Chapter 199

Xu Qiu and Liu Manman scrubbed their bodies with a wet towel, wringing the dirty water down the balcony’s drainage hole.

Meanwhile, Lin Shu had already poured some water into the pot and heated it on the electric stove. Then, after putting a lid on the pot, she asked, “Which noodle should we cook first?”

“How about the fire chicken noodles? Since we still have drinking water to spare,” Liu Manman suggested.

Fire chicken noodles, or buldak-bokkeum-myeon, might taste sweet on the first bite, but it had a spicy aftertaste. Moreover, the heat would grow worse the more bites one took. Eventually, the heat would grow so intense that it would fill one with pain and excitement. Because of this intense heat, the average person would drink a lot of water when consuming fire chicken noodles.

After hearing Liu Manman’s suggestion, Jun Zishu and the other two girls briefly exchanged looks with each other before nodding in unison.

To avoid the hassle of having to wash their lunchboxes during this critical period, Liu Manman came up with the idea of sharing a lunch box and covering it with a clean plastic bag. Then, once they were done eating, they could simply toss the plastic bag into the garbage.

When the water in the pot started to boil, Lin Su removed the lid, put the noodles into the pot, and put the lid back on. Then, all four girls sat around the pot, a lively atmosphere surrounding them as they waited for their upcoming thrilling meal.

Several minutes later, Lin Su fished up the noodles with a pair of disposable chopsticks and put in the second brick of noodles. Meanwhile, Liu Manman grabbed her own pair of disposable chopsticks and began mixing the cooked noodles with the seasoning powder and sauce.

Room 412 had a despicable amount of disposable chopsticks since all four residents often ordered food deliveries. Meanwhile, almost every food delivery would come with a pair of disposable chopsticks. However, they would typically only eat using spoons, so they ended up having a bunch of disposable chopsticks lying around in the room.

Once Liu Manman was done mixing the noodles and seasoning, the four girls took turns digging in and quickly finished everything.

Other than Liu Manman, who could handle spicy food very well, everyone promptly started drinking water once the heat of the fire chicken noodles exploded in their mouths.

Afterward, Lin Su continued fishing out noodles, while Liu Manman continued mixing the noodles and the seasoning.

When Xu Qiu saw this scene, she couldn’t help but smile a little. Despite the dangerous situation outside, the four of them lived happily in their own little home like before. She felt especially moved when she thought about how they were enjoying a moment that they might never get to enjoy again in the future.

However, Xu Qiu didn’t bother describing this situation pretentiously. Instead, she excitedly filled her mouth with another big bite of fire chicken noodles, followed by gulping down a mouthful of water.

After the meal, Liu Manman wrapped the used disposable chopsticks in the oil-stained plastic bag and tossed everything into the trash can. Meanwhile, Xu Qiu poured the water in the pot into the balcony’s drainage hole. Though, they didn’t bother washing the pot, opting to leave it aside for later use instead.

After having lunch, everyone began having their afternoon nap like usual, their casual behavior a stark contrast to the chaos taking place outside. However, there was no use getting scared. The only thing they could do was muddle along for now.

…

Meanwhile, Ren Nanying had also just finished her lunch.

However, unlike the spoiled brats in Room 412, Ren Nanying didn’t get to enjoy a warm and leisurely meal of fire chicken noodles. Instead, she and her roommate each had a small loaf of bread and some water for lunch.

“What do you plan to do?” the roommate asked. They didn’t have any food reserves, and the two loaves of bread they just ate were all the food they had in their room.

“I’m going out to take a look,” Ren Nanying said as she looked at the small dagger in her hand. This was something she had collected as a hobby before. She didn’t expect it to come in handy one day.

“But there are all those monsters outside. The other two haven’t come back yet, either.”

“But we can’t just wait to die, right?”

There were few girls belonging to the Athletic Department, and all of them combined only occupied three rooms. As a result, Dormitory Block 2 was a co-ed block. However, instead of separating the boys and the girls by floors, they were separated by a wall in the middle of each floor.

Ren Nanying’s room was on the fifth floor. Other than the two neighboring rooms, the other rooms on the floor were occupied by students from different departments. Most of the Athletic Department’s girls were also outside when the zombie pandemic broke out, so there were no classmates she could rely on. Not to mention, even classmates wouldn’t necessarily help each other during this disastrous period.

“You can’t take any water with you if you go out. I still don’t plan on going out for now,” the roommate said indifferently, her expression looking a little dull after experiencing the traumatizing events the apocalypse brought.

How realistic of you, Ren Nanying thought, curling her lips. “One of these bottles is mine.”

“You’re only allowed to take that with you, then.”

Ren Nanying wasn’t interested in wasting more words with her roommate. She didn’t plan on taking her water bottle, either, since it’d be a great inconvenience to carry it around.

After walking to the balcony and looking at the situation outside, Ren Nanying suddenly recalled her younger cousin’s invitation, and her heart warmed up a little.

After coming up with a proper escape route, Ren Nanying sent Jun Zishu a message, stuffed her phone and charger into one of her pants’ pockets, and zipped the pocket. Then, she put the dagger back into its sheath and kept it in another pocket.

She was currently on the fifth floor, and the shortest way to get to Block 3 was through the boys’ side.

Going downstairs now would be an incredibly foolish situation since many zombies were crowding there.

The density of the zombie population decreased the higher up one climbed in a building. This was because the fleeing students fled from downstairs to upstairs, and many had gotten infected before they could reach the higher floors. So, the number of zombies wandering around on the first and second floors was the highest.

Every room had a balcony, and every balcony had an air conditioning compressor installed beside it.

Based on her observation, Ren Nanying felt that the gap between compressors and balconies was manageable. The only problem was getting from the girl’s side to the boy’s side. The school had set up a spiked iron grill separating both sides to prevent the boys from sneaking to the girl’s side.

However, Ren Nanying didn’t have any better options. So, after doing some stretches, she began her journey to Room 412.

…

When Jun Zishu received Ren Nanying’s message, Little Fairy also informed her that Ren Nanying was getting ready to move.

This was a scene that did not take place in the original storyline. This was because the original owner did not have such a big stockpile of food, and she didn’t react very calmly to the apocalypse, either. The original owner also disliked Ren Nanying, so there was no way she would contact the other party.

Hence, when Ren Nanying decided to leave her room, she didn’t make her way to Block 3, but the canteen instead. There, she met up with her close friend and a boy she treated as a brother, and the two bastards ended up sacrificing her to the zombies later on.

“I have something to say,” Jun Zishu said as she sat cross-legged on her bed.

Upon hearing Jun Zishu’s words, the three other girls in the room promptly sat up.

It should be known that everyone would typically sleep like a log after lunch. Yet, they had responded to Jun Zishu’s words immediately this time. This meant that none of them managed to sleep well.

While they might look relaxed, they were all incredibly stressed inside. They were only suppressing their fears because it’d be detrimental to do otherwise.

“My cousin is coming.”

Lin Su: Your cousin?

Xu Qiu: Your cousin!

Liu Manman: Your cousin?!

Jun Zishu: Are you three voice recorders?

Lin Su: The one from the Athletic Department?

Xu Qiu: The one who looks especially tall and sunny?

Liu Manman: The Athletic Goddess?

Jun Zishu: That’s right. Do I have any other cousins?

Lin Su: The one who’s your love rival?

Xu Qiu: Your love rival?

Liu Manman: Love rival?

Jun Zishu: …You guys must be sick in the head.

“Eh? What’s with this person? She actually has the gall to come over?”

“That’s right! That’s right!”

The original owner did not bother hiding her dislike for Ren Nanying from her roommates, so her roommates’ impression of Ren Nanying was…not positive.

“No, I asked her to come over.”

Lin Su: Huh?

Xu Qiu: Huh?

Liu Manman: Huh?

Jun Zishu: ……

“She is my cousin; she is much more important than other people.”

“What about Jiang Mubai?”

Jiang Mubai was the boy the original owner liked. He was the Music Department’s genius, and he knew how to play the piano, the guitar, and the violin. He was also skilled at skateboarding and singing. In a normal world, he would be the ideal target for a girl’s first love.

“He can die for all I care,” Jun Zishu said with a smile, her eyes expressing her indifference for Jiang Mubai.

Liu Manman: Yep, yep. Who cares about him? He’s not related to any of us. Since he doesn’t know how to cherish my goddess, he can go and screw himself.

Lin Su: Is your cousin a scary person?

Xu Qiu: Does she eat a lot?

Jun Zishu: My cousin is the Athletic Goddess. She’s super-amazing at cutting down zombies.

Lin Su: I take back what I said. Please love me again, Cousin.

Xu Qiu: Please love me again, Cousin!

Liu Manman: Please love me again, Cousin!

Jun Zishu: Did you guys catch the voice recording disease?

Jun Zishu was filled with anticipation when she thought about Ren Nanying making her way here. It felt as if she was reuniting with an old friend.

Would it be you?

Jun Zishu thought about her lover, the person who had followed her across multiple worlds.

Will you also come to me this time?

Jun Zishu hoped it would be her.

So long as she met the other party and her body didn’t reject the other party’s touch, she would more or less have her answer.

“How will your cousin come to us, Zishu?”

“By walking, of course. Otherwise, do you think she’s going to fly here?”

“But there are so many zombies outside…”

“She’ll have a way,” Jun Zishu said confidently. Her cousin was this world’s protagonist. She would not die before her time was up.

“Alright, alright.”

Afterward, silence enveloped the room for a moment. However, nobody managed to fall asleep still.

“I can’t sleep at all. My heart can’t seem to calm down. Even reading a book doesn’t help,” Lin Su helplessly said as she looked at her ashen face in the mirror.

“Put on your earphones, open that English learning app on your phone, and do your English listening exercises. I bet you’ll find inner peace once you do that,” Jun Zishu suggested.

Lin Su: ……

Liu Manman: It was a windy day that day. Lin Su left peacefully with her English listening exercises in hand.

Lin Su: Screw off!

Lin Su: It’s already the end of the world. Why must I continue to suffer from studying?

Jun Zishu: Do you want to go out and fight those little sweethearts, then?

Xu Qiu: little sweethearts?

Liu Manman: The zombies.

Lin Su: Nobody stop me! I’m going to beat this demon to death with my English textbook today!

Xu Qiu & Liu Manman: Nobody’s stopping you.

Half a minute later, Lin Su quietly put on her earphones and did her English listening exercises.

Lin Su wouldn’t dare beat Jun Zishu even if told. The zombies outside were also fighting prodigies, so she couldn’t beat them even if she wanted. She couldn’t reason with them, either. Thus, she could only listen to her calm leader and do her English exercises to occupy her mind.

Meanwhile, Liu Manman let out a rueful sigh when she saw Lin Su’s actions. Then, she opened her book and began memorizing the key points her teacher said might be tested.

Teachers of other departments would normally only reveal tips for a test when the exam date was nearing. However, her teachers in the Literature Department employed a different tactic. They scattered bits and pieces of crucial information throughout the semester, forcing everyone in class to pay attention all the time.

“Thank goodness I’m not from the Medical Department,” Liu Manman muttered as she looked at her book.

The Medical Department was one of the strictest departments in the university, and the teachers in the department did not provide any exam tips to their students. Thus, near the end of every semester, medical students would flood the library and engage in a joyous and torturous atmosphere of studying.

…

At this time, Ren Nanying had already arrived on Block 2’s roof. With her abilities as the fastest sprinter on campus, she swiftly ran across the balconies and compressors of Block 3’s fifth floor and arrived on Block 2’s side. Although she had scared a few people in the process, she didn’t pay attention to them as she focused on getting to her destination.

Ren Nanying didn’t know where Room 412 was located initially. However, Jun Zishu had already described it for her before she set off. So, after arriving at Block 2’s fifth floor and locating Jun Zishu’s room, she jumped down and landed successfully on Room 412’s balcony. Then, she let out a sigh of relief and gently knocked on the balcony’s glass sliding door.

When Jun Zishu opened the door and welcomed Ren Nanying inside, the first thing Ren Nanying noticed were the three girls studying inside.

Ren Nanying: What are you guys doing?

Lin Su: Learning about English?

Xu Qiu: Learning about economics?

Liu Manman: Learning about ancient literature?

Ren Nanying of the Athletic Department: …Are you guys sick in the head?