Hearing this, Liu Fei didn't even dare to look Lin Zhuoran in the eye, keeping his head down and remaining silent.
"I'm asking you again! Is my sister's death related to Wang Zhao!"
As if unable to hold back any longer, Lin Zhuoran placed the knife in her hand directly against Liu Fei's neck.
The blade still carried the pungent stench of blood from killing zombies, making Liu Fei too scared to move.
Although these zombies were different from ordinary ones, no one could guarantee that their blood wouldn't cause mutations.
"Yes... yes, it was Wang Zhao. We all knew about it from the beginning. Yu Qin threatened us because of it. Wang Zhao was afraid you would kill him if you found out, so he kept it from you all along."
Liu Fei, terrified by the blade at his neck, didn't dare to lie. He confessed everything that Wang Zhao, Yu Qin, and he himself had done.
After listening, Lin Zhuoran trembled uncontrollably, her eyes hardening, the light within them gradually fading.
"You're saying my sister saved Wang Zhao back then, but out of fear, he closed the electronic gate at the school entrance!"
Liu Fei flinched back, seemingly afraid of Lin Zhuoran at that moment.
"Sister Zhuoran, this has nothing to do with me. I didn't even know your sister. Don't kill me!"
Lin Zhuoran seemed not to hear anything and collapsed onto the ground listlessly.
If Wang Zhao were still alive, she could have killed him to avenge her sister. But now that Wang Zhao was dead, no matter how much hatred she felt, it was futile.
The knife in her hand could no longer be held and fell to the ground with a dull clang, like its owner, lost and helpless.
"I actually saved the murderer of my sister, hahahaha, I actually saved the murderer of my sister."
She cried and laughed, suddenly feeling that in this ruined world, life was so difficult.
"I am not a good sister..."
Xu An looked at Lin Zhuoran, who had collapsed on the ground, and didn't know how to comfort her.
She had never been the type to comfort others.
"Some things she has to get through herself. Our persuasion is useless," Zhou Haimei said, patting Xu An's shoulder.
Even with a thousand words in her heart, all that could be expressed was a sigh.
"What should we do with this person?" Zhou Haimei's eyes flickered with disgust. Even she hadn't imagined that in just one year, a phenomenon of "cannibalism" would actually occur.
Zhou Haimei was shocked, but Xu An didn't find it strange at all. In her past life, if not for Gou Dan, she too would have nearly become someone's meal. In the apocalypse, this was nothing unusual.
Liu Fei, still kneeling on the ground, continued to beg desperately. Soon, Xu An smelled the scent of urine, but her expression remained unchanged.
"Kill him."
Those who could devour their own kind could no longer be considered human.
Zhou Haimei had no objections. In Liu Fei's terrified eyes, she ended his suffering quickly.
Liu Fei seemed unable to believe it, his pupils wide, his body falling straight down.
"What now? We can't delay here any longer. We need to catch up with the main group," Zhou Haimei reminded her.
Their descent to the lighthouse this time was different from before; they were carrying out a mission.
Generous rewards represented higher risks.
Xu An looked at the distraught Lin Zhuoran beside her and remained silent for a long time.
Although her reason told her she had to make a decision now, her emotional side felt a pang of reluctance, not wanting to leave Lin Zhuoran behind like this.
After thinking for a while, she finally spoke to Lin Zhuoran.
"Are you willing to leave here with us?"
Lin Zhuoran's dazed eyes regained a hint of focus. She looked up at Xu An.
"To the lighthouse?"
"Yes."
Lin Zhuoran looked into the distance. As far as her eyes could see, everything was a vast expanse of white, like this seemingly endless life, devoid of any vitality.
"Once we get to the lighthouse, can everything change?"
Xu An knew that Lin Zhuoran wasn't just asking about herself.
But no one could give her an answer.
Xu An couldn't.
No one in this world could.
No one knew if tomorrow would be better.
No one dared to guarantee it.
Xu An smiled helplessly, but her smile was tinged with bitterness: "At least, it won't be worse than now."
Lin Zhuoran sat in a daze for a long time, seemingly having come to a realization.
"I won't go up. Thank you, Xu An," Lin Zhuoran said solemnly. She had wanted to thank Xu An properly for a long time.
"Some things, at the time, might be very necessary, very desired, but after that moment passes, they are no longer wanted."
Xu An understood what she meant. Lin Zhuoran no longer wanted to go to the lighthouse.
"Why! After you go up, even if I don't mention anything else, at least you won't have to worry about food and clothing, nor will you be harmed by zombies and various natural disasters. Why wouldn't you want to go?"
She was somewhat puzzled.
In her past life, so many people had desperately tried to seek refuge on the lighthouse.
For it, they were willing to exchange their most precious possessions, to crawl on the ground like dogs.
But in this life, why did everyone she met, one by one, look down upon the lighthouse like this?
Ana was like this, and now Lin Zhuoran was like this?
Lin Zhuoran still didn't look back at her, only gazing into the茫然 mist, as if seeing her future through it.
"An'an, not everything in this world needs a 'why'. Although Wang Zhao is dead, the bunker situation is not completely resolved. I can't just leave like you all."
"There are still so many elderly and weak, women and children there. I can't abandon them."
Xu An wanted to say something but held back.
She wanted to advise Lin Zhuoran not to be so saintly, not to care about others' lives.
But the words wouldn't come out.
Lin Zhuoran wanted to stay, not for her own selfish gain, but for the old and young in the bunker.
Even though they had only met once, Xu An still remembered the countless smiling faces in that underground base.
"Don't worry about me, An'an. Everyone has their own things to do, their own paths to walk. There are no eternal feasts."
Lin Zhuoran's expression seemed much better than before, with a faint sense of relief.
"Goodbye, Xu An."
Xu An watched Lin Zhuoran's retreating back, feeling as if something was blocking her chest, her eyes becoming sore.
Zhou Haimei walked up and patted her shoulder.
"Let's go, we also have our own things to do."