Zombie Siege: The Road to Survival Begins at School - Chapter 37

“Boss, you really are the best. I knew it—sticking with you was the right call if I wanted to survive,” Zhou An flattered Zhang Wei enthusiastically.

“Mm, that was a bit risky. We almost got wiped out.”

“Yeah, that was close.”

“By the way, Boss, why were you guys down there for so long?”

“We ran into a survivor. And a cat. That held us up a bit.”

“A cat? You mean the one you saw on the rooftop?”

“Yeah. And the survivor’s a woman. Doesn’t really look like a student—short blonde hair, actually pretty good-looking, kind of has that Korean vibe. I think she might be that landlady we heard about not long ago.”

“Whoa, Boss, you ran into that survivor?”

“Not sure if it’s her. She’s kind of weird—spoke to us in English.”

“The woman you’re talking about… she’s probably Pei Wu,” Hu Die suddenly chimed in.

“Escort dancing? You mean she’s that kind of girl?” Zhao Zhenxiong blinked in surprise.

“Not that kind of pei. Her name is Pei Wu. She’s an exchange student. Technically, she’s Chinese-American—born in the U.S. One of our school board members used to be on the board of a U.S. high school and set up a cultural exchange program between Chinese and American students. Pei Wu came from that high school,” Hu Die explained.

“I see. How do you know so much about her?”

“Of course I know. She just came to the school not long ago. Speaks fluent Chinese, but always insists on using English—kind of hard not to notice… Oh, and she doesn’t have to take the final exams either. She lives on the same floor as me.”

“So basically, she just came to China for a vacation?” Zhao Zhenxiong said indignantly.

“Pretty much. Exchange students just sit in on a few culture classes, get credits and maybe a scholarship to study abroad.”

“If I’d known that, I would’ve applied to study overseas too!” Zhang Wei slapped his thigh.

“Come on, Boss, stop joking. With your 28 on the English exam, you’d die of embarrassment abroad.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s all about the environment. If I were somewhere where everyone spoke English, I’d pick it up fast. Remember that Crazy English guy, Li Yang? Didn’t he become an English teacher just by talking to foreigners all the time?”

“Boss, that was Jack Ma, I think.”

“Really? Didn’t Jack Ma start off selling pirated DVDs? And didn’t he marry that Milk Tea girl Liu Ruoying?”

“That wasn’t Jack Ma. That was Richard Liu. And it’s the Milk Tea Sister, not Liu Ruoying.”

“Anyway, Hu Die, which one’s your dorm? Do you have the key? Let’s go chill in your room,” Zhang Wei quickly changed the subject.

“Third floor.”

“Alright, let’s head down.” Zhang Wei led the way.

The rest followed with a sigh.

“When you pass by the balcony, keep low. Don’t let the zombies outside see you.”

“Got it, Boss.”

“I wonder if the iron gate on the first floor of the girls’ dorm is locked. We can’t take any chances.”

“There’s no gate on the girls’ dorm first floor,” Hu Die replied.

“No gate? Isn’t that super dangerous?” Zhang Wei stopped in his tracks, even considering turning back.

If there was no door, maybe staying on the rooftop or top floor would be safer.

“There’s no gate, but there’s a security room. Someone used to be stationed there. The door to the dorm itself can only be opened with a key card.”

“Oh, so it’s actually safer and more convenient than the guys’ dorm.”

“Well, our dorm was just an old classroom converted into rooms…”

“Wait… Don’t go in yet!” As they arrived at Room 316, Hu Die had just pulled out her key when she suddenly stopped everyone at the door.

“Uh… what’s going on? Got a secret boyfriend in there?” Zhao Zhenxiong looked at Lu Renjia, his eyes full of meaning.

Love is a light… a very green light…

“I… I just need to tidy up a bit,” Hu Die said awkwardly.

“I’ll help you!” Lu Renjia was about to push his way in.

But Hu Die smacked his hand. “You stay out too!”

“Bro, better stay back. She probably wants to hide her underwear or something. If you go in, she’ll feel even more embarrassed,” Zhao Zhenxiong said, throwing his arm around Lu Renjia.

“What’s there to be embarrassed about? I’m her boyfriend!” Lu Renjia said righteously.

Hu Die’s face turned even redder.

“Alright, alright, we won’t go in. One of you stand guard. I’ll try picking the lock on Room 317 next door with a paperclip,” Zhang Wei said, changing topics again.

“I’ll stand guard!” Zhou An proudly volunteered.

Zhang Wei pulled out half a piece of chewing gum and started chewing.

“Boss, you can let me do the gum-chewing job from now on,” Zhao Zhenxiong said, swallowing his saliva.

“If I can’t open it, you can chew the second batch,” Zhang Wei said mid-chew.

“Never mind, you handle it!”

The gum was rock hard. Zhang Wei had to chew out all the sugar and soften it. Then he’d stuff it into the keyhole, stick in a paperclip, and press—if the gum expanded just right, it would press against the lock pins and pop the lock open.

That was the principle behind it, though it only worked on mechanical locks. Electronic keypads or fingerprint locks were a no-go.

“Boss, where’d you learn this trick?”

“Hmm… I don’t remember.”

Zhang Wei wasn’t about to say it came from memories of his past life. As for who taught him? He honestly forgot.

Every scavenger knew how to open locks like this.

And for the doors that didn’t open? That’s what axes and sledgehammers were for.

Finally, a faint click sounded. The lock opened.

Zhao Zhenxiong rushed in first. He had a weird thing about exploring girls’ dorms.

“Hmm, this room’s way cleaner!” Lu Renjia thought back to the disaster of a room on the fourth floor.

“Not all girls are messy,” Zhang Wei said with a satisfied nod.

Looked like they could lock this room and take a nice nap. As for 316 next door, he’d leave that to Lu Renjia and Hu Die for some alone time.

“Zhou An, come on in.”

“Zhou An!?”

“Huh? Where is he?”

“Boss… I-I-I’ve been taken hostage!” Zhou An’s trembling voice came from outside.

Zhang Wei didn’t see Zhou An, but he knew he wasn’t joking.

Zhou An wasn’t the kind of guy to lie.

In an instant, Zhang Wei snapped to attention. His alertness shot to max. He gestured for Lu Renjia and Zhao Zhenxiong to stay silent and not move.

He quietly reached into his backpack and pulled out the iron chain they’d found earlier on the rooftop. He wrapped it around his right hand, gripping both ends tightly.

“Don’t move! Or I’ll kill him!” a girl’s voice came from outside. It was the blonde girl in the bathrobe from earlier.

Only now, she had changed into blue denim shorts and a white T-shirt. Her right hand was gloved in white, holding some unknown object pressed against Zhou An’s neck.

“So you can speak Chinese,” Zhang Wei said, knowing full well she could, but stalling for time.

Trying to figure out what she was really up to.

Wait a minute—what she’s holding…

Is that… dentures?

“Hahahaha, are you serious? You’re threatening us with a pair of false teeth? You think that’s gonna make us back off?” Zhang Wei burst out laughing.

Is this girl nuts or what?

Zhou An looked like he was about to cry.

“These aren’t ordinary teeth. They’re from a Berserker.”

“Yeah, right. Teeth are teeth. You think they can cut his throat or something?”

“Boss… Berserkers are just zombies!!!” Zhou An cried miserably.

“……”