Chapter 114 I'm sorry.

She thought he was dead, and she didn't expect that when they spoke again, everything had changed.

"Commander of Area 9, are you still there?"

A sudden voice rang out over the radio station in front of her. Shu Lan blinked, her thoughts returning to normal, and she answered the microphone, "Yes, I am. What did you just ask? Oh, Ji Lan. She's here a long time ago. I asked her to come and say hello to you."

Jing Hongyu said, "No need. I am on my way to District 9 with 18,000 people. At the current speed, we will arrive in about a month."

"Okay." Shu Lan's fingers unconsciously traced numbers on the edge of the table, and suddenly asked, "Jing Hongyu, what's your shoe size?"

The radio went silent for a moment before responding, "Forty-three, what is the meaning of this question?"

"It's meaningless. I wish you a safe journey."

"……Thanks."

The call ended here. Shu Lan pulled Shu Maomao back to make dumplings. Jing Hongyu sat in front of the radio, staring at his feet, confused.

This woman named Qin Xiaoshuang is also difficult to understand.

Other survivors who rushed to District 9 also sent messages to District 9. If nothing unexpected happens, when they arrive, District 9 will once again become the most populous area in the country.

District 15 set out first. Most crops could not be produced in winter. If they waited another winter, the remaining food reserves would not be enough to support them to reach District 9. They had no choice but to leave.

However, Jing Hongyu did not expect that they would be trapped on the road for two days due to the blizzard. The extremely low temperature and bad weather forced them to stop and seek shelter in an unfamiliar city.

In addition to the zombie virus, the threat of ordinary viruses should not be underestimated.

For example, colds and fevers caused by severe cold and malnutrition, and even pneumonia in more serious cases.

In times when the medical system is paralyzed, infectious diseases hang over humanity like the shadow of the Grim Reaper's robe.

They didn't have enough medicine, and only had a small group of people who could heal those with special abilities. Even though they were busy to exhaustion, they couldn't stop one group of people from falling ill after another.

The first person who died of a serious illness appeared, and the bad news spread throughout the team like a virus. Zombies, diseases, hunger, and the despair brought about by many factors were strangling their throats, and the mentality of most people was on the verge of collapse.

During those two days, Jing Hongyu's body was cold and his thoughts were frozen. It felt like a huge piece of iron was stuffed in his chest, making it difficult for him to breathe or speak.

"Commander, I think... we need to leave the sick man behind and move on."

Abandon...?

Jing Hongyu, who was making the stove, raised his head woodenly. The whites of his eyes were covered with spider-web-like red bloodshot. Half of his body was still in a burned state, like charred bark. Coupled with the sunken cheeks, he looked both decadent and terrifying.

He is completely different from the hero who was full of passion and courage, led his superpowers to bravely fight against zombies and built a huge base.

His teammate, who was also his former roommate, spoke the truth with his usual soberness: "If we don't leave now, more and more people will be infected, and we won't be able to keep the food going."

"...Fourth Brother." Jing Hongyu's lips trembled, and his voice was weak: "Did I... make another wrong decision?"

The man called Lao Si hugged him tightly and said, "Brother, cheer up. You are the commander and you can't collapse. If you collapse, everyone will be finished."

Jing Hongyu was indeed on the verge of collapse. His self-confidence and pride were crushed to pieces by the successive blows.

"I'm not even worthy of being a commander. If Senior Ji Lan were to make the arrangements, she would have considered every possible scenario before leaving. But I always make the wrong decisions in a fit of rage, leading people into disaster... like when we fought the Zombie King, and when we set out in winter."

He placed his hands on Jing Hongyu's shoulders and shook him vigorously: "Listen carefully, from the moment you were elected, it means that we are willing to follow you, even if we are wrong. After all, no one in this world can always make the right choice. But the commander has this status. With the power to make decisions, you also have to bear the pressure of cleaning up the mess. Most people can't bear it."

Seeing Jing Hongyu's back bent like an old man, the fourth brother sighed: "It's hard to be cruel to someone like you. When the snow stops, I will call all the healthy people away."

"No need." Jing Hongyu slowly straightened up, letting himself get over the regret. His palm brushed across the corner of his eyes. "Don't worry about it. I'll take the blame that belongs to me."

Jing Hongyu carried one stove filled with fire after another and delivered them to every cold room.

The snow gradually stopped. After he counted the less than three trucks and two spaces of food left, he had a rough idea in his mind.

They were only halfway there when only one-fifth of the food was left, which was definitely not enough to support everyone to reach District 9.

With a heavy heart, he looked up at the sky where heavy snow was still falling, passed by all the vehicles that could not move forward, and finally stopped in front of a green pickup truck and climbed into the back compartment.

He missed the way Ji Lan would point at his head and scold him, then calmly make a decision.

During their last phone call, Jing Hongyu thought that some apologies would be more sincere if said in person, so when he heard that she had arrived safely, he stopped trying to flatter her.

He raised the corner of his mouth bitterly. How stupid! How could he know whether he could see her again?

He moved the radio out to an open rooftop with better signal, reassembled it in the wind and snow, and tuned it to the public group call channel.

The Zombie King hasn't appeared recently, and this method of communication has been reactivated.

"Hello, this is Jing Hongyu, the commander of District 15. District 9, please reply if you hear me."

No one responded.

The people in District 9 seem to be very busy every day. They will occasionally convey their information to the outside world, but they don’t care about what is happening outside.

Jing Hongyu did not give up. He waited for a while and repeated the same words.

He had fire-related abilities, and the cold did not pose any threat to him. He just sat in the wind and snow and kept calling. At about four o'clock in the afternoon, someone finally responded.

"District Nine heard it. What's going on?"

Jing Hongyu breathed a sigh of relief: "I want to communicate with a girl named Ji Lan in your base."

"Director Ji, please wait. I need to ask our commander first if this is possible."

After waiting for about twenty minutes, a cold, familiar voice sounded: "I am Ji Lan, Jing Hongyu, what can I do for you?"

Jing Hongyu's nose instantly felt extremely sore and swollen, and hot tears streamed down his cheeks. A man in his twenties curled up on the rooftop, clutching his chest and crying bitterly: "I'm sorry, senior sister, I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong..."

He really knew he was wrong. He shouldn't have been influenced by the voices around him and ignored her feelings. He shouldn't have insisted on his useless heroism and forced her away who had always fought side by side with him.

In District 9, Ji Lan's breathing stagnated and her eyes immediately turned red.

They have worked together for eight years since the school was attacked by zombies. During this period, they had quarrels of all sizes. She was proud and unwilling to accept defeat, but every time they quarreled, Jing Hongyu was the one who gave in first because of his good temper.

This time too.

She looked up at the ceiling of the broadcasting room, trying to hold back her tears, but it was no use. The tears still welled up. She took a few deep breaths and continued to speak calmly.

"I heard that you were defeated miserably by the zombies. Are you regretting it?"

"Well... yes... I should listen to you. You are the most important commander of District 15."

Ji Lan scoffed lightly, "Stop flattering me. I have no interest in that position. Tell me, why do you want to apologize now?"

Jing Hongyu couldn't stop crying. He knew that the whole country might hear him crying on the public channel, which was very embarrassing, but he needed to cry to vent the guilt that was overwhelming him.

"I screwed up, Senior. Without you, I'd have messed up everything. There was a blizzard in Tiangui City, and I made more than half of the people you've protected for so long sick. There's no medicine, and there's not enough food. They can't go to District 9."

"It was my wrong decision that killed them. I will stay with them right here. Perhaps we will never see each other again, so I have to... hurry up and tell you what's in my heart."

Jing Hongyu wiped away his tears, took a deep breath, and told her seriously, word by word.

"You've done a great job over the years. I'm sorry. And thank you."