"No way!"

All four people in Room 708 shook their heads in unison. Were these guys joking? Zombies ate people. If you could hunker down and survive, why the hell would you go out fighting?

"We'll just stay in the dorm and wait for rescue. As long as we keep quiet, the zombies can't find us," said a mild-looking guy in glasses.

"What if rescue doesn't come for days?" Zhao Kun frowned.

"We're fine. We've still got plenty of food in here. Holding out a few days won't be a problem," said another guy with curly hair.

The moment those words left his mouth, Yang Bin's eyes lit up.

They'd ransacked room after room and found nothing but scattered scraps. None of them had eaten a proper meal yet. He hadn't expected these four to be sitting on days' worth of supplies.

"Mind if we come in and sit? Standing out in the hallway like this is just going to draw every zombie on the floor over here," Yang Bin said with a smile.

"Oh-come in, come in!"

The mention of attracting zombies sent the dorm's occupants into an immediate panic.

Yang Bin led his group inside. What greeted them was a table loaded with snacks-cola, Sprite, cake, chips, the works. Chen Hao and the others practically started drooling on the spot.

"Someone had a birthday last night?" Yang Bin asked.

"Yeah, mine. They bought all this stuff to celebrate," the curly-haired guy said, grinning.

"Well then-happy birthday!" Yang Bin said cheerfully.

And just like that, he strolled over to the table and started eating. Completely at home. Not a shred of hesitation.

"Happy birthday!"

"Happy birthday!"

Chen Hao and the rest followed his lead, each offering the curly-haired guy a quick congratulations before descending on the table and Wolfing down food.

"Th-thanks!" The curly-haired guy stammered, too stunned to process what was happening.

"Wait-hold on! They're eating our food! What the hell are we supposed to eat later?" The guy in glasses finally snapped out of it, panic rising in his voice.

"Shit-stop them!" The others caught on and rushed forward to grab what they could.

But by the time they got there, the table was nearly bare. These starving bastards had torn through everything like locusts.

And they weren't just stuffing their mouths-they were stuffing their pockets.

"What the fuck! Are you people bandits?!" the curly-haired guy shouted.

"Bandits? Come on, we're celebrating your birthday," Yang Bin said through a mouthful of bread, cola in one hand, a roll in the other.

"My birthday was yesterday! I don't need your celebration! Give us back our food!" The curly-haired guy's eyes bulged, his curls practically straightening from sheer rage.

The other three glared alongside him. These people were absolutely shameless.

"Look, the food's already in our stomachs. Can't exactly puke it back up, can we?" Yang Bin smiled. "But I'm not eating for free."

He walked over to the bunks, grabbed the side ladders off two beds, and ripped them free with his bare hands. He tossed the iron frames to the four stunned residents.

"These are worth more than food in the apocalypse. They might save your lives."

The four caught the ladders numbly, too shocked to speak. Yang Bin had torn those off like they were made of cardboard.

He stuffed two bags of spicy peanuts into his pockets, then led his group out the door without looking back.

"If you don't have the guts to fight zombies, keep that door locked tight. Hope you last until rescue comes."

Only after the footsteps faded did the four dare to speak.

"Those goddamn bandits! They wiped out days of food in one sitting! How are we supposed to survive now?!"

"They just cut off our lifeline!"

Out in the hallway, Yang Bin's group sipped Sprite and ate cake with expressions of pure bliss.

"God, that hit the spot."

"Yang Bin... wasn't that a bit much?" Zhao Kun frowned.

"Too much?" Yang Bin let out a dry laugh. "You really think rescue is coming?"

"Well..."

"Even if it does, we're talking ten days minimum. Maybe half a month. You think their little stash would've lasted that long anyway?"

"...No."

"Then there you go. We ate their food, but I gave them weapons. Between the two, weapons give them a better shot at staying alive."

"Mm. Fair point." Zhao Kun nodded slowly, accepting the logic.

Afterward, they cleared the zombies from the next two dorms and moved to the other side of the floor.

It took over half an hour to sweep all ten rooms on the right. They scrounged up more snacks, mineral water, clean clothes, and daily necessities from the wreckage.

Each of them now wore a backpack stuffed with supplies.

The backpacks were scavenged too, naturally.

Not a single survivor in those ten rooms. Not one.

The entire seventh floor. Nearly eighty people. In the end, only the four from Room 708 and Zhao Kun's group of three were still breathing. Everyone else had either turned or been eaten.

Less than one in ten.

The number sat heavy on all of them.

Though part of it was the density-dorms packed people in tight. Other places on campus were probably better. Probably.

With the seventh floor cleared, the sun was sinking toward the horizon. They decided to find a clean room, sleep for the night, and figure out their next move in the morning.

Food and water were covered for now. No one would go hungry tonight.

They settled on two rooms with intact doors. Zhao Kun and his two took one. Yang Bin and Chen Hao took the other.

After a quick cleanup, both of them collapsed onto the beds. The day had wrung them dry-body and mind.

Yang Bin dug out a scavenged charging cable, plugged in his phone, and stared at the ceiling in silence.

"Bin-ge," Chen Hao said quietly. "Do you think we can actually survive this?"

"Yes." No hesitation.

"Mm." Chen Hao nodded, but his eyes were distant.

Watching apocalypse movies, it always seemed thrilling. Living it was different. That constant awareness that you could die at any second-it gnawed at you in a way no film could capture.

"Don't overthink it," Yang Bin said. "Just handle what's in front of you. And later tonight, you're coming with me to the sixth floor."

"The sixth floor? Why? We're fine up here."

"When I was clearing zombies earlier, I used my Special Ability to scan below. There's a Special Zombie in the sixth-floor hallway."

Chen Hao went still. "A Special Zombie? The kind that almost wiped all five of us out?"

"Yeah."

"If one of those is down there, isn't it dangerous? Why would we go looking for it?"

"Why do you think my strength jumped so much?" Yang Bin asked.

Chen Hao blinked. "Actually-yeah. I've been meaning to ask. How did you get so strong all of a sudden? Don't tell me... the crystal?!"

"That's exactly it. After I ate that crystal, my physical abilities shot up across the board."

Chen Hao's eyes went wide.

"That crystal might be the key to surviving the apocalypse," Yang Bin continued. "We need to stockpile them before anyone else figures it out."

"Bin-ge, you're saying these crystals only come from Special Zombies?"

"We killed dozens of regular ones and only found one Special. They're rare. When you stumble across one, you don't let it walk away."

"Got it. I'm with you." Chen Hao glanced toward the wall separating them from Zhao Kun's room. "Should we bring them?"

"No. We're cooperating with them-that's all. When there's no conflict of interest, things are smooth. The second resources get involved, problems start. I'm not handing something like this over to them."

"Alright. When do we go?"

"After we rest a bit. And keep it quiet-don't let them know we left."

"Got it."