LCFM Chapter 7

“There!” Geng Manhong pointed at an old, shabby apartment building ahead.

Jiang Xinghuai was the first to arrive. He yanked open the iron gate at the entrance and braced it, shouting, “Hurry, hurry, hurry!”

Geng Manhong rushed inside, with Fu Yan covering the rear.

Jiang Xinghuai immediately slammed the door shut. The iron gate locked tight. Because he had used too much force, when he let go, his whole palm went numb from the shock.

Pressing down on his wildly pounding heart, Jiang Xinghuai staggered back a step and collapsed onto the ground, completely drained.

“Xingxing, are you alright?” Geng Manhong, drenched in sweat, bent down to help him.

“…I’m fine, Geng-Geng.” Jiang Xinghuai rolled his eyes while panting.

As a homeroom teacher, Geng Manhong was serious yet lively. Without a doubt, he’s competent.

But what Jiang Xinghuai really couldn’t stand was that this middle-aged, divorced, washed-up man, whose son had been taken away by his cheating ex-wife, just loved to call people by their nicknames whenever he got emotional.

“Hey!” Geng Manhong suddenly looked up. “Isn’t that the blond who just tried to steal my food?”

“What?” Jiang Xinghuai tilted his head to look out through the iron gate.

The blond punk was sprawled on the street not far away, desperately kicking at an infected that had grabbed his foot. Very quickly, he scrambled up on hands and knees, blood streaming down his head, and sprinted frantically toward the nearest shop where people had just run inside.

But as soon as that person got in, the shop’s shutter door slammed down.

Just one second short, the blond crashed right into the tightly shut door.

“Open the door! They’re not here yet!” the blond shouted at the top of his lungs.

There was no movement from inside the shop.

The horde of infected had already caught up.

“Shit!” Jiang Xinghuai yanked the iron gate open. “Over here!”

The blond turned his head, didn’t hesitate for a second, and sprinted—dragging the tide of hundreds of infected straight toward them. Countless pale, sharp fingers brushed past, nearly grazing the thin fabric of his vest.

“Close it!” The blond crashed into the stairwell and immediately turned back to help Jiang Xinghuai pull the door.

It was already too late.

The first infected slammed into them, nearly knocking Jiang Xinghuai off his feet.

“Hold it! Hold it down!” Geng Manhong pressed his whole body against the iron gate, trying to use his weight to block it.

“Fuck! Ah—!” The blond strained forward with all his might, veins bulging in his neck. “I’ll fuck your grandma—!”

At that moment, an arm suddenly shot through the gap, wedging itself tightly against the doorframe.

Fu Yan braced the gate with one hand, while the other reached back to draw a large blade from his bag. With one swift strike—

A pale, severed hand dropped to the ground.

In that instant, “Push!” Muscles beneath Fu Yan’s suit sleeve bulged as his arm exploded with power.

Everyone pressed together against the gate, teeth clenched, as the iron gate slowly closed bit by bit in a grueling tug-of-war.

A faint ka-da sound, Fu Yan pushed the iron bolt forward!

The iron gate closed.

The iron gate cut off the source of blood. The infected became incomparably furious and restless, and began to crash into it again and again. The iron gate clanged noisily, iron scraps shaking loose.

With each impact, the iron gate stood firm, steadily blocking this wave of assault.

“It’s fine now…” Geng Manhong let out a breath of relief.

Fu Yan’s tense back loosened. He withdrew his knife, tore off his tie, took off his suit jacket, and began to gasp for breath.

“Would you like some water?” Jiang Xinghuai, extremely fawning, handed over a bottle of mineral water.

Fu Yan took the water. He casually wiped the sweat off his face, twisted the cap open, then handed it back: “You drink.”

Jiang Xinghuai didn’t stand on ceremony either, tilted his head back and gulped down a big mouthful, then gave it back to him.

Fu Yan finished the rest of the bottle, more than half of it, and asked: “Teacher Geng, where’s your home?”

“Right, right, let’s go up first, go up first.” Geng Manhong, still shaken, touched his round belly and walked ahead to lead the way. “Fifth floor, come on, come on. Standing here listening to this noise is frightening.”

Fu Yan picked up the bags on the ground, his and Jiang Xinghuai’s.

“I’ll do it!” Jiang Xinghuai snatched them from his hands.

Fu Yan smiled, let him take them. While walking upstairs, he observed the condition of the building: “Are there still people in this building?”

“Before the virus outbreak, there was already no one here. This is the staff housing for our school’s faculty and employees. Last month, they moved into new apartments, so I’m the only household left in this building.” Geng Manhong took out his key and pushed the door open. “Come in.”

“Old Geng, didn’t you watch the news? They said not to go out.” Jiang Xinghuai slumped onto the sofa as soon as he entered. “You’re this fat. You can’t even run if you tried, basically delivering food straight to their mouths.”

“There was no food left at home. I peeked out by the window a couple of times. I thought it didn’t look that serious, so I wanted to go to the market and ask some acquaintances for a bit of vegetables to bring back.” When Geng Manhong spoke up to here, he let out a sigh. “Just as I brought them back—right there—this kid tried to snatch them.”

Jiang Xinghuai turned his head to look at the blond-haired youth who had just stepped into the house at the very end.

The blond looked to be in his twenties, wearing a tank top and tight pants, with cloth shoes on his feet. He had single-lidded eyes, his hair was in a standard 3/7 part that covered one eye, long, very non-mainstream.

A little street punk. Jiang Xinghuai made his judgment.

“I said I’d give him half. I told him not to snatch, or else the stuff would get ruined.” Geng Manhong poured out four glasses of water. “But no, he had to snatch.”

“I’m not some beggar,” the blond suddenly spoke up, his voice loud and forceful. “I make my living on my own ability. I don’t need charity.”

“The hell?” Jiang Xinghuai was stunned. “Don’t need charity, then what you need is a face, huh?”

“Mind your own business!” The blond glared back angrily.

“Yeah! Why didn’t I just leave you to die outside just now!” Jiang Xinghuai stood up and glared at him.

“Don’t fight, don’t fight! Aiya!” Geng Manhong stood between them, using his bulky body to push the two apart. “Drink your water! All this yapping is driving me crazy!”

The blond turned his back with a cold face.

Jiang Xinghuai let out a snort. He sat down right next to Fu Yan and muttered in a low voice: “What’s with him? He really pisses me off.”

“Hungry?” Fu Yan asked him.

Jiang Xinghuai immediately nodded, his attention instantly diverted: “So hungry. I’m starving to death.”

“Hungry?” Hearing this, Geng Manhong stood up. “A friend gave me several bags of noodles and some eggs. I’ll go cook some.”

“The news says not to go out, but if people don’t go out to look for food, wouldn’t we just starve to death at home?” Geng Manhong muttered as he walked toward the kitchen. “You guys came at the right time today. A few days ago, I finished all the food at home. Now at least there’s enough here for us to hold out for a while, so don’t worry.”

While waiting for the water to boil, Geng Manhong stuck his head out from the kitchen: “I still haven’t asked, where were you two driving to just now?”

“The southwest district.” Jiang Xinghuai answered.

“I have a house over there with enough food stored inside.” Fu Yan continued explaining.

“You’re still planning to leave?” Geng Manhong frowned, his expression anxious.

Jiang Xinghuai turned his head to look at Fu Yan.

Fu Yan nodded, and he quickly nodded along as well.

“No way, you saw it just now, too. Outside, it’s a sea of people. Those who are infected bite anyone they see, like locusts. With one bite each, once the horde sweeps past, nothing’s left of a person but bone fragments.” Geng Manhong shook his hands repeatedly. “It’s impossible to go out. There’s still some food at home. Wait until the city stabilizes. Just two days ago, I even heard gunfire. It must’ve been the police. The police will come to save us.”

“From the way things look now, the iron gate downstairs won’t last much longer.” Fu Yan said in a deep voice. “Waiting is not survival. Breaking through the siege, that’s rebirth.”

Geng Manhong’s brows knitted tightly. He understood. Even if nothing went wrong with the iron gate downstairs, the few bags of noodles he had brought back would only last at most a week.

“I don’t agree with going out,” the blond suddenly said.

“Don’t agree with shit.” Jiang Xinghuai rolled his eyes. “Why’d you come in just now then?”

“Then why the hell did you open the door!” the blond shot back.

“If you’ve got the guts, don’t come in!” Jiang Xinghuai slapped the table and stood up.

“Fuck! Damn it!” The blond tugged at the nonexistent sleeves of his tank top.

“Say ‘fuck’ one more time, see what happens!” Jiang Xinghuai said, about to lunge at him.

Fu Yan stood up, blocked Jiang Xinghuai, and fixed his gaze on the blond, his eyes carrying a warning.

Jiang Xinghuai was 175 cm. Fu Yan stood half a head taller than him, easily 187 or 188. The blond was about the same height as Jiang Xinghuai, so all he could do was look up.

With Fu Yan staring at him like that, the pressure was overwhelming. The curse words the blond had been about to spit out were swallowed back down alive.

“Quarreling again!” Geng Manhong came out of the kitchen holding a spatula, anger written across his face. “What are you doing! What’s with all of you! Do you have no semblance of today’s youth! Don’t you know about modesty, propriety, shame, and honor! Haven’t you memorized the Eight Honors and Eight Shames! Useless! Immature!”

Jiang Xinghuai shuddered, bowed his head, and didn’t dare say another word.

Before he taught senior year, Geng Manhong had been the former dean of discipline. After becoming a homeroom teacher, he had indeed become much kinder. But once he started scolding, the full force of the dean’s aura came crashing out.

Even the blond, surprisingly, was left trembling, not daring to move. He is clearly frightened as well.

“Finish them!” Geng Manhong slapped two math test papers down on the table in front of them. “No food if you don’t do them!”

Jiang Xinghuai pouted in grievance, then tilted his head to secretly glance at Fu Yan.

Fu Yan received the signal: “Teacher Geng, maybe—”

“Shut up! No use, no matter who speaks!” Geng Manhong pointed the spatula at the two of them. “Sit down!”

Jiang Xinghuai and the blond both jolted and immediately sat properly.

“Pick up your pens!”

“Lower your heads!”

“Begin!”

The two of them started scribbling furiously.

Fu Yan coughed twice: “Teacher Geng, what’s your decision then?”

“Then we leave.” Geng Manhong waved the spatula. “Staying isn’t self-rescue, but leaving blindly won’t work either. First set a goal, then plan a route.”

“Of course.” Fu Yan nodded.

After saying this, Geng Manhong went into the kitchen. When he came back out, he was carrying a big pot of tomato and egg noodles. “Time’s up! Hand in your papers!”

Jiang Xinghuai and the blond stopped writing at the same time.

“Whoever scores lower doesn’t get to eat.” Geng Manhong picked up the papers to grade them.

The steaming fragrance of freshly cooked egg noodles drifted over. Jiang Xinghuai swallowed hard.

Fu Yan secretly beckoned him over with a wave. Jiang Xinghuai’s eyes lit up, and he immediately slipped over.

Fu Yan smoothly shifted to block in front of him without leaving a trace.

After grading the papers, Geng Manhong didn’t even lift his head before calling out, “Jiang Xinghuai, you’re not allowed to eat. Blond, your score is—”

“I’ve got a name! My name’s Lu Ying!” the blond cut in, unwilling.

“Alright, Blond.” Geng Manhong announced the result. “Nine points!”

Jiang Xinghuai burst out laughing.

The blond boy turned around and was about to leave.

“Jiang Xinghuai.” Geng Manhong looked at him.

Jiang Xinghuai instantly straightened his posture, sitting primly.

“Five points!”

Jiang Xinghuai: “…………”

The blond boy stopped in his tracks and looked back: “Heh.”

Jiang Xinghuai: “Heh, your damn grandpa!”

The blond boy: “Damn it—”

“Arguing again! Keep arguing, and each of you write a 5,000-character self-criticism essay!” Geng Manhong roared.

The two of them moved in unison. They shut their mouths and lowered their heads.

“Don’t know what there is to argue about! It’s all shit. Why argue over which is more watery!” Geng Manhong launched an indiscriminate attack.

Fu Yan couldn’t help but laugh.

“What are you laughing at! I’m talking to you!” Geng Manhong swung the spatula around and pointed at him. “You can still laugh even though your own son scored five points!”

Fu Yan’s smile froze.

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