68: Plastic Brotherhood

Right now, Huang Jianli suddenly opened the door and swung a Kitchen knife at Gao Ming's back.

"Ah!" A blood-curdling scream rang out. The one who fell to the ground was Huang Jianli, not Gao Ming.

The Kitchen knife only injured Gao Ming's hand instead of hitting his back squarely. Meanwhile, the knife in Xu Songquan's hand struck Huang Jianli right in the neck. The sharp blade sliced through the skin and sank into the neck, blood gushing out.

After the strike, Xu Songquan retreated quickly. Fearing a deathbed counterattack from Huang Jianli, he backed away and waited.

"So you two planned this all along... I... brought wolves into my own home." Wise for a lifetime, but foolish for a moment, all because of the word 'greed'.

Greed for Si Nan's house, greed for Si Nan's supplies, and greed for Si Nan's... beauty.

Huang Jianli clutched his neck, his body going limp as he slumped to his knees.

"Old Gao, how are you? Is the wound serious?" Xu Songquan asked Gao Ming, who was holding his hand, with concern.

Gao Ming shook his head. "I'm fine, it just broke the skin. I'll take care of it; you finish him off quickly."

After saying that, Gao Ming went into the bathroom to wash his wound.

Seeing that Huang Jianli was at death's door, Xu Songquan immediately relaxed. He picked up a half-eaten bag of potato chips from the table, took one out and popped it into his mouth, then squatted about a meter away from Huang Jianli.

"How about it? Was our plan okay? Hmm, these chips taste pretty good. I've never tried this brand before. Do you want to savor the flavor one last time before you die? Hahaha—"

With a smug, wicked grin, he pinched a chip and mockingly held it out to Huang Jianli, laughing out loud.

The next second, his expression changed to one of terror, and he scrambled to his feet.

However, he was a step too late. Huang Jianli pulled a knife from his sleeve and lunged at Xu Songquan, plunging the Fruit knife into Xu Songquan's abdomen with a squelch.

Huang Jianli was ecstatic, laughing maniacally. "Hahaha! Taking you down with me is a much better deal than some potato chips!"

He was a ruthless man; disregarding everything, he grabbed whatever he could find and hurled it at Xu Songquan.

"Ah! I'm going to slaughter you!" Xu Songquan looked at the Fruit knife in his abdomen in disbelief. Infuriated, he pulled it out and began trading stabs with Huang Jianli.

Gao Ming heard the commotion and rushed out, but it was too late. Both were fighting desperately. Xu Songquan was stabbing Huang Jianli's back viciously, while Huang Jianli clung to Xu Songquan's waist, savagely stabbing at the wound in his abdomen. The two were locked in a deadly struggle.

He didn't dare step in to stop them, quickly retreating to the bathroom door. Only after their movements slowed down did he grab a stool and smash it down hard on Huang Jianli's head.

He then pushed aside Huang Jianli's mangled corpse to check on Xu Songquan. Xu Songquan's condition looked grim; blood flowed incessantly from his abdomen, and his eyes were closed. "Old Xu? Old Xu?"

Xu Songquan slowly opened his eyes. "Old Gao, I'm okay. Quick, look in my backpack for some Yunnan Baiyao to stop the bleeding. There's... there's also a small bottle of white liquor inside for disinfection."

"Okay, hang in there. I'm going." Gao Ming's legs were weak too. They had struggled through hardships and fought off Zombies all this way, only to fall here. He hurriedly ran into the room to search.

Sure enough, he found a small pouch in Xu Songquan's backpack containing Yunnan Baiyao powder, cold medicine, anti-inflammatories, and a box of fever reducers.

He remembered that three days ago, when he had a slight fever, he had asked Xu Songquan to check if there were any fever reducers left by Si Nan.

He remembered clearly that Xu Songquan had said there were none, only hemostatic medicine. He knew about that medicine; it was what he had personally gone downstairs to buy when Si Nan cut her hand while preparing Boiled Fish in Chili Oil.

Just as he was leaving the rental, Xu Songquan had reminded him to pick up a box of fever reducers as well, just in case Si Nan's wound got infected and she developed a fever in the middle of the night, which would be a hassle for them. He remembered vividly—it was this exact brand, this exact box.

Old Xu... actually said there were none!

Gao Ming suddenly gripped the box of fever reducers tightly and glanced toward the door. Since you've already disregarded our years of brotherhood, don't blame me for being ruthless. He found another small bottle and unceremoniously poured out the hemostatic powder, leaving only a tiny bit at the bottom.

Then he stashed all the other medicines away, intentionally dawdling for a long time before coming out.

Outside, Xu Songquan had been urging him intermittently for a while. "Old... Old Gao, haven't you found it yet? It's... it's right in my black bag. Hurry... I can't hold on much longer."

"Coming, I'm coming! I finally found it. Is it this bottle? But there's no powder left inside." Gao Ming feigned surprise, tipping the bottle to show Xu Songquan.

"Impossible! Impossible! There was clearly a lot left." Xu Songquan's heart sank. His face, already pale from blood loss, turned completely bloodless. He grabbed the small bottle like a madman and tried desperately to pour medicine onto his gushing abdominal wound, but there was nothing in it.

Unwilling to give up, he cried out, "Quick, look again! You must have grabbed the wrong one. There is some, there is... Ah!" He was in immense pain, forcing himself to stay awake just so he could stop the bleeding and survive.

But with the hemostatic medicine gone, and Zombies still banging on the door outside amidst a chorus of howls, where could he possibly find more?

Gao Ming made an exaggerated expression of "extreme agony." It's gone. There's really nothing else in there except this bottle. Si Nan must have used it all up. "Old Xu, hang on a bit longer, I'll go look again."

"Go, hurry!" At this moment, Xu Songquan only wanted to live. He completely forgot about his deception of Gao Ming three days ago, and of course, he didn't realize that their years of brotherhood had turned into a plastic friendship overnight. Gao Ming had no intention of saving him; he wanted him dead.

Xu Songquan stared fixedly at the door of the room Gao Ming had entered. It was his only hope for survival. He could clearly feel his life draining away; his blood was nearly gone. "Old Gao?"

He mustered all his strength and let out a shout.

"Calling me, Old Xu?" Gao Ming dropped the act. Holding the box of fever reducers, he looked at Xu Songquan with a smile. "You should remember this, shouldn't you?"

Only then did Xu Songquan realize what was happening. He immediately begged for Gao Ming's forgiveness. "Old Gao, I did lie to you, but I saw you were still in good spirits and not in any real danger. I just thought I'd save this box of fever reducers for later, in case one of us got a serious fever... I—"

"Even on your deathbed, you're still lying to me. Xu Songquan, I believe I've treated you well since the day we met. Whatever Si Nan and I ate, you ate too. I even had Si Nan cook a portion for you.

Even when others treated me, I shamelessly brought you along. It was just one fever pill. You clearly had them but wouldn't give me any, even flatly telling me there were none. What if I had died of fever that night? Would you have been happy then?"

"Old Gao... pfft... I... I never... thought that." Xu Songquan spat out a large mouthful of blood. His breaths were shallow and irregular; he was dying.