Chapter 71 Chapter 71 A chapter uniquely belonging to the unyielding spirit of youth…
When the two arrived at the principal's office, there were already quite a few people standing inside.
At first glance, there were many familiar faces.
For example, Qin Yufei, who had met Song Rushuang once at the barbecue restaurant, and Su Huaijin, whose dormitory was not far away.
Fangzhou doesn't have many students to begin with, and since classes aren't in fixed classes but rather staggered, many of them have actually met each other to some extent.
Moreover, the school and the students themselves are also trying their best to get to know more classmates.
In critical moments, it facilitates mutual assistance.
When the end of the world comes, even if no one can be trusted, they still have a last haven—the more than two thousand classmates in Fangzhou.
After so many days of sharing joys and sorrows, covering up secrets together, and fighting against unknown enemies lurking in the darkness, even classmates who had never met or attended classes together, they dared to entrust their backs to each other with peace of mind.
The last student pushed open the door and entered. Fu Qing gestured to the person standing by the door to lock it.
Song Rushuang secretly counted the heads; there were 13 people in total.
Fu Qing put down the documents she had been reading, glanced at the group of people standing ramrod straight, and gestured with a wry smile to them all to sit down: "There's no need to be so nervous."
After speaking, Fu Qing noticed that the students' expressions were a little strange and they seemed embarrassed. She glanced to the side and realized that something was wrong.
There were too many people, and the shabby sofa in the principal's office was simply not enough to accommodate everyone.
Well.
She stood up herself, walked to the desk and leaned against it, looking everyone in the eye before speaking: "I've called you here not to give orders, but to discuss something that could affect your entire lives."
"So after I finish speaking, you don't need to make a decision immediately. I'll give you a week. Before the end of this week, you can come to the principal's office at any time and tell me your answer. Whether the answer is yes or no, you don't need to feel guilty."
--here we go again.
Su Huaijin, standing in the crowd, thought subconsciously.
The principal usually has a tough style and her decisions are often enforced without exception. However, when it comes to crucial moments, she always gives the students the choice.
It's as if they grew up painfully under her orders, just so that one day they would have enough power to take responsibility for their decisions and be accountable for their lives.
It was never for her.
After giving everyone a heads-up, Fu Qing observed their expressions and made sure that the initial excitement from receiving the private message had subsided before continuing, "Some of you have already faced infected individuals among the believers in Xishan. They are a new type of zombie that we have never encountered before. While possessing the abilities of evolved zombies, they have retained human intelligence, making them more difficult to deal with than any zombie we have ever known before."
"With these intelligent zombies mixed in with the crowd, the apocalypse will be more unpredictable than we expected."
Fu Qing ruthlessly categorized these infected individuals as zombies, stripping them of their human identities and referring to them directly as "zombies."
Anyway, they betrayed humanity first.
Zhao Yunxiao and Lu Yan had spent the entire winter break together and had gained some understanding of the devout believers. He would repeat these words to all the students in the upcoming zombie characteristics class to prepare them mentally.
For most of the students standing here at this moment, this is still the latest information.
They listened attentively, their breathing trembling slightly with tension and shock, yet they controlled it well, demonstrating their discipline.
"These infected individuals do not possess the ability to spread the virus themselves. They are all infected by an organism carrying a massive amount of the virus. We even suspect that the growth of this organism's capabilities is inextricably linked to the evolution of zombies."
Su Huaijin couldn't help but chime in: "...The Zombie King?"
She was the only member of the propaganda team here, and one of the first students to learn of the existence of the believers, so it was natural for her to make the connection.
Fu Qing nodded: "That's a fair way to address me."
Su Huaijin suddenly held her breath.
After two lifetimes of exploration, she finally touched upon that hidden existence behind the scenes. Putting herself in that shoes, she could almost feel the principal's excitement.
But Fu Qing kept all her emotions hidden beneath the deep sea. She had no intention of using the students' empathy to stir up their passion or hatred. She simply and resolutely said, "The Zombie King must die, otherwise the evolution of zombies will not stop."
"We must kill it as soon as possible after the apocalypse arrives. Only in that way can we minimize the losses and risks." Fu Qing's gaze swept over everyone present. "And the reason I gathered you here is to form an elite team to assist me in killing the zombie king."
“While we are taking action, I will also try to contact the police to see if we can get help from the national level, but I must say I am not optimistic about it,” Fu Qing said. “In the early stages of the outbreak, society will quickly fall into chaos, and I cannot leak information in advance.”
If the authorities had been informed of the virus outbreak in advance, even just two or three days earlier, the situation would have been different.
The presence of infected individuals is strong proof that what Fu Qing said is true, and she can use this to quickly gain the other party's trust.
However, the system does not allow Fu Qing to disclose information about the virus in advance, so she can only contact relevant personnel after the zombies appear.
By then, persuading them will become exponentially more difficult.
She's more likely to be seen as someone trying to take advantage of a crisis, and it would be good enough if she weren't locked up and investigated.
Perhaps she will be forgotten after being imprisoned, or perhaps, after a long investigation, they will finally believe Fu Qing's words and be willing to cooperate with her.
But she couldn't afford to gamble, nor could she afford to wait.
No one knows the limit of the Zombie King's abilities. If it's delayed by even one day, dozens or even hundreds of new intelligent infected may appear.
There is only one zombie king. Rather than wasting time and energy trying to persuade the military, Fu Qing prefers to let them coordinate with the public and provide disaster relief, while he assembles a group of elite teams to hunt down the zombie king alone.
Both sides might be more efficient if they each do what they are good at.
No students raised any objections, but Fu Qing patiently explained her thoughts clearly.
As soon as she finished speaking, someone tried to speak up, but she stopped them with a look.
"Not everyone here can join this team. To avoid arousing suspicion, I will keep a maximum of five students. Until the end of the world, I will personally train these five to ensure we have maximum teamwork. The training you will face will be much tougher than the previous six months."
"If, after the training, I determine that your strength is still insufficient to handle the battle against the Zombie King, then it's possible that ultimately none of you will survive."
No one answered; everyone listened in silence.
But their expressions told Fu Qing that no one was deterred by the difficulties she mentioned.
They seemed to understand Fu Qing's intentions, and each of them looked back at her with a firm and stubborn gaze.
For a fleeting moment, Fu Qing even considered avoiding their gaze. She hardened her voice and said, "Even if we stay and successfully form a team, it will only be the first step."
"We know almost nothing about the 'Zombie King.' With less than seven months left until the apocalypse, even if we do our best to search for information about the Zombie King during these seven months, the road ahead may still be filled with great confusion and unknowns when we set out to hunt it down."
"I can tell you right now that this is a path with a slim chance of survival. If you join this team, you will be facing something even more terrifying than the infected you encountered in Xishan that day, and they will do anything to protect their beliefs."
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the office window was not closed tightly, leaving a crack through which wisps of cold air seeped, bringing a bone-chilling cold along with her voice.
"This is not a holographic assessment, nor is it a copy of a simulation pod. Death is death; there is no second chance."
"Think about your family, think about everything you care about, and then make a decision."
As the last word fell softly, Fu Qing said in a low voice, "Let's go back."
*
Leaving the principal's office and walking down the long corridor of the administration building, neither Song Rushuang nor Shen Qingqing spoke for a long time.
The air was still; the joy and excitement of leaving the dormitory were long gone.
Su Huaijin was not far behind them, walking very slowly.
On the same road back to the dormitory, there were Qin Yufei, Liang Yi... their young faces filled with confusion.
Song Rushuang repeatedly recalled and pondered the principal's words, vaguely feeling that her last sentence, "Go back," did not seem to be spoken from the perspective of a leader or superior, but rather as pure advice from someone who had been through it all or an elder.
Go back and think it over carefully before deciding whether you want to embark on this path.
They are different from her; they have families and everything they care about. If the world is going to come to an end, every second they spend together is incredibly precious—should we sacrifice this time to find a glimmer of hope for humanity in the vast unknown?
Perhaps knowing the impulsive nature of young people, every word she spoke in the office today subtly conveyed the message of urging them to calm down.
They came up with countless reasons to push them in a direction they would least regret.
Even if... that means she has to travel alone.
Song Rushuang suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?" Shen Qingqing snapped out of her reverie and looked at her roommate.
Song Rushuang woke up with a start, forced a smile and shook her head: "No, it's okay, let's go back to the dormitory first."
With everyone still around, she couldn't turn back in front of everyone at this moment. After thinking it through, Song Rushuang pretended to be nonchalant and went back to the dormitory with Shen Qingqing.
After sitting in the dormitory for a short while and dealing with Zhang Han and Sun Wei's barrage of questions, she finally found an opportunity to slip out of the dormitory under the pretext of picking up a package.
After strolling around the courier station for a while, Song Rushuang breathed a sigh of relief when she made sure no one was following her. She then turned around and headed straight for the administration building.
Go up to the third floor, turn left, the first office...
Song Rushuang suddenly stopped.
Her eyes widened in shock as she saw... one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight... a total of thirteen people including herself, who, after returning to their dormitory together, each chose a different route and circled around to the same destination.
"So, you're all back?" she murmured in disbelief.
Shen Qingqing calmly shrugged: "There's nothing I can do. The courier point is so far from the administration building. Of course, you'll be the last one to arrive."
Su Huaijin, who was half-squatting on the ground, jumped up when he saw Song Rushuang: "Let's go, let's register. The principal has probably heard about us by now."
Fu Qing gave them a week to think it over, but in less than half an hour, she received all the answers from everyone.
Looking at the neat row of "decided to participate" after the thirteen names on the list, even the usually calm Fu Qing couldn't help but let out a soft sigh of relief after repeatedly confirming the information.
It's hard to say whether we should sigh for their impulsiveness or feel gratified and comforted by the unwavering passion and purity unique to young people.
"—System, create new courses."
[Course Information]
Title: Special Operations Elite Training Program (Elective)
Location of class: Omitted
Lecturer: Fu Qing
...
On the first day of the second semester, the Fangzhou University Elite Class was officially established.
Before these selected elite students could even feel happy or apprehensive about their decision, they faced their first challenge.
"bring it on."
The next day on the training ground, Fu Qing, dressed in a pure black combat uniform, stood in front of the thirteen people.
Her short hair had grown a bit long and hadn't been cut yet, so she tied it into a very short little bun at the back of her head. But this did not diminish the principal's tall, mighty, sacred, and inviolable image in everyone's eyes.
With that little tuft of hair sticking up, amidst the horrified stares of the crowd, she calmly uttered, "Your first challenge is to last one minute under my weight—who wants to try first?"
The thirteen students in the elite class: "………………"
Is it too late for them to withdraw now?!
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