Liu Nian hurriedly ran her fingers through her hair and said with a hint of frustration, "It seems the problem is more serious than we thought; even the public security system is paralyzed."
He then glanced at the woman and cautiously tried to speak.
"I don't mean to scare you, but I've seen these lunatics bite anyone they see. It seems like no one is coming to our aid for the time being. Just to be on the safe side, could you block the door?"
The wooden door was being relentlessly ravaged by the infected outside, and the door panels were already on the verge of collapse.
The woman glanced at Liu Nian, then at the swaying wooden door behind him, gritted her teeth and thought for a moment: "Come here and help me move the sofa over."
Liu Nian breathed a sigh of relief; he was someone she could get along with.
If you encounter an unreasonable person, you really don't know how to handle the situation.
Passing through the corridor between the small cubicles and the wall, you come into view a living room.
A coffee table sits in the center of the living room, surrounded by two single sofas.
"These are the two."
Seeing that the woman was still holding the knife and didn't seem to want to help, Liu Nian had no choice but to roll up his sleeves and move it himself.
It was a bit heavy, and one person couldn't move it, so Liu Nian had to push the sofa back forward.
Hearing the sound of a sofa being dragged inside the door, the infected person, who had calmed down somewhat, became agitated again.
"Did they make the judgment based on sound? There is currently a lack of evidence."
Liu Nian made a note of this and dragged the sofa to block the doorway.
Walking back into the living room, the atmosphere was somewhat somber, with an awkwardness permeating the air.
Not knowing how to break the awkward silence, Liu Nian could only take out her phone to check her social media.
As soon as I unlocked my fingerprint, I immediately noticed the prominent red cross on the signal slot.
"Has your data been cut off?"
Seeing this, Liu Nian asked the woman to try her own Wi-Fi to see if it worked.
Upon hearing this, the woman took out her phone from her bag on the coffee table and began to check it.
"I can't connect to Wi-Fi either."
To make matters worse, limited access to information exacerbated the already uncertain situation.
"It seems that our only option now is to save ourselves." Liu Nian took a deep breath and said slowly. "Let's first summarize what we know about this... um... accident."
"What I know so far is that they can bite living people, run at a speed no different from that of an ordinary person, and seem to be sensitive to sound. Whether they have sight or a sense of smell is unknown."
"Is there anything you'd like to add?" Liu Nian asked, looking at the woman opposite him.
"Hmm... how should I put it? It seems the symptoms started with a fever, then she would fall into a coma within a short time, and then she would turn into what they are like." The woman's voice was very low, and she glanced nervously at the bedroom behind her after speaking.
"Wow, that's impressive. You're not a doctor, are you? How do you know so much?" Liu Nian was so engrossed in the information the woman shared that he didn't notice the change in her expression at all.
"No, it's just a coincidence. I just happened to see someone outside the window going through a transformation."
Seemingly not expecting Liu Nian to speak like that, a hint of panic flashed in the woman's eyes, but she quickly concealed it.
Liu Nian, unsuspecting, laughed and said, "Judging by your composure, you're better than me. I rarely go out for a stroll today, and I almost got bitten. Luckily, you didn't close the door, or I would have been done for."
"I don't know if it's some kind of biological virus or infectious disease, but they bite people quite severely. It's just like the horror movie Resident Evil that I watched a few years ago."
As a gamer, Liu Nian unleashed his boundless imagination.
"Is it really that exaggerated? I feel like it's like rabies, and the government will distribute vaccines for free soon."
The woman frowned and pondered for a moment, then replied in a seemingly casual manner.
"Hmm, that makes sense. It's possible. Your boyfriend will come to rescue you on a white horse. Remember to take me with you then."
The woman was amused by Liu Nian's witty remark, and her tone became much more lively, "So you should thank me, right?"
"It's nothing, thank you so much for saving my life, lady. May I ask how I should address you?"
“Xu Yun, Xu as in Xu Xian, and Yun as in cloud.” The woman answered readily.
"My name is Liu Nian, Liu as in 'literary sword,' and Nian as in 'longing.' It's a pleasure to meet you!" Liu Nian cupped his hands in a gesture of respect.
"Where's your boyfriend? Isn't he with you today since it's a holiday?" Liu Nian asked casually.
A complicated expression appeared on Xu Yun's face. "He was working overtime today and didn't come back. I don't know if he's in any danger."
During our casual conversation, I learned that Xu Yun was also a migrant worker from the countryside, and that she was currently engaged and planned to get married at the end of the month.
The two chatted back and forth, getting along very well, and completely forgot about exchanging information about infected individuals.
As dusk approached, Liu Nian, having found no trace of the infected through the peephole, listened intently for a while longer, but still heard nothing.
"I've been bothering you for so long without realizing it. Before those lunatics are discovered, I should take my leave." Liu Nian turned from the doorway and said to Xu Yun inside the house.
Just then, a loudspeaker attached to a utility pole outside the residential building started making a lot of noise.
"Dear citizens of City A, I believe you are all aware of the situation that occurred on the streets today. These frenzied individuals have now been officially designated as infected individuals. The specific route of infection is through blood transmission; other routes are unknown. With current medical technology, those infected are incurable. They experience no pain, are tireless, and are unable to communicate. Their behavior is driven by hunger, and their hearing and sense of smell are significantly enhanced. Destroying their brains could permanently render them incapable of acting..."
The broadcast kept repeating itself, but Liu Nian had already understood it.
Just as he was about to say something to Xu Yun, a loud bang came from the bedroom.
"It looks like something hit the floor?" Liu Nian walked quickly towards the bedroom.
Xu Yun looked at Liu Nian with a complicated expression and said, "I'm sorry, I lied. The person inside is my boyfriend."
"Isn't that great? Let's call him out and introduce him!" Liu Nian didn't quite get the idea right away.
Until the infected roared from inside the door, followed by the sound of a body slamming against the door.
"He..." The words "he" now felt incredibly heavy, and Liu Nian couldn't bring herself to say them for a moment.
Xu Yun nodded weakly, "He had a fever all night, and I couldn't wake him up no matter what I did. And then..." She broke down in tears at the end.
Liu Nian stood there, stunned, not knowing how to comfort her.
However, Xu Yun quickly composed herself and calmly said, "The house is such a mess, I won't keep you any longer. The loudspeaker should attract the infected's attention. Be careful."
Liu Nian's lips twitched as if she wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come out.
Just as Liu Nian was about to open the door, Xu Yun, who had somehow followed behind, suddenly spoke up: "It's a pleasure to meet you, Liu Nian."
Liu Nian couldn't discern any expression on Xu Yun's calm face; a thousand words could be condensed into one sentence: "Take care."
"goodbye"
"goodbye"
After saying that, Liu Nian opened the door and fled in panic.
Xu Yun stared blankly at the empty room for a while.
Then he walked to the coffee table, took out his phone from his bag, and saw a picture of a couple embracing intimately on his screensaver.
I turned on my phone, turned up the volume, and played a video that I had recently saved.
The video is showing a wedding ceremony, with the familiar wedding march playing, blessings from relatives and friends, and the tall and handsome fiancé walking in.
Xu Yun glanced at her phone again, then at the ring on her left middle finger.
She stood up, tucked her messy hair behind her ear, walked to the bedroom door, took a deep breath, and resolutely turned the doorknob.
The priest's voice came through the phone screen: "Xu Yun, do you take this man to be your husband, to marry him, to love him, to care for him, to respect him, to accept him, and to remain faithful to him until the end of your life, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, for all the more?"
"I do."
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