C101 Other than Cleaning up the Mess They also Took out the Bullets for the Operation(1)

In a moment teetering between life and death, Tang Bing had no time for second thoughts.

As the middle-aged man, distracted by concern for his remaining companions, let his guard down for an instant, Tang Bing swiftly retrieved a recently acquired pistol from his virtual bag and fired before his adversary could react.

"Bang!" The gunshot echoed thunderously. Clutching a pistol in each hand, the man staggered backward and collapsed.

A ghastly bullet wound in his forehead elicited screams of terror from the two women present.

With a thud, as the man breathed his last, Sun Meng shoved aside the youth who had been shot in the leg and frantically dashed down the stairs, hurling herself into Tang Bing's embrace.

"Ahh!" The injured youth hit the floor, drenched in cold sweat from the agony. Yet, through gritted teeth, he managed to roll over and reach for the middle-aged man's gun.

Tang Bing swiftly grabbed Sun Meng by the collar with his left hand, pulling her to safety. In one fluid motion, he stepped on the youth's hand and aimed the gun directly at his head.

"No, don't!" the young man pleaded, unable to seize the pistol, his face contorted with fear. "Please, don't kill me!"

"Bang!" Tang Bing fired without a moment's hesitation, the muzzle flashing with deadly intent.

The young man's head slumped, lifeless.

The sight left Qin Mengli and Sun Meng petrified, both women desperately trying to look away from the lifeless bodies on the ground, clinging to each other, shaking uncontrollably.

In the wake of the harrowing victory, with all the survivors eliminated, Tang Bing's expression was icy, impassive. He crouched to collect the two pistols from the fallen man's grasp. Then, turning to the visibly shaken Sun Meng and Qin Mengli, he wordlessly began dragging the bodies toward the stairs.

"Did you see what just happened?" Qin Mengli whispered to Sun Meng once Tang Bing had disappeared downstairs with the corpse. "Did you see it?"

"Yes!" Sun Meng affirmed with a vigorous nod.

The two women exchanged looks of utter disbelief, the recent events seeming more like a nightmare than reality.

"He suddenly pulled out a gun, as if by magic!" Qin Mengli gripped Sun Meng's arm tightly. "How on earth did he do that?"

Sun Meng just shook her head, unable to find the words.

Both had seen the astonishing event unfold before their eyes, and it baffled them. Reflecting on previous events, it was clear Tang Bing harbored many secrets.

But their intrigue was swiftly overtaken by the dread of the bodies nearby. Supporting one another, they managed to stand and hurried out of the corridor on shaky legs to regroup with the others below.

Teacher Lin Leyan's neck wound could have been fatal, but thankfully, Tang Bing had promptly applied a medical kit and painkillers. The bleeding had stopped, and the wound was healing quickly. She was weak, but her breathing had stabilized.

Zhao Dagang was also fortunate to survive. Liang Hui, anxious for her mother, was deeply thankful to Dagang for his selfless protection. She wasted no time in applying the medical kit Tang Bing had discarded to Dagang, enabling him to stem the bleeding and begin healing.

There was a complication, though. Dagang had been shot in the abdomen, and even with the wound closing, the bullet remained inside. Leaving a foreign object in the body was dangerous.

All eyes turned to Sun Meng, the only one with hospital experience. She was merely a nurse, but that made her more qualified than anyone else present. The daunting task of removing the bullet from Dagang fell to her.

The pressure on Sun Meng was immense. As an intern nurse, she had theoretical knowledge and an understanding of human anatomy, but surgery was something she had never dared contemplate.

Overwhelmed by fear, she protested the lack of surgical tools as an excuse to avoid the procedure.

Tang Bing, however, silently produced a complete set of surgical equipment from his virtual backpack. They had all witnessed his capabilities; there was no point in hiding them now.

With no escape, Sun Meng reluctantly agreed, her head spinning. She took deep breaths to steady her nerves and find her calm.

To ease her anxiety and prevent her hands from trembling, Zhao Dagang himself offered reassurance. He urged her to do her best, insisting she wouldn't be held accountable for any mishaps. After all, he had nearly lost his life already; he considered this second chance a bonus.

Bolstered by the comfort and encouragement of Zhao Dagang and the three women by his side, Sun Meng found the courage to carefully contemplate the surgical procedure and how to extract the bullet.

Her experience was limited to dissecting small animals in school; she had never even handled a dead body. Now, faced with the daunting task of performing surgery on a living person, cutting open his belly to remove a bullet, she was understandably terrified. The challenge was compounded by the fact that after using the medical kit, Zhao Dagang's wound had vanished, leaving only a vague idea of where the bullet was lodged, making its removal all the more difficult.

It wasn't Tang Bing's fault, though. Without the medical kit he provided, Zhao Dagang would have likely been dead already.

Amidst the chaos, Tang Bing quietly dealt with the bodies.

He dragged the corpses of the eight survivors to the entrance of the factory, doused them with gasoline, piled on wood, and set them ablaze. He then methodically cleaned the bloodstains from the floors above and below, tossing the bloodied mop, rags, and clothing into the flames.

The scent of blood drew numerous zombies, which amassed and pressed against the door. Thanks to the barbed fence, they posed no threat, and nearly half of them were impaled and killed by it.

This was all possible because he had earlier drawn away the main horde of zombies. Otherwise, they would be facing a much more formidable and terrifying zombie force.

While Tang Bing was incinerating the bodies, the women had already taken Teacher Lin Leyan back to her room.

Zhao Dagang, with Liang Hui's support, was helped back to his room by Qin Mengli and Sun Meng.

Upon going upstairs, Qin Mengli promptly approached Tang Bing, "Tang Bing, Mengmeng is preparing to perform surgery on Zhao Dagang to remove the bullet. You have anesthesia and hemostatic supplies, right? We can't be of much help, so we're relying on you to assist Mengmeng in saving Brother Zhao..."

"Bing, my life was spared today," Zhao Dagang said weakly, a bullet lodged in his lower abdomen. "I failed to protect everyone, didn't stop them from opening the door, and betrayed your trust. If you choose not to save me, I have no complaints."

"Bing!" Sun Meng's gaze fixed on Tang Bing with palpable nervousness, her hands quivering ever so slightly.

"Bing, please save Brother Zhao! None of this is his fault!" Liang Hui implored urgently.

"Tang Bing!"

"Bing..."

All three women's eyes were on Tang Bing, yet his face remained expressionless.

"Bing, I nearly got you killed..." Zhao Dagang spoke through his pain, "You don't have to worry about me... I can't bear to face you; I might as well be dead!"

"Stop talking like that!" Liang Hui clutched Zhao Dagang's hand with tense concern. "Brother Zhao, Bing will surely save you, won't you, Bing?"

As she spoke, her eyes beseeched Tang Bing for reassurance.

Tang Bing remained silent, his demeanor icy.

Silently, he produced an anesthetic and held it to Zhao Dagang's lips.

"Bing..." A warmth spread through Zhao Dagang's chest. His earlier concern for Teacher Lin Leyan and Liang Hui had nearly endangered the whole team. He had braced himself for Tang Bing's indifference, yet here he was, ready to save him. The realization deepened his guilt and shame over his earlier actions.

Tang Bing administered the anesthetic with brusque efficiency, then covered Zhao Dagang with a sterile drape, exposing only the gunshot wound on his abdomen. Sun Meng, still fraught with anxiety and feeling unprepared, ushered Qin Mengli and Liang Hui out of the room. After securing the door, she donned a mask and gloves.

Three hours later, with Liang Hui and Qin Mengli slumped in sleepy vigil outside the door, Tang Bing finally emerged, steadying a woozy Sun Meng.

Sun Meng was ashen, her limbs limp like a rag doll's. If Tang Bing were to release her, she'd collapse. She was also heaving with nausea, a picture of distress.

"Bing, how is Brother Zhao?" Liang Hui snapped to alertness, her voice laced with anxiety. He was, after all, their lifesaver.