Chapter 21: 'Why

"Captain!"

"Brother Yang!"

The people who had just taken notice were visibly unsettled, and upon seeing the black blood on Yang Changxu's arm, they were almost scared out of their wits, dropping the supplies they were holding and running over.

"Brother Yang, how is it? It's zombie blood, isn't it?" The crew-cut young man looked utterly despairing. Since day one, he had fallen into the hands of a plundering gang, living a life worse than death. If it weren't for the man in front of him who had kicked open that hellish door and pulled him behind, he feared he would have lost his life long ago. In this team, Yang Changxu was their guiding light, the spirit leader of the Sanctuary. If he were suddenly gone...

Yang Changxu, enduring the pain, rolled up his sleeve and, as expected, saw the unmistakably clear claw marks. The wound was already rotting and the skin was breaking away, with dark blood slowly covering the red and oozing out.

"The wound is on the upper limb, it's too late to amputate, there's no saving me." He didn't sigh. Instead, a smile spread across his face. He patted the young man, who was on the verge of tears, on the shoulder, "What does it matter! After I've cleared this batch of supplies, I'll end it myself. I have a regional map here, it's getting dark, you take it and hurry back—everyone at the Sanctuary is still waiting."

"Captain..." Another woman, not in a military uniform, walked over slowly. She took hold of Yang Changxu's hand and said earnestly, "It's okay, there's still a chance, we are already close to the Central Hospital, there must be clues there to neutralize the zombie poison... Old Qin, who got injured today, is also in isolation at the refuge, and he hasn't turned into a zombie..."

"Aman!" Yang Changxu suddenly interjected sternly.

"Yes!" The woman snapped to attention, her body tensing as if it were an unconscious reaction.

"Now, immediately, take the supplies and hurry back to the Sanctuary!" His voice was resolute, "This zombie is not simple, I might completely mutate into a Mutated Zombie... I cannot become a time bomb for you—this is an order, take these two students and go back immediately!"

...

The woman's steely demeanor slowly softened. Tears began to blur in her cold, jade-like eyes:

"...Yes." She replied in a hoarse voice, saluting him with utmost respect.

The other two stood at attention and silently saluted the man.

...Even though they knew that death would make them spectators, in the real world, what they felt was no different from truly being alive—who would want to die?

The comments condensed in the heavy atmosphere, as if the world's colors had abruptly turned to gray. It was extremely quiet all around, with only the deep growls of zombies outside the window.

Just then, Su Ming'an approached, stuffing something into a bottle with one hand. He lifted his eyelids slightly and glanced at Yang Changxu's wound, "Scratched by a zombie?"

"Yeah... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have underestimated you earlier, thank you for your help, but there's no saving me now..." Yang Changxu sighed, but then saw a bottle filled with a swaying purple liquid being handed to him.

"Drink this," said Su Ming'an.

The crew-cut man looked over with a burning hope, "Is... is that a vaccine?"

Yang Changxu's eyes, filled with surprise, were also fixed on the young man in front of him, his fingers tensely curled.

"Hard to say."

"Hard to say? What do you mean by that?" The woman moved forward eagerly, only to be met with a sudden flash of cold light.

Yuanyuan, holding a chocolate bar, looked at her with an indifferent gaze as her silver sword shimmered like a mirror in her hand.

The woman instinctively stepped back, her eyes filled with fear of that sword.

A strand of hair floated to the ground.

"If my guess is right, it should be. If my guess is wrong..." Su Ming'an stroked his chin, thinking, but before he could finish, he saw the man decisively tilt his head back and drink the liquid down.

"Captain, Captain!" Aman hurriedly checked on him.

"If the guess is wrong, what then?" Yang Changxu let out a hearty laugh, "If it turns me into some kind of monster, just let the young lady kill me. That sword is quite fast."

"Stop talking nonsense..." Aman was still looking at him worriedly when she suddenly saw the continuously oozing black wound slowly revealing a hint of red.

The graying complexion was gradually returning to normal, and a healthy color started to return to the man's determined face.

"Cough, cough, cough!" He suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood, and splatters spread like blooming plum blossoms.

Su Ming'an watched him with a slight movement in his eyes, his attention focused.

In the midst of everyone's worried and hopeful gazes, Yang Changxu slowly lifted his head.

The arm that was turning black and blue began to show a normal red again.

...All signs of turning into a zombie were completely gone.

The air went still for a moment.

The next instant, Aman threw herself onto him. Like all the steel in her that she had brought from the team had softened, she clung to him like a little woman, unable to let go.

"Alright, alright..." Yang Changxu's hand seemed a bit uncertain as it patted her head, before he gently pushed her away, looking at the boy in front of him with eyes full of respect, he deeply, deeply bowed:

"Thank you, thank you for saving my life. I don't even know how to properly express my gratitude. From now on, Changxu..."

"It's nothing, you also helped confirm one of my guesses."

Su Ming'an immediately cut him off, stopping the words of loyalty he seemed on the verge of saying in his excitement, and took the bottle from his hand which still had half of the liquid remaining. However, he noticed that the woman named Aman was staring intently this way.

"That… Is that the antidote for the zombie poison?" Aman repeated, as if to confirm her own guess, suddenly becoming excited: "Yes, the antidote—Old Qin, Old Wang, and everyone else who's being observed... there is hope for us all!"

"Yes, indeed!" The two men nearby lit up: "Old Qin and the others, there's hope for them!"

In an instant, Aman was close to Su Ming'an, her hands on his shoulders: "Thank you, thank you! Little brother, you really are a good person. That... that antidote, since you and the young girl aren't infected, could you possibly let us take it back..."

"Aman!" Yang Changxu immediately cut her off, frowning: "The young man has already gone above and beyond."

"But… Old Qin… Old Qin's condition has been really bad since this morning… he's about to turn into a zombie! Old Qin is also our comrade, are we really expected to kill him with our own hands?"

Yang Changxu faced Aman, who had a pleading glint in her eyes.

Even though he knew it wasn't right to pressure others this way, when he thought of Old Qin, whose circumstances had once been like his own, and then considered his own escape from danger, he didn't know on what ground he could speak.

Old Qin was one of the earliest founders of the base, a Doctor of Chemistry, who had contributed significantly to finding clues. As long as he was alive, there was still hope for a vaccine...

If Old Qin died... there would be no more hope for a vaccine, and a large number of people isolated in the sanctuary would die in endless pain, which would also jeopardize those who were still alive.

He truly did not want to watch people die so agonizingly, even if it were just undergoing the process of death.

In the face of death, even if people are told they would revive, the subconscious desire to survive would still drive them to struggle for life.

Aman, turning back, looked at Su Ming'an with immense hope again, her fingers inadvertently tightening around his shoulders: "Little brother... you, you'll agree, right? You can give us the antidote... We have a lot of supplies here; if you want, we can trade..."

"No," Su Ming'an asserted, shaking off her hands and stepping back while holding the bottle.

The level-headed young man behind her was relatively calm: "We... we could help you search later on; we're not asking for it for nothing. But right now, human life is at stake..."

"We can trade with Points, could you just spare it for us? I really don't want to watch my mother suffer so much..."

...

At this moment, the barrage of comments from the players on the scene was also turning into a heated argument.

Some believed that the antidote should not be given, but many thought it should be handed over.

[After all, Central Hospital should have it, right? It's not immediately needed now... They are begging so desperately.]

[Don't blame these people. If it were your loved one facing death, your reaction would be the same. A chance of survival is right in front of them, it's not strange.]

[But they shouldn't guilt-trip him... Why should the broadcaster have to give up the clues he found for others...]

[The broadcaster is too heartless, using people and then discarding them, speechless.]

[Hasn't he already completed the advancement mission? For a possible extra reward, he's not willing to save someone's life...]

[I saw through the broadcaster's true nature long ago, the sort who would watch a girl die on the street unmoved, a selfish and mean person.]

[Dying isn't really dying here... what's the panic for these people.]

[What if one day I told you that dying wouldn't really kill you, and told you to die, would you want to experience the feeling of dying???]

[If you hold out for fifteen days, it seems you can choose not to participate in the next world. If it were me, I'd also want to live...]

[This military brother is too pitiful. He is so strong, yet he's willing to sacrifice his mission to find supplies to protect the people of the sanctuary, but the broadcaster won't even lift a finger to help.]

[Hey, there's a limit to moral coercion, okay? Didn't you see the forum sticky? What's wrong with preserving clues to survive? Also, the broadcaster is about to go to the most dangerous place, Central Hospital. Isn't it okay to keep some antidote in case of emergency...]

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