Chapter Thirty: The Deadline

Bruce’s face flushed slightly as Shaxia’s hands brushed against him, tending to his bandages. It seemed adolescent boys were always this sensitive.

"I..."

Before Bruce could finish, Shaxia had already finished wrapping the bandage, pulling it tight with a sharp tug.

"Qin Yun... easy! Ouch, ouch, ouch!"

Bruce’s words were forcibly interrupted by the pain.

"There, that should hold you for a few more hours at least... otherwise, if you lose too much blood, there's no telling when you might kick the bucket."

Shaxia had a rough idea of what Bruce wanted to say, but unfortunately, she felt nothing in her heart at the moment. She didn't know why herself. It wasn't that she was cold-hearted; logically speaking, both Bruce and Longsheng were decent boys, at least by the standards of middle school girls.

So, what exactly was her background? One thing was certain: the environment she came from was surely completely different from these people. Compared to hanging out with middle schoolers, Shaxia found she could relate better to Ziyuan and Agent K. Perhaps she was more seasoned than she realized?

She pulled her phone from her backpack; there were messages from Agent K and Ziyuan. They had locked onto her location via the phone, but the agents nearby were facing some trouble and would need to wait a while before they could come to extract her. Shaxia had no choice but to wait and hide in Bruce’s house for the time being.

It seemed she needed to do something. The key was that Bruce was injured, and it was best to avoid combat for now. Shaxia checked the doors and windows on the first floor, locking them all, then turned off the lights. She wasn't sure if those things reacted to light, but it was better to be safe.

"Playing the hero comes with a price... stay still now."

She had Bruce lie down on the sofa, then stood up and peeked through the corner of the curtains to check the situation outside. The residential complex was already filled with "zombies" eroded by black water. They were gathering at the residents' doors, and some were attempting to break through the windows. The residents on the higher floors were doing okay, but some of the lower levels had already been breached. Sounds of fighting and screams echoed constantly from outside. It seemed the main iron gate had fallen as well, and a swarm of silhouettes was pouring in. Many of the "zombies" were closing in on Bruce’s house.

"Bruce, you need to get upstairs... they're here!"

Shaxia turned off the lights on the first floor, helped Bruce up again, grabbed her backpack, and headed toward the bedroom upstairs.

"Damn it! I can't protect you like this... Qin Yun, you run first..." Bruce looked desperate.

"Stop playing the hero... you can barely protect yourself, let alone me. Besides, where would you run to now?"

She really couldn't do anything with this guy. Shaxia helped Bruce onto his bed, then set down her backpack and pulled out her agent gear and a jacket.

"If you want to protect others, you at least need the right equipment," she said to Bruce while putting on her gear.

Shaxia connected her wireless headset to her phone and logged into the agent terminal system. She strapped the holster for her composite gun and a magazine pouch to her thighs, then put on her tactical goggles.

"Leave it to the professionals."

"Qin Yun... what is this outfit..." Bruce was stunned. He never expected the demure and elegant classmate he knew to pull this out of a backpack. "What are you playing at? What’s with that gun...? And how did you even get it onto the subway?!"

He had heard that Qin Yun came from a military family, but carrying equipment out in public was too extreme. Was she a military enthusiast? It was natural for him to be full of questions as she changed in front of him, but the situation was critical, and there was no time for that. Shaxia had no intention of answering. As for how she got the composite gun on the subway—that was the beauty of Schware's "black technology." When folded, the gun was the size of an eyeglass case and made of non-metallic materials.

The sound of shattering glass came from downstairs. It seemed some windows on the first floor had been smashed, and the "zombies" were inside.

"Listen, stay put. Leave those things to me."

Bruce seemed to want to say something, but Shaxia ignored him.

"Qin Yun..." She was about to open the door when Bruce called out again.

"Now what?"

"My wooden training sword... take it if you need it." He pulled a wooden sword from under the bed and tossed it to her.

"Thanks."

That was perfect. According to Ziyuan’s intelligence, they weren't authorized to use lethal force on these eroded citizens yet, so a sturdy wooden stick might be a good idea.

"Also... who exactly are you, Qin Yun?"

She could understand his confusion, but there was no way to answer properly now. "Let’s save that for when we make it through this."

Right now, the only thing that mattered was holding out until reinforcements arrived. She had to defend this house until then. Shaxia crouched and exited the bedroom, moving low along the second-floor hallway. Though she told Bruce she was a professional, she had only received basic training from Agent K. However, her mysterious past was kicking in; she realized she was very accustomed to fighting.

Although the house was pitch black, her tactical goggles had night-vision capabilities. She could clearly hear the movement of those things on the first floor. Their footsteps were slow and rhythmic; they were just wandering aimlessly. If she could just stay hidden on the second floor until the agents arrived, it would be simple enough.

Thinking this, she tried to connect to the agents' operational channel.

"Yo! You're finally online, Shaxia!" It was Agent J. "We were worried something happened to you. Glad you're okay."

"I'm safe for now... what's your situation?" Shaxia asked, keeping an ear on the movement downstairs.

"Ugh... it's a long story. I'm trapped in a warehouse a block away from you. There are 'zombies' everywhere, but we can't open fire recklessly."

It turned out the members of Team K were scattered and surrounded. The sudden wave of "zombies" had caught everyone off guard. Fortunately, Schware had already contacted the police to isolate the area and provide support. The agents were currently regrouping, and once they linked up, they would come to extract her.

"J, I have a wounded person here who needs treatment. I only did emergency measures," Shaxia said, unsure how much longer Bruce could hold on. "Just get here as fast as you can. I'll hold out for now."

Even with reinforcements on the way, she had to be methodical. It was particularly frustrating that she couldn't just take these "zombies" down. She hid at the top of the stairs, shielded by the low wall, and peered down.

Bad news: while she was talking to J, one of them seemed to be trying to climb the stairs to the second floor. She decided to test their reactions. First, sound. She found an empty plastic soda bottle in the hallway and threw it down toward the window area on the first floor.

*Clang!* The bottle hit the floor, creating a loud noise in the empty house.

The zombie didn't react at all. It kept trying to climb, one foot already on the step.

"Damn it..."

It seemed sound didn't affect it. That was both good and bad news. At least it meant she didn't have to worry about making noise while evading them. What about scent? What had a strong smell?

Right, the bathroom!

Shaxia slipped into the second-floor bathroom and found a pair of Bruce’s unwashed, stinky socks. "Ugh..."

She quickly picked up the socks with a clothes-drying pole, held her nose, and tossed them behind the "zombie" that was trying to climb the stairs. The creature seemed to react slightly to the smell; it paused noticeably when the socks hit the floor.

"Go on! Go eat those stinky socks!" Shaxia thought excitedly as she watched the "zombie" shift its attention toward the socks.

It was a middle-aged man, and even from a distance, she could see black water oozing from every pore on his face. She felt a wave of nausea. Could someone really recover after turning into this? Honestly, if Ziyuan hadn't forbidden lethal force, she would have instinctively blown his head off the moment he lunged at her.

She had held her breath while picking up the socks, but now she couldn't help but take a few deep breaths. Suddenly, the creature turned back around! It seemed to have locked onto its target again and began rushing up the stairs!

"Aghhh...!!"

It had locked onto her location! It crawled up the curved staircase, using both its hands and feet.

"!!"

Did even the scent not work?! Shaxia gripped the wooden sword tightly. It looked like she had no choice but to fight! She had to hold the stairs! As the "zombie" lunged, she thrust the sword directly into its chest.