Yi Zheng stood in front of the school gate in awe.
He had heard about this particular college from some of the customers that frequented the hotel he worked at.
It was supposedly another donation from a noble family to allow young adults who survived the natural disasters to return to school.
Supposedly, the tuition, housing, and food were all free.
But getting the quota was a struggle in itself.
Especially for the middle-class people—those rich, but not noble.
Their greatest desire was for their children to attend this school, because if you performed well, you had a chance to work for a noble.
Yi Zheng always thought these schools were just breeding places for servants.
Nothing more, nothing less.
So he never went to college and studied on his own.
It wasn't pride that made him resist the nobles—but fear. Fear of becoming their servant.
Yi Zheng was aware that he could never truly defy them, so the best option was to avoid them altogether.
Oddly enough, he ended up right back here.
Yi Zheng sighed and joined a line of survivors, along with the five kids.
The people around them had various injuries, but they looked at the school with hope.
Random people, armed with all kinds of weapons, walked around the campus.
Yi Zheng noticed by the way their eyes scanned every direction—they were most likely guards.
The campus seemed adequately protected.
"What are we lining up for?" Shae Harris was already bored.
"Obviously, it's to check if anyone's infected," Ming Jun explained.
The people behind them paused and looked at them warily.
They shifted uncomfortably, moving a little closer to each other.
"You guys must've never stepped out of your previous shelter," Yi Zheng said, gazing at them.
"Did I say something wrong?" Ming Jun asked, confused.
He felt what he said was correct. After all, the first thing a shelter checks is always for an infected wound.
"I guess you could say we never left the building," Wei Zhi said.
He noticed how strangely the others were looking at them and decided to make up an excuse.
The survivors around them finally stopped paying attention.
"That explains why you guys are so stupid," Yi Zheng muttered, exasperated.
"Who are you calling stupid!" Shae Harris puffed out her chest and glared.
"There's never going to be an infected—because you'd already be dead," Yi Zheng ignored her provocation and explained.
"So... no coming back to life after being bitten?" Ming Jun asked, shocked.
"Bitten? No. The zombies tear people apart."
"Don't you remember the corpses we saw on the way here?" Yi Zheng said.
The five tried to remember, but they didn't get a good look at the time.
They didn't have the mental strength to casually admire the corpses—much less look at them directly.
"Don't remember," they echoed.
"Not even one?" Yi Zheng asked.
"We didn't dare to take a deep enough look," four of them replied.
"Yeah, and I was the only one who took a second glance," Shae Harris said proudly.
"And did you notice anything?" Yi Zheng asked.
"There was a lot of blood, so I stopped looking," she also responded proudly.
Yi Zheng: What was the point of boasting!?
"Well, all you need to know is that zombies go mad at the sight of humans and rush to kill them."
"They don't stop chasing until the human is dead. And they don't infect people," Yi Zheng taught them.
The five of them nodded obediently.
Ming Jun was amazed. This was the first zombie apocalypse where people didn't get infected.
Didn't that mean humans had the advantage?
Usually, humanity collapsed because zombies could add to their numbers—but this time, neither side had that ability.
And yet, humans were still this devastated, even with superior intellect...
And superpowers... and weapons too.
Ming Jun suddenly felt like there was something odd about this apocalypse.
"Then why do we still have to line up?" Shae Harris asked.
"How should I know? I just got here," Yi Zheng retorted.
"Old people are so mean," Shae Harris said, sticking out her tongue.
Yi Zheng glared at her.
Suddenly, their attention was drawn to the school gate.
A man holding a kitchen knife was trying to leave.
The person in charge of new arrivals was trying to persuade him to stay.
The group was close enough to the gate to hear part of what the man was saying.
They managed to piece together the reason why he wanted to leave.
He had been separated from his wife and was rescued by the Guides, who brought him here.
At the time, he was too injured to leave the shelter, but now he had healed.
"Please, just let me go," he said.
"I'm sorry, sir, but it's not safe out there. We have a duty to ensure every human is sheltered from danger," the woman in charge said.
She was grabbing his arm to stop him from passing.
"I have to go. I didn't come here to ask for your permission," the man shook off her hand and walked toward the gate.
The security tried to stop him too, but he threatened to fight his way out.
Eventually, they sighed and let him go.
The man didn't even glance at the crowd—he headed straight into the ruined city.
The woman took one last look at his figure and returned to ushering people in.
The survivors who watched the scene suddenly felt a bit relieved.
Everyone had been skeptical about the base because of those crazy cultists—the Guides.
But knowing they could leave anytime made them feel better.
They subconsciously relaxed.
Yi Zheng, on the other hand, felt these people were just as crazy as the cultists.
More importantly, he was suspicious of the man who just left.
He claimed to be looking for his wife...
Yet he didn't search among the incoming survivors or ask if anyone had seen her.
He admits that it's hard to trust people in the apocalypse, but the truth is usually mixed with a lie.
And someone truly desperate would take that chance.
Everything about it felt sketchy—but it was also true they let him go.
Even though his acting was clumsy and full of holes, on close inspection...
It didn't feel particularly malicious.
The main deterrent keeping Yi Zheng from leaving was those damn Guides.
He had a feeling they were still lingering around, waiting to catch stragglers.
Damn cultists.
Soon it was their turn.
They were asked to open all their belongings and empty their pockets.
The male assistant examined the boys, patting down their clothes.
The female attendant did the same for the girls.
They found Yi Zheng's knife.
It wasn't like he was hiding it—he had nowhere to hide it, so he just carried it in.
"I'll have to take this for safety reasons," the attendant said, placing it in a box.
Yi Zheng didn't care—he could still feel the cold metal box cutter hidden in his pants.
"Name and age?" she asked, typing their answers into a tablet.
"Alright, now you'll be assigned jobs according to your age and abilities."
"Is there anything special you can do?" she asked.
They all shook their heads.
"Okay. You'll be part of the cleaning team," she told Shae Harris.
"You'll be in the cooking team," she told Mori Aoi.
"You're on inventory," she told Ming Jun.
"You're in logistics," she told Wei Zhi.
"You'll be in the scout team," she said to Yi Zheng.
He frowned but said nothing—and neither did the others.
Then the female attendant turned to Noi Karn.
She looked stumped.
It was practically written on her face: What should I do with you?
It was obvious she was hesitant—he was blind.
If he'd just had a limb injury, she might've assigned something easier—but being blind was too restricting.
"We'll take care of him," Shae Harris said.
Mori Aoi grabbed Noi Karn's arm and pulled him behind her.
"You should know the food you get is determined by the amount of points you earn from working," the woman warned.
It was obvious she meant they'd have to donate food to support him.
And food in the apocalypse... is precious.
"Then we'll just have to work twice as hard until we're rich," Wei Zhi said.
"Well, it's your points," she muttered, typing their assignments into the tablet.
They weren't saints who selflessly wanted to help others.
But they knew Noi Karn.
They couldn't let him survive alone—not after becoming a team.
They weren't that ruthless... and they didn't want to be.
"So, here are the customs we designed—they include all the information you need," the attendant said, handing them five sleek watches.
"The shelter designed it?" Yi Zheng asked, surprised.
"Well, it was made by our founder. He used to work at Ming Technology."
Ming Jun flinched, but none of them noticed—they were too interested in the story.
"He was at the Ming Tech Company when the apocalypse happened. He fought his way out."
"Then he built this shelter not long after," she said, with worship in her tone.
Yi Zheng found it amazing—a tech worker strong enough to fight zombies, build a shelter, and create watches?
"Where did he get the materials?" Shae Harris asked.
"He built them during the time he was escaping, along with some of his fellow workers."
"He said he received an epiphany—and knew his life's purpose was to build a place where humans felt safe," she said, eyes practically glowing.
Yi Zheng: So he went crazy and became a fanatic set on building a shelter.
The others: So he went crazy.
"How did he input all the information into the watches?" Wei Zhi asked.
"He built the mainframe and used AI to monitor and update it in real time," she replied.
"Anyway, the watch has everything you need—including a map."
"Lastly, here's your newcomer pack. Have a nice stay," she said, waving them off.
Yi Zheng put on his watch and it came on with a beep.
It was really high tech—and he understood it easily.
No need to worry about its lifespan. Technology had one power source: ore.
It was why tech still worked in the apocalypse—even without internet.
Yi Zheng searched for rooms and found that staying in a dormitory room cost points, while classrooms were free.
But staying in a classroom meant sleeping with up to fifty people.
Only dorms had showers—while classrooms had buckets in the bathrooms.
"Hey, let's stay in classroom A6," Shae Harris said.
"Why that one?" Yi Zheng asked.
"Because it has a 6 in it," Shae Harris grinned.
Yi Zheng: It's my fault for believing in any of you.
"But none of us have an A in our names," Ming Jun added, playing along.
"I do," Mori Aoi said.
"Oh, that's true," Wei Zhi nodded.
"See? Then doesn't that mean the class is meant for us?" Shae Harris said excitedly.
Yi Zheng: I give up.
So they decided to stay in classroom A6 and went there.
The desks had been cleared. It was quite spacious—as expected from a college classroom.
Different groups were scattered across the room.
Yi Zheng chose an inconspicuous spot at the back and headed there.
Each of them now held a blanket and pillo
w from their newcomer pack.
It also included basic necessities like a toothbrush and toothpaste.
One had also been given to Noi Karn.
They arranged the blankets in a circle and sat down to rest.