578: 9.48 Don't Blame Him

9.48 Don't Blame Him

1Li Zhu clamped his mouth shut with both hands, cutting the scream off short. He was shaking so badly and his eyes wide in terror. Even the harmful smoke in the air was unable to make him tear his gaze away from the sight in front of him.0

Z–Zombies, it's zombies!!!

Li Zhu was not a stranger to these creatures which had terrorized everyone for these past few months. However, he had never seen so many of them gathering in the same place before! The sight of them packed like sardines, staring up at him with no expression on their bloody faces was so terrifying that it sent numbing chills up to his scalp. Li Zhu staggered back a step and tripped on his feet, landing butt first on the ground.

"N–No…" Tears flooded his eyes as his expression became stricken. The surrounding was so hot that it was almost smothering yet at the moment, Li Zhu felt as if he had been thrown into an ice cellar.

—Then, something more terrifying happened. 

The zombies blinked as though awoken from their trance and they started to climb the stairs in unison, their bloody hands stretched out toward Li Zhu! 

Li Zhu's heart leapt to his throat as his whole frame was frozen due to extreme fear. His mind went utterly blank. Yet at the last crucial seconds before those zombies reached him, it was as if someone had just slapped him hard on his face, forcing him to face reality head-on.

He did not want to die! He must not die! He had the last copy of Professor Zhao's data with him! If he perished, then everyone would follow him as well! Such thought unexpectedly injected fuel into Li Zhu's body. He sprung up like a rabbit and dashed to the direction where he had just come from. 

"Help—!" He screamed atop of his lungs, his voice cracking due to the smoke. "Help me! Please help me—!"

Alas, his pleas were bound to go unheard.

Li Zhu slammed the laboratory close behind him and fastened the lock, breathing heavily. Outside, he could faintly hear the dull sound of fists slamming on metal as well as the inhumane growls of starving zombies. They must have chased him here… They must have filled the entire corridor, cutting his means to escape…

His strength finally left him and he slid down to the ground, eyes muddled and blank.

…Where had the soldiers gone?

…Why weren't they waiting for him at the appointed time and place?

So many zombies… there were so many zombies outside… It couldn't be… Had they been bitten? No, how could that be?! They were Special Forces' soldiers! They had guns! Even Lu Yizhou, a simple and ordinary student could break through the siege of zombies unharmed so why couldn't they?! Li Zhu tried to think positively. Perhaps, something unexpected had happened, preventing them from coming for him… However, as soon as that thought emerged, it was soon squashed by the harsh reality in front of him.

Then why didn't they answer his call? Why would there be so many zombies downstairs? No matter how he pondered on it, there was only one possibility left…

Li Zhu shivered violently, curled up and hugged himself. A sob escaped his lips but he hastily clamped his mouth shut for fear that the zombie would go berserk and destroy the door. 

Amidst the humid air, scorching smoke and the growl of zombies, Li Zhu's spirit collapsed and he cried silently. 

What should he do? What should he do from now on?! Please… help him… Somebody please help him!

If only he had been a little more sober, he would have realized that something was wrong. How could so many zombies stay in place like that? How could they fill the entire fourth floor without going up despite sensing him? It was as if… as if they were waiting to ambush him, forcing him back into this place where he would be trapped without companions. 

In this place, where all his guilt and remorse originated. In this place, where he had betrayed his most respected teacher and pushed him into the pit of abyss. In this place, where his fate would start to change for the better…

***

As it turned out, the 'unexpected situation' Yang Tengfei informed them referred to a little chink in the basecamp's barrier, only enough for one zombie to slip in! Don't talk about dangerous emergency, this problem did not even need the commander himself to solve, just two or three soldiers would do!

As soon as the plight was made clear, Zhao Bolin created a huge ruckus, demanding the soldiers to bring him back as soon as possible. He had known that these people were up to no good. The problem cropped up just as he was about to leave. Only a three-year-old child would be fooled by something so clumsily schemed. Seriously, had they underestimated his IQ or something?!

Yang Tengfei's face was as dark as charcoal as he faced a certain obnoxious professor.

It ought to be mentioned that the military basecamp had dispatched a few soldiers for patrol every single day. Two kilometers around them was a green area free of zombies. However, it was not certain what would have happened if Zhao Bolin created an uproar. The professor had even gotten hold of a gun and threatened to kill himself, wanting to use the smell of blood to attract zombies here!

At that moment, there was only one thought in everyone's mind: You're insane!

Both sides were stuck in a stalemate, none was willing to back down. The soldiers did not dare to move without order and could only glare at Zhao Bolin viciously. On the other hand, Yang Tengfei was a man with a mission and he was still counting the time. They had prepared this plan for weeks. How could he let everything go down the drain just because a man surnamed Zhao was throwing tantrums?

It was not until Yang Tengfei received the signal from the other side, indicating that the operation was in progress did he finally relent. "...Alright," he said with great reluctance. "Put down the gun, I will bring you back."

Zhao Bolin shot him a skeptical look. He gripped the gun tighter to himself and declared, "I will put it down after I enter the helicopter." He took everyone as an enemy here, how could he let down his guard so easily?

Veins popped up in Yang Tengfei's forehead. He was not even willing to waste one more breath talking with Zhao Bolin. With a cold harrumph, he swiveled around and ordered the soldiers around him to prepare. When they came here, Yang Tengfei only brought two soldiers with him but now, he summoned eight others to make it ten!

For some reason, Zhao Bolin's heart thudded uneasily. He waited until everyone embarked the helicopter and it soared into the sky before asking, "Why are you bringing so many people back?" It stood to reason that manpower was severely lacking in this kind of situation. Yang Tengfei still had to arrange people to escort those important politicians and strengthened the barrier. Then he unexpectedly brought more people with him??

The corner of Yang Tengfei's lips pressed down coldly. "I have no obligations to inform you of each and every one of my plans, Professor."

Zhao Bolin rolled his eyes inwardly.

The two people were unable to see eye to eye with each other and hence, the atmosphere inside the helicopter was a bit tense. The soldiers sat ramrod straight, eyes fixed forward as though they were mechanical dolls. It lasted until a crackling buzz reverberated from the walkie-talkie.

Harsh panting was heard, followed by rapid footsteps. Just by listening to it was enough to make everyone's heart tighten. 

"Team Two is speaking! Reporting to the commander, something… something has gone terribly wrong! Over!"

Yang Tengfei grabbed the walkie talkie and put it beside his lips. His voice was low and steady, albeit the space between his brows were knitted tightly. "Please describe your situation. Over."

The person on the other line could not even maintain the usual decorum. A loud curse was transmitted from the speaker. "Damn it, there are too many of them! Get away from here—ah, shit! Fuck your mother!" There was a series of loud gunshots, more foul curses, and the terrifying growls of zombies. Then the static sound buzzed noisily and the connection was cut. 

No matter how many times Commander Yang tried to reach them, it was futile. The connection was dead.

Zhao Bolin's tense back relaxed infinitesimally. He put two and two together and could more or less guess what was going on. 

Before he had completed the vaccine, Lu Yizhou had warned him that some ill-intentioned people would definitely eye his data, telling him not to save them in his computer. Zhao Bolin could not help but harrumph. Even with his pinky toe, he could already guess that these people would not let him live peacefully, especially after he already handed the vaccine to them. He had always been a cautious person. As such, experiment data regarding the vaccine, Lu Yizhou's antidote and his daily observation of Zombie Lu were kept in a secret place nobody knew. All his computer saved was only miscellaneous files from the days in the university. 

Today, Yang Tengfei led the tiger away from the mountain, deliberately leading him away from the laboratory for Li Zhu to steal his data. Otherwise, would such an ambitious person like Li Zhu reject the chance to be his personal assistant for a day without Lu Yizhou's intervention? 

Zhao Bolin had already given him one last chance. If… If Li Zhu were to follow him to the meeting, then he would turn a blind eye to everything the student had done and forgive him. Alas… he was bound to be disappointed. In the end, what Li Zhu wanted was only the vaccine, even if he had to destroy Zhao Bolin along the way.

If that was the case, then… don't blame him for being heartless.

Something had definitely happened back in the university. Zhao Bolin guessed that Lu Yizhou was retaliating to the soldiers using his zombie minions. He discreetly heaved out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Lu Yizhou was fine… It was not zombies whom he had to be careful of, but the humans around him. Nonetheless, in order not to make others suspicious, Zhao Bolin put on a convincing nervous expression. "Team Two… isn't that the team you order to guard the laboratory? Has something happened?!"

Of course, Yang Tengfei did not deign to answer him. 

Zhao Bolin merely sneered inside his heart. Let's see if he could still put on this kind of act after seeing the 'important' files he had secured!

The helicopter flew straight to F University. Even from afar, they could already see thick black smoke billowing from the Biology Building. The zombies were like ants, their numbers uncountable as they surrounded the area. The soldiers who saw this hair-rising scene from above could not help but curse, "Goddamn it! What kind of hellish place is this?"

"How can there be so many zombies all of a sudden?!"

Someone gasped. "Could it be… the Zombie King?!"

Tension filled the air as they glanced at each other with apprehension. More than three months ago, the Zombie King had appeared around the perimeter of F University. However, due to the lack of information, they did not dare to charge ahead for fear that it would become a meaningless sacrifice. Now that something like this happened, a question popped up simultaneously in their mind.

Had the Zombie King reappeared after three months? What did he want?

"Zombie King…?" Zhao Bolin asked curiously.

"Professor Zhao, don't you know?" The soldier filled him in. "That one supreme zombie who can command every zombie to do their bidding, the Zombie King! It's said that he still retains his intelligence even after transforming into a zombie." He shuddered in dismay. "Goodness, imagine how powerful that creature is. How terrifying!"

This was the first time Zhao Bolin, who had never been a fan of science-fiction, had heard of this term. All this while, he had always referred to Lu Yizhou as 'superior zombie' or 'mutated zombie'.

Zombie King…

The corner of Zhao Bolin's lips tilted in a subtle arc. Unexpectedly, that title suited Lu Yizhou very much.

The soldier who was observing the perimeter, suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "I see someone!" Everyone followed his line of sight and found Li Zhu, who was waving desperately at them from Zhao Bolin's office window! Even through such a far distance, they could sense the elation and relief radiating from the student. However, the two soldiers who were supposed to accompany him were nowhere to be seen…

Yang Tengfei frowned and gave a command, "We will land on the rooftop!"

pqdm.com