43: People's hearts

When Zhang Ting turned her head, she still looked the same, yet she was completely different from before.

Her eyes were no longer gentle as they used to be.

Instead, they were cold and hollow.

Her face was pale yet tinged with an eerie green, devoid of any color.

Her stiff turning motion was like that of a marionette.

She stared at them intently in the pitch-black night, making one's skin crawl.

What made their hearts tremble even more was that she was holding a little girl in her hand.

The child's limbs hung limply, and there was a large, blood-red hole in her neck.

Zhang Ting wiped her blood-stained mouth, made a hoarse, raspy sound, and flashed a cold, cruel smile at them.

“Bei Bei!”

Upon seeing this, Lin Wan was instantly terrified, her hands and feet turning ice-cold.

Shen Mo Chi's expression changed as he released the power of lightning.

Zhang Ting let out a roar, clutched her head in pain, but then lunged at them with flailing limbs.

It wasn't until Shen Mo Chi chopped off her head with one move that she finally stopped completely.

Shen Mo Chi frowned and pulled out his walkie-talkie.

“Ji Chuan, something's happened. Get to the school quickly!”

“Zhao Yan, where the hell are you guys! Get over here now! Bring a healing ability user!”

After speaking, Shen Mo Chi stood by Lin Wan's side.

The moment Zhang Ting let go, Lin Wan had already rushed over to take the dying Bei Bei into her arms.

“Sister, it... hurts so much...”

“Bei Bei! Be good, hang in there. Sister has a way!”

Lin Wan's voice trembled slightly. She covered the wound with one hand and quickly took out spiritual spring water from her space with the other to feed her. Fortunately, it hadn't been long; she was still conscious and able to swallow.

Ji Chuan, Zhao Yan, and the others arrived quickly. Seeing this scene, they were also shocked and horrified.

“Yue Yue, quick! Go inside and check!”

Lin Wan thought of the other children and shouted while disinfecting Bei Bei.

There was no time to think about the cause.

Yue Yue and Yi Nian rushed into the classroom, which was as bright as day, with their hearts in their throats. Seeing the children sitting safely, they couldn't help but heave a huge sigh of relief.

“Sister Yueyue, Sister Yi Nian, what's wrong? Why hasn't Teacher Zhang come today? We've been waiting for so long! Bei Bei said she was going out to check just now, but she hasn't come back in!”

“Um, haha, maybe she's just being lazy and went home because she didn't want to study.”

“Impossible! If she doesn't go to school, her mom will hit her!”

Thinking of that cute and pitiful little girl, Yue Yue and Yi Nian couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

Yue Yue forced a difficult smile.

“Yes, you're all very good. Teacher Zhang... she has something to do and can't teach today. Just sit here quietly, and your parents will come to pick you up later, okay?”

“Okay, we'll be good.”

Just then, a faint sound of crying and shouting came from outside.

“Nian Nian, the members must have heard the commotion and come over. You stay here and keep watch; I'll go out and check.”

“Okay.”

When Xia Yue came out, she saw that the members who had heard the noise had already rushed out.

Meanwhile, Bei Bei's mother was frantically holding Bei Bei, screaming in disbelief and despair. She opened her mouth wide to call her daughter's name, but no tears would come.

“My Bei Bei! Why? What happened? She was fine twenty minutes ago! I delivered her to the classroom myself! How can this be? Bei Bei, open your eyes, look at Mommy, look at Mommy!”

Seeing this, everyone's eyes couldn't help but redden.

The other parents, feeling a wave of lingering fear, immediately rushed in to check on their own children. Seeing that they were safe, they all breathed a sigh of relief and quickly took them home.

Looking at the frantic mother, Lin Wan felt a strong surge of self-reproach.

She took out an injection from her space.

She stepped forward and said:

“Sister Sun, let go of Bei Bei first. I need to give her an injection. The Official Base gave this to me yesterday; it can suppress the zombie virus...”

“Get away from me! It's all because of you! As the leader of the base, you should have protected us! Zhang Ting had mutated, and you didn't even notice! You useless piece of trash! Give me back my daughter!”

“No one bitten by a zombie can be spared. You don't have to lie to me here. I know you want to kill my Bei Bei to prevent her from mutating, don't you? You vicious woman!”

Sister Sun's eyes were filled with bone-deep hatred.

Every word she spoke was like a knife, stabbing deep into Lin Wan's heart.

Lin Wan was stunned, her mind racing. Her previous enthusiasm seemed to have been extinguished by a bucket of cold water.

Sister Sun's eyes nearly split from rage as she rushed forward to attack Lin Wan, but Shen Mo Chi pushed her away.

Shen Mo Chi held Lin Wan, grasping her ice-cold hand, his expression sharp and stern.

“If you want your daughter to mutate and don't want to stay in Qingyun Base, you can get the hell out right now!”

Xia Yue also stood in front of Lin Wan and said angrily:

“Miss Sun, don't forget that your rent had already expired. You stopped Wanwan, kowtowing and kneeling, begging for days to let you stay for three more days. Wanwan had a moment of soft-heartedness, seeing that your husband had died and you were a widow with a child, so she let you stay a few more days and gave you a chance to raise the rent money!”

“As for entering the school, that was a personal choice. No one ever forced you!”

“When the Polar Night came, we were originally going to close the school, but you all joined together to suggest that you would take responsibility if anything happened, so we continued to hire Teacher Zhang to teach!”

“Please get this straight: this is the Apocalypse! Without Wanwan's kindness, you would have died outside long ago!”

Lin Wan looked at the unconscious Bei Bei, her heart filled with anxiety.

The longer they delayed, the more dangerous it would be for Bei Bei.

This injection was indeed unstable.

Shi Li had said so when he delivered it yesterday.

The state had actually started researching a serum to prevent mutation as soon as zombies first appeared, but there had been no results.

On one hand, in the Apocalypse, medicine is extremely precious and shouldn't be wasted; on the other hand, they were also lacking some key medicines.

It wasn't until later, when Lin Wan heard about it, that she gave some rare medicines she had collected from a Japanese pharmaceutical factory to the Official Base.

Only then was there a breakthrough, leading to the development of the current injection.

However, through testing, it worked for some and not for others. It depended on their genetic constitution.

But even so, this injection was extremely precious, something that no amount of supplies could buy.

Lin Wan currently only had three of them.

Unable to worry about much else, Lin Wan said,

“Zhao Yan, hold down Bei Bei's mother!”

Zhao Yan went up to hold her down, and Lin Wan snatched Bei Bei away without hesitation, quickly giving her the injection.

She then had a healing ability user treat the wound on her neck.

Seeing her inject Bei Bei, Sister Sun only thought she wanted Bei Bei to die.

She struggled frantically, and since Zhao Yan couldn't hurt her, he ended up being bitten, leaving several bloody marks.

Unable to break free, she wailed heart-wrenchingly, continuously cursing Lin Wan with every possible malicious word.

It had been a long time since Lin Wan felt this way!

She thought that perhaps she had been living too comfortably and smoothly lately!

She had forgotten this was the Apocalypse; she had forgotten that human hearts could never withstand scrutiny or testing!

Holding Bei Bei, she lowered her head slightly, her long eyelashes fluttering slightly, making it impossible to see her expression.

Shen Mo Chi's eyes were filled with worry, and he wished he could strike that heartless woman dead with a bolt of lightning! But he couldn't do that now!

Many onlookers had long since had enough, especially the base's management.

They were so angry their eyes turned red, but they had to endure it for now!

Sister Wan is such a good person; she's helped so many people and done so much for China!

Who would have the heart to say a harsh word to her! Even the Official Base has always protected and held her in high regard. After sacrificing so much, she's now being cursed so maliciously!

All of them felt it wasn't worth it for her!

Other residents also tried to persuade Sister Sun to be more rational, but she cursed them even more harshly, saying things like, “It's not your child who's dying, easy for you to say! Why don't you let your child get bitten!”—silencing everyone with a single sentence.

“Are you all dead! Gag her for me!”

Ji Chuan was jumping up and down in anger, shouting.

“No need, let her curse.”

Lin Wan continued to look at Bei Bei in her arms without blinking, her voice devoid of emotion.