There were three distinct scratch marks on Qin Wang’s left forearm. The wounds weren’t deep, but the edges had already begun to turn black.
The virus carried by Zombie Dogs was extremely lethal.
By rough estimate, it was at least dozens of times more potent than that of a regular zombie.
If an infected person couldn’t receive a Cadaver-Virus Serum injection within half an hour, death would be the least of their worries.
There had been a Metal-type Awakened at the Yunjing City base who was bitten by a Zombie Dog. While his teammates were searching for medicine, he transformed into a bloodthirsty monster.
The result was that the entire team died at his hands.
Qin Wang’s face was now ashen, his eyes tightly shut, his body slumped weakly against Qiao Xi’s shoulder.
Chen Zhiang glanced at him through the rearview mirror, his expression filled with concern.
“Brother Qin looks pretty bad. Any other tricks up our sleeves?”
Xia Manman pounded the back of his seat. “Stop the car right now and get him out of here! If he turns into a monster, we’ll all die here!”
She pressed her back against the car door, watching Qin Wang’s direction nervously, as if he might lunge at her at any second.
Qiao Xi had never seen what a living person looked like after being bitten by a Zombie Dog.
She’d seen people surrounded by Zombie Dogs before, but they were devoured clean before they even had time to transform.
She squeezed Qin Wang’s hand. It was indeed no longer as warm as before.
He had also fallen into a semi-comatose state, his arms loosely wrapped around her waist in a daze.
“There’s one method we can try,” Li Chuan said in a low voice from the front.
“What method?” Xia Manman asked.
Qiao Xi also looked at him.
He pulled a short blade from his waist, his gaze landing on Qin Wang’s elbow. “If we cut off his arm, it might slow the spread of the virus.”
Xia Manman frowned. “Will that work?”
“Not necessarily.”
“But since we don’t have any serum right now, might as well try anything.”
As he spoke, he grabbed Qin Wang’s arm.
By now, Qin Wang’s entire forearm had turned black, and the virus had already spread to his elbow.
The speed of the spread caught Qiao Xi off guard.
Li Chuan raised the blade, gesturing over Qin Wang’s arm as if considering where to strike.
“Your method won’t work,” Qiao Xi said quietly.
Li Chuan shot her a sidelong glance, his tone sharp. “What, you’ve got a better idea?”
“Actually, I don’t think it’s a good idea either,” Xia Manman chimed in. “If cutting off his arm doesn’t stop the transformation, we’ll still die here.”
“I still think we should just get him out of the car first.”
“Whether he transforms or not, cut it off first and we’ll deal with it later.” Li Chuan ignored them, raising the blade to stab into Qin Wang’s arm.
Even if he did turn into a monster, losing a hand would severely weaken him.
That would make killing him easier.
Qiao Xi naturally saw through his intentions. He had no real desire to save Qin Wang—he was just worried he couldn’t win in a fight and didn’t want to kill him outright in front of everyone.
The moment the blade began to fall, she yanked Qin Wang’s arm back with all her strength.
Li Chuan’s knife stabbed into the seat back instead. He froze for a moment, then turned a cold gaze on Qiao Xi. “What’s the meaning of this?”
Qiao Xi reached out and straightened Qin Wang’s sleeve. “I have a way to save him.”
“You?”
A contemptuous smirk curled at the corner of Li Chuan’s mouth. “What are you going to save him with?”
“Don’t tell me you think Healing Ability is some kind of cure-all.”
Xia Manman chimed in from the side. “Exactly. Other Healing Type users are completely stumped. What makes you think you can do it?”
Qiao Xi gave her a brief, indifferent glance. “That’s because they’re useless.”
Xia Manman was left speechless, her face twisting with indignation.
Without giving her another look, Qiao Xi turned to Li Chuan. “Let me try.”
Qin Wang’s condition was critical. Though Qiao Xi wasn’t entirely confident she could save him, she had to try.
Even if she could just buy some time so he wouldn’t transform missing an arm or a leg, that would be something.
But right now, Li Chuan was the strongest one here.
If he was dead set on letting Qin Wang die, Qiao Xi had no way to stop him.
Li Chuan pulled the short blade from the seat back, his heavy gaze fixed on her. “Him turning into a monster is already a done deal. What you’re doing is just wasting everyone’s time.”
As he spoke, he suddenly grabbed Qin Wang’s arm, the blade swinging horizontally to slice down at the joint.
He moved too fast—Qiao Xi barely had time to react.
Even the other two were startled, no one expecting him to strike so suddenly.
Qiao Xi’s pupils contracted. Without a moment’s hesitation, the instant the blade touched Qin Wang’s skin, she reached out and seized Li Chuan’s knife-hand.
The blade cut a gash across her palm, dark brown blood seeping out.
She gripped his hand with all her might, refusing to let him advance another inch, her knuckles turning white from the strain.
“Ten minutes. I just need ten minutes. If I can’t save him, do whatever you want.”
A flicker of doubt passed through Li Chuan’s eyes—perhaps surprised by her strength.
He said nothing.
Qiao Xi softened her voice and continued. “Besides, you’re so powerful. Even if I mess this up, you’d still have a way to control the situation, right?”
Her eyes were bright, shimmering with expectation.
No man could refuse the admiration of a beautiful woman.
Especially a man as arrogant and prideful as Li Chuan.
He was quite pleased by Qiao Xi’s flattery, and didn’t seem to mind whether he was being backed into a corner or not.
He looked at Qiao Xi’s sparkling eyes and suddenly felt that letting her try wouldn’t hurt anything—the outcome wouldn’t change anyway.
So he waved his hand grandly. “Fine, you get ten minutes.”
He paused, then added, “Once the time’s up, it won’t be up to you anymore.”
“Deal.”
Xia Manman rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, “Damn green tea bitch!”
Chen Zhiang parked the car, and Qiao Xi told them to get out first.
Xia Manman and Chen Zhiang got out one after another.
But Li Chuan didn’t move.
Qiao Xi: “You get out too.”
Li Chuan leaned sideways against the seat, idly toying with a short blade in his hand, looking at her with a casual air.
“I’ll stay and keep you company.”
His tone was indescribably suggestive.
And the phrase “keep you company” was itself quite suggestive, especially now that only the two of them were left in the car.
Qiao Xi looked up at him.
Their eyes met, and she could clearly see the probing and undisguised desire in Li Chuan’s gaze.
“Whatever Qin Wang can give you, I can too.”
“You’re a smart person. You should be able to see who’s most worth relying on right now.”
When he said this, his face was full of certainty and confidence,
As if he was convinced Qiao Xi couldn’t refuse him, and in his eyes, Qin Wang was already no different from a dead man.
“Why me?” she asked.
“You’re beautiful—having you on my arm is a point of pride.” Li Chuan smiled without any pretense.
“That’s all?”
“What else would there be?”
Qiao Xi feigned disappointment with a sigh and shot him a reproachful glance. “Then that’s not really all that special.”
That look—seductive and alluring, yet tinged with a hint of coyness and plaintiveness—nearly stole Li Chuan’s soul away.
In a daze, he felt like he’d turned back into a reckless young man.
If not for the people watching outside, he would have thrown caution to the wind and pounced on her.
Suppressing the pounding in his chest, Li Chuan’s tone softened somewhat. “Then what do you want? I’m listening.”
Qiao Xi laid Qin Wang flat on the seat, his head propped against one side of the car door, his long legs forced to bend due to lack of space.
Hearing his words, she glanced at Li Chuan. “We’ll talk about it after this is done. You go out first.”
Seeing that he hadn’t moved,
Qiao Xi raised a delicate eyebrow. “Still not leaving?”
Only then did Li Chuan push the door open and get out.
Outside, the sky was already beginning to lighten.
Li Chuan walked away, but his ears remained tuned to the sounds inside the car.
He stood not far off and saw Qiao Xi leaning down toward Qin Wang.
The car body blocked his view, so he couldn’t tell exactly what was happening.
About ten-plus minutes later, Qiao Xi got out of the car, her steps slightly unsteady, looking like she’d expended all her energy.
Li Chuan stood by the car door and glanced inside—his expression shifted dramatically.
The car reeked of blood. On Qin Wang’s arm, the black toxin had completely faded, and the wound had formed a red scab.
It looked no different from an ordinary wound.
He whipped his head around to look at Qiao Xi.
She wore a look of satisfaction, her lips bright red, her fingertips brushing the corner of her mouth as if savoring something.