Chapter 19

【System Prompt: Zombie horde impact intensity has reached its peak, suggest activating the highest-level defense immediately】

Su Qing had already arched her body, her fingernails carving deep marks into the rock wall, looking as if she were about to pounce out. Xia Nuan suddenly grabbed her arm, her strength not at all like that of a girl: "Don't go!"

Su Qing turned her head, the red light in her eyes so piercing one couldn't open their eyes: "Let go!"

"Do you want to be torn to pieces?" Xia Nuan's voice trembled violently, yet she gripped on tightly, "With so many zombies, you can't hold them off alone!"

Lin Chen didn't speak, just stared outside the cave—the people in camouflage were almost at the entrance, firing as they ran, bullets splashing white smoke on the snow, clearly luring the zombies here on purpose. The person in the lead even turned back to smile at the cave entrance, the malice in that smile piercing like ice picks.

"Bang!"

The first zombie slammed into the rocks blocking the entrance, followed by the second, then the third; the pile of rocks shook more and more violently, green saliva constantly seeping through the cracks, burning dense, tiny pits into the rock wall.

"Close the door!" Lin Chen suddenly roared, pulling Xia Nuan back toward the depths of the cave. Su Qing was dragged by Xia Nuan, looking back unwillingly, a threatening low growl emitting from her throat, like a beast whose prey had been snatched away.

There was actually an iron door in the depths of the cave, covered in rust, looking like the entrance to an old air-raid shelter. Lin Chen kicked the door lock, the lock core burst open, and after the three tumbled inside, he swung the door shut behind him; the heavy door hinge emitted a "creak" of agony, barely catching.

Deafening crashing sounds came from outside, mixed with the screams of the camouflage-clad people and the roars of zombies, churning into a chaotic mess.

"Are you sick?" Lin Chen's voice suddenly exploded, staring at Xia Nuan, his eyes full of bloodshot veins. If they had been a second later, they would have been blocked at the cave entrance by the horde.

Xia Nuan was stunned by the roar, then her face flushed red: "I'm sick? I was trying to save her!" She pointed at Su Qing, "Didn't you see how many zombies were outside? Her going out is just suicide!"

"Save her?" Lin Chen laughed, his laughter cold and hard, "Do you know what she urgently needs right now?"

Xia Nuan choked, then shouted with her neck stiffened: "No matter what she needs, she can't trade her life for it! What was that look in your eyes just now? Thinking I'm meddling?"

"Comfort my ass!" Lin Chen's temper had completely flared, pointing toward the iron door, "You think pulling her in is protecting her? The virus in her body is backlashing, needing fresh flesh and blood to suppress it; if this drags on, she'll tear us apart before the zombies even get in!"

These words pierced the air like ice picks, and Xia Nuan's face turned white instantly. She looked at Su Qing—the latter was leaning against the corner, her fingernails grown like claws, green saliva constantly dripping from the corners of her mouth, etching tiny pits into the ground.

"I... I didn't know..." Xia Nuan's voice grew weak, yet she remained unconvinced, "But she still can't go to her death! We can think of other ways..."

"Think of what ways?" Lin Chen stepped closer, his chest heaving violently, "Wait for the zombies to smash the door open? Or wait for her to completely lose control? You think this is playing house?"

"I didn't mean that!" Xia Nuan's tears suddenly welled up, both ashamed and angry, "Why are you yelling at me? If I hadn't grabbed her just now, would you have had time to close the door? Now you're blaming me!"

"I'm blaming you?" Lin Chen's volume rose higher, "I'm telling you, Xia Nuan, the most taboo thing in the apocalypse is your kind of self-righteous kindness! Last time you handed Su Qing water, you almost made her mutation flare up early; this time you stopped her, you're trying to get the three of us killed here!"

"I was being kind!" Xia Nuan also shouted, her tears falling even harder, "My kindness is being treated as a donkey's liver and lungs! You think you're so smart? What do you know? You only know how to kill and fight, do you know what she used to..."

"Used to?" Lin Chen sneered, "When she swapped your design drafts for waste paper, why didn't you talk to her about kindness? When she snatched your last piece of bread, why didn't you talk to her about goodness?"

"That's all in the past!" Xia Nuan screamed, interrupting him, "Now we're together! Do you have to keep harping on the past?"

"Together?" Lin Chen pointed at Su Qing, "Look at her! Can she even be considered human now? You're talking about being together with her?"

"You bastard!" Xia Nuan suddenly pushed Lin Chen, "You're just cold-blooded! You don't care about anyone's life or death at all!"

Lin Chen was pushed back a step, the wound on his lower back pulling painfully, his temper flaring even more. He raised his hand, wanting to yell back, but saw Su Qing suddenly stand up, the red light in her eyes having spread to the whites, staring fixedly at the two of them, a low growl emitting from her throat.

The arguing stopped abruptly.

Lin Chen and Xia Nuan both froze, watching Su Qing walk over step by step, green saliva flowing down her chin, making a "hissing" sound as it dripped onto the ground.

"Don't... don't come over..." Xia Nuan retreated in fear, bumping into the iron door with a "thud."

Su Qing ignored her, walking straight to Lin Chen, less than half a meter away. Lin Chen could smell the thick scent of blood on her, along with a sweet, cloying scent similar to rotting fruit—that was the sign of the virus completely losing control.

He gripped his shotgun, his finger hooked on the trigger, yet he remained motionless.

Su Qing's gaze swept across his face, finally landing on the wound on his lower back, where blood was seeping through the gauze, staining a large area red. She suddenly raised her hand, her fingernails only a few centimeters from Lin Chen's neck.

Lin Chen's heart jumped to his throat.

Just then, Su Qing's hand suddenly turned, gently pressing onto his wound. Her movements were light, even carrying a trace of caution, completely unlike the bloodthirsty monster from just a moment ago.

Lin Chen was stunned.

A blurred sound came from Su Qing's throat, as if she were saying something, but it was unclear. In her eyes, the red light gradually faded, revealing a trace of weak clarity, like a candle about to go out.

"She... she seems to be helping you stop the bleeding..." Xia Nuan's voice was filled with disbelief.

Lin Chen didn't speak, just watched Su Qing. Her hand was still pressed on the wound, green saliva dripping onto the gauze, but it didn't corrode; instead, it seemed to be absorbed by the blood, and the pain of the wound actually lessened somewhat.

【System Prompt: The virus in Su Qing's body resonates with Lin Chen's blood, temporarily suppressing the berserk state, duration unknown】

The crashing sounds outside suddenly changed rhythm, no longer chaotic collisions, but a rhythmic "thud, thud, thud," as if someone were using a heavy object to smash the door.

Lin Chen snapped back to reality, signaling for Su Qing to step back, and walked behind the iron door to look out through the crack.

The people in camouflage were all dead, their corpses gnawed by zombies until only bones remained. But the zombie horde hadn't dispersed; instead, they had formed a circle, using their heads and bodies to smash the iron door, and the zombies in the front had even started using their claws to dig at the door hinges, green saliva seeping inside along the door cracks.

Even more terrifying, standing behind the zombie horde were several people in white lab coats, holding cameras and filming, one of them holding something like a remote control; every time they pressed it, the zombies' crashing became a fraction more intense.

"It's those people from the laboratory!" Xia Nuan saw it too, her voice trembling, "They're controlling the zombies!"

Lin Chen's face sank completely. He recognized the person holding the remote control—it was the white-coated assistant he had knocked unconscious at the abandoned research institute.

"They did it on purpose..." Lin Chen said in a low voice, "They want to test Su Qing's state of loss of control and see the defense limit of this door."

Su Qing seemed to understand, a growl beginning to emit from her throat again, the red light in her eyes lighting up once more. This time Xia Nuan didn't stop her, just subconsciously leaned toward Lin Chen.

"What do we do?" Xia Nuan's voice carried a sob, the argument from earlier long forgotten.

Lin Chen didn't answer, just fished the last half-bottle of alcohol from his backpack and poured it onto his wound. The intense pain made him much clearer. He looked at Su Qing, then at Xia Nuan, and finally fixed his gaze on that constantly shaking iron door.

"Xia Nuan, go behind the door and hold it," Lin Chen said.

Xia Nuan was stunned for a moment, then nodded immediately, using her back to hold the iron door tightly.

Lin Chen looked at Su Qing again, took a dagger from his pocket, and threw it in front of her: "If you want to live, guard this place."

Su Qing looked down at the dagger, then looked up at Lin Chen, her eyes complex.

【System Prompt: The white-coat team has activated the level-two stimulation program, zombie horde attack intensity increased by 50%】

"Thud!"

With a loud bang, the iron door was smashed inward, Xia Nuan grunted, almost being bounced away.

Lin Chen immediately rushed over, holding the door with Xia Nuan. He looked at Su Qing and said word for word: "They have inhibitors in their hands that can turn you back into a human."

Su Qing's eyes widened suddenly.

The crashing sounds outside grew more intense, the screws on the iron door starting to loosen, emitting a harsh "creak," looking as if they were about to be smashed open.

Lin Chen and Xia Nuan's strength was almost exhausted, both their shoulders trembling.

Su Qing suddenly picked up the dagger, turned, and rushed toward the iron door, stabbing down fiercely the moment a zombie's claw reached in. Green blood splattered her face, but she acted as if she felt nothing, pulling out the dagger and stabbing a second time, a third time...

"Now!" Lin Chen suddenly shouted, taking a steel pipe from Xia Nuan's hand, "Xia Nuan, find an opportunity to shoot the one holding the remote!"

Xia Nuan immediately fished out a backup pistol from her backpack, tremblingly aiming at the white-coated person outside the door crack.

Su Qing was still stabbing frantically, the zombies' roars and her growls mixing together like a strange war song.

Lin Chen gripped the steel pipe, staring at that increasingly loose iron door, with only one thought in his mind—

Must break out.

Must find the inhibitor.

Must figure out what these white-coated people are actually trying to do.

And just then, the hinge of the iron door suddenly snapped with a "pop."

A blue-gray hand reached in and grabbed Xia Nuan's hair.