Trainee Ch.117

Chapter 117: You Chase Me, I Chase You 6 (Extra 17)

The USB drive — like a spark of hope — was taken away by Su Junzhe. The final mission would, in all likelihood, be successfully completed. For the members left behind in the research institute, ensuring their own safety had instead become the side quest.

At the stairwell, the three of them leaned over the railing like a trio of weasels, peering down at the zombies wandering below.

Dozens of zombies had flooded into the institute. Having lost their target, they were now scattered throughout every corner. It wasn’t as densely packed as what Su Junzhe had seen earlier, but the difficulty hadn’t decreased — in fact, the scattered formation had blocked every possible route of escape.

In other words, rushing down recklessly would only result in being caught on the spot.

Zhao Yifeng sighed. “Why did this episode have to be an escape mission?”

If it were a survival-type round, he’d have found a hidden spot to quietly wait out the timer — the chaos of the world would have nothing to do with him.

“But there’s nowhere to escape to,” Li Xu frowned. “Isn’t this like the Calabash Brothers rescuing Grandpa? One goes down, one gets eliminated.”

Lai Yudong remained silent in thought. Unless they did what people do during a fire — tying bed sheets into a rope and climbing down from the second floor — they had no other choice.

But without professional guidance, that method wasn’t safe. The “survival” in Countdown to Survival wasn’t the same as survival in a fire drill — there was a world of difference between racing and escaping. Unless absolutely necessary, it wasn’t worth the risk.

Besides, the bed sheets had already flown off along with the USB drive.

Thus, the only remaining option was to sacrifice at least one person to lure the zombies away.

“I’ll go downstairs and draw them off. You two take the chance to run for it.” Lai Yudong was, as always, the first to step forward at moments like this.

“No way.” Li Xu rejected it immediately — but his reason wasn’t anything touching like “you’re our captain,” “we’re a team,” “we can’t abandon anyone,” “we share blessings and hardships,” or “let me do my part too.”

His reason was brutally practical: “I can’t remember the way.”

He added another reason, like a patch to the first: “Zhao Yifeng runs so damn slow — if he gets eliminated, I’m done for too. And it’s not like he remembers the layout either.”

[I can’t believe that actually convinced me]

[Yuzu’s probably the only one who explored the entire first floor and actually remembers the way]

[Hong, just admit you want to go. No need to be so roundabout, lol]

[This kid’s the type who works hard and gets no thanks for it]

[His fans are used to it — that mouth of his gets him scolded by group fans every other day]

Lai Yudong didn’t need the barrage comments to realize what Li Xu meant — it was obvious he didn’t want him to be the one to go.

And the reasoning was sound. The first floor had several dead ends — one wrong turn and you’d be cornered by the NPCs. The fact that Li Xu could remember where the infirmary was already proved he had the best grasp of the layout.

Even setting that aside, speed was directly tied to survival rate — and he was the fastest of the three.

To give a counterexample: Zhao Yifeng was all heart and no stamina. He’d probably make it down the stairs, turn a corner, and immediately get caught. The NPCs would finish the job and return to their patrol routes — a matter of ten seconds, maybe less — giving his teammates no time to escape at all.

All things considered, Li Xu was the most suitable teammate to be sacrificed in this round.

No one expected their earlier bickering to become reality so quickly.

“When you go down, head straight to the right — that’s the farthest spot from the entrance,” Lai Yudong said, giving tactical advice to their soon-to-be heavenly recruit. “If you have the time, try to lure them into a room. Hide behind the door and lock them in — zombies can’t open doors, so that’ll stop them from wandering back out.”

“Got it.” Li Xu gave a fierce glare. “If I’m sacrificing myself like this and you two still can’t get out, you’re absolutely hopeless.”

Lai Yudong replied smoothly, already an expert at flattery: “If we can’t escape, it just proves we can’t live without you.”

Zhao Yifeng clapped in agreement. “Our Hong always delivers. Amazing.”

Li Xu: “…Can you two not pull that crap right now?”

Amid his teammates’ wave after wave of praise, Li Xu almost lost himself in the moment. After surveying the situation below and following Lai Yudong’s instructions, he bravely descended the stairs.

His footsteps rang out unnaturally loud in the tense silence.

The moment he set foot on the first floor, the zombies seemed to have spotted a gift from nature — they lunged at him all at once.

[Brave Honghong, fearless in the face of danger!]
[Hold down the screen to boost Brother Hong’s speed!]
[Don’t forget, this is live!]
[Please, I’m begging, hold them off a little longer—praying]
[If you get eliminated right away, I’ll be the first to laugh at you hahahaha (armor: I’m a fan)]
[I don’t think one person’s enough, the zombies are too many and too spread out — he won’t be able to draw most of them away]

[It’s fine, there’s still Teacher Zhao — that’s like Yuzu carrying a resurrection buff]
[Sounds more like he’s carrying a pack of tissues]
[Prophet of the round: Su Junzhe hahahahaha]

When the timing felt right, Lai Yudong gave the order: “Run!”

He leapt three steps at a time, reaching the temporarily safe first floor in no time.

Zhao Yifeng, by contrast, wasn’t short and had long legs, yet somehow managed to descend in tiny, cautious steps, leaving half a flight of stairs’ distance between them despite starting together.

As the barrage put it—

Our delicate, helpless lead vocalist.

Afraid his lagging teammate might get snatched by a zombie jumping out from some corner, Lai Yudong waited a few seconds before moving on.

Not long after they started running, their smartwatches chimed twice in quick succession:

“StarEpoch – Li Xu has been eliminated.”
“StarEpoch – Su Junzhe has completed the mission.”

The two exchanged a glance — before they could say anything, a hoarse growl froze them both in place.

The broadcast drew in nearby zombies. They tilted their stiff bodies and lurched toward the sound. Because they had been too far apart, they hadn’t been drawn away by Li Xu earlier and had simply been lingering in place until now.

Worse still, they were closing in from all directions, sealing off every possible escape route.

The moment zombie silhouettes appeared at the corner, Zhao Yifeng rushed forward without hesitation, throwing his full weight onto two NPCs that lunged at him in a frenzy.

“I can’t run anymore! Go—now!”

He wasn’t lying. The day’s exertion easily surpassed back-to-back singing-and-dancing stages without rest, and with all the danger and adrenaline, his stamina had hit rock bottom.

Of course, there was also something he didn’t say — that he had survived this long without contributing anything useful.

If death was inevitable, he might as well choose the better way to die.

In that critical moment, Lai Yudong didn’t waste time arguing. Even a second of hesitation would make Zhao Yifeng’s sacrifice meaningless. Without looking back, he seized the opening Zhao Yifeng created and charged forward.

As they brushed shoulders in passing, he shouted his thanks: “Thank you!”

He turned the corner — his teammate and the zombies vanished behind him.

There were no screams, no muttered last words — it was as if nothing had happened at all.

“StarEpoch – Zhao Yifeng has been eliminated.”

[Teacher Zhao was so decisive 5555]

[Who says our delicate, helpless lead vocalist can’t have a cool moment!]

[Xiao Hong and Xiao Feng T^T…]

[Protecting the best maple honey pomelo black tea trio in the world]

[Yuzu, run! Don’t stop!]

[Even though Brother Curly’s already completed the mission, I’m still so nervous]

[He’s so far from the main entrance…]

[And there are still a few zombies by the door — escaping won’t be easy]

Before Lai Yudong could even catch his breath, the two zombies that had grabbed Zhao Yifeng broke free and began chasing after him — leading the rest of the horde that had gathered from all directions.

The chase wasn’t over yet — at every turn, he ran into new NPCs, who joined the growing mob like snowballing chaos rolling down a hill.

At this point, Lai Yudong had become a fugitive Yuzu from Disneyland.

He had a very reasonable suspicion that the production crew had notified all nearby zombies to come after him — just to crank up the difficulty.

Thankfully, his goal was crystal clear.

Though he was running in the direction of the institute’s main entrance, that wasn’t his actual destination.

The barrage’s concerns had crossed his mind too.

If the door was blocked by NPCs, he’d be forced to act as bait. And if, in trying to shake them off, he happened to bump into another zombie wandering nearby, he’d be surrounded from both sides — Game Over.

So his true destination was the corridor by the windows, which was much closer.

Back when he and his teammates were forced apart, Lai Yudong had spent a bit of extra time on his return trip — deliberately opening every window along that corridor, just in case something like this happened.

Now, skidding to a stop before one of them, he didn’t have to waste a single second fumbling with the latch. At the critical moment, he braced his hands on the sill and, with smooth, practiced movement, vaulted out through the open window — escaping the zombies’ grasp by a hair’s breadth.

His feet hit the ground. Without looking back, he sprinted toward the bus. Behind him, the NPCs let out dutiful, blood-curdling roars.

His heartbeat thundered in his ears — thump-thump-thump.

He’d made it out.

[Holy sh*t, he actually pulled that off]

[So smart — he planned that far ahead]

[If he hadn’t opened those windows earlier, he never would’ve had time to climb out]

[Good thing Captain Yuzu was the one who stayed till the end]

[Flashback to Grotesque… (dazed)]

[+1, the movements are identical — except this time, it’s not Stone Block Hong being flipped]

There were barely any zombies outside — almost none worth noting.

Lai Yudong didn’t know whether any were still chasing him, and frankly, he didn’t care.

He threw everything he had into the final sprint—past the guard booth, out through the park gates—and the first thing he saw was the curly-haired boy pressed against the bus window, palms flat on the glass.

“Come on!” Su Junzhe shouted, voice bursting with excitement.

The bus door swung open to welcome its final victor.

Lai Yudong climbed aboard in long strides, exchanging a perfectly timed high-five with Su Junzhe, who’d left his seat just to greet him.

“Finally, someone to keep me company!” Su Junzhe shook the silver-haired boy’s shoulder with a grin. “Watching the broadcast alone was killing me. The eliminated teammates wouldn’t hang out with me—but hey, is it over now? It seems like everyone else got eliminated?”

Before Lai Yudong could answer, his smartwatch did it for him—

“StarEpoch – Lai Yudong has completed the mission.”

“Players cleared: 2. Eliminated: 5.”

“Game over.”

…

That night, phones buzzed nonstop. Experienced Yuzu-fans didn’t even need to check; they already knew which app it was.

Their idol’s habit of posting on Starlight rivaled the traveling frog’s obsession with sending postcards.

Sure enough, when they opened it—

[StarEpoch–Lai Yudong：Run, run, run! Keep running!]

[StarEpoch–Lai Yudong：Joined the show I’ve been following today, and met a totally unexpected friend o(〃▽〃)o]

[StarEpoch–Lai Yudong：Everyone was super kind and helpful, but we made a rule on the bus—anyone eliminated has to split the bill and treat the rest, even if they were heroically sacrificed. No mercy! 👆]

[StarEpoch–Lai Yudong：[photo] Sorry, but the congee-base hotpot was way too good. I’m getting another plate of beef shank ^q^]

—————————————————————

Author’s Note:

Info Drop —

Strongest subjects by member:

Su Junzhe — Mathematics

Lai Yudong — Chinese

Mo Li — Physics

Zhao Yifeng — Chemistry

Qu Xincheng — Fine Arts

Bai Xuanhe — Physical Education

Li Xu — English

Actually, I’ve never tried congee-based hotpot myself (…) but my friends say it’s delicious! I’m planning to find time to try it later!

Next chapter will be in forum format~

Similar to the second public episode — a compilation-style, fragmented record of events during the group’s active period, with part of it touching on what happened after disbandment.

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