Chapter 2: Racing Against Time

"Xie Ning." As He Zhi turned, she saw a corpse with a rotting face lunging right at her.

Before she could even scream in terror, Xie Ning dashed in front of her and brought an axe down on the back of the rotting corpse’s head.

The strike was incredibly swift, ruthless, and precise, sending the rotting corpse sprawling to the ground.

He Zhi could only hear the frantic THUMP, THUMP, THUMP of her own heart, as if it were about to leap out of her chest.

"Where did you get that axe?" He Zhi asked, jogging to keep up with Xie Ning, her face etched with astonishment.

When Xie Ning didn’t answer, He Zhi continued, "There was just an announcement on the broadcast. All surviving faculty and students are to gather at the main cafeteria."

"Let’s go to the cafeteria across from here," He Zhi said, grabbing Xie Ning’s arm.

Xie Ning shook her head, trying to clear the dizziness from her fever. "He Zhi, you helped me earlier, so I’ll give you a piece of advice. Get out while you can. Don’t stay on campus."

"The zombies are slow at this early stage; they’re not that scary. As long as you’re fast enough, they won’t be able to lay a finger on us."

"We need to take this chance to break out. The smart thing to do is to get away from crowded areas as quickly as possible."

He Zhi froze, reaching for her hand again. "Xie Ning, aren’t you coming with us?"

Xie Ning snatched her hand away and took a few steps back, shaking her woozy head. "You still dare to come with me? Aren’t you afraid I’ll end up like those other classmates and start biting people after this fever breaks?"

"Maybe this isn’t a superpower awakening at all."

It worked. He Zhi was terrified. The other girls with her stopped dead in their tracks, staring at Xie Ning in horror.

Without another word, Xie Ning turned and sprinted downstairs.

Her vision was blurry, but her mind was still surprisingly clear despite her pounding head.

’I know I’m not turning into a zombie. This is definitely a sign of my superpower awakening.’

’But isn’t this superpower awakening taking a bit long? Why am I still running a fever?’

She didn’t understand how she had come back, but more important matters were waiting for her.

’I have to get to Ruihua District to save them. Immediately!’

The hallway floors and glass windows were splattered with dark red blood, along with bits of gore and viscera that slid slowly down the panes. DRIP. DRIP.

Xie Ning raced downstairs, paying the gruesome scene no mind.

Running from memory toward the parking lot, she used her fire axe to dispatch several shambling corpses along the way.

She soon found a seven-seater minivan.

She quickly dispatched the zombie in the driver’s seat and sped toward Ruihua District.

The minivan ran over several zombies, lurching violently as it charged toward the gates of East University.

The university gate was a cacophony of screams and the sound of tearing flesh, the air thick with the stench of blood. It was a living hell.

Despite her pounding head, Xie Ning couldn’t help but look back.

Hundreds of people were massed at the gate—running, crawling, falling, fighting for their lives. It was utter chaos.

The once-peaceful East University had become an apocalyptic playground for the zombies.

Xie Ning closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and slammed the accelerator to the floor, bursting out of the campus.

The roads were difficult to navigate. A trip to Ruihua District that should have taken only twenty minutes was dragging on as Xie Ning had to reroute several times.

This was mainly due to cars blocking the roads, abandoned every which way.

When she arrived at Ruihua District forty minutes later, Xie Ning’s head was growing even foggier.

She could feel that something was very wrong.

’Based on what happened in my past life, my superpower awakening should be complete by now. The fever should have broken.’

Xie Ning got out of the car and cut down two lunging corpses. Her hand holding the axe tightened slightly.