NOVEL NEXT Chapter 29 - Tian Hai
Standing on the street wasn’t safe, so the two naturally took the boy with them. Luckily, they had already changed to a new vehicle; otherwise, the previous two-seater sports car wouldn’t have been able to carry him.
On the way, the boy, Tian Hai, intermittently recounted what had happened to him and his father.
After the monsters mutated in the neighborhood, there weren’t any major problems in the first three days. Occasionally, a few zombies would appear, and everyone would go together to kill them. But then, suddenly, in one night, more than half of the entire neighborhood turned into zombies. Each day, the number of zombies seemed to increase, and the previous armed police never showed up again. Moreover, Tian Hai’s father and son had not stockpiled supplies in their office because they thought the food prices were too inflated.
So, last night, while Tian Hai was asleep, his father went out alone to find food.
When Tian Hai woke up and looked for his father, he found him with one arm severed, standing bloodied among the zombies, his mouth opening and closing, swaying along with the other zombies.
His father had been eaten by zombies, leaving only half of his face intact.
His mother had passed away early, and his father had come to H City from the countryside to save up for his college tuition. During the summer vacation, Tian Hai was brought to H City by his uncle to stay with his father. The two of them had relied on each other for support. Many people had said that fever could turn people into zombies, and at that time, he had been running a fever every night. His father had secretly taken care of him, not telling anyone, and had tried to save him as much drinkable water and edible food as possible. Now… now…
Tian Hai was so enraged that his hands were shaking uncontrollably. Then he realized that perhaps due to his anger, a burst of lightning suddenly erupted from his hands. Without a second thought, he hurled the lightning at the zombies.
Blinded by hatred, Tian Hai fought his way out of the neighborhood, driven only by the thought of killing all the zombies.
When he was exhausted, he would find a place to rest and then get back up to continue fighting. With nothing left to lose, he wasn’t afraid of losing his own life. Fortunately, he managed to plow through several kilometers without being eaten by zombies.
After hearing his story, Tang Ruo didn’t know how to feel.
It could be said he was foolish, but his feelings for his father moved Tang Ruo deeply. It could also be said he was brave, but such reckless actions could only be described as blind courage.
In the end, she could only say, “Your father went out to find food for you because he wanted you to live. And you, recklessly seeking revenge for your father, are not honoring his wishes.”
Her words of comfort were limited, so she could only adapt what someone once said to her when she lost her grandmother.
“You should live well and carry on your father’s legacy. Otherwise, you’ll soon follow him, and when you meet him in heaven, how will you explain? Will you say that after losing your father, you couldn’t even take care of yourself?”
The young man in the back seat closed his eyes and tears began to fall.
In hindsight, he realized he had been too reckless. His father, who had pinned all his hopes on him, would not have wanted him to die like this.
There was a moment of silence in the car.
Bai Qi turned to look at Tang Ruo, intending to compliment her on her comforting skills today. However, he found her with tears in her eyes as well.
So, he reached out and patted her hand, offering silent comfort.
As soon as he reached out, Tang Ruo took his hand and held it tightly, not letting go.
After entering the city, the number of zombies increased significantly. Although they had chosen the most secluded roads to travel, they still saw many zombies trailing behind them.
The streets were chaotic, littered with items people had abandoned in their hasty escape, along with human skeletons and zombie corpses… It looked like a city ravaged by war.
The beautifully decorated shops were all tightly shut, and the city was a sight of devastation. The streets were filled with zombies with decayed faces.
As they drove by, they saw many residential buildings with white or red cloths hanging from them. Some people even stretched out their heads or hands, crying for help…
But Bai Qi acted as if he hadn’t seen any of it and drove straight past.
They were not saviors and could not save the world; all they wanted was to survive.
After a while, after several turns, Bai Qi parked the car in a dead-end alley. He then turned to Tian Hai and said, “Take care of those zombies following us.”
Tian Hai nodded, got out of the car, and started throwing lightning orbs at the zombies.
He had eaten his fill in the car earlier, and Tang Ruo had given him two blue crystals to help him recover. Although he was curious, he followed her advice and felt his powers had mostly returned.
Moreover, seeing these zombies sparked a fierce determination in him to wipe them all out.
The three of them got out of the car and began fighting. In reality, it seemed only Tian Hai and Bai Qi were actively engaging in the fight; Tang Ruo’s powers were too subtle to be noticeable. She could only interfere with the zombies’ actions and provide mental support to the three of them.
There were simply too many zombies here. Any normal person would not be foolish enough to come here seeking death. Tang Ruo followed behind the two of them, and since they were very focused on fighting the zombies, she had to occasionally collect the crystal cores from the zombies’ heads herself.
However, the stench of the rotting corpses was truly unbearable, and their appearance was downright repulsive…
After collecting two crystal cores from zombies’ heads, Tang Ruo spat out in disgust.
Bai Qi was quite adept at extracting the crystal cores, even managing to maintain an extraordinary, almost artistic demeanor in such a nauseating task. Tang Ruo wondered why she was left with such a grotesque experience.
After spitting out once, Tang Ruo’s speed in collecting crystal cores increased.
She managed to extract ten crystal cores before having to spit out again.
As before, Tang Ruo firmly believed that if she kept at it, she would eventually get used to it.
The sheer number of zombies had drained the trio’s energy. Fortunately, just around the corner was H City’s most famous commercial street. Each store on the street was independent, which meant every store had its own door!
After the three were exhausted from fighting, Bai Qi opened a glass door, allowing everyone to come inside and rest.
The zombies were still at the basic, at most level one stage. As long as the doors were securely closed, the zombies couldn’t get in.
The two didn’t know how Bai Qi managed to open the store’s glass door, but having a place to rest was much better than having none.
The first place they rested in was a men’s clothing store, a boutique no less.
Although Bai Qi and Tian Hai’s clothes hadn’t been stained with blood thanks to Tang Ruo’s mental shielding, they had been soaked with their own sweat. So, they naturally changed into a fresh set of clothes here.
Seeing Bai Qi emerge from the changing room dressed in black casual pants and a matching shirt, Tang Ruo raised an eyebrow. As expected, he looked quite impressive.
Bai Qi, already standing at 1.83 meters tall and with a fit physique maintained through regular exercise, looked even more striking and slender in the black outfit.