Academy World: Zombie Outbreak

Academy World.

Lin Yao stood atop the rooftop as a breeze brushed past him, idly playing with a sharp longsword in his hand.

The blade had been meticulously forged from alloy, its edge gleaming with a chilling light beneath the sun.

Thinking back to the wooden swords in the Kendo Club, Lin Yao could not help curling his lip.

Unless they struck vital spots like the temples or a man's little brother, those wooden swords would at most cause a bit of pain.

Compared to the alloy longsword in his hand, which could slice through iron like mud, they were worlds apart.

This longsword was a proper tool for cutting people down. With it, he would have one more layer of security in the coming apocalyptic crisis.

As he casually toyed with his weapon, Lin Yao's thoughts drifted back over everything he had experienced lately, filling him with emotion.

Ever since recovering the memories of his past life, he had quickly accepted the fact that he had transmigrated into this world.

When he had first arrived in this Japanese-style world, he had eagerly looked forward to living the easy life of a harem protagonist.

Reality, however, had promptly dumped a bucket of cold water over his head.

When he entered the academy as a transfer student, saw that blonde junior with twin tails resembling Cantonese-style buns, and heard the familiar yet unfamiliar name—Miyamoto Rei—a sense of foreboding quietly arose within him.

Then, his encounter with the purple-haired mature beauty Busujima Saeko in the Kendo Club thoroughly confirmed that he had arrived in a world where a zombie crisis was about to erupt.

At first, Lin Yao had not been overly worried.

From what he knew of the zombies' Battle Power in this world, any adult who trained seriously and had decent physical fitness could survive as long as they remained vigilant and avoided being surrounded by large numbers of zombies.

So, he began living a monotonous three-point routine of academy, Kendo Club, and home, wholeheartedly striving to improve himself in the hope of becoming stronger.

But as his training deepened, Lin Yao gradually realized that even though his physique had improved significantly, he seemed to have reached his limit in the short term.

Yet compared to Busujima Saeko, the president of the Kendo Club, he still had quite a gap to make up.

That realization made him understand that relying on physical training alone might not be enough to handle the coming crisis.

After much consideration, he decided to buy some firearms in advance as a backup.

While using a VPN to browse related information, a familiar umbrella-shaped logo entered his sight, and his heart suddenly began pounding.

The logo belonged to the Umbrella Corporation, a renowned corporate giant from across the ocean.

At first, he still clung to a sliver of hope, thinking it might just be a coincidence.

But after looking into it carefully and discovering that it really was the Umbrella Corporation, Lin Yao felt utterly helpless.

Why was I so unlucky? Why did I transmigrate into such a perilous world?!

An even more terrifying suspicion arose in his mind.

Could this be one of those mixed-apocalypse worlds?

The very thought made Lin Yao's scalp tingle.

With his current abilities, dealing with the zombies from School Apocalypse was already somewhat beyond him, let alone the terrifying beings from other apocalyptic worlds that might be mixed in.

Take the minor boss Licker from the Resident Evil world, for example. Just imagining an encounter with one made him feel that he had no chance of winning. Most likely, he would become one of the nameless passersby hunted down by a Licker.

Just as he was overwhelmed by despair and at a loss for what to do, a turning point suddenly arrived.

One day at the academy, he unexpectedly entered a mysterious palace through the mysterious star cluster in his mind.

There, he gained the combined powers of Douluo Lin Yao and Hong Kong Movies Lin Yao.

Although his strength still appeared pitifully weak before true powerhouses, roughly equivalent to that of a level-ten Soul Master.

This fortuitous power was hope itself, filling him with anticipation for the future.

Naturally, his changes did not escape Busujima Saeko's notice.

The Vice President who had once looked grim all day, desperately trained his swordsmanship, even disregarded academy rules to secretly forge an alloy longsword and bring it into school, never letting the sword leave his side, now seemed to have been completely reborn.

His face was filled with anticipation for the future, and the light in his eyes no longer held helplessness and struggle from being trapped by reality, but longing for an unknown and wonderful world.

Even more astonishingly, his strength had skyrocketed as though he were riding a rocket.

From initially being easily suppressed by Busujima Saeko, to later matching her evenly, and now turning the tables to suppress her instead.

This series of changes had taken place within only one or two months. It was simply unbelievable.

Busujima Saeko was full of curiosity. What kind of fortuitous encounter had Lin Yao experienced to undergo such earth-shaking changes?

Naturally, Lin Yao had no idea about Busujima Saeko's doubts.

At that moment, he was fully focused on the alloy longsword in his hand, feeling its solid weight and experiencing an inexplicable sense of security.

With this thing, he could hack his way from Fujimi Academy's east gate all the way to its south gate without worrying about the blade curling or chipping.

After a moment, Lin Yao took out the maintenance tools he had carefully prepared and began meticulously caring for the alloy sword he had named the "Changhong Sword."

As he maintained it, he looked down over the edge of the rooftop and saw a group of girls in green skirts and white shirts chatting and laughing as they passed through the campus below.

It had to be said that the girls in this world seemed especially skilled at dressing themselves up.

Though most of them might not compare to Busujima Saeko and Miyamoto Rei in looks, their carefully applied makeup and coordinated outfits gave them their own unique charm and made them pleasing to the eye.

Looking at those youthful figures, Lin Yao could not help remembering the "Monk House" he had lived in at the same age in his past life.

That dull environment, where all he saw were powerful fencers, formed a stark contrast with the scene before him.

Thinking of that, tears nearly welled up in his heart. What kind of life had I lived in my past life?!

"Ah!"

Lin Yao could not help sighing softly, and his movements as he wiped down the longsword slowed slightly.

Just then, the class bell suddenly rang with a ding.

The once-noisy campus instantly became even more bustling. The students below stopped walking, adjusted their bags, and hurried toward their classrooms.

Lin Yao, however, remained unmoved, his hands continuing their work in an orderly manner.

By now, he no longer cared about school attendance.

The world was about to undergo massive changes, and he had only recently awakened his own cheat. In such turbulent times, what use was attending class?

The first reason he remained at Fujimi Academy was to spar with Busujima Saeko and use that to consolidate his rapidly increased strength.

The second was that he knew full well his current strength was still far from enough to act without restraint in this danger-filled Academy World.

It would be better to follow the usual course through this early period of weakness and steadily raise his strength.

Under such circumstances, the firearms stored at Minami Rika's villa, the close friend of Marikawa Shizuka, became especially important.

Lin Yao had previously tried using a VPN to purchase firearms, but he had ultimately been too naive.

Placing an order was easy, but safely transporting those firearms here was a thorny problem.

What was even more difficult was that Lin Yao had no money, so he could only give up helplessly.

As Lin Yao maintained the Changhong Sword, he carefully planned his path forward in his mind.

By chance, the corner of his eye caught sight of a strange figure at the academy gate.

At the empty entrance, a person was swaying as they slowly approached.

The person wore a blank expression and was covered in mottled bloodstains, looking especially horrifying beneath the sunlight.

When that person reached Fujimi Academy's entrance, they did not hesitate at all and pressed their entire body heavily against the iron gate.

Anyone who saw such bizarre behavior would know something was wrong.

As it happened, four teachers—three men and one woman—were passing nearby, a classic combination.

Empowered by that lineup, one of the male teachers ignored the abnormality on the person's body entirely. His urge to show off instantly surged, and without a second thought, he strode toward the gate.

The moment he reached the iron gate and came into contact with that thin figure, the thin figure suddenly moved and viciously bit down on the male teacher's arm through the gaps between the iron bars.

Blood splattered in an instant, and the male teacher let out a painful scream.

The figure, whose expression had originally been blank, turned bloodthirsty the instant it tasted blood.

As though some instinct had been awakened, it began madly slamming its body against the iron gate, striking it several times faster than its previous mechanical movements.

That frenzied force was enough to make anyone shudder.

Everything happened too suddenly for anyone to react, and something even more terrifying followed immediately after.

After howling in pain for a moment, the male teacher whose arm had been bitten went limp and collapsed unconscious on the spot.

Yet only a dozen seconds later, he slowly rose to his feet again.

However, his eyes had become blank and hollow, exactly like those of the crazed zombie from before.

Then, he slowly turned his head and fixed his gaze on the female teacher in front of him.

The blankness in his eyes was instantly replaced by bloodlust, and he suddenly lunged at her...

"Something's wrong..."

Watching the scene, Lin Yao's heart sank, and intense unease surged through him.

Why does this scene feel so familiar? Could it be that the beginning of the zombie outbreak at Fujimi Academy in this Academy World, which may be mixed with the Resident Evil Umbrella Corporation, is exactly the same as in my memories without the slightest change?

At that moment, Lin Yao happened to finish maintaining the Changhong Sword and carefully slid it into the scabbard resting beside him.

He then clenched both fists and felt the surging power within his body, finally relaxing a little. Strength truly was his greatest source of confidence.

But he quickly regained his senses.

The terrifying image of a Tyrant possibly firing a rocket launcher at him surfaced in his mind, and the swelling confidence in his heart was instantly replaced by helplessness.

Stay alive. I have to stay alive.

The thought arose in Lin Yao's mind. From now on, he had to be cautious beyond cautious.

With that thought, he reached for the Changhong Sword beside him, turned, and headed downstairs.

His steps appeared slow, but every step contained tremendous force, and his speed was actually extremely fast.

In this Academy World that was about to descend into apocalypse, the only people he truly cared about were Busujima Saeko and Marikawa Shizuka.

Busujima Saeko was one of the few sparring partners he had at the academy.

Through countless swordsmanship sparring sessions, both of them had steadily improved, building deep trust and understanding between them.

As for Marikawa Shizuka, the adorable school nurse who looked somewhat airheaded but actually knew exactly how to keep appropriate boundaries with the opposite sex, she had been the caring big sister who helped him train before he awakened his cheat.

Whenever his body ached from overtraining or he suffered hidden injuries, Marikawa Shizuka would relieve his pain and heal his wounds.

Lin Yao needed to meet up with them.

Although he only had a rough understanding of the original plot, he had never expected the zombie crisis to suddenly erupt today.

Even if, according to the original plot, both women could safely break out of the academy, he still could not put his mind at ease.

After all, in a world full of variables, no one could guarantee that accidents would not happen.

"Attention, all students. A serious violent incident is currently taking place on campus. Please proceed to shelter under the guidance of your teachers... Ah! Crack, crack!"

Just then, the campus broadcast suddenly began. Before the announcement could finish, however, a spine-chilling scream and chewing sounds came through.

Hearing those horrifying sounds, Lin Yao could not help shaking his head.

This broadcast would have been better left unmade. Was it not just adding to the panic?

Looking at the increasingly chaotic campus stirred up by the broadcast, he sighed helplessly.

When he looked up, he saw two boys and one girl in the distance.

One of the boys had black hair, the other gray hair. The girl was blonde, with miniature Cantonese-style twin tails and delicate features.

It was someone he knew—Miyamoto Rei.

At such a special time, the two people accompanying her could only be the childhood friends from the original story whose relationship was an utter mess—Komuro Takashi and Hisashi Igou.

When Lin Yao had first learned of the tangled relationship between those three, he had been both shocked and speechless. What a complete mess.

At that moment, the three, their faces filled with panic and fear in their eyes, saw Lin Yao approaching from ahead. Like startled birds, they immediately halted and instinctively assumed fighting stances, their eyes full of wariness and unease.

But after examining him carefully for a few moments, they saw that Lin Yao's eyes were clear and bright, lacking the terrifying abnormalities of zombies—nothing but whites and crimson.

The three immediately relaxed, and one of them recognized Lin Yao.

"You are... that somewhat strange Vice President from the Kendo Club."

The one who spoke was Komuro Takashi, the black-haired boy.

You dare call my personality strange? I haven't even said that you're twisted to the core.

You obviously liked her but refused to say it, then handed the girl who originally liked you over to someone else.

You did take her back later, but that person was your own good brother. This relationship is a complete tangled mess.

Looking at Komuro Takashi, Lin Yao could not help silently mocking him.

But he ultimately held back and did not blurt those words out on the spot.

After all, at such a perilous moment, there was no need to provoke unnecessary conflict just for the sake of a verbal jab.

"You junior students really don't know how to respect your seniors. You only got lucky because I'm not the type to care. Otherwise, you would definitely be in for a lecture."

Lin Yao smiled faintly and spoke unhurriedly.

"Uh..."

Komuro Takashi was instantly speechless, his face turning red and then pale as he looked extremely awkward.

"Hello, Senior." "Hello, Senior!"

Seeing that, Hisashi Igou and Miyamoto Rei hurriedly gave awkward smiles, then respectfully bowed and greeted Lin Yao.

"Mm."

Lin Yao nodded slightly in response, then inconspicuously glanced at Hisashi Igou's injured arm and shook his head inwardly.

This kid was truly unlucky to get hurt at a time like this.

"Why are you heading for the rooftop? The academy is in chaos right now. The best choice is to take this chance to leave the academy.

"You may gain temporary safety by going up to the rooftop, but if you get trapped there or surrounded by zombies, you'll have no way out."

Lin Yao looked at the three of them and spoke softly with concern.

"Especially the injury on your hand. You should go to the School Infirmary and find medicine to stop the bleeding as soon as possible. Otherwise, you may pass out from blood loss or even go into shock before the zombies reach you."

Although Lin Yao knew that Hisashi Igou would be assimilated by the zombie virus in the original story, he had no intention of pointing that out now.

Perhaps the guy would get lucky and pull through.

Thinking that, Lin Yao slowly drew the Changhong Sword from his hand.

The sword left its sheath with a clear, crisp hum, its edge flashing with a cold gleam beneath the sun.

Holding this sword, the trace of fear Lin Yao had felt over being bitten or scratched by zombies, infected with the virus, and losing his consciousness and sense of self instantly vanished without a trace.

Just do it.

When a man dies, it's all over. If he doesn't, he'll live for ages!

Hearing this, Hisashi Igou naturally agreed, since it concerned his own injury.

"Senior, you make a lot of sense. The academy will only become more dangerous the longer we stay. We should leave the school first and see what things are like outside..."

Naturally, Miyamoto Rei did not object to Hisashi Igou's suggestion.

Especially seeing blood continuously dripping from Hisashi Igou's hand, she was full of worry and knew they could not delay any longer.

Only Komuro Takashi had a complicated look flash through his eyes, as though he wanted to say something but held back.

But when he saw that the other three all agreed with Lin Yao's suggestion, he ultimately chose silence.

Thus, the four temporarily formed a ragtag team and headed down from the rooftop together.