Translator: transcendentwings
The night grew deep.
The coolness of the wind increased sharply at a perceptible speed and the fourteen friends hanging on the trees were all feeling a bit overwhelmed.
“He Zhiwen, what if you try again ne.” Song Fei refused to give up.
He Zhiwen held the remote control tremblingly on his legs. He clung onto the tree branch with one hand and manipulated the joystick with the other, lowering the aircraft back onto the roof as he cast a helpless look at Song Fei: “I’ve tried it several times already and as you can see, it’s completely useless. It would be okay if they hadn’t caught sight of us, but now that they are locked onto us, no matter how the aircraft hits the edge, it isn’t as attractive as a living person.”
Qi Yan pondered for a moment: “We have to find a way to prevent them from seeing us.”
Song Fei rolled his eyes: “That’s easy to say. We are stuck like candied haws in a haystack while it’s empty in all directions around us. Where can we hide?”
“Ai, why don’t you guys just admit that you have no vision, you should’ve chosen a tree like mine, high up above, as deep as the sea. Even if they looked up, all they could discern are a bunch of withered branches.” Having chosen the one closest to the auditorium, which was also the tallest and the one with the densest branches, Luo Geng couldn’t help but brag.
“You’ve clambered up rather high ah.” Song Fei echoed in admiration.
“That’s for sure.”
“Can you see the roof of the auditorium?”
“It’s just to the right, laid bare before my eyes at a glance.”
“Are there any zombies?”
“You mean on the roof? How’s that possible.”
“Alrighty. Jump over.”
“. . .”
Luo Geng peered at the roof one meter away and then at the distance below that was akin to an abyss, hating that he couldn’t have just sewn his mouth shut.
“Actually, I didn’t climb up that high, really. . .”
Song Fei also knew that this task was a bit difficult, but considering the overall situation, only the position in which Luo Geng was at could give it a try: “We can’t hang on the trees forever, it consumes too much physical energy. Now that the zombies are unwilling to leave, the more time drags on, the more tragic our situation will be.”
Luo Geng: “I know we have to look for a safe place to stay as soon as possible, but if I fail this jump, did you not even consider that you will lose your dear lovely comrade forever!”
Song Fei: “It’s not your style to give up so easily. Haven’t you also always persisted in your efforts at the arduous task of pursuing Little Landmine!”
Luo Geng: “And I nearly can’t preserve any longer!”
Lin Dilei: “What sad news.”
Luo Geng: “. . .”
Song Fei: “. . .”
Luo Geng: “Song Fei, how many times have I warned you already, don’t stop me, I’m going to jump!!!”
With a loud holler, Luo Geng rose into the air. He used so much force that he instantly broke the branch as thick as his forearms with his feet. There was only the noise of a crisp kacha and the broken branch lowered its head as Luo Geng hung onto the edge of the roof.
When he stood up on the tree, his height was about level with the roof, or at most only one head higher. Therefore, he not only had to leap forward and upwards at the same time, but he also had to be very swift to ensure that he would not fall too much during the movement and miss the eaves by a hair’s breadth.
Fortunately, he provided himself with enough of an interval.
The fingers that were clinging tightly to the eaves turned white instantly as Luo Geng tried his best to pull himself up.
At last, his head was higher than the roof once more, he immediately raised one foot up to hook onto the edge then he used his hands and feet to leverage his entire body over it.
Spread out in the character for big, Luo Geng panted heavily while gazing up at the night sky.
The companions had been joking on the surface and were genuinely apprehensive in their hearts, now they were finally able to relax as they breathed out a sigh of relief.
Luo Geng didn’t rest for too long. After a short period, he sprung up like a carp at rocket speed, slipped off his backpack, and quickly fished the rope out as he cast his gaze around for a place to secure it.
Song Fei, who was the next closest to the roof, but definitely couldn’t jump over to it, swung his backpack with his arm and tossed it diagonally upwards onto the roof.
Luo Geng picked up on what the other wanted to do, took out Song Fei’s rope as well, connected the two parts, and was finally able to obtain the right length. Ultimately, the rope was hung quietly to the left of the main entrance to the auditorium with one end of the rope dangling about one meter above the ground.
After completing all these steps, Luo Geng skillfully ran to the other end of the rope which was at the rear of the auditorium and without further direction from his comrades, he lay flat out along the eaves and began to sing softly.
There was no place more suitable for love songs than the auditorium under the moonlight—
“If I were a hyperbola~~ You would be the asymptote~~ If I were an inverse proportional function~~ You would be the coordinate axis~~ Although we are destined to be born on the same plane~~ We are also not destined~~ Traveling along a long and slow road with no intersection. . .”
What the original song was like, the companions didn’t know, but when Luo Geng sang it, it really moved people to tears and hurt their heart. It was like the bloody history of a painful pursuit of a beautiful woman.
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.
Kkfinf qjlgr bo fsfr rkecu abkjgvr Olc Glifl—kts vbc’a sbe pera ecvfgrajcv tlr tfjga.
Little Landmine rolled her eyes at each and every one of them—It wouldn’t hurt their waists standing while watching someone else solve equations.
Pc atf yglfo rqfii bo “mbcnfslcu offilcur klat bcf’r fsfr”, atf hbwylfr kfgf yjrlmjiis jii iegfv bnfg ys Oeb Xfcu. Ktf ijaafg cba bcis rjcu, yea jirb gjc yjmx jcv obgat jibcu bcf fvuf bo atf gbbo ab rlcu. Ktlr akb-qgbcufv jqqgbjmt bynlberis lcafgfrafv atf hbwylfr wbgf atjc atf mjcvlfv tjkr raemx lc atf agffr.
In the end, only two were still lingering underneath the tree Qiao Siqi and Zhou Yilu were on.
Zhou Yilu was too lazy to parse out who was actually the most enticing, thus he climbed down a little lower, beckoned them first, then pulled out his spear to take them down with a few blows.
At this point, the rest of the energetic zombies were congregated at the back of the auditorium and the main entrance had already been completely cleared.
The companions all descended from their respective trees and like cats in the night, they climbed up following the rope onto the rooftop.
The last one to go up was Qi Yan. As soon as his two feet hit solid ground, he retracted the rope cleanly.
And Luo Geng just so happened to finish looping his single for the third time at this moment.
Everyone slunk towards the center of the roof, trying their best to prevent the zombies from seeing their living, breathing figures.
Of course, the roof was no warmer than the trees.
“What should we do now,” Feng Qibai asked, “Just wait here for the zombies to scatter themselves?”
Before any companion could answer, Qi Yan interjected: “Which day does your department’s art performance fall on?”
“December twentieth, why?” Feng Qibai didn’t get his comrade’s intention.
“That means the performance hadn’t started yet on the day of the incident.”
“That’s for sure ah, the building was closed for the CET-4 and CET-6 exams, so for gongs and drums to be struck upon in the auditorium loudly would be way too ludicrous.”
“What about rehearsals? The performance was supposed to be in two days, so you must have had a dress rehearsal, right?”
“The dress rehearsal in the auditorium was completed two days before the exams. Although the performance was hosted by our department, the school leaders paid special attention to it, so after we tidied up in preparation, no one was allowed to enter again. Thus, even when our supervisor wasn’t assured and wanted to rehearse one more time, it was all held at our own building.”
“I can testify,” apart from the parties involved, Wu Zhou had the most say, “When I was looking for the radio, it was a Halloween party in the Yixin building.”
“Qi Yan, I know what you want to confirm,’ Feng Qibai stated, “I can’t guarantee whether there are any zombies in this auditorium now, but there will definitely not be a large number of students from the arts department, no matter survivors or. . . the infected.”
Qi Yan nodded: “That’s good.”
Song Fei frowned: “What do you mean by asking a bunch of random things?”
Qi Yan expounded: “When I climbed up just now, I deliberately took a glance at the front door, it was sealed from the inside with a lock and chain.”
“What’s so strange about that? When the auditorium is not in use, the security guards lock it from the inside. . . Security guards?” Song Fei sort of had an inkling now.
“En,” Qi Yan continued, “Since it was locked from the inside, that proves that there was someone in the auditorium. And it was daytime when the outbreak occurred, but now the lights are on inside, which means that at least whoever was inside was alive at that time. However, if there was a performance at the time or a rehearsal, even if those inside survived, after so many days, it would be hard to imagine what the scene inside would be like. If there was no rehearsal and the venue was cleared, it is likely that there would only be a few security guards present and perhaps a few more survivors that may have made their way here coincidentally on the day of the incident. After all, this place is quite remote and is unlikely to be chosen as a firstline shelter for refuge. In this way, no matter what the situation inside is, as long as there isn’t a crushing number of them, it wouldn’t be too difficult to deal with.”
“Or,” Song Fei followed along Qi Yan’s train of thought, “The few days to even tens of days after the outbreak of zombies, someone fled here and used this place as a stronghold just like we guarded the canteen?”
“It would be even better in that case since the probability of them being survivors would be very high and we wouldn’t have to worry about encountering zombies or classmates who are in peril.”
Qi Yan’s explanation was clear and reasonable, but Song Fei still felt that he made something simple more complicated than necessary: “Didn’t you just want to suggest entering to warm up a bit and regain some strength? Is it meaningful to have so many reservations?”
Qi Yan rolled his eyes at him, exasperated, wanting to roast the other, but still held it back and patiently continued: “Whenever you entertain the thought of going somewhere where the situation is unknown, you must postulate so that if an accident does arise, you wouldn’t be taken completely off guard and would be more prepared to deal with it.”
Song Fei was speechless.
Indeed, if he went in without any mental preparations and saw corpses everywhere, even cannibalism, he wouldn’t be confident in saying he could bear it. The scene at the track and field arena was exactly a silent scene of zombie carnage which made his scalp numb even when he recalled now.
Qi Yan was still the one in the right as always, but now he can’t even find fault with “correct thought processes but bad attitude”. . . D*mn it, why did this bad guy have to evolve!!!
Qi Yan: “Any more questions?”
Song Fei: “Yes.”
Qi Yan: “There’s still more?”
Song Fei: “Can you call me out like you did in the past?”
Qi Yan: “. . .”
This was a puzzling request. Even someone as smart as Qi Yan also needed to mull it over.
On the other side, Wang Qingyuan held his forehead, wishing he could drag his unpromising roommate over, return him to the furnace and remold him!
“Well,” Qiao Siqi sniffled and raised a shaking hand, “We are already frozen until we can’t take it anymore. If we’ve decided to enter the auditorium, can we carry that out first and then continue to flirt with each other?”
The zombies at the base of the surrounding walls still have not dispersed, preventing the companions from advancing any further. If it could be said that they were apprehensive about entering the auditorium before, now that the “wind was blowing and their snot was flowing”, they couldn’t carry on with so many considerations anymore.
Dongdong.
Dongdongdong.
A small hammer was tied to one end of the rope and its iron head was hitting the glass.
This was the window of the security room on the side of the building. If, as Qi Yan speculated, it was the security guards who locked the door, then they would most likely be hiding in their own territory.
There was no answer.
Luo Geng was sprawled on the other edge to attract the zombies so that the base of the building where they swung the hammer was as quiet as could be.
There was no response from inside the room, only the shoushou of the cold gusts outside.
There were three possibilities for this situation. First, like those students trapped in the library, those who gained safety couldn’t persist until the end due to a lack of food and water; Second, when they escaped, someone had already been bitten but were still in the incubation period, thus, with the doors and windows locked, they thought they were safe, but were then gnawed on when the infection finally manifested; Third, the survivors abandoned the security room and hid elsewhere in the auditorium.
The companions hoped that it would be the third type, but they also had to be prepared for the second possibility.
“Breakthrough.”
Qi Yan gave the order and Zhao He, who had been antsy with eagerness, stretched out his long arms to knock on the corner of the window for ventilation hard with the hammer!
Only two strikes.
And there was a “kala” sound as cracks formed from the center point where the hammer struck and spread out in all directions, eventually turning the entire pane of glass into a spiderweb.
Zhao He shifted the hammer to the center of the pane and hit it again.
The entire piece of glass shattered into smithereens.
There were already zombies who were ambling over after hearing the noise, yet since the window was high above, they could only gaze upwards into the void and sigh.
The lights were on in the room and Qi Yan, who probed his head down, used the light to take a cursory look at the situation inside the security office.
From his point of view, he could basically see two-thirds of the room and the remaining one-third, which was the lower half below the window, was a visual blind spot that rendered Qi Yan powerless to overcome.
However, the door facing the window for ventilation could be seen clearly—The door was left wide open, and through the window, he could directly glimpse the lit auditorium corridor beyond it.
The hallway was still as empty as they could tell from when they climbed the rope at the front entrance.
The corridor of the auditorium was a circular shape. The outer rim of the corridor was the outer wall of the auditorium and the inner circle was the fully enclosed venue. In other words, advancing from any point in the hallway, one could return to the starting point which was equivalent to circling around the outside of the actual auditorium.
This design concept was similar to that of many concert halls. It was equivalent to wrapping the stage and auditorium in a sound-insulating cover and then tucking that cover underneath a bright and transparent decorative exterior wall. Then between the layers of covers was the corridor. Of course, the backstage of the venue was another world connected to the outside so that the performers and the audience could be distinguished and separated clearly.
The companions couldn’t confirm whether the entirety of the circular corridor was safe, though at least it seemed so as far as the eye could see, as such, they filed in through the window for ventilation without further ado.
The first one to land was Qi Yan. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he whipped around instantly.
Fortunately, there was no one concealed in that blind spot.
The next second, he swiftly closed the door of the security room and locked it, which was when he discovered that the lock was in good condition with no trace of man-made damage.
After over a minute later, all the companions made their way inside safely.
There was only one locker in the security room and two desks that were paired with two chairs. In addition to the notebook on the table, there was only a landline and two walkie-talkie charging stations on top of it. The plug of the charging stand was still inserted into the power supply, but it was empty and there was no walkie-talkie in it. It seemed as if it was connected to the power source all year round so that the walkie-talkie could be charged immediately when inserted.
Yet there were no security guards in sight, no walkie-talkies, no signs of fighting, and further no hints of an extended stay.
This was just an ordinary security office, which seemed as if the security guards had merely gone out on patrol or to use the toilet.
The wind blew in through the window with a huhu, but it still felt much better than when they were on the treetops or the roof.
The companions avoided the wind and huddled in the corner, gradually recovering some strength, though their bodies still felt a chill.
There was still half a tank full of water left in the water dispenser, though they weren’t sure how many days had passed, the companions still removed the bucket to inspect the inside of the dispenser carefully. It seemed that there was nothing wrong with it. Then they replaced the water jug on top again and pressed the heat button.
Although everyone had brought water with them, one, it was too cold, two, resources were limited, so if they could save some, they would.
Not too long after heat mode, it automatically jumped to keep warm.
The companions pressed down on the water outlet valve, yet didn’t catch the water in any medium, just letting it spill onto the floor.
After letting it run for about a minute, they set it on heat mode again. Once the reheating was completed, they used the enamel mug they brought from the canteen to fill up on hot water, divide it up, and drink.
The scalding hot water finally restored some warmth into everyone and they felt their sapped strength return.
Zhao He moved the table under the window for ventilation, clambered on top and looked down, after which he turned to look back at the battlefront by the outer wall—the zombies still hadn’t left yet.
The companions weren’t counting on that in the first place, it would be great if the zombies would disperse on their own, but they also wouldn’t just sit still and wait for their demise if they didn’t.
Entering the auditorium was only for the sake of warming up a bit, now that they were pretty much all warmed up, it was only natural that they had to keep moving forward.
However—
“Can we wait a bit before leaving?”
Song Fei’s request interrupted Zhao-tongxue, who was about to be the first to stick his foot out the window for departure.
“What do you want to do?” Zhao He questioned warily, instinctively feeling that this wasn’t anything good.
Song Fei offered a friendly smile, his tone gentle: “Since we’ve already come all the way in, let’s explore for a bit before leaving bei.”
Sure enough.
Zhao He became increasingly cautious: “The outer corridor or inside the venue?”
Song Fei didn’t mind either way: “It doesn’t matter, wherever we make it to.”
Zhao He made a face, while Qiao Siqi couldn’t hold it in better than the other as he yanked Song Fei over to look him in the eyes: “What on earth are you thinking? The light is on, but there is no one here, what we’d find would either be corpses or zombies ah, my friend.”
“John, you have made progress.” Song Fei meant what he said, the other’s words were concise and clear and if it weren’t for those last three words of exclamation, he would have thought that it was Qi Yan speaking ne.
Qiao Siqi sat down, rejection exuding from every pore of his body: “There was always something I never understood when I watched horror films in the past. Why do the people in the film tend to head towards strange places. For example, there are strange disturbances or phenomena in a house, no matter how one looks at it, it’s alarming, shouldn’t normal people just run away quickly, where’s the logic behind rushing in ah!”
Song Fei chuckled, and swiftly went to pull Qiao Siqi: “Alright now, I won’t tease you anymore.”
The latter frowned, a confused look on his face: “What exactly do you mean?”
“He wants to see if we can find the walkie-talkies.” Qi Yan couldn’t stand it anymore and directly revealed the answer to this riddle.
The security guard was most likely still in the auditorium. Even if the worst happened and they were zombified, the walkie-talkie should still be hanging on the person. Such communication equipment was a timely rain for the Wusheng Class, who basically relied on shouting to speak or operating the model hovercraft as a last resort.
Once they run into a situation similar to when they were looking for the radio where their team was split up they no longer needed to play drums and flutes. They could even rely on the walkie-talkie to proactively adopt a two-way strategy when necessary.
Qiao Siqi was stunned for a while, his mind whirling until it nearly started to emit smoke. Finally, when he peered at the walkie-talkie charging base on the table, he was abruptly enlightened.
Yet the reasoning was still the same logic and the risk was still that dangerous.
“What if we can’t find it?”
Qi Yan: “If we can’t find it, then we’ll just retreat.”
“What should we do if we didn’t locate it and we also encounter a, large, group of zombies?”
Qi Yan: “Currently, it seems that the possibility of a, large, group of zombies is relatively low.”
“It’s relatively low, but it’s still not zero percent.”
Qi Yan: “The hallway is basically empty right now, even if there were zombies, they’d be roaming around in the assembly hall. We’ll just go to door number 1, which is the closest to the security room and turn off all the lights in the nearby corridor before we survey the interior through a gap in the door. If we can handle the situation, we’ll continue, if we can’t, we’ll scatter.”
“You make it sound like a small deal, but what if zombies come out of other doors and come around to attack us from behind?”
Qi Yan: “Of course we’ll have someone keeping a look out.”
“. . .”
Qi Yan: “Are you really not prepared to bravely volunteer yourself?”
“Didn’t you hear me keep silent one round earlier!”
Qiao Siqi was tortured by Qi Yan until he wanted to cry, yet he had no tears.
Only Song Fei’s jaw dropped open in shock.
It wasn’t because of how smoothly Qi Yan led the conversation, but that every sentence that Qi Yan laid out was exactly what he had wanted to say, practically word for word!
In the past few days, Song Fei did feel that the tacit understanding between the two of them had improved significantly on this road to survival, but it was still very creepy that it had improved so rapidly and thoroughly. Then if he calls Qi Yan a b*stard in his heart from now on, would that guy be able to hear it?
“No need to look at me with such admiration, I have always been reliable.”
Very good, his internal OS was still safe for the time being.
Author’s Chapter Summary:
The zombies under the eaves find it difficult to exit stage left, temporarily take shelter is for the best!
The translator has something to say: it’s always a comedy skit with this group, they always have the best comebacks for each other
Update 2/2
thanks for the chapter!!! <333
Aw they are getting along so well. Thank you for the update.