Arc 1: Mira in a Doomsday World [13]

It all happened too fast.

The roars of the undead, the sound of heavy footsteps hitting the ground, and his deafening heartbeat as they ran with labored breaths... Xu could still recall how he was already prepared to push Mira into the door first, when the hand that he was holding went missing all of a sudden.

The feeling of his heart constricting and his entire body turning cold was still so vivid.

He turned around and watched as the huge tide of zombies quickly caught up and surrounded her, drowning her figure with their rotten bodies.

In just mere seconds, he lost her.

It was as if a string in Xu's head broke.

Not giving anything a second thought, he rushed towards the zombie hoard in an attempt to find and rescue Mira.

Seeing that Xu was ready to jump into the group of zombies regardless of his own safety, Jake and Kai quickly stopped him.

Xu resisted with great force, screaming desperately as he did so. His eyes were still focused on the position where Mira last stood, and his entire body was trudging forward little by little despite the tight hold of the two people behind him.

"Help," Jake called out to the others inside the building, "We can't hold him back. We have to drag him in before the other zombies rush inside."

He glanced at the seemingly endless sea of zombies that strangely enough, made no move to chase after them, feeling both panicked and doubtful.

Four more hands clamped Xu's limbs, but his struggle still didn't dwindle.

Jake gritted his teeth and tried to talk to Xu with reason, "Xu, think rationally. She is gone, you can't save her anymore, besides, do you think she would want you to seek death like this? Calm down and go inside first..."

However, Xu didn't pay any attention to him at all. Realizing that conversations were futile, Jake glanced back and gave Jia a look.

Staring at Xu's red eyes and bulging veins, Jia's brows furrowed. She sighed helplessly, took out a syringe, and decisively stabbed Xu's neck. Eventually, Xu's flailing became weaker and weaker, until the rest of the team was finally able to carry him inside.

Xu's eyes blurred, and everything turned dark. He glared at the zombies hatefully, unwillingness filling his entirety. His hand reached out—as if to choke these creatures.

These zombies... they should all be burnt to death. He vows to leave no ashes for the undead!

Suddenly, as if being pulled from a nightmare, Xu's eyes opened, staring ahead coldly.

When he regained his senses, he realized that he was actually gripping something with his hand, and another pair of hands were desperately patting his own.

The smell of burning flesh spread out across the room, and the once fair skin on Wei Lin's neck became an unpleasant red, swelling visibly.

Wei Lin also didn't expect that an impulsive secret attempt to get closer to Xu would actually lead to her almost being choked to death.

The moment that Xu loosened his grasp on her neck, Wei Lin immediately stepped back, coughing and gasping in pain. She tentatively held her stinging neck and felt the hot but watery flesh touching her palm. Horror immediately filled her eyes. Her skin—it had been burnt!

She looked at Xu with unease and smiled reluctantly.

"Xu, what's wrong with you? Why did you suddenly—"

Xu sat up on the bed and cut Wei Lin off impatiently.

"Where is Mira?"

He paid no attention to how he was able to burn Wei Lin's neck, or how he almost killed her unreasonably.

Wei Lin's expression fluctuated, "She... Don't you remember? ...She's already gone."

"Impossible!" Xu's eyes reddened due to intense emotions. His fists were clenched tightly as he repeated his question slowly, "Where is she?"

"Xu, I'm not lying... She's really gone. After you fainted, we took you inside the building and climbed to the rooftop. We all thought that we would die right then and there, but luckily, the reinforcements that Jia and Jin contacted were able to rescue us on time. And Mira... it was too late to rescue her..." Wei Lin sighed in remorse. Her voice was still hoarse due to the earlier incident, therefore, she sounded extra melancholic while saying those lines.

Xu stood up from the bed and strode out of the room after hearing Wei Lin's explanation. Wei Lin chased after him, but the lingering fear and pain from being choked and scalded by him prevented her from getting too close.
She could only follow at a certain distance while asking, "Where are you going?"

Xu didn't answer her. He looked straight ahead without his steps faltering. He only felt a deep sense of urgency as he recalled the nightmare that made his heart palpitate uncontrollably.

No, it was just a dream, it must not be real... She is so good—so strong, how could she possibly die?

As soon as Xu thought of the word 'death', he suddenly had the urge to tear everything apart.

His pace continued to quicken until he couldn't help but break into a sprint instead.

'Xu...'
'Husband...'

Xu hurriedly descended to the ground floor. He pushed the transparent glass door open, and the bright sunlight and bustling streets immediately greeted him.

There were no zombies nor barren land. There were only a few tall buildings, conversing passersby, and the occasional sound of hammering and pounding.

Xu felt his hands turn cold.

In an instant, his hearing became clear, and his eyes no longer seemed to filter his surroundings.

He turned back to look at the scene behind him and was met with concerned stares from several patients and medical professionals walking through the halls.

Clearly, he was in the Capital Base. They left the zombie-infested city and evacuated from that building, but instead of feeling relieved, Xu only felt shock and disbelief.

He stared dazedly at empty space as he tried to make sense of his muddled thoughts.

At that time, they did not expect the huge amount of zombies to come after them. Because they had high-quality off-road vehicles, they were able to enter City E's inner area smoothly, but the huge number of zombies never stopped chasing behind them. Taking advantage of the distance between them, their group decided to abandon the vehicles that were running out of fuel and ran inside a commercial building instead. Jin and Jia communicated with the military officers of City X, and they were given half an hour to stall while they fly via helicopter.

When they were about to enter the building, another wave of zombies ran out to chase them, leaving them no choice but to flee and search for a different empty structure.

In this way, many zombies across the entire city were attracted, and just as they finally found a safe establishment, Mira's accident happened.

Xu only realized how strange that occurrence was after recalling all the details.

While he was outside with the others, no zombies paid attention to them, as though they did not exist at all. They only rushed to Mira desperately, as if she alone was more attractive than an entire group of humans.

Xu clenched his fists, his expression becoming more gloomy.

He was not sure what exactly caused that zombie tide, but he was certain that it must've been no accident.

However, he had already been a witness to Mira's strange but powerful abilities. Even if he saw her being swallowed in that sea of zombies right in front of him, Xu refused to believe that she was unable to escape safely. Mira was so strong, how could she be killed so easily?

Xu took a deep breath to try and calm down his restless emotions. He now had a more clear understanding of Mira's cryptic words.

She was right, he couldn't keep her after all.

He just wasn't strong enough.

°°°

Country Y is a large country that borders Country Z—the origin of the virus and the country where Xu and the others were located.

These two countries currently have a lukewarm relationship. As trading partners, they engage in transactions that allow mutual benefit, but their guard against each other is at its highest, especially since thermal weapons now have limited stocks, and the concept of borders is now but a formality. In these countries where more than half of the population have turned into zombies, no manpower can be spared to guard the borders, so foreigners may intrude at any time, stealing resources and conducting illegal transactions.

This time, Country Y had sent several people to act as envoys and negotiate with the leadership of Country Z.

Country Y was basically the richest country in the continent. It has the most advanced technology and weapons, so the survival rate of people there is much higher compared to other countries. It goes without saying that as a powerful country, Country Y shouldn't have to take the initiative to negotiate with Country Z, especially since Country Z had already become a public enemy after being traced as the source of this global tragedy, but a breakthrough in vaccine research can only be achieved through obtaining samples from the original laboratory, so Country Y's leaders made the decision to cooperate with Country Z for the sake of ending the apocalypse.

To show their sincerity, they directly sent an elite team comprised of fifteen people to travel to the capital by air.

Who knew that a group of prisoner escapees would shoot them down with a rocket launcher halfway through?

This group of criminals originally thought that the jet contained food and water that were set to be delivered to the capital, so they did not hesitate to shoot it down. This was not the first time that they've intercepted such a delivery, and they were not at all worried about the food getting burned or wasted. Based on past experience, these important materials would be prioritized in case of emergencies. The cargo area would be opened, and the goods will be air-dropped automatically, so they would only have to worry about the descending survivors.

It was only unfortunate that this time, they'd kicked an iron plate.

There were no supplies at all, only fifteen special soldiers and public figures from Country Y.

When one of the jet's wings was hit, the group evacuated without a second thought. Fifteen parachutes opened one by one, and as they got closer to the ground, doubts started to appear in the gangsters' minds.

They approached the areas where the parachutes descended, but before they even had time to regret their decisions, a bullet had already penetrated their skulls.

In this way, the fifteen elite soldiers gathered together once again with no casualties. Fortunately, those criminals still had some vehicles and food rations that would be able to supply their journey to the capital.

They all tacitly divided themselves into five, and just as they were about to occupy the three vehicles, one of them stepped back and shouted, "Boss, report!"

A man with black hair and blue eyes frowned and walked towards the soldier who spoke.

Behind him, four other men instinctively followed.

"There is a lady inside the car..." the soldier stated, "...she seems to be asleep."

The black-haired man frowned deeper. Half of their faces were covered with black cloth, so only the wrinkled brows and deep-set eyes could be seen from this man's face.

He motioned for the soldier to move aside as he personally peeked inside the car.

Surrounded by a fluffy brown blanket, a pale-skinned doll-like girl lay asleep, not at all disturbed by the movements around her.

The man paused.

Such a beautiful appearance was rare in the apocalypse.

Remembering the gangsters that they had just encountered, he instantly formed a conclusion.

This woman must've been drugged and kidnapped, otherwise, with all the noise from earlier, she should've woken up already.

She looked too well-kept to be part of those people's group. Obviously, she has not suffered much in the doomsdays. Those people all had worn-out clothes and wretched appearances. If she had stayed with them for a long time, she wouldn't be looking so clean and fresh.

Therefore, it must not have been long since she was kidnapped.

The man continued to observe her quietly. Most people in the doomsdays would have dry, chapped, and sunburnt skin due to daily labor and lack of hydration. In contrast, this girl has smooth and soft-looking skin, without any trace of wrinkles, as if she came straight out of a painting. Even her hair looked silky and smooth, clearly well-groomed.

Someone who looked like this was either very strong or had powerful backing.

The man squinted his azure eyes.

"I'll take this car. Let's go."

×××

It was just another regular day at Doomsday High...

Jake: In this problem, we take—

Xu: *raises hand*

Jake: —yes, Mr. Jun?

Xu: *frowns* Just call me Xu, please.

Jake: ...Okay. So, Xu, what's the problem?

Xu: I want to go out.

Jake: Why?

Xu: My wife is missing. I want to find her.

Jake: ?!?!?!? ...No, skipping class is not allowed.

Xu: ( ˙–˙  ) Okay... ( ._.  )

Jake: Right... Now, let's go back to—

Xu: *raises hand again*

Jake: (눈‸눈) Yes, Xu?

Xu: I want to go to the bathroom.

Jake: ...Okay, you may go.

- Twenty minutes later -

Jake: *stares at Xu's empty seat*

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻