oddly comical appearance.
The two men were just about to step forward and ask some questions when they noticed a girl following behind him.
The girl was stunningly beautiful, with porcelain-fair, delicate skin and a pair of captivating peach-shaped eyes. Perhaps because she had hurried over, she was breathing slightly heavily.
The moment their eyes landed on her face, neither of them could look away.
Noticing their gazes, Huo Mian lowered her head and instinctively moved behind Xu Mingfan.
Xu Mingfan was too anxious to find out about his sister to notice anything unusual.
As soon as he saw the two students, he immediately asked, “Hello. Do you know if Xu Wanluo is inside?”
The bespectacled young man snapped back to reality at Xu Mingfan’s words.
The tips of his ears turned slightly red, and a hint of curiosity appeared in his eyes.
“Where did you two come from?”
Seeing that the young man hadn’t answered his question, Xu Mingfan patiently replied, “We just came in from outside the school. I’m Xu Wanluo’s older brother. Is she inside?”
At that moment, the slightly chubby young man beside him suddenly cut in.
“Do you mean Xu Wanluo from the Art Department? She’s inside.”
A delighted smile immediately spread across Xu Mingfan’s face. He quickly thanked the two men before striding into the cafeteria.
Huo Mian was just about to follow him when the bespectacled young man stepped forward and blocked her path.
“Are you a student at F University too? Can you tell us what things are like outside right now?”
Huo Mian felt a little displeased when the young man blocked her way, but she still tried to remain polite.
“It’s about the same as here. There are a lot of zombies outside too.”
With that, she pretended to look anxious and quickened her speech.
“Um… I’m in a hurry to find someone, so I’ll be going!”
Without waiting for him to respond, Huo Mian slipped around him and hurried after Xu Mingfan.
Seeing this, the bespectacled young man instinctively lifted his leg to follow, but the slightly chubby young man beside him grabbed his arm.
“Song Weiyi, why are you holding me back?”
The young man stopped and impatiently shook off Song Weiyi’s hand.
Song Weiyi didn’t mind his complaint at all. He raised his eyebrows and gave him a teasing look.
“Xia Yan, did you fall for that girl?”
Xia Yan pressed his lips together, his face instantly flushing. He turned his head away and answered with a completely serious expression.
“Ah Yi, don’t talk nonsense. I only stopped her because I wanted to know what was happening outside.”
Seeing his friend blush, Song Weiyi teased him, “We grew up together. Do you really think I don’t know you?”
He stepped forward and patted Xia Yan on the shoulder, glancing at Huo Mian’s retreating figure.
“Hey, aren’t you worried that the two of them might be a couple? After all, they came together.”
Xia Yan followed his gaze toward Xu Mingfan and Huo Mian and answered without hesitation.
“Impossible. If they were a couple, would he really leave his girlfriend behind?”
The moment the words left his mouth, Xia Yan realized he had reacted too quickly.
He turned and met Song Weiyi’s knowing, amused expression, finally realizing that he had given himself away.
Feeling awkward, Xia Yan said, “Ah Yi, you stay here and keep watch. I’m going to the restroom.”
Before Song Weiyi could respond, he turned and strode away.
Watching Xia Yan disappear, Song Weiyi muttered under his breath, “What a guy. He forgets his friends the moment he sees a pretty girl.”
Still, that girl really was beautiful. The way she had timidly hidden behind someone had even stirred up his protective instincts.
But he knew his own limitations. A girl like that was far beyond the reach of a chubby guy like him.
Meanwhile, Xu Mingfan spotted his sister in a corner of the cafeteria.
Xu Wanluo was sitting at a dining table, chatting with several male students around her. Her smile was bright, and the boys had clearly been entertaining her.
Beside her, one of the young men thoughtfully tore open a snack package and handed it to her.
Xu Wanluo naturally accepted the snack, then gave the young man an even brighter smile.
The veins at Xu Mingfan’s temple began throbbing the moment he saw the scene.
He strode over to Xu Wanluo, reached out, and snatched the snack from her hand, glaring at her angrily with his wide eyes.
Xu Wanluo had been happily chatting with several friends when a tall shadow suddenly loomed over her. The next moment, the snack in her hand was taken away.
Her brows shot up, and she was just about to explode when she looked up and saw Xu Mingfan’s furious expression.
In an instant, all her anger vanished.
Instead, she jumped to her feet in delight and wrapped both arms around Xu Mingfan’s arm.
“Brother, what are you doing here? Did Mom and Dad send you to pick me up? How are things at home?”
A string of questions spilled from her lips.
Xu Mingfan pressed his lips together without answering.
The anger on his face slowly gave way to grief, and his eyes began to redden.
Seeing her brother remain silent, Xu Wanluo’s heart sank.
A terrible premonition suddenly washed over her.
“Brother, are Mom and Dad waiting for me at home? Let’s go home right now!”
Her voice trembled as she grabbed Xu Mingfan’s arm and tried to pull him toward the door.
Xu Mingfan remained rooted to the spot, stopping her from moving forward.
He raised a hand and gently rubbed Xu Wanluo’s hair, his voice choked with emotion.
“Xiao Luo, you still have me. Your brother will protect you.”
The moment Xu Wanluo heard those words, tears began streaming down her face.
She grabbed Xu Mingfan by the collar and demanded loudly, “What exactly do you mean? Tell me! Where are Mom and Dad? Why didn’t you protect them?”
Xu Mingfan let her vent her emotions and answered heavily, “When the apocalypse came, Mom and Dad didn’t make it. They turned into zombies…”
Seeing his sister’s stunned expression, he comforted her.
“I climbed out through the window. Mom and Dad are still at home.
“Maybe… someday, they’ll develop a medicine that can cure the zombies. Maybe they’ll be able to turn back into the way they were.”
He knew the possibility was almost nonexistent.
But saying those words was also a way of comforting himself.
Huo Mian followed Xu Mingfan’s trail and, from five or six meters away, saw Xu Wanluo curled up in her brother’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
She abruptly stopped in her tracks, her own mood sinking.
The several male students who had originally been gathered around Xu Wanluo had already tactfully stepped aside after learning that the newcomer was her older brother.
Xia Yan walked over to one of the students and told him to go guard the cafeteria entrance. He then walked up to Huo Mian with a warm smile on his face.
Huo Mian looked at the young man in confusion, unable to understand why he had followed her.
“Is there something else you need?”
Xia Yan explained seriously, “You two left in such a hurry earlier that I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself. My name is Xia Yan. I’m a third-year student in the Computer Science Department, and I’m currently responsible for registering information here.”
“The thing is, everyone who comes in needs to register some personal information. It makes things easier to manage, so I hope you can cooperate.”
Huo Mian understood and nodded.
Xia Yan pulled a small notebook from his pocket. It contained the names of the ability users and the types of abilities they possessed.
He looked at Huo Mian and asked calmly, “What’s your name?”
“Huo Mian.”
Her voice was soft and gentle, almost as though she were speaking coquettishly.
A faint smile curved Xia Yan’s lips.
“Is that the ‘Mian’ in soft and fluffy?”
Huo Mian silently nodded, inwardly displeased, though she didn’t let it show on her face.
For years, Lin Yingfen’s careful upbringing had nearly molded her into someone timid and weak.
If Huo Mian hadn’t unexpectedly awakened the memories of her past life, she might truly have continued down that path of cowardice.
Even now that she had awakened those memories, the imprint left by nineteen years of conditioning was difficult to erase completely. Her personality still appeared somewhat soft and gentle on the surface.
Although Huo Mian had also been a soft and sweet girl in her previous life, she had at least been mentally strong. She had never truly been weak.
After writing down the name Huo Mian, Xia Yan asked her age and major before finally asking, “Do you have an ability?”
Huo Mian nodded lightly, her expression calm.
“Yes.”
A flicker of excitement appeared in Xia Yan’s eyes, and his voice unconsciously rose.
“What kind of ability did you awaken?”
Seeing Huo Mian freeze, Xia Yan assumed she didn’t know the different types of abilities and quickly explained.
“The people here have awakened all kinds of abilities. Some have Five Elements abilities, such as metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.”
“Others have enhanced physical abilities. Song Weiyi, the guy you met at the entrance earlier, is a strength-type ability user.”
That was also why Song Weiyi had been able to stop him earlier and make him immediately back down.
Xia Yan paused before continuing.
“There are also abilities related to natural phenomena. Bai Ningrong, a third-year student from the Economics and Management Department, awakened a frost-type ability, while I awakened a wind-type ability.”
As he spoke, Xia Yan gently raised his hand.
A small whirlwind instantly surged from his palm, spinning through the air like a mischievous little elf darting back and forth…