.:The six people rested the whole day while taking time to explore the base.
The classroom building was mostly for sleeping.
The teaching building was for important figures in the base—mostly those in charge.
And lastly, the dormitory was for those with enough points to spare.
They also passed by the school gate, only to find it locked.
There were people camping outside the gate, and the guards ignored them.
Well, it made sense—there was probably no space left.
Plus, the area was clear of zombies thanks to the guards, so it was a relatively safe spot to camp.
They didn't pay much attention to it and returned to their classroom.
Now it was nighttime, and they were mentally exhausted.
A lot had happened since they woke up in that school.
Escaping and meeting Yi Zheng was a lot for the kids.
Meanwhile, Yi Zheng felt that just dealing with them was exhausting.
So they quickly fell asleep.
---
The next day, they woke up notably refreshed and went to queue up for a bath.
The bathrooms were separated by male and female, on different floors.
So Mori Aoi dragged her feet to join Shae Harris on another floor.
They had woken up early, a habit from their childhood trauma and harsh living environment
Shae Harris would be woken up by pain
Ming Jun and Mori Aoi would wake up early due to work
Wei Zhi would wake up early to escape the bullies
Noi karn had a relatively strict schedule
And Yi Zheng was never completely asleep and woke up because of the noises they made as they got up
, so there weren't many people in line.
The space was cramped but moderately clean, and they had to be quick to avoid being scolded by the people waiting outside.
They got dressed in the bathroom without drying off properly and hurried out.
The newcomers' set had random clothing that didn't completely fit.
They wore the somewhat baggy clothes with no accessories
Mori Aoi placed the hairpin she had been carrying this whole time into her pocket.
The students returned to the classroom carrying their bloodied uniform
They didn't want to dispose of it—somehow, it felt like a memento of their first meeting.
So they just placed it in the box that had contained the newcomer set.
"Then I guess we'll see each other at lunch," Shae Harris said.
"What about me?" Noi Karn asked.
The other four looked embarrassed—they had forgotten about his affliction, and their hands scratched their cheeks awkwardly to show it.
"Then, do you want to stay here or follow us?" Ming Jun asked.
"What if someone bullies him while we're gone?" Wei Zhi said.
"Then maybe he can follow us around," Mori Aoi suggested.
"I'll be fine on my own," Noi Karn said.
They looked at him, hesitant, but he assured them.
"Won't it be too boring alone?" Shae Harris said, already pulling out her game console.
"I have my headphones," he said, tapping the blue headphones around his neck.
"Okay then," she said, waving him goodbye as she skipped to her workstation.
The others left soon after.
Noi Karn sat on the ground and began listening to music.
---
The others went to their workstations and were assigned posts.
Shae Harris followed a group of women to clean different parts of the campus.
They had rosters that showed which team was in charge of cleaning each building, and it stretched across the entire area.
Mori Aoi assisted the cooks and ran errands in the kitchen.
Ming Jun was tasked with carrying items brought back from the outside into a makeshift warehouse.
Wei Zhi helped sell the goods from the inventory store.
Yi Zheng, part of the scout team, followed after the hunting team and retrieved any useful items.
The scouts only ventured into areas already cleared by hunters and were a bit farther from the base.
---
At lunchtime, the four teenagers gathered in the classroom they slept in.
Then they'd call Noi Karn over as they headed to the cafeteria.
The cafeteria required points for each meal.
The cheapest was a dry bun and a bottle of water—for 10 points total.
A day's work got you 20 points, credited as soon as you clocked in.
They lined up and then sat at an empty table—with only Yi Zheng already seated.
Yi Zheng had purposefully left them to eat alone, but they didn't realize that.
"Thanks for saving us a table, old man Yi," Shae Harris said as she slid in.
The others thanked him too as they sat down.
Each of them had the dry bun and a bottle of water—except Yi Zheng, who had a small dish.
"I guess you must be rich then," Shae Harris said, eyeing his food.
"How much does the scout team get?" Ming Jun asked curiously.
"Thirty points," Yi Zheng replied.
They opened their mouths and let out a collective "wow."
"So how do we share it?" Mori Aoi asked, shaking the bread in her hand.
"Cut a quarter and give him a gulp of water," Wei Zhi said.
The others agreed.
They each cut a quarter of their bread and passed it to Noi Karn.
He blinked at them, then began to eat.
The sound of chewing filled the table.
No one felt their meal was too small.
After all, they had either been starved or given similar food before.
Only Ming Jun used to eat normally—but he usually puked it up after getting beaten by bullies or his enraged father
Even he was content with dry bread and water.
Lunch ended and it was back to work
Work lasted till 5 PM.
Then it was dinner time.
After that, people had the rest of the day off.
They could do whatever they wanted—
Even go outside the base, as long as they had their watches as ID.
But the five kids felt it was too scary with all the survivors crowded near the gate.
So Shae Harris convinced the group to visit the store.
Wei Zhi explained that the store had everything and on the off chance that it didn't,
You could even place special orders if you had enough points.
They looked around and found the lowest-priced item was 50 points.
So they turned around and left immediately.
Joke. Who has that much money to waste?
They sat bored in the classroom and eventually invented a game.
They passed Shae Harris's game console around to see who was the best player.
Shae Harris was excluded—it was her console.
Noi Karn was excluded—he was blind.
Yi Zheng wasn't around; he had disappeared after dinner.
They didn't bother looking for him—they knew he wouldn't leave.
So they didn't care about his business.
Yi Zheng, meanwhile, explored more thoroughly.
The first stroll was just casual.
Now, he was looking for anything suspicious.
The crazy founder of the base made him wary.
He hadn't heard anything about the guy, and he was never seen walking around.
Surprisingly, the teaching building wasn't guarded.
Yi Zheng walked around openly and met the female attendant.
She asked if he needed anything. He shook his head.
Then she said this wasn't a place he should be unless he had enough points.
Her tone was polite as she gestured for him to leave.
No threat.
In fact, Yi Zheng felt that if he tried to force his way in, she'd gladly step aside.
That probably meant there was nothing to hide.
So he walked away.
---
On his way out, he encountered a handsome young man surrounded by five beautiful women.
Each woman had her own unique allure.
And Yi Zheng could tell—they were strong.
Especially the handsome man in the center
The same handsome guy that looked at him curiously.
Yi Zheng rolled his eyes and walked away.
He hated handsome men surrounded by beauties the most.
---
Back in the classroom, the kids were arguing over the game.
They asked Noi Karn to judge.
The youngest looked at them, exasperated.
He was still wondering how he got involved in this.
"I'm obviously the winner," Shae Harris said, patting her chest.
"That's because you cheated," Ming Jun insisted.
"Nonsense. I just have boundless skill," she replied.
"You made the character do a backflip," Wei Zhi pointed out, eyes twitching.
"So what?" she said.
"It only had the option of moving forward or backward!" Wei Zhi shouted.
"You just lack skill." Shae Harris shook her head.
Wei Zhi and Ming Jun's hands were twitching.
Mori Aoi stepped between them and covered Shae's mouth.
"You guys do remember that she isn't part of the game, right?" Noi Karn said.
They immediately looked embarrassed.
They had, indeed, forgotten.
Ming Jun snatched the console and kept playing to avoid the awkward air.
His eyes never leaving the sleek screen
Even though it was connected to Shae's life support and had built in virtual reality, it could also be displayed on the console screen.
Yi Zheng wanted to ignore them.
But he was bored.
So he joined the game.
They played until the lights went out.
Then they slept.
Yi Zheng, as always, kept himself partially alert for danger.
---
The next day started normally.
Until lunchtime.
They sat together as usual and began to offer some of their bread to the youngest.
Then—there was a noise.
Someone stepped onto the second floor of the cafeteria.
A man in his early 30s.
Followed by guards.
And the female attendant.
"Hello, everyone."
"I'm the director of this base, and there's some very important news I have to share with you today."
The director's gaze swept the crowd warmly.
Wei Zhi and the other four kids frowned at the same time.
They felt it.
That same repulsion.
The moment their eyes met—
The director smiled warmly at them.
They got goosebumps.
And a deep sense of danger.