Chapter 126 The tolling of bells for the dead guides the way forward...
While students were busy saying goodbye to their parents, teachers were also strolling around the campus.
Not long ago, Grandma Liu approached Fu Qing, feeling quite embarrassed, and asked if she could use the teaching points she had saved to buy a [Full Simulation] prop.
"You mentioned before that the kind used for the exam costs 100 points for three hours, but that's all I've saved up. I wonder if I can just buy half an hour... no, ten minutes?"
Grandma Liu clumsily brought up the bracelet's page and showed Fu Qing her balance.
She saved all of her monthly salary from the two teaching locations.
Fu Qing finally understood why Grandma Liu had asked her how much a full-length mock exam cost during the first monthly exam; she probably had been saving up to buy one back then.
But after a year of saving, the total amount was only 24 teaching points, far from 100 points.
Fu Qing checked the online store page and found that there was no 10-minute version of the full simulation, but there was an hour-long version like the one for the opening exam. After the opening discount period, the total price was 50 teaching points.
It's still not enough.
"Can……"
Without changing her expression, she accepted Grandma Liu's teaching points and was about to click to purchase the one-hour version.
Before he could finish speaking, a voice interrupted: "If that's not enough, I have more here."
Bai Tang appeared out of nowhere, first looking at Grandma Liu, and explained, "I just came out of the dormitory and saw you walking hurriedly towards the administration building, so I followed to see what was going on."
Then he looked at Fu Qing: "I still have 9 points left."
Her monthly salary was less than Grandma Liu's, and she saved almost all of it. The few times she spent it was when she went out for hot pot with Xu Mingyue one weekend.
Behind Bai Tang, Xu Mingyue, Lu Yan, and even Hao Zhenye were also there. They probably heard that Grandma Liu's expression was not right and came over to check on her.
Xu Mingyue also checked the account.
Her salary was the second highest among all the teachers, but she could hardly save any money. Whenever she had free time, she would run around, eating and shopping. Looking at her account, she suddenly felt short of money. "...All I have left is the 7 o'clock from last month that I just received."
The three of them struggled for a long time but only managed to gather 40 points, less than half of 100 points, and were completely at a loss.
Fu Qing: "..."
It seems that no one heard her say "okay".
Finally, Hao Zhenye, a wealthy man who earned 10 teaching points a month, stepped forward and generously donated 60 teaching points: "Shouldn't that be enough?"
Fu Qing looked at the three transfer requests and didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
As for Lu Yan, he has always been a freelancer. Like Zhao Yunxiao, the expected salary displayed by the system when he applied for the job was 0 points. Fu Qing has never been polite to him and has never paid him a salary. So at this moment, he is powerless and stands aside as a member of the atmosphere group.
However, he knew Fu Qing well and always felt that Xu Mingyue and the others had probably wasted their money.
As expected, Fu Qing rejected all three applications and ultimately only accepted the teaching points that Grandma Liu had previously transferred: "This is enough, it won't cost that much."
After buying the props, she asked Grandma Liu, "What scene do you want to simulate?"
The others also looked at Liu Yingchun.
Grandma Liu cautiously confirmed, "Anything is fine? What if... I want to simulate a memory?"
Just as I expected.
Fu Qing sighed inwardly: "I'm sorry, the full simulation is different from the simulation pod. It can only simulate the scene. There may be NPCs inside, such as zombies and passersby, but they are just fixed programs and there is almost no interaction. It is even more impossible for them to become the person in your memory."
It's more like a "map" in a game, while the simulation pod is a "dungeon" containing a storyline.
The simulation pod can only import memories after the apocalypse, so Grandma Liu, who died at the beginning, could not import any other memories except for the memory of her time in the residential area with her neighbors at dusk.
Fu Qing knew who she wanted to see, but she was destined never to meet them.
Even Fu Qing felt a little reluctant to shatter her last shred of illusion.
A hint of sadness flashed across Grandma Liu's face. She shook her head and smiled bitterly, "It's alright. Actually, I was mentally prepared before I came."
Xu Mingyue and her classmates had used this kind of prop in their previous midterm and final exams. She had asked them about how to use it and knew the general idea, so she didn't dare to ask any more questions.
I fear that if my hopes are dashed too soon, the days to come will be very difficult.
Those days filled with hope, anticipating the day they could meet again, were also a kind of happiness for her.
“Since we can’t simulate memories, let’s simulate a location.” Grandma Liu named a park, “When my granddaughter was little, I often took her here.”
A look of nostalgia welled up in her eyes.
Every blade of grass and every tree in that park witnessed her granddaughter's growth; seeing them was perhaps a kind of reunion with her granddaughter.
"Besides, after spending so much time in school, everyone will probably want to see what's outside," Grandma Liu said. "The scene in the simulation pod is definitely different from what it was like before the apocalypse."
The latter will only make people feel more and more desperate.
Fu Qing nodded: "I understand."
Half an hour later, when most people had finished lunch, the full simulation started, like a miraculous gift from heaven, turning the entire Fangzhou into a lush green park.
In those short ten minutes, they completed their escape.
Leaving behind the cruel apocalypse, a brief return to peaceful daily life.
Ten minutes later, the simulation ended, and the campus broadcast began to announce the assembly, waking everyone from this lucid dream.
After the initial daze, a more resolute determination emerged.
The students hugged and said goodbye to their parents, then shouldered backpacks containing weapons and equipment and boarded the assembly bus.
*
Time passed by, second by second.
As 2:30 approached, the outside world became increasingly quiet.
Apart from the noises from zombies and some desperate fugitives, all activity ceased as everyone waited intently for the same moment to arrive.
Inside a reinforced off-road vehicle, Fu Qing and several members of the special forces team sat, all eyes fixed on the countdown.
Zhou Lingxi herself didn't realize that she was counting down in a whisper: "60, 59, 58..."
The last minute.
Fu Qing sat by the window, looking at the empty street, her gaze suddenly sharpening.
Sitting next to her, Bai Xianglei noticed and looked over. Not far away at the street corner, it seemed as if a piece of clothing had brushed past.
Is anyone there?
He frowned, but only half a second later, Fu Qing decisively opened the car door and jumped out.
He simply said, "I'll be right back."
But they couldn't let her act alone. Bai Xianglei gave a wink, and the others quickly followed.
The special forces members, who were sitting in the other two cars in the convoy, heard the noise and were about to open the doors when Bai Xianglei stopped them with a gesture.
There are too many people; it's easy to attract attention.
He, Zhou Lingxi, and Chu Hai followed Fu Qing silently, the four of them making almost no noise.
Fu Qing was the quickest to react. She noticed what was happening earlier than Bai Xianglei. She quickly went around the street corner and came to a dead end. Sure enough, there were two overlapping figures in the alley.
A thin young man was pinned to the ground by a zombie, holding a wooden stick he had picked up in his hand, and was pressing it against the zombie's neck with all his might. The zombie's mouth was wide open, and saliva dripped onto his face.
Fearing it would attract more zombies, the young man dared not call for help. When he saw the four people over the zombies' shoulders, he desperately mouthed the words:
"Help me..."
There's no need to call for help from anyone else when it's just a zombie.
Fu Qing didn't take it seriously and stepped forward with his knife, but suddenly a familiar voice came from above.
Woohoo—
Fu Qing stopped in her tracks and couldn't help but look up.
The air raid siren grew louder, gradually rising from a low pitch to a high and resonant blast, like an invisible wave sweeping across the entire city.
The zombie lying on the youth was drawn to the attention and raised its head, letting out a low growl, but it couldn't find the direction of its prey for a moment.
The young man breathed a slight sigh of relief, but he was still unable to move. Noticing this, Fu Qing took another step, but a soft gunshot rang out behind him.
The faint sound of a pistol with a silencer firing in bursts was almost inaudible amidst the alarm.
The bullet pierced the back of the head, killing the zombie instantly. A round hole appeared between the zombie's eyebrows, and it collapsed to the ground.
Fu Qing turned around, and Zhou Lingxi, still holding his gun, tilted his head slightly: "Sorry, we were one step ahead this time."
The two looked at each other. Zhou Lingxi's eyes crinkled into a smile. He quickly put his pistol back into its holster, stood at attention, and bowed his head in silent mourning.
With no other zombies drawn out for the time being, Bai Xianglei and Chu Hai, who were following closely behind, also came to a sudden stop and stood at attention, their expressions serious.
The outside environment was not safe. Ten seconds later, Fu Qing was the first to set off, striding towards the young man, pushing the zombies off him, and inspecting him. Zhou Lingxi and the others then drew their pistols again and kept watch over their surroundings.
After Fu Qing confirmed that the young man had no wounds, she straightened up and asked, "Do you know how to get to the meeting point?"
"Yes, yes," the young man nodded hurriedly. "I heard the broadcast."
Fu Qing pointed in a direction: "Follow the main road. There will be military escorts along the way. You'll be safe."
A single sentence brought tears to the young man's eyes instantly.
"Thank you..." He forced himself to stand up and stumbled toward the direction Fu Qing was pointing, amidst the blaring alarms.
Fu Qing stood in the narrow alley, but didn't rush to leave. After a minute of silence, the alarm, turned up to its maximum power, seemed to make his internal organs tremble.
Long, sharp, and with a surging intensity that tears everything apart.
The zombies raised their heads and marched unknowingly toward the direction from which the alarm had sounded. Those trapped inside saw all this through the glass and the peephole, and wept bitterly.
Among those infected who left were their relatives.
Their bodies died, summoned by a monotonous, piercing sound, while their souls cried out along with the long, wailing alarm.
Keep moving forward, don't look back.
The deceased have departed, but the living must continue to move forward.
This is the sound of bells for mourning the dead, and also the clarion call to guide us on the road ahead.
The earth shook as the alarms blared, a sound made by the zombies of the entire city running together.
The previous ten seconds were for the victims of this life.
Fu Qing closed her eyes again, lowered her head, and many familiar faces appeared before her eyes.
At the same time, countless people opened their eyes and wiped away their tears.
After taking one last look at their familiar home, they picked up their luggage, gritted their teeth, and embarked on their journey to the shelter.
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