The zombie virus would spread.
Staying in Jiang City was too dangerous.
Moreover, the fact that the guards had not appeared after so long meant the situation was out of control. They had to leave the city; perhaps they could find sanctuary elsewhere.
Lao Yu and Sister Wan exchanged a glance and decided to leave with them.
Lao Zhong also nodded.
However, they needed to make a trip back first.
There was still one survivor left in the small supermarket they had been staying in—the girl from the pair who had escaped inside the other day.
They cleared out the few zombies wandering around the entrance.
Before they even stepped inside, an excited female voice rang out from within.
"Xichen, you are back?"
A pretty woman with a lovely face and waist-length black hair hurried over to greet them.
A bright smile bloomed on her face.
But her eyes immediately met Chu Liuyue's.
She paused slightly.
The smile on her lips faded a bit.
A flash of wariness and hostility crossed her eyes.
"And this is..."
The group entered the small supermarket first.
Watching the glass doors close completely to isolate the zombies outside, Lao Zhong pushed up his black-rimmed glasses and introduced her:
"This is Xichen's older sister."
The hostility on the woman's face receded slightly.
It was replaced by a soft smile as she reached out her hand and said,
"Ah, so it is your sister."
"Hello, Sister. My name is Pei Ruoxue. I am an intern nurse at this hospital."
"Thanks to Xichen saving me, otherwise I would have been bitten by zombies a long time ago."
After speaking, she cast her gaze toward the tall Li Xichen behind her, a hint of attachment flashing in her eyes.
Then she shyly lowered her head.
Chu Liuyue nodded with a smile and was just about to reach out to shake her hand.
Li Xichen's grayish-brown eyes shifted.
He quickly stepped to Chu Liuyue's side, adopting a protective stance.
Raising his voice slightly, he corrected,
"Sister Xiaoyue, not my biological sister."
Lao Yu and his wife exchanged a glance, looking at each other in dismay.
Brother Zhong's hand paused in the middle of pushing up his glasses.
Ah?
What?
Not a biological sister, then what kind of sister could she be?
Everyone knew that Li Xichen was cold on the outside and cold on the inside; he was not someone easy to get close to.
Yet, the way he looked at Chu Liuyue just now showed complete trust and reliance.
As his words fell, Pei Ruoxue's smile froze.
She casually lowered her hand and asked in a small voice,
"Ah? Not your biological sister?"
"Then what kind of sister is she?"
She seemed to find it very strange.
But Li Xichen merely cast her a cold glance and said nothing.
Sister Wan naturally saw the little nurse's feelings for Li Xichen, but she did not expose them. Smoothing things over, she said,
"Alright, alright, our group is all gathered now."
"There is something we need to tell you right now, and you can decide if you want to leave with us."
She recounted everything that had just happened.
Hearing that mutated zombie bats had appeared on the rooftop and that even the rescue helicopter had crashed, Pei Ruoxue was clearly terrified.
"This... this... are the guards really not coming to the hospital for rescue anymore?"
Chu Liuyue shattered her illusions.
"Even the helicopter rescue failed; ground rescue would be even harder."
Pei Ruoxue shot her a sidelong glance.
When she heard that Chu Liuyue also had a superpower—and one that could make zombies ignore her for three minutes—she was filled with jealousy.
She lowered her head.
After thinking for a moment, seeing that the people in front of her all possessed superpowers, she knew she could not let go of these strong protectors.
She immediately declared,
"I am willing to leave with everyone."
Brother Zhong nodded and said decisively,
"Okay, everyone gather up the food and medicine we have collected."
"We head out in fifteen minutes."
...
"Sister Xiaoyue, eat." Li Xichen was a man of few words. Hearing that she had not eaten much on the roof these past few days, he handed her a bag of bread.
Chu Liuyue had not had a full meal in days.
She did not stand on ceremony.
Just as she was about to tear open the packaging, she heard Pei Ruoxue's voice from behind.
"Xichen, is not that the bread I gave you?"
Pei Ruoxue was an intern nurse at the hospital, and she usually liked to hoard snacks and food in her drawers.
When the zombie outbreak happened, their initial supplies were taken from her cabinet.
Her selfless contribution of her food had won her the goodwill of the others.
Li Xichen said coldly,
"No."
"Got it from the small supermarket."
Pei Ruoxue's food had been finished long ago.
She let out an 'ah' and whispered, "Were not the breads in the small supermarket eaten up a long time ago?"
Li Xichen frowned.
"I hid it."
"Is there a problem?"
Pei Ruoxue shook her head, and the next second, her stomach growled.
"No, it is just, I am a little hungry too." She looked up embarrassedly.
She stared at Li Xichen with a face full of expectation.
"Go ask Brother Zhong for some," he said, his tone a bit impatient.
Pei Ruoxue's eyes gradually reddened. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chu Liuyue tearing open the wrapper and biting into the bread as if no one else was there, completely ignoring her embarrassment.
A flash of frustration and resentment crossed her heart.
She turned and walked away.
Li Xichen muttered, "What is wrong with her!"
Pei Ruoxue's footsteps paused, and then she sped up her departure.
After finishing the bread and drinking half a bottle of water, Chu Liuyue handed the remaining mineral water bottle back to him.
Li Xichen shook his head.
"Sister Xiaoyue, drink a little more."
Chu Liuyue smiled.
"No need, I have had enough."
"Oh, alright then."
After Li Xichen spoke, he did not feel there was any problem at all.
He directly opened the bottle cap, tilted his head back, and gulped down the remaining half of the bottle.
The clear liquid slid down his jaw, past his Adam's apple, and flowed toward his chest.
As he swallowed the water, his Adam's apple bobbed.
It was an alluring sight.
Chu Liuyue, on the other hand, was slightly taken aback.
She said softly, "Um... that water, I drank from it."
Li Xichen said bluntly,
"It is fine, Sister Xiaoyue, I do not mind."
"Resources are scarce right now; we cannot waste a single drop of mineral water."
Seeing his serious expression, Chu Liuyue could only conclude that this kid was just too young.
After all, he was only twenty.
He probably had not matured in that way yet and did not see anything wrong with sharing a bottle of water with the opposite sex.
"Xichen, Liuyue, we are about to head out!"
Sister Wan's call came from a distance.
"Ah, okay, we are coming."
Chu Liuyue walked briskly forward.
Li Xichen followed behind her. His gaze landed on the top of her head, and the corners of his lips curved up into an imperceptible smile.
He looked delighted.
