Chapter 1 [Attention all new students, the first time...]
At the end of August, the summer heat had not yet subsided.
The afternoon sun was blazing, illuminating the earth in a dazzling light.
The campus is lush and green, with red banners hanging among the treetops that read "Warmly welcome the freshmen of 2029" fluttering in the wind.
However, at this moment, the announcements about moving luggage, relatives saying goodbye, and welcoming the new year were replaced by screams and cries.
Scattered packages lay on the gray pavement, and students with youthful faces scattered in all directions. Behind them, countless zombies emerged from the shadows, staggering toward the nearest group of people.
Its bluish-gray skin gleamed with a chilling deathly aura in the sunlight, and the undead raised its head to unleash a roar that was unlike anything in human form.
In the chaos, one person was two steps too slow and was instantly overwhelmed by the swarming horde of corpses.
"don't want!"
"Help me—"
The next second, the heart-wrenching cries for help came to an abrupt halt.
Song Rushuang, a freshman in the class of '9999 at Fangzhou University, was struggling to smash the red thermos she had just bought from the convenience store at the zombie behind her when she caught a glimpse of the blood and flesh splattering out of the corner of her eye, and her stomach churned instantly.
The horde of zombies was still closing in, and the wind carried the stench of decay.
how so?
What on earth happened?!
Song Rushuang screamed inwardly in despair.
Suddenly, she remembered the peaceful campus broadcast that had broken the silence a few minutes earlier.
The female voice coming from the speaker was calm and clear, with a slightly drawn-out ending and a lazy tone. Even after being blurred by the rough sound quality, it was still very pleasant to listen to.
But the words that came out were completely at odds with that calm tone—
[Attention all freshmen, the first zombie horde simulation exercise is about to begin.]
The assessment will last for 1 hour.
This assessment will affect class placement. Death will result in zero points. Please be prepared and try your best to survive.
[Countdown...]
[3...2...1, Start!]
*
One day ago, in the suburbs of S City.
A tall, slender young woman stood with her arms crossed in front of a sprawling complex of buildings, raising an eyebrow as she surveyed the open school gate and the straight, tree-lined path leading inside.
The electronic voice in my head kept chattering.
[Host, this is the default school location. If you are not satisfied, you can pay to change it.]
The nationwide student selection process has been completed, with a total of 2,400 new students scheduled to register tomorrow.
[Once the naming is complete, the management panel will be unlocked, allowing you to view and change building layouts, current tasks, student information, and more... You can explore more features on your own.]
After the system introduction was finished, Fu Qing remained silent, her lips tightly pressed together.
The system, observing the situation, cautiously asked: "Host, is there anything you're dissatisfied with?"
"No." Fu Qing's lips moved slightly, and she squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth, "...I ate too much."
system:【……】
I ate three scallion pancakes, six skewers of grilled squid, two servings of spicy hot pot, and a Coke in one go. How could I not be full!
It suppressed the urge to complain and emitted two buzzing electrical sounds.
Fu Qing managed to move her arms down a little, clutching her stomach as she recalled everything that had happened in the past two hours.
Two hours ago, she was fighting zombies in the dark apocalypse.
An endless horde of corpses stretched to the horizon, their severed limbs piled up like mountains at their feet. The rotting blood soaked the soil, and with each step, Fu Qing had to struggle to pull his legs out of the mud.
Her weapon broke, her limbs felt heavy as iron, and finally, at one point, she collapsed from exhaustion, watching helplessly as countless gaping maws lunged at her. The last thought that flashed through her mind was—
Damn, such a loud breath, how long has it been since you brushed your teeth?
Why can't we get someone else who's already been brushed and used to seduce her?
With a blink of an eye, Fu Qing found herself waking up on a park bench.
The air was filled with the sounds of birds and the fragrance of flowers, and a young mother was blowing bubbles with her daughter.
Transparent soap bubbles floated up into the sky, refracting rainbow colors in the sunlight, like a dream.
Fu Qing was stunned.
【Hello, host.】
[Congratulations on becoming the last human survivor in the apocalypse. You have received a special retrospective reward.]
[It is now 2:30 PM on August 24, 9999 (China Time). Welcome back.]
Fu Qing's brain is mechanically rotating.
The virus broke out at the end of August in the year 10000 of the Blue Star calendar, which means there is still one year left.
She's back.
In late August 10,000, a highly contagious unknown virus broke out and spread rapidly across all continents. Infected individuals lost their minds, experienced sensory degeneration, underwent physical mutations, exhibited severe violent tendencies, and even actively sought out and attacked uninfected living people around them.
Everything was exactly like the zombies depicted in movies and TV shows, so the survivors ignored the long list of names given by the authorities and simply called it the "zombie virus".
The virus spread rapidly and mutated several times, causing the shelters to fall. After several critical blows, the authorities completely lost the ability to organize an effective force.
As the number of infected people increases, the remaining survivors are like rats in the gutter, hiding in the corners of the city, waiting for death to come.
Fu Qing lived a life of hardship for five whole years.
There were fewer and fewer living people around, and eventually, for months on end, they would not encounter another uninfected person.
But she never expected that she would be the one who survived to the end.
After her death, her homeland will become a paradise for the living dead.
Fu Qing imagined that scene, her eyelashes drooping, and she blinked rapidly without making a sound.
When I looked up again, my gaze was drawn to the food street next to me.
...Half an hour later, with his mouth full of scallion pancakes, Fu Qing finally had the leisure to listen to the system's self-introduction.
According to the system, Fu Qing was not only the last human to survive, but he also lived three months longer than the second to last person, which is why he received the "honor" of retrospection.
This proves that your survival skills, combat abilities, and even luck are among the best in the world, thus giving you the opportunity to change the future.
Fu Qing ignored the initial praise and swallowed a bite of bread: "So, you can prevent the virus from breaking out?"
Unfortunately, that's not possible.
Time travel has conditions, and the price is that you cannot warn humanity of this crisis in any way before the apocalypse arrives.
This was stolen time; the viral outbreak was its destined end.
Fu Qing remained silent.
The look of disappointment vanished in an instant, as quickly as it had appeared. She lowered her head and ate her scallion pancake, silently calculating what she could do with the year ahead.
It's a pity we can't stop the apocalypse from coming, but we can't waste this year either.
She can still enjoy the last glories of human civilization, which makes her much luckier than most people.
"But—" the system's voice abruptly changed, "[Going back is not without cost; binding to the system means you have implicitly accepted the task.]"
You still have a choice. If you abandon the mission, I will send you back to the moment before the time travel.
Fu Qing: "..."
Such a rogue policy?
She could almost see the stench of the zombie's mouth again, and the rotting flesh hanging from its loose, yellowed teeth, and her appetite instantly vanished by half.
This is a ghost's choice.
Looking at the steaming hot scallion pancake in her hand, Fu Qing's face was frozen: "...What mission? Tell me."
Ding ding ding!
The system's voice became cheerful again:
[Let me introduce myself. Congratulations on binding yourself to the Campus Simulation Management System!]
[Mission Objective: To impart survival skills, cultivate elite combat personnel, and fully utilize your special abilities and intelligence advantages to establish a well-equipped [Survival School] before the zombie virus outbreak, making it humanity's last refuge!]
[By the way, there are still 364 days, 23 hours, 35 minutes, and 48 seconds left until the first wave of infections.]
*
The scene shifts back to the selected school site, where Fu Qing sighs deeply.
She was to either sacrifice a precious year to help the system raise its "children"—more than two thousand lively, untamed children who had just escaped their hellish high school life and were ready to unleash their true nature in college—or send them back to be gnawed by zombies who hadn't brushed their teeth in five years and still had human jerky stuck in their teeth. She really couldn't say which choice was more disastrous.
After much deliberation, Fu Qing reluctantly chose the former option.
According to the system, these 2,400 new students were assigned to her camp the moment they were selected. In other words, they were no longer bound by the rules, and Fu Qing could "spoil" everything about the future to them.
Of course, like Fu Qing, they also cannot reveal this to ordinary people who do not have the system's assistance.
[If a virus were to break out one day, a well-trained team of a thousand people who have a thorough understanding of zombie nature would be the most terrifying force in the apocalypse!]
If the system had a physical form, it would probably be talking non-stop by now.
Fu Qing remained unmoved, took two digestive pills, and began to look around.
Having made her decision, she stopped thinking about it and recalled what the system had just said, analyzing: "It's good that the school is located here. It's in the suburbs, far from the densely populated city center, so it won't be affected by the virus outbreak immediately, and it will be difficult for it to be directly attacked by zombie hordes in the future."
Unlike her previous school, which was extremely close to the downtown area and even had a historical site nearby, this place was a hellish start, and she succumbed to it within a few days.
—Fu Qing was also from S City in her previous life, but the world she returned to after the time travel seemed to be slightly different from her original world.
For example, the land beneath her feet—if she remembered correctly, this used to be a desolate village in Fu Qing's world. A few years ago, they said the land would be reclaimed for development, but nothing happened for several years. Every time she passed by, she could see abandoned white walls and black tiles hidden in weeds, gradually decaying.
Today, the brand-new university campus stands in the sunlight.
Not far away is a large river that runs from north to south, and in summer the river is turbulent and flows endlessly.
Adjacent to the opposite bank of the river, the mountains stretch endlessly, the scenery is beautiful, and the vegetation is lush. With the mountains and river acting as natural barriers, it is difficult for zombies to get close, so they only need to focus on protecting the side of the school closest to the city.
The mountain is rich in supplies, enough to sustain the survivors for a while should the day come when water and food run out.
In addition, its proximity to water sources provides a natural advantage for both farming and construction, making it a perfect safe haven in terms of geographical location.
This was probably where he would stay for a long time to come. Fu Qing was content with his lot, so he peeked around with his hands behind his back and was quite satisfied.
However, "Even if you say you can 'spoil the plot,' how can you guarantee they will believe me?"
Putting herself in her shoes, if she were an ordinary college student six years ago, and someone suddenly jumped out and told her, "The end of the world is coming soon, run!", she would probably just tell that person to watch less zombie movies or kindly suggest that they go to the Fourth Hospital to get their brain checked. She would never believe it.
Not to mention listening to that person and obediently exercising and spending money to stock up on goods.
The system remained silent for two seconds: [Host, you're so smart, of course you'll find a way to solve this little problem.]
It paused for a moment, then added obsequiously: "Of course, there are system limitations; students cannot withdraw from school voluntarily. You don't need to worry about that."
Fu Qing: "..."
Is that what she's worried about?
The students immediately thought the principal had gone mad; could this school really keep operating?
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