Forget it. What if he's already turned?
She had enough trouble staying alive—no point risking it for someone else.
Chu Yian tried to convince herself as she gripped the handlebars and prepared to speed off.
But just then, the figure inside the car moved, smearing blood across the window to draw a shaky "SOS."
His face was pale.
Their eyes met through the glass.
Damn it.
Why did they have to make eye contact?
Annoyed with herself, Chu Yian yanked up the handbrake.
She really wanted to mind her own business, but the proper education she'd received wouldn't let her completely abandon a person in need.
Fine. One try.
She rummaged around her little electric trike and pulled out a heavy wrench.
Most of the nearby zombies had been distracted by the tent collapse, giving her a chance. She climbed up onto the wrecked cars, made her way across the hoods, and reached the trapped man's vehicle.
…And he was good-looking.
Even now, with his face pale, eyes low, and white shirt stained red, he gave off a kind of fragile, broken beauty.
Chu Yian paused a second too long, then snapped back to reality.
"Hey, were you bitten?"
Good-looking or not, a bite was a dealbreaker. If he'd been infected, she'd run faster than she came.
"No. It's someone else's blood," the man replied calmly.
…Right. And I'm just supposed to take your word for that?
Chu Yian's already-uncertain urge to help started to falter again.
The man seemed to sense her hesitation, his eyes behind gold-rimmed glasses sharp and perceptive.
"If I'd been bitten, I'd have turned within 10 to 12 seconds. Look at the blood—it's already drying.
Help me now. We have 30 seconds to get out of here."
His voice was low, but there was a quiet authority in it that left no room for doubt.
Chu Yian glanced down at the wrench in her hand and swung it hard at the window.
CLANG!
Nothing. Not even a crack. Just a jolt that numbed her fingers.
"This vehicle's reinforced. You won't break it from the outside."
The man reached for something on the dashboard. The front windshield slowly lowered.
"Press the red button on the driver's console," he instructed.
Chu Yian did as he said.
A click sounded, and his seatbelt unlatched. A hidden compartment on the ceiling flipped open, revealing a handgun.
Damn. What kind of car is this?
She leaned in, completely fascinated.
"Help me."
He extended a hand.
She grabbed it and pulled. He winced slightly as she hauled him out of the vehicle.
He was tall.
Broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs.
But there was a nasty wound on his left thigh, with a jagged piece of glass still embedded in it.
Chu Yian's brain short-circuited for a second. "That's your blood, right?"
He didn't answer. One arm braced against her shoulder for support, the other raised the handgun and fired off a few precise shots—each bullet hitting a zombie dead-on as they began breaking free of the collapsed tent.
He was a sharp shooter. Every shot counted.
But the gunfire echoed loudly through the empty streets. For every zombie he killed, more were drawn by the sound.
Chu Yian shoved aside her curiosity and focused on dragging him toward the trike as fast as possible. He continued clearing the way until she managed to cram him into the passenger seat.
Zombies were closing in.
One latched onto the back of the trike, snarling as it tried to rip through the thin metal panel and climb in.
Chu Yian floored it.
The zombie's legs scraped across the pavement, skin and bone grinding against asphalt until she made two sharp turns and finally shook it loose.
Holy crap. That was terrifying.
Her lips were trembling from the adrenaline.
"Keep following this road. After Pingyu Bridge, turn left."
Unlike her, the man spoke in the exact same calm, even tone as before.
His steadiness was oddly comforting.
"Teacher, where are we going?" she asked.
"The outskirts."
He didn't talk much.
Outskirts.
The further they drove, the fewer cars and zombies there were. Eventually, none at all.
Chu Yian parked the trike by the side of the road and handed him a bottle of water.
"I'm Chu Yian. I'm a student. What's your name, Teacher? Are you one of our professors?"
"Lu Qingyuan. Researcher. I was at your school giving a lecture."
A researcher?
Judging by that car, he had to be someone important.
Chu Yian's mind immediately crafted a story:
A top-tier expert comes to the university to give a guest lecture.
The zombie outbreak happens.
His bodyguards rush to evacuate him, but the convoy crashes just outside campus.
All the guards die protecting him. He's left alone, surrounded by the infected.
And then—bam!—he meets her, his fearless rescuer.
…Then she looked at her dinky little electric trike. The whole scene suddenly lost its epic feel.
Chu Yian shook the thought away. "Teacher Lu, I heard over the emergency radio that there's a rescue center in Furen County, near X City. Want to come with me?"
"Alright."
She had expected him to refuse. His quick agreement caught her off guard.
"Don't you have any concerns?" she asked.
"No."
So blunt.
Chu Yian blinked at him, a little touched.
They'd just met, but he trusted her completely.
"Okay! Then first let's treat your injury, find a map to X City, and look for a drivable car."
She laid out her plan and added, "You can drive, right? I just started learning. My skills are… in development."
Which was a polite way of saying she still only knew how to brake and work the clutch. Gas and gear-shifting were a bit fuzzy.
"No need for a map. I know where X City is."
Lu Qingyuan was pale from the blood loss, but still composed.
"We just need to find some antibiotics, alcohol, and tweezers. Then a vehicle with high clearance—something good for off-road."
From the way he talked, it was obvious he was a capable driver.
He also knew directions, could shoot, and was calm under pressure.
Chu Yian was starting to feel like she'd lucked out with this new teammate.
As for medicine...
She thought back to what she'd packed that morning before leaving the dorm—only a few milliliters of rubbing alcohol, half a pack of amoxicillin, and… a bunch of Montmorillonite powder. For diarrhea.
Yeah, they definitely needed to stop by a pharmacy.
Following Lu Qingyuan's directions, they soon reached a small county town.
The streets were deserted.
Shops were shuttered, wrecked vehicles blocked the narrow roads, trash scattered everywhere.
Broken limbs here and there. The air thick with the stench of blood.