"Gao Hai, are you looking for me?" Thomas Xu walked over with a flashlight, only to see Gao Hai's hands still gripping the large door. The double iron doors were being pulled by the living corpses outside, making a "clang" sound. Although the force wasn't particularly strong, as long as Gao Hai let go, the living corpses would definitely rush in immediately.
"Thomas Xu... I want to ask you for a favor, please promise me!" Gao Hai held onto the door and turned his head to look at Thomas Xu with great effort.
"Just say it, what's there to ask between us men? I'll do whatever I can!" Thomas Xu waved his hand nonchalantly, seeming very unconcerned.
"I want... to ask you to take care of Lu Jia, and do your best to ensure their safety!" Gao Hai looked at Thomas Xu with an unusually serious expression, and his heavy tone carried a hint of sorrow.
"You..." Thomas Xu was taken aback. Lu Jia was Gao Hai's wife; why would he ask him to take care of her? A sense of foreboding suddenly crept into Thomas Xu's heart. He focused his gaze and noticed that Gao Hai's face had turned extremely pale, and large beads of sweat were continuously sliding down his forehead. His eye sockets were also deeply sunken, and Lu Jia seemed to sense something as well. She had been quietly sobbing on his shoulder, but upon hearing Gao Hai's farewell-like words, she could no longer hold back and began to cry loudly while hugging Gao Hai.
"Man, I know it's a lot to ask you to protect them in this chaotic world, but I really have no other choice. I won't say sweet words, just consider it a plea from your brother. Please, I beg you to promise me!" Gao Hai looked at Thomas Xu, tears streaming down his face. Although he was holding the door, he slowly knelt in front of Thomas Xu.
"Brother Hai, don't do this. I... I promise you, as long as I, Thomas Xu, am alive, I will never let my sister-in-law suffer!" Thomas Xu hurriedly stepped forward to help Gao Hai up, speaking anxiously, "Have you been bitten? When did it happen?"
"It was when I was saving Old William, but I wasn't bitten; I was grabbed!" Gao Hai weakly shook his head, releasing one hand from the door. He gently lifted his T-shirt, revealing a claw mark on his left rib that was almost completely blackened, and it was emitting a faint fishy smell. Anyone who had witnessed a corpse transformation would understand that Gao Hai had been infected with corpse poison and had at most two or three hours left to live.
"Husband, I won't... If you don't leave, we won't leave either. Our mother and son will stay here to accompany you!" Lu Jia tightly hugged Gao Hai's neck, shaking her head vigorously.
"Idiot..." Gao Hai touched Lu Jia's face with great affection and said softly, "You still have a baby in your belly. You have to live well not for yourself but for him. You must be obedient this time. The child is our only hope for survival. You must raise him. Be good and follow Thomas Xu in the future. He will take good care of you. Don't worry too much about me. If you don't live well, I will worry in heaven."
"No husband..." Lu Jia hugged Gao Hai in great grief, almost sobbing.
"Man..." Gao Hai looked at Thomas Xu with a pale face, and said in a slightly apologetic tone, "I have caused you trouble. I don't ask you to let them enjoy more happiness, but just don't let people bully their orphans and widowed mothers. As for man, your great kindness, brother, I can only repay it in the next life."
"Brother Hai..." Thomas Xu also looked at this bloody strong man very seriously, slowly raised his three fingers, pointed at the sky and said, "I swear in front of you, in the future, if anyone dares to bully their mother and son, they must first step over my mutilated body."
"Thank you man, thank you." Gao Hai nodded heavily, hugged Lu Jia for a final tender moment, then kissed Lu Jia gently on the face, and said with tears, "Honey, don't miss me anymore, let's go. When our child is born, don't tell him that his father has turned into a living corpse, just say... I was seriously injured and can't leave."
"Honey, I won't leave, I won't leave, I want to stay with you..." Lu Jia shook her head desperately. It is difficult for any woman to leave the man she has loved for many years at this time.
"Let's go... you stupid bitch, are you going to stay and wait for me to bite you and the child to death?" Gao Hai's eyes suddenly turned red and he yelled at Lu Jia loudly, but Lu Jia still hugged him tightly and refused to let go. Gao Hai yelled at the anxious Thomas Xu again, "Thomas Xu, pull Lu Jia away quickly, I feel like I can't hold on much longer."
Thomas Xu didn't come up, but Jack came over. He walked a few steps behind Lu Jia and stretched out his hand to gently press her neck. Lu Jia, who was still very excited, immediately tilted her neck back and slid softly from Gao Hai's body into Jack's arms.
Jack looked at Gao Hai's surprised eyes. He turned around and handed Lu Jia to Thomas Xu behind him, and said softly, "Don't worry, I just let her be temporarily comatose for about half an hour, otherwise she will be too excited and it will be bad for herself and the fetus."
"...Well, thank you." Gao Hai lowered his head feebly. When he raised it again, his face was already pale. He glanced at Lu Jia held by Thomas Xu with great nostalgia, and said almost tremblingly, "Man, if one day you can't protect them... please don't be embarrassed and let them die happily. I will definitely not blame you... Well, goodbye friends, I hope we can meet again in the next life."
"Brother Hai... Safe travels!" Thomas Xu lowered his head sadly, tears he hadn't shed in a long time welling up in his eyes. In the end, everyone left the dim basement that had taken four lives with a heavy heart that was hard to describe.
...
"Thomas Xu, what are you planning to do?" Before getting into his Cheetah car, Jack stood by the vehicle and turned to look at Thomas Xu. Next to Thomas Xu was Lu Jia, whose face was ashen. Losing her beloved must have hit her hard. Although she had eaten some warm food under the persuasion of Thomas Xu and a few women, there was still no color in her delicate face, and her eyes were severely swollen.
"I want to find a gun with you first. If I can find a gun, I'll go with you to the gathering place. After all, Lu Jia is about to give birth, and she needs a doctor. There happens to be a good one at the gathering place!" Thomas Xu, lacking his usual cheerfulness, looked listlessly at Jack, having returned his gun to its original owner, Boss Hu.
"Alright, let's go together. But even if we can't find a gun, I'll give you a rifle. You can't take care of a pregnant woman alone in the wild!" Jack nodded without hesitation, called out to Thomas Xu, and turned to get into the car.
With the addition of six adults and one child, Jack and the others specially retrieved a relatively decent Jiangling pickup truck from the parking lot. It could carry people as well as a good amount of supplies. This truck was driven in turns by Thomas Xu and Gao Chuanjiang. As for the chef William Peng, who had a broken leg, it seemed that everyone had suddenly become less fond of him. Thomas Xu treated him very roughly because he had indirectly caused Gao Hai's death, leaving him all alone in the back of the pickup truck without caring about his well-being.