Scratched by a zombie?
The people they had seen get scratched by zombies had almost without exception been infected and turned into zombies.
Now Li Tianming had actually been scratched by a zombie!
At the thought of him turning into a zombie,
Li Yingyue had just been about to step forward and ask when she withdrew her feet, asking cautiously, "Dad, are you all right?"
Li Haochen reflexively grabbed the machete beside him and warily watched the trembling figure.
"Dad, Dad? What's wrong?"
"Grrr!!"
Li Tianming suddenly raised his head. His originally black pupils had turned gray-white, his entire face was bruised blue, and his skin began to rot at a speed visible to the naked eye.
He opened his mouth and let out a low growl. His black-and-white pupils fixed on his family like a beast eyeing several delicious animals.
Thick saliva stretched in strands from the corners of his mouth.
Although this was not his first time facing such a monster, Li Haochen still felt fear rise from the depths of his heart.
He gripped the knife and was just about to step forward.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Li Yingyue's pale face.
He also saw Ge Chunhua staring at him in panic.
"Xiaochen, hurry! Your father has turned into a zombie!!!"
"Brother, what are you waiting for? Come protect me, aahhhhhhh!!!"
Both of them placed their hopes on him.
Actually, when the apocalypse first broke out, their family had been extremely lucky. None of them had turned into zombies.
The youngest, Li Haoxuan, originally did not have to die, but he had been too noisy, throwing tantrums at the slightest disagreement.
Before this, they had not thought there was anything wrong with Li Haoxuan. It was normal for children to be a little mischievous.
But after Li Haoxuan's unreasonable behavior began endangering their lives, and he remained incorrigible despite repeated reprimands, that spoiled brat had become especially hateful.
Especially after one time when Li Haoxuan caused trouble and nearly got Li Haochen killed.
Li Haochen decided to eliminate this scourge.
One night, Li Haochen got up in the middle of the night and tricked Li Haoxuan outside.
He told him there was something delicious next door.
In reality, the neighbor next door had been locked inside after turning into a zombie.
He opened the door and suddenly shoved Li Haoxuan inside.
Then he went back into the house, closed the door, and went to sleep.
By the time everyone discovered what had happened, Li Haoxuan had already had one arm bitten off and had also turned into a zombie.
Except for Li Haochen, everyone thought he had been naughty, opened the door, and run outside on his own.
Now, Li Haochen looked at his mother and sister, who hid at home all day and did not dare take even one step outside, merely waiting for him and his father to risk their lives bringing supplies back.
Did they know how dangerous it was to go out and find supplies?
Did they know how difficult supplies were to find?
He had clearly seen other female survivors. They were not afraid of death and supported themselves, while these two could hide at home all day.
They were nothing but burdens. If not for them, his father would not have risked going to that supermarket today to bring back a little more supplies, and he would not have been scratched by a zombie.
Now that his father was dead, the task of finding supplies would certainly fall on him from then on.
As he looked at Li Tianming, who had turned into a zombie, it was as if he saw his future self.
All these thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.
Li Haochen made up his mind and calmly retreated several steps until he reached the doorway.
He quietly reached out and grabbed the doorknob.
"Li Haochen, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and attack! Are you trying to get us killed?"
Li Yingyue roared in terror. When she suddenly noticed what Li Haochen was doing,
her eyes widened. After all, they had been siblings for many years, and she could tell at a glance what Li Haochen intended to do. She screamed shrilly, "Li Haochen! What are you doing!!!!!"
At that shout, Ge Chunhua also noticed Li Haochen's actions and stared at him in disbelief.
"Xiaochen, you?"
Tears instantly streamed down her aged face. How could a mother not know what her own son was thinking?
She felt only despair in her heart.
"Mom, I'm sorry. I don't want to do this either, but it's already difficult enough for me to survive alone. I really can't take care of you anymore!"
He left those words behind, then quickly opened the door and ran.
By then, Li Tianming had also completely lost his reason and lunged at the two of them.
"Yueyue, run! I'll hold your father back!"
At this critical moment, Ge Chunhua did not dodge. Instead, as if she had come to a decision, she resolutely threw herself at Li Tianming.
She wrapped both arms tightly around his waist and shouted at Li Yingyue with determination.
"Run! Hurry and run with your brother!!!!"
"Grr! Grr!"
Zombies naturally would not hesitate when food came to them. They opened their mouths and bit down.
Li Tianming had by then completely zombified and had not a trace of reason left.
To him, Ge Chunhua was not his wife of many years, but fresh food.
As he tore into raw flesh, blood splattering everywhere, the sound of chewing mixed with Ge Chunhua's screams, leaving Li Yingyue completely stunned.
When people were subjected to extreme shock, they could not react at all.
Li Yingyue was in exactly that state. She wanted to run, but her legs were weak, as if she had lost control of them, and she could not move at all.
In terror, Li Yingyue watched Li Tianming tear chunks of flesh from Ge Chunhua, bite by bite, like a starving beast.
"Yueyue, run! Run!!!"
"Run!!!!"
Ge Chunhua's shrill voice echoed in Li Yingyue's mind.
She suddenly came to her senses, then turned and ran. She kept running and running.
Ge Chunhua's final appearance replayed endlessly in her mind.
Although Ge Chunhua was fierce, she had truly been good to her children.
Unlike Li Tianming, who favored sons, she had never looked down on daughters. She had treated Li Yingyue no worse than Li Haochen and Li Haoxuan.
At times, she had even been more patient with girls.
Tears covered Li Yingyue's face as she hurriedly climbed the stairs on all fours.
She did not dare run outside, where there were zombies everywhere.
Because survivors often passed through the stairwell, it was regularly cleared of zombies and was instead relatively safe.
She frantically knocked on each door in turn.
"Open up! Save me!! Please, please open the door and let me in!!!"
"Save me!!! Help!!!"
"Please save me! My parents are both dead. Save me!!!"
She knocked on one door after another, but whether anyone was inside or not, no one was willing to open the door.
Who would let a stranger into their home?
This was no longer the first two days after the apocalypse had begun, when people had yet to learn the lesson of being bitten in return.
When she ran out, Li Yingyue had thought only of escaping and had forgotten to close the main door.
Now Ge Chunhua and Li Tianming, both turned into zombies, had chased after her and were right behind her.
She hurried upward in panic, while the two zombies behind her also ran out after her, drooling.
Half of Ge Chunhua's face had been bitten away, exposing the bone beneath. Black blood dripped down steadily as she walked.
Just as Li Yingyue was falling into despair, she suddenly crashed into a tall, broad-shouldered man.
A rough, large hand clamped around her chin. The man even calmly examined her face.
"Little thing, what are you running from?"
The man's voice was deep, husky, and highly magnetic.
"Save me! I'm willing to do anything! Please, please save me!!!"
Meeting the man's gaze, Li Yingyue, being an adult herself, understood the desire in his eyes almost instantly. She hurriedly wiped her face twice, grabbed his sleeve, and said in terror,
"My parents both turned into zombies. My brother abandoned me and ran away too. Save me! As long as you save me, I'm willing to do anything!!"
Li Yingyue had always been fairly pretty. Now, despite the dirt on her face, her eyes were brimming with tears, making it clear she was a beauty in the making.
"Anything?" the man chuckled.
"I'm willing. I'm willing to do anything!"
The man pulled Li Yingyue behind him, took hold of a Tang dao, and stepped forward several paces. His arm rose and fell.
The two zombies behind them were instantly decapitated.
"Come with me, little girl." He turned and walked away.
Li Yingyue followed closely behind the man. At that moment, a survivor opened her door.
The person who opened the door was a young woman. When the apocalypse broke out, everyone in her family had been infected.
Only she and her young brother remained.
To keep herself and her brother from dying in the apocalypse, she, like the other survivors, risked her life to go outside and search for supplies.
She had even traded her body again and again for food.
Li Yingyue had mocked her several times. "How shameless. Does anyone get to sleep with you as long as they give you something?
"When you close your eyes at night, don't you feel filthy?"
"Ugh, you stink. Which public restroom did you crawl out of and wander in front of me?"
"If I were you, I'd rather be bitten to death by a zombie than debase myself!"
"..."
Now, seeing Li Yingyue leave with the man, the woman's eyes were full of schadenfreude.
Weren't you so virtuous?
Didn't you say you would rather die than sell yourself?
But now, you're selling yourself quickly enough.
The woman sneered. She knew the man who had rescued Li Yingyue. He had several brothers under him, all of them ruthless characters.
She had traded with that man before and had barely made it out alive.
Although that man gave a lot of supplies and looked respectable, he liked abusing women. He also had a depraved sex life and made his brothers share them. He was a complete pervert.
If she had not been mistaken just now, Li Yingyue had actually been looking at that man with admiration.
Could she have thought she had met some kindhearted person?
What a foolish woman.
Sure enough, before long, the woman heard Li Yingyue's screams of agony, as well as her pleas for mercy.
It was not only her. Most likely, the entire building could hear them.
But she was not worried. The unit's entrance door downstairs had long since been repaired, so the zombies could not get in.
Several hours later, the woman saw Li Yingyue again.
She walked barefoot out of the man's room, wrapped in a dirty, oversized piece of clothing that did not fit her. Every step was extremely slow.
The woman looked at Li Yingyue's trembling legs, her unsteady figure braced against the wall, and the bruises covering the exposed skin.
Then she returned every word Li Yingyue had once said to her.
"Oh, my, some people really are shameless. Does anyone get to sleep with you as long as they give you something?
"When you close your eyes at night, don't you feel filthy?"
"Ugh, you stink. Which public restroom did you crawl out of and wander in front of me?"
"If I were you, I'd rather be bitten to death by a zombie than debase myself! Those were your parents, too. You're really ruthless!"
"..."
Li Yingyue glared venomously at the woman before her, completely hysterical.
"Get lost! You slut, get out of my way!!!"
"I'm nothing like you! I'll never be like you!!! Get lost, aahhh!!"