Translator: transcendent.wings
T/N: I apologize in advance for the abundance of translator’s notes that will appear in this chapter and sorry about another discrepancy, phizzlepop previously translated cafeteria as canteen, so I have updated the last chapter accordingly to canteen and will henceforth use canteen, sorry about that! ≦(._.)≧
About the copious notes
So there will be a whole section with the crew firing lines from ancient poems back and forth. I have attempted to translate them accurately, albeit loosely. Though do keep in mind to take them with a grain of a salt, or rather a bushel of salt. Just leaving a warning here in case you guys want to skip it because it’s a lot of text. Forgive me! (´▽`ʃƪ)
The 13th day after the outbreak of the zombie tide, sunny.
Dozens of bookcases were arranged into two orderly and neat rows in the room where sunlight streamed through the window lattices, drawing regular squares of light and shadow on the side panel of the bookcases. There was hardly any empty space left over in the room except for the gap between two rows of bookcases and the area in front of the window.
At this time, underneath the base of the window, eight heads were pressed close together facing a map which they brought their fighting spirit for taking final exams out to investigate deeply.
Zhou Yilu: “I don’t need to explain the layout of the canteen, everyone goes every day and should be familiar with it. The first floor is communal, second is specialties, and the private rooms are on the third. Based on the layout, all three have a dining area + kitchen. The first and second floor only have the dining area with a separated food service window. But we want to go to the kitchen, so speaking of the kitchen, the first and third floor are the same. The kitchen is a large space overall and the one on the second floor is divided into several smaller enclosed areas according to the various specialties. In short. . .”
Qi Yan: “The first and third floor kitchens have more food in stock but the one on the second floor is easier to control.”
Zhou Yilu: “Yes, the smaller the space and the more closed off it is, the more beneficial it is for us, but the corresponding foods stored also wouldn’t be as concentrated.”
“My handsome friends,” Lin Dilei reminded, “Right now it’s not a question of which layer we want to control, rather a question of which layer we can control.”
Zhou Yilu’s mood fell as soon as he heard these words and sighed: “That’s right ah, the entire façade is made of glass walls, straight up and down, the entire plane is smooth and connected. Even if we wanted to climb it, there isn’t anywhere we can start.”
“What if we enter through the door,” Song Fei suddenly said.
Qi Yan shook his head without any hesitation: “We only have eight people and the canteen has three doors. At least two people are necessary to close each of the two side doors and two people probably aren’t even enough for the main entrance. If we are all guarding the doors, then who would be able to go in and deal with the zombies?”
“Entering through the doors doesn’t mean that we have to guard them.” Song Fei rolled his eyes then he used his index finger to tap on the map twice, once where the door on the west side was and once on first floor kitchen respectively, “We can come up with a way to try and lure the zombies on the first floor main hall to outside of the canteen, then seize this window of opportunity to enter through the door on the west side which is closest to the kitchen, then bypass the self-service area in one breath and make a break for the kitchen. The eight of us can’t guard three doors effectively, but it’s possible to guard just the door to the kitchen effectively right?”
Qi Yan was stunned.
He had been racking his brains and stuck on “how to climb to the roof”. It’s not that Song Fei’s idea was ingenious, but going from the balcony into the dorm room, the skylight into the supermarket, and even the library they were in now, “sneaking in from the outer walls” had already become his or even many of their comrades-in-arms default mindset, and yet Song Fei was able to break free from it.
“Ke,” Song Fei cleared his throat and pulled Qi Yan’s attention back. When their four eyes met again, he furrowed his brows seriously and questioned, “Can’t you use your brain a little when you do things?”
Qi Yan made a face, this question was all too familiar, but this was the first time he switched from the speaker to the receiving end. He looked at the other who was so pleased with himself that the uplifted corner of his mouth couldn’t be restrained, nearly reaching the heavens.
Qi Yan suddenly clenched his fist tightly.
Qi Yan’s heart unexpectedly skipped a beat then he heard Song Fei say sincerely: “I understand why you always called me out in the past.”
Qi Yan raised an eyebrow, his instincts telling him that he needed to carry on with a doubtful mentality: “Really?”
“En,” Song Fei nodded vigorously, his bright gaze exuded a strange light, “It’s too satisfying, if you’re human then you would definitely fall in love with this feeling!”
“. . .” Qi Yan’s temple throbbed uncontrollably then he retrieved his hand with effort.
Their comrades-in-arms were already used to this scene. To be honest, they were already almost numb when faced with zombies so who would still react to the ambiguous atmosphere between two guys.
However, classmate Li Jingyu wasn’t the same.
He was neither used to the brutality of the zombies nor was he used to the telepathic conversation conducted via the eyes between male classmates. So he admired Wang Qingyuan even more. In the ten days they were together, he already felt that this fellow classmate was extraordinary and now as the other observed calmly as an onlooker, his sincere admiration grew again.
“Three questions,” Qi Yan approved of Song Fei’s proposal, but going from a proposal to a feasible plan still required some perfecting, “First, who will lure the zombies out and how will they do it; Second, after the majority of the group makes it into the kitchen, how would the classmate doing the baiting return to the team; Third, the area of the first floor kitchen is very broad, if there are still zombies inside and a sizable amount of them, how should we deal with them.”
“I haven’t thought that far. . .” Song Fei spoke truthfully. He has a human brain and not an electric brain, how could be possibly cover all aspects of a plan at once, so he turned around to ask his comrades, “What do you guys think?”
Wang Qingyuan was the first to respond: “My battle experience is lacking so I’ll listen to you guys on this matter.”
“Luring zombies is nothing more than utilizing sound and scent, but if you want to attract a large number of zombies in a short time, you are only limited to using sound. Just like how we’ve done it before, either use a cell phone or sing and yell loudly.” Zhou Yilu paused momentarily after saying so then continued, “But if we can’t take cover in an absolutely safe place, this method would be useless and whoever uses it will die.”
Lin Dilei: “The one who’ll lure the zombies can return to the unit from the window as long as the person who enters the kitchen opens the window first. You can’t climb the windows on the second and third floor, but you can always climb the window on the first floor.”
Qiao Siqi: “But this person probably can’t get away safely and reach the area below the window at all. Unless the people in the kitchen can create shadow clones, otherwise opening the window while fighting zombies is also a highly difficult job where skill is needed. Also, what if the person who is climbing through the window is sneak attacked while crawling in? No one would be able to save him and he could only be gnawed to death.”
“Anything is possible, there is no such thing as absolute safety, we can only try our best to increase the probability of survival.” Luo Geng’s deep voice was firm. He ended his statement and looked towards Li-tongxue of the Liberal Arts course who hasn’t spoken yet, “What do you think?”
“. . .” Li Jingyu was already numb. He missed the days of only drinking coffee very much right now. Although his body was slowly deteriorating physically, at least his heart was at peace, “Gathering chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, viewing Nanshan leisurely. The mountains are beautiful at sunset, the flock of birds return together. . .”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
The companions looked at his eyes which were in a trance and his gaze drifted to who knows where and all felt that it was a bit unbearable. They could understand Li Jingyu’s state of collapse. After all, he hadn’t really faced any zombies yet so having to suddenly switch into combat mode with only one life that could be lost at any minute to begin with, no one could face it calmly if one stepped into his shoes. Thinking back to the first few days when they were in the dormitory, they were also in such a state.
Dea gluta cbk atfgf kjr cb wbgf alwf obg tlw ab jvjqa ribkis.
Po Ol Alcuse kjr ralii lc remt j rajaf ktfc la kjr alwf obg atfw ab rfa bea, atfc atf bcf lc vjcufg kbeivc’a yf tlw jibcf, wbra ilxfis, la kbeiv yf atf fcalgf ugbeq.
Ktf mbwgjvfr ibbxfv ja fjmt batfg jcv mbwweclmjafv jczlberis klat atflg fsfr—
[Zhou Yilu: His soul seems to have flown away and scattered. . .]
[Qiao Siqi: What can we do?!]
[Song Fei: Persuade ah, enlighten with emotions and motivate with logic.]
[Lin Dilei: And we have to use his favorite method.]
[Qi Yan: OK.]
[Luo Geng: Wait, what is it ah, hey, language isn’t my strong suit ah—]
“Tao-xiong, snap out of it ba, the Peach Blossom Spring is gone already.” Zhou Yilu repositioned Li Jingyu’s shoulders to look him squarely in the eyes, “Think of old man Lu You, stiffly lying alone in a village not feeling sorry for oneself, but still thinking of how to defend the frontiers of the country!”
Li Jingyu’s unfocused gaze gradually returned: “Lying down in the night listening to the wind and rain, the iron horses and icy rivers storm into my dreams.”
Qiao Siqi continued their efforts: “Jing Kang’s shame, wasn't avenged, the minister’s hate, when will it end?”
Li Jingyu took a deep breath and slowly exhaled: “Driving the chariot, an opening will be driven through Helan Mountain.”
Song Fei hurriedly stuffed the utility knife into his hand: “Thick clouds on Qinghai Mountain cover the snowy mountain in darkness, the lonely city faces Yumen Pass in the distance!”
Li Jinyu clenched the proffered weapon, his gaze slowly becoming serious: “The yellow sands of hundred of battles in golden armor, no return without breaking through Loulan!”
Lin Dilei: “Oath sworn upon Linjiang to exterminate the Hu in mourning clothes, the mighty army of hundred thousands will swallow Wu!”
Li Jingyu: “Let’s see when the powerful army crosses the moat, I don’t believe that the Central Plains won’t be surnamed Zhu!”
Qi Yan: “Wine is consumed with an open heart and bold courage, the hair at the temple is white, but so what!”
Li Jingyu jumped to his feet, his aura surging with great momentum: “The eagle bow will be drawn into a full moon arc, aimed at the northwest, and shoot Sirius!”
The only thing that was missing was the action of kicking down the door. Not only was Li Jingyu’s blood surging, Luo Geng also felt a beating drum thundering in his chest: “Lying drunk on the battlefield is no joke, how many have returned from the battlefield since ancient times!!!”
Li Jingyu: “. . .”
All the comrades-in-arms: “. . .”
The sudden silence was like God suddenly pressing the mute button, Luo Geng instantly realized that he needed to save the act!
“Uh, that, Don’t worry about the boundless future absent of confidants, who under this heaven wouldn’t know of you!”
Li Jingyu: “. . .”
Luo Geng: “F*ck it, I should’ve said the first two lines and not the third and fourth lines right?”
All the comrades: “That’s not the point!!!”
For a long time after that, Li-tongxue of the liberal arts course was immersed in the terrifying illusion of “who under this heaven wouldn’t know of you”. This was a vicious curse that was already terrifying without thinking too deeply about it and delving deeper into it would make it impossible to live.
Luo Geng was in a low mood for a long time, language was originally his death acupoint, just being able to squeeze out two lines from an ancient poem wasn’t an easy thing to do in the first place.
Song Fei and the others began to study the feasibility of their canteen plan, especially the issues that Qi Yan raised. Wang Qingyuan who only said one sentence from beginning to end suddenly asked at this time: “What we have to do now is to fight for as much survival time as possible and wait for rescue, right?”
The five people in discussion raised their heads, not quite understanding what he meant. It was still Song Fei who answered him first: “Yes. We don’t know what the situation is like outside right now. If the zombies are rampant outside, the wasteland may not be safer than staying inside the school.”
Wang Qingyuan nodded, expressing his understanding, but then he changed the train of though: “Since we want to maximize our survival time, we don’t necessarily have to go to the canteen now.”
Song Fei was puzzled: “What do you mean?”
Wang Qingyuan continued: “There are two vending machines at the corner of each staircase on each floor of the library. One selling drinks and the other selling snacks.”
Song Fei was a little taken aback: “I know, but we can only get there by going through the hallway.”
Wang Qingyuan asked: “Do you think that it will be more difficult than making for the canteen?”
Song Fei frowned to mull it over and responded: “It’s hard to say ah.”
From Qi Yan’s point of view, Wang Qingyuan already had an answer in his heart. If he really thought that going to the vending machines was more dangerous than going to the canteen then he wouldn’t have brought up this suggestion at all. But he did bring it up, and he even used a tone equal to that of Song Fei’s to discuss it.
The truth is, as soon as he suggested it, Qi Yan also thought going to the vending machines first was a good idea. If they wanted to survive as they were now, then they shouldn’t allow themselves to let go of any morsel of food that they are within their reach. Instead they should exhaust all of their efforts to raid pristinely wherever they go.
However, if he thought of it first, would he have discussed it with Song Fei?
[Let’s hold off on going to the canteen and go to the vending machines first.]
[Why?]
[There is no reason, can’t you clearly see which one is more advantageous?]
[No, my eyesight is indeed just that bad.]
[Can you not throw a fuss at a time like this?]
[Why do you always think that I’m just throwing a hissy fit?]
[Never mind, we’ll continue this discussion when you’ve calmed down.]
[I’m very f*cking calm right now!]
[If you were so calm then why would you hug someone else so tightly but not hug me?!]
[. . . Huh?]
Qi Yan shuddered and was frightened with his overactive imagination. What was more terrifying was that this mini theater seemed to have the breath of life, restless to the point that it wanted to continue the scene on its own. He had to try his best in order to shake it out of his mind.
On the other side, the comrades-in-arms already reached a conclusion to the debate—
Song Fei: “Then it’s decided, we’ll raid the vending machines first?”
Li Jingyu: “It sounds like it’s a lower difficulty level compared to the canteen. . .”
Qiao Siqi: “But do we have enough money on us to operate it ah?”
Luo Geng: “Are you stupid, just smash it directly!”
Zhou Yilu: “That’s right, we don’t dare to do anything else except murder now!”
Luo Geng: “Uh, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. . .”
“Song Fei,” Lin Dilei tugged on his clothes, “Do you want to go take a look at Qi Yan, he keeps shaking his head forcefully very strangely. . .”
And just like that, this day passed very peacefully with the group’s conference. The food they collected at the express pickup point was still enough to last for two to three days so they weren’t in a hurry.
As night fell, the companions laid on the makeshift mattress pieced together by books on the floor. Although it was a little hard, at least it could separate them from the chill of the floorboards.
Moonlight replaced daylight and filtered through the window lattice. It was clearly a cool color, but in the silence of the night, it made people feel relaxed and warm.
It’s been a long time since they’ve gone to bed with the lights off.
Relying on the clear night sky and the companions beside, eight people embraced the long-lost night.
“Yo, hey, the one playing with a cell phone, have you had enough yet!”
The light of a screen was jarring in the bright and clear moonlight, really ruining the scenery.
Li Jingyu pursed his lips: “Just a little longer, just a tiny bit.”
“You’ve a little longer-ed for a while already,” Qiao Siqi who was so sleepy that he couldn’t bear it anymore, “If you don’t turn off the phone, then I won’t et you use the charger anymore!”
Li Jingyu: “How can you reclaim something you’ve gifted to another. Besides, what’s the use of taking it back, all you’ll do is watch it recharge your thoughts.”
“Good, very good. . .” Qiao Siqi got up violently as he spoke and made a move to snatch it.
Between him and Li Jingyu there still lay a Zhou Yilu, the little Zhou that could sleep even if the sky collapsed, currently returned to the CET-4 in his dreams. He answered every question seamlessly from beginning to end and was just waiting to hand in his exam paper when he was suddenly attacked and bumped into by a tiger’s pounce from John, paji, lying on his side turned into lying on his stomach and his dream of handing in the exam shattered.
“Qiao Siqi, f*ck your uncle—”
John didn’t have any spare time to deal with him, he just stretched out a hand to hook the charger. Li Jingyu also wasn’t an herbivore, he yanked on the phone and tugged the charger along in a smooth dragon roll ground move and when he sat back up again he was a great distance away.
Qiao Siqi hated it with a passion. He sat up and prepared for a second attack, but who would’ve known that when he just took a step on Zhou Yilu’s back, an unfamiliar woman’s voice would suddenly ring out in the vast closed stacks.
[Son, you’re stupid aren’t you, you’re only 1.68 meters tall, if you don’t look for a tall partner, in the future when my grandson is standing in a sea of people, you wouldn’t be able to find him even if you stood on your tippy toes!]
The air abruptly solidified.
The voice clearly carried an electrical current within it, obviously coming from a cell phone.
Qiao Siqi was stunned and was suddenly in no mood to continue horsing around.
Li Jingyu didn’t expect that he would accidentally touch the screen and broadcast the WeChat history he was secretly looking at. Originally he only wanted to silently reread the text and didn’t dare to listen to the voice messages, but now that he heard the familiar voice, his eyes turned red directly.
Qiao Siqi moved his lips, but still didn’t know what he should say and finally just laid down resentfully.
Li Jingyu sniffled, a little embarrassed, and also laid back down silently.
Other than the gifted Zhou Yilu, none of the other comrades were asleep. Even if they were asleep, they were long since stirred awake. If anyone was able to remove the roof of the library now, they would clearly see eight people lying down in rows, staring blankly at the ceiling without saying a word in the closed stacks.
An unknown amount of time passed when Lin Dilei’s voice suddenly broke the silence: “Your mom’s words actually makes a lot of sense, eugenics ma.”
Li Jingyu’s voice was a little raw: “Do you really think so?”
Lin Dilei: “En.”
Li Jingyu: “How tall are you?”
The comrades: “. . .”
Luo Gen: “F*ck off!”
Li Jingyu was a little choked up again: “I was just asking casually, otherwise my mother’s voice is all I can hear when I close my eyes. It’s hard to bear.”
Luo Geng was also affected by him and felt uncomfortable in his heart: “Then just listen to your dad’s, fight poison with poison.”
Li Jingyu: “My dad doesn’t know how to send WeChat messages!”
Luo Geng was angered as he sat up immediately and pulled out his phone: “Then listen to my dad! That’s bro enough, right, I’m even sharing my dad with you—”
[If you still can’t pass the CET-4 then you don’t need to pass the end of the year. You’re not allowed to come back during the winter holidays, just stay at the school and study for me!!!]
Father Luo’s tone of voice overwhelmed the mountains and rivers and encompassed the skies.
The companions were wide awake now and all sat up one after another, each so shocked that they performed a carp flip as if sleeping for another second was a sin.
Luo Geng was pleased with himself: “How was that, pretty invigorating ba?”
Qiao Siqi stated the truth: “It can even ward off evil spirits.”
Li Jingyu immediately treated dear Luo-tongxue with respect: “Such a great dad, you should enjoy alone, you don’t have to share him with me. . .”
Luo Geng sighed with complicated feelings: “If I can’t get out of this alive, then this would be the last thing my dad said to me.”
“Peipeipei,” Lin Dilei sullenly refuted, “Don’t say these inauspicious things.”
Li Jingyu depressingly echoed: “That just now was also the last thing my mom said to me.”
Qiao Siqi rolled his eyes: “At least you guys can still hear it, I don’t even have my cell phone anymore.”
Qi Yan silently patted him on the shoulder, conveying his concern and also seeking some comfort for himself.
“Do you think that being able to listen to it is a good thing?” Lin Dilei went all out concealing nothing as she took out her cell phone to open WeChat and hit play decisively.
[How many times do I have to tell you, enough is enough, don’t think that just because you’re pretty you should be so picky. Girls who have passed twenty are thirty and past thirty is forty, if you don’t look for someone now then in the future all of the good men will have been taken by others. Also, you haven’t gotten taller again right, I’m begging you please don’t drink any more milk. When you’ve returned to the dorms, start a video call with me, I need to see your height in real-time. Just when will you return to the dorms ya?]
The entire voice message didn’t exceed twenty seconds, the talking speed was extremely fast, conveying the mellifluous and frustrated voice perfectly. After listening to it, the companions had the illusion that Aunt Lin was still talking and that her voice would linger around the roof beams for three days yet still not lose momentum.
Parents, this was a taboo term for the six companions the entire journey. They weren’t afraid of the zombies, weren’t fearful of danger, and even dared to face death directly, but no one dared to mention parents. That was the death acupoint that they couldn’t disguise no matter what they did or how many gas masks they had. They always felt that with a slight touch, the flimsy strength and courage they tried hard to accumulate would be unceremoniously defeated. So they dodged, they hid, and deliberately disregarded it.
However it was only at this moment that they suddenly realized, maybe it was the opposite. These feelings that they thought would bring fragility, was precisely the courage and conviction that had always supported them.
Later on, it unknowingly became a battle of whose parents’ last WeChat message brought on the greatest lethality. Zhou Yilu, Wang Qingyuan played their parents’ last messages successively, but in the finals, Song Fei’s mother who appeared second to last, won over the entire field with a crushing strength—
[Mom misses you to death. When you first applied to such a far place, I wasn’t willing at all from the bottom of my heart. . . aiai don’t move, 90K, I’ve won HAHAHAHA!!!]
Author's Chapter Summary:
Both plots are vigorously debated, erroneous broadcast of Weixin warms the heart!
The translator has something to say: translating this chapter was exhausting, all of quotes from famous poems _(:3」∠)_ I also thought this earlier, but where art thou injury of Qi Yan and AHAHHAHA their mom’s are just as silly as I expected, perfect examples of sand sculptures.
Song Fei’s mother is too funny. Halfway through the message, she won the lottery.
Thanks for the chapter
I know right XD but you may have misunderstood the thing, she won a mahjong game and not the lottery
Thank you for the chapter!
That was foul 💀
Thanks for the chapter!! 🥰
Wtf I caught up!!!
These language of poems… killing me! Ahh!! And the last part, mama Fei was so sweet!!
Thank you for the chapter 💜
Mama Song 🤣🤣🤣
Is Li Jingyu gay? Or I just misunderstood his mom’s voice message?
He’s short. And wishes he’ll marry someone taller, so LJs son don’t grow short/ shorter too.
Ooooh, okay! Thank you for clearing it to me! 🙂
Eugenics?? Uh is that translation right? Isn’t that idea closely tied to Nazis?
Lol Did she mean genetics?