"dad……"
The intensive care unit was filled with a suffocating atmosphere of tension. Xia Yuhe's scream echoed throughout the room once again. The medical staff did their best to fight against death, but fate seemed to have already been decided.
After much effort, the faint but tenacious wavy line on the electrocardiogram monitor eventually turned into a cold, lifeless straight line.
The medical staff silently shook their heads, their eyes revealing endless regret and helplessness.
They gently covered Xia Fujun's face with a white sheet, as if to bid him farewell, and then silently left this place filled with sorrow, leaving only the heartbreaking cries of Xia Yuhe and her daughter.
The doctors and nurses who had just walked out of the intensive care unit bumped into Vice Mayor Ouyang, who had rushed over after hearing the news. He looked solemn and his eyes were full of concern.
"Doctor, what happened? Wasn't he already saved?"
"I grabbed the doctor's arm and asked," Vice Mayor Ouyang asked.
"I'm sorry, Vice Mayor Ouyang, we've done everything we can, and his vital signs have stabilized. But we don't know how things suddenly turned out this way!"
Is there absolutely no hope?
The doctor shook his head helplessly.
“Vice Mayor Ouyang, there is actually another possibility.”
"That's what one of the doctors following behind said."
"Tell me quickly, what's possible?"
"While we were performing surgery on Director Xia, he kept calling out his daughter's name. Now that he's finally heard her voice, he..."
"You mean he was just putting on a brave face the whole time, just so he could see his daughter one last time?"
"At this point, this is the only explanation!"
"All right"
Vice Mayor Ouyang stood outside the intensive care unit with a worried expression, his gaze fixed on the heartbreaking scene inside through the thick glass.
He secretly pondered how to arrange Xia Fujun's funeral. After all, in such sweltering weather, the shelter did not have a freezer specifically for the deceased. If the body was not dealt with quickly, it would decompose rapidly.
With the strong support of the military, a simple tent was quickly erected for the memorial service. A few simple wooden planks were pieced together to serve as a coffin—in this apocalyptic world, having a place to rest after death was a rare privilege.
The memorial service began hastily just one hour after Xia Fujun's death.
Xia Yuhe and her mother sat side by side, quietly keeping watch by the coffin, silently gazing at Xia Fujun, who was sleeping peacefully. Their tears had long since dried up, and at this moment, only endless sorrow and silence lingered in their hearts.
The entire mourning hall appeared exceptionally desolate and shabby, with not a single wreath in sight. The few potted plastic flowers displayed in the hall were hastily cobbled together from various offices.
Perhaps due to the rushed schedule, even the electronic screen hadn't been installed yet, so the words "memorial service" couldn't be displayed at the event.
As the low, mournful music began, the group, dressed in black and led by Vice Mayor Ouyang, slowly entered the mourning hall.
They first led the way by bowing deeply three times to the deceased, then stood quietly to the side, silently waiting for the memorial service to end.
At this moment, Bei Tianrui, standing next to Vice Mayor Ouyang, was whispering something in his ear. Their gazes kept drifting towards Ye Lei, as if they had some connection with him.
The extremely simple memorial service came to a hasty end, and the soldiers carefully carried Xia Fujun's body onto the truck and placed it there.
Due to limited resources, cremation was out of the question, so they simply found a random spot outside, dug a pit, and buried the body.
Xia Yuhe and her daughter followed closely behind, and with the help of the soldiers, they also boarded the truck.
Ye Lei originally planned to go along as well, but Bei Tianrui stopped him.
"Ye Lei, wait a minute."
"Uncle Bei, is there something you need?"
"Vice Mayor Ouyang wants to see you!"
"oh"
"Come with me!"
"good"
Bei Tianrui led Ye Lei toward Vice Mayor Ouyang's office. After a brief introduction, Bei Tianrui left, knowing that what happened next was none of his business.
"Comrade Ye Lei, hello, please have a seat!"
Vice Mayor Ouyang was very polite, but his expression was very serious.
"Vice Mayor Ouyang, hello, thank you!"
After Ye Lei sat down, he still didn't know why the highest-ranking leader of the shelter wanted to see him.
"I heard from Director Bei that you were very brave in killing the Corpse King Vulture!"
Vice Mayor Ouyang got straight to the point.
"It's alright, that was a promise I made to the soldiers."
What Ye Lei meant by saying this was that he wasn't acting as a hero; it was just a transaction.
"I heard that the military promised to give you 5,000 crystal cores, but what do you need so many crystal cores for?"
"Vice Mayor Ouyang, may I not answer this question?"
Ye Lei didn't actually intend to have any dealings with the authorities.
"Of course you can! I'm just curious!"
As the leader of the shelter, how could he not know that the crystal core contained enormous energy? He was just asking to confirm it.
"Vice Mayor Ouyang, is there anything else?"
Ye Lei sensed that continuing the conversation would only make things more unpleasant.
"If I want to ask you for a favor, do I need to pay you?"
It seems that this was Vice Mayor Ouyang's real purpose.
“That’s how I do things.”
Ye Lei had no intention of risking his life for them.
"Then why don't you tell me what kind of compensation you'd like?"
"That depends on what Vice Mayor Ouyang needs me to do."
Prices are clearly marked according to the difficulty of the task.
"Alright, then I'll get straight to the point. We've found the scavenger who injured Xia Fujun, but he's extremely dangerous. Only a few of the police officers we sent out returned with the news."
Vice Mayor Ouyang's meaning is already very clear.
"Is it that powerful? Don't police officers all have guns?"
Ye Lei pondered to himself. He had already anticipated that this so-called Scavenger Alliance was no ordinary group, but he had not expected them to be so audacious as to be so unafraid of even the police.
"According to the police who escaped, these people were not only equipped with heavy weapons, but more shockingly, they also seemed to be able to control zombies to serve them."
According to their descriptions, these zombies are probably on par with the Zombie King Vulture in strength, which is why Director Bei recommended you to me.”
"I said in a serious tone," said Vice Mayor Ouyang.
"I see. So, Vice Mayor Ouyang means he expects me to eliminate those scavengers?"
Ye Lei asked, getting straight to the point.
“That’s right, exactly. If you need to call in the soldiers from the shelter for assistance, I will fully cooperate with your deployment.”
Vice Mayor Ouyang responded without hesitation.
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