"Bang, bang, bang..."

The dorm room door shuddered under relentless impacts from outside.

The zombies had locked onto them. They weren't leaving. Blow after blow hammered the door without pause.

The three of them watched the bed barricade rattle and immediately dragged a second bed over. Yang Bin and Chen Hao had the strength for it.

Two beds wedged behind the door. The shaking finally died down to something manageable. All three exhaled.

"So, uh... Bin-ge, you guys have any food? I haven't eaten in almost two days." Hu Wenliang's voice carried an embarrassed edge.

He'd been hiding in that bathroom for a full day and night-no food, no sleep. His stomach was eating itself.

"Yeah."

Yang Bin swung his backpack off and unzipped it. Inside: a decent haul of food and water, all scavenged.

"Holy shit, did you guys rob a store? That's a ton of stuff!" Hu Wenliang's eyes went wide.

"Close enough. Eat."

Hu Wenliang didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed a pack of bread and a bottle of water and started Wolfing down food.

Watching Hu Wenliang Wolfing down food like a man back from the dead, Yang Bin allowed himself a small smile.

Hu Wenliang's ability was a massive windfall. With him around, their odds of survival just jumped significantly.

In the apocalypse, injuries were inevitable. None of them knew medicine. Basic bandaging, sure-but anything serious? They were screwed. Hospitals didn't exist anymore.

Hu Wenliang's healing was a godsend. Plain and simple.

After a while, Hu Wenliang finally leaned back, face full of contentment. "Man, having food is amazing."

"Damn right. Getting food in the apocalypse isn't easy. We cleared an entire floor of dorms to find all that," Chen Hao said proudly.

"Respect." Hu Wenliang gave him a thumbs up.

"Bin-ge, what's the plan now? Those things are still camped outside the door. We can't exactly leave." Chen Hao's brow furrowed.

"Doesn't matter. They can't get in. We rest. Give it time-some will wander off. Once the numbers thin out, we move."

"Got it."

"Haozi, your hands look pretty torn up too. Let me heal those while I'm at it." Hu Wenliang eyed Chen Hao's shredded hands.

"Yeah, do it." Chen Hao pushed up his ruined sleeves, exposing rows of gashes.

"Look at you. You both came together, Bin-ge doesn't have a scratch, and you're a walking wound."

"You think I can compare to him? If I were that strong, I'd be the one he calls Brother."

"......"

"But real talk, Liangzi-your ability is incredible. I never have to worry about getting hurt again."

Chen Hao flexed his perfectly restored arm, grinning.

Hu Wenliang opened his mouth to respond, but his vision suddenly went black. His knees buckled. He caught himself on the desk just in time.

"Whoa, what happened?" Chen Hao blinked.

"No idea. Just... dizzy. Weak all of a sudden." Hu Wenliang frowned, confused.

"Probably from using your ability back to back. Rest and it'll pass," Yang Bin said.

"Oh-abilities drain you like that? No wonder. I was thinking, my body's always been fine, why would I suddenly get dizzy?"

"Tsk, Liangzi. No stamina at all," Chen Hao smirked.

"......"

"Ability use burns through a lot of energy. Early on, you can't sustain it for long. Gets better as you grow stronger, apparently." Yang Bin said.

"Mm. I've noticed that too." Chen Hao nodded.

"Alright, everyone rest. Especially you, Liangzi-two nights without sleep. Your eyes are bloodshot. Crash for a bit. We'll wake you."

"But the zombies outside..."

"They can't get in. The beds are holding. Think of it this way-you lie down, and they rock you to sleep."

"......"

"Fine. I'll sleep."

Hu Wenliang nodded and collapsed onto the bed. He was out almost instantly.

---

Meanwhile, seventh floor.

"Brother Kun, you think Yang Bin and them can survive going down there?" Skinny Monkey asked.

"Don't know. Probably. Yang Bin's smart," Zhao Kun said.

"Mm. Should we keep scavenging the sixth floor? Our food only lasts through tomorrow. If we don't grab more, we starve."

"Just us? No way. Not unless we drag those four from 708 along."

"Those cowards won't come."

"They will. Their food's running out too. Once they're hungry enough, they'll come crawling."

"Haha. Fair point."

---

Day two of the apocalypse. Across campus, figures flickered in dormitory windows and hallways.

After a full day and night, hunger had finally broken people's nerve. They crept out of their rooms, Taking desperate risks to find food.

But in buildings crawling with zombies, scavenging was a death sentence waiting to happen. One wrong step and you weren't finding food-you were Delivering Takeout.

Then, around noon, the school's PA system crackled to life.

It worked like a charm. The broadcast pulled zombies like a magnet. They poured out of hallways and stairwells, entire swarms rushing toward the source of the sound.

Zombies were hypersensitive to noise. The speakers drew them away in droves.

Good thing they couldn't understand what was being said.

Because the broadcast was from a school administrator, telling all surviving students to make their way to the Main Cafeteria.

The campus had four cafeterias of various sizes, but everyone knew which one "Main Cafeteria" meant-the massive hall that seated three thousand, and the one closest to the dormitory buildings.

The administrator probably figured the zombies couldn't comprehend speech. That's why he dared broadcast it openly.

When students heard the announcement, relief flooded through every occupied room. The school hadn't abandoned them.

But "closest to the dorms" was relative. There was still real distance to cover, and getting there wouldn't be simple.

The campus forum exploded within minutes.

"Building 16 survivors, sound off. Let's group up and head to the cafeteria together."

"Building 12 here. I made a group chat. Join up so we can plan the route."

"Adjacent buildings-meet downstairs soon. More people, better odds."

Every building was organizing, strategizing, trying to figure out how to cross open ground alive.

Building 21 was no different. Someone posted:

"How many of us are left in Building 21? Let's get a headcount and combine forces to reach the cafeteria."

Replies trickled in. The final tally: fifty-three survivors in the entire building. Yang Bin's group hadn't spoken up, so they weren't counted.

Fifty-three. Averaged out, that was seven or eight people per floor.

The number sat heavy in everyone's chest.

Then someone dropped a comment: "There's a group in our building that already started clearing zombies. The seventh floor is completely clean-they killed every single one. They could lead us."

"Seriously? People that hardcore?"

"It's real. Not a single zombie left on seven. They wiped the floor. But those guys are assholes-they took all our food."

"What the hell? Stealing from classmates? That's messed up."

"Right? Everyone's starving. How can they rob other people's food?"

"Scum like that are the worst!"

One after another, they climbed onto their moral high horses, condemning Yang Bin's group as if they'd committed some unforgivable atrocity.

Yang Bin and Chen Hao were scrolling through the forum on their phones. They stared at the screen in disbelief.

"We ate a few pieces of cake. How does that make us war criminals?" Chen Hao muttered, annoyed.

"Ignore them." Yang Bin shook his head. "Sour grapes. Every single one of them. Put them in the same situation and they'd do worse."

"Yeah. Probably right."

"So, Bin-ge-are we heading out? Way fewer zombies now. With our strength, punching through shouldn't be a problem."

"No rush. More people isn't always better. Let's watch how things play out first."

"Got it."