597: 9.67 Don't Leave Me

9.67 Don't Leave Me

Amidst the rumbling roar of the collapsing warehouse and the ringing haze of his mind, Lu Yizhou heard a familiar system notification.0

[Congratulations. You have successfully completed your mission in this world!]

But none of it registered in his mind at all. Lu Yizhou felt as though he was trapped in a nightmare, a very long and unending one where he struggled to find the exit only to see it fall apart right before his very eyes. Laying on the ground amidst the helicopter wreckage, Lu Yizhou could do nothing but witness the solid structure of the warehouse falling apart like sandcastle swept by a torrential wave, bringing nothing but ruins and demise in its wake. 

And in that warehouse… was Zhao Bolin. His lover…

Lu Yizhou's mind went utterly blank and the next thing he knew, he already climbed his way out of the metal scraps, staggering. His ruined body was regenerating slowly, pink flesh born anew, still too tender to be dragged across harsh asphalt. But Lu Yizhou did not care. Like a madman who had lost his mind, he dragged his bloody and battered body to the warehouse, leaving a gruesome and terrifying trail of crimson behind.

He stumbled past the crowd of zombies feasting on humans, heard their unceasing screams and cries of despair mixing with the disgusting sounds of biting and chewing… until he stood in front of the wrecked building.

His mangled lips parted and he wanted to call out his lover's name, yet his vocal cord had been utterly destroyed by the explosion. Never had Lu Yizhou been so grateful for his zombie's physique. Almost in an instant, he could perceive the distinct breath of a human buried under the wreckage. There was only one person who could have been trapped underneath…

Within one heartbeat and the next, Lu Yizhou threw himself into the pile of broken beams, debris and materials. The raw pink flesh of his hands, which had barely grown out, was torn open again as he swept through the ruins. A broken growl ruptured from his bloody throat, like a mournful cry of a beast who had lost its soulmate. As much as he was grateful that he could sense Zhao Bolin's presence, he hated it too. Oh he hated it so much because… he vividly grasped that his lover's vitality was getting weaker and weaker…

He had no idea how long he was searching desperately until—

"Cough… Lu– Lu Yizhou?"

Lu Yizhou froze. His heart, which had started to get cold, pumped faster; sending bursts of excitement through his veins. So close… That voice was so close… He only needed to dig a little more. Just a little more…

Finally, when Lu Yizhou hurled a large broken piece of material away, he found the person he was dying to see. Alas, the zing of delight was short-lived as it was quickly overwhelmed by intense despair. 

Atop of Zhao Bolin's body were a few crushed zombies whom Lu Yizhou had ordered to protect him. When the grenade detonated, they intuitively threw themselves on Zhao Bolin and saved his life. However… his lower body… at the last moment, Zhao Bolin's lower body was unable to escape and had been smashed into smithereens…

Lu Yizhou thought that his vision was already covered by a layer of crimson haze, but it was not until now did he realize how striking that color was. Against the gray material, Zhao Bolin's mangled flesh and bones stabbed painfully into his eyes. 

Zhao Bolin squinted his eyes as strong beams of sunlight shone on his face. With much difficulty, he tilted his head to look at the figure beside him and a soft exclamation escaped his lips. "Oh…" His eyes, which were already swollen from crying, reddened again. "Lu Yizhou… your body…"

Silly, you're the one who has become like this, what are you worrying about me for?

The whole situation was so ridiculous that Lu Yizhou got the urge to laugh. He wanted to laugh out loud, scream and vent the intense emotions swirling in his chest. However, in the end, no sound came out of his mouth. As if he was a broken puppet whose string was cut off, he abruptly fell on his knees beside Zhao Bolin with a loud thud, the sound of his kneecap cracking resounded through the air. 

Tremblingly, he reached out to cup his lover's cheek and wiped the blood flowing out of his lips. However, because his entire body was also drenched in blood, he only made his lover look worse. Lu Yizhou drew in a painful breath. That fair skin was not supposed to be covered in blood and bruises… 

Zhao Bolin suddenly coughed out more blood, and then he struggled to speak with a scratchy voice. "Lu Yizhou… Yizhou, baby… look at me…"

Lu Yizhou soullessly dragged his gaze to meet Zhao Bolin's golden eyes and as soon as he saw the happiness and relief – of seeing him alive – in them, his own eyes started to sting madly.

However, he was a zombie. Zombies could not sweat nor could they shed tears. In spite of that, Lu Yizhou still felt hot liquid pouring out of his eyes. 

Seeing that, Zhao Bolin revealed a flustered and panicked look. He struggled to lift his numb hand to wipe Lu Yizhou's cheeks. It came out crimson. 

It was true that Lu Yizhou could not shed tears and thus, his body directly secreted blood from his eyes. The thick hot liquid slid down his cheeks and dripped onto Zhao Bolin's hand in an unstoppable stream. Yet from the start to the end, he never made a sound. He had not said anything ever since he found Zhao Bolin. How much pain did it take for a zombie's defected body, which was unable to produce tears, to eventually show tears of blood? Lu Yizhou could not quite describe it, but it was more… more painful than any other torture he had gone through before combined into one.

Not quite recovering from the shock yet, Zhao Bolin choked out, "D–Don't cry…" In a dire situation like this, Professor Zhao seemed to have forgotten his own injury and tugged up the corner of his lips into a comforting smile. "It's okay… It doesn't hurt…"

How can it be? Lu Yizhou thought numbly. This person's skin had always been so thin and tender. Just exerting a bit of strength was enough to make a bruise. Nobody knew it better than Lu Yizhou himself. Now that half of his body was destroyed, how could it not hurt?

"Congratulations…" Zhao Bolin gasped weakly as he spoke in stutter, fighting against the agony wrecking through his entire body. Even then, his smile was as brilliant as ever. "You did it… You—"

"Don't…" Lu Yizhou finally gritted out in an extremely hoarse voice. He could not hold himself back anymore and his whole body started to tremble. 

Don't speak. Don't exert yourself. Don't smile at me like that. Don't pretend that you're okay when you're not. Don't—

Don't leave me.

As soon as the thought slipped into his mind, Lu Yizhou gasped and clutched his chest as if someone had stabbed him through it with a sharp barbed spear before pulling out mercilessly, taking with it a big chunk of flesh and leaving him bleeding to his death. Lu Yizhou bit down on his lips to muffle the groan.

"Lu Yizhou…?!" an extremely flustered and anxious voice washed over him, bringing him out of his stupor.

Raising his head, he stared into Zhao Bolin's concerned eyes and suddenly recalled something,

[Time rewinder…! I want to return to the time before Yang Tengfei threw the grenade!]

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