The group returned to the cafeteria without further incident.
There was still a trace of tension on everyone’s faces. Fortunately, no one had been injured during the rescue.
The moment Huo Mian stepped into the cafeteria, Xu Wanluo charged toward Xu Mingfan like a cannonball.
“Brother, are you okay?”
As she spoke, she looked him up and down.
Xu Mingfan lifted his chin slightly, his expression smug. “How could anything happen to me? It was just killing zombies. You’re underestimating me too much.”
Xu Wanluo let out a small sigh of relief, but she quickly noticed that her brother was covered in grime. She hurriedly covered her nose and took several steps back.
Seeing the disgusted look on his sister’s face, Xu Mingfan was somewhat displeased. “These stains are proof of my heroic battle against the zombies, and you’re actually disgusted by me?”
Xu Wanluo replied perfunctorily, “Yes, yes, you’re a great zombie-slaying hero. Did you really have to get blood all over your face? Hurry up and find some water to wash yourself. Doesn’t it bother you?”
Hearing that, Xu Mingfan quickly grabbed her sleeve. “Wanluo, please, do me a favor and wipe me down. I can’t even see where the stains are myself!”
Xu Wanluo crossed her arms, her tone helpless. “You really are hopeless. Come on. There are still two bottles of water in the backpack. Next time, try to avoid getting splattered when you kill zombies. If you keep doing this, where are we going to get enough water for you to waste?”
Standing nearby, Huo Mian watched the two siblings interact, a trace of envy flashing through her eyes.
In this apocalypse, how fortunate it was to have the companionship and care of family. Unfortunately, she had no such blessing, and her mood sank even further.
Just then, Lu Yuanyuan came out of the back kitchen and hurried over to Huo Mian, slipping her arm through hers.
“Xiaomian, are you okay? Did you get hurt anywhere?”
Hearing the concern in her voice, the corners of Huo Mian’s lips curved slightly upward, and the heaviness in her heart seemed to disappear.
She shook her head with a gentle smile. “I’m fine. No one was injured.”
Lu Yuanyuan visibly relaxed upon hearing that.
Then she pouted and complained, “I really wanted to go help too, but that Wen Qi… I heard that he’s a mental-type ability user just like me.
“With him around, I feel like I’m completely redundant. I don’t have any chance to be useful at all.”
After saying that, Lu Yuanyuan let out a long sigh.
Huo Mian raised a hand and patted her shoulder, smiling as she comforted her. “Don’t think that way. You were assigned to stay at the cafeteria for everyone’s safety.
“If you weren’t here and a group of zombies suddenly came outside the cafeteria, everyone might still be completely unaware of them.
“And besides, there will definitely be more missions in the future. Why rush to prove yourself now?”
Lu Yuanyuan thought carefully about Huo Mian’s words and felt that they did make sense. Her worries eased, and a look of anticipation appeared on her face.
She linked her arm with Huo Mian’s, and the two walked over to the dining table where their backpacks had been placed and sat down.
“Xiaomian, tell me what happened on the way. Did you run into a lot of danger?”
Seeing how excited she was, Huo Mian took a bottle of water from her backpack and drank a few sips before quietly recounting what they had experienced along the way.
By evening, Huo Mian and the others were sitting together, listening to Cao Kang describe the situation at the Central Base.
Cao Kang was burly, with broad shoulders. At 1.94 meters tall, he looked like a towering little mountain.
In his hearty voice, he said, “You don’t have to pay a protection fee to enter the base, but everyone has to contribute and work together to build it.
“Besides, the base will arrange jobs for everyone. As long as you’re willing to work hard, you’ll have food to eat. No one will starve to death…”
Just as everyone was absorbed in Cao Kang’s explanation, a hurried series of footsteps suddenly came from outside.
Everyone looked up and saw Huo Shaochen and Xie Licheng rushing in.
Xie Licheng was carrying Wen Qi on his back, while Huo Shaochen supported Wen Qi’s back with his left hand and pressed down on his neck with his right.
Wen Qi’s head lolled limply against Xie Licheng’s shoulder, his arms hanging lifelessly at his sides. His entire body appeared to be unconscious.
At this moment, all three of them were covered in the black blood of zombies. Even their faces were stained with it, making them look particularly horrifying under the dim yellow light.
Everyone’s hearts leaped into their throats as they stared at them worriedly.
The other members of the Swift Shadow Squad quickly rushed forward.
Bai Ningrong immediately noticed the traces of bright red blood on Huo Shaochen. She hurried over to him and anxiously asked, “Shaochen, are you hurt? What happened to Wen Qi?”
Huo Shaochen’s expression was grave, his eyes filled with panic. “I’m fine. Where’s Huo Mian?”
Huo Mian had spotted Xie Licheng carrying Wen Qi from a distance the moment they entered. Seeing their panicked expressions, she immediately had a bad feeling.
She and Lu Yuanyuan had just approached when they heard Huo Shaochen asking for her. She quickly called out, “I’m here.”
Hearing her voice, everyone hurriedly moved aside to clear a path.
At this moment, Xie Licheng was extremely panicked, seemingly on the verge of breaking down.
When he heard Huo Mian’s voice, it was as if he had grabbed onto his last lifeline. Carrying Wen Qi on his back, he rushed straight to Huo Mian and shouted urgently, his voice thick with tears, “Please, save Wen Qi! He was injured by a zombie because he was trying to save me. If you can bring him back, I’ll owe you my life!”
Huo Mian’s heart tightened when she heard this, and she immediately understood how critical Wen Qi’s condition was.
Seeing the despair on Xie Licheng’s face, Huo Mian reassured him, “I’ll do everything I can.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Cao Kang and Xu Kaiyang carefully helped Wen Qi down from Xie Licheng’s back.
Wang Rui had already taken a folding bed out of his storage space and set it up.
The group gently moved Wen Qi onto the folding bed and laid him down.
Huo Mian walked over to the bedside. Wen Qi’s neck was soaked in bright red blood, while Huo Shaochen was pressing gauze against the wound.
She immediately bent down and reached toward Wen Qi’s neck. A gentle white light instantly surged from her palm.
Seeing this, Huo Shaochen immediately removed the gauze.
A horrifying, mangled wound appeared before Huo Mian’s eyes, blood continuously pouring from it.
Huo Mian’s pupils contracted sharply.
Had his carotid artery been severed?
Her mind was thrown into turmoil. Without time to think about anything else, she immediately increased the flow of her healing ability, making sure the white light completely covered Wen Qi’s wound.
As time passed, Huo Mian’s face gradually turned pale, and cold sweat began to bead on her forehead.
Because she had previously treated Professor Yang, her ability had not yet fully recovered. Such an intense output was an enormous drain on her, but she still gritted her teeth and persisted.
Although she and Wen Qi had known each other for only a short time and were not yet close, just seeing him wearing that military uniform was enough to make it impossible for her to give up on him.
Gradually, the white light in Huo Mian’s hand grew dimmer, flickering intermittently as though it could stop at any moment.
No one dared to make a sound, afraid that they might interrupt Huo Mian’s treatment.
At that moment, time seemed to pass especially slowly.
Everyone stared nervously at Wen Qi’s wound. Suddenly, Cao Kang cried out in surprise, “The bleeding has stopped!”
At his words, the taut nerves of everyone present slowly relaxed.
Hearing that, the strength Huo Mian had been forcing herself to hold onto vanished instantly. It was as though the string she had been keeping taut had suddenly snapped with a sharp “twang.”
That familiar dizzy sensation from low blood sugar swept over her.
Her vision suddenly went black, and her entire body went limp, toppling sideways like a puddle of soft mud. She instantly lost consciousness.
Xu Kaiyang was standing right beside Huo Mian. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her collapse and instinctively reached out to catch her.
Lu Yuanyuan was standing behind Huo Mian. Seeing her faint, she hurriedly asked, “What happened to Xiaomian?”
Huo Shaochen quickly glanced at Wen Qi’s wound. The bleeding had stopped. Although the wound was still horrifying and had not yet healed, Wen Qi’s breathing was steady and no longer as weak and rapid as before.
Judging from these signs, Wen Qi should be temporarily out of danger.
He turned to Huo Mian and placed a hand on her wrist, carefully feeling the rhythm of her pulse.
After a moment, Huo Shaochen released her wrist, a trace of relief in his voice. “It should be ability exhaustion. Fortunately, her condition isn’t too serious. Let her rest first. She should recover after a couple of days.”
Hearing Huo Shaochen’s words, everyone in the Swift Shadow Squad breathed a sigh of relief.
Healing ability users were extremely rare. If something had happened to Huo Mian because she had tried to save Wen Qi, they would have felt guilty for the rest of their lives.
Something similar had happened at the base before. A healing ability user had overexerted himself while treating injured people, eventually causing his ability core to shatter.
Not only was his ability completely crippled, but his body also developed a number of serious problems.
Before they left the base, that person had still been lying in the ICU, his life hanging in the balance.
Now that Huo Mian was safe and had even saved Wen Qi’s life, everyone looked at her with eyes full of gratitude.