He recounted the events in fragments, trying to be concise, choking up several times in just a few sentences. Zhou Rong’s gaze fell on Zhang Yingjie’s corpse nearby, closed his eyes, and after a long moment said in a low voice: “We downloaded all the virus research materials from the archives. The red test tube you found should be the original antibody, unstable in effect and varying from person to person…”
“Now, Si Nan.” Zhou Rong opened his eyes, clearly issuing his order: “Search for the remaining antibodies, tie them to Yan Hao, and bring him up carefully.”
Si Nan was already exhausted, taking several attempts to stand up. The cold storage layer on the equipment table where the antibodies were kept had been completely smashed.
Two of the four antibodies had been used, but fortunately, the remaining two three-segment metal test tubes were ice-cold. He wrapped these precious antibodies in Zhang Yingjie’s jacket instead, securing them to Yan Hao and carefully lifting him onto the makeshift stretcher the team had created from their clothes. “We must leave quickly. They drove an armored vehicle from the arsenal, now parked at the north exit of the top floor…”
Ding Shi and Guo Weixiang worked together to pull the stretcher to the surface. Zhou Rong noticed the undeniable alpha pheromones in Yan Hao’s blood, pausing briefly. He pulled out a military stimulant from his tactical bag, injecting it into Yan Hao, then turned to Si Nan: “It’ll take at least two hours to get out of here. Everyone’s at their limit. We must move quickly.” Zhou Rong threw down a rope, signaling Si Nan to come up.
But Si Nan, hands on his knees, remained silent for a long time, then suddenly turned to walk in another direction. —He wanted to take Zhang Yingjie’s body. Zhou Rong wanted to say something but swallowed the words. No one in the team spoke, the silence turning the air into a bitter, choking gel. Suddenly, Si Nan stopped. In the shadows ahead, Zhang Yingjie seemed to move.
For a moment, Si Nan thought he was seeing things, but then a grinding stone sound came, and Zhang Yingjie jerked back in a strange posture. It was the zombie! It wasn’t dead and was trying to drag away Zhang Yingjie’s body!
Zhou Rong: “Don’t go!” Si Nan: “Stop!!”
Zhou Rong was stunned by Si Nan’s scream of pure madness, then saw Si Nan explode with rage, charging at the zombie like an arrow! The zombie seemed to know how to avoid people, dragging Zhang Yingjie as it ran. Si Nan chased without hesitation, stepping through overturned equipment and broken glass, smashing through large devices blocking his path with a thunderous sound.
“Gun!” Zhou Rong snatched the Type 89 from Guo Weixiang, aiming to shoot. But in the dim conditions, the zombie was too fast to lock onto. Just as he was frustrated, the zombie reached the wall corner and, inexplicably, crouched down and vanished into thin air. Si Nan rushed over and saw: A sewer! Chewing sounds came from underground, and Si Nan’s eyes instantly turned red: “I’ll die with you today!!” Then he jumped down! Zhou Rong cursed, throwing the Type 89 back to Guo Weixiang: “Don’t follow!” Chun Cao: “Rong Ge?!” Zhou Rong drew his dagger, gripping it in reverse, pulling the Type 64 from his thigh holster, leaping down like a predatory bird!
Si Nan stumbled into water up to his knees, staggering slightly, and saw a black shadow flash nearby, immediately lurching forward in pursuit.
His speed wasn’t slow, and in his rage, he was even quite agile. But the sewer was extremely dark, with four or five branching paths at every turn, and after a few twists, he completely lost sight of the zombie.
Suddenly, water splashed behind him. Turning back, he saw a figure flash by – it was Zhou Rong!
Zhou Rong shouted: “Don’t come over, be careful!”
Before his words could fade, the zombie’s howl erupted before his eyes!
The zombie had been blown to pieces, its brain matter completely splattered, but for some reason, it could still move. Seeing Zhou Rong, it abandoned Zhang Yingjie and let out a strange cry as it charged toward him!
Zhou Rong leaped up and grabbed the horizontal beam above the sewer, performing a perfect pull-up. The zombie rushed beneath him.
Water splashed everywhere. Zhou Rong dropped down, instantly drawing his dagger with a precisely calculated movement, striking the zombie that turned back to bite him!
The zombie shrieked and staggered, then lunged again. In the extremely narrow space, there was almost nothing but water spray and its sharp claws. Under these terrible visibility conditions, Zhou Rong’s laser night vision goggles were useless.
But he fought while retreating, handling the situation with ease, able to determine the zombie’s location by sound alone. Suddenly, using his left foot as a pivot, he spun, pressing his back tightly against the zombie’s front and delivering a heavy elbow strike!
His movement was faster than lightning. The zombie was sent flying, crashing into the water.
Zhou Rong moved quickly beside the zombie. As the zombie stretched its neck to bite, Zhou Rong remained expressionless, simply wedging his dagger between its razor-sharp teeth.
Crack!
The tungsten steel military dagger was chipped, the blade firmly stuck in the zombie’s mouth!
Zhou Rong stomped his foot on the zombie’s chest, his military boot heavy as a thousand pounds, splashing the zombie into the water. He cocked his gun and aimed at its throat, pulling the trigger.
Bang! Bang! Bang—!!
Each bullet precisely hit the same spot. Six shots fired, the zombie’s neck fractured, its entire head blown several meters away.
Zhou Rong casually tossed the empty gun, violently detached the stainless steel pipe overhead, and slammed it down!
The zombie’s body was pierced through the chest, pinned to the bottom of the sewer!
The ground trembled, water ripples spreading in circles, with muffled thunderous sounds echoing endlessly.
Zhou Rong exhaled deeply, withdrew his foot, and didn’t spare the zombie another glance, turning toward the main pipeline.
Just then, a figure flashed at the end of the side passage, stumbling and running away. Zhou Rong roared behind: “Si Nan!”
Zhou Rong gave chase, but Si Nan seemed deaf, rushing around the corner and disappearing. The intense pursuit in the sewer didn’t last long. Soon, Zhou Rong spotted the exhausted figure again about ten meters ahead: “Si Nan! Stop!”
A metallic clang rang out as Si Nan dove through an iron door.
Zhou Rong immediately halted: “Don’t close the door, I won’t come over!”
Si Nan leaned against the iron door, seemingly hesitant.
Zhou Rong stared at him intently.
If looked at carefully, Zhou Rong’s leg and waist muscles were actually in a tense state, like a leopard ready to leap and pin down its prey at any moment.
But when he spoke, his voice was oddly gentle, even somewhat conciliatory:
“Don’t be afraid. I won’t harm you, won’t touch you.”
Zhou Rong raised both hands, palms out, casually displaying his blood-covered body – a dominant presence drifting through the sewer.
“The base is going to be nuclear bombed,” Zhou Rong said slowly. “You must evacuate with us.”
Si Nan remained motionless, as if he hadn’t heard anything, his expression unreadable.
Zhou Rong could guess his thoughts.
In this era of extremely imbalanced A/O gender ratios, someone like Si Nan, even if he was a beta, would have undoubtedly experienced many unpleasant experiences from childhood to adulthood. After the apocalypse, with humans reverting to jungle law and all legal and social orders completely collapsed, being surrounded by aggressive alpha males might be even more dangerous for him than being surrounded by zombies.
But Zhou Rong didn’t give up.
“Come,” he stared at Si Nan, using a soothing yet commanding tone, emphasizing each word: “We’re evacuating. Come with me.”
