Chapter 8: The Security Guard
“Do you have a weapon?”
Seeing that Chi Xiaoxian had already packed his backpack, Fang Yue asked out of nowhere.
“I have a stick that Zheng Yikai snapped off the turnstile earlier.” Chi Xiaoxian held out the broken metal rod for Fang Yue to see.
Fang Yue didn’t reach out to take it, however, merely staring at Chi Xiaoxian. “Test it.”
“Huh?”
“Test it out—swing at me.”
“Hitting someone with this actually hurts pretty bad.” Holding the rod, Chi Xiaoxian felt a bit at a loss.
“It doesn’t matter. Use all your strength,” Fang Yue said, nonchalant and calm.
Chi Xiaoxian wasn’t entirely sure, but he still swung the rod toward Fang Yue.
The rod was caught firmly by Fang Yue.
“Again. Don’t hold back your force.”
Clack.
The rod was captured securely in Fang Yue’s grip once more, coming to a halt just ten centimeters from his hair.
“Again.”
Clack.
…
“Your physical strength is weak; relying purely on force to smash won’t work. You have to rely on acceleration.” Fang Yue turned partially, raising a stick in a demonstration posture. “Imagine you’re a baseball player. If you want the ball to fly far, you have to increase the time and speed of the stick swinging through the air, and then hit it out using that momentum.”
“With this method, even if what you’re holding isn’t a rod but a book, it can still pack immense power,” Fang Yue guided patiently. “Try it again.”
Chi Xiaoxian turned his body backward slowly and then swung the rod upward.
Whoosh—! The metal rod whipped through the air with the sound of wind.
Yet Fang Yue didn’t dodge. Startled, Chi Xiaoxian forcefully braked his strength mid-swing, his body pitching forward due to inertia.
Fang Yue’s chest felt warm, a faint, clean breeze smelling of soap brushing past Chi Xiaoxian’s face as the clothes lifted. The other man politely caught him with a hand for support.
“Don’t pull your strength suddenly; keep a firm footing.” The cool, somewhat dry voice sounded from above his head.
Chi Xiaoxian took a step back to stand properly, raising his eyes to look at Fang Yue, whispering softly, “Sorry about that.”
“The force was sufficient, though.” Fang Yue nodded. “Just like that just now. Aim for the head, don’t hesitate.”
While Chi Xiaoxian practiced on his own, Fang Yue retrieved a half-meter-long hammer from the toolbox. He twisted the hammerhead, finding it fairly tight, and set it beside him for use.
Next, he brought over a stack of cardboard shipping boxes and a roll of tape. Using scissors, he cut the hard cardboard into suitable lengths, folded them in half, and flattened them.
“What is this for?” Chi Xiaoxian asked curiously.
“Extend your arms.”
Fang Yue wrapped the cardboard around Chi Xiaoxian’s forearms and secured it with tape.
“A simple shield. It can prevent zombies from biting your wrists and arms, reducing the risk of infection,” Fang Yue explained.
After he helped tie up Chi Xiaoxian and the security guard uncle, Chi Xiaoxian followed his example and bound both of Fang Yue’s arms as well.
“The plan is to set off at night,” Fang Yue said. “Right now, the biggest problem is that the main gate of the dormitory is locked from the inside. It would be best if we could contact someone inside to help unlock it secretly. If not, we’ll have to climb over the perimeter wall, but if I remember correctly, there is electrified barbed wire on top of the wall.”
“I asked my roommate, and he said the key is with the class president, Li Tong,” Chi Xiaoxian explained. “Li Tong is the guy who locked the door after crawling inside back then.”
The security guard uncle suddenly spoke up, “Building A, right? I actually know a gap you can crawl through.”
He had discovered that gap while on patrol at night. Back then, some students had stayed out late playing and couldn’t tap their cards to get into the dorm when they returned, so they used flashlights to crawl in through the hole. He later discovered the hole, and the school brought people over to build a trash collection station outside it, covering the opening up. So all they needed to do was push the trash dumpster aside to get in.
The plan instantly became clear and simple. The three of them finalized it then and there, waiting for night to fall.
While they were resting and preparing, Zheng Yikai knocked on the door and walked in.
“I changed my mind. I’m going with you guys.”
“Anyway, I eat the most. Staying here just takes up everyone else’s living space. I’d rather take a gamble and go back to the dorm. There’s still plenty of food in my room.” Before the three of them could ask him why, he started explaining on his own.
Fang Yue: “That’s your own decision. We can’t control you.”
“I know. I don’t need to follow you guys either—I can break out on my own.”
Zheng Yikai snorted, though he shot a rapid glance at Chi Xiaoxian.
Ever since he walked in, Chi Xiaoxian had kept his head lowered, playing on a phone—Fang Yue’s phone.
Fang Yue said to Zheng Yikai, “Go find a weapon for self-defense.”
“Don’t need you reminding me.” Turning his head, he walked out.
Chi Xiaoxian put down the phone, hesitated briefly, and then said, “Although his character is lousy, he’s pretty decent at fighting. My rod was snapped off the gate turnstile by him by force, and he knocked over several zombies…”
Fang Yue raised an eyebrow. “You’re afraid he’ll ask for it back?”
“Yeah,” Chi Xiaoxian admitted awkwardly.
“I thought you had a psychological shadow from him.”
Chi Xiaoxian said honestly, “I don’t. I don’t have any other strengths, but I have a good attitude. Things that have happened, whether good or bad, can all be treated as enriching life experiences and observing the world’s differences.”
“Besides, isn’t there still you?” Chi Xiaoxian blinked. “With you around, why would I be afraid of him?”
“Don’t rely on others casually.” Fang Yue’s brow knit together slightly. “What if I also had that kind of interest in you?”
“Emmm… First of all, it’s impossible for me to have that much attraction.”
“At least you have some self-awareness.”
“Mainly because—” Chi Xiaoxian shrugged, “—a guy like you obviously has sky-high tastes and standards. You’d only like someone as exceptional as yourself.”
“You’re not me, how do you know?”
“I have razor-sharp eyes and divine foresight.” Chi Xiaoxian hummed twice.
—
After spending a quiet afternoon, nightfall arrived right on schedule.
The four of them crouched in front of the rolling shutter. The security guard uncle used a wrench to gently pry open a small gap at the bottom of the door.
A gust of hot summer night wind crept inside, stirring a few bubbles into the room’s air that had been as stifling as muddy water.
Fang Yue had mapped out the shortest route from the print shop to the hole in the dormitory wall: reach the cafeteria first, follow the cafeteria corridor across an overgrown grassy field behind the back door, and finally arrive at the trash collection station.
Estimated time: five minutes.
Before hitting the road, Fang Yue asked Old Chen for a few empty aluminum cans, flattened them, and stuffed them into his backpack.
With everything prepared, the four of them rolled out through the gap beneath the rolling shutter. The concrete pavement heated by the sun during the day was still slightly warm to the touch, coarse sand scraping against the tender skin of Chi Xiaoxian’s arms and leaving red marks.
Chi Xiaoxian followed closely behind Fang Yue, landing on the balls of his feet first to lighten the sound of his footsteps.
Silence reigned all around, broken only by light, quiet footfalls.
There were no wandering zombies outside at night. Their luck was good, and they reached the cafeteria smoothly.
Earlier, Chi Xiaoxian had also thought about whether to search the cafeteria for supplies, but Fang Yue had dismissed the idea. At that point, a day and a half had passed since the zombie outbreak, and the cafeteria’s outer perimeter consisted of thin glass that couldn’t withstand zombie attacks at all.
Moreover, university catering was uniformly supplied by the government every day, transported to the catering department by specialized food delivery trucks at four in the morning, and then distributed to three cafeterias. After the zombie outbreak, dispatching trucks for supply was impossible, so there shouldn’t be much stock left in the cafeteria anyway.
The situation on site was roughly as Fang Yue had anticipated. The ring of glass surrounding the cafeteria was almost entirely shattered. Scattered glass shards emitted galaxy-like fine starlight under the beam of the flashlights, crunching beneath their feet.
Fang Yue said in a low voice, “Watch your step.”
Chi Xiaoxian peered into the cafeteria using the flashlight beam. Tables and chairs were scattered topsy-turvy, most of them incomplete and broken. Broken chair legs lay everywhere, exposing sharp wooden splinters. Some splinters were stained a dark red, resembling withered, razor-sharp claws clutching fiercely toward the sky.
A dark, sickly sweet odor lingered in the air, making one feel faintly nauseous.
Suddenly, a heavy thud sounded from behind.
The group turned to look and found that Zheng Yikai had been tripped up by something, nearly slipping over.
The flashlight beam swept across the sole of his shoe, and the thing stuck to it made almost everyone’s skin crawl—it was a patch of sticky, blood-red paste, impossible to tell which part of a human body it came from.
Fang Yue frowned. “Leave quickly…”
Before his words fully landed, BANG! Glass shards showered down with a loud crash!
In a corner where piles of abandoned tables and chairs lay, a zombie crouching in the shadows leaped up, smashing the last remaining pane of intact glass and lunging straight toward them—
The sheer speed sent a jolt of shock through everyone’s heart!
Fang Yue and Zheng Yikai swung the weapons in their hands almost simultaneously.
CLANG!
The hammerhead and wrench collided, producing a metallic ringing sound. The zombie actually dodged it cleverly!
Fang Yue instantly reversed the hammerhead’s direction and hammered it brutally into the zombie’s knee.
This time it didn’t miss. The zombie’s frame wobbled and sank onto its knees, glass shards all over the ground digging into its shins.
It snapped its head up, a raspy roar spilling from its torn throat.
Only then could the group clearly see that on its mangled, bloody half-face, a complete, gaping bloody maw remained intact.
A foul stench exhaled from its mouth, instantly exploding into the air.
THUD!
A flash of silver light arced down as the metal rod struck.
The zombie’s single, clouded eye half-closed, and its head dropped completely.
Holding the metal rod, Chi Xiaoxian’s heart was still pounding wildly from that strike just now.
Not daring to linger, they sprinted wildly toward the back door at the end of the corridor, crossing calf-high weeds before finally arriving beside the two dumpsters.
Fang Yue shone his flashlight onto the blue metal shell of the dumpster, frowning slightly.
When the security guard uncle told them about the dumpster, they had all assumed it was the kind with wheels that could be slid aside. Yet standing before their eyes right now was a dumpster half the length of a car.
Fortunately, the combined strength of four adult men was still considerable. As they applied force together, the dumpster body began sliding slowly across the ground.
Before long, a gap in the wall behind the dumpster was exposed. Zheng Yikai said in delight, “Almost there, almost there!”
Just at that moment, Chi Xiaoxian’s heart inexplicably skipped a beat. He whipped his head around, staring into the pitch-black, overgrown weeds behind them.
Fang Yue turned his head to look in the direction of his gaze.
Nothing could be seen in the darkness. Aside from the heartbeats of the four of them, only the sound of the summer wind passing through the grass blades remained.
“Hurry up,” Fang Yue said.
A minute later, the narrow hole was fully revealed before their eyes. Fang Yue gave Chi Xiaoxian a push. “You go first.”
Chi Xiaoxian had a slender frame and squeezed through in two or three moves. Next was Fang Yue, then Zheng Yikai, with the security guard uncle staying behind to keep watch for them.
When it came to Zheng Yikai, his frame was relatively large, and his shoulders got stuck as he tried to pass. Fang Yue bit down on his flashlight, reaching out to grab his collar to pull him inside, but suddenly froze and released his grip.
Instinctively, Chi Xiaoxian asked, “What’s wrong?”
The beam of the flashlight swept across Zheng Yikai’s face, illuminating the bulging, purplish veins on one side of his cheek. Looking closely at his eyes, a grayish, semi-turbid film had already surfaced.
Yet Zheng Yikai was completely oblivious, urging frantically, “Hurry up and pull me in!”
Grasping his flashlight, Fang Yue said in an impossibly calm voice, “You’re infected.”
Zheng Yikai went blank for a second, his panic rapidly turning into rage: “Bullshit! You’re getting back at me! Pull me in right now!”
He clawed violently at the ground with both hands, trying to crawl through the hole, his feet kicking wildly outside.
Just then, the security guard uncle spotted a wound sliced open by broken glass on his ankle.
The wound glowed with a murky, eerie light under the moonbeams.
Zheng Yikai roared like a wild beast, struggling even more violently. His eyeballs bulged outward as if they were going to be forcibly squeezed out of their sockets—a gruesome sight.
In the next second, right as he was on the verge of erupting, he vanished from the hole.
The security guard uncle had yanked him backward with immense force.
“Find something to block it quickly!” the uncle roared. “Leave this side to me!”
Gritting his teeth, he swung his guard baton straight at Zheng Yikai. Zheng Yikai’s head dodged aside, slamming into the perimeter wall, and he collapsed awkwardly to the ground.
Nearing fifty, the uncle’s physical strength was far from what it used to be, and these two moves had left him gasping for air. But with no time to think, he firmly gripped the dumpster’s metal handle, planted his feet on the ground, leaned his body back, and used every ounce of force he possessed to pull the handle.
The dumpster body was far too heavy. Previously, four people could push it, but now with only his single source of strength, the speed of the drag was drastically slower.
Yet he didn’t dare slacken in the slightest. If this hole were left open, the monsters would crawl inside.
Almost there, almost there.
Hold on a bit longer…
The hole was blocked by a third. Approaching total exhaustion, he paused to catch his breath. Just as he reached up to wipe the sweat from his forehead, he gave up, continuing to pull at the metal dumpster instead.
“Watch your back!”
From the steadily shrinking hole, Chi Xiaoxian caught sight of a shadowy figure flashing past outside.
However, it was already too late. Leaping into the air, Zheng Yikai pounced onto the security guard uncle, tilting his head to bite directly into his neck.
The sound of teeth grinding through blood and flesh made Chi Xiaoxian’s hair stand on end.
Yet the security guard uncle still pulled at the metal dumpster on his own, as if the person being bitten weren’t himself.
He was the one who had discovered this hole back then, and he was the one who brought the dumpster to block it. Now that he had moved it aside, it was only right that he close it once more.
Finally…
He let out a long sigh, as if relieved of a heavy burden.
A piercing pain shot through his neck, his vision went dark, and he pitched forward, collapsing to the ground.
The sound of his body hitting the dirt was heavy and solemn—as if it were not a human body, but a falling mountain.
On the other side of the wall, Chi Xiaoxian clapped his hands over his mouth.
