"Attention all students and faculty: a major riot has broken out in the city. Everyone outside, please seek immediate shelter in the nearest building. Everyone already indoors, lock your doors and windows. Wait for rescue teams—"
The broadcast was suddenly cut off by the sound of rapid footsteps—then a blood-curdling scream pierced the entire campus.
"Aaaahhh—!"
That single scream was enough to ignite panic.
Chu Yian yanked her last remaining roommate by the wrist and took off running. But halfway past the second academic building, the girl abruptly stopped.
"Yian, the announcement said we should take shelter in the nearest building!"
She pointed to a classroom nearby where someone was waving frantically from the window, beckoning them inside.
"There's too many people in there," Chu Yian said quickly and kept running toward the dormitory.
But her roommate wouldn't budge.
"I can't run anymore. And look, there's so many people in that room. We'll be safer together."
She tore herself from Chu Yian's grip and ran to the window. Hands reached out to pull her in.
"Come on, Yian!"
Chu Yian shook her head.
No. It wasn't safe.
Those things out there—they didn't care about pain or death. They could break through car windshields with their skulls. A thin classroom window was nothing. No way that building would hold for long.
Their dorm, however, was on the sixth floor. No windows in the hallway. Block the entrance, monitor from above. It even had enough water to last a while.
That was the safer bet.
But people made their own choices.
Let go of your savior complex. Respect other people's fate.
Footsteps and screams were getting closer. Chu Yian had no time to argue. She turned and ran.
Then—she saw it.
A bicycle.
Unlocked.
Borrowing this!
She jumped on and pedaled as fast as her legs would go.
"Yian!"
From the classroom window, her roommate called out. Her voice was laced with blame and fear—but mostly terror.
"It's okay, you're safe now," another student said from inside. "Once you're in the classroom, you're safe."
But even before he could finish—
More people started running toward the building.
"AHHHH!"
"Help!"
"Let us in!"
Just as students moved to open the windows—
BAM.
A bloodied man slammed headfirst into the glass, smearing it red. Then another. And another. They didn't stop.
The classroom didn't last half a minute.
They broke in.
Meanwhile, Chu Yian finally reached the dorm.
She wasn't alone—others had the same idea, dashing toward the stairwell. She blended into the chaos and bolted up the stairs.
Once inside her room, she locked the door, grabbed every chair and suitcase she had, and shoved them against the door. Then she collapsed on the floor, chest heaving.
Her legs were jelly. Her lungs on fire. But she was alive.
No time to rest.
She got up and started surveying her surroundings.
The dorm was old, six floors, no elevator. But her door was a newly installed steel security model. The walls were freshly painted, the locks still solid.
She checked the water cooler—one-third left. Good. She grabbed a basin, turned on the tap.
While the water ran, she stepped onto the balcony.
The view was wide. She could see the athletic field, the canteen road, the entire campus layout.
Below, people were still running like headless chickens. Some hadn't even realized what they were facing—they kept looking back as they fled, unaware of how close danger was.
It was spreading.
The crowd of infected around the academic buildings had grown massive. Now they were sprinting toward the dorms.
Chu Yian spotted one guy actually filming them on his phone.
Idiot.
He was tackled within seconds.
Three—no, four of them—ripped into him, tearing him apart. Someone tried to help, but they were dragged down too.
From up on her balcony, Chu Yian watched in numb horror as the man was literally torn to pieces.
A severed arm landed on the lawn.
But then—the torso moved.
The man, who should've been dead, started crawling—using the one limb he had left.
Not just crazy.
Zombies.
The air reeked faintly of blood and decay. Her stomach twisted.
She barely made it to the bathroom before vomiting.
When she returned to the balcony, the infected were splitting into two groups—one heading for the cafeteria and sports field, the other veering toward the dorms.
She heard them.
Stomping up the stairs. Thudding, pounding.
The entire dorm echoed with cries for help.
Chu Yian didn't dare open the door.
She switched off the lights, backed away from the entrance, and gripped a metal clothes rod with both hands.
Footsteps outside.
People fleeing.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Fists slammed against doors, begging to be let in.
Her room stayed dark.
They skipped her.
From where she crouched, she listened—helpless—as one dorm after another opened their doors.
And behind those fleeing students came the monsters.
Growls. Screams. Wet tearing sounds.
Hell had come to the dorms.
Chu Yian's hands were soaked with sweat, knuckles white around the rod. Her mind was blank—frozen—until she heard shouting from next door.
"Push! Block it with something!"
"Don't come in! We've called the police!"
It only made the infected hit harder.
Chu Yian ran to the balcony, trying to see what was happening. On the floors below, she saw students forced out onto balconies—cornered, no escape.
Some jumped.
Right before her eyes.
"Help! Please—HELP!"
The cries came from the room next door. Their door had been breached. Two girls had climbed onto the balcony, clinging to the railing.
They saw Chu Yian and reached out in desperation.
But there was no way across.
The balconies were recessed, separated by thick walls and several meters of empty space. No bridge. No ledge. No hope.
And then—the infected burst through the glass behind them.
From Chu Yian's viewpoint, all she could see were blood-covered hands dragging the girls down.