Gu Shangse looked at Su Ling, his gaze almost greedy, as if he wanted to engrave her into his very bones.
Gu Shangse's face was slightly pale. He smiled at Su Ling. He, who should have been gentle and clear-headed, now possessed a strange, morbid beauty with his blood-red eyes.
"Once I can't hold on and mutate into a zombie, you cut me down with a single strike." After instructing Su Ling, Gu Shangse cast an apologetic look her way. "I'm sorry, I failed to catch that escaping zombie. It got away, leaving a potential threat for everyone."
Su Ling remained silent, holding her Tang knife, contemplating how to save Gu Shangse.
Yet, in her heart, she knew that once bitten or scratched by a zombie, there was basically no hope.
Gu Shangse was destined to become a zombie.
Su Ling felt a profound discomfort in her heart. Looking at Gu Shangse, she saw her own weakness, her own uselessness.
He had come out with her, yet he was scratched by a zombie and on the verge of mutating...
"Don't blame yourself," Gu Shangse said, looking at Su Ling. His voice was already hoarse, and a腥甜 (sweet and fishy) taste rose in his throat with every word. "You are wonderful, strong, and excellent. My becoming like this is not your fault; it was my own negligence."
He was on the brink of becoming a zombie, yet he was comforting Su Ling.
Su Ling's heart ached, her throat feeling tight and difficult to swallow.
She sheathed her Tang knife back into the umbrella handle.
Su Ling walked towards Gu Shangse, reaching into her backpack and retrieving a bottle of water, which she brought to him.
Seeing her approach, Gu Shangse recoiled repeatedly, only to be held by Su Ling.
Holding Gu Shangse still, Su Ling handed him the water. "Drink it. Drink every last drop."
The products from her space had detoxification properties. She could only try a desperate measure now, making Gu Shangse continuously drink water from her space.
Gu Shangse wanted to say he wasn't thirsty, but looking at Su Ling and then at the water she offered, he took it and drank it down.
As the water entered his throat, it felt like sulfuric acid burning his throat, causing him to frown in pain.
To prevent Su Ling from worrying, he could only endure the agonizing burn.
The burning sensation spread down his throat with the water, reaching his stomach. Cold sweat began to break out on his forehead; he was relying solely on his willpower to stay conscious.
Seeing him finish the bottle, Su Ling handed him another.
Gu Shangse said nothing. She offered, and he drank.
Su Ling was not idle. While Gu Shangse drank, she poured some of the space water onto the wound on his arm where he had been scratched.
The moment the water touched Gu Shangse's skin, he trembled in pain.
Su Ling glanced at him, seeing him covered in sweat. "Does it hurt a lot?"
Gu Shangse shook his head at Su Ling. "It's the zombie toxin at work."
He would rather attribute everything to the zombie toxin than admit the water she gave him was causing the effect.
"Endure it," Su Ling said, continuing her actions, pouring the water all over Gu Shangse's arm.
As she got up and stepped back, she handed him a third bottle of water and leaned in close, looking into his blood-red eyes. "You wanted to be my partner in this doomsday, fighting alongside me, right? Then hold on. Don't be assimilated."
Having spoken, Su Ling retreated to a safe distance.
She watched Gu Shangse with cold eyes, her heart already half-frozen.
She knew what awaited Gu Shangse. Her words were just to comfort him.
Was it a pity? Of course, it was a pity.
But fate was ironic, and everything was destined.
Despite the pity, if Gu Shangse mutated into a zombie, she would cut him down, preventing him from becoming a flesh-eating monster.
"Alright, I'll hold on," Gu Shangse said. He finished the third bottle of water Su Ling gave him and tore off a piece of his torn clothes, stuffing it into his mouth and biting down hard.
He would succeed or die trying. He wanted to fight alongside Su Ling; he didn't want to become a zombie!