BC Chapter 102

Chapter 101

Chapter 101

The two mutated zombies that had been drawn in by the scent earlier had already noticed the aroma of ‘delicious food’ fading instantly as Zhou Yuanyuan darted into the garage. Consequently, they went berserk, covering the final stretch of flat ground in a twisted, rolling scramble towards the garage.

Meanwhile, inside the garage, among the three who had taken refuge, only He Linglong was still desperately trying to pull down the rusted rolling door. As the two zombies closed in, Jiang Juncheng and Zhou Yuanyuan, realizing the gravity of the situation, rushed to the door with unprecedented speed. They each grabbed onto the protruding horizontal ribs of the rolling door on either side of He Linglong, helping her pull it down.

However, just before the rolling door completely closed, the male zombie slammed into it and thrust in a withered hand with black, elongated fingernails. As the arm flailed, He Linglong, focused solely on pulling the door down and with no time to dodge, was struck squarely. The long fingernails tore a shallow gash along the inside of her forearm.

“Bang.” The rolling door finally sealed off the danger outside. Jiang Juncheng and Zhou Yuanyuan on either side of the door simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief, collapsing to the ground, their hearts pounding like thunder.

The garage had no windows, so the moment the door closed, darkness enveloped the space. None of them were in the mood to speak. After regaining some strength, their eyes could vaguely make out the outlines of objects in the darkness. Jiang Juncheng groped his way to his bag and, relying on memory, fished out a high-intensity flashlight. To avoid blinding them, he turned it on inside the bag.

The diffused light, blocked by the bag, illuminated the garage space up to about half a meter off the ground. Zhou Yuanyuan, who had sensed Jiang Juncheng’s movement, didn’t rush to move until the light came on. Then, squinting, she raised her hand to shield her eyes and gradually adjusted to the illuminated space, before getting up and walking towards Jiang Juncheng.

They couldn’t leave here anytime soon. They could only rest here for a while and then find an opportunity to escape under the cover of darkness.

After Jiang Juncheng and Zhou Yuanyuan had fiddled with their belongings, they noticed that He Linglong was still kneeling by the door in the same position she had been in after pulling the rolling door down.

Jiang and Zhou exchanged glances, both seeing the hesitation in each other’s eyes. Although they had just argued with He Linglong, they had indeed been saved by her. They looked at each other for a long moment before Jiang Juncheng sighed and slowly stood up to walk towards He Linglong.

“I… I’m sorry about before. Thank you for saving us despite our quarrel,” Jiang Juncheng said, breaking the awkward silence as he walked towards He Linglong.

“…” He Linglong’s back trembled slightly, but she didn’t respond, remaining silent and unmoving.

“I’m sorry I was so rude to you… just…” Before she could say “don’t be angry,” Jiang Juncheng, who had reached He Linglong’s side, saw a wet patch on the ground in front of her. Although He Linglong’s body blocked the light, preventing her from seeing it clearly, her heart lurched for no reason. It felt like her heart rate had suddenly gone haywire.

Just then, He Linglong slowly turned her head to look at her.

The instant her face was illuminated, Jiang Juncheng saw her pupils trembling uncontrollably, giving her beautiful face an indescribable sense of tragic beauty and despair.

Jiang Juncheng was stunned, shocked by the scene before her and yet also confused.

Wha… what’s wrong?

It wasn’t until her questioning gaze shifted back to He Linglong’s front that she finally understood the reason for the scene before her.

He Linglong was clutching her other arm tightly, and on the forearm of that outstretched arm was a long, conspicuous wound, dripping fresh blood slowly onto the ground. That puddle was He Linglong’s blood.

“You! Don’t move! Let me take care of it!” Jiang Juncheng panicked. She felt cold from the inside out, as if she had already felt He Linglong’s pain, even though she wasn’t the one who was hurt. Her eyes started to sting uncontrollably. She quickly wiped her eyes and rushed to her bag, rummaging through it for hemostatic and bandaging supplies. She ran back to He Linglong and started cleaning the wound, applying medicine, and bandaging it with surprising skill.

“… I have a rope in my bag. Tie me up while I’m still conscious…” He Linglong’s voice, sitting against the door, had returned to a calm, emotionless tone. But Jiang Juncheng knew that her helpless and desperate expression from just now hadn’t been an act.

She was afraid. Afraid of the impending death, or of turning into a zombie. Even someone with special forces training was afraid when facing death.

“Do you want to sleep for a while? Losing blood can make you weak. Or eat something? Want to drink water? I’ll give you…” Jiang Juncheng was also calm at this moment, perhaps too calm. She simply offered her concern, ignoring He Linglong’s words. It was as if by doing so, she could prevent the thing they most feared from happening.

“She’s not listening to me, you tie me up. Weren’t you full of resentment towards me just now? Tie me up, and you’ll be safe. Come on…” Seeing that Jiang Juncheng wasn’t responding, He Linglong immediately turned to Zhou Yuanyuan, who was standing to the side.

Zhou Yuanyuan, who had been stunned, unconsciously took two steps back when He Linglong stared at her. She didn’t know what else she could say or do. Watching He Linglong, who had just saved them, being injured by a zombie, both she and Jiang Juncheng understood that there were only two possibilities: either He Linglong would be infected and turn into a zombie, or she would die quickly from the zombie virus.

But when she looked at He Linglong’s expressionless face and heard her say “Tie me up,” an infinite sadness welled up inside her. It was as if she saw herself in He Linglong. Would her own fate be the same?