Shao Ming hung up the phone, his mind struggling to accept the news. He had always told himself—and had reassured Li Long—that there was no authoritative evidence linking the aftereffects to mutation. But now, the reality was staring him in the face.
He had hoped that Li Long's condition was an isolated case, a mere accident. But the inevitable had arrived.
There was no time to dwell on this now. His immediate priority was to get back to the apartment.
Shao Ming jumped out of the ambulance and made his way toward the apartment. The mutated creatures on the main road had dwindled, clearly drawn away by his earlier diversion.
But even as he walked, he couldn't shake the sense of unease. If the dormitory had not been occupied by that group of people, he would have likely been dead by now. From this point forward, he would have to be more cautious.
He couldn't help but feel guilty toward them. However, there was no time to linger on that thought. Shao Ming maneuvered through the abandoned vehicles on the road, which would only take him about ten more minutes to reach the apartment.
Then he heard the unmistakable sound of helicopter rotors. Shao Ming quickly stopped and turned to look.
A formation of helicopters was approaching from the suburbs, heading toward the city center. Two of them broke away from the formation and began slowing down, their deceleration indicating a landing site near Manchester University.
Shao Ming quickened his pace toward the apartment building. Whether he hoped to signal the helicopters for help or simply to observe their objective, the rooftop of the apartment building provided a much better vantage point than the car rooftops on the main road.
The sound of the helicopters undoubtedly angered the mutated creatures. Shao Ming could hear their roars echoing from the buildings on either side of the street. It was just as he had suspected: most of the mutations had occurred at home, which made the streets relatively safer.
Shao Ming hurried on, hoping to avoid encountering any mutated creatures falling from the sky and blocking his way.
When he reached the rooftop, he saw that one of the helicopters had already landed. The buildings obstructed his view, and all he could hear was the sound of the main rotor of one helicopter, but he couldn't see where exactly it had landed.
The other helicopter seemed to be hovering over a nearby rooftop, likely in the area where Gary and the others were.
Suddenly, a burst of gunfire echoed through the air. It was clear that there was some kind of firefight near the landing zone.
To Shao Ming's surprise, the helicopter closest to him took off first, trailing black smoke behind it. This wasn't caused by the mutated creatures; the smoke was clearly the result of gunfire hitting the helicopter's engine.
What had happened in the brief moments he had been on his way back to the rooftop?
The helicopter with the black smoke flew away, while the ground below was filled with intense gunfire and the shrill screams of mutated creatures.
But soon, the gunfire stopped, leaving only the sounds of the mutated creatures.
The remaining helicopter still hadn't taken off, so Shao Ming took down his rifle and used the scope to aim in the direction of the helicopters.
The G36C was equipped with an ACOG sight, which offered a magnification range from 1.5x to 6x, depending on the model.
He raised the rifle and aimed the scope at the direction of the remaining helicopter. Due to the obstruction of buildings, all he could see was the main rotor, unable to make out who had boarded the helicopter.
However, based on the color and outline of the aircraft, Shao Ming could tell that it belonged to the British military.
Before long, the second helicopter also took off.
Shao Ming lowered his rifle. He was about to head back to the apartment's rooftop when a sudden shout from below caught his attention.
He quickly looked down to see a woman running toward the direction of the helicopters.
"Wait for me! Help! Wait for me!" she screamed.
But the mutated creatures, clearly hearing her cries, swarmed her. In an instant, they tore her apart.
How foolish, Shao Ming thought bitterly.
He didn't stay to watch. Instead, he jumped back onto the rooftop and hurried inside his apartment building.
As he reached the stairwell, he heard a noise and looked down to see someone running up toward him.
He raised his rifle, making sure the safety was off.
The person running up wasn't just anyone—it was Bladen, the man from the opposite apartment. And it was clear that he had mutated. His eyes were bloodshot, and his mouth was open wide in an unnatural way.
The distance from the corner of the stairwell to where Bladen was coming from was only a few seconds for someone running up, and Shao Ming didn't have time to aim properly. He fired several shots into Bladen's chest, but they didn't stop him.
Bladen lunged forward, and Shao Ming quickly brought the rifle up to block the attack.
Shao Ming was pinned against the wall, struggling as Bladen's teeth clamped onto the barrel of the rifle. The mutant's bite was terrifyingly strong, and the front rail of the rifle almost buckled under the pressure.
Shao Ming kicked at Bladen's stomach repeatedly. It took several solid kicks before Bladen staggered back, only to lose his footing and tumble down the stairs.
Shao Ming didn't hesitate. He lifted the rifle and fired a single shot into Bladen's head.
The bullet hit its mark. Bladen, who had just gotten back on his feet, fell to the ground, motionless.
Shao Ming stepped over the corpse and rushed to his apartment door. His hands were trembling, his adrenaline still spiking from the close call, though he managed to remain somewhat calm. The moment felt surreal—he had only been gone for a few hours, yet it seemed like days had passed.
Finally, he managed to get the key into the lock and open the door. He quickly stepped inside and locked it behind him.
Shao Ming hurried into Li Long's room. Li Long was lying on the bed, his face pale, his eyes bloodshot. It was clear he had been crying for a long time.
"What's wrong with you?" Shao Ming asked, setting the rifle aside and approaching Li Long's bedside.
"I feel terrible…" Li Long said weakly.
Shao Ming reached out and touched Li Long's forehead. It was burning with fever.
"You have a fever," Shao Ming said, standing up to grab a thermometer.
"I feel so unwell…" Li Long mumbled.
"Don't worry," Shao Ming replied, glancing back at Li Long. "I remember that fever isn't one of the symptoms of the aftereffects."