Everywhere signaled that the town had fallen.
Fortunately, there were no zombies in the streets.
Chu Yian squeezed her little electric trike past piles of wrecked vehicles on the roadside, driving for about 800-900 meters before finding a small clinic with the door half open.
The roll-up gate was covered with blood handprints.
Chu Yian stopped the trike and looked at the person beside her. "Is this place okay?"
"This one's fine."
Lu Qingyuan placed his hand on her shoulder again, using his other hand to grab the only wrench from the trike.
Chu Yian helped him to the door.
She crouched down and peeked through the gap, scanning the interior. The clinic was dim since there was no electricity, and it was eerily empty. She didn't see anyone. "Looks clear."
She helped Lu Qingyuan inside, first checking the shelves for medicine, then glancing at the rest of the surroundings. She quickly shut the two open doors and checked some of the harder-to-see corners for any threats.
Aside from a few bloodstains on the floor, everything seemed safe.
Finally, she pulled the roll-up gate down a little more, leaving a gap of about 20 cm from the ground.
"Teacher, you can sit on that bench for a while."
With the thought of taking care of the injured, Chu Yian found some disinfectant alcohol, bandages, anti-inflammatory meds, painkillers, and a small knife and tweezers used for removing glass.
Even though she got the supplies, her hands felt strangely unsteady as she held the tweezers and knife.
Lu Qingyuan silently observed her for a moment, then took the items from her. "Go grab some scissors and help me cut my pants off. I'll handle the rest."
"Got it."
Cutting pants was much easier than treating a wound.
She cut open his pants and moved aside. The room was too dark, so she switched on the flashlight on her phone. The light brightened the space instantly, clearly illuminating the inflamed wound on Lu Qingyuan's leg.
Lu Qingyuan paused, his eyes closing for a moment. "Thanks."
"You're welcome, it's nothing."
Chu Yian stood by, watching him disinfect the tweezers and knife with alcohol. He then poured an entire bottle over his wound, using the tweezers to slowly extract the glass embedded in his thigh.
The wound, previously sealed, reopened, and blood poured out.
Chu Yian winced as she watched the glass slowly being removed, the nearly 10 cm piece still attached to red muscle tissue. She could almost feel the pain he must have gone through.
Lu Qingyuan leaned back slightly, closing his eyes. His breathing was heavy and strained, and the long, tense lines of his neck were visible, but he remained silent. His complexion was even paler than before.
Chu Yian hurried to clean the wound again with alcohol, sprinkling it with hemostatic powder and wrapping it with gauze.
Then she got some water from the dispenser and handed him the anti-inflammatory meds.
Lu Qingyuan took the pills. "Give me half an hour, then we'll leave."
"It's okay. We'll wait until you feel better," Chu Yian reassured him.
She grabbed a chair and sat beside him. "Teacher, if you feel uncomfortable, just let me know."
She had heard of the story of Guan Yu's bone scraping, but seeing Lu Qingyuan pull the glass out with his bare hands left her stunned.
She glanced at Lu Qingyuan, who seemed to be dozing off with his eyes closed, and stood up to find a blanket to cover him. But then, the roar of an engine suddenly echoed in the distance.
The sound was deafening.
In an instant, the quiet town was filled with eerie zombie growls.
Bang!
Bang-bang-bang—!
The door she had just closed was being battered.
Zombies!
Chu Yian's face changed, and she immediately reached for her handgun.
At that moment, Lu Qingyuan opened his eyes, grabbed the wrench from beside him, and hobbled toward the door, where the zombies were pounding. "Stay back."
He said this to Chu Yian.
In the next second, he opened the door, swinging the wrench with a powerful strike.
The wrench struck the zombie's head, sending its brain splattering everywhere.
The force Lu Qingyuan used ensured the zombie—dressed in a white lab coat—was dead, completely and utterly.
The zombies inside the clinic had been cleared, but the roar of the vehicle's engine from outside only drew more attention. The town's zombies stirred, their growls echoing as they converged.
"Come get me, you idiots!"
"Everybody, let's go wild!!"
A few more vehicles sped past the door.
Shouts, engine noises, and the sound of crashes filled the air, attracting zombies from every direction.
The zombies' footsteps were closing in fast.
Chu Yian peeked through the roll-up door, her heart racing. She saw countless pairs of zombie feet passing just outside the clinic—only a thin roll-up door separated them from a horde of zombies.
Chu Yian froze, barely daring to breathe. She gripped Lu Qingyuan's hand tightly.
Lu Qingyuan glanced at her, raising an eyebrow. He didn't pull away, allowing her to clutch his hand.
The zombies' march lasted for nearly five minutes.
The sound of their footsteps was relentless, like raindrops. Their growls filled the air, and the stench of death hung heavy, pushing Chu Yian's nerves to their limit.
Luckily, she had lowered the roll-up door earlier.
Despite the constant tension, they made it through unscathed.
As the sounds of the reckless motorcyclists grew distant, Chu Yian relaxed a little. That was when she realized she was still holding Lu Qingyuan's hand. Her grip had been so tight that his hand was red where she had squeezed it.
"Sorry," she murmured.
She released his hand and hurried to the water dispenser, drinking deeply.
Lu Qingyuan glanced at his reddened hand but said nothing. He returned to the chair Chu Yian had brought over.
They sat in the clinic for another 20 minutes.
Chu Yian checked the time on her phone—it was already 6 PM. The long summer days still kept the area bright. She crouched down by the door again and peered outside.
The streets, trampled by the zombie horde, were a mess.
The little trike they had left outside was now a twisted wreck. A few scattered zombies still wandered aimlessly in the area.
That reckless group of idiots.
Even with her calm nature, Chu Yian couldn't help but curse them in her mind.
"The vehicles outside are all totaled, and there are at least eight zombies patrolling the clinic," she whispered to Lu Qingyuan. "In an hour, it'll be dark. I don't think it's a good idea for us to head out now."
"Then we'll rest here tonight."
Lu Qingyuan kept his eyes closed, seemingly indifferent to whether they left earlier or later.
That didn't sit well with Chu Yian. The longer they waited, the greater the danger they faced.
She couldn't help but ask, "Teacher, how long does it take to get to X City from here?"
"Normally, it would take about eight hours by car."
Eight hours.
Hearing this, Chu Yian felt a little relieved. If they still had three days, getting to X City would be more than enough time—even with the zombie outbreak.