Chapter 21 The End of the World 21
Tang Ji’s voice fell into Qin Ling’s ears along with the sound of the gentle wind.
For a moment, the two of them maintained an unchanged posture, looking at each other in silence, solidified into a stone sculpture.
The wind under the cliff was much softer, carrying the fragrance of unknown wild flowers, brushing against the body.
Three years of longing rushed into his chest in this short moment, surging up and down, one blocked in the throat and violently tore at the vocal cords, and one drilled into the brain, constantly disturbing and stinging his usually calm brain.
"I... I'm sorry..."
"I'm sorry..."
The two spoke almost at the same time.
And were stunned at the same time.
Qin Ling blinked his extremely sour eyes.
Tang Ji put Qin Ling down, tightened his arms, and hugged the person in front of him tightly into his arms. He lowered his head and buried it deeply in Qin Ling's neck, and his voice was low and hoarse.
Knowing that the person in front of him was a zombie, this posture was undoubtedly a dangerous move for Qin Ling.
As long as he opened his mouth, Tang Ji could easily tear the large artery on Qin Ling's neck with his sharp canine teeth.
But Qin Ling just raised his hands and clasped them behind Tang Ji's back, hugged him back, and patted him gently a few times.
"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have hidden my identity. I know you hate zombies, so I didn't dare. I was afraid you would chase me away. I just... I just wanted to stay by your side..."
"... Even if my zombie identity is discovered, I selfishly still want to stay in the base... Even if you hate me, please don't chase me away right away, okay?"
Tang Ji's head was pressed tightly against Qin Ling's neck, and his breath sprayed on his skin while he spoke, causing a tingling sensation.
Qin Ling listened to the voice so close to his ear. Although it was no longer as clear as a teenager's, and was a bit low and hoarse, he seemed to see the boy three years ago again.
Qin Ling had accumulated too many unknown emotions in his heart, from the shock and confusion when he first discovered Tang Ji's identity to the grief and pain when he heard the "death news", and the heartache and regret when he found him covered with scars in the laboratory...
Qin Ling never felt a bit of disgust from beginning to end.
——This is the boy he loves the most.
"...I didn't know about the laboratory...but it was also my fault, I'm sorry."
Qin Ling finally pulled out such a pale and powerless apology from his chaotic mind.
The damage to Tang Ji is still vivid in his mind. Since the damage has been done, no matter how reasonable the explanation is, it seems so pale and powerless to the victim.
Even if he didn't know, Qin Ling couldn't convince himself that this matter had nothing to do with him.
Qin Ling could kill zombies without hesitation, but he couldn't send the boy in his heart to the laboratory to be tortured.
"...Brother Qin, do you hate me?"
Tang Ji's voice was muffled, and he carefully tested every word.
"No, never."
Qin Ling couldn't help rubbing the black head on his neck, chopping nails and iron.
The gloomy atmosphere around Tang Ji seemed to dissipate a little, but then he seemed to think of something and looked gloomy.
"But I am a zombie..."
"Brother Qin is a human, and they all say that humans and zombies are incompatible."
Qin Ling hugged the person in front of him tightly, then held his head with both hands, and said solemnly, word by word:
"No matter what happens, I will always be with you."
Now, and in the future.
...
"Success."
Xu Nianci looked at the zombie virus that quickly lost its activity under the microscope, and slowly raised the corners of her lips.
Taking off her white gloves, Xu Nianci slowly walked out of the laboratory and came to the rest room.
Picking up the mobile phone on the table, Xu Nianci directly skipped the phone of her top boss and slid her finger to a familiar name.
After looking at the name "Qin Ling" for a few seconds, Xu Nianci dialed the number.
——If it were you, what would you choose?
"Hello."
Qin Ling's low voice came through the phone.
"Captain Qin, it's me, Xu Nianci."
"Dr. Xu, I'm no longer the captain of Shuguang, just call me Qin Ling."
Qin Ling believed that he had never been a qualified captain, and now he was not worthy of this title that carries responsibility.
The relationship between the two people has remained close in the years of getting along as a doctor and a patient, and Lin Yixu played the role of a link.
Both of them have cold personalities, but Qin Ling is cold on the outside and warm on the inside, while Xu Nianci is hot on the outside and cold on the inside.
"I have good news to tell you, but you are the first person to know about this." Xu Nianci meant something.
Qin Ling did not speak, and waited quietly for Xu Nianci's next words.
"I have developed the antidote for the zombie virus."
As soon as Xu Nianci finished speaking, she clearly heard the other person's breathing stop for a moment.
"My wish for so many years has finally come true. How do you feel?"
Xu Nianci pretended not to notice the silence on the other side and spoke in a brisk tone.
"It's all thanks to No. 1224, oh, that's the zombie called 'Tang Ji', without him, this experiment wouldn't have been so smooth."
"In the final analysis, it's all thanks to you, Qin Ling, you'll be a hero of mankind in the future."
Qin Ling's hand holding the phone kept exerting force, and was hit by this sudden news. His mind was in a mess. He didn't know what he said to the person on the other end of the phone in a trance. He just felt that his heart was tightly grasped by a big hand, and it was as if his whole body was immersed in the deep sea and was about to drown there.
He should have been happy.
He pulled the corners of his mouth but couldn't evoke a decent smile.
A crystal clear, boiling drop of water dripped onto the dusty and muddy ground, broke apart, and then broke into pieces.
It's not that Qin Ling hasn't thought about this day, he was just deceiving himself and avoiding this possible future.
This day came too fast, so fast that Qin Ling didn't have time to divide his love from others to warm the boy.
Qin Ling asked himself, in the years before he met Tang Ji, he really put all his love and hope on others. He was willing to get hurt to protect others and willing to give everything for the future of mankind.
But now he realized that he was also a selfish person...
"Beep--"
The mobile phone in his hand vibrated.
The screen lit up and showed a new message.
"Qin Ling, it's up to you to make the decision."
Qin Ling understood the hint of this sentence.
Xu Nianci once said on the phone that she was the first person to know the news.
And Xu Nianci was also the only one who knew how to develop the medicine.
Xu Nianci asked Qin Ling to choose between the human beings he had been protecting or the person he loved the most.
Following this message was an address.
...
[oh, no——]
[Why is it like this? I saw Dr. Xu had developed an antidote for zombies and was grinning, and then I suddenly realized, damn, Brother Tang is a zombie!!!]
[My body seems to be alive, but my soul has been gone for a while.]
[Okay, okay, so this is it, right? This is a big bomb thrown at Captain Qin, the kind that will explode whether you cut the red or blue line.]
[Captain Qin will feel guilty for the rest of his life no matter which one he chooses. How did he choose? 】
【Why not just destroy the world and not live anymore (smile.jpg)】
【Ahhhhhh why do you treat our Captain Qin and Brother Tang like this? They just reunited not long ago, there is no need to stab them so diligently. 】
【Xu Nianci, I see you have thick eyebrows and big eyes, why are you so mean. 】
【Go upstairs and take a look at the single special that just came out next door. After watching it, you will know why this guy is black. 】
【All the members are beautiful, strong and tragic, what else can I say...】
【Wuwuwu, I can't take it anymore, why is this happening? Even if Brother Ci doesn't do this, Captain Qin and Brother Tang are destined not to be together forever. This is a curse of fate...】
【Obviously, they are two lovers in love, but the candy they fed me is almost all knives. 】