Chapter 168

When the children innocently suggested setting up a provisional government for Guangxiu District, the teacher stopped them, saying that some capable adults would come and take care of it.

The teacher genuinely believed that.

But the teacher was wrong. To this day, no one in Guangxiu District had managed to step forward and organize a provisional government.

The reason was laughable: Guangxiu District bordered the Tech New District and was simply too close to it.

From the very beginning, that had made Guangxiu District the area most frequently reached by the Tech New District’s rescue teams, and the area from which they had taken away the largest number of survivors.

Several large groups of survivors had already been evacuated. The small groups left behind were too scattered to form any effective force.

No. 14 Middle School, by contrast, could be considered a force in its own right.

But the students were too innocent and naïve.

Jiang Cheng’s voice turned cold. “What happened?”

The student said, “Nothing major, it’s just...”

It was one grievance after another, one upsetting incident after another. Nothing was pleasant. Nothing was going the way they had imagined.

The things Jiang Cheng had solemnly warned them about had not happened.

That was because after Jiang Cheng left, the four student representatives had held a discussion. They called all the boys and girls together for separate meetings.

The boys’ meeting centered on protecting the girls, especially the younger female students.

The girls’ meeting focused on being wary of all “uncles.” No one was to be alone with any “uncle.”

There were no elementary school students here. Middle schoolers already understood certain things, and the school had given them some education on the subject.

The problem was that the children couldn’t connect the concept of a “criminal” with the “uncle” standing in front of them.

For example, the children knew that there were hooligans in society.

But it simply did not occur to them that someone they had worked so hard to rescue might try to take advantage of them.

The two concepts could not overlap in their minds.

This gap in perception existed everywhere, especially for children.

Every child knew from an early age that they had been born from their father and mother.

But quite a few children seemed to suddenly wake up one day at a certain age and realize: Holy crap, so Dad and Mom had to have sex to make me! So Dad and Mom have a sex life!

Jiang Cheng’s warning was meant to bridge that gap in their understanding.

Sure enough, one first-year middle school girl later reported that one day, an uncle had asked her to help find some bedding because he couldn’t locate it.

The girl was confused. How could the bedding be missing? Didn’t everyone sleep in the classrooms together?

The aunties slept in one classroom, and the uncles slept in another.

The girl had almost gone with the uncle. She had just taken a step when she suddenly remembered the meeting the older girls had held. So she said, “I’ll bring a few people with me.”

The uncle immediately said, “No, no, it’s fine. I just remembered where it is.”

Then he walked away.

The girl reported the incident to the senior girls, two of the four student representatives. The girls found the other two representatives, and the four of them discussed it. They all felt that something was wrong.

But when they asked the younger girl to identify which uncle it had been, she couldn’t recognize him.

All the middle-aged men looked more or less the same: greasy hair, unshaven faces, and wrinkled suits.

There were so many people like that that, after one glance, the younger girl couldn’t tell them apart.

In the end, they couldn’t find the man to confront him. But the older girls held another meeting for the younger girls and reminded everyone to stay vigilant.

So nothing particularly terrible happened.

But every single day was still exhausting.

Some people demanded to switch classrooms. They said the north-facing classrooms were too gloomy and wanted to move into the south-facing ones.

Naturally, the people in the south-facing classrooms refused.

The matter was actually very simple. The school had plenty of classrooms. Everyone had started living on the first floor; once it was full, they had moved to the second floor, and once that was full, to the third.

There were still empty classrooms farther up. Why not just move up one floor?

Because the school building had no elevator. Moving upstairs meant climbing more stairs every day.

The people in their thirties and forties claimed that they were too old to climb, insisting that the students on the first floor give up the south-facing classrooms. They said the students were young and could climb a few extra stairs without a problem. They also accused the students of being selfish for occupying the best classrooms on the first floor.

The students were furious. What did they mean, “occupying” the best classrooms? This was their school in the first place. When the zombies appeared, they had been trapped here and forced to sleep in the classrooms.

The students refused to switch.

But when they returned from a rescue mission, the classrooms had already been reassigned.

A group of adults had moved downstairs and dumped the students’ bedding in the hallway. They had not even bothered to help carry it upstairs.

The students were so angry that they couldn’t help arguing with the adults.

But the adults were very skilled at talking.

“We thought you were good people. We thought you would help others and take care of them. You’ve really disappointed us. Why can’t you take care of people older than you? Is this how your teachers taught you?”

The students were trapped.

They felt as if they were being roasted over a fire.

Of course they wanted to be good people. But why did being a good person have to be so miserable?

The teachers and parents came out to smooth things over as well.

The students could only swallow their anger, gather up their bedding, and go sleep in the north-facing classrooms upstairs.

Then one of the cafeteria aunties came to complain that someone was wasting food. They had thrown away half a steamed bun without finishing it.

As more rescued people and refugees arrived, the aunties calculated the amount of food needed every day with painstaking precision, terrified that even the smallest amount might be wasted.

Seeing someone leave half a bun behind broke their hearts. But when they went over to say something, they were cursed at instead.

The aunty felt deeply wronged.

There was also a vegetable garden at the school. The cafeteria aunties and the security guards had set it up long ago. The principal thought it added a touch of rural charm and would help the children learn about vegetables, so he had allowed them to keep it.

After the zombies appeared, it became the school’s source of fresh vegetables. But the garden was too small. It could only provide a little variety and improve the meals; it was nowhere near enough to feed so many people.

Then the refugees arrived and discovered the garden. They immediately began breaking off tomatoes, twisting off cucumbers, and pulling up radishes.

All of those vegetables could be eaten raw.

Picking some vegetables would have been fine, but this group of city dwellers had no idea how to treat them with care. They tore the vines, trampled the soil, and damaged the garden.

The aunty was so angry that she burst into tears.

Over the phone, the students told Jiang Cheng, “It’s just... this feeling that we’re powerless to do anything.”

Their voices were filled with exhaustion.

“It feels like this isn’t our school anymore.”

“They don’t listen to us at all, and they refuse to help with the work. We’re the ones doing everything. Only a few adults came to help. Then they stopped coming, too.

“And there are several people saying that we’re just children and shouldn’t be in charge anymore.”

“They insist on taking over the storage room. We told them no. One of them turned out to have fire powers, and we had no idea. He’d been here for several days and had never said he was an ability user. He hadn’t helped with anything, either. Then, all of a sudden, he threw a fireball and burned Xiao Yunshu’s braid. Xiao Yunshu was so angry she cried.”

Jiang Cheng asked, “Did you hand the storage room over to them?”

The student said, “No. We didn’t. But whenever we go out, they force their way into the storage room and take whatever they want.”

“The people left behind are all younger students or people without abilities, and even the teachers can’t stop them.”

The teachers had never been particularly forceful people to begin with.

And among the refugees, there were several people especially skilled at using moral blackmail.

What truly crushed the students’ spirits was the news that “two of the students’ parents have superpowers. Yesterday afternoon... they left.”

Those two parents had taken their children away.

One family was from Changxing District, and the other was from Wuxing District. Their children had both been admitted to No. 14 Middle School through the Math Olympiad competitions.

Both districts now had their own district governments, and the two families had gone to seek refuge with them.

The two adults who had fought alongside everyone and worked hard to survive from the very beginning had, through their actions, denied the children of No. 14 Middle School.

It was devastating.

The children were hit especially hard.

Jiang Cheng asked, “Which one are you? Duan or Li?”

The student replied, “I’m Duan Junqi.”

“All right, Duan Junqi,” Jiang Cheng said. “I’ll give you one hour. Make me a list.”

“Everyone who’s been stirring up trouble.”

“Those who’ve been seizing supplies.”

“Those who’ve bullied the students.”

“There have to be at least ten people. More is fine. Anyone you dislike—put them all on the list.”

“Wait for me. I’ll be there in an hour.”

After Duan Junqi hung up, everyone crowded around him.

“Well? Did Auntie Jiang agree?”

Duan Junqi looked at them. “No. She didn’t.”

A wave of disappointed sighs swept through the group.

“But,” Duan Junqi continued, “she said she’d be here in an hour.”

“She told us to make a list.”

It was still quite early.

The fact that those two parents had taken their children away the day before had truly broken the students’ hearts.

That evening, they had held a long meeting before finally deciding: “Forget the school. Let’s go seek refuge with Auntie Jiang in the Technology New District.”

It had been too late to call her then, so they had gotten up early today and called Jiang Cheng before even having breakfast.

That worked out well. At this hour, the teams from the Technology New District had not yet set out; everyone was still eating breakfast.

Jiang Cheng immediately used the radio to issue instructions to the cafeteria staff: “Tell all the team leaders that today’s arrangements have changed!”

Jiang Cheng went straight to the cafeteria at the clubhouse.

No matter how urgent things were, they still had to eat first.

They held a meeting while eating, then gathered their weapons and equipment.

“Let’s go.”

Guangxiu District, No. 14 Middle School.

The students lingered at the school gate, constantly looking outside.

One of the adults they disliked came over with his hands on his hips. “Why aren’t you going out today?”

Student: “We’re not going out today.”

Adult: “Are there still enough supplies in the cafeteria? You need to go out and find more. Don’t let everyone starve.”

Why weren’t you going out to find supplies? All you did was stand here and bask in the sun.

The students seethed with anger.

“You’re sulking now?” the adult sneered. “Kids really are unreliable.”

“You—” one student began, unable to hold back, but Duan Junqi stopped him.

Duan Junqi said, “We have something to do today.”

The adult clicked his tongue.

Suddenly, Duan Junqi’s phone rang. He hurriedly answered it.

“Hello? Good! Good!”

After hanging up, he said, “They’ll be here soon!”

The students’ spirits lifted.

Suddenly, the school broadcast crackled to life.

“Everyone report to the front plaza immediately! Everyone report to the front plaza immediately! There is an important announcement. Come downstairs at once!”

Some of the refugees complained, “So noisy. What is it now?”

They had finished breakfast and had nothing to do. They had been planning to go back to sleep, but then they thought they might be handing out supplies. Afraid of missing out, they hurriedly got up and went downstairs.

Men and women streamed out in a dense crowd and gathered in the plaza in front of the school’s main building, filling the air with a constant buzz.

Many people asked the students, “What’s going on?”

“What happened?”

Even the teachers came over to ask.

“Xiao Yunshu, what’s the matter?”

But Xiao Yunshu only looked toward Duan Junqi, who was on the phone. She waved to the teacher, signaling her to wait and say nothing for now.

Duan Junqi hung up and shouted, “Open the gate!”

The older students went over and opened the school gates.

A rumbling sound seemed to be approaching from far away.

“What is that?”

“What are they trying to do?”

“Are more people coming? I hope not too many. We won’t have enough food as it is.”

But gradually, everyone realized that something was wrong.

Rumble, rumble.

It sounded like enormous, heavy vehicles—more than one of them. The noise grew louder and louder as they drew near.

Soon, they came into view.

They were the Blade vehicles everyone had seen in the television announcements.

They were much larger and taller than ordinary buses.

After undergoing countless transformations and extensions, their paint had peeled and become mottled. Everyone had complained that they looked ugly, so the metal-element users had simply stripped the paint from the entire vehicles.

Now their bodies gleamed silver from end to end.

The blades flashed in the sunlight.

From the moment they appeared in the distance, they radiated an oppressive presence.

Silver light flickered regularly through the gaps between the campus railings, dazzling everyone’s eyes.

At the school gate, the vehicles swung around the corner and drove into the plaza.

The driver was Zhang Kuang. He slammed on the brakes at high speed.

The screech of the brakes made everyone’s teeth ache.

Many people stumbled backward in fright, terrified that they would be run over and lose their heads on the blades.

One vehicle.

Then another.

Then another.

Before long, numerous vehicles had lined up across the school plaza.

Their killing intent was overwhelming.

The entire plaza fell utterly silent.