"I just feel that Zhang Bo doesn't seem like a reckless fool, but what he's doing can hardly be called intelligent."
"He traded some supplies for someone else's reputation. Why is that considered foolish?" Ze Yuan was puzzled. "You humans are truly a complex species."
"Because the environment is wrong. It's the apocalypse, and we don't even know if we'll survive. What's the use of accumulating reputation? Does he expect to dominate China..."
As she said this, Xu An quickly changed the subject, "You said before that the corpse virus, which can turn humans into zombies, also has traces in the bunker? Check if Zhang Bo has it on him." Xu An's tone instantly became tense, her brows furrowed.
"Relax, you don't need to tell me. I've already checked. No, that person's aura is clean."
Xu An thought to herself, perhaps she was being too suspicious?
Meanwhile, in another vehicle, Yu Qin looked at Xu An, who was sleeping against some equipment in the truck bed, her eyes filled with a mixture of malice and reluctance.
It was this conflicting emotion that made the once somewhat beautiful Yu Qin appear even more terrifying, the red bloodshot veins in her eyes unknown whether from fear or excitement.
"Qinqin, are you really going to do this? No matter what, those two are Sister Zhuoran's friends, and what you're doing could very well implicate Sister Zhuoran!"
Someone next to her chimed in, "Yeah, your hatred seems inexplicable. We've been asking you why that person named Xu An offended you, but you won't say. You just have to kill them. Even in the apocalypse, you can't just kill people so casually!"
Clearly, they all knew Yu Qin's intentions. Although they didn't agree, they still followed Yu Qin here and hadn't told Lin Zhuoran about it.
"If you don't want me to expose your dirty little secrets, then shut up. After all, you don't want to be kicked out of the bunker, do you?" For the first time, Yu Qin's eyes revealed a chilling coldness, a stark contrast to the gentle and understanding Yu Qin of ordinary days.
At this moment, Yu Qin was like a Shura crawling out of hell, tearing apart anyone who dared to defy her.
"Reasons? Do I need a reason to kill someone?" she sneered at the two men sitting in the driver's and passenger seats. "Or, if there's a reason, then they don't have to die? Then the girl who was devoured by the two of you also didn't have to die?"
Her voice grew colder as she spoke, then she turned to another man, "Or... is Sister Zhuoran's sister destined to die, Wang Zhao."
As soon as these words were spoken, the air in the car instantly dropped to freezing point, as if solidifying, making everyone suffocate.
Yu Qin's voice was very soft, just enough for the three of them to hear, but the man named Wang Zhao's pupils contracted violently, as if a thunderous sound had erupted in his ears, causing him a moment of daze.
"Do you still want to persuade me now?"
Silence... a deathly silence. No one dared to speak.
They remained quiet, their mouths shut, minding their own business. The man driving, named Liu Tian, felt a churning in his stomach the moment Yu Qin finished speaking.
The cries of a young girl began to resonate uncomfortably in his ears. At first, it was just quiet pleas, then it turned into shrill screams, and finally into vicious curses...
Then came a deathly silence. In the scalding hot water floated the girl's dried, yellowed hair, and a faint scent of meat lingered in the air.
It was the whisper of demons, the paradise of sin, the carnival of zombie humanity and morality.
To survive, he had no choice but to join that carnival.
But was there a reason for that girl's death?
Perhaps there was, because he was too hungry, they were too hungry, so hungry that they were dying. Thus, because of their hunger, they took another's life. This was the truest portrayal of the apocalypse.
Liu Tian's once bright eyes gradually dimmed, just like when Yu Qin first saw him. It was a state of contradiction, a mixture of remorse and desire.
In the following days, Yu Qin watched as Liu Tian and Wang Zhao's conditions gradually improved, but she couldn't feel any happiness in her heart.
They were all people who had crawled out of hell, so why could Liu Tian and Wang Zhao start their new lives without any qualms!
As long as she couldn't escape, no one else would be able to remain detached.
Wang Zhao looked at the frantic Yu Qin, then looked up at Lin Zhuoran in the car ahead. The feeling of guilt instantly engulfed him again, a sense of self-condemnation that was almost overwhelming.
He was muttering softly, but no one could hear what he was saying.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
He felt as if he had returned to those nightmare-ridden days.
The girl who had originally stood in front of him was accidentally pushed by him into a hell full of zombies.
So when he met Lin Zhuoran, and faced Lin Zhuoran and the girl who looked as if they were carved from the same mold, he felt an inexplicable sense that heaven had sent Lin Zhuoran to him for atonement.
But now, as the truth was brutally torn open, and those ugly scars were exposed to everyone's sight.
They only then realized that it was all in vain. No matter how they tried to erase the memories of the past, a mere hint or a fragment of a word could bring out all the past sins.
Tormenting themselves day after day.
Liu Tian looked at the triumphant Yu Qin through the rearview mirror. The previous Yu Qin had been too good at pretending. She always huddled with them for warmth, making them believe that Yu Qin was the only light in their restarted lives, their little sun.
But they had forgotten.
While they tried to forget that sinful memory, Yu Qin had already used this dark past to gain sympathy, molding herself into a victim and enjoying the benefits derived from past sins.
Yu Qin was the one who hid the deepest.
Liu Tian and Wang Zhao exchanged a glance, and in their despairing eyes, they seemed to reach a consensus.
Yu Qin, at this moment, did not know that she had become a sacrifice. When people are at their most desperate and fearful, they can transform their fear into the courage to fight back.
Yu Qin, who thought she could control them, forgot that this was the apocalypse.
And killing a woman who threatened her was as easy as lifting a finger.
With the detector given by the Doctor, they had made smooth progress on their journey. A small group of stray zombies encountered were also quickly dealt with by Xu An and the others.
Xu An observed the gaze that had been fixed on her from behind.
Ze Yuan also spoke with schadenfreude, "I think that young girl's hatred towards you is inexplicable and it's getting worse. You should be careful. Her eyes look like she wants to eat you."
Xu An smiled. She didn't even look back, ignoring the other person as if they were useless air.
"Why should I care about the opinion of a dead person?"