[AR] Chapter 11: The Collapse of the Academy

“No time to waste. Let’s move out now.”

At Ye Xintong’s signal, the Literature Club members began pushing toward the exit.

She held a metal rod she’d found who-knows-where. The others had picked up makeshift weapons of their own—anything to feel a bit safer.

The infected outside had mostly gone silent. Only an occasional wet crunch broke the stillness, like something being pierced through.

Ye Xintong slowly opened the door. In the corridor on the third floor, only a single bramble-like spike remained. Two unfortunate students were skewered on it—already turned infected. Now, they were quietly being devoured and transformed into F-class Corrupted Vanguards.

She gestured for the group to follow and kept her eyes on the spike, ready for anything.

They moved cautiously, trying not to make a sound. Only when they reached the stairwell did they allow themselves to breathe again.

“Stay close,” Ye Xintong whispered.

Chen Fengling’s eyes flashed with a flicker of chaotic color. She’d been scanning. The number of infected in the area hadn’t grown much—only about 1.5 times what it was during her last check.

Most of the infected were gathered near the hive for nutrient transfer and transformation. That made the stairwell eerily quiet.

Their first destination was the small shop next to the science building. Chen Fengling checked her phone—still fully charged.

In her past life, she remembered that about two weeks into the campus outbreak, network access would temporarily return. Early-stage infected weren’t strong enough to go against humanity’s main forces. In particular, the Huaxia Republic—known for its ironclad efficiency and powerful industrial backbone—was the first to restore order in more than half its cities. They even sent aid to other countries.

Even the fallen zones benefited from their advanced drone-based communication systems, allowing evacuations and counteroffensives to be planned.

In truth, most zombie-type outbreaks weren’t enough to destroy a world power. Nations with deep foundations always bounced back. They focused their remaining strength on key regions, and once modern weapons came into play, anything without strange supernatural powers would be swept away. Without efficient spread, infection through bites alone could never reach millions—let alone billions.

Of course, differences remained between nations. Some powerful countries still fell short, while certain smaller nations outperformed expectations…

The point was: until the monster-types appeared, most of the old world’s order still held. You couldn’t just toss it all away.

As she mulled this over, the group reached the main entrance of the teaching building.

Not all the infected were asleep. A few fully transformed Corrupted Vanguards were shambling aimlessly near the doors.

They no longer resembled humans. Their bodies were bloated and rotting, covered in purple, decayed flesh. A faint stench of meat followed them. Their eyes had turned deep red. They no longer growled, nor did they stumble like the others. Instead, they moved with stiff, unnatural precision—like their legs had gone numb from squatting too long.

Ye Xintong gripped her iron rod and nodded to Tian Bo and another boy from the club named Wang Wei. The three of them charged, drawing the attention of the Vanguards. Meanwhile, Luo Yuan and Chen Fengling stood guard, watching for ambushes.

The corrupted creatures rushed forward—just slightly slower than a human sprint. Ye Xintong dashed to meet them, her legs launching her forward at startling speed. She gripped the rod with both hands and swung upward in a smooth arc. A dull crack echoed as she struck—one of the Vanguards’ necks bent completely backwards, its jaw hanging loose.

Only then did the others realize—her rod wasn’t hollow. It was solid iron. Her strength was monstrous.

Tian Bo followed up with precision. His homemade spear jabbed directly into the creature’s skull. It collapsed without getting close.

Wang Wei wasn’t so lucky. After two exchanges, he was knocked down. Fortunately, he was fit, and the Vanguard lacked evolved claws. His thick jacket held out, and the two wrestled to a standstill.

Luo Yuan readied himself to help, but Chen Fengling stepped forward first, as if bracing herself. With one clean motion, she stabbed her knife into the back of the creature’s head.

She didn’t use too much strength—keeping up the image of a weak girl—but secretly activated a bit of her ability. Just like stopping the apple from falling earlier, she ensured this corpse wouldn’t move again for at least three hours.

If an S-class Corrupted Mother had been present, it would’ve noticed something strange: the corpse had become immune to corruption, like a blank spot in the infection web. It couldn’t be reanimated or upgraded.

Still scanning the area, Luo Yuan leaned toward Chen Fengling.

“You okay?”

She gave a shy nod.

“I-I’m fine. I can protect everyone too!”

Her voice trembled, but her words were firm. She looked exactly like the weak girl who starts to grow in the apocalypse. If the Federation survived all this, they’d owe her an Oscar.

Luo Yuan patted her shoulder. The group pushed on.

The shop was about 700 meters away. The road there was straight and narrow—hardly ideal for detours. That also meant fewer infected had passed through.

Most of the creatures they encountered were slow and stumbling. These hadn’t made it to the hive for transformation yet. Their bodies, already rotting, were far weaker than when they’d first turned.

Luo Yuan even joined in the clean-up. Seeing Chen Fengling adapt so quickly gave him courage, and he pushed himself to the front line.

“Didn’t think you were in such good shape, freshman,” Ye Xintong said, cracking open another infected’s skull with her rod.

“I train at the stadium sometimes,” he replied. “The vibe’s better there…”

His voice trailed off awkwardly. He wondered what kind of weakling image his senpai had of him.

“You go to the stadium a lot? Then the map I gave you…”

Ye Xintong looked annoyed.

“Uh… I couldn’t say no to you, could I? You’re so nice—I had to accept it.”

He scratched his head, trying to laugh it off. She broke into a grin.

“Alright, alright… You think I’d actually be mad?”

As the two joked around, Chen Fengling silently stabbed another Corrupted Vanguard that had rushed from her blind spot.

None of the others noticed that, upon impact, her blow had made the creature explode like a firework—its top half gone in a burst of gore. Its legs stood there stupidly, unaware of what just happened.

Fortunately, her power kept their attention off her.

They reached the final corner. The shop was just ahead.

The shutter gate was broken, but the inner wooden door had only surface damage. The attacker had probably triggered a swarm and had to flee before finishing the job.

Ye Xintong raised her iron rod to smash it open—but Chen Fengling stepped forward to stop her. She needed to contribute. Being seen as a useless pretty face wouldn’t help her long-term plans.

“L-let me try, senpai.”

Ye Xintong raised a brow, clearly doubtful.

“I know how to pick locks… Kind of stumbled into it as a kid. Got curious about locked rooms in the old compound…”

Her excuse sounded half-hearted, but Luo Yuan nodded in support—he remembered her mentioning it before.

Chen Fengling stepped up, pulled a wire from her bag, and inserted it into the lock.

Truth was, she didn’t remember how to pick locks anymore. Wandering for hundreds of years had erased that kind of knowledge. But she’d planned for this. The wire was laced with her power. As long as she wanted it, it could open any non-supernatural lock. Even electronic ones would pop open with a touch.

In a flash, the lock clicked. The door opened.

The group stared, impressed.

They entered the store.

It had been shut since the holidays began. No people. No infected. They gathered supplies in peace.

Some of the hungrier students started tearing into junk food and soda—treats that would soon vanish forever. The few remaining factories wouldn’t waste resources on luxuries like this.

Luo Yuan sat to rest. Chen Fengling had already found a spot. She nodded at him and sat down beside him.

Then, she leaned her head on his shoulder.

Ye Xintong paused mid-step.

“Well, that escalated quickly.”

She smirked, gave Luo Yuan a thumbs-up, and walked away.

Chen Fengling saw her leave and smiled triumphantly.

This round, she’d won.

Not that anyone else realized they were even playing.