Chapter 44 It seems the only option is for you to die...

It was already past midnight. Fu Qing checked his watch, estimated that it was about time, grabbed his car keys, turned around and went out, leaving the five-man team to guard the house, along with the three thugs who were tied up.

Less than an hour later, the SUV cut through the rain and drove into the courtyard, its wheels pressing against the wet mud.

The car headlights illuminated the front hall, and Su Huaijin and the others, hearing the commotion, rushed to greet them.

Fu Qing returned carrying a cardboard box, her hair still damp.

The cardboard box was opened, and several heads peered out, letting out gasps of surprise.

Inside was a whole box of fluffy, dyed chicks!

"These are the chicks sold outside elementary schools?" Zhuo Xiaoliang exclaimed in surprise. "I used to raise them when I was little, but they died the day after I brought them home, and I cried for two days straight..."

Sun Wei hesitated, glancing at the sky outside: "It's so late at night, Principal, where did you find this place?"

Yue Yuxuan quickly returned to the living room, found a quick-drying towel among a pile of unused camping gear, and handed it to Fu Qing.

Fu Qing took the document and gave a brief answer to Sun Wei's question: "Nearby farms."

Although it was said to be nearby, she went out and drove onto the ring expressway. She was driving fast, and the chicken farm she found was actually quite a distance away.

These dyed chicks are mostly diseased chickens selected from chicken farms. They can't be raised to adulthood, so they are painted with inferior dyes and sold to children outside primary schools and kindergartens, just for the sake of looking good and having fun.

Because the paint is toxic, it will usually die after being brought home and kept for a few days.

Fu Qing found a chicken farm and knocked on the door in the middle of the night. The person in charge was not very happy at first, but when he heard that she wanted to buy these dyed chicks, he immediately perked up. Before leaving, he even saw her to the door and happily gave her a discount.

These chicks were originally intended to be taken by the chicken farm to sell near the elementary school in the city after dawn. Some of them were already sick and many would die on the way there and back. Any unsold chicks would result in a loss, so the other party was eager to sell them as soon as possible.

Fu Qing drove back with a box of chicks, amidst their chirping all the way.

Sun Wei held the little colorful chicks in her hands, teasing their round bodies with her fingertips, and wondered why the principal had bought so many chicks.

Fu Qing offered no explanation, glanced at the five people, and asked, "Can you drive?"

Sun Wei has a leg injury, and Su Huaijin isn't old enough to take a driving test yet, so she was asking the other three people.

The freckled boy raised his hand: "I can."

Fu Qing nodded, and the next second, he threw the car key in his hand in an arc towards the freckled boy.

The freckled girl was startled and hurriedly caught it, looking at her with confusion.

"I drove my car back to school following the route planned by the car's navigation system."

The navigation route was set before Fuqing got off the bus, and it will pop up automatically after starting the bus, requiring no manual operation.

The freckled boy was even more confused: "You mean we should go back now? But..."

But there are still three thugs tied up here. Don't we need them to stay and help?

“You’ve done enough,” Fu Qing said.

The rest is up to her.

Su Huaijin understood something, her breathing quickened slightly, but she quickly calmed down and said as if trying not to show anything unusual, "Okay, then we'll be going now."

She pulled Sun Wei, who still wanted to ask a question, aside, gestured with her eyes for the others to follow, opened the door, and stepped into the rain.

Outside, the rain poured down, turning the small courtyard into a muddy mess. A trail of muddy footprints was left on the stone path, but they were quickly washed away by the rain, erasing all traces of their presence.

Only after sitting in the passenger seat did Su Huaijin touch his chest, feeling his heart pounding faster.

She seemed to have guessed what the principal was planning to do.

But if the principal doesn't say anything, she won't ask; she'll pretend she doesn't know and that it doesn't exist.

After making up his mind, Su Huaijin turned on the car's navigation system and sure enough, he saw a winding road marked with a red line.

The freckled girl in the driver's seat next to Fu Qing was still adjusting her seat. Fu Qing is 1.73 meters tall, and when Fu Qing drives a car, the freckled girl has to move forward quite a bit to reach the accelerator and brake pedals.

The more she joked, the sadder her expression became, suggesting that it wasn't just a difference in height, but also a difference in leg length.

When the map on the screen lit up, Freckles' attention was drawn to it. He looked at it and was startled: "This is such a long detour? Isn't this the shortest way back to school?"

It was late at night, and it was raining, so she was a little nervous.

"Never mind that, just do as the principal says," Su Huaijin said.

Her tone was quite serious. The freckled boy glanced at her and gradually realized what she meant.

"Then please fasten your seatbelts."

She gave one last instruction and then fell silent, focusing on familiarizing herself with the vehicle's condition.

Yue Yuxuan, sitting in the back, leaned forward, gripping the back of the passenger seat with both hands, and asked Su Huaijin, "How will the principal get back later?"

“Drive their car.” Su Huaijin already knew the answer.

She gestured with her chin, pointing to a spot not far outside the courtyard. Hidden in the lush shadow of an old tree was a discreet black car, almost blending into the thick night; without careful observation, its existence would be easily missed.

"Then they..."

Yue Yuxuan stopped speaking abruptly, her expression turning solemn.

Everyone had a vague premonition.

Three minutes later, the five people were seated and fastened their seat belts, and the vehicle slowly started moving.

As they passed the black car, with no one around, Little Freckles intentionally or unintentionally slowed down.

The bright headlights illuminated the interior of the vehicle, and everyone could clearly see the burlap sacks and ropes piled on the back seat, as well as a dusty iron shovel.

Despite being surrounded by warm yellow light inside the car and surrounded by familiar classmates, the five of them still felt a chill run down their spines.

“They never had good intentions from the beginning.” Sun Wei’s lips were a little dry.

She suddenly felt a chill of fear.

This is not a simulated combat pod; death will not display a game failure message, allowing you to return to the main menu and start over.

Here, life is only given once, and death is death.

She snapped out of her euphoric state that had lasted all night, a chill running through her.

Regardless of whether the three men came with the intention of killing tonight, they might change their minds after being provoked by the students' resistance, putting them in a life-or-death situation.

Having spent a long time in the simulator, Sun Wei became accustomed to provocation and dangerous behavior, and sometimes even enjoyed the exhilarating feeling of dancing on the edge of a knife.

But at this moment, the black car hidden in the rain poured cold water on her.

She recalled the steel pipe in the baseball cap's hand, and the skull's venomous gaze, and let out a heavy sigh.

Fortunately, they succeeded.

If she could do it all over again, she would still face it bravely, but she would definitely be more cautious than she was tonight.

Su Huaijin said softly, "Never lose your fear of death."

Raindrops pattered against the car roof, creating ripples on the window. The sound of the rain almost drowned out Su Huaijin's voice, yet his words weighed heavily on everyone's hearts.

As we approached the turning point, I wonder who was the first to turn around.

The old house still stands quietly in the same place, becoming a smaller and smaller shadow in the rearview mirror. Everything tonight, those intense, shocking, and fearful emotions, seems to fade and dissolve into a blurry dream along with this shadow.

"Beep—"

Little Freckles suddenly honked the horn. They were driving on an empty highway, with the nearest houses quite a distance away. The abrupt honking almost made them jump out of their seats.

"Why are you all suddenly silent? I'm getting scared driving like this!" She propped her head up nervously, like a wary groundhog, focused on the road, completely absorbed in the challenging driving environment, and unable to empathize with the complexities in everyone's minds.

"Weren't we amazing tonight? We completed the mission perfectly and weren't injured. Is it a bit disrespectful to our opponents to be reflecting on this now?"

The little freckled face muttered to itself.

"Don't think about what they might do, think about what we ourselves have done!"

It must be said that when everyone is caught up in their emotions, it is indeed important for someone to step out and break the deadlock.

Following Freckles' words, they began to reflect, and gradually began to feel the reality of what they had done that night.

...Wait a minute, they really only used a box of camping gear and some resources they scavenged at the old house to subdue three burly men carrying weapons?!

The atmosphere inside the car gradually became lively. Everyone looked at each other, both surprised and excited.

Just six months ago, they were nothing more than bookworms preparing for exams, wearing unfashionable school uniforms, thick glasses, and buried in a sea of ​​practice questions.

Back then, how could they have imagined that they would undergo such a complete transformation six months later?

She can remain calm even when facing thugs wielding sharp weapons, and can also think of countermeasures when being chased by zombies. She can even run five kilometers in one go within the allotted time.

If things continue like this, surviving in the apocalypse doesn't seem impossible after all...

"Unity is Li Yiliang!"

"This power is iron, this power is steel!"

Suddenly, a powerful and surging background music started playing inside the car, startling everyone.

They looked around in alarm, while Zhuo Xiaoliang scratched his head and chuckled, "I dared to connect to the principal's car Bluetooth. Do you guys have any songs you'd like to listen to?"

After two seconds of silence, things suddenly erupted.

How dare you?

"One of the greatest acts of defiance against the principal is to secretly connect to her car's Bluetooth and play a brainwashing song the next time she gets in the car..."

"This is bad."

"I want to hear Phoenix Legend!"

"I'm driving, I should be allowed to go first..."

*

Inside the room, Fu Qing dragged the cardboard box and sat down again in front of the skeleton.

The skeleton glanced warily at the chick inside the cardboard box, wondering what she was planning to do.

Bringing over a hundred chicks couldn't possibly be just for fun.

Fu Qing bent down and reached out to pinch the skull's jaw.

She was incredibly strong, easily forcing the skeleton to open its mouth. Under his shocked and angry gaze, Fu Qing shoved a steel pipe horizontally into his mouth, wedging it firmly against his back teeth.

A sharp pain shot through his gums, and the unpleasant sensation of a foreign object invading him caused the skeleton to instinctively gag. His outstretched tongue accidentally touched the rust on the steel pipe, the sour taste mixed with the salty taste of sweat.

This is the steel pipe from the baseball cap.

The skeleton felt nauseous and wanted to vomit. Under Fu Qing's hands, the enhanced senses seemed to bring him nothing but pure torture.

Fu Qing searched high and low, and only this steel pipe was the right thickness. Although it was a bit long, she could ignore the inconvenience.

She didn't give the skeleton a chance to spit out the steel pipe. She tore a strip from the dust cover that the homeowner had previously used to cover the sofa to keep out dust, twisted it into a sturdy long rope, wrapped it around the back of the skeleton's head, and tied the steel pipe firmly to his head.

Unable to break free, the skeleton was forced to open its mouth wide, letting saliva drip from the corners of its mouth, its eyes seeming as if it wanted to devour Fu Qing alive.

But he already knew that such threats would be useless against the woman in front of him.

Fu Qing ignored the skeleton and walked past it, bending down to reach out to the group of tiny, furry little balls of fur. His brow furrowed slightly, and he felt more pity for them than for the skeleton.

They are still young, ignorant of the world, and have no idea that from the moment they are born, every day they live brings them closer to death.

Using such a small group of things made Fu Qing instinctively feel somewhat uncomfortable.

But she would never change her mind out of pity.

“I’m really curious how you ended up like this. That zombie king probably doesn’t have the ability to turn someone into a zombie from a distance, otherwise the streets would be full of zombies by now… So, you’ve probably seen it before.”

"But unfortunately, I know you won't tell me where it is."

Fu Qing picked out a chick, straightened up, and said calmly, "So I have to find another way."

Anger flashed in the skull's eyes, as if it wanted to say something, but its gagged mouth could only utter monotonous and meaningless syllables.

Fu Qing pinched the chick's wing and approached the skull's sharp canine teeth.

The movement was very light.

Just two or three seconds later, the chick flapped its blood-stained wings, chirped, and stumbled back to its companions.

Fu Qing observed the changes in the chicks with the meticulousness and seriousness of conducting a scientific experiment.

Two minutes later, the chick was a little listless, but its size and feathers remained unchanged, and its eyes were still black and beady.

Following the same steps, Fu Qing picked up the wings of the next chick.

One, two, three, four...

The zombie virus can be transmitted to animals through saliva, but unlike humans, not every animal bitten will be infected.

On the other hand, since zombies do not have the initiative to attack animals, the number of mutated animals has been further reduced.

However, according to Fu Qing's observation, if the scope is narrowed down to "animals that have been bitten", the infection rate can increase to about 20%.

This box contains hundreds of chicks, and under normal circumstances, at least a dozen to twenty of them should be infected.

Regarding the incubation period, generally the smaller the animal's size, the shorter the incubation period.

The incubation period for adults can be as long as half a month, but if the infected person is an infant or young child, the virus will cause symptoms within six hours in most cases.

The chicks I bought are no bigger than the palm of my hand, and Fuqing estimates that they will start acting up within ten minutes at the latest.

Unfortunately, they didn't sell baby mice, otherwise she really wanted the skeleton to experience what it was like to eat a raw mouse.

The skeleton's pupils have been shaking ever since the beginning.

He never expected that Fu Qing would stuff chicks into his mouth one after another.

Chickens raised in farms are naturally not as well cared for as pet chickens raised at home. Hundreds of chicks are crammed into a box, eating, drinking, and defecating together. Even though they are washed before being dyed, they still carry the strong smell of chicken manure from the farm floor.

He wanted to vomit but couldn't. He tried to resist, but his hands and feet were bound, and he could only passively endure the sensory assault.

By this point in time, the skeleton's mentality has completely exploded.

Fu Qing worked like a skilled worker, producing chicks one after another in the blink of an eye. Each chick had been pricked on the wing, and after being put back in the box, they chirped and sweared loudly.

Fu Qing could only pat the chick's head reassuringly before squatting down by the cardboard box to wait for the results.

Ten minutes passed.

Half an hour passed.

The chicks were still making noise, but none of them mutated.

Fu Qing breathed a sigh of relief and muttered to himself, "It's not contagious."

"It seems you really were infected by the Zombie King himself." She looked up at the skeleton, a half-smile on her face, and asked, "If I keep you here, will your master come to save you?"

The skeleton, of course, could not answer her; its eyes, fixed on Fu Qing, were bloodshot red.

"No, probably not." Fu Qing stood up, stretched his limbs, and answered himself, "Zombies are a species with a strict hierarchy. High-level zombies have absolute dominance over low-level and mid-level zombies. If you kill a high-level zombie in the team, the rest of the zombies will even be temporarily intimidated—this method has always worked very well."

"In such a group, how could someone in a position of authority save one of their own dogs?"

Fu Qing looked at him regretfully: "It seems the only thing I can do is ask you to die."

The skull's eyes widened, and it panted heavily through its nostrils, its pupils reflecting Fu Qing's approaching figure.

She grabbed the hair at the back of his head and forced him to lift his head.

Amidst the cracking sound of her neck breaking, the skeleton heard her whisper in his ear: "Thank you for letting me see the look of fear on a zombie's face for the first time."

The world fell into darkness; those were the last words he heard in the world.