"Ahhhhh!"
A scream like a pig being slaughtered erupted at the scene.
Gu Man's expression was savage and twisted.
She shrieked, "Bitch! I won't let you get away with this, you bitch! My uncle will definitely kill you."
But Chu Liuyue turned a deaf ear to her.
She continued in her own unhurried pace, "Gu Man, I suffered over twenty knife wounds."
"Right now."
"You have only taken three."
"Stop screaming, because what comes next..."
"Is going to hurt even more."
One slash, then another fell.
Chu Liuyue's expression remained perfectly calm, while Gu Man's initial arrogance was gradually replaced by sheer terror.
Blood mixed with tears and snot on her face.
She wailed and begged, "I was wrong, Chu Yue, I was wrong, Chu Liuyue."
"Please let me go, I really know I was wrong. I will never dare to do it again."
Chu Liuyue let out a cold sneer.
"I might be able to hear your apology with my own ears."
"But..."
"What about the other people you killed?"
Gu Man froze, then howled in agony, "I... I haven't killed anyone!"
Chu Liuyue's lips curled into a mocking smile.
"I was merely forced to drop out of school because of you."
"But there were two girls who were driven to their deaths by you. One jumped off a building, and the other slit her wrists. The Gu family's influence was so great that they simply sent you abroad on a vacation."
"By the time you came back, everything had blown over."
"When you were traveling the world, buying clothes and bags, did you ever once think about their families?"
Gu Man shook her head.
Still playing dumb.
"I... I didn't know."
"I really didn't know."
Chu Liuyue stopped her hand.
A spark of hope for survival burst in Gu Man's eyes.
But the very next moment.
She heard Chu Liuyue turn sideways and speak to Yan Qingdu:
"Senior Yan, you can throw her into the zombie horde now."
She paused for a second after saying that.
"Remember to make sure she's dead."
"Stab her one more time after she turns into a zombie."
Yan Qingdu nodded, took a large stride forward, and picked up the heavily slashed Gu Man as easily as picking up a little chick, walking off into the distance.
From far away, Gu Man's shrill, miserable howls could still be heard.
Chu Liuyue turned around.
She looked at the two men standing behind her.
Zhou Yuan and Li Xichen.
"Do you think I'm too cruel?"
Li Xichen was the first to answer, "Sister Yue, whatever you do is right."
Zhou Yuan's eyes shifted slightly.
A soft sigh escaped his throat.
He took the initiative to step forward.
He gently patted the top of her head.
And then pulled her into his embrace.
He said in a gentle tone:
"These past few days must have been really hard for you."
Li Xichen stood frozen in place for three seconds.
Then he flew into a rage.
What the hell?
You can do that?
That dog doctor!
Chu Liuyue did not push his embrace away; she merely stood there quietly.
Her voice sounded a bit muffled.
"I'm actually not the weak and delicate girl I appear to be in front of you."
"I know."
"I only approached you in the beginning to get revenge on Gu Man."
"I guessed as much."
"I am a ruthless woman, calculating and scheming. Doctor Zhou, I am not a good person."
"...I like that too," Zhou Yuan's voice was mild and accommodating.
Like a warm, gentle stream.
"You like that?" Chu Liuyue slightly tilted her head up, meeting his amber eyes.
"Mhm." His cheeks and the tips of his ears involuntarily turned a light shade of red.
He slowly nodded his head.
Just as the atmosphere was gradually becoming intimate and ambiguous.
Li Xichen couldn't help but interrupt them:
"Sister Yue, Zhang Cheng has already been dealt with. What should we do with him now?"
Chu Liuyue cleared her throat.
She stepped back from Zhou Yuan's embrace.
"Throw Zhang Cheng into the zombie pile too."
After dealing with the Gu Man situation.
Chu Liuyue still decided to head to the Jingdu survivor base, because the core issue hadn't been resolved yet. According to the researcher's diary, that 'thing' was ultimately located in the Jingdu Research Institute.
The Jiang City survivor base was handed over to Brother Zhong and the others.
Brother Zhong smiled bitterly:
"The day we parted ways with you last time, we thought that once we escaped Jiang City, we could return to normal human society."
"We never expected that the other cities had also fallen."
"Some are even worse than here."
"So, we've decided to stay here. Perhaps, if we work hard, there's still a glimmer of hope."
Lao Yu and Sister Wan also prepared to stay behind together to rebuild the base.
Only, it wouldn't be a dictatorship ruled by one man's word like it was under Zhang Cheng.
Right before they left.
Lao Yu couldn't help but call out to Li Xichen.
"Little Chen, you..." He hesitated, stopping himself from speaking.
Li Xichen couldn't hold back and asked, "What is it? Lao Yu, I look up to you like a real older brother, stop dawdling around!"
Lao Yu stopped acting coy.
He spoke up:
"Look, I'm a married man."
Li Xichen rolled his eyes and said, "Bro, I know you have a wife, you don't need to show off your romance here."
Lao Yu shook his head repeatedly.
"No, that's not what I mean."
"I mean, I have dating experience and I managed to marry a wife, so I'm someone who has been through it."
"Little Chen, you like Liuyue, right? It's pretty obvious. Everyone around us can tell."
Li Xichen froze.
Then he scratched his head, his face instantly turning beet red.
"Is it that obvious?"
"Yes! But Liuyue seems to prefer that Doctor Zhou, and that Researcher Yan is also taking the initiative to get close to her every single day. So, your chances aren't looking great."
"Who said so?!" Li Xichen reacted intensely, saying, "How can those two compare to me? I'm younger, I have better stamina, and I'm handsome."
As he spoke, he counted off his advantages on his fingers.
Lao Yu nodded.
"True! You do have a lot of advantages."
"But you are like a little brother."
Li Xichen fell silent for a moment: "..." Then he burst out in a fierce low growl, "I am not a little brother!"
Lao Yu hurriedly tried to pacify him:
"Hey, hey, hey, don't get so worked up."
"I didn't mean it like that. I'm saying that you've always appeared by Liuyue's side in the image of a younger brother, so she naturally treats you as one."
"If you keep this up, your chances of winning her over aren't high."
The anger on Li Xichen's face gradually dissipated.
He nodded thoughtfully.
"That actually makes some sense."
"Then what should I do?"
He looked at Lao Yu with a face full of thirst for knowledge.
Lao Yu said in a totally serious tone:
"It's simple. Stop letting her treat you like a little brother. Show off your masculine charm! For example... ow, ow, ow!"
Before he could finish his sentence, his ear was forcefully pinched and pulled up by Sister Wan.
"Ow, ow, ow! Wife, what are you doing?"
Sister Wan let out a light snort and said, "What am I doing? What are you doing here? Don't teach Little Chen bad things."
Lao Yu bared his teeth in pain, sucking in a breath of cold air, "How could I? I'm passing on valuable experience to Little Chen."
Sister Wan glared at him.
She let go of his ear.
Then she looked at Li Xichen and said in a gentle tone:
"Little Chen, don't listen to the nonsense your Brother Yu is spouting."
"If you want to pursue a girl, the two most important things are sincerity and action."
"Of course, a timely confession is also very important."
"I believe in you. You aren't any worse than Doctor Zhou or Researcher Yan!"
Li Xichen looked like he had received great teachings and nodded his head gratefully.
After bidding farewell to the people at the base, they set off in the direction of Jingdu.
Li Xichen sat in the driver's seat, driving the car, but his mind was still distracted by the conversation from earlier.
Chu Liuyue found it strange.
She asked with concern, "Little Chen, what's wrong?"
Li Xichen's brain was still spinning.
The words just blurted out of his mouth.
"Sister Yue."
"I am a man!"
