The group still split up.
Zhou Yuan, Yan Qingdu, Chu Liuyue, and Li Xichen headed to the Jiang City Research Institute.
Brother Zhong, Lao Yu, Sister Wan, Pei Ruoxue, and Gu Man followed the previously planned route, continuing toward the city border to seek a chance at survival.
Before leaving.
Gu Man didn't forget to make a sarcastic remark:
"I've seen stupid people, but never anyone as stupid as you!"
"You know it's a dead end, yet you're still going to your deaths."
Chu Liuyue didn't say a word, but the zombie black cat beside her bared its fangs, immediately scaring Gu Man into silence.
She hurriedly climbed into the car and left with them.
Zhou Yuan looked at Chu Liuyue with a mix of self-blame and guilt.
Even Gu Man, his fiancée in name only, was unwilling to go to the research institute for the sake of her own life.
Liuyue was just a patient he had known for a few days, yet she was willing to risk her life with him.
A surge of warmth flowed through his heart.
He couldn't help but say:
"Liuyue, I..."
"There's no need to say thank you!" Chu Liuyue raised her hand and said, "An'an, I believe in you. Don't you believe in me?"
Zhou Yuan's eyes softened.
"I believe in you."
Chu Liuyue nodded vigorously.
"That's right! We will be perfectly fine."
Yan Qingdu couldn't help but feel a twinge of sour jealousy watching this scene, muttering through gritted teeth:
"Zhou Yuan is so great, isn't he."
Li Xichen had sharp ears.
Hearing this, he glanced at him.
"Dr. Zhou is more normal than you."
"He actually acts like a human."
Yan Qingdu's mouth twitched.
"With a mouth that toxic, aren't you afraid of poisoning yourself if you bite your own tongue?"
The zombie black cat, Mimi, led the way.
Generally, ordinary zombies would scatter as soon as they caught the scent of a higher-level creature.
The group drove for less than half a day before arriving at the Jiang City Research Institute.
It was located in the high-tech zone in the suburbs.
Most of the buildings here were factories, large corporate warehouses, and high-tech laboratories.
The full name of the institute where Zhou's father worked was the Jiang City Advanced Medical and Life Sciences Research Institute.
The name sounded very prestigious.
Looking at the gray, flying-saucer-like building in front of them, everyone noticed something strange.
Li Xichen muttered:
"Strange. Why haven't we seen a single zombie since we drove in here?"
Chu Liuyue sat in the passenger seat. She watched as Mimi, who was leading the way, involuntarily twitched its ears. Its long tail, usually like a black python, drooped and flicked back and forth rapidly in high alert.
"Could there be a zombie creature even higher level than Mimi?"
Finally, the car stopped at a corner.
Li Xichen turned off the engine.
He turned to look at Zhou Yuan and Yan Qingdu in the back seat.
"We can only go this far. The road ahead is barricaded, the car can't get through."
Zhou Yuan nodded, "Thank you."
He opened the door and was about to get out.
Yan Qingdu suddenly grabbed his hand and said, "Wait, did you hear a strange noise outside?"
"A noise?"
Li Xichen gripped the steering wheel tightly.
Chu Liuyue narrowed her eyes and listened carefully.
Suddenly, a rustling sound approached from a distance, like insects crawling over dry, dead leaves.
As it drilled into their ears, their heartbeats suddenly accelerated.
Chu Liuyue spoke alertly.
"Careful."
As soon as she spoke, a dark shadow leaped out from the nearby ruins like a cannonball, smashing onto the roof of the car with a heavy thud.
The car jolted violently, emitting a groan as if it couldn't bear the weight.
It felt as though it was going to be flipped over by the tremendous force.
Heavy footsteps and a low roar echoed through the roof.
Everyone inside was knocked off balance.
Li Xichen shouted:
"What the hell is that!"
The heavy footsteps and low roars on the roof were accompanied by the screeching sound of sharp claws scraping against the metal.
The zombie black cat, Mimi, who had been leading the way, instantly perked up its ears, arched its back, and let out a fierce yowl.
Through the rearview mirror.
Chu Liuyue could clearly see a massive mutated zombie clinging to the roof of the car.
Its body was huge and twisted, its skin cracked like tree bark.
Its eyes were hollow and blood-red, and its mouth stretched all the way to the roots of its ears, revealing rows of sinister fangs.
A long, lizard-like tongue flicked nimbly in the air, seemingly searching for prey.
Li Xichen also saw it through the mirror.
He gasped.
"Is this the monster that's even more terrifying than ordinary zombies?"
"Don't tell me the research institute is full of these things."
Outside the car.
The zombie black cat, Mimi, didn't hesitate. Like a bolt of black lightning, it pounced onto the roof.
It instantly engaged in a fierce struggle with the mutated zombie, swinging its sharp claws and emitting low, guttural growls from its throat.
Inside the car, everyone was startled by the sudden turn of events.
But they quickly regained their composure.
Zhou Yuan gripped the steel pipe in his hand tightly and said through gritted teeth:
"This isn't going to work. We need to find a way out of the car and get into the institute as quickly as possible!"
Yan Qingdu nodded.
He pulled two guns from his pockets.
And handed them to Chu Liuyue.
He said:
"Yueyue, you pick first. I'll use the one left over."
Chu Liuyue didn't even spare him a glance.
"No."
"It's dirty."
Yan Qingdu felt as if a knife had been ruthlessly plunged into his heart.
Seeing this, Li Xichen laughed and said:
"I will protect Sister Xiaoyue."
Looking at the three men in front of her.
Chu Liuyue smiled quietly and suddenly said:
"You all forgot that I have superpowers too."
"And my superpower is much stronger than yours."
She took the lead, opening the car door and swiftly stepping out.
Mimi, the zombie black cat, who was in the middle of a brawl, turned its head and cast a worried glance at her.
Strangely, the mutated zombie completely ignored her appearance and continued fighting with the zombie cat.
Just as Yan Qingdu's foot stepped out of the car.
The mutated zombie's lizard-like tongue suddenly shot toward his feet, seemingly treating him as its prey.
Yan Qingdu stumbled.
He raised his hand,
And with a loud bang, a bullet whistled toward the mutant.
However, when the bullet hit the mutant, it only sent a few sparks flying.
It caused no damage whatsoever to its armor-like skin.
The mutated zombie was thoroughly enraged by this sudden attack. It let out a deafening roar.
Its massive body jolted violently, directly tearing a large hole in the roof of the car.
Immediately after, its blood-red eyes locked onto Yan Qingdu, who had fired the shot.
It reached out its blade-like claws and swiped fiercely at him.
In the nick of time.
Chu Liuyue forcefully kicked the stunned Yan Qingdu to the ground, miraculously allowing him to dodge the mutant's attack.
At the same time, seeing the situation, the zombie black cat Mimi quickly ran over and landed a claw on the mutant's head.
Forcefully dragging it backward.
Yan Qingdu collapsed limply on the ground, gasping for air.
He couldn't dare to imagine that if Chu Liuyue had been one second later, his head would have been crushed by the mutant.
The look in his eyes as he gazed at her carried a hint of complexity.
"Thank you."
"But don't you hate me?"
"Why did you save me?" His tone lacked its usual casualness.
She had constantly called him a zombie rat, so why did she save him?
Chu Liuyue didn't answer directly.
She just said:
"A scourge lives for a thousand years."
"And you are a scourge."
These words were not exactly pleasant to hear.
But Yan Qingdu raised his hand, covered his eyes, and let out a low chuckle.
There was something in his smile that even he himself didn't realize.
