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CatatoPatch is a freelance translator, you can support them on:

“You think just because I’m pint-sized and not from around here, you think you can just push me around? As if I can’t tell a girl from a boy.”

“I wasn’t trying any tricks,” Lin Feng responded, tying the principal securely. Offering water to the principal, he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d get a splashing thank you or a rude awakening. He had a gag cloth ready, just in case.

Water spilled down the corners of the principal’s mouth, and Lin Feng couldn’t help but wince. Using a damp towel, he cleaned the principal’s dry and bloody lips, thinking, “Guess I’m his caretaker for now, at least till we get back to the doctor”

“Dirty outsider, you really expect me to trust you?” Anna said with a mock eyebrow raise.

(TL: Just a reference to some video game where the NPCs of the starter zone interact with new players, who enter the village as outsiders and commit horrible acts, earning them the scorn of the original villagers (NPCs.)

Lin Feng, bemused and exasperated in equal measure, regarded Anna thoughtfully. He pondered, ‘Who taught her those phrases? She stumbles over some Mandarin words, yet her quips are on point.’

“Trust or not, let’s move,” Lin Feng said with a roll of his eyes. “Time’s ticking.”

Anna smirked. “Look who’s pushing around who now?” Striding confidently to the cart, she was suddenly interrupted by a sharp sound and a muffled yelp.

“Everything okay there?” Lin Feng asked with a twinge of concern.

“Just a hiccup,” Anna replied, trying to brush it off.

“You’ve nicked your leg!”

She attempted to deflect, but Lin Feng had already spotted it. “Always in detective mode, aren’t you?”

“It’s a gift.”

Lin Feng then knelt down to inspect the damage. From his pocket, he whipped out a small bottle. While he himself wasn’t clear if these disinfectants even worked against the zombie virus, the doctor was quite clear that he should still disinfect a wound as a precaution.

Anna squinted in the low light, trying to keep calm as she began to notice what it was he took out.

“Am I infected? Is that it, Lily?” Anna’s voice quivered, tinted with a rare shade of sorrow.

Lin Feng looked up, surprised. The usual spark of defiance in Anna’s eyes seemed momentarily quenched by the sheen of impending tears. Standing up, he silently took in the newfound fragility of the spirited blonde. Gently stroking her golden locks, he murmured, “Stay calm. It’s just a scratch. But remember, we need to stay quiet.”

With gentle precision, he elevated Anna’s leg, cleansing the abrasion with disinfectant. Skillfully tearing away her stockings, he wrapped the wound in a bandage, securing it with an artful knot. “Can you walk, or do you want me to help you out?”

She flashed a defiant grin, a familiar fire igniting in her gaze. “Hmph, I haven’t fallen so low as to succumb to the charms of a lily yet.” Reinvigorated by Lin Feng’s care, she determinedly took charge of the cart again.

Lin Feng, spotting the stain of fresh blood seeping through the white bandage, shook his head with mild exasperation. Such stubborn pride, he mused, praying her wound hadn’t come into contact with contaminated zombie blood.

“Let me handle it. You’ve done enough,” he said. Even with a limp, Lin Feng’s newfound strength was nothing to scoff at. While he might not rival the brute force of Zhang Yicheng, he was certainly a cut above most, making the cart a manageable weight for him.

“I would say the same to you. You’re the one that’s injured.” She stubbornly soldiered on, albeit now with Lin Feng beside her, their shoulders touching intermittently as they pushed the cart together.

The duo soon approached the lotus pond, the site of their grand distraction…

A daunting sight awaited them.

From a distance, the pond seemed overrun with zombies. Some, trapped in the pond’s thick mud, were overwhelmed by their counterparts, their desperate limbs barely visible above the mire. The lotus pond, vast and serene, was now an unsettling tableau of undead bodies heaped upon each other.

Zombies, much like the dense lotus stems, occupied every inch of the pond. They pushed and shoved, sinking further into the sludge. Along the pond’s edge, countless others, lured by the distant music, meandered without purpose.

Anna, with a mock salute, quipped, “Alright, our illustrious Captain Lily, any bright strategies for this pickle?” She dabbed at her sweat-beaded forehead, her smirk directed at the pensive Lin Feng.

In this tense silence, Lin Feng could almost imagine her emitting a victorious chuckle.

Smiling bitterly to himself, Lin Feng couldn’t help but notice the irony of their success as he gently stroked Anna’s hair, ‘I never expected a simple loudspeaker to draw such a massive horde of zombies. We’ve truly backed ourselves into a corner.’

‘Should we circle back to the classroom?’ he mused. ‘But that might take until dawn. Then we’d have Zhu Hanfang’s merciless crew to contend with. And given our injuries, getting back unscathed seems improbable.’

While the corridor adjacent to the Lotus Pond appeared devoid of zombies, crossing it carried the risk of detection. If even one of those creatures spotted them, their fate would be sealed.

‘Perhaps waiting until tomorrow is an option,’ Lin Feng pondered. However, the unconscious principal in the cart weighed on his mind. ‘He appears dehydrated, and reviving him now seems unlikely.’

The bleakness of their situation was palpable. Suddenly, a last-ditch plan crystallized in his mind. Locking eyes with Anna, he implored, “Can I trust you?”

Caught off guard, Anna retorted, “What kind of question is that? Of course, you can trust me!” She mustered a brave facade, her cheeks tinged with a hint of pink under his unwavering gaze.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Feng proposed, “On my count, we’ll sprint for that corridor. No matter what, don’t look back.”

Chuckles tinted with nervous energy escaped Anna’s lips, “Planning a daring escape, are we? Fear not! I’ve got this.” With a playful flourish, she swished her pigtails and thumped her chest in mock bravado.

“Here’s the plan,” Lin Feng elaborated, “We rush straight to the stairs. The zombies will lag behind us there. Once at the top, we’ll use curtains to hoist the principal with Liu Tao’s assistance. You ascend next, and I’ll follow. Sound good?”

“I get it, I get it. And what’s that you’re stuffing into the principal’s pockets?”

“Just a few sundries. I feared they might tumble out in our dash. Speaking of which, could you handle the cart? My injury might slow me down.”

With a sigh and a teasing smirk, she replied, “Lilies are always so dramatic…”

“Are you ready?” he prompted.

“Always am. Let’s do this.”

“No matter what happens later, keep your eyes forward. Aim for the stairs!”

“Brace yourself…

3

2

1

Go!”

With steely resolve, Anna propelled the cart, its wheels casting a faint glint from the friction.

Driven by desperation, Lin Feng matched her pace, their frantic strides echoing in unison.

Executing a nimble drift, Anna reached the corridor’s terminus, the haunting moans of the pursuing zombies reverberating around them. Staying true to Lin Feng’s directive, she charged on, eyes locked forward.

Upon reaching the stairwell, sweat beads accentuating her pallor, she glanced back in triumph as she prepared to hoist the principal. But her voice faltered, “Lily, come help me… Lin Feng?”

Her heart sank as her gaze tracked the corridor and the ominously silent hall. The icy grip of dread took hold.

‘No! God no…’

She edged towards the entrance, the grim scene unfolding before her. A sea of zombies, a dark menacing mass, bore down on a lone, silvery-haired figure. Lin Feng.

“Lin Feng!! You…” Her voice trailed off, choked with emotion and disbelief.