Chapter 16 Infected
"Be gentle!" Bai Chenzhu didn't have time to stop him.
Jiang Ye roughly grabbed Zhou Zhuohua's cheek and pulled it outwards, then yanked her ear and shouted loudly in her ear, "Hey—"
Even a deaf person could be woken up by the noise. Zhou Zhuohua had no choice but to wake up, covering her ears and opening her eyes to look at the two of them in confusion.
It was too brutal. Bai Chenzhu couldn't bear to watch, but it was very effective.
Jiang Ye shook her shoulders anxiously, even more panicked than when he had a fever himself, "You have a fever!"
Zhou Zhuohua sat there blankly, her face flushed and slightly swollen, seemingly unable to understand what he meant. What fever? Who has a fever?
Jiang Ye raised his hand, about to pinch her a couple more times to force her to wake up. This time, Zhou Zhuohua blinked weakly and raised her hand to block Jiang Ye's movement.
Oh, it's me.
At this moment, her lips were chapped and pale, she looked frail and weak, and her voice was barely audible, yet she managed to stand up with a strong grip on her breath, grabbing Jiang Ye's ear tightly, "This is truly outrageous..."
She laughed in anger, opened her mouth, then felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her, and her vision blurred.
Zhou Zhuohua let go, covered her forehead, and forgot about scolding Jiang Ye. "Xiao Bai, I bought medicine. It's in the trunk. Can you get it for me?"
Bai Chenzhu moved quickly, getting out of the car in a few seconds and carrying the entire medicine box over.
Zhou Zhuohua looked down and rummaged through the medicine box. Jiang Ye touched his ear and gasped. Bai Chenzhu couldn't help but glance at him. When he saw the bright red left ear, the corners of his lips curled up slightly, showing a hint of schadenfreude. Jiang Ye frowned and gave him a look.
Jiang Ye found a blanket and draped it over Zhou Zhuohua.
"Don't make a fuss, I'm fine. I had a fever when I was in the hospital..." Zhou Zhuohua mumbled, perhaps not even knowing what she was saying herself. "But I got better later, didn't I?"
Jiang Ye's heart leaped into his throat, his voice trembling slightly, "That's different! Do you know, do you know that ordinary people can also get sick from repeated infections?!"
"You brat, I'm much luckier than you, don't look like you're mourning a funeral." Zhou Zhuohua wrapped the blanket around herself tighter, took her medicine, and found a comfortable place to lie down. "I used to take care of you, now that you're serving me for once, I'm going to enjoy it."
Jiang Ye hesitated, his expression solemn. Hearing her words, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
As Zhou Zhuohua's consciousness gradually faded, her voice grew softer, "Call me to take my medicine at lunchtime."
Bai Chenzhu tucked the medicine box under the back seat, looked at Jiang Ye, and asked in his eyes.
Jiang Ye took two deep breaths, calmly returned to the driver's seat, finished a bottle of water, and looked serious. Bai Chenzhu's gaze fell on his trembling hands, knowing that this man was not as calm as he appeared.
Not long ago, Zhou Zhuohua was laughing and joking when she was captured by a mutated rat and started running a fever. What does this mean? It means that if she doesn't survive, she will become the kind of person she herself described as 'dead, zombie'.
What will Jiang Ye do with Zhou Zhuohua then? Bai Chenzhu concealed the thoughts in his eyes, "Take a rest, driving while fatigued is bad. Zhou Zhuohua is sick and can't take your shift."
His voice at this moment was almost coldly rational.
"Hmm." Jiang Ye glanced at Bai Chenzhu without any emotion, then took out his cigarette and got out of the car. He leaned against the car door, pressed the lighter a few times, and finally managed to light the cigarette.
He still cannot accept that Zhou Zhuohua will become a mindless, instinct-driven, and self-destructive walking corpse.
In contrast, Bai Chenzhu had only known Zhou Zhuohua for a short time and was well aware of how selfish he was. Although he felt a little sorry for her, he was more wary of how dangerous Zhou Zhuohua would be after she turned into a zombie.
Fortunately, Zhou Zhuohua's condition is currently under control.
The area was sparsely populated and considered safe. Bai Chenzhu guessed that Jiang Ye wasn't in a good mood, so she considerately didn't disturb him and got out of the car to check the tires.
He found a long stick and walked around the car, occasionally using it to scrape the dirt out of the tire crevices, piling it up into small mountains of flesh and bones around the wheels.
Just as he was busy cleaning, he suddenly heard strange noises in the distance, mixed with the dull thud of flesh hitting the ground.
Bai Chenzhu looked up warily and saw Jiang Ye standing a dozen meters away with a baseball bat, sending a ball flying with a single blow.
The thing landed with a gurgling sound at Bai Chenzhu's feet, its wide-open eyes cloudy and dull. Bai Chenzhu quickly stepped back to avoid it.
Like mutated plants and animals that have enhanced their instincts, zombies have degenerated from the intelligence they once possessed as humans, becoming mindless creatures driven by the instinct to survive, no different from wild beasts, and even less capable than wild beasts that still possess emotions and reason.
Bai Chenzhu couldn't classify them as human, but no matter what, they still had human skin.
Humans have always harbored an unspeakable fear of humanoid beings, especially since zombies were once human.
Jiang Ye was very cruel.
He used to hold back a little, but now he's completely unrestrained in his venting. Bai Chenzhu could only watch as he unleashed his anger, smashing a tall, young zombie to pieces.
Compared to the dismembered limbs, Jiang Ye's expression was frighteningly somber, as if a storm was brewing.
Then, Bai Chenzhu watched helplessly as Jiang Ye wiped the blood off his face and got into the car.
It was a convertible supercar parked on the side of the road. A zombie was mechanically circling the broken-down car, making a whimpering, impatient, and unintelligible sound, when suddenly disaster struck.
A short while later, Jiang Ye returned. He carried back several bottles of liquor and placed them on the hood of the car. He quickly opened a bottle of water, wet a towel, opened the back door, and coldly draped the towel over Zhou Zhuohua's forehead.
Zhou Zhuohua remained completely unresponsive in her deep sleep, causing Jiang Ye to furrow his brow even more.
Jiang Ye closed the car door and returned to the hood. Just as he was about to open a can of beer for a drink, a fair hand reached out from the side, pressing down and blocking the mouth of the beer.
Jiang Ye pressed down the curve of his lips, looking extremely displeased.
Jiang Ye's skill was so evident, as if robbing zombies was an everyday occurrence. It was only the early stages of the apocalypse, and they hadn't encountered many zombies yet. While others were still simply chasing each other, Jiang Ye had already mastered the zombies' weaknesses and turned the tables on them.
Even with extraordinary talent, could one reach this level? Bai Chenzhu keenly sensed that something was amiss, but he couldn't quite pinpoint the exact boundary.
"Don't drink and drive," Bai Chenzhu reminded the male protagonist.
"Who are you?" Jiang Ye angrily swatted away Bai Chenzhu's arm, but just as he looked down, a cold aluminum can was shoved against his face, making him reflexively lean back.
The colorful cans were fruit juice drinks that Bai Chenzhu had taken out of the trunk at some point.
Jiang Ye turned his head and looked into Bai Chenzhu's dark eyes, which were as cold as a deep pool, yet could calm his agitation.
"I know you're in a bad mood, so I got you some juice. You don't want three lives lost in this car, do you?" Bai Chenzhu shoved the juice into his hand, took the beer, and drank it herself.
"Hmph," Jiang Ye's anger subsided. He picked up the can of juice, examining it from all angles, as if he could find something fascinating in it. After he had had his fill of playing with it, he finally opened it and took a sip.
In the silence, Jiang Ye suddenly asked, "Will she turn into a zombie?"
Bai Chenzhu could not provide an answer.
He had a good impression of Zhou Zhuohua, and if possible, he didn't want Zhou Zhuohua to become a monster. It was just a pity that the book at the time was millions of words long, and someone was responsible for summarizing the gist; he only glanced at it a few times and couldn't remember any details at all.
However, looking back at the ending, Zhou Zhuohua doesn't appear in the book. She is the male protagonist's childhood sweetheart and his ideal woman, and ideal women usually don't survive.
The storyline has been so convoluted that even the author doesn't recognize it anymore. At this point, who can predict where it will lead?
It wouldn't be appropriate to say anything at this moment. Bai Chenzhu silently drank his beer, while Jiang Ye sat beside him drinking juice; neither of them spoke.
Jiang Ye suddenly took a deep breath and uttered a sentence that Bai Chenzhu couldn't understand, "It's really funny. We've already taken her away from Jiangzhou City, so how could she still be infected?"
"Why not?" Bai Chenzhu held the beer in her hand, tilted her head to look at him, thinking that Jiang Ye meant 'it would be safer to take people away from densely populated cities'.
He reflected, "There are zombies in Jiangzhou City, and there are zombies outside too. It's my fault. If I had acted faster, maybe she wouldn't have been caught."
Jiang Ye shook his head. "Man proposes, God disposes. According to you, I'm guilty too. I shouldn't have left the car. So I shouldn't blame you. No matter how perceptive you are, your current physical condition will ultimately..." be affected by superpowers.
Hmm? While Bai Chenzhu pricked up her ears to listen, Jiang Ye remained silent.
"What is it ultimately?" Bai Chenzhu pressed.
Jiang Ye glanced at him and said, "He's just a sickly guy after all; he can't handle that much."
"Huh?" Bai Chenzhu's expression was indescribable, and then he punched him hard on the shoulder.
Jiang Ye was amused by Bai Chenzhu's appearance. He tugged at the corners of his lips, gulped down his juice, and turned to look at the deep night.
After a long pause, Jiang Ye made up his mind, his eyes resolute. "Regardless of whether Zhou Zhuohua will turn into a zombie or not, I will bring her to Fuyun City. If you are afraid, you can leave now, and I will give you enough food."
With that, Jiang Ye flipped over and jumped off the hood of the car with one hand, opened the door and got in.
In just two minutes, Bai Chenzhu nimbly climbed into the passenger seat. He glanced back and saw Zhou Zhuohua, her face and neck flushed red, mumbling in her sleep with her eyes closed.
Turning around, he met Jiang Ye's gaze. Bai Chenzhu said lazily, "Don't worry, if anything happens, I'll run faster than you." He looked like he was determined to hitch a ride with Jiang Ye.
Jiang Ye, unusually, didn't laugh at him and started the engine.
The atmosphere inside the car suddenly became heavy and stagnant.
As evening approached, the car exited the empty highway and slowly entered the toll station.
There was no one inside the toll booth, but the system was still running. After the barrier automatically lifted, Jiang Ye stepped on the gas and drove into the city.
The closer you get to the city center, the more people there are, and the more mutants there are. They definitely won't be able to take care of the patients then. Jiang Ye looked around and parked his car in front of a hotel after exiting the highway.
The hotel looks very new, and its name is quite novel: Kexi Kele Grand Hotel.
Perhaps because Fuyun City's economy is not prosperous, there are only two or three cars in front of the door, facing a wide asphalt road. There are pharmacies and shops nearby, most of which are closed.
Unexpectedly, a middle-aged man in a security guard uniform was sitting at the hotel reception desk, looking down at his phone. He looked up when he heard footsteps, and was quite surprised to see Jiang Ye and his companion.
"Are you looking for accommodation?"
“Yes.” Jiang Ye nodded, looking him over suspiciously. “Are you the boss?”
There's no other reason than that everything here is so normal, so unbelievably normal.
The middle-aged man waved his hand. "Hey, I'm the receptionist and security guard. There's also an auntie in the building. There aren't many people here right now, so the room rates are cheap. How many rooms are you planning to open?"
Jiang Ye said, "Three..."
Bai Chenzhu suddenly tugged at his arm. Jiang Ye turned his head, and Bai Chenzhu desperately tried to signal to him with his eyes that there was another person in the car.
They all knew about Zhou Zhuohua's condition; she still had a fever. Letting her stay in a room by herself was risky, as no one knew what might happen. It was better to keep an eye on her.
Jiang Ye assumed he was too scared to live alone, so he nodded at him with a 'okay, I can't do anything with you' expression and said, "Then open two rooms..."
Bai Chenzhu interrupted him, saying decisively, "Open one room."
"One room?" the middle-aged man confirmed.
“Yes,” Bai Chenzhu took out his ID card and stepped forward, then suddenly said, “Something good has happened today. The three of us have drunk too much, and one of us is still drunk in the car. Could you please book a larger suite, preferably with separate rooms?”
"We have a duplex family suite available, would you like it?"
"Yes," they both said in unison.
The middle-aged man nodded. "All three of you need to register your ID cards. The system is down these days. Bring your documents here, verify them, and then sign your names..."
Hearing such 'normal' words, Bai Chenzhu suddenly had a strange feeling that all the zombies and monsters were just a nightmare, that society was still functioning normally, and that order had not yet been lost.
But he knew very well that these things were crumbling little by little, and they were caught between sunlight and shadow.
"Wait, the drunk one is a woman? What's your relationship with her?" The middle-aged man registering the information immediately became alert, looking at them as if they were criminals.
Bai Chenzhu's thoughts were disrupted, and she stared at him blankly.
Jiang Ye casually replied, "It's a legitimate relationship between a man and a woman. She is my half-sister, who takes my mother's surname, and he is my half-brother."
Jiang Ye put his arm around Bai Chenzhu's shoulder, "You didn't bring your household registration book. If there's a room check, just have them come up..."
After some twists and turns, the three checked into the hotel.
The elevator numbers kept going up. When the doors opened, they bumped into the cleaning lady. She looked haggard. After the three of them got out, she pushed her trolley into the elevator.
"Wait a minute." Bai Chenzhu called out to the cleaning lady, "Auntie, my sister isn't feeling well and she's sweating a lot. Could you please help her change her clothes?"
Before the cleaner could speak, he added, "More money."
Bai Chenzhu swiped open the door, and Jiang Ye placed the unconscious Zhou Zhuohua on the bed in the upper suite. Once they were in a place to rest, both of them breathed a sigh of relief.
They went outside to avoid the situation and waited for the aunt to change Zhou Zhuohua's clothes.
Jiang Ye unwrapped a lollipop and put it in his mouth, the paper stick sticking up and down. He narrowed his eyes and asked, "Your sister?"
“Your sister, she’s your sister, okay?” Bai Chenzhu pushed the person away with one hand.
Jiang Ye chuckled, "I don't mind if you call me 'little brother' too."
The candy wrapper stick was bobbing up and down, making you want to hold it down.
Bai Chenzhu raised his hand and retaliated by trying to pull the paper stick out of his mouth. He missed; the candy was blocked by his teeth.
Jiang Ye grinned, silently revealing a certain smugness. He grabbed Bai Chenzhu's wrist and opened his mouth as if to bite.
Bai Chenzhu's pupils shrank suddenly, and he reflexively tried to pull his hand away to dodge, but Jiang Ye's superhuman strength held him back. He was never one to let himself suffer a loss, so when he couldn't pull his hand away, he simply reached out and flicked his finger, wanting to give him a flick on the head.
...but she misjudged the height and flicked it at the tip of his nose.
The intended attack backfired, revealing a degree of intimacy. This intimacy was far more unsettling than any direct physical confrontation like a fist or a slap.
Both of them were stunned.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com