"Is it unreasonable for a high school student to carry a regulated knife?"
Lv Bai replied casually, not even bothering to think of a better excuse.
Ke Jianghao didn't mind; he just observed Lv Bai's posture and added, "The weapon would be more useful to me."
"Fair point."
Lv Bai nodded but made no move to hand over the Eight-sided Han Sword.
Seeing this, Ke Jianghao frowned, "I'm on the track team."
"Even if you were an athlete or an elementary school student, it wouldn't matter."
Lv Bai ultimately refrained from saying more aggressive words.
Even so, Ke Jianghao's expression wasn't very pleasant.
He climbed off the office desk, walked up to Lv Bai, and leaned close, "Then you'd better hold onto that sword."
Lv Bai could see the pores on his face from this distance and leaned back slightly, disdainfully.
"What are you guys doing? This isn't the time for infighting."
Seeing the conflict among the students, the middle-aged female teacher with thin-framed glasses finally remembered her role.
She stepped between them, pulling them apart with one hand on each, "Students, we don't know what's happening outside, so we should be united now."
Ke Jianghao pursed his lips but didn't say anything else.
The female teacher, unacquainted with such a zombie outbreak, could only ask symbolically, "Lv Bai, have you encountered any other students outside?"
"All the classmates I saw had turned into zombies."
Lv Bai said this with a sincere smile on his face.
In such a situation, it seemed a bit eerie instead.
"Uh, zom...zombies?"
The female teacher froze for a moment, quickly realizing that he was referring to the crazed students outside.
She swallowed and responsibly reassured, "We've already called the police, so there's no need to worry. Just wait here for a while."
Lv Bai gave a noncommittal smile, then walked toward the window.
Based on his prior movie-watching experience, he found it difficult to have high hopes for the rescuers.
The office was on the third floor.
Compared to ordinary residential buildings, the height standard for teaching buildings was noticeably higher.
Lv Bai glanced out of the window and immediately dismissed the option of jumping out.
No way; jumping from this height would at least result in broken bones.
But the number of zombies downstairs, although not as densely packed as on the playground,
when looking at more than a dozen zombies wandering the open space, Lv Bai didn't think they'd quietly wait for him to regain mobility.
"Don't mind him, Old Ke is actually a good person; maybe he's just a little nervous."
Fatty spoke softly, as if concerned Lv Bai might feel left out.
The bespectacled male student also came over, offering Lv Bai a friendly smile.
"Nobody wants this to happen, right?" Lv Bai leaned against the window, giving off a very relaxed vibe.
Once Fatty confirmed that Lv Bai wasn't upset, he chuckled, "I'm Tian Wang, and he's Zheng Xiaoniao."
"Get lost."
Eyeglasses guy gave Tian Wang a shove, but when he didn't budge, he said helplessly, "I'm Zheng Xiaoming; 'Xiao' for 'dawn,' 'Ming' for 'remarkable accomplishment.'"
Tian Wang, familiar and sneaky, pointed at the last female student.
"That's Ke Jiangni; anyway, Old Ke keeps claiming to be her brother, but we're too scared to verify."
"Is Ke Jiangni bad-tempered?"
Lv Bai's gaze wandered over the sibling duo, not noticing many similarities.
Maybe having heard her name, Ke Jiangni raised her eyes towards them, coincidentally catching Lv Bai staring.
Lv Bai wasn't embarrassed, nodding calmly at her.
Ke Jiangni didn't respond, simply thinking to herself, "Strange."
Having been well-protected by her brother, she never needed to take action herself, developing a habit of observing from the background.
She had observed many people this way, and her judgments based on their behavior were usually accurate.
But,
she looked at the handsome young man by the window, her brows slightly furrowed.
Too strange; his calm and gentle demeanor was unlike a student and more like...a scholar?
Ke Jiangni thought for a moment, but couldn't find a suitable description.
While she was puzzled, the old radio in the office suddenly emitted a sound.
"We interrupt with this important news: a series of incidents in the city appear to be a mass outbreak caused by an acute virus..."
"Citizens within the Third Ring of the city, please note, if your street shows no activity, do not go outside and lock all doors..."
"The government is urgently holding a residents' safety assurance meeting and has issued evacuation orders around the city; nearby residents, ensure your safety and head to the suburbs..."
"Repeating..."
The rapid-fire broadcast caused everyone's breath to slow.
After a brief pause.
Ke Jianghao quickly moved to a desk and opened the laptop on it.
With several fast clicks, the screen displayed a news conference.
A suit-and-tie politician stood at the podium, reporters with microphones filled the seats below.
Everyone, except Lv Bai, gathered closely around, unaware of their proximity.
"What's the current situation?"
"From the way it's spreading, we suspect a highly contagious disease; infected show strong aggression, and victims exhibit similar symptoms, hinting at secondary infection."
"Is it an unknown virus?"
"Still under investigation."
"How is it transmitted?"
"Airborne transmission is not ruled out, but no conclusions yet."
"Is this an international health crisis or a military crisis?"
"Perhaps both..."
Watching the news conference, everyone exchanged glances, unable to accept the reality.
This sudden incident was graver than they imagined.
In a short time, relying on rescue seemed unlikely.
Glasses-wearing Zheng Xiaoming took a few dazed steps back, leaning against the wall before slowly sliding to the floor.
Ke Jianghao's face also didn't look good. He gritted his teeth, exited the news conference, and switched to the highest trending forum.
Attempting to find other useful information from the continuously updating posts.
Lv Bai tilted his head, interestedly observing everyone's reactions.
He suppressed the amused tone that naturally crept into his voice, to avoid being misinterpreted as gloating, and tried to speak as plainly as possible.
"So long without police showing up, you should have some psychological preparation for the severity of the situation by now. No need to despair so quickly, if you have the energy, consider instead..."
Lv Bai's gaze swept across everyone's faces.
"...water, food, and evacuation routes."