To avoid being easily discovered, Song Qing carried Jiang Chenyu on her back and ran for a while. Only after putting some distance between them and the main road did she begin looking for a house.
Along the way, she kicked two first-tier zombies away.
This place looked like an urban village, with low-rise buildings packed closely together and abandoned vehicles scattered throughout the narrow alleys.
Jiang Chenyu’s head rested against her shoulder, and the breath he exhaled grew increasingly hot.
Song Qing began to panic. Just as she was preparing to ignore the danger and enter any building she could find, she finally spotted a two-story detached house. It looked like one of those self-built homes from the last century.
It even had a courtyard, though it was overgrown with wild grass.
Song Qing hurried inside and placed Jiang Chenyu in a room on the first floor, carefully securing the doors and windows.
Then she searched the entire two-story house thoroughly, not missing a single room. Only after confirming that there was no one and no zombie inside did she finally relax.
Although there were no zombies, there was no food either—not even a little. However, she did notice dried bloodstains in the stairwell and on some of the floorboards.
Song Qing was so hungry that her stomach was growling, but she had no time to care about it. She quickly entered the room where Jiang Chenyu was.
He was lying on the bed with his eyes closed, looking as though he had lost consciousness.
Song Qing became nervous. Had something happened to him?
She bent down and carefully placed a finger beneath his nose. Only after feeling his hot breath did she let out a sigh of relief.
“Professor Jiang, Professor Jiang, are you awake?” Song Qing gently pushed the unbloodied part of his shoulder.
Jiang Chenyu did not respond with his eyes still closed. Although his immense mental power had returned with him, the excessive blood loss and high fever caused by his infected wounds still left his head heavy and muddled. He did not want to bother with anyone.
Song Qing assumed that he had fallen unconscious and stopped calling him. She prepared to clean his wounds.
His white shirt wrapped around his upper body, but almost the entire shirt had been dyed red with blood. It was impossible to see where the wounds were.
She hurried into the bathroom and brought out a basin of water. With trembling hands, she began undoing the buttons of his shirt.
As the fabric slowly slipped away, her pupils trembled violently.
She opened her mouth wide and stared in horror at Jiang Chenyu’s bare upper body.
He had the perfect physique of broad shoulders and a narrow waist, but now he looked like a skeleton. He was so thin that his ribs protruded visibly. Surgical incisions began from his chest and continued in scattered lines down to his abdomen. Even both of his arms were covered in wounds.
At a rough glance, there were at least a dozen wounds, all carelessly stitched together with cotton thread. Bright red blood seeped from them.
The most terrifying wound was the one on his left abdomen. It was two fingers long, and with every breath he took, the muscles inside visibly moved. The flesh was a bloody mess, making it extremely horrifying.
It was as though the man before her had been treated as a white mouse by the research institute. They had taken out every organ and muscle in his body to study them, then casually stitched everything back together.
The only thing that made Song Qing feel a little better was that white light occasionally surfaced over the wounds, treating them. The healing was slow, but it was still better than nothing.
It should have been Jiang Chenyu’s healing ability activating on its own.
With wounds covering his entire body like this, if he had not possessed a healing ability, he would probably have died hundreds of times already.
The largest wound had already begun to fester. It seemed that Jiang Chenyu’s high fever was caused by this wound.
Song Qing’s ability to empathize was extremely strong. Just looking at him made her feel pain all over. Without caring about the difference between men and women, she carefully removed his trousers as well.
There were several wounds on his thighs too, but fortunately, they had already scabbed over.
Jiang Chenyu’s entire body tensed. He secretly gritted his teeth, almost unable to keep pretending and open his eyes.
He had never imagined that this young girl would be so bold. Taking off his shirt was one thing, but she was even removing his trousers!
Could she also be someone sent by another research institute, wanting to take some of his blood and flesh back for research?
Jiang Chenyu, who had spent more than ten years lying in the research institute, was filled with gloom. His mental power uncontrollably spilled out and condensed into a sharp cone, shooting toward the girl’s forehead.
Suddenly, he felt the damp touch of a towel against his chest, causing his mental power to scatter with a sudden “whoosh.”
Song Qing had no idea that she had nearly lost her life. She remained focused on using the damp towel to wipe the blood and grime from the man’s body. Whenever she reached a wound, she gently wiped away the blood covering it, revealing the clean wound underneath.
She was afraid of causing him any further harm.
As she wiped the horrifying wounds, Song Qing’s eyes reddened. The anger in her heart continued to rise uncontrollably.
How could those people dare to use Jiang Chenyu as a blood slave? How could they bear to use him for research?!
If she remembered correctly, most of the people at the research institute had been Jiang Chenyu’s senior brothers and sisters before the apocalypse. They had also been colleagues who had spent a long time together.
She changed the water five or six times before finally wiping Jiang Chenyu’s body clean.
Song Qing sat on the edge of the bed and wiped away her sweat, then let out a long breath. She picked up the long trousers left behind by the male owner of the house, slipped them over Jiang Chenyu’s feet, and pulled them upward.
When she reached his waist and hips, she saw the large bulge there, and her face instantly turned bright red.
He was already as thin as a bag of bones, so how could that place still be so big?!
When Song Qing realized what she was thinking, she wanted nothing more than to beat herself to death. She quickly finished dressing Jiang Chenyu, picked up his dirty trousers and shirt, and walked out.
She did not dare stay another moment.
After she left, Jiang Chenyu opened his deep-set eyes and looked toward the doorway with a mocking laugh.
He had thought she was so bold, but merely putting on a pair of trousers had been enough to scare her away.
Still, having his body cleaned made him feel much more comfortable. With the help of his ability, his wounds were also healing faster.
He had lost far too much blood. Escaping from the laboratory had been possible only because he had relied on a single remaining burst of strength. Now that strength had dissipated, even moving was difficult. His entire body was in excruciating pain.
The best solution would be to use his mental power to control someone else and make them take care of him.
But there was no need for that at the moment. As far as he could tell, the girl did not harbor any ill intentions toward him.
Song Qing left the room and threw the bloodstained clothes into a basket in the living room.
Her face was still flushed as she remained immersed in her earlier wild thoughts. Soon, however, the embarrassment was swept away by the twisting pain in her stomach.
She let out a groan, clutched her stomach, and leaned against the back of the sofa, frowning as she breathed through the pain.
She had eaten only one flatbread since waking up in the alley yesterday afternoon, yet she had already exceeded her usual amount of physical activity. She had fought zombies and carried the male lead while running.
No wonder her stomach hurt from hunger.
After recovering a little, she entered the room and looked at Jiang Chenyu, who was still resting with his eyes closed.
“Professor Jiang, I’m going to look for something to eat. I’ll be back soon.”
Without waiting for his response, she closed the door and left.
She was afraid that something might happen to Jiang Chenyu, so she did not dare go far.
Instead, she searched for food in the surrounding buildings.
This place was close to Hua’an Base. The small shops along the entire street had already been looted completely. Not even a single spicy snack strip had been left behind. There were only plastic bags and rubbish scattered all over the ground.
Hungry and exhausted, Song Qing climbed through the buildings searching for food. Without holding out much hope, she asked the System in her mind, “Can you tell me where there’s something to eat?”
The System replied, “Sorry, Host. That service is not available.”
As expected, Song Qing’s legs went weak, and she slid down onto the floor.
After searching for two whole hours, her back ached and her legs felt weak. She did not want to move at all. If she still could not find anything, she would have to return first.
Jiang Chenyu was covered in wounds, and she could not feel at ease leaving him alone in the house.
After resting for a while, Song Qing leaned against the bedroom door and prepared to stand up. Just then, she accidentally caught sight of a package in the dark space beneath the bed.
She reached her hand underneath, hooked the red package, and pulled it out. It was quite heavy, and its edges were slightly sharp.
When she took a closer look, she was stunned.
Oh my god! It was a four-jin package of vacuum-packed rice.
Song Qing sprang to her feet as if she had come back to life.
“Hahaha, System, I love you so much! You may not be useful in many ways, but your luck value is absolutely incredible! I had just finished asking you, and a package of rice appeared!”
The System was happy for her too. “That’s because the Host is lucky.”
“Mm-hmm. We’re both lucky.”
Song Qing immediately hurried back. Along the way, she did not forget to pick up an abandoned wooden door panel and bring it with her.
When she returned to the house, she first went to check on Jiang Chenyu in the bedroom. Seeing that he was sleeping peacefully, she finally felt relieved and went to the courtyard to prepare the rice.
She moved back and forth between the courtyard and the house like a busy little hamster.
First, she went into the kitchen and brought out a small soup pot. She poured in water and rice, then picked up several bricks in the courtyard and stacked them together before placing the pot on top.
Although she had not found any food after searching the various small shops for more than two hours, she had managed to find two lighters.
She violently broke apart the wooden door panel, stuffed the pieces into the gaps between the bricks, and lit the fire.
Song Qing sat on the doorstep and watched the flames. As she stared at the pot that had not yet begun to boil, her mouth watered and her eyes glowed green. She was even tempted to chew on the uncooked rice.
She cried bitterly inside.
In the past, even when her family had been dragged down by her illness and things had been at their most difficult, she had never gone hungry. She had never expected that after arriving in this other world, she would go two days without eating a proper meal.
She had also been forced to face all kinds of life-threatening dangers and fight terrifying, disgusting zombies.
Porridge alone would be too plain. She stood up and searched through the overgrown courtyard, wondering if she could find some leafy vegetables.
There were no leafy vegetables, but she did manage to find several wild greens. She happily pulled them out and washed them clean.
These wild greens were slightly sour and bitter, and were not particularly tasty.
But at least they could provide some vitamins, so she did not mind.
She placed the washed wild greens beside the pot.
Her body felt unbearably sticky. She smelled of sweat, rubbish, and all sorts of other things. Only then did Song Qing realize that, in the middle of taking care of everything else, she had completely forgotten about herself.
Unable to stand it any longer, she went inside to wash herself.
She found the female owner’s beige top and black trousers. Other than being slightly loose, they were both quite suitable.
After taking a shower, Song Qing came out to find the fragrance of rice drifting from the courtyard.
Happily carrying two bowls, she went outside and added the wild greens to the pot, stirring them a few times before putting out the fire. She served two bowls of porridge and carried them into the bedroom where Jiang Chenyu was staying.
She placed one bowl on the bedside table and reached out to touch his forehead. His temperature had gone down, so Song Qing finally felt relieved.
She called out to him softly several times. When he did not wake up, she left him alone.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, she ate her porridge. It was very hot, so she blew on each mouthful before eating. The rich fragrance of rice burst across her palate, and Song Qing happily narrowed her eyes.
Her cramping stomach finally stopped tormenting her after receiving food.
She sighed inwardly.
Being alive was truly wonderful!
“Then why did you seek death in your own world?” the System asked in confusion.
At its words, the light in Song Qing’s eyes dimmed. Then she forced a smile.
“I was just angry at the time. I couldn’t hold back my temper, so I ended up dying young.”
Song Qing chatted with the System in her mind while eating.
“I still have to thank you, System. If it weren’t for you, I would have died beyond all possibility of coming back.”
Although the System had thrown her into this terrifying world, it had at least given her hope—the hope of bringing her family back to life.
Even if things did not turn out as she wished in the end, she had still lived a little longer. That alone meant she had gained something.
Thinking about the scene when the System had saved her, she still found it somewhat amusing.
At the execution ground, the moment the police officer fired, she had thought she was saying goodbye to this world.
Unexpectedly, just before the bullet struck her body, she disappeared from where she stood.
Even now, she could still recall the police officer’s stunned and astonished expression.
Afterward, she arrived in a vast white space, where a small green ball of light told her to go help the male lead.
She had to prevent him from turning evil and allow him to develop the medicine that could eliminate the zombie virus without any obstacles. Once she completed her mission, it would be considered a success.
After succeeding, the System would fulfill one wish for her.
The world she had to enter to complete the mission happened to be the setting of a novel she had read.