Chapter 14: Day 1
The light in the school hadn’t been this bright and warm for a long time. But today, under such comfortable sunlight, no one felt the slightest trace of warmth.
In the hallway, only the cautious, timid footsteps of a group of people echoed. They kept glancing back nervously, their faces full of panic, afraid that a monster might suddenly lunge out of a classroom to bite them.
“Hey, where are you guys going?!”
Their classroom wasn’t the only one with students. Everyone wanted to go home right now, but no one dared to. News about zombies and mutations was flooding the internet. It wasn’t just Hanzhou that was experiencing an outbreak of this infectious disease—it was happening all across the country and even the world. No place had been spared. Everywhere had fallen.
“We’re going home. We can’t stay in school forever, right? Even if I die, I want to die in the same house as my mom,” a girl said, nearly breaking into tears.
“But those things are all over the place out there. It’s not safe.”
Even though he said that, the boy couldn’t keep up his calm expression or maintain his composure.
“Our class rep said, if you smash their heads, they lose the ability to move.”
“Then we’ll go too, we’ll go together!” a boy in the classroom said as he slung his backpack over his shoulder. He wasn’t the only one—there were fewer than ten people left in their class, and after those left, only two remained behind.
Everyone believed there was strength in numbers. Along the way, more people joined their group. By the time they reached the first floor, there were over twenty of them. Outside the door, zombies wandered about, unaware of the people behind the glass.
Xue Shen stepped forward. “Are you sure you want to go now? If you are, I’ll open the door.”
There was a folding gate behind the glass door, and to prevent any accidents, Xue Shen had reinforced the lock with wire earlier, twisting it tightly shut. As he moved to untwist the wire, someone suddenly shouted, “Wait!”
Outside the door, a zombie had heard the sound. It stepped onto the stairs, sniffing the air, trying to locate the source.
The boy who had shouted “Wait!” was clearly scared—but he also desperately wanted to go home. After a long internal struggle, he clenched his fists. “Open the door. I’m fine now.”
Xue Shen untwisted the wire, pulled the folding gate aside, then unlocked the glass door. He took a step back and, as if uninvolved, said, “If you want to leave, push the door open yourself.”
A girl bit her lip, hefted a shovel onto her shoulder, and was the first to step out.
“Ah!” she screamed as she smashed in the skull of the zombie swaying at the entrance. Rotten blood splattered all over her face. Tears streamed down her cheeks—because that morning, when she came to school, this zombie had still been the security guard uncle who greeted her with a smile.
Seeing how smoothly she handled it, others behind her rushed to join in.
Zombies from all directions began swarming toward them.
Xue Shen shut both layers of the door without a trace of emotion—but he didn’t leave right away.
At that moment, on the third-floor windowsill, Xie Chongyi threw a can of soda far into the distance. The aluminum can hit the ground and exploded with a loud pop, drawing a large group of zombies toward the sound.
But the distraction was only temporary. The zombies quickly caught on.
Just as the group reached the school gate, the zombies gave chase. The faster ones ran for their lives, while the slower ones were knocked to the ground. A zombie bent down and tore a huge chunk of flesh from a student who was still screaming for help.
Two lucky ones, who had managed to avoid being noticed, abandoned their backpacks and fled back in a panic.
With a loud bang, they crashed into the door and shouted, “Open up! Hurry, open the door!”
Xue Shen opened the door for them, then quickly shut it again—without looking back, he walked upstairs.
The school quickly returned to the eerie calm from half an hour ago—only now, the group of zombies had gained several new members dressed in school uniforms.
Lying on either side of Xie Chongyi were a few classmates who hadn’t dared to leave. They had just witnessed, with their own eyes, friends who were talking to them moments ago turn into rotting zombies. Their faces were pale as sheets, their eyes filled with fear—and a trace of relief that they hadn’t gone with the others.
A girl covered her mouth and began to cry softly.
“Xiao Quan said she was going to watch the Mayday concert with me…”
Xue Shen walked into the classroom, followed by a boy and a girl supporting each other, both faces full of fear.
“Old Xie, only six made it out,” Xue Shen said, rubbing his nose. His voice was a little hoarse.
Xie Chongyi leaned forward, looking down the stairs with lowered eyes. He swung his legs a bit.
“Did you lock the door properly?”
“It’s locked,” Xue Shen replied.
Xie Chongyi nodded. A few seconds later, he pressed his palm against the windowsill and, with a light jump, landed on the classroom floor.
He continued leaning against the windowsill in a lazy posture, which to some extent eased everyone’s tension—and also helped mask the sharp, striking features of his face.
“Listen up. I’ll only say this once,” Xie Chongyi said, lifting his lips into a faint smile.
“Whether you stay or go, you don’t need my permission. But if you leave—make sure you close the damn door properly. If any of those things get in because of you, I will hunt you down.”
He smiled as he spoke, revealing straight, white teeth.
Then he continued, “Xue Shen and I stocked up on food and daily necessities in rooms 101 to 106 on the first floor. It should be enough to last us a while…”
“So what we’re supposed to do now is just wait for rescue?” someone asked eagerly.
“You can wait in your heart,” Xie Chongyi said coolly. “What you need to worry about right now is food.”
“What do you mean? Didn’t you already prepare some?” A blond-haired boy who had just come running back in from outside stepped forward in confusion.
“There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”
Xie Chongyi sat down on the windowsill, hands resting on either side of him, his tone indifferent.
“Class rep?!”
“At a time like this, how can you say that? We should be working together, helping each other, waiting for rescue!”
“Exactly!”
“Help each other?” Xue Shen let out a cold laugh. “What exactly can you help us with?”
“But… we’re classmates!” someone argued.
Xie Chongyi listened, and for some reason, that line sounded strangely familiar. He remembered Wu Heng had said something similar not long ago—but the tone and sincerity in Wu Heng’s voice made it far more convincing.
He shook his head, a trace of stubbornness on his face.
“But I don’t want to help you unconditionally.”
Everyone around him felt a chill in their bones. The blond-haired boy clenched his fists, barely suppressing his anger.
“What’s your condition?”
Xie Chongyi raised a finger and spoke slowly, “Kill a zombie, and you can exchange it with Xue Shen for 100 grams of food.”
“What?”
“You’re joking, right? How are we supposed to kill zombies? I’d rather starve!”
“Class rep…”
But Xie Chongyi had run out of patience. He pulled out seven or eight dull, gray-colored stones from his school uniform pocket.
“Don’t even think about faking it. Each zombie has one of these minerals in its brain. Bring one back and hand it to Xue Shen.”
Looking at the sharp-edged stones in his hand, everyone in the classroom was filled with dread.
Had the class rep… already been killing people for a while?
—
Wu Heng and Lin Mengzhi sat silently on the latter’s couch, while Grandma Lin was not far away, praying to the household deity.
“Mengzhi, I’m hungry. Make me something to eat,” Wu Heng finally broke the silence.
Lin Mengzhi stared wide-eyed at him.
“Brother, did you already forget you ate half a pig just an hour ago?”
“Let me count it for you—you finished breakfast this morning, then had a ‘snack,’ a whole basin of minced meat and egg noodle soup. That bowl weighed at least thirty, maybe fifty pounds. Then, not even half an hour later, you downed all two hundred-plus frozen dumplings left in the fridge. And then you ate half a pig,” Lin Mengzhi recited, appalled even just thinking about it. “At this rate, our supplies won’t last two weeks.”
Wu Heng’s eyes were starting to well up. “Then I’ll eat you.”
Lin Mengzhi shot off the couch and bolted into the kitchen like his life depended on it.
But when he turned on the tap, no water came out.
“No water?”
“No electricity either?”
“I might as well cook the rest of that half a pig for you—doesn’t matter now, you’re not picky anymore. You’ll eat anything.”
After Wu Heng’s fifth meal, the two crouched behind a small window they’d installed on the balcony, observing the situation outside. The sunlight was blazing, and the whole residential complex was deathly silent, only occasionally broken by the dragging footsteps of zombies.
Several hours had passed. The blood on the ground had long dried and caked. No one dared set foot outside anymore.
At this moment, everyone was probably just like them—hiding at home, watching the outside world through cracks, silently praying for someone to come save them.
Holding his breath, Lin Mengzhi whispered, “Two hours ago, the temperature was 32 degrees. Still is now. Probably won’t go higher—it’s just normal early summer weather.”
“With the water and power out, all outside communication is basically cut. A’Heng, I have a bad feeling about this.”
Wu Heng’s dark pupils stared at him. “You’re only now getting a bad feeling?”
“…”
“Let’s go out and take a walk tonight,” Wu Heng said, gazing out the window.
“…What?” Lin Mengzhi nearly cried out loud. “Take a walk?!”
Wu Heng lowered his eyes. Beneath his long lashes, his gaze looked calm and devoid of any temper.
“We’re just staying at home right now. We don’t actually know what’s happening outside.”
Lin Mengzhi froze for two seconds, then looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown—but didn’t dare raise his voice.
“And so??”
“That’s not a good thing.”
Wu Heng’s fingers brushed the back of Lin Mengzhi’s neck—his touch was cool and smooth, like a baby snake that had just slithered out of its shell.
Lin Mengzhi didn’t understand.
Wu Heng explained, “In times like these, the more actively you seek out information, the better your chances of staying ahead—and the higher your survival rate.”
Lin Mengzhi mumbled, “But what if we die the moment we go out?”
“That’s just fate.” Wu Heng had long since mastered the art of resignation.
He gently held the back of Lin Mengzhi’s neck, resting his face against Lin Mengzhi’s as they looked out the window together. His voice was soft and unhurried.
“The crabapple tree next to our window. The shrubs in the flower bed on the left side of Building 2. The foxtail asparagus behind the trash bins. The azaleas to the right of the fountain… They’re all mutant plants.”
While he wasn’t eating, Wu Heng hadn’t been idle. He had mentally mapped out all the dangers in their visible surroundings.
“How can you tell?” Lin Mengzhi asked, then quickly corrected himself, realizing the question was off. “I mean—what are mutant plants, and how can you tell they’re mutated?”
“I don’t know. Just a feeling,” Wu Heng said.
“A feeling?”
“Didn’t you notice? The plants in the neighborhood are way more lush and green than before.”
Wu Heng’s gaze was deep and shadowy as he looked at the clump of foxtail asparagus ferns. They had completely taken over that area. Normally, foxtail asparagus doesn’t grow taller than a meter, but these were definitely over two meters. Their stems were soft like tails but stood upright without collapsing, thick and verdant. Most disturbingly, at their base lay two zombies—motionless and silent.
Of course Lin Mengzhi had noticed.
“I didn’t think too much of it. I thought it was just an ‘apocalyptic aesthetic.’ What happens when plants mutate?”
“They probably attack any living thing that passes by.”
Wu Heng let go of Lin Mengzhi and closed the window.
“These are likely still in their juvenile stage. They’re growing every day. How big they’ll eventually get—I don’t know.”
After saying that, he suddenly recalled the poppy field on the outskirts of the city—those delicate-looking plants had turned out to be the hidden killers that made the suburban residents live in constant fear.
“You’re serious?” Lin Mengzhi gulped loudly, his voice slightly cracking. Wu Heng’s presence made him feel safer, but the fact that the world had twisted this far—his face went pale, and he felt like he might faint.
Wu Heng ignored him. He returned to the living room and picked up X, who was still napping sprawled out on the sofa.
“Go fly a few rounds outside. I want to see what it’s like out there.”
X hadn’t fully woken up yet. It flapped its wings in confusion as Wu Heng shoved it out through the little window.
It puffed up its chest and tiptoed cautiously on the ground, eyes scanning in all directions.
Suddenly, a branch lashed through the air, piercing toward it. X rolled on the ground to dodge, flipped over, and took flight—only for more branches to shoot at it like they were trying to kill it.
“Dear god!!” X screeched, attracting the attention of nearby zombies. They jumped up, trying to grab it from the air.
Lin Mengzhi watched with his heart in his throat.
Wu Heng remained calm, his gaze as cold as a still lake.
“The crabapple tree has a limited attack range. The other mutant plants probably do too. They’ve just begun to mutate—it’ll still take time for them to fully grow.”
“The weakest are the shrubs. The strongest are the foxtail asparagus ferns.”
X gradually began to handle things with ease. It flew out of Wu Heng and Lin Mengzhi’s field of vision. Over ten minutes passed before it returned. On the way back, it tilted its body midair, nimbly dodged a crabapple tree’s attack, and zipped straight through the small window, burying its head into Wu Heng’s chest.
“Scared it,” Wu Heng murmured, fingers stroking the parrot’s wing. Its feathers felt noticeably stiffer than yesterday’s.
X suddenly lifted its head. “Idiot.”
Lin Mengzhi looked at Wu Heng.
“This time it definitely wasn’t talking about me.”
Wu Heng placed X onto the coffee table and poured it some water. X drank nearly half a bowl in one go before stopping.
“You went outside the neighborhood just now?”
“Caw!”
“There aren’t any survivors left out there?”
“Caw!”
“Zombies and mutant plants are everywhere?”
“Caw!”
Wu Heng looked down at X. It wasn’t that X could actually understand his words—but Wu Heng had gotten good at interpreting what X wanted him to ask.
After a moment’s thought, he lowered his voice.
“There’s something out there… even scarier than zombies and mutant plants, isn’t there?”
Lin Mengzhi stared at Wu Heng in disbelief.
X let out another loud caw, confirming once again—Wu Heng was right.