Survival in the Class: I'm the Only Boy on the Bus

The dust kicked up when the school building collapsed hadn't completely settled yet, and it was making people cough.

The concrete playground was filled with cries and wails.

A student crouched on the ground, clutching his broken arm and crying. The white bone spurs pierced through the elbow joint, and blood dripped continuously, splashing onto the dusty ground and forming gray-black flowers.

The teachers kept calling out the students' names and counting the students who were still alive, even though many of them had wounds.

Beside the ruins of the school building, textbooks, schoolbags, and mutilated corpses were scattered on the cement ground.

The blood mixed with dust turned a deep purplish-red, and when you stepped on it, you could feel the stickiness through the soles of your shoes.

Faint cries for help could be heard from time to time from the ruins, but the callers were coughing and choked by the dust after only a few shouts.

"Help...cough cough! Is...is anyone there?"

Some people also used cement bricks to strike the steel bars, metal pencil boxes, and sheet metal of desks around them.

*Thump! Thump thump!*

Most of the survivors were bewildered and had no idea what had happened.

Just moments ago, my classmate was chatting and laughing with me, but now he's buried under the rubble.

The timid girls huddled together, trembling, tears streaming down their faces.

Just then, one of the boys shouted at the top of his lungs:

"The firefighters are here!"

His shout wasn't loud, but it was like a thunderclap, instantly drowning out all the crying.

Everyone turned their heads in unison, looking towards the school gate.

Eleven figures in dark blue were rushing towards them through the dust.

They carried crowbars and fire axes on their shoulders, various rescue equipment in their hands, and first-aid kits on their waists swayed as they ran.

Zhang Zhengyang was running in the lead.

Lin Wanfeng didn't stay with the team; she had already taken a walkie-talkie and run off to assess the damage caused by the earthquake.

The playground, which had been in complete chaos just moments before, fell silent instantly.

Upon seeing the navy blue color, a female teacher was so excited that her hand trembled, and her Nokia phone, which she was about to use to make a call, fell to the ground with a thud.

Several teachers, who were injured themselves but were trying their best to comfort the students, suddenly burst into tears as they watched the approaching dark blue figure.

The homeroom teachers were the first to react.

They stumbled towards Zhang Zhengyang, grabbed his and the firefighters' arms, their voices choked with emotion:

"Firefighters! Please save my students! There are so many people down there!"

"There are still...two more classes of students who haven't come out! Please, you must save them!"

Looking at the group of distraught teachers before him, and then glancing up at the ruins of the school building not far away, Zhang Zhengyang softly offered words of comfort:

"Don't panic, everyone! Now that we're here, we'll do everything we can to save them."

He pointed to the most open space in the middle of the playground:

"Teachers, gather all the students there immediately, away from the ruins and the nearby office building."

After saying that, he turned and shouted into the line:

"Li Anmin! Zhou Jichuan!"

"Here!" Two male firefighters immediately stepped forward.

"You two are responsible for bandaging all the injured teachers and students. Carry the seriously injured to the middle of the playground first, and use their coats and backpacks as padding. Don't let them lie on the ground!"

"yes!"

The two immediately opened the first-aid kits on their waists and began treating the students' wounds.

Zhang Zhengyang then issued the following instructions:

"The rest of you, immediately go and search for the survivors!"

The remaining eight firefighters, carrying rescue equipment, rushed directly to the ruins of the teaching building and began the rescue operation.

Zhang Zhengyang stood at the edge of the playground, watching his teammates busy working on the ruins.

He himself wanted to participate in the rescue operation, but as the team leader, he had to first calm the students and teachers and keep them away from the buildings and ruins. Otherwise, it would not only affect the rescue work, but also cost lives and even cause a secondary collapse.

Zhang Zhengyang pointed to the ruins ahead and the leaning office building beside him, and spoke softly to the teachers surrounding him, his tone noticeably gentler than when he reprimanded his team members:

"Although the main shock has passed, the ruins and this building could collapse at any moment. Teachers, you must supervise the students! Don't let them run around, don't let them near the ruins, and absolutely do not let them go in to rescue anyone!"

As he spoke, Zhang Zhengyang pointed to the two firefighters who were bandaging the student:

"You two just need to help my two teammates take care of the injured; leave the rest to us!"

Many teachers nodded and dispersed to manage and soothe the students' emotions.

Many teachers also began to cooperate with the two firefighters to assist in the treatment of injured students and teachers.

Zhang Zhengyang then took out the walkie-talkie clipped to his waist, wanting to ask Lin Wanfeng how the disaster assessment was going.

Just as I raised the walkie-talkie to my mouth, I saw a figure running back quickly from the direction of the school's back gate.

It's Lin Wanfeng.

She ran very fast, and several strands of her hair, which was tied up at the back of her head, came loose and stuck to her face, which was covered with sweat and dust.

Her face looked terrible, her lips were pale, and her eyes held a hint of fear.

Lin Wanfeng shouted into the walkie-talkie:

"Captain! Come here right now!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhengyang's heart skipped a beat. He knew that something terrible was about to happen!

The teachers and students around looked at Zhang Zhengyang with some doubt after hearing this.

Zhang Zhengyang and Lin Wanfeng were husband and wife for twelve years, and also partners in life and death for twelve years.

He had seen her rush out of a fire carrying a scorching hot gas cylinder, and he had seen her spend more than ten hours in a flood rescuing people, but he had never seen her with this expression before.

Although Lin Wanfeng's service time was not as long as Zhang Zhengyang's, she was still a veteran firefighter with 12 years of service. What kind of storms hadn't she seen?

She's always calm and collected during every mission.

Very few things could make her so worried or even fearful.

Zhang Zhengyang immediately jogged towards Lin Wanfeng.

When Lin Wanfeng saw Zhang Zhengyang running over, she grabbed his arm and pulled him towards a tree away from the teachers and students.

Zhang Zhengyang could feel that Lin Wanfeng's hands were a little cold and that she was gripping them very tightly.

Lin Wanfeng glanced back at the students and teachers on the playground, making sure they wouldn't be heard at this distance, before she said, panting:

"Captain, all communications are down. I can't contact my superiors. All walkie-talkie channels are filled with static, and cell phones have no signal. The base stations must be destroyed."

Zhang Zhengyang frowned. He had expected this; with such a massive earthquake, communications would definitely be completely cut off.

"Where's the road?"

"The roads in and out of the school are completely blocked by landslides, and rescue teams from outside will definitely not be able to get in anytime soon."

Zhang Zhengyang listened to Lin Wanfeng's report, only slightly frowning, without the slightest panic.

He had encountered these kinds of situations before, and as a veteran firefighter and captain, he knew how to handle them.

Thinking of this, Zhang Zhengyang looked at Lin Wanfeng. He knew that Lin Wanfeng still had something to hide, otherwise she wouldn't have deliberately avoided the crowd.

"You still have something to say, don't you?"

Lin Wanfeng nodded, his brows furrowed tightly, his face full of worry:

"The back door is full of zombies."

"They were brought down by the landslide at Jiajing Mountain. There were about fifty ordinary ones, and three mutated ones. Two were C-rank Smokers, and one was a B-rank Hunter."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhengyang's eyes widened instinctively, and his pupils contracted.

Zhang Zhengyang and his twelve fellow firefighters were just ordinary people; they didn't have the abilities and talents of the players.

In Zhang Zhengyang's view, if the twelve of them fought to the death against 50 zombies and 3 mutated zombies, they might be able to hold them off, but they would likely have to sacrifice most of their comrades or even be wiped out.

Fifty ordinary zombies and three mutated zombies.

For a team like Jiang Chen's, full of S-level talents, it might just be a matter of casually defeating them.

But for those twelve ordinary firefighters, this was a catastrophe.

The core attributes of firefighters on average are as follows:

①Attack power: 12

② Physical condition: 14

③Defense: 11

④ Agility: 5

⑤ Mental Strength: 10

⑥ Luck: 4

The core attributes of a Class C Smoker are as follows:

①Attack power: 20

② Physical condition: 22

③Defense: 15

④ Agility: 6

⑤ Mental Strength: 0

⑥ Luck: 5

The difference is obvious, not to mention the 45 attack power and 45 agility of the B-grade mutated zombie-hunter.

Firefighters estimated that they wouldn't even be able to hit it; it would simply be crushed.

For the first time in his fifteen years leading the team, Zhang Zhengyang felt his palms sweating.

He is not afraid of death.

Having served as a firefighter for fifteen years, he had long since disregarded life and death, and he didn't even flinch when facing fires or floods.

His fear was that not all the brothers he brought with him would return safely...

What he feared was how he would face his brothers' families in the future...

He was even more afraid that if he and Feng'er had to stay here, what would happen to their daughter?

The couple also promised to rest tomorrow and spend time with her...

Zhang Zhengyang stood there, his fists clenched tightly.

He turned his head to look at the playground not far away. The students wearing blue and white school uniforms were sitting obediently on the ground, looking in the direction of the ruins, their faces still showing signs of shock.

Having just survived the earthquake, are they really going to have to face the tearing and biting of zombies?

No refunds.

If we withdraw, all these children will be ruined.

Countless families were ruined.

Lin Wanfeng stood beside Zhang Zhengyang, quietly watching him.

She trusted the captain and Lao Zhang, and she would follow him no matter what decision he made.

It's been like this for so many years.

After three or four seconds, Zhang Zhengyang took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and looked calmly at Lin Wanfeng:

"Since it was brought down by a landslide, are many of the zombies injured?"

Lin Wanfeng nodded:

"Yes, most of them are missing arms or legs, and some have their lower bodies completely smashed, so they can only crawl on the ground and move very slowly."

Zhang Zhengyang nodded.

There's still a chance.

The back door leads to a narrow concrete bridge, only wide enough for two or three people to walk side by side.

If we can block the zombies on the bridge and take advantage of the terrain, we might be able to stop them.

At the same time, we must not let the news of the zombies appear cause panic among teachers and students.

Zhang Zhengyang pressed the talk button on the walkie-talkie and continued to issue commands:

"Xiang Xiaonan and Wang Jinchuan, you two continue the search and rescue in the rubble, and watch out for aftershocks."

"Li Anmin, Zhou Jichuan, you stay on the playground to take care of the wounded and keep an eye on the students. Do not allow anyone to approach the back gate."

"The rest of you, bring fire axes and crowbars, assemble at the back door!"

A response came immediately from the walkie-talkie.

Xiang Xiaonan clearly sensed that something was wrong:

"Captain, what happened?"

Li Anmin and Zhou Jichuan then shouted into the walkie-talkie together:

"Captain! I'm going too!"

"Captain! Count me in!"

Zhang Zhengyang's voice became stern:

"Execute the command!"

Then his tone softened a bit:

"Save a few more students for us."

After saying that, he released the call button and tucked the walkie-talkie back into his waistband.

Zhang Zhengyang arranged for Xiang Xiaonan and Wang Jinchuan to stay behind for the rescue not only because they were the youngest in the team, but also because they were both only children.

Li Anmin and Zhou Jichuan, who were in charge of treating the wounded, did so because their fathers were both martyrs, and Zhang Zhengyang didn't want them to sacrifice their lives as well.

Otherwise, wouldn't the whole family be considered martyrs?

Soon, a group of six firefighters, with the determination to die, silently carried fire axes and crowbars and jogged towards the back gate of the school.

Xiang Xiaonan and Wang Jinchuan, who had only been firefighters for a few years, might not have realized what had happened, but the other veterans already knew what they were about to face.

This trip may very well be the last one they come back from.

Not a single person backed down, and they didn't even hesitate!

Everyone was prepared for the possibility that they might not return from each mission, and they had all written their wills well in advance.

The back gate of Chuanbei Middle School had long been destroyed by the earthquake, leaving only a pile of rubble.

As soon as the six firefighters stepped out of the back door, they saw their captain and his wife squatting on the ground, carrying scattered stones, rubble, branches, and wood to the bridge entrance, piling them into a makeshift barrier half a meter high.

On the other side of the bridge, more than fifty zombies were limping towards this side.

Some dragged their broken legs, leaving a long, dark brown bloodstain on the ground.

Some arms dangled around, held together by only a thin layer of skin. With each step, they swung and snapped off.

Others crawled on their stomachs, supporting themselves with their hands, their lower bodies dragging their intestines and internal organs covered in mud, somewhat resembling long strips of donkeys rolling around.

Two C-rank Smokers mingled at the back of the zombie horde, occasionally hunching over and coughing, exhaling puffs of black smoke.

The B-rank hunter, however, was nowhere to be found.

After moving the last thick log, Zhang Zhengyang got stuck in a crack in the rocks and dusted off his hands.

A teammate tossed him a fire axe, which he caught with practiced ease. He instinctively shook it a couple of times before looking at the six men behind him.

"They're here?!"

The six firefighters all nodded, their eyes showing no fear.

They stood to the left and right of Zhang Zhengyang and Lin Wanfeng, respectively, carrying fire axes and crowbars, forming a line with Zhang Zhengyang and Lin Wanfeng in the center.

Zhang Zhengyang held the fire axe in his left hand and took out the crumpled pack of soft Honghe cigarettes from his pocket with his right hand; there were only two left inside.

He pulled one out and put it in his mouth, then handed the other one to Lin Wanfeng next to him.

Lin Wanfeng said nothing, and reached into Zhang Zhengyang's right trouser pocket to pull out the windproof lighter that he had used for several years.

This lighter was a birthday gift from his daughter; it has a silver frosted casing and a flip-top design.

Lin Wanfeng stood in front of Zhang Zhengyang, using his left hand, which was holding a cigarette, to block the wind, and rubbed the flint wheel with his right thumb, lighting it with a "click".

The flames flickered, illuminating Zhang Zhengyang's resolute face and lighting the cigarette in his mouth.

He took a drag and then handed the cigarette to the man on his left.

Lin Wanfeng took a silver lighter, walked to his comrade on the right, put the cigarette in his mouth, and prepared to light it for him himself.

The firefighter quickly waved his hand:

"Sister-in-law, I can do it myself."

Lin Wanfeng looked serious:

"Don't move."

Lin Wanfeng continued to hold the lighter and lit a cigarette for the firefighter himself.

Because his sister-in-law lit the cigarette for him, the firefighter's lips trembled slightly as he smoked.

He took a deep drag and then passed the cigarette to his brother on the right.

Zhang Zhengyang stared expressionlessly at the zombies crowding the bridgehead, gripping his fire axe with both hands, and gave a cold laugh:

"Brothers! After you finish this cigarette, see you at the Martyrs' Cemetery!"

Other comrades chimed in:

See you at the Martyrs' Cemetery!

See you at the Martyrs' Cemetery!

(Two chapters combined into one)