Chapter 4: You wouldn't want to end up as emergency rations, would you?

Cao Yaxuan was filled with regret, wishing she could slap herself. Surely, she wouldn’t be eliminated just for stumbling upon Xu Lang’s secret, right? Why did her mouth have to be so loose?

As one side sat on pins and needles and the other remained calm, a loud bang suddenly echoed from the iron gate.

“Damn it!” came Zhou Tao’s furious curse.

That guy had actually been waiting outside for over half an hour!

Huang Hao anxiously said, “Tao, let’s go quickly. The zombies are almost here. Once we find some tools later, we’ll definitely break down that iron gate.”

Another guy sneered in agreement, “Yeah, let’s make him perform a flying trapeze act then!”

“Just you wait, Xu Lang,” Zhou Tao swore.

He never doubted Xu Lang wasn’t in the dormitory; with Xu Lang’s temper, he’d never make a sound. So unlucky!

Footsteps faded away.

This time, they really left.

But before long, news about Xu Lang and the iron gate spread throughout the chatroom.

His neighbors had wanted to mention it earlier but had been suppressed by Zhou Tao and the others.

Suddenly, countless calls to Xu Lang flooded in, with over thirty friend requests.

Some came prepared with snacks, hoping for a tenant spot; others played the sympathy card, and some even tried to buy the landlord’s spot with soft currency.

Xu Lang ignored them all, seemingly unaffected by the outside world, silently waiting for the countdown to end.

[3, 2, 1... Game start!]

With a shrill alarm ringing in everyone’s minds, a horde of zombies surged out from the blood fog.

The so-called defenses shattered instantly.

The campus elites holding weapons in the front row turned and fled.

While escaping, they relentlessly shoved and swung their sticks.

Three swings a second was not even their limit!

Many fell.

Students standing in the dorm corridor gasped, then their shock turned to hysterical screams.

“Damn it! Why didn’t anyone say the stairwells are also zombie spawn points?!”

Zombies poured out from stairwells on all ten floors.

In an instant, the entire dormitory erupted into chaos!

...

[Zombie]

[Type: Monster]

[Level: 0]

[Skills: Unknown]

[Description: A pitiful biochemical creature. Guess if it carries a virus.]

Xu Lang kept watching through the peephole behind the door, feeling no fear—after all, he had seen more terrifying scenes in his dreams.

Once, a butcher had hacked at him all night in a dream, piling up a thousand corpses like a grim spectacle, a hell on earth.

After he left, Cao Yaxuan pressed her face to the peephole, her complexion growing pale.

A student was being eaten right before her eyes, screams piercing the air.

Shivering and unsure what to do, she heard a question behind her.

“Senior Cao, do you have a boyfriend?”

Startled, she turned to look at Xu Lang in disbelief.

At a time like this, he was making small talk?

Xu Lang locked eyes with her and spoke slowly,

“As you saw, these zombies move differently from movies—agile.”

“Do you remember the initial hint? The game difficulty increases gradually... Do you think this iron gate can really hold back the zombies?”

Suddenly, Cao Yaxuan’s face drained of color; she nearly fainted.

By Xu Lang’s logic, they were both doomed.

“What do we do then?” she asked instinctively.

The initiative was in the hands of this unknown underclassman.

No, from the moment Cao Yaxuan stepped inside, the initiative had belonged to Xu Lang.

Xu Lang smirked, “Since we’re going to die anyway, might as well enjoy ourselves before then.”

His words were crude.

But smart Cao Yaxuan didn’t dare show displeasure; she forced a smile and said, “That’s inappropriate. You’ve seen apocalypse movies too, right? In situations like this, conserving energy is key.”

A clueless freshman who’s never had a girlfriend!

At a time like this, he was still thinking about that?

“Makes sense. Looks like you believe in extreme survivalism,” Xu Lang didn’t argue but smiled broadly.

“Heh, survival is the first priority of life,” Cao Yaxuan kept up her awkward grin.

Outside, the screams grew more harrowing.

The atmosphere inside the dorm grew eerie.

And it only got stranger.

She noticed Xu Lang suddenly fell silent, sitting on the bed, studying her with deep eyes.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, her neck stiffening.

In that same slow tone, he said,

“Adult women usually have a body fat percentage between 20% and 25%. You show signs of exercise, so yours should be around 18%...”

“Fat isn’t the key factor. The critical thing is your water content.”

“Sorry, I misspoke—it should be blood volume.”

“You know, the most important thing for survival isn’t food, but water!”

Cao Yaxuan froze, then realized what he meant and almost spat out some water right there.

Please, stop talking!

So you dragged me in here because you fancy me, huh?

“Underclassman, please stop scaring me. You’re frightening!” Cao Yaxuan forced calm.

To her, Xu Lang was one of those low-quality male college students who would “clasp a brother’s neck” or “make basketball gestures” whenever they met.

There was no way she wanted to give in!

Xu Lang stroked his chin and mused,

“Since you bring up movies, such behavior is normal, right?”

“Actually, the game assigning two-person dorms might be for this very reason.”

“Who could survive the apocalypse without some stockpile? Am I right, Senior Cao?”

Cao Yaxuan believed him!

Xu Lang was truly capable of such things.

His tone was calm, nearly indifferent.

If that’s not psychotic, what is?

“Senior, don’t worry. I’m not a demon. A man never forgets his first love. Would you be my only first love?” Xu Lang’s expression suddenly shifted, sighing, “Actually, I have my reasons for wanting to date you.”

“What reasons!?” Cao Yaxuan demanded.

Even a brain full of worms could call that a reason?

Xu Lang replied softly,

“In my heart, there is both Buddha and demon.”

“Don’t be fooled by my usual innocence—that’s because I’ve long sealed away the demon deep inside.”

“Now that the survival game has arrived, threatening my existence, the demon inside me is about to break free!”

“I want to ask you: when faced with a true demon's emergence... can you still stay calm... can the entire dorm remain calm?!”

“So I want to suppress the demon in my heart again with sweet love!”

Cao Yaxuan’s lips twitched uncontrollably.

At a time like this, couldn’t he stop joking?

Couldn’t he hear the screams outside?

His classmates were about to be devoured like teachers!

“Underclassman, can you give me some time? This is all too sudden,” Cao Yaxuan pleaded, nearly on her knees.

“Alright,” Xu Lang agreed.

Cao Yaxuan breathed a sigh of relief.

This underclassman, at least, was reasonable.

Xu Lang continued, “Can you please leave my dorm first? Seeing you makes me uneasy.”

Cao Yaxuan was speechless.

Not only did he not want to give her a tenant spot, now he wanted to kick her out? Was he a demon?

“Maybe I can lend you my black stockings...” Cao Yaxuan had no other choice, and the moment the words left her mouth, she felt overwhelming shame.

Xu Lang glanced at the silky, slightly shimmering stockings—high quality, maybe even scented?

After a moment’s thought, he said, “How about you leave for three minutes? Then come back.”

Cao Yaxuan was silent.

The dorm was sealed on all sides; the ceiling light flickered dimly. Though only a few meters apart, they could only see each other’s silhouettes.

Xu Lang had already stood up, unwilling to waste time.

This was a survival game, not a social gathering.

Cao Yaxuan’s nightmare coin accelerator had to be acquired as quickly as possible!