Chapter 197
Chapter 197
“No, doesn’t this feel too much like a fantasy? Is this really happening?”
Liu Manman looked a little disheveled as she sat on a chair, her mind finding this situation a little too unreal.
In the meantime, the constant sounds of running and screaming coming from outside created a heavy atmosphere in the room, and everyone couldn’t help but shudder at these sounds.
“What should we do? I’m scared.”
Xu Qiu returned to her bed and wrapped herself in her blanket.
Lin Su was the second calmest person in the room beside Jun Zishu. After pushing against her glasses, she walked up the window and took a look outside again.
Outside the dormitory building, people who used to be schoolmates had turned into slow-moving monsters that pinned down others and gnawed and chewed on them.
Meanwhile, those bitten started crying and screaming until their bodies eventually froze. Then, these people would gradually stand up with stiff movements and become new members of the group of monsters.
At this time, it wouldn’t even be an exaggeration to call the situation outside a living hell.
After taking a long look outside, Lin Su opened up her phone and searched the internet.
“Many people on the internet are talking about similar encounters. It seems this situation isn’t limited to our university.”
“Is the world really coming to an end?”
Liu Manman shivered when she heard Lin Su’s words. Then, she mimicked Xu Qiu’s actions and wrapped herself in her blanket.
“For the moment, that seems to be the case,” Jun Zishu stated.
“My dear goddess, I know you are very calm, but can you not make your calmness look so aggravating?” Liu Manman said, pinching the bridge of her nose as she looked at the girl sitting on the bunk bed across her. Then, she suddenly thought of something as she asked, “Hey, now that the apocalypse is here, do you think we’ll get superpowers like in the novels?”
Liu Manman was an avid reader of web novels, and she read all kinds of genres such as fantasy, cultivation, etc.
“What superpowers?” Xu Qiu asked curiously, hitching on the conversation.
Meanwhile, Lin Su ignored her roommate’s nonsense and searched for solutions to this problem online. Unfortunately, nothing she found was particularly useful.
“Like the ability to manipulate wind, fire, water, earth, space, and such,” Liu Manman said with a longing face.
“How do we get these powers, then?” Xu Qiu asked.
“I don’t know, but the novels I read usually involve getting bit by zombies to awaken superpowers. Though, there’s also a chance that you’ll turn into a zombie.”
“Huh?! I have to get bit by those things?! Pass! Pass!” Xu Qiu said, shaking her head vehemently.
“Why don’t you two lie down and continue sleeping? You can find everything you want in your dreams,” Jun Zishu said after taking a sip of water. Then, she hovered a finger above the call button displayed on her phone, hesitating whether she should press down or not.
“Aren’t you scared even in the slightest?” Liu Manman asked as she looked at Jun Zishu in exasperation.
“There’s no point in getting scared,” Jun Zishu said nonchalantly. Then, she turned to Lin Su and asked, “Susu, did you learn anything useful?”
“There are several statements about the zombies on the internet. One of the more agreed-upon statements is that the zombies are a product of a certain kind of virus, and the virus dominates the minds of those it infects and gives them the instinct to spread the virus. Based on current findings, the virus is most likely present in the zombies’ saliva. Some are also claiming that the virus is in the nails and that you’ll have a high probability of getting infected if you get scratched.”
“So, what should we do?” Xu Qiu asked, her mind still in a daze.
“If they come for us, we’ll have to smash their heads in.”
“Ah… I’m scared…”
“Who isn’t afraid? But we’re going to have to face this problem sooner or later. If you don’t dare to fight back, your only option is to wait for death. I don’t want to turn into those disgusting things. I want to live,” Lin Su said. She was originally panicking over this situation as well, but she had a stable personality, and Jun Zishu’s calmness also worked to calm her.
“Susu is right.”
Jun Zishu nodded and gave her approval.
At this time, the sound of a phone ringing appeared, giving everyone in the room a scare.
“It’s my mother,” Xu Qiu said anxiously before answering the phone. “Mom, I’m scared. There are monsters outside. Mhm, mhm. I’m hiding in the dorms, so I’m fine for now.”
Seeing Xu Qiu on the phone, Liu Manman and Lin Su quickly called their parents as well. Then, soft sobs began filling the room.
“Don’t be too loud, lest you attract the zombies,” Jun Zishu said with a strict expression, causing the others to lower their voices by several decibels.
Satisfied by the calming effect she created, Jun Zishu returned her gaze to her phone. However, before she could give Ren Nanying a call, she received a call from her parents. Then, after calmly reporting her safety to her parents, she received another call from Lin Ruoyan.
“Are you okay, Zishu?”
“I’m in my dorm, so I’m fine for now.”
“Me too. I’m also hiding in my dorm. It’s so scary outside. I’m thinking of hiding here for now. Thankfully, I went shopping with you yesterday, so I should be able to last for quite a few days.”
“Be careful.”
“Mhm, mhm. Most of the students in my university are girls, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to beat the zombies here. I’ll live well, so make sure you live well, too.”
“Mhm. We’ll both live through this.”
Lin Ruoyan originally didn’t wish to hang up their call, but Jun Zishu gave her an excuse, saying she needed to call her family. They also agreed to send each other at least one message a day so long as phone services remain active.
After ending her call with Lin Ruoyan, Jun Zishu called Ren Nanying, the busy tone ringing for some time before the other party picked up.
Ren Nanying was the first to speak after the call got connected, and she asked, “Are you still well?”
Instead of answering Ren Nanying’s question, Jun Zishu asked.”How are things on your side, Cousin?”
“I was in the middle of sprint training just now. Then, someone wandered into the field and started biting people, so I ran out and saw similar situations along the way. I just got back to my room and locked the door,” Ren Nanying said, fanning herself with her hand as she looked out the window at the tragedy taking place outside. There was only one other person in the room right now, and her two other roommates hadn’t returned yet.
In reality, Ren Nanying felt quite surprised and moved when she received a call from Jun Zishu. She didn’t think that the younger cousin who hated her would call to ask about her situation during this critical period.
“That’s good. I’m also in my room. I went shopping yesterday, so there’s a lot of food here. If you run out of things to eat, you can come to my place.”
Jun Zishu stayed in Dormitory Block 3, while Ren Nanying was staying in Dormitory Block 2. The dormitory buildings were arranged in a U-shape, and Block 3 was situated at the bottom-left corner, while Block 2 was situated at the bottom-right corner. There was also a canteen located on top of the slope beside Block 3.
Normally, it wouldn’t take more than a minute to walk from Block 3 to Block 2 since they were right beside each other. However, Ren Nanying would have to risk coming across zombies now, so getting here would take much more time and involve a lot of danger.
“Okay, I got it. Make sure to be careful,” Ren Nanying said.
Ren Nanying was honestly quite worried about her delicate cousin. She was in the Athletic Department, and she had good stamina and an agile body, so she wasn’t afraid of coming across zombies. On the other hand, her cousin was a dance major, so the girl would be in much greater danger should she come across zombies. After all, what could a dance student possibly do against zombies? Bend over in front of them?
“Do you have any weapons such as metal bats with you?” Ren Nanying asked.
“If you’re talking about a clothesline, we have a few here.”
“What use is a clothesline!” Ren Nanying retorted in exasperation.
“I can poke the zombies to death?” Jun Zishu asked rhetorically, her words causing Ren Nanying to nearly laugh out in anger.
“Can you be more serious? How are you still in the mood for jokes?”
“But I’m not joking. The only things I have here close to a metal bat are the clotheslines. We don’t normally get into fights, so why would we have a metal bat?”
“Does your room have a fruit knife, then?”
“Of course.”
Girls’ dormitories were full of strange things. Although the school prohibited students from keeping certain electric appliances and controlled knives in the dormitory, would students be afraid of these prohibitions? Not at all.
“Tie the knife to the clothesline and use it as a spear, then,” Ren Nanying said, sharing the solution she came up with.
“Got it. Stay safe, Big Sister. Bye-bye.”
Jun Zishu didn’t want to chatter anymore, so she hung up the phone after saying goodbye.
…
On the other side, Ren Nanying couldn’t help but be rendered speechless as she looked at her phone.
Wait, did she just call me Big Sister? Ren Nanying thought when she recalled Jun Zishu’s words. How rare. How truly rare.
…
Meanwhile, after hanging up the phone, Jun Zishu looked around her room and saw that her roommates were still on the phone.
“Alright, darlings, stop crying and come tidy up the room. Take out all your food. We’ll need to take inventory and plan our next moves,” Jun Zishu said.
In response, the other girls looked up and nodded their heads. Then, they quickly bid their families goodbye and ended their respective calls.
“Keep your phones on silent. The zombies are attracted to noise,” Jun Zishu said.
“””Okay.”””
Nobody questioned Jun Zishu’s leadership. Everyone quickly got out of bed, quietly took out all their food reserves, and piled them on the floor. Then, they reported their respective inventory in hushed voices.
Jun Zishu: I have fifteen small loaves of bread, a bag of compressed biscuits, three bottles of mineral water, a bag of chocolate, a bag of cookies, and a bunch of small and miscellaneous buns.
Liu Manman: I have two instant noodle pots, three bags of fire chicken noodles, two bags of sweet sausage, one bag of pork sausage, one bag of corn sausage, some jello, duck necks, duck wings, and spicy strips.
Lin Su: I have milk cookies, two cartons of milk, one box of milk candy, a bag of cheese, and a few bottles of yogurt.
Jun Zishu & Liu Manman & Xu Qiu: Why are they all dairy products?!
Lin Su: I like them, okay?!
Liu Manman: Is this why your breasts are so big?
Lin Su: Scram!
Xu Qiu: I only have two packs of crispy noodles, two packs of spicy noodles, one bag of scorched rice, and one box of cherries.
Jun Zishu & Lin Su & Liu Manman: So little! And you call yourself a girl?!
Xu Qiu: I haven’t gone to restock recently.
When Xu Qiu saw the pitiful amount of snacks she had, she couldn’t help but shiver with a bitter look on her face.
“Let’s count our shared property next,” Jun Zishu said.
In response, Xu Qiu pulled out a large box filled with various ingredients and said, “We have a bag of rice, a bag of salt, a bottle of vinegar, a tube of noodles, a nearly full bag of hot pot base, and seven eggs.”
There was also another box holding a pot inside.
“Not bad. At least we don’t have to go out for now. We’ll eat the things that need to be cooked first in case the power goes out,” Jun Zishu suggested.
“””Okay.”””
The other girls nodded. At this time, they were already treating Jun Zishu as their de facto leader.
“For now, we’ll just stay quiet and do our own things.”
“But what should we do?”
“Just do whatever you normally do. Make sure to charge your phones. Charge that oversized Romoss power bank as well, Manman. Once it runs out of power, we can use it to smash some zombie brains.”
“And then I’ll be bitten to death!”
“Throw it like a rock, then. Anyway, just charge everything that can be charged for now,” Jun Zishu said, shrugging.
Afterward, the room fell silent. However, this silence only lasted a few minutes before Liu Manman sighed and said, “I can’t even bear to look at my phone anymore.”
“Me too. It’s so strange. Why hasn’t the country released any news online yet?” Lin Su wondered and sighed.
Meanwhile, Xu Qiu stared at Lin Su but chose not to speak.
“There is always a solution to a problem, so stop worrying needlessly. Continue reading your book for now and memorizing your terms.”
“It’s already the end of the world! Why would I need to memorize terms?!” Lin Su, the English major, retorted.
“Do you think you won’t need to take your Band 4 just because the world is ending? Have you three passed your Band 4 yet? Lin Su, have you passed your Band 6 yet?”[1]
Lin Su & Liu Manman & Xu Qiu: Are you a demon?!
…
TL Notes:
[1]Band 4, Band 6: These refer to the levels in the CET (College English Test). Band 4 refers to CET4, and Band 6 refers to CET6.