You Rong’s first instinct was to grab his assault rifle and shoot, but his body hadn’t recovered, and his movements were a step too slow. Just as he picked up the rifle, a zombie lunged forward, knocking it from his grasp.
Caught off guard, You Rong was tackled by the zombie.
As the zombie opened its bloody maw to bite You Rong, a “bang” rang out. Lin Qinghe shot the zombie in the arm. Startled, the zombie recoiled, and You Rong seized the opportunity to kick it away.
The moment the zombie was sent flying, You Rong, still on the ground, reached for the dropped assault rifle. Another zombie then pounced, landing on You Rong’s back and lowering its head to bite him.
Fortunately, Lin Qinghe remained composed. Her pistol aimed directly between the zombie’s eyes, she pulled the trigger without hesitation.
“Bang—” The bullet struck the zombie in the forehead. Without even a chance to struggle, the zombie fell silent.
Lin Qinghe rushed over, shoved the zombie off You Rong’s back, and pulled him to his feet. With urgent concern, she asked, “How are you? Were you bitten by a zombie? Are you injured?”
You Rong shook his head. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Lin Qinghe’s pupils contract, a look of panic appearing on her face.
In the next second, You Rong was shoved aside. He stumbled and fell to the ground, simultaneously hearing Lin Qinghe’s pained grunt.
You Rong looked up, his heart clenching violently.
The zombie whose arm had been shot earlier had somehow appeared behind him. Lin Qinghe had pushed him out of the way, and the zombie’s teeth had sunk into her arm.
You Rong’s hand found the assault rifle on the ground. He grabbed it and fired several shots in quick succession. The head of the zombie biting Lin Qinghe exploded, and it collapsed motionless.
Lin Qinghe frowned, her pale face clutching her bitten arm. You Rong quickly moved over, yanked her hand away, rolled up her sleeve, and revealed a bloody wound.
You Rong’s pupils constricted. An anger he couldn’t explain surged through him. He almost roared, “Are you… brainless?! You’re just a normal person, and you got bitten by a zombie. You’ll get infected!”
His eyes turned even redder with rage, so red they seemed to bleed, veined with bloodshot terrifyingly.
Lin Qinghe was stunned by his outburst. After a long moment, she whispered, “I… I wasn’t thinking clearly. I just couldn’t let you get hurt…”
It was her habit of brushing up her progress bars that made her body react before her brain could. She instinctively acted to protect You Rong.
Now that she’d had time to process, Lin Qinghe also felt regret.
If she got infected and turned into a zombie, would that count as failing the mission?
Hearing Lin Qinghe’s words, You Rong felt even more suffocated. “Who asked you to care about me! I’m no different from a zombie now. Even if I were bitten and infected, and nothing changed, you…”
You Rong’s words suddenly stopped. His expression turned extremely grim.
Lin Qinghe was about to suggest they try to see if his blood still had healing properties. Before she could speak, the system notification sounded: “Progress bar increased by 10%, total progress at 18%.”
For the first time, the increase in the progress bar didn’t make Lin Qinghe happy.
After all, whether she would get infected was still unknown, and whether the mission would fail after she became a zombie was also an unknown. She truly couldn’t be happy right now.
“You Rong, your…”
Lin Qinghe was about to ask You Rong to use his blood to test, when You Rong’s gaze darkened. Before she could finish, he raised his wrist, lowered his head, and bit into his own wrist. In moments, Lin Qinghe saw You Rong bite his wrist deeply. Blood welled up and dripped onto the ground.
You Rong then grabbed Lin Qinghe’s arm and dripped his blood onto her wound.
You Rong’s blood was not warm; it was cold. Its contact with Lin Qinghe’s skin sent a strange sensation through her.
You Rong’s blood mixed with the blood from Lin Qinghe’s wound. The surroundings were quiet, save for their heavy breaths.
You Rong lowered his gaze to Lin Qinghe’s injured arm. As the seconds ticked by, her wound seemed to absorb You Rong’s blood, healing visibly.
Once the wound was completely healed, Lin Qinghe’s suspended heart finally settled.
Lin Qinghe touched the spot on her arm where the wound had been and exclaimed in surprise, “The wound is gone! I didn’t expect that even though your body has changed due to the serum, your blood can still heal zombie bites!”
Lin Qinghe, who had been intently watching her wound, hadn’t noticed that the moment it healed, You Rong had also let out a sigh of relief.
You Rong took another careful look at Lin Qinghe’s arm. After confirming the wound had fully recovered, he withdrew his hand with a stern expression and turned, walking away without a word.
Lin Qinghe was stunned. She quickly chased after him, subtly observing him, and gently tugged at his sleeve. “You Rong… are you angry?”
You Rong’s gaze darkened, but he didn’t answer, quickening his pace.
Even though You Rong wanted to walk faster, his slightly clumsy limbs didn’t allow it, so Lin Qinghe easily kept up with him.
Lin Qinghe said in a soft voice, “You Rong, it was my fault just now. I’ll be careful in the future. Don’t be angry. I was just too anxious earlier. I was only thinking about you and didn’t consider anything else…”
You Rong abruptly stopped. For some reason, the anger in his chest reached its peak.
You Rong glared at Lin Qinghe. “Did you ever consider… what would happen if my blood couldn’t heal a zombie bite, and you got infected?!”
Looking at the furious You Rong, Lin Qinghe thought: Is he angry because he cares about her?
Lin Qinghe’s heart stirred. Perhaps she could even gain more progress!
Lin Qinghe smiled, deliberately looking down as if in deep thought. After a few seconds, she said in a playful tone, “That would be great. Then I’d be just like you. When you eat raw beef, I can join you, right?”
“You…” You Rong met Lin Qinghe’s earnest gaze and found himself speechless.
She wasn’t joking. She was being entirely serious.
You Rong’s emotions were complex, a mix of annoyance and inexplicable anger.
He suppressed his anger and looked at Lin Qinghe. Lin Qinghe, seemingly oblivious, met his gaze with a smile.
You Rong felt an even greater tightness in his chest. Sou Dan Novel Network.
After a long pause, You Rong withdrew his gaze and turned away without a word, his departing back clearly indicating his anger had not subsided.
As You Rong turned, Lin Qinghe heard the system prompt again: “Progress bar increased by 5%, total progress at 23%.”
Lin Qinghe raised an eyebrow and let out a soft chuckle.
You Rong must be worried about her.
There’s a saying: When you start to care about someone, it’s the beginning of liking them.