Faced with accusations from over a dozen people, Chang Jianyi felt a pang of panic. Looking down at her junior schoolmate lying in her arms, her heart ached even more. However, the more desperate the situation, the more it could ignite one's potential. Chang Jianyi spotted a paper cutter nearby, grabbed it, slid out the blade, and said sternly, "Who wants to drive us out? Come over if you dare. Believe it or not, I'll slice your carotid artery! Let me tell you, I'm studying medicine!"
Her words indeed stunned the dozen or so people in the hall. Of course, the verbal threat wasn't enough; the primary deterrent was the paper cutter in Chang Jianyi's hand. This thing could kill, and if someone was accidentally injured, there were no doctors or medicine here, and they might die.
Seeing Chang Jianyi reveal her fierce side, the man in the suit who had spoken first plastered on a smile and said, "Little sister, listen to me. The text message said that getting rained on could turn you into a zombie. There are more than ten lives here. You can't be soft-hearted just because he's your boyfriend."
A woman beside him also explained, "Little sister, my husband also got rained on just now, and he immediately became strange. If I hadn't run fast enough, I would have been bitten by him too. So, for your own safety, you should abandon your boyfriend."
Chang Jianyi's mind raced. She calmly said, "The text message only said it's possible to become a zombie, but it's also possible not to. Besides, my junior schoolmate just has a fever, which is different from the symptoms of becoming a zombie. This proves he's not infected!"
"Little sister, you say you're studying medicine, but we don't understand what you're saying. What if this kid turns into a zombie slowly? Wouldn't that still be dangerous?" the woman said.
Chang Jianyi gripped the paper cutter tightly. This was an important weapon for self-defense. "When we ran over here earlier, two zombies rushed out from the house next door. This proves that people who didn't get rained on can also become zombies. Also, check online yourselves; zombies have appeared in cities that didn't have rain. This indicates that the possibility of zombies appearing has little to do with rainwater. My junior schoolmate just caught a chill! He just has a fever!"
"A fever is abnormal. Look at him, a grown man with such good physique. How could he catch a cold after just two minutes in the rain? I say, he must have been infected with the zombie virus, so the fever is the evidence!" The man in the suit insisted that Shen Feng was infected.
Chang Jianyi continued, "My junior schoolmate always stays at home and rarely exercises. His physique isn't good, so it's not impossible for him to catch a cold from being chilled!"
"Can a cold get this bad? You saw it yourself, he collapsed not long after entering the door, and now he can barely speak. What kind of cold is this severe? Stop struggling. You can stay here, but your boyfriend must go out!" the man in the suit shouted.
Chang Jianyi was momentarily speechless, unsure of what to say. However, with the knife in her hand, everything was manageable. She sat on the ground, holding the knife with both hands, with Shen Feng, who had a high fever, leaning against her. "If you want to drive us out, it's murder. There are zombies everywhere outside. No matter where we run, we'll die! I won't be separated from my junior schoolmate. Whoever tries to drive us out, I'll fight them to the death."
Instantly, the situation froze. The opposing group dared not come forward to forcibly expel them, as the other party had a knife. However, if they didn't expel them, once this young man turned into a zombie, everyone present would likely be wiped out! Most importantly, this young girl wasn't prepared to separate. Didn't she know that the first person a boyfriend turned into a zombie bites is her?
Chang Jianyi held the knife in her hand, confronting the people not far away. She was very nervous. Normally, her junior schoolmate was a shut-in, staying at home or in the dorm and rarely going out. She herself was no different; except for essential matters, she basically didn't go out. Her physical fitness wasn't great either. If the other party really made a move, she wouldn't be able to resist.
Just then, a man in his forties wearing work clothes stepped forward and said, "Both of you listen to me. This place belongs to our logistics company. I am their team leader, so strictly speaking, this is our territory. You are all outsiders! You have no right to drive people away from our territory!"
As the team leader spoke, eight men in work clothes stood behind him. The situation was self-evident: the logistics company workers were the dominant force here. If they didn't want to drive people away, others had no right to do so.
Hearing this, the man in the suit's face turned unsightly, but Chang Jianyi felt a surge of gratitude. She hadn't expected someone to stand up for her at this time; it was truly difficult. There were still good people in the world. Of course, with the support of the workers, it meant that the two of them could stay here!
However, what the team leader said next made Chang Jianyi feel uneasy. The team leader said, "But we can't just watch the danger unfold. How about this: there are a few storage rooms on the second floor. You can pick one to live in. Don't come downstairs unless necessary! If he doesn't turn into a zombie, then so be it. But if he does, we'll lock him up. What do you say? No problem, right?"
The surrounding people quickly chimed in, "No problem, no problem. Locking him in a storage room is fine."
The team leader continued magnanimously, "Of course, this little sister is unlikely to be infected, so we only need to lock up this young man. What do you all think?"
It seemed the team leader's intention was simple: to lock Shen Feng up alone to avoid complications if Shen Feng turned into a zombie. As for Chang Jianyi, she just needed to stay with him. Shen Feng was completely weak and unconscious at this moment. If it was decided to lock him up, he wouldn't be able to resist.
Before anyone else could agree, Chang Jianyi directly said, "No, no matter where we go, I will be with my junior schoolmate. Don't even think about separating us."
In Chang Jianyi's view, her junior schoolmate had risked getting rained on to give her his jacket, thus preventing her from getting wet. He himself had a fever from the rain. If these people locked her junior schoolmate up, she would have no one to rely on.
A hint of helplessness flashed in the team leader's eyes. He said, "Then there's no other way. For our safety, you two will have to go to the storage room. Think carefully, you might die if you go!"
As he spoke, several workers walked up, holding folding stools and table legs. If Chang Jianyi didn't comply, they would use force. Facing eight burly men armed with weapons, Chang Jianyi had no choice but to make a final request: "You can lock us up, but you must guarantee water and food! Otherwise, you're trying to murder us!"
The team leader spread his hands helplessly and said, "Where do we have food and water here? There's tap water, but no food at all!"
Chang Jianyi, being a university student, wasn't easily fooled. She pointed at the mountain of express packages nearby and said, "Don't lie to me. A large portion of these packages contain snacks. As long as they're opened, there's no shortage of food. We can last one or two months. In short, if you don't give us food and water, we won't go up!"
Online shopping was very popular now, and many people bought snacks online. Therefore, there wouldn't be a shortage of food in the logistics center, as food could be obtained by opening packages.
Seeing that the university student in front of him was not easily fooled, the team leader stopped pretending and said coldly, "A Qiang, A Hua, find some food and water to send up. Tell them not to come out unless necessary. Honestly, you're walking into hell when heaven's gate is open!"
After the incident, Chang Jianyi saw through the team leader. This so-called team leader was a two-faced person, pretending to be good while trying to get rid of her and her junior schoolmate effortlessly. People's hearts were truly treacherous. However, she had no better options; either she went out, or she went upstairs and was locked up.
Finally, Chang Jianyi carried her junior schoolmate into the storage room on the second floor. A Qiang and A Hua each carried two packages and threw them in, then closed the door of the storage room. Chang Jianyi looked at the empty room. Besides tools, there were only stacks of cardboard, which didn't even occupy a quarter of the room. Fortunately, there was a window in the storage room, through which she could see the outside. She carefully observed the outside and found that the highway was full of zombies walking around. Some cars still had trapped zombies, but they couldn't open the car doors, so they were trapped inside.
Looking further into the distance, people were running on the streets, and zombies were chasing them. Someone on an upper floor made a small flag and waved it out the window, seemingly to signal that people were still alive here and needed rescue. Of course, some people stayed at home but were bitten and killed by their zombie family members, later becoming food for zombies. Few people could stand up after being bitten by a zombie.
Chang Jianyi, being a medical student, observed for a moment and discovered an anomaly: the zombies' movements were too slow and aimless. "This indicates that they have no thoughts, their nervous systems are damaged, so they can't control their bodies. Their vision isn't good either; they don't chase if they're a bit far away, but their sense of smell seems abnormally developed."
At this moment, Shen Feng, lying on the ground, spoke weakly, "Senior sister, I want water, I want water!"
Chang Jianyi saw the tap water nearby. It seemed their only water source was the tap water, but there were no containers. Fortunately, there were a few discarded mineral water bottles in the corner. Chang Jianyi washed them, filled them with tap water, and brought them to Shen Feng's lips.
The workers from the logistics center hadn't thrown any water in, so Chang Jianyi only had tap water to drink.
Shen Feng immediately drank a whole bottle of tap water and then closed his eyes tightly, seemingly falling into a coma. Chang Jianyi touched her junior schoolmate's forehead. It was still burning hot, which was really abnormal! If it was a cold, it would be too severe, wouldn't it? And with such a high temperature, could it be over forty degrees Celsius? Would his brain be damaged?
Suddenly, Chang Jianyi thought of something important. Fever is actually a human defense mechanism. By raising body temperature, it kills viruses that enter the body. After the viruses are killed, the body temperature slowly drops. Therefore, human body temperature remains stable. Now, her junior schoolmate was experiencing a severe fever. Could this mean his body was killing the viruses that had entered it?
It wouldn't do to lie on the ground all the time. Chang Jianyi quickly put her jacket on Shen Feng and then moved the cardboard nearby, letting Shen Feng lie on it. Just as she finished, Shen Feng's phone rang in his pocket. Chang Jianyi quickly took it out and answered, "Hello, who is this?"
A middle-aged man's voice came from the other end of the phone, "I am Shen Feng's father. I have something to tell him."
Chang Jianyi looked at Shen Feng lying on a stack of cardboard and said with difficulty, "Uncle, hello. Shen Feng has a fever and cannot speak right now. Is there anything you want me to convey? If he wakes up, I will tell him."
However, a middle-aged woman's voice then came from the other end of the phone, "I am Shen Feng's mother. Young lady, who are you to Shen Feng? Are you safe now? At this time, you must not go out!"
Chang Jianyi looked at the locked storage room. Even if she wanted to go out now, she couldn't. So, she said helplessly, "Auntie, hello. We are safe for now, don't worry. I am Shen Feng's senior schoolmate, and we are together!"
When Shen Feng's mother heard this, she felt a little relieved. "It's good that you're together, it's good that you're together. At least you have a companion. You must take care of yourselves. We are in Rongcheng, and the country will definitely rescue us. You just need to hold on for a while longer. The country will not abandon you. Don't worry about us."
Chang Jianyi felt a little comforted by these words. "Yes, I believe we will be saved in the end."
However, a female voice then came from the other end of the phone, "Hello, please take care of my brother. Our whole family will be grateful to you. Of course, we also hope you will be together forever, never abandoning each other."
After saying this, the call suddenly cut off. Chang Jianyi realized that Shen Feng's parents seemed to have misunderstood the meaning of "together" when she said it earlier. It was the same when she faced those people downstairs. She didn't need to explain much to strangers, but now that Shen Feng's parents misunderstood, it was a bit wrong.
After being reminded by Shen Feng's parents, Chang Jianyi also quickly called her parents, but no one answered. Instantly, Chang Jianyi had a bad feeling. Could her parents be in trouble? She dared not think further and quickly called her younger brother, who was in elementary school. The call connected smoothly, and her brother's voice came through the phone, "Sister, help! There are so many monsters outside."
Chang Jianyi quickly said, "Xiao Jie, wait, sister will definitely..."
Before Chang Jianyi could finish, the call was automatically disconnected. The mobile signal was too unstable at this time. After all, a zombie outbreak had occurred, and too many people were making calls, so the connection would be lost easily. Chang Jianyi was helpless and continued to dial, but she couldn't connect at all. After a while, Chang Jianyi completely gave up trying to make calls because the mobile signal was gone, and further calls wouldn't go through.
Chang Jianyi thought of something and quickly turned on the switch inside the room, only to find that the power was out. This meant that the internet and electricity were cut off, and she had completely lost contact with the outside world!