Leave a comment

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

“Lin Feng, you’d better watch out for that woman,” Anna whispered urgently into Lin Feng’s ear before sauntering out of the room as if she’d merely commented on the weather.

Still holding the butter-flavored candies, Lin Feng found himself mulling over Anna’s cryptic advice.

‘Wait, did something happen between the two of them? She’s referring to Yan Aoxue, right… Anyway, it seems she’s forgiven – thank the heavens, she’s so easygoing.’

“Hey Lin Feng, have the two of you been close of late? I remember you saved her recently as well.” Yan Aoxue casually asked, her eyes flicking momentarily to the candies in his hand.

“We’re just friends,” Lin Feng replied with a shrug, slipping the candies into his pocket despite having little interest in sweets.

Suddenly, a woman’s voice echoed up from the stairs. “Lin Feng! Lin Feng, get down here!”

“Oh sheet, it’s the school doctor,” Lin Feng groaned, his hand already on the window latch.

“Hold up, Lin Feng, you’re not seriously thinking of jumping, are you? There are zombies down there!” Yan Aoxue grabbed his wrist, her voice tinged with disbelief.

“Look, I’m not crazy. What’s coming up those stairs is way scarier than any zombie.”

Before they could continue their verbal standoff, the door burst open and in walked the school doctor. She scanned the room, her eyes relaxing when she found no cause for concern. Her gaze then fixed on Lin Feng, who was still contemplating his escape route.

“Nice work, Yan Aoxue. Hold onto him,” she said with a nod of approval.

The doctor seized Lin Feng’s ‘tail,’ effectively rooting him to the spot. “Try running now, see what happens.”

“Okay, okay, you win! Just let go of the tail, alright?”

“Fine, but you’re coming with me to the infirmary. We’ve got some real-life, world-changing schoolwork to get into.”

Under the influence of his ‘tail,’ Lin Feng found himself reluctantly trailing behind the school doctor. Yan Aoxue followed, her words offering Lin Feng little comfort.

When they reached the first floor, they were greeted by a small crowd of students sitting in chairs, obviously expecting some sort of lecture.

The doctor plopped Lin Feng into an empty seat and handed the reigns, or rather his ‘tail,’ to Liu Mengqi. “If he tries to make a run for it, give it a pinch. If that doesn’t stop him, feel free to bite.”

“Got it, Doc,” Liu Mengqi responded, her face lighting up with a look that said, ‘I’ve got this.’

“Looks like Lin Feng’s having a blast, doesn’t he?” Anna giggled during a short break, pointing at Lin Feng’s less-than-thrilled expression.

“Oh, totally, he’s living the dream,” Liu Mengqi chimed in, messing up Lin Feng’s hair as if they’d been friends forever.

“Shoo!”

“You know, your hair’s super warm. Felt cozy next to you last night,” Liu Mengqi said, nestling her face into Lin Feng’s hair.

“Whoa, watch the crumbs!” Lin Feng caught himself about to clean his fur with his tongue and stopped, horrified.

Caught off guard, Liu Mengqi blushed. “Was that an accident?”

“Ah, yeah, just a reflex,” Lin Feng quickly corrected, opting for a tissue to clean his fur. She seemed to relax, her earlier surprise fading.

Reflecting on his recent behavior, Lin Feng found his increasingly cat-like tendencies puzzling. But for now, a strange sense of sleepiness overcame him—not because the class was boring, certainly.

Just as he was about to nod off, a sudden sensation snapped him back to reality: someone was toying with the base of his tail.

(End of Chapter 50)

“Easy now…”

Lin Feng sighed as he gazed at Liu Mengqi, who was nervously twirling his own tail.

“If only I had been more composed when Doctor Hu first touched my tail,” Lin Feng thought to himself, regret stinging him like a winter wind. “I wouldn’t now be burdened with the feeling that someone has uncovered my deepest, most damning secret.”

Drained in both mind and spirit from a long day of classes, Lin Feng found himself grappling with the unsettling realization that he had no passion for medicine. And it led him to question the very foundation of his recent choices. Could saving Doctor Hu have been a grievous mistake? But he knew, deep within his bones, that given the chance, he would save her again, doubts be damned.

The clock struck eleven, right on cue. Lin Feng glanced at Song Zhe’s wristwatch, offering a nod as if to signify the commencement of a secret pact.

The vanguard moved stealthily, executing a few stray zombies that lurked in the periphery. The flash of a pre-arranged red light bulb signaled the path was clear. Eager yet cautious, the girls hoisted bags laden with precious food and medicine, and began tiptoeing toward the blinking beacon.

The plan unfurled as smoothly as ink on parchment, until—

Rustle. Rustle. Rustle.

“Bats?” Lin Feng’s eyes darted upward, fixating on a conspiracy of small dark figures flitting across the night sky.

Utilizing his rare gift of night vision, Lin Feng scrutinized the bats, hanging from the tree branches above like grim chandeliers in a haunted house. Their unremarkable size suggested they were uninfected, and he was well aware of bats’ remarkable resilience to viruses. This, however, posed an enigma: Why were they here, in a school of all places?

These elusive creatures were veritable recluses of the natural world, typically choosing the darkness of the deepest caves as their habitat. Their unexpected presence at the school felt like a jarring note in an already complex symphony, and it filled Lin Feng with a sense of foreboding he couldn’t easily dispel.

“Bats aren’t mere child’s play; they are carriers of rabies. And in times such as these, even iodine is no elixir,” Doctor Hu chimed in, as though reading his thoughts. She cautioned the group to remain close, adding, “Unprovoked, bats are generally docile. But a bite under these conditions—without any chance of immediate medical intervention—could lead to rabies, or worse.” She hesitated, leaving the terrifying implication of ‘worse’ unsaid. Could bats infect humans, turning them into zombies? The scientific verdict was still out on that one.

“In summary, lay low,” Doctor Hu concluded, stooping as she guided the troop forward. “It’s autumn; they’re less frenetic now.”

As they ventured on, the ground was a grim mosaic of severed human limbs. A shiver crawled down Lin Feng’s spine as the bats continued to hover, as though sentinels of some ominous realm, watching them intently. The air grew thick, laden with the acrid stench of decaying corpses.

But then—a light!

A glimmer broke through the shroud of darkness, heralding the proximity of their destination: the archery hall. A collective sigh of relief washed over them as the bats retreated, perching on trees like dark omens, eyes still fixed, but no longer following.

“Wait,” Lin Feng’s voice sliced through the hushed anticipation, arresting the steps of the advance party.

“What’s wrong?” Liu Tao swiveled around, his expression a blend of confusion and latent impatience.

“The door… Why is it open?” Lin Feng’s eyes narrowed as he discerned something unsettling in the distant dim light.

Peering through the sliver of space left by the slightly open door, he thought he caught a glimpse of meandering zombies within the archery hall. Could it be that Hao Jian had already—?

(End of Chapter 51)