584: 9.54 Stay With Me

9.54 Stay With Me

Zhao Bolin collapsed to the ground. With a pained gasp, he covered his chest and coughed hard. He could faintly taste blood on the tip of his tongue and… goodness, it hurt so much! He almost blacked out from the shock when his back made contact with the solid wall. Throughout twenty eight years of his life, this was the first time the esteemed Professor Zhao had experienced such a huge suffering!  2

"You—" He lifted his head angrily and was stunned in an instant by the sight in front of him.

Despite being the culprit, Lu Yizhou looked much, much worse than himself. Zhao Bolin had never seen such an expression on him before. So lost, so afraid, so small and fragile… as if he was a puppy who was suddenly abandoned by his owner, drenched by the chilly rain and could only shiver uncontrollably. He took an unstable step forward with his hand outstretched. But then as though recalling something, he suddenly flinched and took his hand back, forcing it to hang stiffly by his side. 

Oh Lord… if Zhao Bolin had not been in so much pain, he would have laughed out loud by now. He was the one who was injured so why did Lu Yizhou look like Zhao Bolin had gouged his heart out?

"Come here… cough," he weakly beckoned the zombie over whilst struggling to get up and lean his back against the wall. "Come here and help me up. Goodness, what have you eaten to get so strong?" Then Zhao Bolin realized that his question sounded redundant and could not help but laugh at himself. "Is it because of the feeding earlier? I should write this down in my notebook as soon as possible."

When Lu Yizhou still did not move, Zhao Bolin clicked his tongue impatiently. "I am hurt and hungry, and now you want me to get a cold sitting down here?"

Lu Yizhou stiffened even more and he took a tentative step forward, but the hesitation in his action was loud and clear. He was afraid to touch Zhao Bolin, afraid of hurting him again… The revelation caused Zhao Bolin's heart to melt and even the bruises did not seem as painful anymore. Professor Zhao's eyes softened yet his words were utterly merciless as they whipped at Lu Yizhou's wounds, "What? You have hurt me like this and now, you want to throw the responsibility away? After becoming a zombie, have you lost your common sense?"

Lu Yizhou jolted as if the words had scalded him. He pursed his lips so tight that they turned into a single pale line. Then, he took a deep breath to compose himself, approached Zhao Bolin, reached out to him with a movement so gentle and carefully deposited him to the sofa. Zhao Bolin groaned and rubbed his aching chest. Fortunately, his ribs were not broken otherwise it would truly be a pain in the ass. He lifted his eyelids lazily and found Lu Yizhou standing by his side with his head lowered, like a student awaiting punishment— no, like a prisoner who was receiving his death verdict.

Zhao Bolin shifted his gaze to the steaming noodles on the table. He patted his flat tummy and said, "I'm hungry and don't want to move right now. Why don't you feed me?" 

Lu Yizhou nodded woodenly and went to fetch the noodle bowl. When the zombie's back was facing him, Zhao Bolin could not maintain his facade anymore and grimaced in pain. He discreetly rubbed his old waist whilst grumbling in his heart. Goodness… his whole body must be black and blue, especially the area around his back and hips! 

He would really like to ask Lu Yizhou what the hell was going on but… sigh, forget it. He could more or less guess the reason why. Lu Yizhou's mental state must be quite unstable after eating human flesh for the first time. His infamous reputation notwithstanding, Professor Zhao was actually quite a sensible man. He had a hunch that talking about it right now would backfire and instead, opted to skirt around the topic. After all, Lu Yizhou looked so fragile as though he would break down with one sentence from him.

As long as Zhao Bolin knew that Lu Yizhou did not do it on purpose, then all was fine.

However, Lu Yizhou must be dying of guilt right now. Earlier, he looked like he wanted to bolt out of the door and disappear from Zhao Bolin's life once and for all. And hence, Zhao Bolin had no choice but to say those hurtful words in order to force Lu Yizhou to stay. If he said that 'he was okay', then Lu Yizhou would definitely feel more terrible. It was better to complain directly and let Lu Yizhou mend his mistakes. This way, he would not run away from Zhao Bolin again.

Huh? Wait… 'again'? Where did it come from? Had Lu Yizhou run away from him before?

Before he could think further about it, Lu Yizhou had returned with the steaming bowl of noodles. Professor Zhao was quickly distracted by the loud growl in his stomach. He opened his mouth shamelessly. "Aaa—"

Lu Yizhou stared at him for one long moment with an indescribable gaze. Just as Zhao Bolin was going to snap again, Lu Yizhou finally took a seat beside him, blew the noodles before carefully sending it to Zhao Bolin's mouth. 

Zhao Bolin squinted his eyes in bliss at the explosion of flavor in his mouth. The noodles had been cooked perfectly, it was a bit soggy after being left for a few minutes but the taste was still impeccable. Coupled with the ham and sausage, Zhao Bolin felt like he was in Heaven. Warmth spread throughout his body and he felt so cozy that he did not even want to lift his hand. He licked his lips in satisfaction. "It's good. Give me more." Then he opened his mouth again like a baby bird, waiting for Lu Yizhou to serve him.

As mouthful after mouthful noodles were delivered into his mouth, Zhao Bolin could perceive that Lu Yizhou's emotions had calmed down. Thus he asked with a casual tone, "What about Li Zhu and the others?" He glanced out of the window and could still see the fumes of black smoke billowing from afar. The sky was getting darker now. It was estimated that the rain was going to pour down anytime soon.

[They have escaped safely. Eight soldiers have fallen, but Li Zhu and Yang Tengfei are fine.]

Zhao Bolin could not help but harrumph coldly. They were really like cockroaches, so resilient and hard to kill! Well… it might be better like this. After all, they had not discovered the 'surprise' Zhao Bolin had prepared for them yet. Rather than letting them die, Zhao Bolin would prefer to see them fall into the pit of despair and grovel under his feet in the future. It was the price they had to pay for going against such a vengeful man like Zhao Bolin!

Professor Zhao wanted to ask a few more questions regarding how Yang Tengfei managed to escape from the siege. Alas, seeing Lu Yizhou's paralyzed expression, his heart could not help but feel itchy. He reached out to tug on the hem of Lu Yizhou's shirt and murmured, "Tonight… stay with me." He did not even give Lu Yizhou any time to react and continued with all earnesty, "Don't go anywhere and stay with me. Lu Yizhou, I am afraid that… once you leave, I will not be able to find you anymore."

Lu Yizhou's lips parted as though he wanted to say something but Zhao Bolin put his finger on the zombie's lips, catching the other off guard. Both of them seemed to forget that Lu Yizhou was unable to speak to begin with.

"If it's possible, I also want to go back to my laboratory." Zhao Bolin's eyes gleamed in determination. Outside, lightning struck down and droplets of rain started to fall gently on the windowpane, shrouding the air with chill and gloom. Despite that, Zhao Bolin's voice was akin to a beacon of light amidst the darkness as he declared, 

"This time, I am going to finish the antidote and save you."

***

Nobody had expected this kind of disaster to strike out of nowhere. 

They had departed with eleven soldiers, including Yang Tengfei and in the end, they returned only with three! Li Zhu and the three soldiers were ladened with injuries, especially Yang Tengfei who was in charge of breaking through the siege. If not for the short incubation time, Yang Tengfei would have been put in isolation for coming into contact with so many zombies!

As expected of the protagonists, even under such a perilous situation, they could still break free and return to the basecamp safely!

In the meeting room, an urgent discussion was held.

"This can't go on any longer!" The President demanded with a deep furrow between his brows. "As of now, the country has entered a red alert. The remaining citizens are in great danger, even our military basecamp can't escape from the zombies' attack. The Zombie King is an existence we have to get rid of as soon as possible!" 

They had suffered a huge defeat today. Ninety percent of the citizens were bitten in less than five hours, and the number of soldiers who had fallen for defending the basecamp could not be counted in one hand! Even now, the sound of gunshots could still be heard intermittently as the zombies had not given up trying to invade the basecamp. If this went on, then everyone would perish!

Buzz of approval echoed the President one after another.

"That's right, he's a very dangerous existence!"

"Who did you say his name is? Lu Yizhou? And he's a student of F University?!"

"Goodness… all this while, he has been by Professor Zhao's side as an assistant! Professor Zhao must have known this early on and hid it from all of us! How cunning!"

The higher-ups were in uproar and standing in the middle of the storm was Yang Tengfei. He was the one who had direct contact with Lu Yizhou when he stayed in F University yet he was utterly oblivious of it! Exactly how could a university student fool the Captain of the Special Forces?! The higher-ups were very dissatisfied with his negligence and if not for the severe lack of manpower, Yang Tengfei would have been punished severely for his mistake! 

Yang Tengfei's expression was somber and he exuded low pressure from his body. His eyes contained deep chills, one which could freeze anyone who looked at him. It was obvious that he also realized his oversight. In front of the higher-ups, he bowed deeply in apology. After that, he made a solemn vow. "In the name of my honor, I will definitely obliterate the Zombie King!"

"And how do you plan to do that?" They asked, displeased.

Yang Tengfei's back remained straight under the crushing pressure. He answered with a firm and steady tone, "Please cease your worry. Everything is within control. First, we have already secured Professor Zhao's research data and his student, Li Zhu, will be the one to continue the experiment. I guarantee that he will finish the vaccine as soon as possible. By then, we don't have to fear the zombies anymore. Second…" His eyes glinted in a cold light. "I have secretly planted a tracker on Professor Zhao. Based on my observation, his relationship with the Zombie King is unusual. Wherever he is, the Zombie King will definitely be there! We only have to find Zhao Bolin in order to hunt the King down!"

The President was taken aback. He had never expected Yang Tengfei to have such a great insight. He could even plant a tracker on Professor Zhao! His frown relaxed a bit and he asked eagerly, "Then where are they now?"

Yang Tengfei turned to the projector screen. "Please have a look…"

pqdm.com