C150 The Three of Them Were in Despair and They Decided to Split Ways(2)

"Friend, there's no cure for the corpse poison," Jiang Feng said with a sigh. "We've tried everything, but nothing has worked. I know it's hard to accept, but that's the reality. There's nothing we can do but wait for the inevitable."

"Hmph! Just because you've failed doesn't mean Bing can't handle it!" Zhao Dagang scoffed. "Bing is no ordinary man, he—"

His words were cut short as Liang Hui gave him a knock on the head, silencing him. He caught the warning in Liang Hui's glare and quickly clamped his mouth shut.

"Everyone, take your medicine quickly!" Qin Mengli urged as she stood up. "Tang Bing's remedy can treat the corpse poison and speed up your recovery."

The others watched in surprise as Mengli rose to her feet; moments before, her injuries had made it impossible for her to stand, yet now she seemed much improved.

Meanwhile, Liang Hui assisted Zhao Dagang to his feet, and together they followed Tang Bing. The sight astonished Jiang Feng and the others; Zhao Dagang's injuries from his fall down the stairs were severe, possibly worse than Liu Chen's. Liang Hui had struggled to help him earlier, and now he was walking on his own?

Noticing their skepticism and reluctance to take the medicine, Tang Bing paused, then focused his attention on Liu Chen. He turned, retrieved a splint, and crouched beside him.

The sudden appearance of the splint left them baffled. No one had seen where Tang Bing had procured it from—it was as if it had simply appeared in his hand. Had it been nearby all along, unnoticed? Or did he possess some sort of magic?

Lost in thought, they watched as Tang Bing addressed Liu Chen, "Let me take care of your broken leg first."

"A splint is hardly treatment," Liu Chen muttered dismissively. "What's the point? I'm on the verge of turning into a zombie. Who cares if my leg is fine or not? It's pointless..."

Jiang Feng and Xu Rou said nothing, their eyes closed, overcome by a sense of defeat.

"It's better than the current situation!" Tang Bing decisively placed the splint on his broken leg and wrapped it up.

"Ah!" Liu Chen let out a scream of pain, akin to a pig being slaughtered, "What are you doing?! It hurts! Are you doing this on purpose because you don't like me?"

Without a glance at Liu Chen, Tang Bing secured the splint and stood up. "Still hurts?"

"Nonsense! With the way you manhandled my broken leg, how could it not..." Liu Chen's complaint was cut short as he suddenly noticed a change, "What's going on? It's not as painful anymore!"

Jiang Feng and Xu Rou turned to see Liu Chen's previously immobile broken leg now able to gently sway. They were utterly astonished.

"No way, this defies science!" Liu Chen had a realization, "How did you do that? Are your medical skills that good? No, this isn't just good, it's miraculous! I feel like I could stand up and walk with no trouble!"

"Of course, you can!" Tang Bing replied coolly, "You could even run, though you'd still feel some effects."

Liu Chen got up, still doubtful, but managed to walk a few steps with only a faint sensation of pain. "My God! It really works! You're incredible! How did you do it? What's this technique? Is it some ancient Chinese bone-setting secret?"

"What's so surprising about that? Bing here has plenty of tricks up his sleeve!" Zhao Dagang boasted, "You have no idea what he's capable of!"

"It is indeed miraculous," Jiang Feng admitted, still stunned to see Liu Chen walking around after having a broken leg. "But what I'm curious about is where you got those guns. They don't have any military or police markings, and they look quite unusual, different from the standard issue firearms. Or does one of you have the skills to make guns?"

Tang Bing gave him a brief look, uninterested in explaining. He simply handed out antibiotics and painkillers again, "Each of you take one antibiotic and one painkiller, and take them quickly!"

"What's the point? It might make us feel better now, but won't we just end up turning into zombies later?" Jiang Feng said, shaking his head.

"Eat them," Zhao Dagang said irritably, "Do you have any idea how valuable these medicines are? They're life-saving supplies. If it weren't for your help earlier in saving Bing, why would we bother sharing? Take them; they can treat the infection from the zombies!"

"Where in the world is there a drug like this?" Xu Rou asked with a calm skepticism. "Zombie poison is from outer space, not man-made. To concoct a medicine that combats it in such a short time, you'd have to be a deity!"

"Enough with the chatter! Pretend you've been duped by me and just swallow it!" Tang Bing insisted, pushing the pills into their hands and popping an antibiotic and painkiller into his own mouth. "At the very least, it's not poison."

Clutching the forcefully offered medicine, the trio exchanged glances, noting Tang Bing had ingested his share. They figured, doomed by the zombie poison anyway, what was there to lose? So, they each popped the pills into their mouths. Jiang Feng and Liu Chen managed fine, but Xu Rou seemed to have a pill caught in her throat, flailing in discomfort.

Tang Bing quickly passed her a water bottle, helping her wash down the troublesome tablet.

Once the medicine settled in their stomachs, the pain in their wounds subsided, and their weakness seemed to fade away.

Xu Rou glanced at her wrist and was astonished to see the small cut she'd accidentally made was healing before her eyes. Speechless, she nudged Jiang Feng with her elbow.

Jiang Feng looked at Xu Rou, his eyes brimming with questions.

She lifted her wrist, showing him the disappearing wound.

Jiang Feng was startled by the sight. He hastily checked the scratch on his abdomen, only to find the gash left by the mutant zombie was healing. It was beyond belief!

Liu Chen observed the same miraculous recovery. All three were filled with amazement and confusion, their eyes turning to Tang Bing.

"Hehe! Now you see how incredible our Bing is?" Zhao Dagang boasted, as if it were his achievement. "And you were thinking of just tagging along with our team? Who among you can match up to our Bing?"

"What in the world is happening?" Jiang Feng, witnessing his rapid healing, stood up and stared at Tang Bing, bewildered.

"Bing's got superpowers!" Zhao Dagang boasted with pride. "He can pull off stuff that regular folks can't even dream of! And this is just the tip of the iceberg!"

"Hey!" Liang Hui, fuming, gave Zhao Dagang's arm a good thump. The guy just couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Superpowers?" Jiang Feng and his two companions exchanged incredulous looks.

Luckily, Tang Bing didn't seem to mind. He simply gave them a sidelong glance and said to Zhao Dagang and the rest, "Let's move out!"

"Where to?" Zhao Dagang pressed eagerly.

"Cut the chatter! We've had a tough time wiping out most of the zombies, and the mutant ones are history," Tang Bing explained with a stern look. "Now we can haul the supplies without any worries!"

"And what about them?" Zhao Dagang gestured hastily towards Jiang Feng and his group.

Tang Bing glanced back and dismissed the concern, "Forget about them."

"So, no alliance?" Zhao Dagang persisted.

Tang Bing shook his head decisively, "There's no alliance on the table! They're welcome to join my crew, but not to challenge me for the lead."

"Hey, you catch that?" Zhao Dagang gestured frantically to Jiang Feng and the others, "Brother Bing's offering you a shot. Join us, follow his lead, and you're in!"

"You must be joking!" Liu Chen retorted loudly, "We only follow Brother Jiang. No one else is fit to be our leader! Plus, we could turn into zombies any minute now! We're knocking on death's door; what's the point of banding together?"

"No more talk!" Tang Bing said coolly to Zhao Dagang, "We're leaving."

"Oh!" Zhao Dagang actually thought having more people would liven things up. The trio had risked their necks to save Tang Bing, proving they weren't bad guys. With a cop and a soldier in their midst, and Liu Chen's decent combat skills as a civilian, their addition would've been a huge boost, making the survival team even more formidable.

But the trio clearly didn't want to join, or rather, they didn't want to be under Tang Bing's command. And Tang Bing wasn't about to let his team be commandeered by others. With no room for compromise, an alliance was off the table.

Reluctantly as it may be, they had no choice but to follow Brother Bing's advice and clear out.