Chapter 2
Ye Xuan made a split-second decision and ran to the balcony, shutting the door behind him.
Xia Chenxi stopped what he was doing and walked toward the balcony door step by step.
Ye Xuan clenched his fists. His palms were already damp with sweat. In front of him was his roommate, who had been bitten and could turn into a zombie at any moment. Behind him was a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
“Xia Chenxi, stop.”
“Stop. I’m begging you.”
“Xia Chenxi, I’m telling you to stop.”
Xia Chenxi kept walking forward. He stopped in front of the glass door. Through the layer of glass, his voice sounded somewhat muffled.
“Ye Xuan, what are you doing?”
Did this person not know he had been bitten?
Ye Xuan steadied himself and pretended to be calm as he said, “I think in this kind of situation, no one is worth trusting. So you stay inside, and I’ll stay outside. That’s better for both of us.”
“Because I was bitten.”
Xia Chenxi looked even calmer than Ye Xuan, as if he were talking about something completely irrelevant.
He knew he had been bitten, yet he still came in pretending nothing had happened.
Ye Xuan was so angry his heart itched, but he was also afraid that what he said would provoke Xia Chenxi.
As long as Xia Chenxi wanted to, he could open the door before he mutated. When that happened, Ye Xuan would have no way to escape even if he grew wings.
“Xia Chenxi, over this half semester, I haven’t had any conflict with you, right?”
Or was he, by nature, an antisocial personality? The more it came to a time like this, the more he wanted to take revenge on society. No, not society—on the people around him.
Xia Chenxi stared at Ye Xuan without saying a word.
Ye Xuan also stared at Xia Chenxi. He was thinking about the chances of him rushing out of the room the instant the door opened.
Almost none.
The door had already been blocked off.
“Xia Chenxi, no matter what, we were roommates. Out of one point four billion people, the fact that we met each other—don’t you think that’s kind of amazing? So, let me go.”
Ye Xuan could not see through Xia Chenxi’s expressionless face. He had no idea what he was thinking.
The only thing he could do right now was guard this door with everything he had.
“You come in. I’ll go outside.”
“Do you think I’m stupid?” Ye Xuan tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Just say it if you want to bite me.”
Xia Chenxi did not speak again, but Ye Xuan somehow saw a trace of disdain in his eyes.
After that, Xia Chenxi shut himself inside the bathroom and locked the door from the inside.
Ye Xuan hesitated on the balcony, unable to move forward. Human nature could never withstand too much testing, and everything Xia Chenxi had done just now made it impossible for him to trust him.
But if he wanted to survive, he had to return to the room. The food, water, and his phone were all inside.
After staying on the balcony for a while, Ye Xuan heard no sound from Xia Chenxi. He tentatively asked, “Xia Chenxi, are you still human right now?”
There was no answer.
Could he have already turned into a zombie?
Ye Xuan carefully opened the balcony door and walked inside.
“There’s a box of instant noodles I stocked under my desk.”
Xia Chenxi suddenly spoke, startling Ye Xuan.
Like a thief, Ye Xuan quickly ran past the bathroom door and used his phone to call 110.
However, what came from the other end was a mechanical voice.
“The current line is busy. Your call has entered the queue system. Please wait patiently.”
He called several times, but not a single call went through.
It seemed the outside had fallen too.
He called his parents as well, but the calls also failed to connect.
No matter what, no news was the best news.
Ye Xuan took out every usable power bank and charger in the dorm and plugged them all in. Then he brought out every basin and filled them with water.
Who cared if it was a foot-washing basin? Fill it first.
It was still better than drinking urine after the water was cut off.
After that, Ye Xuan began searching for food in the dorm.
Li Wen, Lin Dong, and he himself were not people who liked stocking up on things. From the two of their areas, he only found two bags of bread, one packet of spicy strips, and two bottles of water.
So from now on, they would have to rely on Xia Chenxi’s box of instant noodles to survive.
Ye Xuan found the box of instant noodles and noticed another box beside it.
He opened the instant noodle box and, while he was at it, opened the box beside it too.
Inside was not food, but—
A bite guard.
He really could not tell that someone as rigid-looking as Xia Chenxi actually played this wild in private.
Ye Xuan put the black metal bite guard back on Xia Chenxi’s desk.
Outside, the screams and the sounds of zombies tearing into people gradually lessened. The people who had survived had probably already hidden themselves.
Ye Xuan opened his phone and found that the dorm building group chat had already exploded.
Most of the messages were asking what to do and whether there would be rescue.
Of course, no one could answer such questions right now. Judging from how far the zombie situation had developed without the school issuing any notice, it was obvious that the school management and security system had already collapsed.
They could only place their hopes on rescue from outside the campus.
Someone also asked whether the dormitory auntie was okay.
[Auntie? I just saw her get pushed out by someone.]
A long string of angry messages followed below.
Ye Xuan did not continue reading. Instead, he opened Douyin. The first video was of a zombie limping as it walked. At first, the people around were still asking questions. It was not until the zombie began tearing into the people beside it that everyone panicked and fled.
The next several videos he swiped through were all like this.
He tapped the search bar and searched for zombies. A tag called R Virus appeared below, and he tapped into it.
[As of now, multiple districts around Baihe and its surrounding areas have seen outbreaks of civilian riots. The affected individuals unconsciously bite others, and those who are bitten also enter a frenzied state. We have extracted a virus from the bodies of the frenzied civilians. Preliminary confirmation shows that this virus is what causes the frenzy. Researchers have named it the Riot Virus, abbreviated as R Virus.]
[Citizens in Baihe and the surrounding areas, please do not panic. Try to hide at home or indoors and wait for rescue.]
So that meant the place where his university was located was the source of the virus outbreak.
His home was not far from the university either. It only took one hour by high-speed rail.
He did not know how his parents were doing.
Ye Xuan sat on the floor and waited the entire afternoon, but rescue never came.
The sky gradually darkened. His stomach growled. From morning until now, he had not eaten anything.
Ye Xuan turned on the light and took out a bag of bread from the food supplies to eat.
There had been no movement from the bathroom this whole time. He did not know whether Xia Chenxi had turned into a zombie or not.
Ye Xuan walked to the bathroom door and asked Xia Chenxi, “Xia Chenxi, are you okay right now?”
“Not really.”
To Ye Xuan’s surprise, Xia Chenxi actually answered him, though the answer was not exactly a good one.
The conversation between the two of them ended there.
Xia Chenxi had been bitten for so long, yet he still had not turned into a zombie. But from what Ye Xuan had seen just now, the people who were bitten turned into zombies almost immediately.
Could it be because Xia Chenxi’s determination to study was too firm, so he still had not changed?
In any case, Xia Chenxi was still human right now. So should Ye Xuan share food with him?
If he did not share, this box of instant noodles belonged to Xia Chenxi, so it would not be justifiable. If he did share, who knew when rescue would come? One less portion of food meant one less bit of hope.
After struggling with himself for a while, Ye Xuan still took out a piece of bread, flattened it, and shoved it through the gap under the door to Xia Chenxi.
If Xia Chenxi never turned into a zombie, Ye Xuan could not just starve him to death.
As long as Xia Chenxi wanted to, he could open the door before he mutated. When that happened, Ye Xuan would have no way to escape even if he grew wings.
“Xia Chenxi, over this half semester, I haven’t had any conflict with you, right?”
Or was he, by nature, an antisocial personality? The more it came to a time like this, the more he wanted to take revenge on society. No, not society—on the people around him.
Xia Chenxi stared at Ye Xuan without saying a word.
Ye Xuan also stared at Xia Chenxi. He was thinking about the chances of him rushing out of the room the instant the door opened.
Almost none.
The door had already been blocked off.
“Xia Chenxi, no matter what, we were roommates. Out of one point four billion people, the fact that we met each other—don’t you think that’s kind of amazing? So, let me go.”
Ye Xuan could not see through Xia Chenxi’s expressionless face. He had no idea what he was thinking.
The only thing he could do right now was guard this door with everything he had.
“You come in. I’ll go outside.”
“Do you think I’m stupid?” Ye Xuan tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Just say it if you want to bite me.”
Xia Chenxi did not speak again, but Ye Xuan somehow saw a trace of disdain in his eyes.
After that, Xia Chenxi shut himself inside the bathroom and locked the door from the inside.
Ye Xuan hesitated on the balcony, unable to move forward. Human nature could never withstand too much testing, and everything Xia Chenxi had done just now made it impossible for him to trust him.
But if he wanted to survive, he had to return to the room. The food, water, and his phone were all inside.
After staying on the balcony for a while, Ye Xuan heard no sound from Xia Chenxi. He tentatively asked, “Xia Chenxi, are you still human right now?”
There was no answer.
Could he have already turned into a zombie?
Ye Xuan carefully opened the balcony door and walked inside.
“There’s a box of instant noodles I stocked under my desk.”
Xia Chenxi suddenly spoke, startling Ye Xuan.
Like a thief, Ye Xuan quickly ran past the bathroom door and used his phone to call 110.
However, what came from the other end was a mechanical voice.
“The current line is busy. Your call has entered the queue system. Please wait patiently.”
He called several times, but not a single call went through.
It seemed the outside had fallen too.
He called his parents as well, but the calls also failed to connect.
No matter what, no news was the best news.
Ye Xuan took out every usable power bank and charger in the dorm and plugged them all in. Then he brought out every basin and filled them with water.
Who cared if it was a foot-washing basin? Fill it first.
It was still better than drinking urine after the water was cut off.
After that, Ye Xuan began searching for food in the dorm.
Li Wen, Lin Dong, and he himself were not people who liked stocking up on things. From the two of their areas, he only found two bags of bread, one packet of spicy strips, and two bottles of water.
So from now on, they would have to rely on Xia Chenxi’s box of instant noodles to survive.
Ye Xuan found the box of instant noodles and noticed another box beside it.
He opened the instant noodle box and, while he was at it, opened the box beside it too.
Inside was not food, but—
A bite guard.
He really could not tell that someone as rigid-looking as Xia Chenxi actually played this wild in private.
Ye Xuan put the black metal bite guard back on Xia Chenxi’s desk.
Outside, the screams and the sounds of zombies tearing into people gradually lessened. The people who had survived had probably already hidden themselves.
Ye Xuan opened his phone and found that the dorm building group chat had already exploded.
Most of the messages were asking what to do and whether there would be rescue.
Of course, no one could answer such questions right now. Judging from how far the zombie situation had developed without the school issuing any notice, it was obvious that the school management and security system had already collapsed.
They could only place their hopes on rescue from outside the campus.
Someone also asked whether the dormitory auntie was okay.
[Auntie? I just saw her get pushed out by someone.]
A long string of angry messages followed below.
Ye Xuan did not continue reading. Instead, he opened Douyin. The first video was of a zombie limping as it walked. At first, the people around were still asking questions. It was not until the zombie began tearing into the people beside it that everyone panicked and fled.
The next several videos he swiped through were all like this.
He tapped the search bar and searched for zombies. A tag called R Virus appeared below, and he tapped into it.
[As of now, multiple districts around Baihe and its surrounding areas have seen outbreaks of civilian riots. The affected individuals unconsciously bite others, and those who are bitten also enter a frenzied state. We have extracted a virus from the bodies of the frenzied civilians. Preliminary confirmation shows that this virus is what causes the frenzy. Researchers have named it the Riot Virus, abbreviated as R Virus.]
[Citizens in Baihe and the surrounding areas, please do not panic. Try to hide at home or indoors and wait for rescue.]
So that meant the place where his university was located was the source of the virus outbreak.
His home was not far from the university either. It only took one hour by high-speed rail.
He did not know how his parents were doing.
Ye Xuan sat on the floor and waited the entire afternoon, but rescue never came.
The sky gradually darkened. His stomach growled. From morning until now, he had not eaten anything.
Ye Xuan turned on the light and took out a bag of bread from the food supplies to eat.
There had been no movement from the bathroom this whole time. He did not know whether Xia Chenxi had turned into a zombie or not.
Ye Xuan walked to the bathroom door and asked Xia Chenxi, “Xia Chenxi, are you okay right now?”
“Not really.”
To Ye Xuan’s surprise, Xia Chenxi actually answered him, though the answer was not exactly a good one.
The conversation between the two of them ended there.
Xia Chenxi had been bitten for so long, yet he still had not turned into a zombie. But from what Ye Xuan had seen just now, the people who were bitten turned into zombies almost immediately.
Could it be because Xia Chenxi’s determination to study was too firm, so he still had not changed?
In any case, Xia Chenxi was still human right now. So should Ye Xuan share food with him?
If he did not share, this box of instant noodles belonged to Xia Chenxi, so it would not be justifiable. If he did share, who knew when rescue would come? One less portion of food meant one less bit of hope.
After struggling with himself for a while, Ye Xuan still took out a piece of bread, flattened it, and shoved it through the gap under the door to Xia Chenxi.
If Xia Chenxi never turned into a zombie, Ye Xuan could not just starve him to death.
