"Don't die..." Si Nan choked on blood, saying dazedly, "Don't die, I beg you, don't die..."

Yan Hao's body arched, his face contorted, and the veins on his exposed arms and neck bulged like cyan earthworms crawling all over his body. The sight was terrifying. Si Nan lifted his upper body onto his own lap, clutching the blood-soaked jacket, desperately trying to make a miracle happen by elevating the bleeding wound.

"Ahhh... ah!"

Yan Hao erupted into a final convulsion, his chest heaving. In that instant, Si Nan's shriek was piercing, "Yan Hao! Hold on! Look at me, Yan Hao!!"

"Ah—"

For a few seconds, it was as if Si Nan had been slapped hard across the face. His ears buzzed, and he couldn't hear anything.

He watched helplessly as Yan Hao's moans were cut off as if he were being strangled. His body suddenly went heavy, the veins protruding from his skin subsided, and all his death throes and struggles vanished at once.

It was quiet.

The world dissolved into nothingness, taking away all light and hope, drifting away from the depths of darkness.

"..." As if he had plunged to the bottom of a frozen sea, Si Nan leaned back in defeat.

Clang!

The centrifuge, already smashed to pieces, was crushed by his back and came crashing down in a heap.

Yan Hao's whole body jolted, erupting in a heaven-shaking spasm, "Cough, cough, cough—!!"

Si Nan felt as if a shot of adrenaline had been stabbed directly into his heart. He almost jumped up, grabbing Yan Hao's shoulders, "Yan Hao! Yan Hao! Wake up, hold on! Hold on!!"

The jacket fell to the ground. The wound on the side of Yan Hao's neck rapidly coagulated and dried, forming a dark red scab. His chest heaved as he gasped for air, and in his struggle, his eyelids actually fluttered open slightly. He moved his lips with difficulty.

Si Nan hastily stripped off all the clothes he could from his upper body, leaving only a thin black tank top for himself. He wrapped the rest around Yan Hao to keep him warm. He pressed his fingers to Yan Hao's faint carotid artery and felt a miracle slowly taking place. The pulse that had almost vanished was now beating again!

"..." Yan Hao made a small sound.

Si Nan pressed his ear to his lips, using all his concentration to hear him say a single word: "Jie..."

Zhang Yingjie was dead.

Si Nan's heart sank, as if a basin of cold water had been thrown over his scorching emotions.

"...It's okay," Si Nan said hoarsely, averting his gaze. "You're all fine... Don't worry."

Yan Hao smiled almost imperceptibly, though his chapped lips couldn't even manage to curl up, and then he passed out.

Si Nan was utterly exhausted, but Yan Hao was still in extreme danger. He didn't dare let himself pass out and could only bite his tongue to stay awake.

The temperature in the Underground Laboratory was extremely low. He hadn't felt it during the intense fight, but now that he was sitting down and had lost a lot of blood, a chill quickly crept up from his limbs. Si Nan rubbed his arms, his teeth chattering. He shivered as he looked around, trying to figure out a way to get up, but after circling the entire circular space several times, he found no solution.

Could it be that he really had to wait for his teammates to rescue him?

But where was Zhou Rong?

"Zhou Rong..." Si Nan called out tentatively. "Zhou Rong!"

He looked up toward the top of the pit, his voice growing louder, "Zhou Rong!"

"Captain Zhou!"

"Chuncao! Ding Shi! Guo Weixiang!"

Si Nan was almost furious with despair, "Rong-ge!!"

"Roar—"

A roar came from a distance above the pit, and gunfire suddenly erupted!

Si Nan was stunned; he hadn't expected that calling him 'ge' would actually work. He heard the sound of a heavy machine gun, like a torrential storm, followed by the boom of something heavy falling to the ground!

Zhou Rong roared, "Si Nan!"

Zhou Rong sprinted madly, leaning his upper body over the edge of the pit. The moment he saw the situation at the bottom, he nearly collapsed. "Hah... hah, a gorilla came out of the corridor. We were going to go around it, but when you yelled..."

"Yingjie is gone," Si Nan said hoarsely.

Zhou Rong froze. Chuncao, Ding Shi, and Guo Weixiang all popped their heads over the edge, stunned.

It's hard to describe the feeling. Just a moment ago, Si Nan had been able to calmly think of an escape route, but when he saw Zhou Rong lean over the edge of the pit and heard his ragged, hoarse voice, he suddenly lost control, and hot tears streamed from his eyes.

He recounted what happened intermittently, trying to be brief and to the point, yet he choked up several times in just a few short sentences. Zhou Rong's gaze fell on Zhang Yingjie's body not far away. He closed his eyes, and after a long moment, he said in a low voice, "We downloaded all the virus research data from the Classified Room. The red test tube you found should be the Original Antibody. Its effects are unstable and vary from person to person..."

"Now, Si Nan." Zhou Rong opened his eyes and issued his command clearly, "Search for the remaining antibodies, strap them to Yan Hao, and send him up as carefully as you can."

Si Nan was already completely spent. It took him several tries to stand up.

The refrigerated compartment on the equipment platform, specifically for the antibodies, had been completely smashed by him. Two of the remaining four antibodies had been used. Fortunately, the two remaining three-stage metal test tubes were cool to the touch, which meant the equipment itself likely had its own cooling system.

He wrapped these two incredibly precious antibodies in his own blood-soaked shirt, then thought for a moment and switched to Zhang Yingjie's jacket. He then secured them to Yan Hao's body, lifted him as horizontally as possible, and placed him on the simple stretcher Zhou Rong and the others had made from their clothes.

"We have to get out of here quickly. Yan Hao and the others drove an armored vehicle out of the armory. It's parked at the north exit on the top floor now..."

Ding Shi and Guo Weixiang worked together to pull the stretcher up to the ground. Zhou Rong detected the unignorable Alpha Pheromone in Yan Hao's blood, and his voice paused for a moment.

—But his expression remained calm.

He took out a military-grade cardiac stimulant from his tactical pack, injected it into Yan Hao, and turned to Si Nan at the bottom of the pit, saying, "It'll take at least two hours to get up from here. Everyone's at their limit. We need to move as fast as possible."

Zhou Rong grabbed a rope himself, tossed it into the pit, and motioned for Si Nan to climb up.

But Si Nan rested his hands on his knees, silent for a long moment, then suddenly turned and walked in another direction.

—He wanted to bring Zhang Yingjie's body.

Zhou Rong started to say something, but then swallowed his words.

No one in the squad spoke. The silence turned the air into a sour gel, clogging everyone's throats.

Suddenly, Si Nan stopped. In the shadows ahead, Zhang Yingjie seemed to move.

For a split second, Si Nan thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but then came the scraping sound of bricks and stones, and Zhang Yingjie shot backward in a very strange posture.

It was that Zombie!

It wasn't completely dead yet, and it was trying to drag away Zhang Yingjie's corpse!

Zhou Rong: "Don't go over there!"

Si Nan: "Stop!!"

Zhou Rong was shaken by Si Nan's roar, a sound that 'frenzied' wasn't enough to describe. The next second, he saw Si Nan, erupting with rage, pounce toward the Zombie like an arrow!

This Zombie actually knew to avoid people, dragging Zhang Yingjie as it ran. Si Nan, bare-handed, gave chase, truly casting aside all thoughts of life and death. He unhesitatingly stomped over piles of overturned instruments and shattered glass. A huge piece of equipment blocked his path, but he gritted his teeth and rammed it aside with a heavy crash.

"Gun!" Zhou Rong snatched the Type 89 from Guo Weixiang's arms and aimed, ready to fire.

But in the dim visibility, the Zombie was moving too fast, making it impossible to lock on. Just as he was getting anxious, he saw the Zombie flee to a corner of the laboratory. He didn't know how, but its body ducked down, and it vanished into thin air, dragging Zhang Yingjie with it.

Si Nan chased after it and saw it: a sewer!

The sound of chewing came from underground. Si Nan's eyes instantly turned red. "I'll die here with you today!!" He then leaped down!

Zhou Rong cursed and tossed the Type 89 back into Guo Weixiang's arms. "Don't follow!"

Chuncao: "Rong-ge?!"

Zhou Rong drew his dagger, holding it in a reverse grip, and pulled the Type 64 from his thigh holster. He leaped down like a bird of prey!

Perhaps due to the massive drainage capacity, the sewers under the laboratory were a labyrinth. Si Nan fell into knee-deep water and staggered. Seeing a black shadow flash not far away, he immediately stumbled after it.

His speed wasn't slow; in his rage, he was even quite agile. But it was extremely dark in the sewer, and a turn would present four or five forks in the path. After just a few turns, he completely lost sight of the Zombie.

Si Nan scanned his surroundings. Suddenly, there was a splash behind him. He turned to see a figure flash past—it was Zhou Rong!

Zhou Rong shouted, "Don't come over, be careful!"

Before his voice faded, the Zombie's howl rang out right in front of him!

Zhou Rong squinted in the darkness, a sharp, cold light in his eyes. The Zombie had been blown beyond recognition, its brain matter completely exposed, but somehow it could still move. Seeing Zhou Rong, it dropped Zhang Yingjie and charged at him with a strange cry!

Zhou Rong leaped up and grabbed a beam above the sewer, performing a beautiful pull-up as the Zombie rushed under him.

Water splashed everywhere. Zhou Rong let go and dropped down, swinging his dagger in a reverse grip. His movements were calculated to the millisecond, and he slashed the Zombie that had turned back to bite him!

The Zombie shrieked and staggered, then lunged forward again. The extremely narrow space was filled with splashing water and its sharp claws. In these poor visual conditions, Zhou Rong's laser night-vision goggles were useless. But he fought as he retreated, moving with ease, able to pinpoint the Zombie's location by sound alone. Suddenly, using his left foot as a pivot, he spun around, his back pressing tightly against the Zombie's front, and delivered a heavy elbow strike!

It was a movement that even lightning was too slow to describe. The Zombie was sent flying by the blow to its chest, splashing into the water.

Zhou Rong's movements were so fast it was as if he had vanished on the spot, reappearing by the Zombie's side in the blink of an eye. The Zombie stretched its neck to bite him. Zhou Rong, expressionless, reached out with a simple and swift motion, wedging his dagger between the monster's sharp teeth.

Crack!

A corner of the tungsten steel military dagger was snapped off, but the blade was now firmly stuck in the Zombie's mouth!

Zhou Rong stepped on the Zombie's chest. His blood-and-mud-caked military boots seemed to weigh a thousand pounds as he stomped the Zombie into the water with a splash. Then, with a click, he chambered a round in his pistol, aimed at its throat, and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang—!!

Every bullet hit the exact same spot. After six shots, the magazine was empty, the Zombie's neck was severed, and its entire head was blasted several meters away.

Zhou Rong casually tossed the empty gun aside, violently tore down the stainless steel sewer pipe above his head, and slammed it down!

The Zombie's body was pierced through the chest, pinned firmly to the bottom of the sewer!

The ground continued to tremble, and ripples spread out in the water. The muffled rumbling echoed for a long time.

Zhou Rong let out a long breath, pulled back his foot, and without another glance at the Zombie, turned and walked toward the main pipe.

Just then, a figure flashed at the end of a fork in the path and staggered away into the distance. Zhou Rong roared from behind, "Si Nan!"

Zhou Rong took off after him, but Si Nan paid him no mind, rushing straight around a corner and disappearing. The intense chase in the sewer didn't last long. Soon, about ten meters away, Zhou Rong once again found the exhausted figure. "Si Nan! Stop!"

With a metallic clang, Si Nan slipped through an iron door.

Zhou Rong immediately stopped in his tracks. "Don't close the door. I won't come over!"

Si Nan held onto the iron door, seeming to hesitate.

His posture clearly showed he had been trained. Even in such a sorry state, his back was ramrod straight. From his raised chin to his long neck, down to his deep collarbones and tense shoulders and back, all his exposed skin reflected a faint glow in the dim light.

Zhou Rong stared at him intently.

If one looked closely, the muscles in Zhou Rong's waist and legs were actually tensed, as if a cheetah could leap up at any moment and pounce on its prey.

But when he spoke, his voice was strangely gentle, even showing a hint of goodwill. "Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you, and I won't touch you."

Zhou Rong raised his hands, palms out, naturally and openly showing his blood-covered body—an extremely aggressive Alpha Pheromone drifted through the sewer, a powerful and domineering male presence. In comparison, Yan Hao's Pheromones were almost gentle.

"The base is about to be nuked," Zhou Rong said slowly. "You have to retreat with us."

Si Nan remained motionless, as if he hadn't heard anything, his expression unreadable.

Actually, Zhou Rong could guess what he was thinking.

In the present day, with the extremely skewed A/O gender ratio, someone with Si Nan's looks, even as a Beta, must have had many unpleasant experiences related to sexual advances growing up. After the apocalypse, humanity had entered the law of the jungle, and all laws and order had completely collapsed. For him, being surrounded by a group of powerful male Alphas was probably even more dangerous than being surrounded by a group of zombies.

But Zhou Rong didn't give up.

"Come here." His eyes were fixed on Si Nan, and in a soothing yet gentle, commanding tone, he said word by word, "It's time to retreat. Come with me."