The man's words faltered for a moment, "I can give you the antibody for the virus that leaked from the laboratory."
Upon hearing this, Xu An and Zhou Haimei exchanged glances. They had initially thought the man was just an ordinary employee, but unexpectedly, he held such a crucial antibody.
"Do you know what it means to give this to me?"
The man gave a bitter smile. "No one knows the value of this better than I do. I just can't hold on much longer, but my daughter still needs to live. I originally kept this for my daughter. As long as you find her and bring her out safely, my antibody won't have been wasted."
Xu An looked at the man, "How can you be so sure we can get out?"
At this point, the man had no intention of playing games with Xu An.
"You're not from Zone B, are you? You look like you're here to find someone, but Zone B has been sealed off since the beginning. If you can get in, you must have some skills. I'm willing to take a gamble."
Xu An looked at the man's almost deathbed appearance and knew that this man wouldn't live much longer. His words now were likely his final testament. Xu An could understand a father's desire to secure a future for his daughter.
Therefore, she didn't try to bargain further.
"I can only say I'll try my best, but I can't guarantee bringing your daughter out. You need to be prepared for that."
The man's voice carried a hint of a bitter smile, as if he was at his last gasp. As if making his final arrangements, he told Xu An everything about his daughter's appearance, a photograph, and who she had been entrusted to. As the man spoke more, his already pale complexion grew even more bloodless.
Just as the man used his last ounce of strength to hand the vial of antibody to Xu An, his once clear eyes instantly became clouded.
Xu An didn't waste any time, snatched the antibody, and shot him.
As the man died, a smile seemed to flicker across his lips. It was as if he had found release. This was also the man's wish, to die before he could turn into a zombie and hunt his own daughter. And Xu An had indeed not hesitated in ending his life.
Zhou Haimei looked at the man, perhaps reminded of something, and gave a self-deprecating laugh.
"I didn't expect Zone B to have an antibody. Does that mean Zone B is saved?" Zhou Haimei was naturally optimistic. Looking at what Xu An held, she naively believed it could save everyone.
But Zhou Haimei was too innocent. She hadn't considered another possibility. If a laboratory worker could obtain the antibody, perhaps the authorities already knew about its existence. Yet, these people, knowing there was an antibody, still allowed the inhabitants here to attack each other, tear at each other, and turn into zombies. This clearly indicated a problem. The authorities had no intention of saving these people. Therefore, even if Xu An presented the antibody to them, it wouldn't make any difference. And all of this pointed to the negligence of the leaders of the Lighthouse. Instead of solving problems, they only thought of escaping. Could people like that truly lead humanity to the final dawn?
As the setting sun ushered in the morning light, Xu An pondered this while heading with Zhou Haimei to find the man's daughter.
"An'an, do you think there's no hope for the people here?" Zhou Haimei wasn't foolish; in fact, she was often quite intelligent. With Xu An's prompting, Zhou Haimei quickly understood the cause and effect, and a gasp escaped her.
"Are you implying someone wants to eliminate the third faction in Zone B?"
Xu An shook her head, "Keep your voice down. Be careful of eavesdroppers."
Zhou Haimei took her words to heart.
Xu An looked at the shops on either side of the buildings, their windows and doors now tightly shut. It must have been a scene of peace and prosperity in the past. But now, only ruins remained, with dismembered limbs and roaring crowds everywhere.
Xu An didn't look back. The urgent task was to find her mother; other matters were not for contemplation or wasting time on. Xu An wasn't searching aimlessly; she analyzed the terrain. Although Xu An was directionally challenged, she had a good memory. Soon, as they approached the city center, the population density was immense.
"Stick close to me. There are more and more people here. We must be extremely careful. Remember, we are here to find someone; don't get drawn into fights."
Following the man's instructions, Xu An continued to look for a small supermarket that was still open.
Fortune favored the persistent. After searching for a while, Xu An and Zhou Haimei indeed found a small supermarket with lights on. What's more, a large number of people were attacking the supermarket from the outside. The horde of monsters seemed to have found something they cherished, fixated on the spoils inside the building.
Xu An, seeing more people approaching, casually dealt with a few zombies while thinking of a plan. Just as the few zombies she shot stopped moving, their blood gushing out, the obstruction of the crowd disappeared, and Xu An finally saw two familiar figures through the glass window – one large and one small. The larger one, undoubtedly, was her mother, Yan, and the smaller one was the little girl Xu An had seen in the photograph, cradled in Xu Yan's arms. They were hiding behind small shelves in the supermarket, the sturdy glass window shielding them from most harm.
Zhou Haimei also spotted Xu Yan and exclaimed in surprise.
"An'an, Auntie is found! Auntie isn't dead, Auntie is alright..."
One after another, Xu An was also overjoyed, but it wasn't safe yet. After all, in this mission, finding people was the easiest part. But if they couldn't escape, then everything would be in vain. The empty spaces left by the zombies Xu An had eliminated were immediately filled by new zombies. Their sharp, pointed claws repeatedly scraped against the tempered glass. Their hands quickly became covered in blood, but the zombies seemed impervious to pain. Even as their nails were ripped off, bright red blood staining the glass, these zombies, with their crimson eyes, stared at the few elderly individuals on the verge of death within the glass. Since the zombies in this area were not yet fully degenerated, they appeared more human, making their mutual slaughter even more ironic.
Seeing that her mother was temporarily safe, Xu An began to plan how to get the family out.