Seeing that there was no immediate danger, Lin Tao fully opened the door and stepped inside with Bai Ru. The air was surprisingly bearable—the stench of decay not as overwhelming as expected. Most of the gss on the two windows to the right had been shattered, allowing fresh air to flow in, making the pale blue curtains flutter lightly with the breeze.

  "Those three survivors outside... could they have been ambushed by these two zombies while searching for medicine?" Bai Ru frowned as she scanned the room. One of the zombies was pinned beneath a fallen cabinet, still wearing a military police uniform. Yet, she saw no sign of the survivors who had supposedly entered.

  "To be precise, there were four survivors," Lin Tao corrected her, noting the confusion in her eyes. He pointed to a rge dark-red bloodstain near a medicine cabinet, alongside scattered bone fragments. "These bloodstains are still retively fresh, which means those people were here not long ago. My guess? The four of them came in together, unaware that these two zombies were lurking inside. Military personnel-turned-zombies are often stronger than ordinary ones, and these survivors were caught off guard. In the chaos, one of them was likely sacrificed—either abandoned or deliberately pushed to the zombies—otherwise, it would’ve been nearly impossible for the others to escape in such a confined space."

  "Karma truly comes full circle. They abandoned a comrade, only to end up infected themselves," Bai Ru said with disgust, shaking her head. But then, something caught her eye. Her gaze brightened, and she excitedly pointed at the fallen cabinet. "Lin, look! That seems to be a gun!"

  Following her direction, Lin Tao spotted the dark muzzle of a rifle protruding from beneath the toppled cabinet. Judging by its design, it was definitely one of the Type 81 rifles used by the military police. He walked over and, with little effort, lifted the white medicine cabinet. As expected, there were two rifles beneath it—one intact, while the other had a broken stock.

  "Can they still be used?" Bai Ru stood beside him, eyes glinting with anticipation. Having these rifles would significantly improve their chances of survival.

  "They're usable, but they need maintenance," Lin Tao said as he struggled slightly to pull back the bolt, checking the chamber. After confirming their condition, he handed both rifles to Bai Ru. He then searched the two camoufged corpses and, with some luck, found five full magazines.

  "This one’s stock is broken. It’s useless now, right?" Bai Ru asked regretfully, holding up the damaged rifle.

  "The stock was foldable to begin with. We can swap it with one from the rusted guns outside. It’ll still be a good weapon," Lin Tao reassured her. Slinging both rifles over his shoulder, he added, "Let’s hurry and gather medicine. Grab some syringes—both disposable and gss ones."

  "Got it!" Bai Ru nodded and quickly started rummaging through the medicine cabinets. But less than five minutes ter, gunshots suddenly echoed from outside—two sharp reports.

  Lin Tao tensed. He grabbed his radio from his waist and urgently called out, "Cao Mei! What happened?!"

  A panicked voice crackled through the radio, "Lin, get out here now! There are so many zombies—one of our girls got bitten!" Even as she spoke, another gunshot rang out, undoubtedly fired by Hu Laoda.

  "We have to go!" Lin Tao immediately got to his feet, pulling the equally anxious Bai Ru with him. They sprinted outside and found that the situation, while dire, was not as catastrophic as they had feared. Around twenty or thirty zombies were advancing on them, but Cao Mei and the others had already retreated into the transport truck. Zhang Hong was behind the wheel, skillfully maneuvering the armored vehicle toward the clinic to pick them up. Meanwhile, Hu Laoda was firing his shotgun from a shooting port, bsting back any zombies that got too close.

  Lin Tao swiftly drew his handgun from its quick-draw holster, taking down two zombies blocking their path. Spotting a rusted automatic rifle on the ground, he grabbed it before leaping into the transport truck just as it came to a stop. Bai Ru followed closely behind.

  Taking over the steering wheel from Zhang Hong, Lin Tao frowned and asked, "What happened? Where did all these zombies come from?"

  "They burst out from a postal savings bank down the street! They must’ve heard the first gunshots from Hu Laoda and broke through the fence all at once," Zhang Hong said, her face pale with frustration.

  "Hong, how did Xiaohua get bitten?" Bai Ru turned to a young girl with an oval face, who was trembling in pain. Her arm had been brutally torn into, flesh mangled and bleeding profusely. Her once-rosy complexion had turned ashen, and sweat dripped from her forehead as she clung desperately to Bai Ru’s leg.

  "Help me, Ru... please, I don’t want to die!" Xiaohua sobbed, her voice filled with sheer terror.

  Bai Ru bit her lip in anguish. She wasn’t a god—there was nothing she could do to save someone who had been bitten.

  Zhang Hong sighed heavily, her eyes red-rimmed with grief. "You shouldn’t have gone for that neckce, Xiaohua. What’s the point of jewelry now? Who are you even going to wear it for?"

  "I thought she was already dead! She was just half a body!" Xiaohua cried desperately. Then, her expression turned even more frantic as she pleaded, "I’m not going to die, am I? You guys have a way to save me, right? Go ask Lin! Lin must have a way—please, I beg you!"

  "Xiaohua..." Lin Tao drove the truck to a quieter, open road, far from the zombie horde. He put it in park, exhaling deeply before turning to face the desperate girl. "It’s midday. What do you want to eat? Tell Zhang Hong to get you something—you should eat as much as you can."

  Xiaohua’s entire body stiffened at his words. Shock and disbelief filled her eyes as she shook her head violently. "No! I won’t turn! Lin, I know you have a way—Michael said you guys aren’t afraid of the virus! Save me! Please, I’ll do anything!"

  Lin Tao sighed. "If I could save you, do you think I wouldn’t? We have our own reasons for being immune, but I can’t make you immune too. I just... can’t."

  "No! You haven’t even tried! You’d save Hong if it were her, wouldn’t you?!" Xiaohua suddenly shrieked hysterically. Before anyone could react, she yanked open her blue shirt, revealing the red ce bra beneath. She then forcefully pulled it down, exposing her bare chest as she pleaded, "Lin, please! Save me! I’ll serve you well—I’ll be better than Hong! I’m pretty too! My breasts are big, and I’ve barely been touched by any men. They’ll be yours—just save me!"

  "Enough!" Lin Tao barked, his voice heavy with exhaustion. He didn’t even gnce at Xiaohua’s exposed body. Instead, he turned away and said to Zhang Hong, "I... I really can’t help her."

  "No... I don’t want to die!" Xiaohua wailed in despair, thrashing as the other girls struggled to hold her down.

  Lin Tao took a deep breath. He had seen this scene too many times before, thought he had grown numb to it. But this time, he realized—he wasn’t numb at all. His heart still clenched painfully every time.