IDMLA 16

“I’m fine with either one. You decide.” Yan Chen didn’t know which option to pick, so he simply left it up to Tang Tang.

Tang Tang concentrated for three seconds, then said, “Let’s use the bed boards. We’ll take the other two boards off together.”

She paused, frowning slightly. “But there are only two bed boards left now, and there are three of them…”

“That’s fine. We can squeeze Qin Zhang and Qi Mu onto one board, and I’ll take care of them. You can just handle Jiang Zhu!” Yan Chen said it wasn’t a big deal at all.

“Alright.”

—Right?

Tang Tang agreed readily, but inside, she was a bit nervous.

She had only ever thought about this method in her head. Now that it was actually being put into practice, she wasn’t entirely sure how it would turn out.

But the current situation clearly didn’t allow her any hesitation. Since the plan was settled, she immediately grabbed the fruit knife and ran over to another bed.

Just as she was about to start prying off the wooden board, she suddenly stopped and glanced over at Yan Chen.

“Do you have a fruit knife?” She shook the one in her hand to show him.

Yan Chen pulled out a knife from behind him that was less than half the size of hers and held it up, shaking it too.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got a small knife!”

Tang Tang was momentarily stunned by the size of that knife. That thing was way too small and thin, wasn’t it? Whatever, she’d better hurry up and get her own bed board off, then bring the fruit knife over to him.

The two of them worked in silence, and it only took a few minutes to finish removing both bed boards.

Once the two boards were placed side by side in the center of the dorm room, they wiped the sweat from their foreheads.

The jackets they were wearing had been soaked through by the rain from continuously blocking the zombies by the window. Now that they were indoors and out of the rain, that sticky, uncomfortable feeling kept growing stronger.

Tang Tang let out a long sigh.

I want to take a shower so badly!

I want a hot shower so badly!!

Knowing it was nothing but a pipe dream, Tang Tang only thought about it in her head.

“What’s next?” Yan Chen asked.

“Next, we cut all the sheets into long strips of cloth to tie them up with.” As she spoke, Tang Tang grabbed a sheet and started demonstrating.

The method she had thought of earlier was this: if they were using wooden boards, they’d first place two thick quilts on the board, then tie the three of them securely to the board, immobilizing them from head to toe. Then they’d cover them with two more layers of quilts and bind everything together with the long cloth strips.

That way, once they charged out, unless the boards were flipped completely upside down, those three would never be in danger.

Yan Chen followed Tang Tang’s method, completing each step one by one.

When all the preparations were done, they neatly set the long cloth strips aside and began getting ready to move the three people over.

At that moment, Yan Chen suddenly thought of something.

“Are we going to pull these boards by hand when we run?”

Tang Tang nodded. “Yeah.”

“But without wheels, can you even pull them?” Yan Chen was clearly referring to Tang Tang, who was slim and delicate.

!!!

Oh right!

Tang Tang almost wanted to cry at her own stupidity. She anxiously lowered her head and started thinking.

“Got it!”

With a quick turn of her little head, an idea came to her.

She clapped her hands and scurried over to the desk, grabbing the unopened, fully filled water bottles sitting on top.

“We’ll tie these water bottles under the boards with rope. It might not work perfectly, but it should help us pick up some speed!”

She said it with full confidence, but Yan Chen was a bit…

“Really?”

Yan Chen was utterly amazed by this woman. What kind of brain did she have? How did ideas keep popping out of her one after another, and all of them so strange and unconventional?

“Really, really! Trust me on this one!”

Tang Tang didn’t actually know if it would work, but right now she had no choice but to convince him.

Yan Chen looked at those sparkling, confident eyes, what could he even say? He didn’t have a better idea himself, so of course he’d just do what she said.

Fine, might as well take a gamble!

Staying here was a dead end anyway!

With the determination that he might get bitten by zombies the moment they stepped out, Yan Chen completed all the steps together with Tang Tang.

Finally, he looked at the two small bed boards that were wrapped layer upon layer, completely hiding the fact that anyone was inside, and felt a bit worried.

“With the quilts wrapped this tightly, won’t they suffocate from lack of oxygen?”

Tang Tang: “…Probably not? When I was tying the quilts around them, I made sure to leave space above their abdomen area?”

Tang Tang felt a little guilty and crouched down to poke at the spot where Jiang Zhu was.

She confirmed that there was plenty of space left around the head area, and the quilts she had chosen for the top layer were all lightweight, so the breathability should be fine.

“But to be safe, once we charge out, let’s find a room as quickly as possible.”

Yan Chen nodded. “Alright. I’ll lead the way up front, and you watch the zombies chasing us from behind.”

The two of them picked up the long, thick cloth strips tied to the boards, looped them over their heads, and wrapped them diagonally across their chests.

Tang Tang thought of something and said, “Oh right, I…”

As she spoke, she rummaged through her hidden space, preparing to take out two sets of the helmet and other gear she had thought of earlier.

After all, the situation was dire now, what was outside, how many zombies there were, and whether they might run into other classmates who had awakened abilities, and whether those abilities could accidentally harm them, were all huge concerns.

Given these difficulties, whether the hidden space was exposed or not no longer mattered as much, the key was to do everything possible to stay alive.

But just as she began to speak, a sudden commotion erupted in the dorm room.

“Crack—bang—”

“Grrr—grrr—”

The two of them heard the sounds and their hearts sank.

They quickly turned around and saw that the wooden boards that had been blocking the window had been broken through, and zombies outside were now pouring in one after another through the window.

“Run!”

Tang Tang shouted urgently, and then, drawing on some unknown burst of strength, she grabbed the edge of the table that had originally been used to tie the three of them down, gritted her teeth, and shoved hard, actually managing to block the opening between the dorm room and the balcony with it.

She stared at what she had done, utterly stunned herself.

But this was no time to be proud.

Tang Tang glanced at the zombies now blocked by the suddenly appearing table, noticing that they didn’t seem to quickly understand why they could no longer move forward, simply ramming into the table that was only waist-high.

She breathed a slight sigh of relief, then quickly waved her hands to signal Yan Chen to open the door.

After all, she had no idea how long that table would hold.

Yan Chen was also shaken by her quick thinking, feeling both admiration and a surge of strength.

If someone as delicate as her could stay calm in a crisis, then he, at least with his sturdy build, should be able to do the same!

No matter what, today he was going to get them all to a safe place!

Not one left behind!!