Lin Zhuoran's line of sight was blocked, and she could not see the intense, overflowing venom in Wang Zhao's eyes.
At the same time, Zhang Bo also noticed the argument in the rear carriage and stopped the vehicle to check what was happening.
"What happened?"
Before Zhang Bo could finish speaking as he reached the rear carriage, a figure reeking of blood hurtled towards him.
Zhang Bo was alert and, fearing it was a zombie, swiftly dodged the person's body. Only when the body fell at his feet, unmoving, did Zhang Bo dare to approach and examine it.
He first used a baseball bat he had readily available to poke the body. After confirming it wasn't a zombie, he turned the person over.
"Yu Qin?"
Zhang Bo quickly crouched down, his hand reaching for Yu Qin's breath. "Xiao Qin, wake up, can you still hear me?"
Yu Qin had somehow followed them, her body covered in bloodstains, her clothes tattered and barely covering her.
Gathering her last breath, she whispered, "Save me..." before losing consciousness.
With Yu Qin now delivered to their doorstep, Wang Zhao and Liu Fei could no longer obstruct them. They could only watch as Lin Zhuoran and Zhou Haimei lifted Yu Qin into the vehicle.
Lin Zhuoran: "Doctor, can Yu Qin be saved?"
Zhang Bo shook his head. "There's little hope. The wounds are too deep. Although she avoided vital points, she lost too much blood. Without emergency medicine, we can only try to manage."
These words were tantamount to sentencing Yu Qin to death.
Some rejoiced while others worried.
Unlike Lin Zhuoran's worried demeanor, Wang Zhao appeared considerably more relaxed.
Liu Fei leaned against Wang Zhao's shoulder, whispering in a voice only they could hear.
"It seems that woman is certainly going to die. Let's not make any rash moves and just observe the situation."
"You're right, but we still need to be cautious. Zhang Bo said Yu Qin might wake up."
"The fog was so thick back then, Yu Qin might not have seen it was us who attacked her."
Wang Zhao looked at him as if he were an idiot. "She didn't see us, but that doesn't mean she's brainless. Think about it with your toes, who wants her gone the most between us two?"
Liu Fei: ".......Alright, you're right."
Wang Zhao suddenly felt a pang of worry for his future. Was it really okay to cooperate with someone as dim-witted as Liu Fei?
However, there was clearly no time to discuss this issue now.
Zhou Haimei looked at Yu Qin, who was barely breathing, and asked softly, "Will she wake up?"
She wasn't so kind-hearted as to wish for Yu Qin's recovery. She merely wanted to know what method Yu Qin had used to frame Xu An.
"I don't know, likely not." Lin Zhuoran's eyes held a hint of compassion as she glanced at Wang Zhao and the other man huddled in the corner of the trunk.
Changing the subject, she said, "It seems someone is desperately eager for Yu Qin to die."
"Yu Qin must have something on those two," Zhou Haimei analyzed. "But I can't imagine what kind of leverage someone could have in the apocalypse that would make someone want to kill them."
"Unless this secret concerns life and death!"
With that, their gazes met in the dim afternoon light, and they both saw a hint of suspicion.
The lingering mist acted like a natural barrier, concealing their actions from everyone's blind spot.
"What if this secret is related to you?"
Zhou Haimei's voice was low, but it resonated like thunder in Lin Zhuoran's ears.
"Think carefully about what secret might be related to you."
As Zhou Haimei spoke, Lin Zhuoran also found herself lost in a maze of memories. Something flashed back, but she couldn't quite grasp it.
"After I saw my sister turn into a zombie... I was heartbroken, felt the world was rotten, and wanted to end my life. That's when I discovered... Wang Zhao hiding in the school security booth..."
Lin Zhuoran's tone was as if she were sleepwalking, her memories gradually resurfacing. She pieced together these seemingly unrelated memories into a complete puzzle, recounting what happened back then in fragments.
However, Zhou Haimei keenly caught the contradiction in Lin Zhuoran's words.
"You're saying Wang Zhao was at the same school as your sister? Then Wang Zhao didn't know your sister?"
"He never mentioned not knowing her," Lin Zhuoran recalled carefully. "But I asked him, how could he not know my sister when they were in the same major and year?"
"Was your sister very famous?"
"Yes, my sister was the freshman representative, the top scorer in our city. To lessen my burden, she voluntarily transferred to that school because of the increased subsidies. Not only that, but my sister performed a Latin dance at the freshman orientation last year.
It went viral online. When I visited their school before, I could hear people in the cafeteria discussing my sister. It's too strange that Wang Zhao, being in the same year as my sister, wouldn't know her."
Zhou Haimei was unconcerned. "Perhaps Wang Zhao is just a recluse. Some people prefer to stay in their dorms during college and might not know the school's online celebrities."
"No!" Lin Zhuoran hadn't considered this before, but as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place, her conviction grew stronger.
"He mentioned before that he was in the student council, and my sister was the vice president! But when I asked him about it, he became very nervous! He stammered and couldn't speak properly."
Zhou Haimei also began to take it seriously.
"Your sister's death is suspicious."
One sentence, and it was decided!
Lin Zhuoran's eyes suddenly turned fierce. Her sister was her last remaining hope in this world. Yet, after she had abandoned everything, she saw her sister, who had already turned into a zombie, blocked at the school's main gate.
At that moment, her sister had almost reached the school gate, just one step away from escaping. Why was she blocked outside the gate?
Lin Zhuoran suddenly recalled where she had found Wang Zhao: the security booth!
That was where the school gate controls were located!
In an instant, a terrible thought formed in Lin Zhuoran's mind. If Wang Zhao had controlled the school's electronic gates, maliciously blocking the students' hope of survival, then she had personally saved the person who killed her sister???
A wave of grief suddenly surged within Lin Zhuoran. She had thought she had come to terms with the loss of her loved ones.
But now she realized there was no coming to terms; it was merely burying the pain deep in her heart, waiting for time to heal.
But when the healed scar was reopened, the agonizing pain, as if her heart were being slowly cut, returned.
She tightly gripped Yu Qin's wrist, never before feeling such an urgent need for her to regain consciousness.