Meeting

"Save me..." Sun Chuan was still struggling.

Lu Bai glanced at the passageway that had already been breached by the zombies and filled with screams.

He walked over to Sun Chuan's side, looking slightly embarrassed. "That zombie was thrown over by me."

Hearing that, Sun Chuan could not manage a complete smile because of his injuries, but he still endured the searing pain and said, "Not your fault... you... save..."

"After all, it was my mistake, so..."

Lu Bai shook his head and said solemnly, "First of all, I'll declare that nothing happened."

Sun Chuan: "?"

In the end, his wounds were simply too severe. Sun Chuan glared fiercely at Lu Bai, and before long, he breathed his last.

While waiting, Lu Bai also swung his sword and killed two zombies that had foolishly wandered over.

Looking at Sun Chuan, whose breathing had stopped, he let out a faint sigh. "I forgot the middle part. Anyway, I should have done something back then, but now it's already too late."

[Ding!]

[Points +1. Current Points: 14. Current Rank: 1/138]

The notification that suddenly rang out in his mind genuinely startled Lu Bai.

A Deathmatch Participant?

Even worse than Fan Ding—how had he survived until now?

As Lu Bai pondered, whenever a zombie approached, he casually swung his sword without even raising his head.

"How could that guy be a Deathmatch Participant?"

During this time, the few soldiers at the passageway entrance had all been infected and turned into zombies. Lu Bai was the only living person left nearby.

The zombies did not spare much thought for it. Roaring, they swarmed toward him like a tidal wave.

There were quite a few zombies gathered around the passageway entrance. After a quick visual estimate, Lu Bai knew he could not clear them out in a short time. There was no reason to waste more time here, so he decisively turned and fled.

Crooked, slanting tents stood everywhere in the settlement, their canvas marked with countless bloody footprints. The air was thick with the stench of blood.

Thinking back, Lu Bai realized he had not heard any screams or shrieks for quite some time. If nothing unexpected had happened, District 23 was probably full of nothing but zombies by now.

But the refugees originally assigned to District 23 should not all have been infected. Surely some of them had managed to escape.

Lu Bai carried his bloodstained Eight-Sided Han Sword and swiftly threaded his way between the tents.

By his estimation, if Wu Ya and the others had escaped District 23, they would either head toward the military camp to seek the army's protection, or come to District 7 to find him.

His intuition favored the latter possibility.

And his intuition was right.

Wu Ya's group was currently on their way to District 7.

It was worth mentioning that, since no zombies had appeared in District 7 or District 8, the two districts had not been completely sealed off. Passing through only required an inspection.

Looking down from above, several long lines could be seen already formed at the passageway. People stood shoulder to shoulder, all looking as though their nerves were stretched taut.

The group of three women and one man passed through the checkpoint and arrived on the road leading into District 7.

"He's a guy who's pretty handsome, and he carries a sword on his back, right?"

Guo Mi held a freshly lit Ladies' Cigarette between her fingers, her words carrying an oddly convincing force.

Wu Ya vaguely felt that something was off. "Do you really know Classmate Lu?"

"Of course. Him and me? We go way back."

Guo Mi slowly exhaled a smoke ring, concealing every trace of her expression behind it.

Although Guo Mi had shown no hostility toward them along the way, Ke Jiangni still had not lowered her guard.

Ke Jiangni suddenly cut off their conversation. "We're almost there anyway. Once we see him, we'll know whether you know each other or not."

Tian Wang had been jogging all the way and was panting heavily. Now that he finally had a chance to rest a little, he practically wanted to fall asleep right on the ground. He had no interest whatsoever in joining the conversation.

Several districts, including District 7, had yet to see any zombies.

Yet, with the dense gunfire echoing in the distance, few people could truly sleep without worry.

Most residents had stepped out of their Military Tents, and quite a few people standing outside to observe the situation could not help yawning.

That was hardly surprising.

From the time Lu Bai infiltrated the Research Center until now, after all this chaos, it was already nearly three in the morning.

"Classmate Lu's tent is over there." Wu Ya quickened her pace.

Guo Mi followed closely behind Wu Ya, unconsciously clenching the cigarette filter between her teeth.

She recalled the first time Lu Bai had appeared before her—a clean, efficient man who never dragged his feet when he acted.

If she had not gained a new trump card, she would not have dared face Lu Bai again.

Guo Mi was prepared to make her move, but when the tent flap was lifted, there was no one inside.

"Where is he?"

Having come up empty-handed, Guo Mi immediately felt the irritated embarrassment of having a two-player game abruptly called off.

Wu Ya and the others wanted to know the answer to that question as well.

Unfortunately, although Lu Bai had many roommates in this tent, very few of them were still alive.

So even if they wanted to find someone and ask what had happened, they did not know whom to ask.

Tian Wang desperately wanted to rest. After hesitating for a moment, he still suggested, "How about we wait here for him to come back?"

"Fine." Guo Mi took a deep breath and adjusted her mood.

As it happened.

Not long after they had all sat down, the tent flap was lifted again.

Lu Bai swept his gaze around the room and asked with a genial smile, "Are you all here looking for me?"

He had addressed all of them, but his gaze was mainly fixed on Guo Mi.

Whether intentional or not, Guo Mi was seated right beside Wu Ya, the two of them practically pressed together.

At such close range, if Guo Mi made a move, Lu Bai was not confident he could save Wu Ya.

And the moment she saw Lu Bai, before Wu Ya could say anything, Guo Mi shot to her feet.

Perhaps feeling that she had overreacted, Guo Mi hastily let out a cold laugh.

"You're rather different from what I imagined."

It was partly to ease the awkwardness, but it was also the truth.

She found it hard to connect the harmless-looking High School Student before her with the cold, godlike killer from before.

Lu Bai smiled easily and said softly, "What did you imagine I was like? Making an entrance with the light behind me, a close-up of the lower half of my face. I deliver a line, then the shot cuts wide and rapidly zooms in. I draw my sword, and the screen shakes wildly to set off the aura about to erupt?"

Listening to that string of nonsense, Guo Mi's expression stiffened, and for a moment she did not know how to react.

She instinctively asked, "What are you talking about?"

Lu Bai patiently explained, "Anime—the two-dimensional world so beloved by the masses. It originally referred to a two-dimensional world, but was later used to refer to the ACGN subculture. Unfortunately, Pikachu can't use the Courage Badge to evolve, so Yagami Taichi can only face Kusanagi Kyo alone in the arena..."

"Enough. Stop inching forward while you talk."

Guo Mi took a deep drag on her cigarette, then extended a dagger from her sleeve and laid it against Wu Ya's throat. "Your sudden fit of madness has at least confirmed one thing for me. You care about this little sister, don't you?"