The night passed, and Lin Qinghe, who had fallen asleep with You Rong's chest as her pillow, blinked her eyelids slowly, her eyes gradually opening.
The unfamiliar surroundings that met her gaze made her thoughts sluggish. It took her a few seconds to come to her senses.
Right!
She had escaped the base with You Rong yesterday, driving for a whole day along the highway to an abandoned small town.
Lin Qinghe quickly sat up and looked down, her eyes widening in shock.
You Rong's eyes had turned crimson, his complexion even paler than when she first entered this world and saw him. He was deathly pale, utterly devoid of color.
Lin Qinghe called out urgently, "You Rong, You Rong... How are you feeling? You Rong?"
You Rong slowly turned his eyeballs, staring blankly at Lin Qinghe, seemingly without consciousness.
Lin Qinghe also realized something was wrong. She frowned, raised her hand to cover You Rong's forehead, and her heart sank.
His body temperature was almost imperceptible, chillingly low.
Lin Qinghe anxiously got up and paced back and forth in the room, her gaze occasionally falling on You Rong with a complex expression. She bit her fingers, her face etched with worry.
Undoubtedly, You Rong was currently unconscious.
She had injected him with a serum that modified the body, three doses consecutively, along with other unknown concoctions. What side effects and consequences this would lead to, Lin Qinghe had no idea.
Lin Qinghe desperately tried to recall the information given by the system.
According to the original plot, after You Rong snatched the serum and injected himself, his body would gradually transform into a zombie, eventually becoming the Zombie King.
You Rong's current condition... was it the beginning of his body's transformation process?
Lin Qinghe sighed. Helpless at the moment, she could only wait and see. She hoped You Rong would gradually change, and his consciousness would slowly return. Otherwise, how could she complete her progress bar!
"Sigh... The most important thing now is to find a safe place. I don't need to think to know that the R organization must be searching for me with all their might. If they find me and take me back, everything will be in vain."
After contemplating, Lin Qinghe decided to continue heading north.
According to the system's information, in the apocalypse, besides the powerful R organization, there were other scattered survivor groups. However, they were all located to the north and were generally weak, incomparable to the R organization.
But now, with nowhere else to go, blending in with them while accompanying You Rong might be safer.
Having made up her mind, Lin Qinghe got up, found a set of clothes from the house's owner, changed, and washed her face. She then wrung out the towel and wiped You Rong's face. She ate some food, planning to head north after eating and drinking her fill.
Lin Qinghe had a simple meal. Looking at You Rong's dry, chapped lips, she unscrewed a bottle of mineral water and tried to give him some, but just like yesterday, You Rong couldn't drink it. The water trickled down his chin.
Lin Qinghe was at a loss. Since she was already accustomed to it from the previous day, she took a sip herself and then fed You Rong mouth-to-mouth.
After feeding You Rong half a bottle of water, Lin Qinghe raised her arm to wipe the water from her own lips and muttered, "You need to recover quickly. People can't just drink water, and other foods aren't liquid. It's really difficult for me to feed you..."
Lin Qinghe put a muzzle on You Rong, pulled him out of the house, and put him in the passenger seat, fastening his seatbelt. Then she was about to walk around to the driver's seat to get in the car.
Unexpectedly, as she backed away, before she could steady herself, a zombie lunged from behind, pinning her against the car. It snarled and bared its teeth, its gaping maw aiming for Lin Qinghe's neck.
In a moment of desperation, Lin Qinghe dodged to the right, narrowly avoiding the attack. She bent her elbow and forcefully shoved backward, pushing the zombie away. She quickly drew the handgun she kept in the small of her back and aimed it at the zombie's head.
With a "bang," the zombie's head exploded. Its stiff body twitched a couple of times before it collapsed to the ground, motionless.
Lin Qinghe leaned against the car, her body feeling weak. She watched the zombie, now truly dead, swallowed hard, still feeling a sense of lingering fear.
She had thought this small town was quiet and should be free of zombies. It turned out she had been careless.
Hearing the noise, it seemed other zombies were approaching. Lin Qinghe had no time to think further. She quickly got into the car, started the engine, and drove away.
The car re-entered the highway. Occasionally, they saw abandoned cars on the roadside. Looking around, the cars were either filled with zombies or dismembered corpses. In short, they encountered no living person.
Lin Qinghe drove continuously north, arriving in a new city before dark.
As the car entered the city, they stopped at a gas station. It was deserted, but the glass was stained with dried blood. Lin Qinghe frowned, sensing danger. She quickly filled the car with gas and drove on.
She had intended to head towards the city center, hoping to encounter survivors. However, upon entering, she saw a large group of zombies concentrated on the roads in the downtown area. Lin Qinghe had no choice but to turn around and drive to the outskirts of the city, in a more sparsely populated area.
Lin Qinghe parked the car inside a small factory, got out with her gun, and kicked open the factory door, peering inside.
It was a warehouse. The doors and windows were all boarded up. After a thorough inspection, she confirmed there were no zombies inside. The building was sturdy and could temporarily guarantee their safety. Lin Qinghe then returned to the car and brought the unconscious You Rong inside.
Lin Qinghe pushed several crates together and made You Rong sit down. She sat beside him, her delicate face showing unconcealed exhaustion.
She had been driving all along, with an unconscious You Rong. She had to remain vigilant, not only guarding against zombies but also against any pursuit from the R organization. It was no wonder she was tired.
Lin Qinghe rested for a while and, feeling slightly recovered, took out the compressed biscuits she had brought and began to fill her stomach. While eating, she stared at the listless You Rong and couldn't help but mutter in dissatisfaction, "It's all your fault. If you had trusted me a little and hadn't foolishly injected the serum into yourself, it would have been so much easier for two living people to escape..."
Now, alone with an unconscious You Rong, she had to be on edge every moment.
Moreover, in You Rong's current unconscious state, no matter what she did, she couldn't advance the progress bar.
Lin Qinghe couldn't help but sigh deeply, "It's truly unfair. I'm doing all the work for free, doing the tasks, but getting no pay!"
Complaints aside, Lin Qinghe still had to diligently serve You Rong. She fed him water mouth-to-mouth in the same way, and after a brief check of his body, she lay down with him. They huddled together, Lin Qinghe covering him with her jacket, hugging him, and closing her eyes to sleep.
If she didn't replenish her energy, she wouldn't be able to cope tomorrow.
Before falling asleep, Lin Qinghe mumbled incoherently, "You'd better regain consciousness quickly, do you hear me! Otherwise, if this continues, I really might just abandon you..."