Xu Mingfan looked wary as he drove the battered car slowly toward the east gate of F University.
Huo Mian looked up and saw that the entrance was blocked by a barrier arm. She frowned slightly and instinctively glanced toward the security booth.
The moment she did, her heart leaped.
A zombie was desperately crawling out through the security booth window, with half its body already hanging outside.
“Brother Mingfan, there’s a zombie in the security booth trying to crawl out!”
Xu Mingfan immediately turned his head. Seeing that the zombie had already gotten most of its body out, his expression tightened.
“Xiao Mian, hold on tight!”
The instant he finished speaking, Xu Mingfan slammed his foot down on the accelerator. The car shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, charging straight toward the barrier arm.
“Crash!”
The barrier arm was smashed clean off. The broken section rolled to the side with a harsh scraping sound.
The car didn’t slow down. It sped straight into the campus.
The enormous metallic crash startled the zombie that had been climbing out of the window.
It immediately became agitated, its entire body trembling violently as it desperately pushed itself farther outside.
Suddenly, its body pitched forward. Having pushed too hard, it toppled headfirst out of the window and landed with a roll.
The zombie seemed to realize that they had already gotten away and immediately let out an enraged roar.
Its shrill, piercing cry echoed throughout the silent campus, sending chills down the spine.
Huo Mian saw the zombie’s ferocious appearance in the rearview mirror and instinctively pressed her lips together, a trace of unease rising in her heart.
Two minutes later, the faint sound of brakes rang out, and the car came to a steady stop behind a girls’ dormitory building.
Huo Mian quickly scanned the surroundings. When she spotted several zombie corpses lying on the ground nearby, her eyes flickered.
“Brother Mingfan, which floor does Xiao Luo live on?”
Xu Mingfan fell silent for a moment before replying in a low voice, “The seventh floor.”
Huo Mian’s eyes flashed with hesitation.
Zheng Wanyue had mentioned that after the apocalypse began, the female protagonist, Bai Ningrong, led the girls from her dormitory building and escaped to the cafeteria.
Because the male protagonist, Huo Shaochen, was worried about her, he conveniently accepted a mission to escort Professor Yang from the Biology Department to the Central Base.
Afterward, the female protagonist naturally joined the male protagonist’s team and traveled with them to the Central Base.
Both Bai Ningrong and Xu Wanluo were fairly well-known at F University. Huo Mian had once heard people say that the two campus goddesses lived in the same dormitory building.
She had no idea whether Bai Ningrong had already left or was still inside the dormitory.
Judging from the zombie corpses on the ground, it seemed likely that the girls had escaped to the cafeteria.
But Xu Mingfan didn’t know any of this. If she suddenly told him with absolute certainty, “Your sister is at the cafeteria,” anyone would naturally find that suspicious.
As she was thinking about it, she saw Xu Mingfan pick up his spear and get out of the car with practiced ease.
Huo Mian quickly tightened her grip on the watermelon knife and followed him out.
The two walked over to the zombie corpses, and Huo Mian couldn’t help asking, “Brother Mingfan, do you think Xiao Luo might have already left the dormitory?”
Xu Mingfan stared at the corpses on the ground, considering the possibility behind Huo Mian’s words.
Come to think of it, he knew Xu Wanluo’s personality better than anyone. She was definitely not the type to sit around and wait for death.
She was strong-willed and brave. If something happened, she wouldn’t simply wait around for someone to come rescue her.
Seeing that he remained silent, Huo Mian worried that he might misunderstand and think she was unwilling to go upstairs to look for his sister.
So she suggested, “How about we check the first floor for survivors first and ask around?”
Xu Mingfan finally snapped back to reality at the sound of her voice.
“Yeah. That sounds good.”
With that, he headed toward the dormitory building, while Huo Mian tightened her grip on the watermelon knife and stayed close beside him.
They carefully checked the rooms one by one from the back of the dormitory building, but they didn’t encounter a single person.
Instead, they found quite a few zombies locked inside their rooms.
The moment the zombies noticed Huo Mian and Xu Mingfan, they became agitated, snarling furiously as they slammed themselves against the protective railings.
The stainless-steel railings rang loudly under the zombies’ relentless pounding, as though they might collapse at any moment.
The zombies’ crazed behavior left Huo Mian and Xu Mingfan drenched in cold sweat, their faces turning pale.
They quickened their pace, but even after checking the very last room, they still found no trace of any survivors.
Huo Mian glanced at Xu Mingfan’s grim expression. After thinking for a moment, she comforted him.
“Brother Mingfan, don’t worry. Xiao Luo is smart and capable. She’ll definitely be okay.”
Xu Mingfan sighed, his voice filled with worry and disappointment.
“I hope so.”
Looking at the zombies still pounding against the railings, Huo Mian had no idea how long the doors and protective barriers could hold.
She felt a little scared herself and really didn’t have the courage to go upstairs and check.
Her peach-shaped eyes blinked as she came up with an idea.
“Brother Mingfan, why don’t you call out a few times and see if anyone upstairs responds?”
Xu Mingfan looked at the zombies still hammering against the railings and thought of the corpses they had just seen.
He swallowed hard.
“That sounds good.”
With that, Xu Mingfan tilted his head back slightly, cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone, and shouted toward the upper floors.
“Is anyone upstairs? Xu Wanluo, are you in there?”
However, the moment his voice faded, an even louder wave of zombie roars erupted from inside the dormitory building, accompanied by the sound of even more zombies pounding against the railings.
Other than that, there was no response.
Listening to the zombies’ howls, Huo Mian’s skin prickled with goosebumps. She instinctively looked around.
Suddenly, more than a dozen zombies appeared on some of the balconies on the second floor.
They were frantically climbing over the railings, apparently preparing to jump down.
Huo Mian’s pupils contracted sharply. She hurriedly jabbed Xu Mingfan with her elbow and pointed toward the zombies on the second floor.
“The zombies on the second floor are coming down!”
Xu Mingfan immediately looked over and saw a zombie climbing over the second-floor railing before leaping straight down.
“Thud!”
It slammed heavily onto the ground.
The zombie struggled to its feet and staggered toward them.
Within those two seconds, more zombies began jumping down from the second floor one after another.
Xu Mingfan’s heart sank.
Without another thought, he shouted, “Run!”
By the time Huo Mian heard him, she was already sprinting away at full speed.
The two ran back to the car, panting heavily, and quickly climbed inside. Xu Mingfan started the engine and drove away at top speed.
Huo Mian watched as the zombies grew farther and farther away, their figures gradually fading into the distance. Only then did she let out a small sigh of relief.
She turned to Xu Mingfan and suggested, “Let’s go to the school’s Second Cafeteria. Xiao Luo must be there!”
Seeing the confused look that remained on Xu Mingfan’s face, Huo Mian explained, “There are plenty of supplies in the cafeteria, and it’s spacious. There’s also a convenience store nearby. As long as they can hold the entrance, they should be able to survive for several days.”
“Xiao Luo’s dormitory is closest to the Second Cafeteria. That’s the best place to take shelter right now.”
Xu Mingfan’s eyes lit up.
“Xiao Mian, you’re right. Xiao Luo must be there.”
As though reassuring himself, he gave a firm nod after saying it.
The car sped through the campus, reaching the school’s Second Cafeteria in less than two minutes.
Huo Mian looked up and saw that the cafeteria’s original transparent glass doors had been replaced with thick wooden doors, which had also been reinforced.
Several zombie corpses lay on the ground nearby.
As soon as Xu Mingfan brought the car to a stop, he eagerly opened the door, jumped out, and hurried toward the cafeteria entrance.
Huo Mian jogged after him.
When they reached the cafeteria entrance, they discovered an inconspicuous little door beside the main entrance that had been left slightly ajar, with a narrow gap just wide enough for one person to pass through.
Without the slightest hesitation, Xu Mingfan slipped inside first, and Huo Mian followed close behind.