Unexpectedly, finding the medicine and equipment in the hospital was not as difficult as Song Qing had imagined.
As soon as they entered the hospital, they headed straight for the pharmacy. Along the way, there was only one third-order zombie. With Gao Wenting’s attacks and Song Qing’s assistance, it was taken down in no time.
After that, they only encountered second- and first-order zombies, which they dealt with easily.
When they reached the blood-drawing station not far from the pharmacy, they came across two zombies lying on the ground. Their bodies were not yet badly decomposed, and both had holes in their heads. Their crystal stones were nowhere to be seen.
Gao Wenting’s heart tightened when she saw this. She said solemnly, “It was a high-order zombie, possibly even stronger than the third-order zombie we just killed.”
Someone had apparently entered the hospital before them.
She was afraid that someone had already gotten there first. If that were the case, their trip would be for nothing.
She quickly led the others toward the pharmacy.
Wang Haiting did not hurry after them. Instead, he stared strangely at the two zombies on the ground.
Could these two be the unlucky zombies whose crystal stones had been taken by Jiang Chenyu?
Just what order was Jiang Chenyu’s mental ability?
Why could he kill high-order zombies from such a distance?
If he accidentally offended Jiang Chenyu in the future, wouldn’t even running away be useless?
At the thought of this, he instinctively hunched his shoulders and shuddered.
“Smack!”
Song Qing slapped him.
“What are you thinking about? They’ve already left. Hurry up and catch up.”
After saying that, she followed the team ahead, whose figures were already disappearing into the distance.
Wang Haiting bared his teeth and rubbed his aching shoulder, glaring resentfully at her retreating back.
She didn’t consider how much strength she had before hitting him!
If his bones weren’t sturdy, she might have smashed them!
The group arrived at the hospital pharmacy and discovered that the medicines on the shelves had barely been touched. A large amount of medicine was still stored in the small warehouse as well.
Gao Wenting let out a huge sigh of relief and smiled as she told the team’s space ability user to collect the medicine.
Song Qing looked at the dazzling array of medicines in front of her and was very tempted.
Although she had already stocked up on some supplies, no one would ever think they had too much medicine, such an important resource.
Thinking of her promise to Gao Wenting, as well as the third-order crystal stone she had freshly obtained in her space, she suppressed her restless urge and only took a few strips of throat lozenges.
Wang Haiting happily moved closer, reaching out to take a box of watermelon frost lozenges as a snack.
Before he could touch the box, the corner of his eye caught sight of a rotten hand reaching out from the dark corner of the medicine shelf toward Song Qing.
His pupils trembled.
Without hesitation, he pushed Song Qing aside and kicked at the zombie that emerged.
But he was still too slow.
His arm was scratched.
His black clothes were torn, and dense, stinging pain spread throughout his body.
The zombie was quickly dealt with by Song Qing, who had reacted in time.
Wang Haiting lowered his head and looked at his arm, which had been torn open to reveal red flesh. A bitter smile appeared on his face.
He had always known when to assess a situation and would never casually risk his life for someone else.
Back at Liu Family Village, it was only because Ji Guohao and the others had gone too far that he had disapproved and tried to stop them. He had not fought desperately, and that was precisely why Ji Guohao and the others had spared his life and locked him in the cellar.
This time, naturally, he had not suddenly become brave enough to sacrifice himself.
Rather, at that critical moment, he had thought that if something happened to Song Qing, Jiang Chenyu definitely would not let him off.
That was why he had blocked the zombie without hesitation.
At this moment, Gao Wenting and the others finished collecting the medicine and noticed Wang Haiting’s condition. Their eyes turned wary as they looked at him.
Wang Haiting lowered his head without saying anything. His eyes were unfocused, and an aura of despair radiated from him.
Gao Wenting felt somewhat reluctant, but she still turned to Song Qing and asked, “Do you want me to do it?”
In the apocalypse, this sort of thing was extremely common.
Usually, when someone was scratched by a zombie and had not taken the medicine to prevent infection beforehand, if their teammates could not bring themselves to do it, they would ask someone unfamiliar to take care of it.
Song Qing immediately stepped forward and stood in front of Wang Haiting, firmly shaking her head.
“Thank you for your kindness, but there’s no need. We’ll handle it ourselves.”
Just kidding.
Wang Haiting could still be saved. Jiang Chenyu could save him in minutes. If they killed him, there would be nothing left to save.
At that moment, Song Qing felt incredibly fortunate that Jiang Chenyu had the ability to save Wang Haiting. Otherwise, if Wang Haiting died because he had saved her, she would feel guilty to death.
At the same time, her heart felt warm, as if it had been soaked in warm water, because Wang Haiting was willing to go this far for her.
She felt that she had not really treated Wang Haiting particularly well. She had only regarded him as an ordinary teammate. She had not even dared to reveal a single word about Jiang Chenyu to him.
Gao Wenting said nothing more. There was pity in her eyes.
No matter which choice they made, there was no escaping death.
After the transaction was completed, they left the hospital one after another, all keeping a distance from Wang Haiting. Although an ability user who became infected would not lose their rationality immediately, no one could say for certain that there would not be an accident.
As Gao Wenting drove away, she still could not help leaning out of the car window and saying to Song Qing, “You’d better do it quickly. Although the virus takes longer to act in ability users, once it does, you’ll be finished if you’re not prepared.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Song Qing nodded absentmindedly, her mind completely occupied by Jiang Chenyu inside the car.
After Gao Wenting and the others left, Wang Haiting collapsed onto the dirt-covered ground without a care, leaning his back against the front of the car.
He looked at Song Qing, who was crouching down beside him, and forced an ugly smile.
“Xiaoqing, I’m going to die. After I die, can you burn me to ashes and scatter them into the sea as you pass by? My parents abandoned me by the seaside, and I grew up being fed by many fishermen. The sea is my home. It’s my family. I want to go home.”
As he said this, his eyes reddened.
“Actually, forget it. You don’t have a fire-type ability. It would take you a long time to burn me with ordinary fire. I don’t want to trouble you.”
Seeing him like this, Song Qing knew that he would not die with Jiang Chenyu there, but she was still affected by his words until the tip of her nose became sore.
She wiped her face and laughed as she scolded him, “Who told you that you’re going to die?”
“I’m not going to die?”
Wang Haiting suddenly straightened his back and looked at her, his eyes blazing.
“Do you have No. 1 Medicine? No, even if you do, it’s useless. That medicine only works if you take it beforehand.”
He then slumped back down against the car again in despair.
Song Qing did not have the medicine, but Jiang Chenyu could save him.
No. 1 Medicine was developed after Jiang Chenyu first discovered that his healing ability could save people who had been infected by zombies but had not yet lost their rationality.
Jiang Chenyu felt that he could not save the entire world by himself, so he began drawing his own blood for research. It did not take long for him to develop No. 1 Medicine, which could prevent zombie infection for a week.
After that, he began researching a component that could replace his own blood.
If he had not been captured by the director of the Hua’an Base research institute, he might have already developed a substitute for his own blood.
He might even have developed No. 2 Medicine, or medicine that could clear the virus from the body after someone was scratched by a zombie!
“I can save you. Wait here for a moment. Whatever you do, don’t do anything stupid.”
After gently saying this to Wang Haiting on the ground, Song Qing quickly climbed into the car.
Wang Haiting did not hold out any hope. He simply thought she was comforting him.
However, since he had not yet lost his rationality, he could not bring himself to end his own life either. Being able to look at this deep blue sky for even one more second was something beautiful.
He raised his head and gazed at the sky where white clouds intertwined with the blue expanse. His eyes were empty.
He had never thought that being alive was particularly wonderful before, but when he truly had to face death, he realized that there were so many things in this world worth holding on to.
In the back seat, Jiang Chenyu sat casually, his slender, fair fingertips lightly tapping against his straight thigh.
After Song Qing got into the car, she immediately grabbed his hand and looked at him pleadingly.
“Brother Yu, please save Wang Haiting, okay?”
Jiang Chenyu did not ask why she knew he could save Wang Haiting.
There were already many mysteries surrounding her. One more did not matter.
Looking at her anxious face, he asked with an unreadable expression, “Aren’t you afraid that after I save him, he’ll sell information about me for his own benefit?”
Song Qing shook her head vigorously, her voice filled with emotion.
“He won’t, he won’t! He was scratched by the zombie because he saved me. He definitely won’t betray you.”
There was none of Jiang Chenyu’s usual gentleness on his face. His deep, dark eyes stared straight at her.
“What if he does?”
Song Qing was unfamiliar with this cold side of him, and it made her feel somewhat frightened.
She lowered her head aggrievedly, tears gathering in her eyes.
She had thought Jiang Chenyu would agree to her request unconditionally as he always did, but she had never expected his expression to suddenly become so unfamiliar.
Thinking about what he had said, Song Qing could understand him too.
After all, this involved his life. Considering the painful experiences he had gone through, it was only natural for him to be cautious.
Song Qing suppressed the bitterness in her eyes, unconsciously tightening her grip around his dry hand. She raised her head and said seriously, “If that day ever comes, I’ll kill him with my own hands and guarantee your safety with my life.”
Jiang Chenyu did not believe that someone as soft-hearted as her would be able to attack her companion, but he also had no intention of teasing her any longer.
The girl in front of him had red-rimmed eyes, her plump little lips pursed in grievance, tears threatening to fall.
It made him feel as though he really was being inhuman.
He revealed a gentle smile, reached out, and touched her cheek.
“I was only teasing you just now. Don’t be upset. I’ll save Wang Haiting. He was injured while saving you. How could I just watch him die?”
Seeing the familiar expression return to his face, Song Qing relaxed and threw her arms around his neck, bursting into loud sobs.
“Brother Yu, you scared me to death! Sob, sob… I thought you really weren’t going to save Wang Haiting.”
Jiang Chenyu helplessly patted her back.
She was far too delicate.
He had not even said anything harsh. He had only asked her two questions, and she had already become this aggrieved.
Song Qing had not forgotten about Wang Haiting outside the car. After crying loudly for a few moments, she pulled Jiang Chenyu out of the car and made him save him.
The shadows of the two of them fell over Wang Haiting.
He looked up at them listlessly, tugging the corners of his mouth into a forced smile.
“Are you going to do it now? Go ahead. My body has already started showing symptoms. Just be quick. Try not to make it hurt. Don’t let my burly appearance fool you—I’m actually very afraid of pain.”
Song Qing had already calmed down. She unceremoniously kicked his leg and smiled easily.
“Who told you we’re going to kill you? Hurry up and stand up. The ground is filthy.”
Jiang Chenyu said nothing. He simply activated his ability, covering the blackened wound on Wang Haiting’s arm with his healing power.
The healing ability he had recently advanced was still effective.
Previously, when he used his ability to save someone who had been scratched by a zombie, it took some effort and would drain his ability completely.
Now, he could heal someone in an instant, without his body becoming exhausted.
Under the effect of his healing ability, the wound on Wang Haiting’s arm quickly healed. The bloating pain and weakness caused by the zombie virus beginning to act also completely disappeared.
He stared at Jiang Chenyu in shock.
Just who was he?
Not only did he possess the strange ability to take someone’s life at any moment, he could also save people who had been infected by zombies!
If this news spread, everyone would probably be shocked.
He could already imagine Jiang Chenyu becoming the target of countless people.
After all, people with high ability levels could at most be envied. It had nothing to do with other people.
But the ability to cure the zombie virus was something everyone desperately wanted.
With zombies everywhere now, who could guarantee that they would never be injured?
Having Jiang Chenyu meant having another life.
“Stop spacing out and come cook. I’ve been working so hard for so long that I’m starving to death.”
Song Qing took ingredients and a stove out of her space and called out to Wang Haiting, who was still sitting on the ground in a daze.
They had killed their way along this road, and the high-order zombie in the hospital had also been dealt with. There was no safer place than here, so she couldn’t be bothered to move again.
She took a two-seater sofa out of her space and pulled Jiang Chenyu down to sit, then urged Wang Haiting on the ground.
Wang Haiting climbed to his feet and looked at her incredulously.
“I just narrowly escaped death, and it was because I saved you. How can you bear to enslave me like this?”
“Thank you.”
Song Qing gave him a big smile. She flipped her hand over, revealing the ice-blue crystal stone in her palm.
“How about I give you this as payment?”
Before leaving, Gao Wenting had given her an extra third-order crystal stone out of guilt over her losing a teammate.
Wang Haiting’s face lit up with joy as he rushed over to take the crystal stone from her hand.
“This payment is excellent! You’re hungry, right? Wait a moment. I’ll go make you something to eat right now.”