☆ Rescue, change of mindset
As her tense nerves gradually relaxed, Ye Xi slowly closed her eyes amidst the car's bumps. She was exhausted, but dared not rest carelessly, fearing she would be tormented by nightmares, or even worse, devoured by zombies in her sleep. But now, perhaps it was that trust in Carlos and Nikola that even Ye Xi herself hadn't realized was gradually calming her down, and she closed her eyes.
"Hey Carlos, look ahead." Nikola, driving, pointed to several zombies dangling in the middle of the road. "Should we ram them?"
Carlos glanced silently at Ye Xi sleeping peacefully in the rearview mirror, then gestured with his lips towards Nicola. Nicola immediately understood Carlos's meaning and chuckled softly, "To ensure Miss Sleeping Beauty can sleep soundly, the coachman should take a detour. Sir Knight, you'd better keep a close eye on your surroundings~~~"
"You bastard..." Carlos patted Nikola on the back of the head speechlessly, then attached a silencer to the gun and warily stared out the car window in case any zombies suddenly pounced.
Fortunately, these zombies moved slowly, and none of them managed to touch the vehicle they were in. Nikolai glanced at the zombies left behind, his smirk fading, and then gently asked Carlos, "What? No longer suspicious of this girl? You were so wary when you first saw her, you even confiscated her weapon. How come you're already showing concern for her after such a short time?"
Carlos rolled his eyes at Nikola's characteristically irreverent tone: "Didn't you start joking with her too? Back then, you deliberately distanced yourself from her under the pretense of needing to help Yuri."
“Well…” Nikolai glanced at the figure curled up in the rearview mirror. “She shouldn’t be a dangerous person. Who would so obviously expose their emotions on their face? Although she can be a bit timid and selfish at times, she’s not a bad person at heart. You can tell from her eyes. And she especially likes to show off—just like my cousin in Utah.”
“So, in this situation, saving as many people as possible is crucial.” Carlos frowned, looking at his bitten arm with a somewhat forlorn expression. “It seems like after being bitten, you become… like that. Don’t hold back then. Here,” Carlos pointed to his forehead, “I don’t want to become a mad dog and drag others down with me. Then get her out of here safely and see if we can contact her family.”
“Hey, don’t sound like you’re giving your last words, okay? This damn virus will definitely have a cure—as long as you hold on until you get out!” Nikolai glared at Carlos. “Look, that damn school is just ahead. The day we get out won’t be long!”
Nikola slammed on the gas, then turned the steering wheel, bringing the car to a smooth stop beside the stairs at the school gate, accidentally waking Ye Xi, who was fast asleep in the back seat. "Damn it," Ye Xi frowned, rubbing her head as she climbed up from the back seat, "Couldn't you have driven a little more steadily? I almost fell off!"
"Sorry, sorry." The perpetrator chuckled wickedly. "We're here. Come on down, before we run into any zombies."
Although Ye Xi was a bit grumpy upon waking, she knew this wasn't the time to fool around, so she quickly got out of the car, tightened the two Miao swords strapped to her waist, and as soon as she looked up, a pistol appeared before her. "It's fully loaded and cocked. Just shoot if there's danger." Carlos patted Ye Xi's head, then said seriously to Ye Xi and Nikola, "We'll split up now. I'll be on the first floor, Nikola's basement, and Ye Xi, you'll be on the second floor. Any questions?"
The second floor? Ye Xi glanced at the dark second-floor glass; it had a haunted house atmosphere. "It's okay, Ye Xi. You dared to venture into the Hive alone, even managing to take down a Licker, no matter how many floors it has. A small floor is nothing! At worst, there will just be a few less-than-cute little girls and boys with rabies!" Reassuring herself like this, Ye Xi quickly nodded, adding a bright smile: "Your sister is full of energy now!"
"Well done." Carlos gave Ye Xi's head a good rub, then rushed into the school. Before Ye Xi could react, Nikolai also gave her head a good rub. "Eyes!" He made a gun-wielding gesture and then said goodbye to Ye Xi with a grin.
Those two bastards… Ye Xi straightened her messy hair, glanced coldly at the zombies not far away, and finally fixed her gaze on the departing Nikolai. Gritting her teeth, she rushed upstairs—Ye Xi, don't meddle. In this situation, one or two deaths are nothing, nothing, nothing…
Damn it! Ye Xi walked anxiously down the quiet second-floor corridor. It was pitch black all around, and Ye Xi, who should have been afraid, felt no fear at all; instead, she was restless and agitated. The more she tried to ignore the self-reproach and pain in her heart, the stronger the feeling became. She wanted to be a selfish villain, but her honest heart constantly rejected this cowardly act. Yes, Ye Xi admitted she wasn't a saint; she was just an ordinary girl nearing graduation. She had selfish desires, and like everyone else—she also had kind sides. Constantly forcing herself to do things she didn't want to do caused her immense inner turmoil, but for survival, for the chance to go back and reunite with her family, she had no choice but to do it…
"Ahhhhh—HELP ME!! NO!!" A heart-wrenching scream suddenly rang out, pulling Ye Xi back from her agitation. Without thinking, she reflexively rushed towards the classroom from which the sound had come. Just as she reached the door, she suddenly stopped, then stared blankly at the pistol that had been tucked into her leg pouch, and gave a bitter smile—Ye Xi, look at what you're doing now! Those dozens of zombies were things you couldn't even avoid, and now you're running over to save people without hesitation!
But Ye Xi only paused for less than a second. She immediately aimed at one of the zombies' heads and blew it off. Then she strode in, grabbed a chair, and threw it at the group of zombies that were gathered together. Seeing that they finally noticed her, Ye Xi immediately jumped onto a table that was densely packed together and fired another shot, blowing the head off the zombie closest to her.
"So what if I save her?!" Ye Xi kicked over the table in front of her, stopping the zombies from surrounding her. Seeing that the zombies were finally gone from the woman covered in blood, she grinned and flashed a bloody smile—"What a joke! Leaving someone unattended would just make me end up like these zombies!"
Humanity is indelible, even in the apocalypse! Zombies eat people, so humans save them; zombies destroy hope, so humans create hope; zombies destroy homes, so humans rebuild them! If we continue to deceive ourselves like this, then what difference is there between us and these beastly creatures?!
Ye Xi seemed to have entered the same state she had been in before. Her gaze was sharp yet composed as she looked down at the slowly approaching zombies. She had already used up all six bullets in her pistol, but five zombies remained alive. She had to hurry and lure out the others, especially the zombie dogs—that would be troublesome. Although she wasn't afraid of the T-virus, that didn't mean she wasn't afraid of being bitten. Besides, there was that woman whose fate was unknown, and… Ye Xi slowly shifted her gaze to the slightly trembling blackboard in the corner—if she remembered correctly, Angela was hiding behind that blackboard.
Without hesitation, Ye Xi leaped high from the table, swiftly clamping her legs around the neck of the nearest zombie. Using the momentum, she twisted her legs, slamming it to the ground and snapping its neck. Then, using one hand as a pivot, she spun around, kicking down three nearby zombies. She twirled her pistol on her finger and stabbed it into the head of the zombie lying in front of her. She then performed a somersault to her feet, drew two Miao swords from her waist, and with a swift, clean turn, chopped off half the head of the only standing zombie.
Ye Xi looked at the two zombies crawling towards her with a mocking gaze as cold as ice. With light and elegant steps, she twirled her Miao sword in her hands before firmly inserting it into their heads. Then she turned around, easily pulled out the sword covered in an unknown white liquid with both hands, flicked it casually, and put it back into its sheath.
She hurried to the woman lying on the ground. Her eyes were wide open, almost popping out of their sockets, revealing a desperate desire to live. Unfortunately, the fatal wound on her neck had cost her her life. Ye Xi pursed her lips, frowning as she looked at the blood-covered woman. A sudden wave of helplessness and pain washed over her. She sighed and silently closed the woman's eyes.
If I can save them, I will; if not, then so be it. Even though I didn't kill them, I never want to experience that guilt and disgust again… Ye Xi silently stood up, her fists slowly clenching…
At this moment, the dizziness returned. Ye Xi swayed a few times, barely managing to stand. She looked down at her thigh, where the wound left by the zombie that had snapped her neck was still visible. But for Ye Xi, this pain was nothing. To keep herself from fainting, Ye Xi kept a straight face and pressed her fingers hard against the wound. The excruciating pain instantly spread throughout her body, driving away the nagging dizziness.
"You've been bitten? If you don't get treatment soon... I have an antidote!" Just as Ye Xi was swallowing her sobs, a blonde girl came out from behind the blackboard in the corner, frowning and looking at Ye Xi with some concern.
"This isn't a bite." Unaware of the consequences of being given the antidote, Ye Xi concealed the fact that she had been bitten. "It was just a stray bullet wound I sustained on the street before." Ye Xi smiled gently. She was already quite pretty and gentle-looking, and now her deliberately warm smile made her appear even more deceptive.
"Really?" Angela was captivated by Ye Xi's warm smile and asked with some suspicion.
“Of course, how many people do you think would willingly become that kind of thing?” Ye Xi squatted down in front of her, winking playfully, successfully making the somewhat gloomy-looking little girl smile. “That’s true,” she nodded, “My name is Angela, you can call me Angela, thank you… I mean, just now…”
"I'm Ye Xi. It was just a small favor, what I should do." Ye Xi gently ruffled Angela's beautiful blonde hair, which was a little rough, and then took her small hand. "Let's get out of this awful place quickly. Your father is so worried about you."
As Ye Xi led her towards the door, they had barely left the classroom when they bumped into a black gun barrel. "Who are you?" a sexy, short-haired woman in a blue tank top, holding a gun, asked coldly.
Ye Xi's lips twitched, and she immediately raised her hands to her chest, smiling innocently, "Hello, I am Ye Xi. I have been entrusted by Dr. Asiford to bring his precious daughter Angela out of this awful place."
The beautiful woman frowned slightly and put away her pistol. "I didn't hear him mention that he had commissioned anyone else." Then she turned around to make way for her. "I'm Jill, and I..." She looked at the woman lying in the classroom, her gaze dimming. "Taylor and LJ were also commissioned. Now we need to leave here quickly and meet up with LJ. Do you have any other companions?"
“Yes,” Ye Xi nodded, then grinned, “two mercenaries. Let’s get out of here as soon as we find them. Hopefully, Dr. Asiford can really get us all out of here.”
Author's Note: God knows how bad I am at writing fight scenes, I hope it won't be too stiff OJZ (Seeking comfort and BL cues, darlings, I have a secret to tell you~ the number of comments and update speed are directly proportional~~ (twist)
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