C100 A Pig Teammate Dragging the Situation, and a Ray of Hope Appeared Amidst the Crisis.(2)

At that moment, Tang Bing had no other option but to let Liang Hui watch as he worked to stop her mother's bleeding and gave her a painkiller to swallow.

"Bing..." Liang Hui, witnessing everything, just couldn't grasp what was happening.

"Don't worry, she should be okay!" Tang Bing assured her in a grave tone, "But I'm deeply disappointed in you all..."

He was cut off mid-sentence by the simultaneous screams of Qin Mengli and Sun Meng, which drew everyone's attention.

Tang Bing looked up, his expression darkening instantly.

It turned out that after coming downstairs, Zhao Dagang had left the injured young man in the care of Qin Mengli and Sun Meng. They probably figured that since he'd been shot in the leg and had his machete taken away, and was lying on the ground moaning, he posed no threat.

But unexpectedly, the young man, desperate to survive, had endured the excruciating pain, seized the machete while they were distracted, and, despite being drenched in cold sweat from the agony, turned the tables by holding the blade to Qin Mengli's neck.

"Miss Qin!" Zhao Dagang was filled with despair. His impulsive descent had disrupted Bing's plan, resulting in Teacher Lin being stabbed, her condition unknown. Just when they had finally gotten the situation under control, Qin Mengli and Sun Meng were taken hostage by the young man! If only he hadn't acted so rashly, none of this would have happened.

The more he dwelled on it, the more self-loathing he felt, his eyes clouding over with despair.

Ms. Meng and Miss Qin were clearly close to Bing and meant a lot to him. Bing was already in a tough spot because of his concern for Liang Hui, and now, because of Zhao Dagang, the women by his side were hostages. Reflecting on the trust Bing had placed in him, Zhao Dagang looked at Tang Bing with a face full of remorse. "Bing..."

"Nice job!" In the midst of Zhao Dagang's momentary daze, the middle-aged man on the ground seized the opportunity to dodge the handgun as Zhao's gaze shifted to Tang Bing.

When Zhao realized the gun had been snatched, he frantically tried to retaliate and reclaim it, but the middle-aged man was quicker, aiming the gun barrel straight at his head. "Don't move!"

What a bunch of useless teammates!

Tang Bing clenched his teeth in frustration and reached for his gun. But the middle-aged man was quicker, leveling his own weapon at Tang's head. "Don't move! You might not care about others, but surely you're not ready to die, are you? Stay still, or I'll blow your brains out!"

Zhao Dagang, seeing the standoff, tried to dash forward and grab the gun. But with a swift turn, the middle-aged man shot him in the stomach, then aimed back at Tang.

"Ah!" Zhao Dagang clutched his wounded belly, collapsing to the ground in agony, his ability to fight gone in an instant.

Liang Hui, Sun Meng, and Qin Mengli all held their breath, too tense to utter a sound.

"You feeling tough now? Keep it up!" the middle-aged man taunted, gun trained on Tang Bing while his other hand swiftly confiscated the silenced pistol from Tang's waist. "You little rat, after killing so many of us, I'm going to end you!"

Just as he was about to pull the trigger, a pained shout came from upstairs.

"What's wrong, Jiang Zhen?" the middle-aged man called out, not taking his eyes off Tang Bing. He knew how dangerous the young man was; most of his group had fallen to him. A moment's inattention could be fatal.

He was determined to eliminate this menace, but the noise from above was distracting. If his last ally was in trouble, he'd be in a real bind alone.

"It's nothing!" Jiang Zhen's voice came down, strained with pain. "My foot's killing me, I can't feel it, and I'm bleeding out... I can't last much longer..."

The middle-aged man grew more anxious. "Hang in there! I'm coming up! And you, you little rat, get moving upstairs!"

He was likely concerned that leaving Tang Bing alone would give him a chance to escape. He wanted to shoot him on the spot, but that seemed too merciful for someone who had taken down six of his comrades and nearly killed him. He was set on revenge. He wouldn't kill Tang Bing outright; he wanted him alive to witness his friends suffer before dying a painful death.

Tang Bing had thought his bumbling teammates were going to get him killed, but to his surprise, the middle-aged man didn't immediately pull the trigger. A flicker of hope sparked within him. He raised his hands high in a show of cooperation, "Okay! Take it easy..."

"Enough talk! Move it, upstairs!" The middle-aged man barked, eyes burning with anger, "Lead the way!"

"Okay! Just... stay calm," Tang Bing agreed, nodding. He reached into his virtual backpack, pulled out a first aid kit, and casually tossed it aside.

"What's that?" The middle-aged man pressed his gun to Tang Bing's head, alarmed, "What are you up to?!"

"Nothing at all!" Tang Bing assured him hastily, hands raised, "It was just uncomfortable to carry, so I got rid of it!"

The middle-aged man crouched to inspect the item – a standard emergency kit like those found in hospitals.

He was tempted to take the kit with him, but his hands were full with his firearm, and he was anxious about his injured comrade upstairs. So, he prodded Tang Bing, "Stop with the tricks, and get moving upstairs, now!"

"Got it, got it!" Tang Bing inhaled deeply, then shot Liang Hui a meaningful glance, signaling her to use the first aid kit on Zhao Dagang as a stopgap measure.

Liang Hui, tears streaming down her face from worry over her mother's condition, caught Tang Bing's look. Puzzled but grasping the intent, she nodded.

With the gun still trained on his head, Tang Bing was herded by the middle-aged man into the building and up the stairs to a window in the second-floor corridor.

Sun Meng and Qin Mengli clung to each other, trembling with fear. Nearby, a young man lay in a pool of blood, his complexion ghostly pale and his body on the verge of collapse.

"Jiang Zhen!" The middle-aged man shoved Tang Bing next to Qin Mengli and Sun Meng, his gun now aimed at the young man as he asked with palpable concern, "You holding up okay?"

"I've lost so much blood... I don't think I can last much longer..." Jiang Zhen, propped against the wall, struggled to keep a grip on his machete.

"You've got to hang in there for me!" the middle-aged man urged, desperation in his voice, "It's just you and me left, you can't die on me!"

"Brother Keng, I don't think I'm going to make it!" Jiang Zhen's voice was faint, "I've always feared dying at the hands of zombies, turning into one of those monsters. But this... this is a more dignified end... Now you're the only one left. You've got to keep living..."

"No way!" The middle-aged man, gun aimed at Tang Bing, steadied Jiang Zhen with his other hand, "You're going to be okay! I'm going to bandage you up right now!"

"I'm... I'm too far gone..." Jiang Zhen's complexion grew increasingly ghastly.

"Find a solution!" Brother Keng, the middle-aged man, spun around and barked at Tang Bing in desperation, "If he dies, I swear you'll all pay with your lives!"

"Ah!" Sun Meng and Qin Mengli clung to each other, petrified, shivering uncontrollably without daring to move.

Tang Bing racked his brain, closely watching every move of the others. An idea struck him, and he spoke up quietly, "I have a nurse here. She can bandage him up for you!"

"Ah?" Sun Meng looked up, incredulous.

"Who's the nurse? Tell me! Who is it?!" Brother Keng demanded urgently.

"Her!" Tang Bing nodded towards Sun Meng, "She's a nurse! She can perform emergency treatment and remove the bullet!"

Sun Meng panicked internally, "How am I supposed to remove a bullet? I'm just a nurse, not a doctor, and I don't have any medical tools! But with a gun pointed at me, I can't voice my fears."

"You're a nurse? Can you save him?" Brother Keng, frantic, turned and asked loudly.

Sun Meng, bewildered, nodded, casting a pleading glance at Tang Bing.

Catching Tang Bing's subtle wink, she felt a surge of reassurance. She gently helped Qin Mengli to her feet.

"Quick! Save him now! Perform the surgery!" Brother Keng yelled, his gun trained on Tang Bing, "No tricks, or I swear I'll end him!"

"Okay, okay..." Sun Meng hastily nodded, her voice trembling, "My tools... they're all in the upstairs room..."

"Then get moving and go get them!" Brother Kan bellowed.

"Okay, okay..." Sun Meng shivered, fearfully reaching out to steady herself on the young man, "Could you, could you give me a hand?"

Without thinking, Brother Kan set his gun aside and extended his hand to assist her. But a moment later, realizing his mistake, he scrambled to aim his weapon at Tang Bing once again.

However, just as he turned his head, a gunshot rang out, and he collapsed backward.

His final thought was a puzzled one: With both my guns in hand, where did his gun come from?