The male zombie extended its sharp claws and lunged fiercely at Huo Mian.
Huo Mian sidestepped, dodging its attack. She immediately swung both hands, aiming to slash at its neck.
“Crack!”
Because the zombie was so tall, it tilted its head when attacked, causing the blade to strike its collarbone instead.
The zombie seemed enraged. It let out a hoarse roar and reached for her again.
It moved so slowly!
Huo Mian quickly circled behind the zombie, raised her right leg, and kicked it hard in the butt.
“Bang!”
Caught off guard by the sudden kick, the zombie instantly lost its balance and toppled forward, crashing onto a corpse.
Huo Mian was quick to react. Before the zombie could get back up, she flashed forward, gripped the watermelon knife, and repeatedly hacked at the back of its neck.
“Crack, crack…”
Only after she had struck seven times in a row did the male zombie’s head finally fall to the ground.
“Ah…”
A shrill scream suddenly rang out. Huo Mian’s heart jolted, and she instinctively stood up and looked toward the source of the sound.
Six or seven meters away, a short-haired girl sat limply on the ground, her eyes vacant.
A wound stretched from the lower left side of her jaw all the way to her brow bone, gushing blood and giving her face a rather horrifying appearance.
Beside her, a ponytailed girl pointed furiously at another girl and berated her angrily.
“Chen Yiqian, you bitch! Why did you push Yuanyuan? If it weren’t for you, how could Yuanyuan have been scratched by the zombie?”
Publicly accused, Chen Yiqian’s face instantly flushed bright red.
She retorted indignantly, “Xiaoyuan is my cousin. How could I possibly hurt her?”
The girl sneered after hearing this. “Stop pretending. I saw you push Yuanyuan with my own eyes. That’s why she was scratched by the zombie.”
Chen Yiqian immediately put on an aggrieved expression.
“Li Shuo, I know you and Xiaoyuan are good friends. She’s injured, and you’re upset, so it’s understandable that you’d take your anger out on someone.
“But you can’t just slander me. I’m worried about Xiaoyuan too.”
As she spoke, Chen Yiqian looked around at everyone, her face taking on an expression of heartache.
“Xiaoyuan has already been scratched by a zombie and could turn into one at any moment. We can’t afford to take any chances.”
“What do you mean?” Li Shuo demanded furiously.
Chen Yiqian immediately began sniffling.
“I’m just afraid Xiaoyuan will turn into a zombie, so I wanted to remind everyone to stay away from her and avoid getting hurt.”
Everyone around them looked terrified and began backing away from Lu Yuanyuan, putting more distance between themselves and her.
Hearing this, Li Shuo also fell silent.
She glanced at Lu Yuanyuan with an uneasy expression, bit her lip, then turned her head and walked away.
Huo Mian heard every word of the argument between the two girls.
She knew the girl sitting limply on the ground.
Lu Yuanyuan, a sophomore in the Foreign Languages Department and a member of the student council, had performed exceptionally well during military training and was regarded as a role model by the girls.
Back then, she had been spirited and heroic, with a short haircut that was neat and refreshing. Her capable demeanor and vibrant energy had made her seem full of life.
But now, her face was filled with despair, her eyes vacant and lifeless. She seemed completely oblivious to the discussions around her, as though her soul had been ripped away.
She looked rather pitiful.
Thinking about the heated argument between the two girls, Huo Mian narrowed her eyes slightly.
She still remembered Chen Yiqian mocking her earlier, her words filled with disdain.
Just moments ago, Xu Wanluo had also mentioned this person to her.
Huo Mian stood where she was and observed Lu Yuanyuan for a while. Her eyes and fingernails showed no signs of change.
Her peach-shaped eyes swept across the surroundings. She noticed that only a few zombies remained in the distance, still not dealt with.
Xia Yan was leading several male ability users toward the remaining zombies.
After thinking for a few seconds, Huo Mian slowly walked toward Lu Yuanyuan.
Lu Yuanyuan showed no reaction to her approach and continued sitting there in a daze.
Huo Mian looked at her wound and said softly, “Let me treat your wound first.”
Her voice was soft and gentle. In this atmosphere filled with death and despair, it was like a ray of warm sunlight shining into Lu Yuanyuan’s heart.
Lu Yuanyuan instinctively raised her head, her gaze focusing on Huo Mian.
When she recognized who it was, she froze.
It was the beautiful girl who had been walking with Xia Yan earlier.
Seeing Lu Yuanyuan staring blankly at her, Huo Mian assumed she didn’t believe that she could heal her wound.
Without saying anything more, she directly activated the ability within her body.
A gentle white light surged from her palm. Huo Mian bent slightly and brought her hand close to the wound.
Lu Yuanyuan instantly felt a warmth spreading across her face, and the wound began to itch faintly.
She quickly came to her senses and realized that the girl was healing her.
Lu Yuanyuan’s heart began pounding wildly, and a glimmer of hope rose within her.
She stole a glance at the beautiful girl, who looked utterly focused and serious. Enduring the tingling and itching sensation on her face, she remained silent and did not interrupt her.
Before long, the wound gradually formed a scab. Then the scab began to peel away, revealing wheat-colored skin identical to the surrounding area, smooth and flawless as before.
Seeing this, Huo Mian stopped channeling her ability.
Feeling that only one-third of her ability energy remained, she let out a soft breath and said gently, “Your wound is healed.”
Everyone nearby had witnessed the entire process. They stared wide-eyed in amazement, their faces filled with disbelief.
Groups of people began gathering and whispering among themselves.
“That girl is a healing ability user, right? I knew it! I told you she was an ability user!”
“Her ability is incredible. Hey, do you think this means she won’t turn into a zombie…”
“If that’s really the case, then we won’t have to be afraid of getting scratched by zombies anymore.”
“She’s beautiful and kindhearted too. I’ve decided—she’s my goddess from now on…”
The crowd erupted into discussion. In a world overrun by zombies, no one could guarantee that they would never be scratched by one.
If they could establish a good relationship with a healing ability user in advance, perhaps she could save their lives at a critical moment.
Everyone around Huo Mian looked at her with friendliness.
The only exception was Chen Yiqian, who stood to the side and glared at Huo Mian with resentment.
Hearing Huo Mian’s words, Lu Yuanyuan instinctively raised her hand and touched her cheek. It felt completely smooth, and the pain was gone.
Joy surged through her heart. Her willow-shaped eyes sparkled as she stared at Huo Mian, filled with gratitude.
Lu Yuanyuan abruptly stood up and grabbed both of Huo Mian’s hands tightly.
“Classmate, thank you. Thank you so much. I thought I was definitely going to die.”
Her voice was filled with emotion, tinged with tears.
Seeing how emotional she was, Huo Mian casually said, “Don’t mention it. It wasn’t that difficult for me.”
She had only decided to help because Lu Yuanyuan looked pitiful, and because she was already unhappy with Chen Yiqian.
Hearing this, Lu Yuanyuan felt even more grateful.
They were complete strangers, yet Huo Mian had been willing to save her. That alone was an enormous kindness.
She would remember this kindness for the rest of her life.
Lu Yuanyuan wiped away her tears and said solemnly, “To you, it may have been nothing more than a simple gesture, but to me, it was a second chance at life.
“My name is Lu Yuanyuan. If you ever need my help in the future, I will never refuse.”
Only after saying this did she realize that she still didn’t know the name of her lifesaver.
Lu Yuanyuan quickly asked, “By the way, I still don’t know your name?”
A gentle smile appeared on Huo Mian’s face.
“My name is Huo Mian.”
“Is the ‘Mian’ the same as in cotton-padded jacket?”
To Lu Yuanyuan, this girl really was like a warm, comforting little cotton jacket.
Huo Mian shook her head. “It’s the ‘Mian’ from ‘continuous’.”
Lu Yuanyuan was just about to continue speaking when Chen Yiqian’s voice suddenly came from not far ahead.
“Xiaoyuan, don’t let your guard down. Who knows if she only healed the wound on the surface? The zombie virus could still be lurking inside your body. Wouldn’t that make all your gratitude meaningless?”
Hearing Chen Yiqian’s sarcastic remark, the smile on Lu Yuanyuan’s face instantly disappeared.
She turned her head toward Chen Yiqian, her gaze gradually turning cold.
Lu Yuanyuan released Huo Mian’s hands and stepped over the corpses one after another, slowly walking up to Chen Yiqian. Then, without the slightest hesitation, she swung her right arm.
“Slap! Slap!”
Two hard slaps landed squarely across Chen Yiqian’s face.
Caught completely off guard, Chen Yiqian stared at her in shock, one hand covering her cheek as she shouted furiously,
“Lu Yuanyuan, how dare you hit me!”
With that, she raised her hand sharply, intending to slap her back.
However, just as her hand reached halfway into the air, Lu Yuanyuan caught it firmly.