Chapter 98. In his forties, he was at the prime of his life, always ready to take risks...
Trending topic?
Fu Qing raised an eyebrow, closed the system page, and opened an app on her phone.
These days, the trending topics are all about the virus. The top trending topic has only two words - #zombie#, followed by a dark red "hot" word.
Following closely behind was a series of trending topics: #Simultaneous Biting Incidents in Multiple Locations Around the World# (Breaking News), #Is the Zombie Virus Really Here?# (Breaking News), #New Virus Suspected of Spreading Through Biting#, #News Anchor Attacked During Live Broadcast and May Die On the Spot#, #Foreign Blogger Opens Shot in Crowd to Protect Himself#, etc. All other entertainment and social news were suppressed.
Fu Qing scrolled down the list and finally found the #SurvivalBloggerLivestreamsKillingZombies# at the very end of the trending topics.
The video was taken from a live stream and uploaded by a random account with few followers. The cover image was heavily pixelated, but a bright red color was still visible.
Normally, releasing such grotesque and bloody images would have caused an uproar in the comments section, but today, compared to many other trending topics, this image is nothing special.
The only two things worth noting are that Fu Qing did all of this in a "live broadcast," which is itself a gimmick.
Another, and more important, point is that her purpose in filming videos differs from other bloggers who film zombie attacks. Judging from her wording, Fu Qing is not trying to spread panic or simply record events—she is teaching people how to kill the mysterious "monsters" that suddenly appear.
Although the video is short, with Fu Qing's appearance lasting only a little over a minute, it contains a huge amount of information.
First, while the public had not yet reached a consensus on the identity of the suddenly appearing mutants and was still using all sorts of nicknames such as "monster," "biter," and "attacker," she is the first blogger to explicitly refer to the infected who attacked people after their mutation as "zombies."
Secondly, she pointed out the weaknesses of the "zombies" and how to kill them, and even demonstrated the method herself during a live stream, proving its effectiveness.
Compared to the first two points, the third point is somewhat negative.
Similar to the concerns expressed by viewers in the previous live stream, some other viewers also expressed doubts in the comments section, believing that Fu Qing's actions were too swift: "It's as if he has already killed thousands of similar 'zombies'."
It's clear that these things only appeared less than half an hour ago, and judging from the fact that many people have been bitten and infected, and have also lost their minds, the first batch of zombies that appeared were very likely also human.
Even if that's not the case, Fu Qing's decisive action against the humanoid monster, and his calm, detached observation throughout its gradual cessation of struggle and death, as if watching an inanimate object, still sent a chill down the spines of the audience.
Some people believe that the information provided by Fu Qing is extremely important and deserves a high ranking on the trending topics list more than other videos.
Some people believe that the current chaotic situation is a breeding ground for crime—"Who knows what she honed such skillful killing techniques on?"—and think that such people's words are not to be believed.
The two sides engaged in a fierce battle in the comments section, which caused the video's popularity to soar.
At this point, most of the marketing accounts that pursue traffic had stopped working, and this video was being spread spontaneously by ordinary netizens.
Whether it's true or not, she is at least the only blogger currently teaching people "how to fight back against zombies" and "what the weaknesses of zombies are," and judging from the rapid deaths of zombies in the videos, Fu Qing's words have a certain degree of credibility.
So they forwarded the video to their relatives and friends.
It's better to be safe than sorry. If you unfortunately encounter an attacker, at least there's a way you can try.
The messages circulating online were terrifying, a scene that no ordinary person raised in peacetime had ever seen or could handle. In their panic, the information provided by Fu Qing was the only lifeline they could grasp.
The video's popularity continues to grow.
Gradually, it also attracted fans who knew about the account @DormitoryBattle Royale, who left comments below.
People were surprised to discover that the video originated from a post-apocalyptic survival blogger's one-year anniversary live stream, and that the blogger had predicted the apocalypse would occur about a year earlier.
The date they chose for the live stream happened to coincide with the date the zombies appeared!
Was all of this a coincidence or intentional?
How much do the five members of the Dormitory Battle Royale and the mysterious sixth member who finally appeared know?
However, this fan's comments also dispelled some of the doubts people had about Fu Qing.
She stated that Fu Qing had appeared as early as the early days of @DormitoryBattle, and at that time she demonstrated extraordinary fighting skills.
"She herself must have been trained; she's incredibly skilled. A trained fighter accidentally killed a zombie in self-defense during the apocalypse and discovered its weakness, so she took the opportunity of the live stream to tell everyone... That's quite normal, isn't it?"
"As for calling those things zombies, let's not even talk about how their behavior is very much in line with the image of zombies in movies and TV shows. Anyone who has watched a little bit of zombie movies from Country A would call them that. Tao Tao is a post-apocalyptic blogger, so it's perfectly normal for him to say it out of habit."
"She said the zombie's weakness is its brain, but she didn't say it's only the brain. 'Weakness in the brain' may just be a discovery at this stage. Why worry about so much? As long as it's useful, that's all that matters."
Just like the students back then, who made many excuses for Fu Qing because they couldn't believe in the rebirth, the viewers of @DormitoryBattleRivals are doing the same thing now.
They quickly found a reasonable explanation for Fu Qing's actions.
It is worth mentioning that, over the past year, in order to gain the trust of as many people as possible at crucial moments, Su Huaijin, Sun Wei, and others have managed this account very well.
They have a loyal fanbase and a good public image, and have never been involved in any scandals.
This led to a situation where once one person spoke out, many others stood up to speak in support of Fu Qing.
The trending topic continued to rise, with more people forwarding and discussing it, causing quite a stir.
Soon, the video also fell into the eyes of those with ulterior motives.
When the related topic rose to the top ten trending searches, and at 3:30 PM, nearly an hour after the virus outbreak, all topics related to zombies were suddenly removed and their reach was restricted.
A new trending topic has taken its place. Unlike the posts uploaded by netizens that were filled with strong language and bloody images, this is a report from relevant departments issued by official media. In response to the unexplained violent incidents that have occurred in various places, the report calls on citizens to stay at home to avoid danger and to temporarily refrain from going to crowded public places.
No further information was provided beyond that.
Fu Qing looked at the announcement thoughtfully.
She brought up the system panel again, edited two messages and sent them out. After thinking for a moment, she switched back to the online store.
The sudden arrival of 200 teaching points solved her immediate problem, and she was able to accumulate enough points to buy what she urgently needed.
[Cost: 300 Teaching Points]
[Received: Bracelet (Normal) * 10000]
Unlike the wristbands used by students and teachers, this wristband doesn't have any unnecessary features like maps, forums, or privacy screens; it's more like a typical digital watch. The dial displays the time and date, a compass, a built-in GPS location, and an emergency alarm button on the side of the watch.
Press and hold for 2 seconds, wait for the vibration, then press again. The distress signal will be automatically sent to all nearby wristband owners, including those with the same model, as well as student and teacher wristbands, and will also be sent to Fuqing.
After vibration, pressing twice will send the holder's location to all radio receivers within a 5km radius.
In addition, it also has a simplified version of a 3D projection panel similar to a student wristband, but it only has two functions: registration and check-in.
That's why it's so cheap.
Fu Qing bought the bracelets and pulled out about three thousand from the warehouse. A huge box immediately appeared in front of her. She summoned a robot to take the box away and issued a notice to all students, requiring them to bring their parents, friends, or other visitors to the playground to collect their bracelets.
If you notice any visitors who are temporarily alone nearby, you can also help notify them.
The wristband can be collected within 6 hours of entering the school. If you do not receive the wristband within 6 hours, you will be temporarily expelled from the school. Afterwards, someone who has redeemed a refugee spot can help you collect the wristband and hand it to them. Only after receiving the wristband can you return to the school.
However, it should be noted that upon returning to campus, students will face varying periods of quarantine.
After the apocalypse, strict controls will be implemented for entering and exiting the school. The area near the east gate of Fangzhou, which is also the easternmost part of the residential area, has already been designated as an isolated zone, far removed from all other living areas. The presence of the wristbands further facilitates Fu Qing's monitoring of each unfamiliar visitor.
Because the visitors are not students and do not have a strong binding relationship with Fuqing through the system, their actions are uncontrollable. Only when they are in Fangzhou can Fuqing indirectly influence their actions through its control over the campus and students.
But once she leaves the school gates, she won't even know where the other person is.
This is actually a very dangerous thing. If there are people with ill intentions mixed in among these people, she will have no way of knowing.
Fu Qing trusted the students, but this involved the safety of the entire shelter, so she had to add another layer of protection, which is why she bought the bracelet.
Ten thousand bracelets will be enough for now, even if the shelter expands in the future.
*
Upon receiving the news, Song Rushuang and others immediately took their families to the playground.
Several teachers who weren't busy at the moment were helping to break the rings.
Bai Tang and Xu Mingyue were in charge of maintaining order, and the group stood at the back of the line under their arrangement. There weren't many people who had arrived from the school yet, so the line wasn't long, and they quickly received six bracelets from Hao Zhenye.
After thanking them, Xu Mingyu and the others secretly glanced a few more times at the frightening scar on "Teacher Hao's" face before Song Rushuang half-pushed and half-shoved them to the open space next to them.
The bracelet, worn on the wrist, gleamed silver light as it swirled around the dial, producing a crisp "ding" sound.
[A matching spot was detected; registration has been completed]
[Bioinformatics input complete]
[Once the bracelet is bound, please do not remove it or exchange it with others, otherwise both the bracelet and your registration will become invalid!]
Several parents were startled by the noise coming from the watch, shaking their wrists and looking at the bracelet, which looked no different from a digital watch, in surprise: "So high-tech!"
Song Rushuang and the other two were already used to it, but they did notice that the bracelet lacked a shielding function and its privacy protection was not very good; the sound of information registration could be heard by everyone around.
The realization that the technology involved is on a completely different level compared to student wristbands made them inexplicably happy.
Instead of leaving, the group stood there figuring out how to use the bracelet, each helping their own parents operate it.
I just turned on the watch face, and another notification popped up.
[WARNING: This wristband is not currently linked to a corresponding student wristband, and its functions are temporarily locked! Please link it to a student wristband within 48 hours, otherwise you will become an unregistered student and be expelled from school.]
[Note: You do not need to bind yourself to the person who redeemed the spot; you can choose any student to bind to. Once this is done, neither party can cancel it without authorization. Cancellation requires an application to the principal. Please choose your binding partner carefully. After binding, if one party violates the shelter's regulations, the other party will bear joint liability.]
[Click to view the binding operation tutorial...]
This time, even Song Rushuang and the other two were taken aback.
But after thinking about it, I understood the necessity of "binding".
This forces them to be responsible for the people they bring into the school.
If these people are unreliable, the students who brought them into the school may also be implicated, further requiring everyone to carefully consider their choices when selecting partners.
In fact, many people in Fangzhou have not yet redeemed all their available spots. For example, Song Rushuang has enough points to redeem four spots, but she has only used two so far.
Shelter spots are precious, but giving them away is not easy either.
First, the recipient must be reliable. Second, even if you want to give, you have to see if the recipient is willing to accept it.
This is why the vast majority of those who come to the school with the students are their parents—relatives and friends who are a little more distant have more important family members, and they cannot abandon their own family members to follow Fangzhou's students.
Fu Qing gave them a month to redeem their slots, so many people, including Song Rushuang, are still observing and holding onto their slots for the time being.
Knowing that they also need to be linked to wristbands, they will only be more careful when selecting people in the future. For example, Song Jianguo now knows that if anything happens to the people he brings in, Song Rushuang will also be held jointly liable, so he no longer dares to think about whether he can bring Song Aiguo's family in if there is any opportunity.
Who knows how severe this collateral punishment will be? What if Xiao Shuang is also kicked out of the shelter because Song Aiguo and the others are unreliable and make mistakes?
At this moment, countless parents have abandoned similar thoughts.
Pairing is simple; just place the two watch faces close together, and a prompt will appear asking if you want to pair. Both parties simply need to click confirm.
At the same time, the student wristband will also display a reminder of their responsibilities.
The binding process was quick. Xu Mingyu felt the vibration from the wristband against her skin, then looked up at Song Rushuang, who had a serious expression, and felt a little uncomfortable: "So from now on... you'll be in charge of this school?"
It sounds a bit funny, yet it also evokes a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex feeling of mixed emotions, often including regret or sympathy).
She wasn't used to relying on her daughter, but it seemed she would have to gradually get used to it.
This feeling... seems pretty good?
Xu Mingyu couldn't help but let the corners of her mouth curl up.
After binding the bracelet, they checked its functions. The three of them were used to their own bracelets and were quite adept at using this downgraded version with many features removed. They quickly found all the major functions and explained them to their parents one by one.
The bracelet's functions aren't very complex, which indirectly caters to older parents who aren't adept at using electronic devices. The long press + short press alarm method is quick and easy to remember; you can memorize it after repeating it a couple of times.
Beyond checking the time and date, Song Rushuang quickly realized that the most important function of the bracelet was actually the registration and check-in function.
This feature is designed to encourage people to do volunteer work within their capabilities. Participants can accept assigned tasks and earn volunteer points upon completion.
According to the explanation given by Fu Qing in the bracelet, these "volunteer points" will be the currency circulating in the future shelter.
In the apocalypse, cash and precious metals become worthless, and Fuqing will not allow people to buy food with money. Everyone who settles in Fangzhou will receive enough food to survive each day and will be provided with shelter. If they want more, they will have to rely on points to redeem them.
Volunteer points can be redeemed for various benefits within the shelter, such as extra food and shower time, larger living quarters, and even shelter spots if enough points are accumulated.
The students all have their own supplies, so they are not short of food for the time being. However, due to the scarcity of water resources, water use and bathing are strictly controlled, making the extra time for bathing very attractive.
Not to mention the extra shelter spots, which can save lives. Some people have two spots left, but their childhood friends don't want to be separated from their parents. If they just make a little more effort, they can bring their entire family in.
Everyone has someone they want to save.
Fangzhou is short of manpower everywhere. There are many tasks that can earn volunteer points, but they all have one thing in common: the more difficult the task, the more points you get; the more technically demanding the task, the more points you get; and the latter also requires an assessment of whether the applicant is capable of doing the task.
In addition to these tasks that earn volunteer points, each person also has mandatory tasks. These tasks are not difficult and are usually three to four to be completed per week, such as standing guard, patrolling the campus, cleaning, tending the vegetable garden, and helping to move supplies and corpses brought back from outside the campus. Just choose the ones that you can manage to complete.
It's foreseeable that the easy jobs will be snatched up the moment they're released, and if not monitored closely, all that's left might be tasks like moving corpses. The students have already experienced this firsthand.
Their hand speed was honed long ago when they were vying for the time to use the simulator.
Some tasks have already been released in the task list, and Song Rushuang and the other two hurriedly urged their parents to grab the simple tasks like cleaning first.
The smell of garbage is better than the stench of a corpse.
Song Rushuang looked at the list of supplies that could be redeemed with volunteer points and was surprised to find the borrowing time for the simulation pod and the realistic zombie.
That makes sense. After the students graduate, these two teaching aids become unused, but they're perfect for parents who lack experience fighting zombies to practice with. Especially in the early stages, realistic zombies are the best way to overcome the fear of zombies.
After thinking it over, Song Rushuang selected three or four tasks and reported them to her parents: "That's all for now, let's get started."
Sun Wei and Zhang Han did exactly the same thing.
Before the parents could even react, they found their schedules completely filled by their daughters: "???"
With so many tasks, aren't you going to sleep?
Song Jianguo flipped through the pages, his eyes widening: "Daughter, did you leave me time to eat?"
Song Rushuang looked and saw that there really wasn't any. She paused for two seconds and said, "...You can eat whenever you have a spare moment. Your foundation is so weak, how can you manage if you don't work harder?"
Sun Wei nodded in agreement: "The early stage is the time to lay a solid foundation, so we can't let our guard down."
Zhang Han also encouraged her parents: "Keep going, I believe in you! You're in your forties, the perfect age to take risks."
Parents: "..."
These words sound familiar yet inexplicably infuriating...
*
A cybersecurity department in the capital of China.
A post marked by the system appeared on the staff member's computer. The man, who was already overwhelmed with work, clicked on the video, glanced at it briefly, and his eyes widened involuntarily.
Pause the video and watch it twice more, carefully observing the zombies' reactions. The man frowned, pondered for a moment, gritted his teeth, got up, took a few quick steps, and knocked on the door of the office next door.
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