Chapter 126: Melted Snowwater Intervention
“Sa… Brother Sa…” Liu Rui all but snatched Xu Sa from Lu Weiyi’s arms, hugging him tightly.
Only now did they notice—this person who had joked over the walkie-talkie about maybe getting to eat meat—his hands, face, and neck, wherever skin was exposed, were bright red, with peeling skin that came off with the lightest touch.
Lu Weiyi was consumed with guilt. He’d known Xu Sa was fiercely independent, but he had grown used to being indifferent and never thought to check in privately and ask how he was doing.
“Is… is he sick?” Lu Weiyi asked.
“… Might be heatstroke,” Gu Qingyue replied, inspecting Xu Sa.
It was already hot in August and September. As an ability user, Lu Weiyi had adapted well. No one else had ever complained of not keeping up. Though the plan had always included longer midday breaks, no one ever brought it up, so he hadn’t paid attention. No one expected something to go wrong now.
In less than a minute, the black blood at the fingernail-sized wound had already begun spreading like a spiderweb. Xu Sa had started twitching slightly in Liu Rui’s tight embrace.
At nineteen, Liu Rui usually didn’t talk much because of his stutter. But now, with tears streaming down his face, everyone was reminded that he was still just a kid.
“You all go sort the supplies. Liu Rui and I will stay with him,” Lu Weiyi made up his mind, his voice calm yet commanding.
“We’ll go clear out the rest of the zombies inside,” said one of the veterans, and with tacit understanding, they pulled the others along to give them space.
Only then did Lu Weiyi retrieve a bottle of melted snowwater from his storage space and handed it to Liu Rui, who was holding the barely conscious Xu Sa.
“Whether he survives depends on fate. Give this to him.”
Liu Rui looked up at Lu Weiyi, unsure whether to follow his instructions. But at this moment, Lu Weiyi didn’t have the time to worry about Liu Rui’s attitude.
Compared to Liu Rui, Lu Weiyi had known Xu Sa for over a decade and felt he had the right to make decisions for him now. He forcefully pried open Xu Sa’s mouth and poured several gulps of the water down.
Lu Weiyi had always known the energy contained in that snowfall was immense, but he hadn’t expected it to be so powerful when used on a person—especially when counteracting the zombie virus.
The moment the water went down, Xu Sa reacted like a dying fish flopping around. The spreading black blood on his body stopped worsening, but it didn’t diminish either.
Lu Weiyi stared at him intently and poured in two more gulps. He thought he was staying calm, but didn’t notice that his own hands were shaking, spilling water down Xu Sa’s collar.
Only Liu Rui beside him was even more emotional and didn’t notice any of it.
Xu Sa’s tremors grew more intense. Liu Rui knelt on the ground, hugging him tightly, his sobs full of despair.
But—
The black blood that had spread across Xu Sa’s body began to recede.
…
“It’s easing up,” Lu Weiyi said in a low voice to Liu Rui.
Liu Rui looked dazedly at Lu Weiyi, taking a long time to register his words.
In that moment, Lu Weiyi finally understood what Zhuang Mingxu had meant when he said, “Xiao Yi’s grown up.” This calm and capable version of himself had never existed in his past life.
But since his rebirth, many decisions had slowly started falling on his shoulders. Especially after Zhuang Mingxu injured his leg, Lu Weiyi felt he was gradually becoming the pillar holding things up.
After a few rounds of water, Xu Sa still hadn’t regained consciousness, but the black blood had stopped seeping, and the convulsions ceased. He now looked as if he was merely asleep, and the wound had turned red.
“Let fate decide now,” Lu Weiyi murmured, checking Xu Sa’s injuries again and speaking softly to Liu Rui.
Liu Rui continued to cradle Xu Sa in silence.
“Is everything packed? Once we’re done here, let’s return to the base,” Lu Weiyi asked the others as he stood.
“All done here. The others went to check the other factory buildings,” Gu Qingyue replied, pointing to a row of cold storage units. “This row is still powered; the meat inside hasn’t spoiled.”
Lu Weiyi nodded and told the Gu brothers, “You two stay here and watch him. I’ll go help.”
“Got it,” Gu Qingji said, walking over to Liu Rui’s side.
Apart from the main plant, there were three more—one for processing canned meat and others needing inspection. They were all quickly checked. Lu Weiyi collected the still-working cold storage units and sorted out the unspoiled canned meat products.
As for the ones not connected to a generator, the meat inside had long since rotted and become infested with maggots—just looking at it was enough to make one gag. Lu Weiyi didn’t even bother collecting them, thinking they’d only contaminate his storage space.
Normally, they’d sweep the dorms too, collecting bedding and supplies. But with Xu Sa’s condition unclear, they rushed through the four plants, gathered the crystal cores, and prepared to leave.
At the front gate, 30 to 40 child-sized zombies had gathered. If they still looked human, they might even appear pitiful. But now, with faces and bodies covered in rotting flesh and a stench detectable from afar, they sparked no sympathy.
Antonio and Li Zhuang stood behind the iron gate, their flying knives and earth spikes cutting through the horde. As the front line of zombies fell, the pressure on the gate eased.
“Antonio, open the gate—we’re making a break for it!” The three vehicles were already in position. Lin Yimu was still driving the truck, and Ning Yuan shouted to the two at the gate.
“We’ve killed half already. Weiyi, collect the crystal cores,” Li Zhuang said to Lu Weiyi, who was behind the truck.
“Got it,” Lu Weiyi replied, getting out and walking to the gate.
He controlled his little green vine to sweep through the pile of fallen zombies, collecting the cores and finishing off a few lingering ones.
The quiet street echoed with their noisy gate-crashing, attracting more zombies. If they delayed any longer, they risked being completely surrounded.
“Open the gate. We’re leaving!” Lu Weiyi shouted to Antonio.
Antonio and Li Zhuang ran back to the truck, the lock on the gate clattering to the ground. Lu Weiyi used his vine to fling the gates open, and as the zombies surged inward, the truck roared out at full speed.
It was midday, and everyone was exhausted and hungry from the morning’s work. But no one suggested stopping to eat. The three vehicles sped toward the base, ramming through any zombies in their path without stopping to collect cores.
By around 2 p.m., they finally returned to base.
Lu Weiyi wanted to tell Liu Rui to lay Xu Sa down properly to make medical inspection easier, but seeing Liu Rui’s dazed expression, he gave up—there was no telling if Liu Rui could even process instructions.
“Why are you back at noon?” asked a soldier at the gate. Zhuang Mingxu had always maintained a good relationship with the military, and the guards were familiar with their group.
“Man, this heat is brutal. Someone passed out from heatstroke, so we rushed back to get him checked out,” Ning Yuan said through the open window. “He’s still unconscious in the back.”
A soldier came forward. Wu Yue rolled down the window to show him. “If he’d been bitten by a zombie, he would’ve turned long ago. It’s just heatstroke. The weather’s been insane—hot enough to peel skin. You all on guard duty should be careful too.”
“True,” the soldier replied, glancing at the peeling skin on Xu Sa’s face and neck, then nodded toward the gatekeeper.
After another 20 minutes of procedure and delay, they finally returned to the villa.
The villa had only one person home at the time. The others had taken food with them in the morning and were busy elsewhere. Hearing someone shout at the door, the lone occupant was startled.
He came running when he saw it was their vehicle. “Why are you back at noon?”
“Xu Sa fainted,” Xiong Jie said as he helped open the gate for the car to drive in.
Liu Rui carried Xu Sa straight upstairs to a bedroom. Standing in the living room, Lu Weiyi felt helpless but did what he could: “Qingyue, find some medicine for heatstroke for him to take.”
“Okay,” Gu Qingyue replied.
Lu Weiyi and Liu Rui stayed to watch over Xu Sa, while the others, seeing they couldn’t help much, dispersed after eating. Having been out from early morning and not getting enough sleep, most people returned to their rooms for a nap.
Antonio naturally wouldn’t pass up the rare chance for a date. As soon as he stepped out the door, he ran into Lu Xi driving Zhuang Mingxu back.
Patrol electric vehicles were compact and convenient, but expensive. After using one a few times, Zhuang Mingxu stopped renting and instead had Lu Weiyi take out a few cars from storage and keep them at home. Every morning Lu Xi would drive him to the green zone, and in the evening pick him up—saving time and conserving resources.
“Why are you back? Where’s Dean?” Antonio asked.
“I heard from the patrolling soldiers that someone in your group had heatstroke, so I brought Brother Mingxu back. Dean’s at the trading hall—there are soldiers patrolling there so he’ll be fine,” Lu Xi said. “Are you going to find him? I see dark clouds in the distance. Not sure if it’s going to rain soon. Want to take an umbrella just in case?”
Antonio looked up at the clouds still floating in the distance. After a moment’s hesitation, he turned back to grab two umbrellas.
“Did something happen?” Zhuang Mingxu asked as soon as he entered the house.
In the living room, only Xishi and Xiong Jie were there picking vegetables, chatting quietly. At the sound of his voice, they paused and responded, “Xu Sa got grazed by a zombie—still hasn’t woken up.”
“Grandpa Xiong!” Zhuang Ai Yi ran over from behind Zhuang Mingxu and sat down next to Xiong Jie, mimicking the way he was picking vegetables.
Xiong Jie patted his head and gave him a ripe tomato.
Zhuang Mingxu frowned and asked about the details, then said, “It probably won’t be serious. It’s been this long—if he were going to turn, it would’ve happened already. Maybe it’s just heatstroke that hasn’t been relieved. Did he take any medication for it?”
“Qingyue already gave him some,” Xiong Jie replied.
“Xiao Yi is upstairs?” Zhuang Mingxu glanced up the stairs, his hands tightening on his wheelchair.
“Yeah, he hasn’t even eaten,” Xi Shi came out of the kitchen carrying three bowls of soup, handing one to each of them. “I heard the temperature’s gone up again, so I made mung bean soup. It’s cool and good for heat relief. Xiao Xi, after you finish, take a bowl up to your brother and Liu Rui, see if they want anything to eat. I’ll cook something for them—this heat isn’t something to push through.”
“Okay!” Lu Xi gulped down the soup, wiped his mouth, and ran back into the kitchen to carry two bowls upstairs.
Thanks for the new chapter