C58 She Was Frightened and Lost Her Way, and Was Almost Killed in the Rescue!

"Brother Zhao!" Though Qin Mengli stumbled and nearly fell, feeling a sharp pain in her left shoulder from being shoved, she realized in an instant that he was protecting her. As the zombie lunged at Zhao Dagang, she steadied herself and called out with concern.

"I'm good!" Zhao Dagang, no longer flustered, raised his left hand to block the zombie's attack.

With a roar, the zombie bit at the arm before it, but the scrap iron glove prevented any penetration.

Seizing the moment, Zhao Dagang swung his fire axe at the zombie's head with force.

With a thud, the zombie hit the ground, twitching briefly before lying still.

"Brother Zhao, are you okay?" Qin Mengli, seeing the zombie downed, walked over to Zhao Dagang, her worry easing.

"I'm fine!" Zhao Dagang said, shaking his left arm and chuckling. "It's just one zombie, no big deal!"

"Thank you, Brother Zhao!" Qin Mengli pressed her hand to her chest, taking deep breaths to quell her fear.

"Enough talk, I've got to protect you and help save others!" Zhao Dagang told her.

"Brother Zhao, why are you helping me?" Qin Mengli asked softly.

"I found the distress signal from the survivors," Zhao Dagang replied with a smile. "You couldn't have saved them on your own! And don't hold it against Bing. I actually think his caution makes a lot of sense."

"I wasn't blaming him..." Qin Mengli's gaze fell, "He had no obligation to rescue Teacher Lin for me."

"It's not quite like that," Zhao Dagang said, scratching his head. "I believe Bing wouldn't have turned a blind eye if he was sure of success. He has to consider not just himself, but our safety too. Bing isn't really selfish; otherwise, with his skills, he could easily survive on his own."

"Indeed!" Qin Mengli sighed. "He's changed so much, I hardly recognize him. It's hard to imagine how he could remain so composed and courageous in the face of zombies. Before, I couldn't see any redeeming qualities in him beyond being simply irritating."

"Let's not waste any more time!" Zhao Dagang glanced up at the sky, "The whole city's out of power, and come nightfall, we won't see a thing. If we don't make it to the plaza before it gets dark, we'll be zombie chow in no time!"

"Thank you, Brother Zhao!" Qin Mengli gave a slight nod, "Knowing full well the danger, you still chose to come with me. You're a good man."

"Move out! I'll lead the way." Clutching his fire axe, Zhao Dagang strode ahead.

Qin Mengli kept pace, asking cautiously, "Brother Zhao, shouldn't we look for a car along the way?"

"That's a no-go," Zhao Dagang replied without looking back, "Didn't Bing mention the noise from a car engine would draw more zombies? It's a bad idea! The city's crawling with them. If we get trapped in a car, we're as good as dead. Bing might rub people the wrong way, but he makes sense."

"Brother Bing, Brother Bing, you sure are devoted to him!" Qin Mengli teased, eyeing the back of Zhao Dagang's head, "Is it because he saved your life?"

Zhao Dagang just chuckled heartily, offering no reply.

"Why do you call him 'brother' when you're so much older?" Qin Mengli's curiosity piqued.

"Age isn't everything," Zhao Dagang said, smiling.

"How odd..." Qin Mengli mused, gripping her water pipe and stepping briskly past the cautious Zhao Dagang towards the desolate intersection. Little did she know, as soon as she arrived, she locked eyes with three meandering zombies. She froze, completely dumbstruck.

"Roar~!" Spotting Qin Mengli, the zombies shifted from a lazy amble to a frenzied sprint, their roars escalating as they bore down on her.

"Ah—!" In a panic, Qin Mengli let out a piercing scream, her water pipe clattering to the ground.

Zhao Dagang, hearing her scream, knew trouble had struck. Seeing the zombies nearly upon her, and Mengli paralyzed with fear, weaponless, he dashed forward with his fire axe at the ready. But it was too late—Qin Mengli was already down, a zombie pouncing on her.

"Help! Help!" Overcome with terror, Qin Mengli completely forgot the need for silence as she desperately pushed against the zombies, her screams piercing the air.

The zombies, ferocious as wild animals, gnashed at her. Thankfully, the scrap iron gloves she wore allowed her to hold back the gnashing jaws, preventing them from tearing into her throat.

"Miss Qin!" Zhao Dagang inwardly swore as he witnessed the scene. Noticing two other zombies lunging from either side to encircle Qin Mengli, he sprinted forward, delivering a powerful kick to the head of the zombie biting at her. He then hefted his fire axe, bringing it down on the nearest of the undead.

With a guttural roar, the head-kicked zombie shifted its focus to Zhao Dagang, latching onto his thigh with a vicious bite. The zombie he had struck, though its head was cleaved, had not suffered any critical neural damage. It lunged at Zhao Dagang, snarling as it clamped its teeth onto his arm.

Despite the protection of his scrap iron gear, the relentless assault from the zombie caused the gloves and boots to loosen. Zhao Dagang's axe remained lodged in the zombie's skull, his panic setting in as he struggled to free it.

Qin Mengli, momentarily liberated by Zhao Dagang's intervention, barely had time to react before another zombie barreled into her from the right, knocking her to the ground.

Her spirit teetering on the edge, Qin Mengli kicked and flailed in a frenzied attempt to fend off the creature.

In the midst of the struggle, her unprotected abdomen was viciously bitten. Amidst the searing pain, a chunk of flesh was brutally ripped away.

Is this the end for me? Qin Mengli's mind went blank, the soul-deep agony rendering her entire body numb.

Surrendering to despair, she closed her eyes, envisioning her imminent fate as a feast for the zombies, to be ripped apart piece by piece. Tears streamed down her face as she let out a scream that tore through the silence.

"Miss Qin!" Zhao Dagang, catching sight of her plight, quickly released the fire axe wedged in the zombie's head. Without a second thought, he drew his pistol from his waistband and took aim at the zombie seizing Qin Mengli.

"Bang!" The gunshot was so loud it made their ears buzz. The zombie gnawing on a chunk of Qin Mengli's flesh from her lower abdomen had its head blown off at close range and collapsed with a thud.

At that moment, Qin Mengli was beyond caring about anything else. The excruciating pain in her belly caused her to break out in a cold sweat. She had just been freed and immediately clutched her wound, letting out a cry of despair.

"Bang! Bang!" Having fired his gun, Zhao Dagang didn't hesitate to dispatch the two zombies biting him. He then struggled to sit up and glanced across the street.

The sound of gunfire stirred the nearby zombies into action. They were drawn from the opposite side of the street and from both sides of the crossroads, charging en masse toward their location.

"Miss Qin, run! The zombies are coming this way, we can't get through!" Zhao Dagang, aware of the repercussions of shooting, didn't regret his decision to save her but knew their predicament was now perilous.

"It hurts so much! I can't move..." Qin Mengli lay curled up on the freezing ground, her abdomen bleeding profusely. As her blood continued to flow, her thoughts grew hazy from the intense abdominal pain. She had abandoned any hope of survival, convinced her fate was sealed.

Excessive blood loss and the infection from the zombie poison—either condition was enough to rob her of all hope.

"Damn it!" Zhao Dagang went pale as he faced the oncoming horde of zombies. He managed to stand, despite his own wounds bleeding profusely.

In the midst of the struggle, his scrap iron glove and boots had been ripped away, and large chunks of flesh were torn from his left hand and right leg. It was nothing short of a miracle that he was still on his feet.

Glancing at Qin Mengli on the ground, Zhao Dagang clenched his jaw and lifted his pistol. "Miss Qin, I'm sorry! I'm not strong enough to protect you. If you can still move, get back to the factory quickly. Bing will save you! I'll hold them off here!"

"Brother Zhao..." Qin Mengli felt a pang of emotion mixed with intense guilt. If she hadn't been so set on rescuing others, Zhao Dagang wouldn't have ended up in this mess trying to protect her. What was meant to be her own burden had now harmed both herself and an innocent man. And somewhere, Teacher Lin was likely waiting for her return, clinging to hope after receiving her message.

She was suddenly overwhelmed with regret, feeling incredibly foolish. How had she ever thought she could succeed without Tang Bing's help?

As her life force ebbed away, she resignedly closed her eyes. "Brother Zhao, I'm sorry! It's my fault you're in this mess..."

"Miss Qin! Miss Qin!" Zhao Dagang's voice was frantic as he saw Qin Mengli's eyes shut, her body sprawled in a pool of blood. He shouted her name while his finger squeezed the trigger, desperately firing at the zombies before him.

The sound of gunfire drew even more zombies, swarming towards them like an unstoppable wave.

"Click! Click!" The gun clicked empty, and Zhao Dagang fell to his knees in utter despair.

Just when it seemed the zombie horde would engulf them, a figure dashed past and plunged into the mass of undead. Suddenly, the blaring sound of a toy police car erupted, capturing the attention of the zombies. Most of the advancing horde halted, lured by the noise of the toy.

"What's happening?" Zhao Dagang had braced for the end, ready to be devoured. But the unexpected police car siren jolted him back to reality. Opening his eyes, he saw the zombies, previously so intent on their advance, now turning and converging towards the source of the sound. His voice was weak with disbelief.

Qin Mengli, spared from the anticipated fate of being zombie fodder, opened her eyes wide with terror. She too saw the horde's sudden shift in direction, their attention drawn away, and her gaze mirrored her confusion.

While they were still processing the turn of events, the sound of urgent footsteps approached from behind.

They turned to see Sun Meng, clad in full scrap iron armor, rushing toward them with concern etched on her face.

"Mengmeng, stay back!" Qin Mengli's voice was strained with panic as she called out to her.

Zhao Dagang, on the other hand, was speechless, his mind a blank slate.

Sun Meng paid no heed to Qin Mengli's warning, carefully approaching them. She crouched down and produced two blue pills from her pocket, offering one to each of them. "Eat these quickly! They're anti-infection pills!"

"Mengmeng..." Qin Mengli was still struggling to comprehend the situation.

"Don't hesitate!" Sun Meng urged, pulling out several oddly-shaped bandages from her pocket. "Where are you hurt? Let me bandage you up. Bing has risked everything to distract the zombies. We need to get back to the factory, now!"