Morning came.
Yan Qingdu reappeared in everyone's line of sight.
Regarding his brief disappearance last night, he explained:
"I went to the restroom, but accidentally walked into the fire escape. I had to wander around for a long time before finding my way back."
This was obviously a lie.
But no one exposed him.
After all, this temporary team was only gathered together to survive; they weren't going to lay all their secrets bare.
The massive zombie black cat on the first floor let out an obedient purr-like roar when it saw Chu Liuyue.
Even though, for it, the volume was already very low.
Those standing close were still sprayed with an unknown, pitch-black liquid.
The most unfortunate victim among them was Gu Man.
Just as she was about to let out a scream, she saw the zombie black cat arch its back, ready to pounce.
It was the prelude to a hunt.
Chu Liuyue happened to walk past at that moment.
She smiled at it.
"Good kitty."
"We don't eat this one. This thing is stinky and doesn't taste good."
Gu Man instantly raised her eyebrows, put her hands on her hips, and retorted:
"Who are you calling stinky?"
Chu Liuyue put on a surprised expression.
She glanced at her.
"What?"
"Is Miss Gu eager to offer herself as cat food for my kitty?"
Gu Man immediately fell silent.
Looking sullen, she hid at the back of the group.
Brother Zhong pushed up his glasses and said:
"Liuyue, are you planning to take this black cat with us? But once we leave Jiang City, if..."
He didn't finish his sentence.
If, outside of Jiang City, the other cities were still normal...
They eventually had to return to normal human society.
This zombie black cat would probably be shot dead by the guards the moment it stepped across the border.
Chu Liuyue nodded.
"It will follow us for a while, and I'll release it when we get close."
For some reason.
She had a vague, terrible suspicion in her heart.
Which was that the situation was already extremely bad out there too.
Just then, the phone hidden in her pocket suddenly rang.
Gu Man shouted excitedly:
"Uncle Zhou, it must be Uncle Zhou calling. Hurry up and answer it!"
After all, the last time this phone was lent to Zhou Yu'an to call Director Zhou, the signal cut off after only a few words.
Chu Liuyue took out the phone.
Without any hesitation, she handed it to Zhou Yu'an.
"An'an, answer it quickly."
The battery was at less than three percent.
And that was barely preserved by turning on power-saving mode.
Zhou Yu'an didn't delay. He quickly answered the call and stepped to the side.
Director Zhou's tense and urgent voice came through the phone.
"Yu'an, how are you all doing?"
"Have you been rescued by the helicopter?"
Zhou Yu'an shook his head.
"The helicopter was attacked by mutated zombie bats and crashed."
"We are trying to find a way to drive to the border between Jiang City and the other cities."
The person on the other end let out a long sigh of relief, but then couldn't help sighing heavily.
"Good, good, that works too."
"By the way, did you get the serum?"
Zhou Yu'an turned his head slightly, looked at Chu Liuyue not far away, and then said softly:
"I'm sorry, I was careless."
"While dodging zombies, I accidentally dropped and broke the serum. I..."
Before he could finish, he was quickly interrupted:
"What?! How could you make such a rookie mistake? Do you know that serum is the hope of humanity!"
On the other end of the line, just as Director Zhou finished speaking.
Other people's voices could be heard in the background.
"Director, let's retreat quickly."
"We can't hold this room either. We can only fall back to the command center."
"That's the last safe zone."
A hint of solemnity flashed across Zhou Yu'an's brow.
He couldn't help but ask:
"Dad, what's going on? Weren't you already picked up by the guards?"
"Judging by the sound, are you still in the research institute?"
Director Zhou scolded:
"Don't worry about me! Hurry up and escape Jiang City yourself. Take Yan Qingdu with you. With him around, there might still be hope."
"Dad, but I..."
Zhou Yu'an wanted to say more, but the phone beeped with a low battery warning.
Following two beeping sounds.
The phone screen went completely black and shut down automatically.
The dark screen reflected Zhou Yu'an's confused eyes. His fingers gripped the phone tightly as he returned to the group.
He handed the phone back to Chu Liuyue.
"The battery died."
Before Chu Liuyue could speak, Gu Man couldn't help but say:
"Yu'an, what did Uncle Zhou say?"
"Does he know our current situation? Is he planning to send another helicopter to save us?"
"Did you tell him to contact my uncle? It would be best if he could send a squad of guards in to protect me!"
As Gu Man spoke, she was practically radiating with the desire to show off her prominent upbringing and powerful family background.
Zhou Yu'an's face was grave.
Yan Qingdu seemed to have guessed something.
"Bad news?"
Zhou Yu'an sighed.
He didn't hide it.
He chose to tell them the truth.
"My father and his team didn't safely evacuate the research institute. They are still trapped inside, and..."
"The situation is very dangerous."
They were already retreating to the command center, which meant the place was about to fall.
The staff members were also getting infected one by one and turning into zombies.
Hearing this, Gu Man let out a scream of disbelief.
"What?"
"Isn't Uncle Zhou researching this? He is a very important scientist. Why would he still be trapped here?"
"What about the guards? Are they all useless?"
Chu Liuyue was silent for a moment.
She voiced the suspicion in everyone's hearts.
"The guards who went in to rescue them were probably infected too. They must have been wiped out."
Only this could explain why this large group of scientists, who clearly could have evacuated at the very beginning of the zombie outbreak, were still trapped here.
Zhou Yu'an pursed his lips.
After struggling internally for a moment, he looked at the group.
"I'm sorry, I can't go with you all anymore."
"I have to go to the research institute and save my father!"
A trace of self-blame and reluctance flashed in his eyes.
Gu Man shrieked:
"Are you crazy?"
"Even the guards failed to rescue them. That means the things inside the research institute are much more formidable than these ordinary zombies outside."
"Are you going in there just to throw your life away?"
Zhou Yu'an took a deep breath.
"I know it might be a suicide mission."
"But I really can't just stand by, knowing my father is in danger, and turn a blind eye. I can't pretend not to know and just focus on my own survival."
"Even if I survive, I would never forgive myself for the rest of my life."
He was selfish.
He didn't want to live the rest of his life in guilt, feeling like he owed his father.
Giving up without even trying.
He really couldn't do it.
Lao Yu, Sister Wan, and Brother Zhong looked at each other in dismay.
Pei Ruoxue looked at her teammates and couldn't help reminding them, "We only have a hundred kilometers left to get out of Jiang City. We are here to escape."
Brother Zhong weighed the pros and cons.
He looked at Zhou Yu'an very apologetically.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Zhou. It seems we will have to part ways for now."
Zhou Yu'an completely understood.
Just as he turned his gaze to Li Xichen, wanting to say that he was entrusting Liuyue to him for the time being.
Chu Liuyue suddenly spoke.
"An'an."
"I'll go with you to the research institute to save them."
