Chapter 10: A Glimpse into Life on the Eve of the Apocalypse - The Expelled Pure School Beauty

Time flew by in an anxious blur; less than three minutes remained until midnight.

Inside Dormitory 404 on the 4th floor, the atmosphere was so tense it had almost solidified.

Yao Qingya paced back and forth by the door in a panic, her gaze shifting constantly between the entrance and the time on the player system, her elegant face filled with unease.

Although Jiang Yuwan was also somewhat nervous, she tried her best to maintain a facade of composure.

Her finger lightly tapped the virtual screen as she continued to monitor Su Ze's private message alerts while also paying attention to the public channel.

Messages in the channel flooded in like a tide, chaotic and disorganized.

“7th Floor-128-Song Wenming (landlord): I saw it with my own eyes! A landlord on the 7th floor pushed a girl to her death just to let a boy with higher Strength in! It's too cruel!”

“2nd Floor-201-Cai Song (tenant): Damn it! Our Dormitory door was smashed! Those lunatics who didn't get a bed actually teamed up to smash doors one by one, saying we should all die together!”

“No Dormitory-Huang Teng: Why! Why won't you give me a chance! I just want a bed, is it really that hard?!”

“7th Floor-777-Liu Yuan (tenant): All dormitories take note! The refugees outside have begun to gather, and they are trying to force their way into the dormitories! Everyone, unite and defend together!”

“No Dormitory-Zhao Li: Hahaha, the zombies are coming. Why should you get the Dormitory's protection while we have to die? If we're going to die, let's all die together!”

“10th Floor-101-Sun Yue (tenant): I beg everyone, stop killing each other! We should unite to face the zombies together!”

“No Dormitory-Li Hailong: Unity? Unity my ass! I just want a bed. Whoever gives me a bed, I'll be his dog from now on!”

At this moment, the entire channel was like a giant crucible, refining the good, evil, beauty, and ugliness of human nature to the extreme.

Yao Qingya heard the commotion outside and also noticed the chaos on the public channel.

Her face grew even paler as she turned to Jiang Yuwan, her worry clearly evident.

“Teacher Jiang... Su Ze, will he be in danger?” Her voice was small, with a distinct tremor.

Jiang Yuwan took a deep breath, trying to make her voice sound steady.

“Don't worry, he... he isn't someone who will suffer a loss. Trust him.”

Although she said so, her trembling fingertips betrayed her inner unease.

At the same time,

The six people from the original Dormitory 266 on the first floor—Li Xunming, Chen Nanhao, Zhang Feng, Wang Wei, Liu Wenyong, and Gao Tian—were currently standing in 3rd Floor-Dormitory 501.

Inside the Dormitory, six cold corpses lay scattered on the floor, blood soaking the rust-stained bedframes and the ground, the air thick with a heavy scent of blood.

These six corpses were exactly the original landlords and tenants of this Dormitory.

“Hahahaha! Nicely done! These idiots actually believed we were 'No Dormitory' seekers of help!”

Chen Nanhao laughed wildly, the blood-stained dagger in his hand glinting coldly in the dim light.

“Who told them to be kind-hearted? In the apocalypse, kindness is the path to death!” Wang Wei also grinned, revealing a cruel smile.

Li Xunming pushed up his glasses; his face showed no wild joy, only a chilling satisfaction.

He squatted down and began skillfully looting the supplies from the corpses.

“Quick! Don't just stand there! Collect all the supplies! Then upgrade the door!” Li Xunming ordered.

Hearing this, the other five immediately sprang into action.

They scavenged a small amount of supplies from the corpses.

Next, they piled up the wood they had seized the initiative to search for on campus and then upgraded the Dormitory door.

“【Ding! Consumed Wood*30. Lv.0 Decaying Wooden Door has been upgraded to Common Quality · Lv.1 Ordinary Wooden Door!】”

The door panel visibly became thicker, and its defense increased accordingly.

“Perfect!” Gao Tian patted the door panel with satisfaction. “I feel much more at ease. I see many people still have the crappiest Decaying Wooden Doors!”

“With a safe Dormitory and enough supplies, we can rest easy tonight!”

“Rest easy?” Li Xunming shook his head. “Not yet. We must be very vigilant tonight. Watch out for zombies breaking in, and also for the trash outside who, knowing they won't survive, might try to sabotage our Dormitory.”

“And don't forget, Yao Qingya was snatched away by someone! Once tonight is over, we'll find out exactly who dared to touch our things and steal our woman!”

...

Meanwhile, Room 444 on the second floor.

The pure and lovely Liu Qiaofei's beautiful eyes were currently clouded with mist, her face filled with anger and disbelief.

She stared fixedly at the two girls standing before her—her landlord best friend Zou Min and the dark-skinned, bloated Sun Lili.

“Zou Min! Tell me! What is going on?!”

Liu Qiaofei's voice carried a sob, her body trembling slightly with emotion. “Didn't you say you would take me in? Didn't you say we were best friends?!”

A hint of awkwardness flashed across Zou Min's face, but she quickly masked it.

She looked at Liu Qiaofei, her tone carrying a hint of hypocritical helplessness: “Qiao Fei, don't be like this. I'm doing this for everyone's sake. You know it's the apocalypse now; we have to make the choices that are best for survival.”

She pointed to Sun Lili beside her: “Sun Lili's basic combat power is 32, a full 8 points higher than yours! With her, our team's gift pack can reach three stars. You only have 24 points; if we take you, we won't even get a two-star gift pack!”

Sun Lili stood next to Zou Min, a mocking smile on her face.

She glanced at Liu Qiaofei, her eyes full of disdain.

“Blame your own weakness! In the apocalypse, the weak have no right to live!”

Liu Qiaofei's heart suddenly throbbed with pain.

Those times growing up together, going to school together, playing together, and sharing secrets—they all seemed so ridiculous now.

The friendship she believed in was so fragile in the face of life and death.

“So... from the very beginning, you were just treating me as a backup?!”

Liu Qiaofei's voice became sharp, tears flowing uncontrollably. “You kept making excuses and wouldn't let me join directly because you were waiting for a better option?!”

Zou Min avoided Liu Qiaofei's gaze and cleared her throat, pretending to straighten her collar.

“Feifei, don't say that. I've always treated you as my best friend. It's just... the situation is special now. We must be rational.”

“Rational?!” Liu Qiaofei felt a surge of nausea. “You're a liar! I was truly blind to treat you as my best friend!”

“Liu Qiaofei, calm down!” Zou Min frowned, her tone becoming impatient.

“There are only three minutes left until midnight! If you don't find a Dormitory now, you'll really die outside!”

“You also know there are only three minutes left. Look at the mess outside! And where are there any empty spots now? You're pushing me to my death!”

Liu Qiaofei's voice carried sobs and anger, her naturally delicate body swaying.

“Then hurry up and find a place to hide.” With that, she let Sun Lili shove her directly out of the Dormitory.

She stumbled and fell in the corridor, the door slamming shut behind her with a loud bang.

The immense sound made her ears ring.

In the corridor, the chaotic sounds became increasingly clear.

There were men cursing, women crying out in despair, the loud crashes of objects being smashed, and some unintelligible, hysterical screams.

Liu Qiaofei sat slumped in the middle of the corridor, her ears filled with this cacophony.

She felt the whole world spinning, her mind a complete blank.

Midnight was less than three minutes away.

An unarmed girl, she was now abandoned in this corridor full of unknowns, surrounded by endless darkness and human madness.

Despair, like a black tide, swallowed her completely.