"How come it's you?"
Tang Xinger's tears were still hanging on her face, her eyes red as she looked at Gu Jingyong. It was only then that she noticed Gu Jingyong's eyes were also somewhat red around the edges, which stood out prominently on his fair complexion.
"Who told you to run around like that."
Before Tang Xinger could speak, Gu Jingyong's face darkened, and he sternly said.
His voice carried obvious anger and some complex emotions that Tang Xinger couldn't understand, and she didn't want to understand them at the moment.
"What do you mean by me running around? Clearly, you're the one who left me and went off by yourself!"
Tang Xinger was very angry now. "Furious" couldn't even describe her current state. Just thinking about Gu Jingyong leaving her alone to fend for herself against the zombies made her even more furious.
"I went."
Gu Jingyong looked at her agitated expression, about to say something when Tang Xinger interrupted him.
"What did you go for? To buy bubble tea or hamburgers? Over there is a street full of snacks, did you go for a stroll?"
Tang Xinger pinched her waist, glaring at him, ready to confront him if he couldn't explain. She herself didn't realize how confident she appeared.
"No hamburgers or bubble tea."
Gu Jingyong seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, leaning back against the wall with his hands crossed in front of him, watching her.
"Hmph."
After a cold snort from Tang Xinger, she felt somewhat deflated, but she still maintained her composure, rolling her eyes at Gu Jingyong, her chin almost reaching the sky.
"If those zombies were led over here, in this narrow alley, it would be like walking into a trap. So I led them to the other side."
Tang Xinger thought Gu Jingyong wouldn't say anything more, but to her surprise, after a slight pause, he spoke again, "Are you hungry?"
"I'm not hungry!"
Tang Xinger retorted. Although she felt a bit hungry after running for so long, especially craving hamburgers and bubble tea, she didn't forget that they were currently arguing.
"Wait here."
Gu Jingyong seemed unaware of Tang Xinger's anger, or perhaps he deliberately ignored it, standing up straight and walking towards the alley entrance.
"Like I would wait for you."
Tang Xinger muttered, but her legs remained firmly planted in place.
After the recent scare, she felt that nothing was more important than her life. After all, even supporting characters died from talking too much, and she didn't want to die from being overly dramatic.
Watching Gu Jingyong leave again, Tang Xinger leaned against the wall. In a daze, it seemed like she heard footsteps, so she looked alertly toward the alley behind her, but she didn't see anything, not even a single fallen leaf.
She slowly relaxed, feeling she had been overly nervous. She stared idly at the road ahead, waiting for Gu Jingyong to come back for her.
Hearing the sound of wheels rolling, Tang Xinger looked towards the alley entrance and saw Gu Jingyong riding back on his bike.
Just as she was about to approach, she noticed a slight crack in Gu Jingyong's calm expression.
"Get down!"
Gu Jingyong stared intensely behind her. Hearing his voice, Tang Xinger didn't have time to react. Her body instinctively crouched down.
"Whoosh."
The sound of a zombie's roar entered her ears, and the nauseating smell nearby made Tang Xinger realize what was happening.
Then she heard a noise, something hitting the wall. Tang Xinger was pulled up and pushed behind.
Only then did she see the thing on the ground, one of the zombies that had chased her not long ago. She recognized it by its clothes.
Because the zombie in front of her seemed to have undergone further mutation. Its original skin was cracked, as if made up of fragments, with yellowish mucus seeping from the cracks, like glue.
What was even more frightening were its crimson eyes, as if they could see through you, no matter where you hid.
Its lips were torn apart, revealing two rows of sharp teeth. Its mouth, which had been closed, suddenly opened, and something red burst out from inside.
Gu Jingyong grabbed Tang Xinger's waist and dodged, then placed her down and rushed out with a dagger.
The zombie's tongue was several meters long, extremely flexible, and moved like a snake. If you weren't careful, it could entangle you, making escape impossible.
Tang Xinger nervously watched Gu Jingyong's movements. She saw him skillfully dodge to the side, the dagger in his hand stabbing without hesitation, with a decisive ruthlessness.
The zombie couldn't evade and was stabbed in the scapula. After a momentary pause, it swung its long tongue towards Gu Jingyong's neck.
From Tang Xinger's perspective, she could only see Gu Jingyong unable to evade, and she felt her heart wrenching as she watched the crimson tongue about to entangle his neck.
The expected scenario didn't happen. A sharp cold light flashed, followed by the zombie's agonized roar. Then the zombie's abdomen was kicked, and its whole body flew out, hitting the wall.
"Are you okay?"
Tang Xinger anxiously inquired, and when she met Gu Jingyong's gaze, she shivered and instinctively averted her eyes.
Seeing her frightened expression, Gu Jingyong turned away and stopped looking at her.
The fallen zombie attacked again, its mouth full of sharp teeth aiming for his leg.
Just as its fangs were about to touch his pants, it was kicked away, but Gu Jingyong's expression became even darker as he saw his pants covered in mucus. Gradually, impatience crept into his demeanor.
His left hand, holding the dagger, slowly exerted force, and the veins on the back of his hand extended into his sleeve, concealed from view.
The blood on the dagger handle slowly gathered together and swayed precariously at the tip, shaking as Gu Jingyong walked. Finally, it fell to the ground, splattering into a spray.
Sensing Gu Jingyong's aura, the zombie seemed to realize something. The ferocity on its face slowly gave way to panic, as if it wanted to escape.
Gu Jingyong didn't give it a chance. Almost instantaneously, he slashed with the dagger, plunging it deeply into the zombie's heart.
Its widened eyes gradually lost their ferocity, and the once crimson eyes dimmed like extinguished lanterns.
Gu Jingyong lowered his head, silently staring at the zombie's lifeless form. Tang Xinger's back chilled, and just thinking about Gu Jingyong's bloodthirsty gaze and the chilling coldness in his eyes from earlier, she felt as if the dagger had pierced her own body.
Gu Jingyong moved slightly, and Tang Xinger, like a startled bird, turned and ran, her speed so fast that a blur was left behind as her sleeves swayed.
Gu Jingyong stared at her disappearing figure at the alley entrance, his gaze deepening, but he didn't move. He just bent down and pulled the dagger out of the zombie's head.
In the silent alley, a burst of car horns shattered the calm. Gu Jingyong followed the sound and saw a somewhat embarrassed and nervous face.
Tang Xinger raised her hand, looking somewhat helpless at the car handle. She had accidentally honked the horn, and the sharp sound had startled her.
Afraid of attracting zombies, she dared not touch anything now, only balancing the bike with her legs against the ground.
"Um, let's go quickly."
Tang Xinger looked at Gu Jingyong expressionlessly, quietly saying before getting off the bike and letting him take the lead.
"I thought you had run away again."
Gu Jingyong supported the handlebars, suddenly speaking as Tang Xinger sat down, unable to discern his true intentions.
Tang Xinger stiffened for a moment before awkwardly laughing and saying, "How could I? I just went for a bike ride to save you the trouble of walking over."
Tang Xinger carefully shifted her position, creating some distance between herself and Gu Jingyong. The spacious seat was clearly divided by a hand's width, and after creating this separation, Tang Xinger silently breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ah!"
But before she could let out that breath, Tang Xinger suddenly lurched forward, instinctively grabbing onto the only obstacle to steady herself.
Gu Jingyong continued to stare ahead, riding the bike with her, weaving through the alleys.
Tang Xinger pressed against Gu Jingyong, the careful distance she had just created vanished in an instant.
Seeing Gu Jingyong's slightly raised hair, Tang Xinger inexplicably felt as weightless as his current state.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Tang Xinger let go of his hand that she had been holding onto, slowly straightening up and creating some distance again.
Regarding the recent little incident, Gu Jingyong didn't say a word, and naturally, Tang Xinger didn't try to force conversation either.
She just gripped the handles on both sides of the bike tightly, preventing a repeat of what had just happened.
The alley was long and complex, with layers intersecting. An ordinary person would definitely get lost, but Tang Xinger guided Gu Jingyong through it.
Occasionally encountering a few zombies, they were all shaken off. They finally reached the end of the alley without incident.
"Hold on to me. If something happens, find a place to hide, and I'll come find you."
After a long journey, Gu Jingyong finally spoke again, carefully reminding her.
Tang Xinger felt as if it were an illusion, but when she met his serious gaze, she didn't know what to say, so she just nodded.
Exiting the alley, they arrived at another street in the old city area, which was also the busiest part of the area, naturally attracting the most zombies.
Hiding in the quiet alley, Tang Xinger could already hear the traces and sounds of zombies wandering outside on the street.
"Hold on tight."
Gu Jingyong glanced at her sideways, then twisted the handle, and the two of them rushed out on the bike.
This time, Tang Xinger firmly held onto the handles, vigilantly watching her surroundings to prevent any sudden situations.
The situation outside was just as they had expected. Zombies roamed freely on the entire street. It seemed that the moment they ventured out, they were targeted by the zombies, who rushed towards them in unison.
"There are zombies on the left."
Tang Xinger dodged the zombie's hand and saw a large group of zombies pouring out from the left. She quickly informed Gu Jingyong.
"Got it."
After Gu Jingyong responded, he suddenly turned right and, upon colliding with a zombie, decisively plowed through them.
Even with their combined weight, the patrol car still faced some trouble dealing with these zombies.
The car tilted several times, and Tang Xinger used her feet to support it on the ground. After breaking through wave after wave of zombies, Tang Xinger was in a highly tense state, even somewhat excited.
"Beep beep beep—"
An abrupt sound rang out. Tang Xinger looked at the warning light beside the car. She didn't know where it had hit, but not only did it light up, it also emitted an alarm.
In the panic, she couldn't find the switch to turn it off. Ignoring this sudden change, Tang Xinger kicked away a zombie and quickly retracted her legs, pressing her body against Gu Jingyong's to prevent being thrown off during the rapid turn.
"Beep beep beep—"
The melody of the alarm exploded in Tang Xinger's ears. In just a few short minutes, they had attracted enough zombie attention.
"I can't turn it off—"
Tang Xinger leaned back, tearfully saying, "Forget it, let's change vehicles."
Gu Jingyong freed his left hand, grabbed Tang Xinger's arm from behind, and forcefully pulled her to the front.
Tang Xinger reflexively reached out and held onto his neck, and their positions swapped, with Tang Xinger now nestled in his arms.
"Keep riding."
Gu Jingyong pressed her hand onto the handlebars, then stepped back, jumping off the bike to Tang Xinger's surprised gaze.
"Hold steady!"
Tang Xinger's palms were sweaty, nearly losing grip of the handlebars. The bike tilted at a strange angle, coincidentally knocking several zombies out of the way.
After taking a deep breath, Tang Xinger gripped the handlebars tightly and plowed through the zombies.
On the other side, Gu Jingyong got off the bike to find another vehicle. He quickly disposed of the zombies around him and dashed into a hardware store.
Tang Xinger withdrew her gaze from him and focused on making her way out.
Before Gu Jingyong left, he said, "Just keep going forward and find a place to wait for me."
Distracted for a moment, Tang Xinger thought of his expression when he said that earlier. His eyes were calm, as if nothing could disturb him.
Tang Xinger closed her eyes and thought: Is he so sure he can find me?
The zombies became increasingly agitated. As Tang Xinger pushed forward, she had to protect the parts of her body exposed to the outside, curling up as much as possible to avoid contact with the zombies.
The alarm behind her continued to blare, and Tang Xinger turned around, trying to find the switch, but couldn't locate it. She had to give up and think of another solution.
Before she could come up with one, the consequences of being distracted manifested.
A zombie suddenly sprang out from somewhere and pounced in front of her. Unable to turn, Tang Xinger could only collide head-on.
She was thrown out and rolled several times on the ground before crashing into a nearby advertising board.
The zombies rushed towards her, and she didn't even have time to stand up, using all her strength to roll on the ground.
Finally creating some distance, Tang Xinger hurriedly stood up, grabbing something from the ground and throwing it at the zombies.
Although its effect was minimal, it was better than nothing. After hesitating for a few seconds, Tang Xinger decided to reclaim the patrol car.
She pulled her hat down to cover half of her face, then made a sprint towards the zombies beside the car.
The patrol car was not light, and she was struggling with it when she suddenly felt a lightness in her hand as someone helped her lift the car.
Joyfully turning her head, she found it was a stranger's face.
"Let's go."
The young man pushed her onto the car and then hopped in himself, twisting the handle to the maximum, and the car shot out with a swoosh.
"Oh!"
Just as Tang Xinger was observing the young man in front, her arm was suddenly pulled with great force, causing her to topple over.
"Oh my God!"
Tang Xinger turned her head and met a rotten face—turned out a zombie had climbed onto the car.
The zombie grabbed her sleeve with one hand and clung to the car's rear alarm with the other, dragging its legs on the ground, unwilling to let go.
"Let go!"
Tang Xinger grabbed the young man's shoulder, then exerted force with her feet to kick the zombie away.
After struggling for a while, she finally managed to kick the zombie's hand off her body, but it still clung to the car, dragging behind them.
"Shake him off!"
Tang Xinger shouted at the young man sternly.