Zombie Siege: The Road to Survival Begins at School - Chapter 5

“Ah!”

A scream rang out, and the hand quickly jerked back.

Bl00d splattered across the doorframe.

Zhang Wei had dragged his knife across as he slashed—not enough to sever the hand completely, but it cut deep, nearly down to the bone.

Judging by the scream, Zhang Wei figured it wasn’t someone from his own class.

The lock on the door seemed broken now—it could no longer be shut properly.

Zhang Wei calmly pulled the metal bed back.

“Zhang Wei, how dare you attack someone!” Xu Long helped the injured guy sit down, pulled two shoelaces from the shoe rack by the door, and hastily wrapped them around the wound to stop the bleeding.

Another tall, handsome boy rushed in pulling Zhang Ya behind him. The others followed closely behind.

Zhang Ya clutched her chest, still shaken, and scolded, “Zhang Wei, you’re heartless! If this senior hadn’t kicked the door open, we would’ve been eaten alive!”

“So, what if I attacked him? Anyone who lays a hand on me—I’ll kill them!”

Zhang Wei glanced at the guy he’d just cut. His face was ghostly pale, eyes wide in panic.

“That’s a major artery. Who knows if he’ll even survive the next thirty minutes.”

This was a calculated move—a show of force. Zhang Wei knew Xu Long and the others would think twice before acting again.

Even with Xu Long’s makeshift bandaging, bl00d was still gushing from the wound in pulses, syncing with the guy’s ragged breathing.

Zhang Wei held his forehead but kept his eyes on the boy who had dragged Zhang Ya inside.

He finally remembered who it was—Qin Shaofeng.

The very same Qin Shaofeng whose back he’d seen through the peephole not long ago, pretending to help Zhang Ya leave.

Qin Shaofeng was Zhang Wei’s classmate in their first year of high school.

But after freshman year, they ended up in different classes and hadn’t stayed in touch.

Zhang Wei recalled their history:

Back then, neither of them were particularly mature. Zhang Ya had poor grades during her first year, and Zhang Wei had helped tutor her. It had made a difference.

That’s how she managed to become the vice class rep.

Rumors started to spread—people said Zhang Wei and Zhang Ya were dating.

But in truth, Zhang Wei didn’t like her that way.

They were from the same hometown—Zhangjia Village—and had been classmates since elementary school. He’d just wanted to help a fellow villager.

But Zhang Ya repeatedly denied any connection between them, even going so far as to say Zhang Wei had mental issues.

She even tried to turn Qin Shaofeng against him.

That was the final straw. Zhang Wei and Qin Shaofeng drifted apart, becoming strangers.

Zhang Ya got what she wanted. Over time, she and Qin Shaofeng grew closer.

Meanwhile, guys like Xu Long who had secretly liked Zhang Ya but never won her over—despite knowing the rumors were false—took every opportunity to bully Zhang Wei.

As a result, Zhang Wei was constantly on edge. He couldn’t focus on class, his grades plummeted, and he became one of the lowest-ranked students.

Qin Shaofeng had also taken his fair share of shots, kicking Zhang Wei when he was down.

“You bastard, you’ve gone too far!” someone shouted.

Everyone was furious that Zhang Wei had refused to open the door. But now, seeing he was alone with just a knife, their courage surged.

The wounded guy was helped inside and placed on a bed.

Someone clever noticed that only a few screws had come loose from the lock—it wasn’t completely broken. They reattached the lock and hammered the screws back in with the heel of a shoe.

Even though Zhang Wei had his past-life memories, he couldn’t take on a dozen people. Some of them were even athletes.

He wasn’t in any shape to fight Xu Long one-on-one, let alone all of them.

“Stay rational,” Zhang Wei reminded himself. With what he knew of the apocalypse, he understood that surprises like this were inevitable.

“I’ve already seriously injured one of them.”

“Killing another won’t change anything.”

“If I go too far, they’ll fight to the death.”

“And the rest will beat me to a pulp.”

“Survival is my top priority.”

The others started searching the room and found the stash of food Zhang Wei had stockpiled in the corner.

“Yes! Food!”

They were tempted but didn’t dare touch anything just yet. It had only been four or five hours since lunch—they weren’t starving.

Zhang Wei estimated the group had about twelve people.

If everyone binged, the supplies wouldn’t even last a week.

He hadn’t gathered all this just to share.

He hadn’t expected someone to kick the door in—even if it was just loose screws.

His forehead throbbed.

“What the hell is your problem?!” Xu Long growled, glaring at him.

If Zhang Wei hadn’t been holding a knife, Xu Long would’ve already attacked him.

Zhang Wei’s refusal to open the door had embarrassed him—he was used to being the top dog around here, barking orders and having others obey.

“Should we take the knife from him?” someone suggested.

Several of the girls started to look anxious.

“To settle this, you cut off a finger! Call it even! The ambulance should be on the way,” Zhang Cheng said, pointing to the injured guy.

Zhang Wei looked at him like he was an idiot.

“You better not!” Zhou An shouted, struggling to speak. “This is a country of laws! Even if things are chaotic now, the police will come! If you hurt Zhang Wei, you’ll go to jail! I’ll testify for him!”

“Shut your damn mouth!” Qin Shaofeng slapped him across the face.

Zhou An went quiet.

But his words had scared the others. No one dared make the first move.

They figured Zhang Wei was already screwed for hurting someone—he’d be arrested for sure.

Zhang Wei stayed calm. He’d seen situations like this in his past life.

“I chose a different escape path from last time—there were bound to be surprises.”

He glanced at Zhang Ya’s foot.

“That wound isn’t just a scrape.”

“When she turns, I’ll use the chaos to regain control.”

“I only kept the door shut for safety,” he said aloud. “And this food—I brought it to take home for the summer.”

He had to make up an excuse. Revealing he could predict the future was too risky.

“You’re just afraid we’ll take your stuff,” Xu Long sneered.

With the outbreak in full swing, bullying Zhang Wei had become the least of their concerns.

Everyone was terrified, even if they tried to act calm.

“Move,” Zhang Ya said with disdain. She tried to grab food and water from the corner.

But Zhang Wei stepped forward and blocked her path.

Seeing the knife in his hand, Zhang Ya froze.

“What’s wrong? Want my food? Who were you calling a bastard just now?”

Zhang Wei walked to his stash and grabbed a handful of snacks, tossing them on the ground.

“If you’re hungry, crawl over and eat like a dog.”

Killing her would be meaningless.

The smarter move was to wait until she turned into a zombie.

Still, a little humiliation wouldn’t hurt.

“You bastard!!” Zhang Ya shouted, livid.

Zhang Wei ignored her and casually tossed out a few more items to the others.

They eagerly caught them, several even thanking him.

This was a calculated move to avoid standing against everyone at once.

Xu Long and Qin Shaofeng wanted to say more but backed off when they saw the knife.

Zhang Ya had no choice but to cry while picking up scattered ham and biscuits.

Zhang Wei then turned his attention to another person—Liu Feng.

Liu Feng had put on quite the performance earlier, saying Zhang Ya had already left.

But when the door opened, Zhang Ya was right behind the guy who got slashed.

If Zhang Wei hadn’t seen Zhou An’s mouth being covered through the peephole, he might have believed Liu Feng was just another bystander.

Zhang Ya was sobbing, but Zhang Wei ignored her.

Xu Long walked to the door, checked the lock’s strength again, and moved the bed back into place to reinforce it.

Trying to comfort the group, he said, “Don’t worry. Something this big will definitely hit the news. Someone will come to take care of the zombies. We’ve got food and water here. We just need to wait for rescue.”

Only now did Zhang Wei take a headcount.

Including Zhou An, who now had a swollen face, and excluding himself, there were twelve people—eight guys and four girls.

Among the guys, Zhang Wei recognized Xu Long, Liu Feng, Qin Shaofeng, Zhang Cheng, and Zhou An.

The other two were unfamiliar—one of them being the guy Zhang Wei had cut.

Xu Long and Zhang Cheng were Zhang Wei’s dorm mates.

Zhou An was a good friend from the neighboring dorm.

Of the girls, Zhang Wei only knew two: Vice Class Rep Zhang Ya and another classmate, Li Xiaoqian.

Li Xiaoqian had been his deskmate for a while in high school.

After the last seating reshuffle, she ended up sitting in front of him and was now a group leader.

Zhang Wei had a good impression of her. During morning readings, she’d even secretly helped him out.

She had a plain appearance but was warm and helpful—that alone made Zhang Wei feel closer to her.

He glanced at her.

She was sneaking peeks at Xu Long.

“So, the rumor that she likes Xu Long is true?”

The other two girls seemed close with the unfamiliar guys—likely couples or close classmates.

As Zhang Wei pretended not to care while observing the group, Qin Shaofeng glanced at him.

There was a flicker of killing intent in that cold stare.

Then he knelt beside Zhang Ya, looking heartbroken.

This irritated Xu Long, who sat diagonally across the room.

Zhang Ya munched on a sausage stick and whined, “Shaofeng, I got cut by a rock. It really hurts… Can you blow on it for me?”

“Class rep, I found disinfectant and bandages!” Li Xiaoqian said from the bed, holding up a bag.

Zhang Ya’s face lit up. “Quick, bring it here!”

Li Xiaoqian hesitated, then handed the disinfectant to Xu Long.

Xu Long had been annoyed by Qin Shaofeng’s presence, feeling like a third wheel.

He eagerly took the supplies and crouched down to treat Zhang Ya’s wound.

But Qin Shaofeng immediately interrupted. “Let Zhang Wei do it! There’s some tension between him and Zhang Ya. I can help them make peace.”

Zhang Wei knew this was just Qin Shaofeng trying to provoke Xu Long into attacking him.

Classic manipulation.

He glanced at his watermelon knife.

He didn’t have the confidence to kill either Qin Shaofeng or Xu Long and get out unscathed.

It was a single-edged blade—fine for slicing zombies and severing nerves.

But against humans, who could dodge and struggle, it was a lot harder.

Liu Feng rested his chin on his hand, clearly enjoying the show.

Watching Zhang Wei and Zhou An get bullied…

Watching Xu Long and Qin Shaofeng fight over Zhang Ya…

Most of the group just watched, amused, enjoying the drama.

Because Zhang Wei had refused to open the door earlier, nearly getting them all killed, most of them already hated him.

“Hurry up!” Zhang Ya called out impatiently. Her foot was killing her.