All-Out Outbreak

"As a High School Student, isn't it reasonable to carry a restricted weapon?"

Lu Bai brushed him off casually, too lazy to even come up with a better excuse.

Ke Jianghao did not care. He merely sized up Lu Bai's build and added, "The weapon would be more useful with me."

"That's reasonable."

Lu Bai nodded, yet made no move to hand over the Eight-Sided Han Sword.

Seeing this, Ke Jianghao frowned. "I'm on the track team."

"Forget Sports Student. Even if you were an elementary schooler, the answer would still be no."

In the end, Lu Bai refrained from using more offensive words.

Even so, Ke Jianghao's expression did not look too good.

He climbed down from the desk, walked up to Lu Bai, and pressed his face close. "Then you'd better keep a good grip on that sword."

They were so close that Lu Bai could see the pores on his face. Disgusted, he leaned his head back slightly.

"What are you doing? Now isn't the time for infighting."

Seeing conflict arise between the students, the middle-aged female teacher with thin-rimmed glasses finally remembered her role.

She stepped between them, pulling one aside with each hand. "Students, none of us knows what's happening outside. We should be united now more than ever."

Ke Jianghao curled his lip but said nothing more.

The female teacher had never encountered something like a zombie outbreak. All she could do was ask symbolically, "Lu Bai, did you encounter any other students outside?"

"Every Classmate I saw had turned into a zombie."

Even as he said that, Lu Bai wore an utterly sincere smile.

Under these circumstances, it instead seemed somewhat eerie.

"Uh, zom... zombies?"

The female teacher froze for a moment, quickly realizing that was what he called the frenzied students outside.

She swallowed and responsibly reassured them, "We've already called the police. Don't worry. We just need to wait here for a little while."

Lu Bai smiled noncommittally, then headed toward the window.

Based on what he had seen in movies in his previous life, it was difficult for him to place much hope in rescuers.

The office was on the third floor.

Compared to an ordinary apartment building, the ceilings of the Teaching Building were clearly much higher.

Lu Bai stood by the window and glanced outside before immediately ruling out jumping out the window.

There was no helping it. At that height, a fracture would be the least of his problems.

The number of zombies downstairs was not as terrifyingly dense as the crowd on the sports field.

But looking at the dozen or so zombies wandering the open area, Lu Bai did not think they would quietly wait for him to recover his ability to move.

"Don't take it personally. Old Ke's actually a pretty good guy. Maybe he's just nervous too."

Fatty spoke in a low voice, seemingly worried that Lu Bai would not fit in.

The Glasses Man also came over and offered Lu Bai a friendly smile.

"No one wanted something like this to happen." Lu Bai leaned sideways against the window, giving off an overall relaxed air.

Once Fatty confirmed that Lu Bai was not angry, he chuckled. "I'm Tian Wang, and he's Zheng Xiaoniao."

"Get lost."

The Glasses Man shoved Tian Wang twice. Finding that he could not move him at all, he said helplessly, "My name is Zheng Xiaoming. Xiao as in dawn, Ming as in making a name for oneself."

Tian Wang was naturally outgoing. He secretly pointed at the last Girl.

"That's Ke Jiangni. Anyway, Old Ke has always claimed to be her older brother, but none of us dared ask her to verify it."

"Does Ke Jiangni have a bad temper?"

Lu Bai's gaze moved back and forth between the siblings. He truly could not see much resemblance between them.

Perhaps she had heard her name. Ke Jiangni raised a beautiful brow and looked toward the three of them, catching Lu Bai peeking at her red-handed.

Lu Bai was not embarrassed. He calmly nodded at her.

Ke Jiangni showed no reaction from beginning to end, merely thinking, Strange.

Because her brother had protected her so well, she had never needed to step forward for anything. Since childhood, she had developed the habit of hiding behind him to Observe in secret.

After observing so many people, the judgments she made from their words and behavior had rarely been far off.

But—

She looked at the handsome youth by the window, her delicate brows furrowing imperceptibly.

Too strange. That composed, calm, refined temperament did not resemble a student his age at all. It was closer to... a scholar?

Ke Jiangni thought about it but still could not find a suitable description.

Just as she was puzzled by this, the old radio in the office suddenly began to broadcast.

"We are interrupting programming with an important announcement. A series of incidents within the city appears to be a collective outbreak of illness caused by an acute virus..."

"Citizens within the city's Third Ring Road, please note: if there is no activity on your street, do not go outside, and lock all doors..."

"The government is urgently convening a resident safety assurance meeting and has issued evacuation orders to areas surrounding the city. Residents in surrounding areas are requested to evacuate to the suburbs as soon as possible, provided their own safety can be ensured..."

"Repeating once more..."

The string of urgent broadcast reports made everyone present slow their breathing by half a beat.

After a brief silence.

Ke Jianghao strode to a desk and opened the laptop on it.

After a few quick clicks of the mouse, the screen displayed a Press Conference.

A politician in a suit stood at the podium, while reporters holding microphones filled the seats below.

Everyone except Lu Bai gathered around, heads pressed together without anyone caring.

"May I ask about the current situation?"

"Judging from the current pattern of spread, we suspect it is a highly infectious disease. Infected patients display intense aggression, while victims exhibit the same symptoms. Secondary infection is suspected."

"Is it an unknown virus?"

"It is still being confirmed."

"How is it transmitted?"

"The possibility of airborne transmission cannot be ruled out. No conclusion has been reached."

"Is this an international health crisis or a military crisis?"

"Perhaps both..."

Watching the Press Conference on the screen, everyone exchanged looks, unable to accept reality.

This sudden incident was more severe than they had imagined.

For the time being, it seemed difficult to place their hopes in rescue teams.

Zheng Xiaoming, wearing glasses, took several dazed steps back, leaned against the wall, and slowly slid down to the floor.

Ke Jianghao did not look any better. Gritting his teeth, he exited the Press Conference and instead opened the forum currently receiving the most attention.

He tried to find other useful information among the endlessly scrolling posts.

Lu Bai tilted his head slightly, watching everyone's changes with great interest.

He suppressed the laughter that unconsciously rose in his voice, lest people mistake it for gloating, and spoke as evenly as possible.

"No police have shown up after all this time. You should have some mental preparation for how serious this is. There's no need to despair so quickly. If you still have the strength, why not think about..."

Lu Bai's gaze swept across every face.

"...water, food, and evacuation routes."