Chapter 22: Parting Ways
Everyone’s gaze immediately focused on the young man’s leg. On his calf was a horrifying wound; judging by its shape, it was clearly caused by a zombie bite.
“If you’re bitten, you’ll definitely get infected! That’s how my wife died! He’ll turn into one of those man-eating monsters any second now!” The middle-aged man stared at the injured youth in terror, as if he expected him to transform on the spot. “Kill him! Kill him now! Otherwise we’ll all die!”
The others, however, all turned to look at the man in the suit, clearly waiting for him to make a decision.
The suited man’s expression was equally grim. He was a sales manager who lived nearby, and the moment he realized something was wrong, his first thought had been to come out and collect food. These people were all his neighbors; after a bit of persuasion, they had followed him here. Their luck hadn’t been bad—along the way they had only encountered one of those monsters. With their numbers, they’d swarmed it and beaten it into a pulp.
But the person in front of them now was still a living human being. If they hadn’t opened the door earlier and this man had died, so be it—out of sight, out of mind. But now that Zhan Yun had saved him, leaving him alive and right in front of them, the suited man didn’t have the nerve to kill him.
Just then, pounding suddenly sounded from outside the warehouse door. Zombies must have been drawn by the smell of blood. Each thud made everyone’s hearts clench. Fortunately, the warehouse’s metal door was extremely sturdy and wouldn’t be breached easily. With food and water inside, they were relatively safe hiding here.
The panicked middle-aged man, however, seemed to be triggered by the knocking. He kept insisting that the young man be killed.
His elderly mother had turned into a zombie and bitten his wife to death right in front of him. Enduring the pain and terror, he had smashed his own mother’s skull—only to immediately face his mutated wife. If he hadn’t run fast enough, he would have died himself.
The shock he’d suffered was the greatest among them. That was why, at the sight of the gruesome wound on the young man’s leg, his reaction was so extreme.
But Zhan Yun’s group of three knew that even if someone was bitten by a zombie, it didn’t necessarily mean they would turn. There was also a chance of evolving into an ability user.
At that moment, a trace of despair appeared in the young man’s eyes. Gritting his teeth, he looked up at Zhan Yun. “Sir… could you lend me your knife?”
Before Zhan Yun could answer, the suited man frowned and spoke up. “What are you planning to do?!”
The young man lowered his head and glanced at his right leg. Clenching his teeth, he said, “I want to cut off my right leg… maybe…”
Everyone understood what he left unsaid. He wanted to amputate his leg to prevent the virus from spreading. But no one knew how long it had been since he was bitten—perhaps the infection had already spread throughout his body.
In the end, it was Song Chengshu who couldn’t stand it anymore. He took a bottle of mineral water and walked over to the young man, gently rinsed the wound, then wrapped it with a clean towel and secured it with packing tape. With so many people around, he couldn’t ask Su Ruizhe to bring out the medical kit, so he had to make do with whatever was at hand.
“It’s useless! He’ll turn into one of those monsters any minute!” the middle-aged man said fearfully.
Su Ruizhe suddenly spoke up, “Then we’ll kill him after he turns.”
In his previous life, he had once been like this young man—bitten by a zombie and left to bear despair and pain alone. Later, he had been saved by Zhan Yun and unexpectedly awakened an ability. He didn’t want this young man to be killed while there was still a sliver of hope.
The middle-aged man finally fell silent, but he looked toward the suited man.
After a moment’s contemplation, the suited man finally said, “Since you insist on saving him, then take him to the back. We have people waiting for us at home. We can’t afford to take this risk.”
It was obvious he intended to part ways with Zhan Yun’s group. At first, he’d wanted to travel with them because Zhan Yun looked like a strong fighter, and the two with him were armed as well—extra security, especially since there were so many supplies in the warehouse that they couldn’t possibly take them all.
But now he’d changed his mind. These three were too soft-hearted, willing to save someone who shouldn’t be saved. Continuing to travel together might end up dragging them down instead.
Zhan Yun shrugged and agreed without concern. As Su Ruizhe had said, at worst, they could just kill the young man if he turned into a zombie. He simply couldn’t bring himself to kill someone while they were still conscious and struggling to live.
Zhan Yun and Su Ruizhe supported the young man and moved him to the back, separating themselves from the suited man’s group by eight or nine meters.
The young man’s eyes were red as he said, “Thank you… You can just leave me here…”
He could already feel that something was wrong with his body. He’d more or less resigned himself to his fate, though there was still a trace of unwillingness in his heart—he didn’t want to die.
But Zhan Yun’s group didn’t abandon him. Instead, they gave him some water to drink.
Time passed second by second. The pounding outside the warehouse gradually faded away, and the zombies finally left.
By then, the young man lay on the floor, his face flushed, letting out soft, pained groans. Song Chengshu calmly placed a damp towel on his forehead.
“He seems to have a fever… Is he going to mutate? Shouldn’t we leave quickly?” people on the suited man’s side began whispering among themselves.
The suited man frowned and glanced over. In the end, he gritted his teeth and nodded.
There were plenty of supplies here, but it still wasn’t as convenient as being at home—especially since people were waiting for them there. They really did need to hurry back.
“We’re leaving. Do you want to come with us?” the suited man called toward Zhan Yun’s group.
“No,” Zhan Yun shook his head.
The man in the suit had only asked casually, but seeing Zhan Yun’s refusal, he felt somewhat relieved. The nine of them crept to the warehouse door, carefully opened it, and shone their flashlights outside. The corridor was quiet and deserted, so it seemed safe.
“Let’s go.” The group carefully walked out and headed towards the back door, following the same route they had taken to enter.
However, what they didn’t notice was that something seemed to be stirring in the darkness at the other end of the corridor.
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