C66 He Was Asked to Lie When He Returned to the Factory.

Tang Bing couldn't help but feel he had done every thrilling thing imaginable!

To draw the thousands of zombies away from the apartment complex, he deliberately slowed the car, ensuring they could keep up without being shaken off. Yet, he couldn't let them get too close, or it would be game over if they caught up.

Luckily, the road ahead was clear of any blockades, despite the occasional small packs of zombies. This stroke of luck allowed him to lead the majority of the undead away from the apartment and factory, taking them on a wild chase over ten miles out. At the crossroads, he made a sharp turn and floored it, leaving the zombie horde in the dust and racing back to the factory gates.

"It's really Bing!" Sun Meng exclaimed with excitement upon seeing the car speed back, parking right outside the factory doors. "Mengli, Zhao, you guys stay put. I'm going down to meet Bing!"

"It's just good fortune!" Qin Mengli watched Sun Meng dash off, feeling a pang of envy. She glanced at Zhao Dagang, "Don't you think?"

"Hehe~" Zhao Dagang chuckled, "I'm just curious if Bing managed to bring anyone back with him."

"He had a car, so of course he brought someone back!" Qin Mengli peered down from the window, "Otherwise, he would've been on foot."

"That makes sense."

As soon as Tang Bing brought the car to a halt, six or seven zombies converged on them from all sides.

Despite his risky move to lead most of the zombies away, there were always a few stragglers left behind. Now that the car was back, these lone zombies quickly swarmed towards them.

"Get out of the car!" Tang Bing commanded, opening the door for Lin Leyan and Liang Hui, while swiftly taking aim and firing his gun.

"Bing!" As Tang Bing was fending off the zombies and reaching for the keys to unlock the door, Sun Meng's voice echoed from inside the factory, followed by the sound of the unlocking door.

He glanced back to see Sun Meng opening the door and urgently signaled to Lin Leyan and her daughter, "Get inside, quick!"

"Tang, what about you?" Lin Leyan asked, stepping out of the car and feeling a wave of relief wash over her, especially upon seeing Sun Meng, another female survivor.

"I've taken care of the zombies lurking nearby!" Tang Bing announced after emptying his magazine. He sprinted away, drawing the undead after him while swiftly reloading with a fresh clip.

"Are you Teacher Lin?" Sun Meng greeted as she ushered Lin Leyan and Liang Hui inside. "And you must be Huihui, the one who sent the SOS?"

"Yes!" The mother and daughter clasped Sun Meng's warm hands, nodding vigorously with emotion.

"I'm Sun Meng, a nursing intern."

"Lin Leyan."

"Liang Hui."

They quickly introduced themselves in turn.

"Bing, I'll take them upstairs to meet Mengli. Make it back soon!" Sun Meng was aware that the stray zombies posed little threat to Tang Bing, given his experience with far graver dangers, and she urged him accordingly.

Without a word, Tang Bing dispatched the remaining zombies with efficiency and then carefully surveyed the nearby streets. The distant zombies remained unalerted, making the vicinity of the factory considerably safer.

He sped into the factory grounds, secured the iron gate behind him, and parked the slightly battered car, missing a door, in the garage. It wasn't the prettiest vehicle, but it was functional.

Sun Meng led Lin Leyan and Liang Hui to the factory dormitory where Qin Mengli and Zhao Dagang were waiting in the hallway.

"Mengli!" Joy sparked in Lin Leyan's eyes upon seeing Qin Mengli.

"Teacher Lin!" Qin Mengli's rare smile appeared. "I'm so relieved you're safe!"

"Thank goodness Tang was quick to act!" Lin Leyan gripped Qin Mengli's hand, her voice filled with gratitude. "Without him, my daughter and I wouldn't have made it."

A flicker of complexity crossed Qin Mengli's face as she glanced towards Tang Bing emerging from the garage.

"Mengli, how's your injury?" Lin Leyan inquired, eyeing the bandage around Qin Mengli's waist with concern.

"How did you know... Oh, did he tell you?"

"Yes! And this gentleman," Lin Leyan gestured to Zhao Dagang with a hushed tone, "he was injured while coming to our rescue, wasn't he? What happened to you both?"

"We got cornered and bitten by zombies," Zhao Dagang replied straightforwardly, his thoughts as uncomplicated as his words.

The expressions of all four women shifted in unison, their eyes meeting in a silent, bewildered exchange.

Sun Meng and Qin Mengli were aware that Teacher Lin and Liang Hui, along with her mother, were oblivious to the current predicament. By now, any survivor with internet access would have learned that those wounded or bitten by zombies were at risk of infection, ultimately joining the ranks of the undead.

As Teacher Lin inquired, both Qin Mengli and Sun Meng grappled with the dilemma of whether to conceal this grim reality.

Tang Bing had certainly kept it to himself; otherwise, the mother-daughter duo wouldn't have posed the question.

Yet, Zhao Dagang's loose lips caught everyone off guard.

The fear and uncertainty etched on the faces of Teacher Lin and her daughter were unmistakable.

"Teacher Lin, please, there's no need for alarm," Qin Mengli urged, her brow furrowed as she gave Zhao Dagang a discreet nudge with her foot. Addressing the visibly anxious pair, she reassured, "We've taken medication to prevent infection, so there's no chance we'll turn into zombies! He's been bitten before, and this is his second encounter. As you can see, he's as lively as ever!"

"Hehe—exactly!" Zhao Dagang chuckled, oblivious to Qin Mengli's intentions behind the kick, which thankfully missed any wounds. His gaze lingered on Liang Hui, his grin unwavering.

"Why are you staring at me?" Liang Hui caught his gaze and shot him a disapproving look.

"Hehe—you're beautiful!" Zhao Dagang responded, his smile undiminished.

"Crazy!" Liang Hui quickly retreated behind her mother, dodging the gaze of the simpleton.

Lin Leyan's concern for her daughter was overshadowed by her own mounting anxiety. "Mengli, be honest with me. Tang Bing said you weren't bitten by zombies. But you were, weren't you?"

Qin Mengli felt a twinge of frustration. If not for Zhao Dagang's slip, they might have managed to keep the truth under wraps a while longer, sparing Teacher Lin from such distress. She let out a sigh, "Teacher Lin, Tang Bing probably wanted to spare you the worry. Yes, we were bitten. We had planned to break out and come to your aid. But as you know, I'm not exactly athletic, and zombies are a whole other story. I got bitten here, and he was with me, getting overwhelmed by the horde. If Tang Bing hadn't come to our rescue just in time, we might not have made it at all."

"Why didn't Tang Bing come out in the first place?" Lin Leyan was keeping her distance from the two injured individuals, instinctively shielding her daughter. "He's quite capable. He managed to navigate through hordes of zombies with ease."

"I was against the idea of rescuing you from the start!" Tang Bing interjected as he came up from downstairs.

"Tang?" Lin Leyan, upon seeing Tang Bing, immediately asked with concern, "Why?"

"Do you really think it was a walk in the park for me?" Tang Bing questioned, looking at the mother and daughter.

Lin Leyan exchanged a glance with Liang Hui, and they both shook their heads. They were acutely aware of the peril they had faced on the journey, and the fear still lingered.

"I'm not that altruistic," Tang Bing told them bluntly. "I wouldn't normally risk my life for you. Teacher Lin, it may sound impolite, but although we're from the same school, we've never really interacted. We're essentially strangers! I don't typically gamble with my life for strangers."

"Then why did you take such a huge risk to come after us?" Lin Leyan felt uneasy hearing this, but she recognized the truth in his words. Besides, he had indeed risked his life to save her and her daughter.

"Some people don't value their own lives and insist on playing the hero, nearly getting themselves killed!" Tang Bing said, glancing at Qin Mengli with a detached expression. "I'm not heartless enough to ignore someone in need right beside me. But let me be clear, this was the first and definitely the last time. If a similar situation arises in the future, I won't be swayed by sentiment."

Qin Mengli, under Tang Bing's icy stare, remembered her own recklessness and found herself at a loss for words, silently bowing her head.

"Let's lighten the mood!" Sun Meng quickly intervened, seeing the tension. "It's a time for celebration that Teacher Lin and Huihui were rescued and reunited with Mengli! Let's not get hung up on the past. Teacher Lin, Huihui, I know it's unsettling to be in a new place. I get it! At first, I was skeptical about a medicine that could prevent infection too. Bing himself was bitten, but he's been fine since taking the medicine! Zhao's in the same boat, so you can both be at ease! Now that Mengli and Zhao have taken the anti-infection meds, there's no chance of them turning into zombies!"

Lin Leyan and Liang Hui turned their gazes toward Qin Mengli, but she was busy avoiding Tang Bing's eyes by keeping her head down, so their looks never connected. Left with no other choice, the mother-daughter pair sought affirmation from Tang Bing.

"You wouldn't take my word for it anyway," Tang Bing remarked coolly. "If they were to turn into zombies, I'd be the first to neutralize the threat! Besides, aren't things looking up for you now? There's safety in numbers here, and you can actually have a conversation with others. Food's not an issue either; we've gathered plenty, and there are familiar faces around. Could it be worse than being trapped in a mall?"

Lin Leyan and her daughter had spent a night in the same room as Tang Bing, and they had been together all day. If he had been bitten by a zombie, he would have turned by now! It was the same for Qin Mengli and that big, goofy guy—everyone knows how quickly the zombie virus spreads. Could Tang really have stumbled upon a cure? But why would he have an anti-infection drug in the first place?

Their eyes were fixed on Tang Bing, their thoughts transparent to anyone paying attention.

As it happened, Qin Mengli, Zhao Dagang, and Sun Meng were equally intrigued, and they, too, shifted their attention his way.

With all eyes on him, Tang Bing couldn't very well divulge his secret. After a brief pause, he offered, "I just got lucky! I woke up in a hospital, of all places, right after being bitten by a zombie. It was a close call. Desperate to live, I grabbed whatever medicines I could find and took them without thinking. By some miracle, I stumbled upon something that actually treated the zombie virus! I've been fine ever since, but really, it's all down to sheer luck."

"Oh~~" Despite their skepticism over such an improbable tale, the five people before him appeared to be tentatively buying it.