Chapter 26 The Devout
After comfortably leaving the mess of introducing the campus to the new students to the students, Fu Qing went back to the police station with the police to cooperate with the statement taking.
In a short time, her heroic act seemed to have spread among everyone. The police officers were very friendly, and even the policewoman who poured her water couldn't help but steal a glance at her.
One of the police officers who was taking the statement was the commander of the rescue operation. He introduced himself as Chen and, during a break, casually chatted about the prisoner's condition.
"According to the preliminary investigation, the suspect, Liu, is 28 years old, unemployed, and comes from a relatively wealthy family. The car was a gift from his parents to him as personal property." This information will eventually be made public, and Officer Chen did not hide it from Fu Qing. "He did not drink alcohol before the incident. Judging from his state during questioning, it does not seem like drunk driving or driving under the influence of drugs. Of course, we still need to see the test results for the specifics."
These findings are consistent with her observations and inquiries.
The suspect deliberately modified the vehicle, removing the airbags and dashcam. She was even certain that he had rehearsed the crime multiple times before committing it, which allowed him to remain so calm when patrol officers approached to stop him.
Fu Qing did not reveal her knowledge of the suspect. She sipped her tea from her paper cup, listened attentively, and occasionally chimed in with a few words, demonstrating the appropriate concern of a normal citizen with a strong sense of justice in the face of such heinous events, without being excessive.
"His parents gave him such an expensive car, which shows that his family relationship is relatively harmonious. How could he do something like this to retaliate against society? Could it be that someone instigated him?"
Officer Chen shook his head and rubbed his temples: "It's still unclear. We'll start by investigating his social relationships to see if he's involved in any property or emotional disputes. Of course, your guess is also possible; we can't rule out the possibility that someone is behind it all."
He couldn't say more.
Fu Qing nodded.
She casually mentioned, "There seem to be many similar cases lately. What's going on?"
Since joining the police station, almost everyone she has met has large dark circles under their eyes, and even Officer Chen looks exhausted.
“That’s right,” the junior officer in charge of taking notes couldn’t help but interject. “This is the nth case this month. We didn’t have this many cases in a whole year.”
He was glared at by Officer Chen and hurriedly changed his tune: "But the previous ones weren't large-scale murder cases, they were just neighborhood disputes, couples arguing, and the argument escalated into a fight or something like that."
It's better not to explain at all...
Fu Qing sighed for his boss, his mood becoming heavy.
She rarely sees these cases on local news.
Was it because the number was abnormally high that some of it was deliberately suppressed and not reported in order to avoid causing panic?
At this moment, Fu Qing suddenly saw the scenery outside the school, a sight she had never seen in either her previous or current life.
If these are all omens of the impending apocalypse, then it's no wonder the system advised us to go outside more often.
Officer Chen stopped the outspoken newcomer and gently but surely reminded Fu Qing, "The previous cases were relatively simple, and most of the suspects were arrested on the spot. We have already investigated, and they are not connected to each other, nor are they serial crimes or group crimes. Please believe that all police officers will do their best to protect the safety of citizens. S City is very safe."
A leader is a leader; they are well-versed in the art of speaking.
Fu Qing understood his implication: "I understand. I won't tell anyone what I just said. Thank you for your hard work."
...
As the statement was being taken, a solemn-looking middle-aged man came over to shake her hand and express his gratitude. Fu Qing glanced at him again and realized he was a face she often saw in the local news.
If I could tell him about the apocalypse...
The thought vanished in an instant. Fu Qing put aside her extraneous thoughts, shook hands with him calmly, exchanged contact information with Officer Chen, and then left the police station.
When I came out, a full moon was already hanging overhead.
The moonlight, as clear and cool as water, fell gently on the branches. The dark night sky reflected the lights of countless homes, and the police station behind her was also brightly lit.
The silhouettes of police officers busily moving through the square window panes resemble a large light painting.
Fu Qing glanced at it a couple more times, then took a taxi back to school.
The night is not over yet.
*
After returning to school, Fu Qing ate a simple meal in the cafeteria and then went to the principal's office.
She opened the notebook she had used for organizing, turned to a new page, and rewrote the title.
"The case of a car ramming into pedestrians on Yongxin Road Pedestrian Street".
While eating, Fu Qing did a quick search and found that the case had indeed become a trending topic, with the latest death toll rising to 27, and countless people praying for the victims on the platform.
At the same time, it has sparked another wave of discussion about the recent spate of social incidents.
The previous incident at the barbecue restaurant was too minor, but this case of ramming into pedestrians happened to occur during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Its nature was egregious, and the large number of deaths made Fu Qing finally certain.
In my previous life, no similar case ever occurred in City S during the Mid-Autumn Festival of that year.
If she did, she couldn't possibly not remember it.
Fu Qing's expression gradually darkened.
This is the first event since her rebirth that differs from her previous life, aside from her own existence and that of her teachers.
What caused this change? Will it affect her understanding of the future?
Having been reborn, Fu Qing's greatest asset is her past experiences.
Her individual abilities could only help her and those around her survive longer; information about zombies and the future was what could possibly be humanity's hope.
That was a spark—if this experience became unreliable, Fangzhou's teachers and students, as well as she herself, would fall back into darkness and be forced to grope for a way to survive once more.
Humanity may not have a third chance.
Fu Qing had to be on guard, which is why she risked being caught on camera and suspected by the police to question the driver named Liu Yong on the spot.
Once he's arrested, she won't have the chance to speak to him alone anymore.
The ballpoint pen spins rapidly between the fingers; if someone were present, they would probably be dazzled by the sight.
Fu Qing's attention had already drifted away, and Liu Yong's ferocious face reappeared in her mind's eye.
...
Time was limited, so after the car stopped, she only asked Liu Yong three questions.
Why do this?
Why target innocent bystanders?
Knowing you'll die, why do you still do this? What do you want?
Without needing further explanation from Officer Chen, a simple observation of the scene was enough to draw some conclusions: Liu Yong's car was quite valuable, and he had modified it in advance for the attack, proving that it was his own car. His clothes were all designer brands, and he was wearing an expensive watch, all of which indicated that his family was well-off.
The car had no extra interior decorations, no cushions, and no trace of any woman's presence, indicating that he was most likely single.
There was no smell of alcohol, he was of sound mind, it was premeditated rather than a crime of passion, and he did not seem to have any mental problems.
If it wasn't for money or sex, then why did he attack the crowd? Was he born with an antisocial personality?
No, the fear in his eyes when he was threatened or faced with pain was very real, not like someone with a personality disorder.
The subsequent conversation with Officer Chen was entirely a cooperative chat. In fact, Fu Qing had already made a judgment based on this basic information on the spot and devised the simplest and most effective questions based on it.
...
Fu Qing pressed down slightly with her foot, and as the shards she stepped on cut through flesh, Liu Yong screamed like a pig being slaughtered: "I'll talk! I'll talk!"
"There's no reason why! I just look down on them."
“When I was in a bad mood growing up, I would take it out on my dad’s men, and they never dared to say anything. Because their whole families depended on the money my dad gave them to live on.”
“Our family has paid a lot of money, so much money, so many taxes, supporting so many people. So what if a few are killed?”
He muttered, "They were born inferior to me, living in dilapidated houses, eating filthy food, sucking our blood. They deserve to die... they deserve to die..."
Fu Qing could tell that Liu Yong was not lying.
His genuine feeling about it makes it even more disgusting.
To reward his honesty, she bent down and helped him remove a piece of the shard.
Liu Yong stared wide-eyed as he watched blood gushing from his body like a small fountain. The resentment on his face vanished, and he twisted his body again, sobbing.
Those were the answers to the first two questions. Liu Yong answered them, but Fu Qing was not satisfied.
She instinctively felt that this wasn't the whole reason.
Liu Yong is an extremely selfish person. He enjoys the class and rights he is in and would not be willing to destroy such a life and become a prisoner.
Prisoners, the lowest rung of society, a class even lower than the ordinary workers he looks down upon, committed such a shocking crime. Liu Yong wasn't naive enough to think his father could smooth things over for him.
After much thought, Fu Qing concluded that the only reason someone would willingly abandon their current life could be because—
He is pursuing a better life.
Liu Yong believed that killing these people would bring him something better than his current status, position, and wealth.
What made him think that way?
Having quickly grasped the logic, Fu Qing asked the third question almost without pausing.
Even the foreseeable death penalty couldn't frighten him. "What exactly do you want?"
Liu Yong lay in the pool of sewage mixed with the blood of the dead and his own, his expression contorted with extreme pain, constantly begging for mercy weakly, and even filthy fluid was flowing from between his legs. But at the moment the question was asked, his eyes, which were covered by messy bangs, suddenly burst forth with a bright light.
Just as a devout believer has seen his Lord.
He grinned, a sharp, clownish laugh.
"I want..."
"I want to become someone who is above all humanity."
"When the end of the world comes, when evolved species rule this land..."
"...I am the only human who can stand shoulder to shoulder with them."
...
In the empty office, Fu Qing silently exhaled a deep breath, ending her recollection.
Liu Yong's words reminded her of a group of people she knew very well.
They firmly believe that zombies are a more advanced species than humans, citing the tougher skin, faster running speed, and greater explosive power and aggression of some zombies as proof of this view.
The outbreak of the virus is a self-purification mechanism initiated by Earth due to ecological changes and environmental degradation.
It was human greed that led to their destruction.
When the disaster is over, a new land will emerge under the sun. The zombies, adapted to this catastrophe, will be its new masters.
Fu Qing had spent some time in the shelter. One day, the shelter welcomed a ragged, emaciated refugee who was unusually excited. Fu Qing heard these words from her.
"The extinction of humanity is an inevitable trend, the will of this world," the woman said in a trance, her expression one of fascination. "Look, the virus only spreads among humans. Even if it briefly infects animals, the virus in their bodies will disappear with the death of the host. That's proof."
"That's not a virus, it's humanity's sin! We can't resist it, we can only accept it."
"Little girl, join us. Becoming a zombie is the only way to atone for your sins."
She tried her best to make Fu Qing believe it all. Her face, gaunt from hunger, was made even more stunted by a pair of large eyes that shone with an eerie and mad light.
Fu Qing was not interested in this kind of "missionary work".
She was busy every day following the volunteer expedition team to forage for food and supplies, and also had to chop wood and mend leaky and torn clothes to prepare for winter. She was so busy that she didn't have time to listen to other people's nonsense.
After the apocalypse, many staunch materialists began to seek faith.
When reality is too hopeless, it becomes quite normal to place one's hopes on something ethereal and unrealistic.
Especially in crowded shelters, where all sorts of people come and go, prayers erupt in chaos whenever new bad news arrives, to the point that Fuqing even doubts whether the gods can distinguish their followers.
However, while many people believe in Buddha and God, very few actually believe in zombies.
Fu Qing took notice of her and would check on the woman's condition from time to time.
After discovering that Fu Qing was unresponsive, the woman gave up on her and went to spread her views to other people. Before long, she actually managed to gather a few people who listened to her "lectures" every day.
Those people either had close relatives turned into zombies and were listless, or were too weak and sick to go out and explore, growing weaker day by day, living on the shelter's bare minimum rations, and facing imminent death. After coming into contact with the woman, their mental state strangely improved.
Fu Qing became wary and specifically discussed the matter with the manager, but unfortunately, it was not taken seriously.
The unexpected finally happened one day when she went out to explore.
When Fu Qing returned, the shelter had been completely captured. According to those who escaped from it, it was the woman and her accomplices who did it.
Taking advantage of a moment when the guards were off guard during their shift change, the group worked together to push open the gate and let the zombies in.
The woman at the head of the group charged into the horde of corpses, laughing loudly: "This is not death, but rebirth!"
Because there were too many zombies attacking her at the same time, she was not able to mutate after being bitten, but was instead torn to pieces alive.
This betrayal from within humanity resulted in the deaths of nearly a thousand people in the shelter, and her dying words were etched into Fu Qing's heart.
Later, when she met people who shared the same idea more than once, she was shocked to realize that this was not just the crazy talk of that woman.
This is a mysterious and hidden organization in a post-apocalyptic world, sharing the same beliefs and the same madness. They have even developed a complete and credible logic—otherwise, they wouldn't have attracted so many people to believe them.
When zombies become unstoppable, it becomes understandable to want to join them.
The lives of their compatriots are their pledge of allegiance.
After becoming aware of their existence, Fu Qing even went so far as to hunt down some of their fanatical followers. But later, as the number of humans around her dwindled, she rarely encountered these people anymore.
After all, if their faith were truly devout, they would probably have been fed to zombies long ago, and it wouldn't have been her turn to kill them.
But Fu Qing never expected that such a belief would appear so early.
At this point, there were still eleven months and one week left before the outbreak of the virus!
Zombies hadn't even appeared on Earth yet, so how could Liu Yong know that "a new species was about to rule this land"?
Did all of this happen quietly in her past life without her knowledge, or... is it due to the effects of her rebirth?
Fu Qing felt unusually agitated.
She wasn't afraid that Liu Yong would tell the police about the conversation, even though she knew no one would believe him. If Fu Qing hadn't known in advance that the end of the world was coming, she probably would have thought Liu Yong was crazy or had believed something he shouldn't have.
No, the latter is, in a sense, the truth.
This also explains why Liu Yong was willing to give up his current life. After the apocalypse, human society was completely overturned, and class and money could not guarantee his survival. Liu Yong must have learned from some source, or been instilled with the idea that only by joining the "zombie side" could he guarantee his safety and status.
The price to pay is this "sacrifice".
The problem is...
Fu Qing quickly listed a few points on the paper.
First and foremost, where did Liu Yong learn about the apocalypse from, and from whom? And how much did he know?
Second, besides him, are there any other people who know about the apocalypse? Is there an extreme organization behind this, like the zombie cultists in the apocalypse? If so, how do they contact each other and recruit followers?
Third, what are their goals? Are they related to the outbreak of the virus? Could they have directly or indirectly caused the outbreak? Otherwise, why would they believe in a group of ethereal beings that have not yet appeared?
Fourth, was Liu Yong's large-scale attack a self-initiated act, or was it a common target of all similar groups?
If it's the latter, it means there's a high possibility of another major case like the Yongxin Road pedestrian street incident. So, how do we track it down and how do we prevent it?
According to Officer Chen, at least on the surface, there is no direct connection between the recent spate of social crimes. Furthermore, considering the rising crime rates worldwide, it's unlikely that every criminal is like Liu Yong.
Otherwise, Fu Qing would have encountered them much more frequently after the apocalypse, but in fact, she only met one "zombie believer" every few months back then.
Fu Qing believes there are other reasons behind these crimes.
In addition, she felt that Liu Yong's mental state was not quite right when he mentioned the doomsday theory, but she was not sure if it was just her imagination.
Fu Qing pressed his brow, feeling that what was once a simple rebirth had suddenly become elusive and mysterious.
She suddenly remembered the "protagonist theory" that popped into her mind when Zhao Yunxiao introduced his cheat system.
If all of this were a book, it would be a vast and complex story, unlike what she had previously imagined. And Fangzhou University is not the only stage for it.
There are many more hidden details in this story.
Zhao Yunxiao was the protagonist of the previous story. After his failure, the world restarted, ushering in the "second cycle".
"I just hope they don't add more hidden levels... although that's a common design feature when you reach the second playthrough of the game," Fu Qing muttered self-deprecatingly.
She doesn't want "more! newer! richer!" game content.
Just as Fu Qing was about to close the notebook, the system, which had remained silent throughout the analysis, suddenly spoke.
A golden phantom appeared before her eyes, enveloping the words "Zombie Believer" on the notebook, like a prominent notification when an important clue is discovered in a game.
Your understanding of this world has deepened!
[Received 300 teaching points as a reward]
Keep up the good work!
Fu Qing: "..."
You promised a simulation management game, but when did you secretly turn into an RPG?
The 300 points that fell from the sky somewhat comforted her depressed mood. When she received Song Rushuang's message today, just like the barbecue restaurant incident last time, it triggered an unexpected event. However, she didn't know if it was because fewer students were involved than last time, so the reward was only 100 points.
Adding the 100 points she had saved up but hadn't spent, and the 50 points she gained from upgrading her relationship with Bai Tang, Fu Qing's balance reached 550 points.
The sudden wealth she had made was a little unsettling for her.
But when she realized that the teaching points were only enough to buy one ring of iron spike traps, with an extra 50 points, she calmed down.
Beyond building the campus and nurturing students, there are now many more things to worry about, but after reflection, Fu Qing realized that the tasks at hand are not actually different from before.
Liu Yong has been arrested, and she also got Officer Chen's phone number so she can subtly inquire about it when the investigation results come out.
As a kind-hearted citizen who acted bravely, Fu Qing believed that as long as he didn't ask too many probing questions, Officer Chen would be happy to answer.
With such a high death toll in this incident, the police cannot afford to miss any direction in their investigation. If someone "instigated" Liu Yong and instilled doomsday ideas in him, they might be able to follow the clues and find that person.
Before that, all Fu Qing could do was wait.
There weren't many clues left to investigate until Liu Yong and the people behind him (if any) revealed more flaws.
Thinking of this, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Now that she has noticed the abnormal crime rate and the potential presence of criminals like Liu Yong lurking in society, there is at least one thing she can do.
Continue to popularize science, develop accounts across all platforms, mobilize student resources, and raise awareness of self-protection among more people.
Stocking up on an extra case of canned food might extend your life by half a month; stocking up on an extra case of water might extend your life by a month.
As Fu Qing had clearly organized her future plans and was about to get up to go back to her dormitory to rest, she heard a noise coming from downstairs.
The administration building is the building closest to the main gate of the school. From the direction of the principal's office, you can see the entire south gate.
Upon detecting someone entering, the system automatically opened the locked school gate.
As the unattended iron gate slowly opened, Fu Qing heard an excited voice ring out in the thick of the night.
"Hey, it's open! It's an automatic door, and there doesn't seem to be any security guard. Is it that high-tech?"
"It's too late today. I'll show everyone around our school tomorrow. Right now, I need to figure out how to move my luggage into the dorm."
"I plan to rent a room near the school specifically for filming. Recording videos in the dorm is too disruptive to my roommates, and they seem like really nice people..."
Fu Qing walked to the window and saw a familiar figure.
The golden hair on top of her head reflected the streetlights, forming a blurry white patch, but her delicate features, partially obscured, were still discernible.
Sun Wei, leaning on a cane, had a large pile of luggage beside her. She held up a selfie stick in one hand and kept chattering away.
After recording this segment, Sun Wei reached out to press pause, but her smile suddenly froze on her face, revealing an expression of utter despair.
"...Wait, why is my screen black??"
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