Chapter 20 Chapter 20 Bai Tang
"Hey, watch out!"
"Step on the left, left, no, a little higher..."
"Hurry up, it's catching up!" As Bai Tang walked out of the teaching building after the last class in the afternoon, she heard a commotion around her.
Several students were gathered in a corner outside the teaching building, craning their necks and pointing at something.
One of the girls had come to Bai Tang a few times to ask questions, and the two were fairly familiar with each other. Bai Tang called out her name: "get out of class is over, why aren't you going to the cafeteria?"
As she spoke, she glanced down and noticed that the students all had a peculiar belt around their waists, with a raised buckle on it.
There wasn't any before, so what did the principal do?
"Ah, Teacher Bai."
The girl turned around, saw it was her, and immediately greeted her excitedly.
Bai Tang and Zhao Yunxiao are both very young, not much older than the students, and have good personalities. Such teachers are often very popular during their student days.
Bai Tang, who is particularly fond of anime and manga culture, shares a lot in common with many students. Apart from her somewhat demanding assignments, she is generally well-regarded by students.
The girl showed no restraint whatsoever when facing a teacher, pointing to the ceiling: "He insists on winning the stair-climbing competition, and we'll go eat afterward. Teacher, why don't you stay and see the results?"
Bai Tang responded and looked up. At first glance, she didn't see the "him" the girl was talking about, but instead saw a zombie lying on the outer wall of the teaching building in a strange posture.
Its ten fingers were noticeably sharper than those of an ordinary person, gripping tightly at the edge of the wall cracks, with abnormally prominent veins, resembling the claws of an animal rather than human hands.
In its search for its target, the zombie kept turning its head, turning nearly 180 degrees. When its eyes met those of Bai Tang downstairs, the books in Bai Tang's hands suddenly fell to the ground.
Attracted by the commotion, the girl turned around and found that Bai Tang, who was usually a complete shut-in and rarely made exaggerated reactions, was now staring intently at the zombie like a taut bowstring.
Her cheek muscles trembled unnaturally, her lips moved, and she murmured something.
"Run!"
The girl was startled and didn't hear clearly: "Teacher Bai, are you alright?"
"Run! Run!"
Bai Tang seemed to have finally found her voice, and repeated it twice more in a hoarse voice.
She pushed away the girl's outstretched hand, but her own feet were firmly planted on the ground, and she forgot how to move because of fear.
The girl was at a loss, seeing her reaction.
Just then, a calm voice rang out from behind.
"A-003, halt operations and return to the warehouse," Fu Qing ordered.
The zombie high up immediately stopped looking around: "Order received."
It didn't forget Fu Qing's previous setting, and obediently jumped vertically down twice before finally landing on the ground with a sound like an engine shutting off. It then trotted towards the stadium warehouse.
The boy who was fiercely competing in mid-air suddenly realized that his opponent had abandoned him and run away without looking back, and he sighed in bewilderment.
Fu Qing watched A-003 leave, walked up to Bai Tang, bent down to pick up the scattered books on the ground, handed them to her, and said in a rare soft voice, "That's not true."
"I introduced ten realistic zombie simulators into Teacher Hao's class, which can simulate the behavior patterns of different types of zombies. I should have sent private messages to the other teachers beforehand, didn't you see them?"
Her calm tone seemed to have a soothing power, gradually waking Bai Tang from a nightmare.
"I... I was probably playing games and didn't see the notification, then I went to class..."
She was unusually flustered, took the book and hugged it to her chest, then looked down to adjust her black-rimmed glasses that had slipped down.
Although he was explaining, he was clearly still somewhat shaken.
The surrounding students were all stunned; how could the simulated zombie have been called away by the principal? The girl who had spoken to Bai Tang seemed to understand, her hand, which was about to support Teacher Bai, hovering in mid-air, lost in a moment of confusion.
Fu Qing stopped asking questions and turned to the others: "Don't use the simulated zombies for the rest of the day. Go back now."
Class time was too short, and there were only ten simulated zombies, so not everyone had enough time to interact with them. Fu Qing specifically allowed students to freely rent simulated zombies for practice after class.
As long as she registers using her watch, she can quickly access the lender's personal information, so she's not worried about the zombies getting lost.
But unexpectedly, it startled Bai Tang.
Everyone responded, somewhat bewildered.
After giving his instructions, Fu Qing pulled up the system again, edited a notice with the same content, and sent it out to all students.
This was her oversight. Although she sent the message in advance, not everyone would check it in time, especially since Grandma Liu is an elderly woman who doesn't even know how to operate a smartphone, let alone the system.
Previously, Bai Tang had to teach her for a long time before she could learn how to use a watch to assign homework. This time, it's possible that she and Zhao Yunxiao didn't check the message in time.
Before students use the simulated zombies again, it is essential to ensure that every teacher is aware of their existence.
...
On the other end, Song Rushuang, who was queuing for food, felt a slight vibration on her wrist. Before she could respond, her watch automatically activated and displayed a projected reminder.
It opened by itself without waiting for them to do anything?
Song Rushuang muttered, "Could it be some important announcement?"
"This seems to be the first time we've received a notification to everyone since the last announcement about the role of points." Shen Qingqing also looked at her watch, her expression becoming serious and focused.
The last points system involved the issue of bringing parents and relatives into the shelter, which is important information that you absolutely cannot miss.
The group clicked in with high expectations, but after reading it, they were somewhat confused.
Looking at the content, there doesn't seem to be anything special about it.
"Is it really worth sending out a whole message and forcing everyone to read it just because we can't borrow zombies before tomorrow?" Song Rushuang blinked, hesitant.
"have no idea……"
Zhang Han did not participate in the practical training class. Her physical education class was scheduled for tomorrow morning. She had been eager to go to the warehouse after dinner, but she was inevitably disappointed upon hearing this.
Everyone looked at each other, still unable to figure it out.
*
A corner of the cafeteria.
"Have some hot soup."
Fu Qing carried the tray and divided one of the two bowls of soup in front of Bai Tang.
The latter was sitting listlessly on the bench when she heard Fu Qing call her, and only then did she listlessly pick up her chopsticks.
After stirring it a couple of times, Bai Tang was surprised to find a large bone with meat still attached in the bowl. "Did you bring me a long-time employee from the cafeteria?"
Judging from these complaints, everyone here has been through it...
Seeing that she was listless but still couldn't resist making sarcastic remarks, Fu Qing chuckled and said, "Just eat yours."
Fangzhou Cafeteria offers free soup and fruit as standard, and the menu changes seven days a week. Today it just so happens to be winter melon and pork ribs.
A full bucket, steaming hot, the aroma wafts from afar as soon as the insulated lid is lifted.
Unlike Fuqing's former school cafeteria, which only had a thin, negligible amount of egg drop soup and a few scattered vegetable leaves.
The tuition fees she extracted from the system were used, apart from providing extremely high scholarships to impoverished students and reserving a portion for scholarships for high-achieving students, and almost all of it was used to improve campus life.
Bai Tang paused, feeling a little guilty.
She almost forgot that she was no longer a student, and the person sitting in front of her was her boss.
But perhaps the shock just now pulled her back to a certain point in her memory. For a moment, she seemed to have returned to when she had just graduated, in that cozy little room that she had decorated herself.
Then time moved on, and one day when she woke up, she saw a zombie lying outside her bedroom window. Its features were flattened by the glass due to the force of the pressure, and its mouth was grinning upwards. It stared at her without moving.
One year and three months after the outbreak, the rudimentary zombies began to gain the ability to climb.
A large number of zombies that were originally locked outside the building spontaneously gathered and attempted to climb to the upper floors.
That month, many humans who managed to survive by hiding in high places in buildings perished in the zombie siege. The remaining humans either left the city and hid in the wilderness, or dared not be alone anymore and tried to form settlements, build fortifications, and unite to resist the zombie attacks.
Bai Tang was just one of the countless people who died at that time, a very small and insignificant one.
Bai Tang held the bowl, steam rising from it, her cheeks hidden behind the mist, making her appear exceptionally pale.
She suddenly trembled, as if remembering something, and hurriedly lowered her head, her eyelashes blinking rapidly.
Fu Qing seemed oblivious to all of this and pushed the plate in front of her as usual.
Why aren't you eating?
"Oh, I want to eat." Not wanting to reveal anything unusual, Bai Tang instinctively lowered her head and took a big gulp.
The ribs were stewed until tender, falling off the bone easily with a touch. The aroma had infused the soup, and the warm current flowing into her stomach carried warmth throughout her body, finally giving her cheeks a bit more color.
Bai Tang whispered, "It tastes so good."
"Then eat more." Fu Qing lowered her head to drink the soup, glancing at Bai Tang picking up food with her chopsticks. Bai Tang's fingers were slender, and her finger bones were more prominent than most people's.
That's a sign of being underweight.
Just as Fu Qing retained the physique he had developed over the five years after the apocalypse after his rebirth, each of the teachers was reborn in the same state as before their deaths.
While Bai Tang wasn't exactly emaciated, she was clearly malnourished. Relying solely on canned food and a small amount of vegetables grown on her balcony, even with her best efforts to create a balanced diet, was ultimately limited.
Of course, compared to many people who are forced to go out to find food due to hunger in less than a month, she is already quite remarkable, otherwise the system would not have given her such a high rating for survival ability.
Halfway through the meal, having probably recovered, Bai Tang took the initiative to start a conversation: "Those zombies, uh, what are they used for?"
She took a sip of soup, looked at Fu Qing sitting opposite her, and suddenly realized that Fu Qing was actually very quiet while eating.
No, although the principal is a bit sharp-tongued, he doesn't actually talk much... Bai Tang revised her impression of Fu Qing.
“Practice.” Fu Qing ate quickly, but without giving the impression of being rude. “All kinds of practice: fighting, escaping, climbing… The simulated zombies can simulate real-life scenarios, and they will be more engaged.”
“Climbing, no wonder,” Bai Tang suddenly realized.
She was still dazed from the fright, but now she slowly recalled that there was indeed another boy crawling on the top of the zombie's head.
The agility of the simulated zombies is set at the level of just learning to climb walls, which is why the boys are slightly faster than the zombies.
The zombie stretched out its hand, but only barely grazed his ankle, letting out an angry roar below.
Bai Tang was a little stunned.
After seeing Fu Qing off, she watched her retreating figure and thought about it and felt envious more than once.
If I were as agile and skilled in combat as she is, wouldn't I have been able to leave that room long ago?
At that time, staying will be her choice, rather than being passively trapped.
If she had moved earlier when she realized something was wrong, perhaps she wouldn't have ended up like that.
The students today are different from her; they are striving to catch up with Fu Qing's pace.
With these exercises, they will no longer have to go through what she went through.
Bai Tang subconsciously said, "That's great."
When Fu Qing summoned her, she was initially reluctant to experience the apocalypse again.
She didn't want to face the same fear, the same loneliness, the same pain again.
But Bai Tang now has a vague feeling that perhaps this time, the ending will be different.
Perhaps their endings will be different.
Bai Tang suddenly put down her bowl and sincerely grasped Fu Qing's hand: "Principal, you are so amazing. I want to follow you wholeheartedly."
Fu Qing's lips twitched, unsure whether she was joking or sincere: "Then the game cartridges every month..."
Without hesitation, Bai Tang replied, "Of course, we need that too."
Fu Qing: "..."
Fu Qing suddenly smiled: "What you're doing is the same thing."
You're also helping to change that outcome.
Bai Tang, who had been holding chopsticks, paused in mid-air upon hearing this, her hand hovering there for a long time.
As Fu Qing got up to deliver the trays, a reminder suddenly popped up in front of her.
[Your relationship with teacher "Bai Tang" has deepened.]
She will work even harder!
[Received 50 teaching points as a reward.]
Fu Qing stopped abruptly, looking suspiciously at the pop-up window in mid-air.
Is that okay?
She had been complaining to the system about the lack of tasks and the insufficient teaching points, but she never expected there to be such a way to obtain them.
Unlike Hao Zhenye, who issues tasks, Bai Tang's favorability doesn't affect the school's operation. It's like achievement points in a game, a kind of hidden reward that only triggers a notification.
Fu Qing felt like she understood something.
It seems I need to interact with the teachers more often in the future.
However, it must be said that the system is indeed a management system; the notification message after her "favorability" increased actually said that she would work even harder...
Fu Qing glanced at Bai Tang, who was still secretly moved, and felt a pang of sympathy.
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