At the End of the Road

In the end, Ye Ruan still dragged Fang Ci up with him.

Both were outstanding shots, though Fang Ci was still a little behind Gu Cheng.

"I might not be as good as the captain, but I'm good enough."

Fang Ci set up the machine gun. He was strong enough to handle its recoil.

Ye Ruan watched the Level Three Monster repeatedly ram its head against the Biohazard Vehicle and chuckled softly.

"I know. At the shooting competition five years ago, the captain and you took first and second place."

Fang Ci asked gently, "Weren't you absent back then?"

"Yeah, but the Third Team's deputy captain went. When he came back, he told me you fought so fiercely that you practically shoved your guns in the other two teams' faces."

"A match that should've lasted an hour was cut down to twenty minutes, like you were rushing to finish."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Ruan aimed and fired.

The head of the Level Three Monster ramming the vehicle burst like a watermelon, and it collapsed!

Red mixed with white splattered across the passenger-side windshield of the small truck following close behind them.

Yu Jingjing roared in disgust.

Fang Ci lay prone on the front of the vehicle and opened fire alongside Ye Ruan.

The machine gun swept the scattered zombies on the road ahead of the Biohazard Vehicle. The closer they got to City H's defensive line, the more monsters there were.

The Biohazard Vehicle took a sharp turn. Before Ye Ruan could adjust his position, it suddenly stopped.

Momentum flung Ye Ruan sideways, but Fang Ci caught him with lightning speed.

Before he could climb back up and steady himself, a huge, seething mass of zombies converged from every direction, surrounding the four vehicles so tightly that there was no way through.

Gu Cheng climbed out of the sunroof. "The road's blocked. There are too many zombies."

Just then, the sound of shattering glass came from the last Off-Road Vehicle. Screams rose one after another, then fell completely silent within seconds.

Lou Yu and Song Ting narrowly escaped, leaping from roof to roof to join Ye Ruan and the others.

"The zombies smashed through the SUV. The people in the back are gone. There are too many zombies, packed together everywhere..." Lou Yu bent over, gasping for breath.

Lu Jiayi had been driving the second-to-last Off-Road Vehicle.

Seeing him climb onto the front of the truck with Xia Yue, looking somewhat worse for wear, they could guess that everyone he had brought except Xia Yue was gone too.

More frightening still, Lu Jiayi clutched his arm, bright red blood running between his fingers.

Gu Cheng's pupils contracted sharply. "What happened to your arm?"

Lu Jiayi smiled bitterly. "A zombie scratched me."

They breathed a sigh of relief. Scratches from ordinary zombies or Level Two Zombies did not cause infection. The virus spread through saliva, so only bites would infect them.

For now, only the Biohazard Vehicle and the small truck were relatively safe. The truck was taller, and most of the zombies surrounding them at the moment were ordinary ones.

Ordinary zombies could only stand there howling and clawing at them.

While they talked, Ye Ruan had already killed more than a dozen agile zombies.

They were still relatively safe, but they could not hold out for long.

Once the Level Three Monsters followed the noise over, they would truly be finished.

Ye Ruan no longer bothered hiding anything. He took every kind of bomb out of his Storage Wristband and dumped them all out.

"We'll just have to take our chances. We're not far from the defensive line. If we keep moving, we can be out of City H by dawn."

Gu Cheng looked calm. "Lou Yu, drive. Song Ting, help look after the two kids inside, and keep your gun ready for any stragglers that survive the bombs."

Lou Yu said, "Fine. I'll listen to you this once."

With time running out, Lou Yu took Song Ting and Xia Yue into the Biohazard Vehicle.

The others threw bombs to clear a path.

The vehicles moved forward a short distance, only to be surrounded again by an endless stream of zombies closing in.

To make matters worse, the zombie horde spotted by the drone appeared at the far end of the road. Those grotesquely shaped Level Three Monsters caught sight of fresh flesh and blood and came roaring after them.

Gu Cheng called out grimly, "They're coming! Everyone, be careful!"

Ye Ruan had no idea how many bombs he had thrown. The explosions had left him unable to make out what the people beside him were saying.

Zombies kept lunging at him, splattering him with blood.

Ye Ruan's fingers trembled violently. He reached back for another bomb, but his hand found nothing.

There were none left.

No bombs remained, and the guns were out of ammunition too.

"Ruanruan, hold on a little longer."

Gu Cheng scooped up the little bunny, who was too exhausted to speak, and pulled the gun from the back of Ye Ruan's waist.

Ye Ruan's waist was so slender that the gun tucked behind it covered half its width.

Nestled in that familiar, warm embrace, Ye Ruan narrowed his eyes and nuzzled Gu Cheng's shoulder.

One Level Three Monster pursued them relentlessly. Its fingers were half-meter-long spikes, and its whole body was covered in spines like a porcupine's.

Gu Cheng fired several shots, but none struck it squarely in the head.

Click.

The gun was empty. Gu Cheng cursed under his breath and drew his dagger, about to get up, but Ye Ruan grabbed him.

"Don't go. It's dangerous." The unease in Ye Ruan's heart grew stronger, and he held Gu Cheng tightly, refusing to let him leave the vehicle.

Suddenly, a flash of white light erupted behind them.

It was a White Phosphorus Bomb.

Yu Jingjing had pulled the pin on the last White Phosphorus Bomb and thrown it.

But it was too close. Countless sparks sprayed out, falling straight toward the Biohazard Vehicle.

Gu Cheng turned to tuck Ye Ruan into his arms, never expecting him to suddenly transform back into a lop-eared rabbit and leap onto his back to shield him.

The sparks from a White Phosphorus Bomb would keep burning through flesh, and water only made them burn more fiercely.

Fang Ci cried out in alarm, "Ye Ruan!"

Gu Cheng was so terrified his heart nearly stopped. Trembling, he rose and gathered Ye Ruan into his arms. "Ruanruan! Baby?!"

"Don't scare me like this! If you die, I won't live either!"

Gu Cheng's roar was utterly heart-rending.

That cry frightened Fang Ci and the others into thinking Ye Ruan really was dying.

Fang Ci dragged his half-crippled legs over. His eyes stung and reddened, and he was just about to cry out.

Ye Ruan's fingers twitched. He wanted to cover Gu Cheng's wolf mouth, but he had no strength. He only managed to slap a hand against it before his arm slid limply down.

Pale-faced, he leaned against Gu Cheng's shoulder. "I'm fine. It just hurts a little."

It was far more than a little pain. Along with the agony, he could hear the white phosphorus burning in his flesh. Anyone less mentally resilient would have broken down long ago.

Gu Cheng tightened his grip on the dagger. "Bite me if it hurts. Just bear with it."

"Mm..." Ye Ruan did not hold back, sinking his teeth firmly into Gu Cheng's shoulder.

But the clothing was too thick, and his teeth did not reach the flesh.

More importantly, the little bunny could not bear to hurt him anyway.

With a scoop and a flick, the sharp blade cut away the bit of flesh contaminated with white phosphorus.

Pain darkened Ye Ruan's vision. He bit down hard on the fabric to keep his tears from falling.

"Gu Cheng..." Ye Ruan called, his voice thick with tears.

"I'm here. I'm right here. Don't cry, baby. It's okay. Once we get back, I'll find you something for the scar. Our bunny will still be just as handsome."

Gu Cheng hurriedly tore away his clean undershirt and pressed it against the wound on Ye Ruan's back.

The Big Gray Wolf ran through every pet name he knew to soothe him.

His heart aching, he kept kissing Ye Ruan's brows, eyes, lips, and cheeks.

"Be good, baby. Let me blow on it. It won't hurt in a little while."

"Little bunny, I love you so much."

Ye Ruan half-opened his eyes, his gaze unfocused. He desperately wanted to tell Gu Cheng that he felt the same.

But everything around him blurred, and Gu Cheng's voice grew more and more distant.

Before he passed out, he noticed it.

Dawn had broken.

They could leave this nightmarish place behind.