Biochemical! Crisis!

Leaving the convenience store, the scene before them was one of utter devastation. The world was dim, the streets empty, littered with overturned vehicles, ruined public facilities, and swirling newspapers. On one of the papers, the words "the dead walk" were printed, which translated to "the living dead, zombies are rampant."

Tonight was destined to be dark, silent, and chilling.

In the middle of the road not far away, a person lay motionless.

"Look! There's someone over there," Wei Ming said. "Should we go check? Maybe he's still alive."

"This..." Wang Ning hesitated. "I don't think that's a good idea. Look, the seniors aren't paying any attention."

"Are we just going to stand by and watch someone die?" Wei Ming disagreed. "If you aren't going, I will!"

The group fell silent. After all, they were just students who had recently stepped out of high school. They weren't cold-hearted enough to see someone lying on the road and just walk past them without a second thought. Moreover, everyone seemed to recall an incident from a while back: a little girl had been hit by a car in the middle of the road, and then run over again by another vehicle. Several people had walked right past her, completely indifferent. Although she was eventually taken to the hospital by a kind stranger, it was too late to save her young life. A precious life had been buried by the apathy of their countrymen...

And at this moment, the scene was eerily similar to that one. The only difference was that the location had changed to Raccoon City in the United States, and the people involved were them and the person on the ground.

Yin Kuang didn't want to leave a knot in his heart, so he said, "I'll go take a look." With that, he broke away from the group and walked—no, jogged—toward the person on the ground. After all, a human life was at stake; there was no time to delay.

"Wait a second." Li Shuangmu couldn't stop him in time. "Good grief. Have you forgotten what kind of place this is? You need to pick your moments for kindness." As he spoke, he drew his Desert Eagle, attached a silencer, and jogged over.

Wei Ming and Wang Ning followed as well. Since they had formed a temporary four-man team, it was only natural to advance and retreat together.

Zeng Fei and Liu Xiatian exchanged glances, then looked at Xiong Ba, only to see him standing there with a sneer, arms crossed, looking perfectly at ease. In the end, they sighed and decided to stay put. As for Qian Qianqian, she looked left and right, wanting to go forward but not daring to, biting her lip and clenching her fists in anxiety.

Yin Kuang reached the man and saw him lying face down, motionless, seemingly unconscious. He reached out and gave him a gentle, tentative shake. "Sir, what's wrong with you?" Since they were in the United States, he naturally spoke in English.

The person on the ground remained motionless.

Yin Kuang gritted his teeth and rolled him over, only to be startled. The man had a massive, jagged wound on his shoulder, as if bitten by a wild beast. It was covered in black, putrid blood, the flesh mangled and emitting a foul stench. His complexion was deathly pale, barely human, and his face was pitted with rot.

"It stinks," Wang Ning said. "He doesn't look right. We should go. I have a bad feeling about this." Wang Ning's "Low-Profile Way" didn't just mask his presence; to a certain extent, it also enhanced his own perception. Consequently, his initial perception stat was a full 11 points. Perhaps he didn't realize how high that was, but if he were to compare it with the others, he would find that his perception was the highest—the only one exceeding 10.

Wei Ming insisted, "Maybe he's still alive. If you're scared, you can back off." With that, he reached out to check the man's breath.

"Hold it." Li Shuangmu, gun raised, shook his head at Wei Ming. "He's already dead. Have you forgotten where we are? This is the world of Resident Evil. What is the main threat here? Zombies! He's been bitten; judging by the wound, it was a zombie. He'll turn into one soon. Approaching him blindly is irrational."

"This..." Wei Ming clearly understood this as well and hesitated. "Then what do we do?"

"Put a bullet in his head," Wang Ning suggested. "That will stop him from turning into a zombie and running around."

Yin Kuang said nervously, "But what if he's still alive? Wouldn't that be murder?"

"He's going to turn into a zombie regardless," Wang Ning stated firmly. "Once he bites us, we'll turn into zombies too. Then we'll fail the exam and lose 10 years of our lifespan. It's best not to take that risk. Even if you think you have plenty of life left, it's not something to waste like this."

Yin Kuang fell silent.

He only had 34 years of life left—34 years! Therefore, he could only afford to die once. He was the one who needed to be the most careful here. Thinking of his recklessness just now, his heart skipped a beat. If the man on the ground had suddenly turned his head and bitten his hand, then...

Wei Ming sighed, feeling a chill run down his spine, even though he had plenty of life to spare. "Sorry, Yank... wait, his eyes moved!"

"Where? Did they?" Yin Kuang and the others stared at the man's eyes.

Sure enough, the man's eyes twitched again.

They really had moved!

The man on the ground hadn't turned into a zombie yet, and at this moment, he was struggling to open his eyes. His unfocused gaze shifted, and his lips moved as if he were trying to say something.

"Are you okay?" Wei Ming crouched beside him. "What are you trying to say?"

"Ma... Ma..." the American man coughed convulsively, squeezing out a few English words.

"Ma? Ma what?" Yin Kuang leaned in closer.

Wang Ning suddenly backed away. "Something's wrong. I've got goosebumps all over. I think..."

"Quiet, I can't hear him," Wei Ming snapped, leaning in further. "You said..."

The man struggled to say a single word: "Mary." One hand gestured, placing itself on his chest with immense difficulty, and he continued, "Ma... Ma... save... Raaargh!"

"Get back!!"

Wang Ning shouted.

"Agh!!" Wei Ming let out a shrill, agonizing scream. He struggled violently, trying to push away the zombie that had clamped its jaws onto his neck, but the excruciating pain in his throat left him unable to use his strength.

Pfft!

The silenced Desert Eagle let out a soft sigh, and a hole erupted in the zombie's forehead. Not even a drop of blood splattered out. In the nick of time, Li Shuangmu had fired.

However, it was ultimately too late.

Wang Ning didn't hesitate; he immediately pulled a Hemostatic Bandage from his tactical backpack and applied it to Wei Ming. "Wei Ming, are you okay?"

"Damn it! It hurts like hell! Damn it, damn it!"

Hemostatic Bandage effect: Restores 5 HP and effectively stops bleeding.

Wei Ming had 25 HP. Being bitten in a vital spot by a zombie triggered a notification: "You have been bitten in a vital spot by a zombie. Critical hit, -15 HP. Special damage: 'Thick-Skinned' failed. Your carotid artery is damaged, entering bleeding state. You will take 2 HP damage per second until death."

Since Yin Kuang had not yet designated Wei Ming as a "close friend," the "True Affection Protection" effect did not trigger. In other words, Wei Ming had to bear the full brunt of the damage alone.

Fortunately, Wang Ning acted quickly and used the Hemostatic Bandage. But because of the arterial bleeding, the bandage didn't stop the flow entirely; it only slowed it down. Li Shuangmu quickly took out a cold bun and stuffed it into Wei Ming's mouth.

Secret Recipe Goubuli Bun: Instantly restores 3 HP, then restores 1 HP per second for 3 seconds.

Don't let the size of this secret recipe bun fool you; despite being the size of a small dumpling, its exchange price was exorbitant—a full 15 Study Points. Converted to Republic currency, that was 1,500 yuan. A truly sky-high price for a bun.

Still, it managed to hang onto Wei Ming's life. However, his situation was clearly dire. It was simple: Wei Ming had been infected with the T-Virus.

The group watched him in silence.

Wei Ming's face turned pale, and he let out a bitter laugh. "What is this? No good deed goes unpunished? Cough! Cough!"

Yin Kuang said guiltily, "I'm sorry... If I hadn't run over here, you wouldn't have..."

"Heh. This was my own choice; it has nothing to do with you," Wei Ming said. "It's only ten years of my lifespan, isn't it? I plan to live to be a hundred; ten measly years is nothing to me."

Just as everyone was feeling sorrowful, Xiong Ba suddenly drew his gun and aimed it at Wei Ming.

The group was shocked, and Yin Kuang shouted in alarm, "What are you doing?"

"He may not care about his own lifespan, but I have to be responsible for your lives," Xiong Ba said coldly. "This also affects my overall assessment. You don't understand? Ask him yourself. Tell them your current status."

The bitterness on Wei Ming's face grew even more intense. "So... the senior saw through it."

"This..."

Wei Ming waved his hand and said, "Don't blame the senior. See for yourselves... I don't have... the strength..."

A screen of light appeared before everyone's eyes.

A blood-red light screen, flickering and dazzling!

Warning: Student Wei Ming, you have been bitten by a zombie and are infected with the T-Virus!

Warning: Student Wei Ming, the T-Virus has undergone an unknown mutation within your body!

Warning: Student Wei Ming, you have a 1% chance of obtaining a mutated T-Virus genetic enhancement!

Warning: Student Wei Ming, you have a 50% chance of mutating into a special zombie!

Warning: Student Wei Ming, you have a 20% chance of mutating into a Licker!

Warning: Student Wei Ming, you have a 10% chance of mutating into a Nemesis!

Warning: Please obtain the T-Virus antidote as soon as possible!

"Hiss!!"

The group gasped in unison as if struck by a convulsion, and they all instinctively backed away from Wei Ming.