Last Night You Were Wonderful — You Made Me Very Happy

Xie Li tapped into the news article about the mutated creatures.

The footage appeared to be aerial Drone footage — shot from high above, it looked down on a city already plunged into total chaos. The streets were blanketed with dense, swarming black dots: people, Zombies, and things of grotesque, unrecognizable shapes.

Along the coastline, black specks kept surging up from the sea in wave after wave, like a tide. Once they crawled ashore, they scattered instantly and poured into the city's buildings.

Fires raged across the city. Thick smoke billowed in rolling columns, several high-rises burning, black plumes shooting straight into the sky. At the edge of the frame, an armed helicopter was going down, spinning and crashing into a building.

Xie Li couldn't hide the shock in her eyes. This Apocalypse scenario — the difficulty just kept stacking.

She turned to look at Jin Zhaoye. 'What are those things?'

Jin Zhaoye shook her head. 'I don't know yet, but...'

But what — Xie Li already understood in her gut.

Nan City wasn't on the coast, but the nearest coastal city was only a few hundred kilometers away.

From what she'd just seen in the footage, those mutated creatures moved at terrifying speed. If she hadn't missed anything, the armed helicopter in the sky had been brought down by one of those black monsters leaping onto it.

If the things that had already overrun the southern military zone continued spreading inland, a few hundred kilometers might not even take a full day before they reached Nan City.

Xie Li's drowsiness evaporated on the spot. She couldn't afford to keep brooding over last night — nothing mattered more than staying alive. As long as you were alive, anything was possible. Dead, and there was nothing left at all.

She checked her phone battery — nearly full now. She pocketed the phone and stood up. 'Are we leaving now?'

'Yes.' Jin Zhaoye picked up her bag and rose to her feet. 'Let's go.'

Xie Li pushed an office chair under the ventilation duct and gripped the back of it with both hands. 'You go first. Once you're up, just pull me.'

Jin Zhaoye grabbed the edge of the duct and vaulted up in one smooth motion. Inside the duct she turned herself around and reached a hand back down.

Xie Li took her hand and, using the pull, hauled herself up into the duct as well.

The two of them crawled through the duct one behind the other. Fortunately, on the way here last night they had already wiped the duct down once, so today's crawl wasn't nearly as grimy as yesterday's.

After about ten minutes of crawling, they reached the vent directly above the break room where Zhou Yu and the others were waiting.

Jin Zhaoye stopped, removed the grate, and leaned her head out — meeting the tense, wide-eyed stares of the people below.

'Dr. Jin, you're both safe — thank goodness.' Zhou Yu was on her feet in an instant, her voice bright with relief.

Liu Zhaoyang and Luo Peishan stood up as well, tilting their heads back to look up at Jin Zhaoye in the ceiling.

'I'm sorry.' Jin Zhaoye looked down at them and said quietly, 'Something unexpected came up and we were delayed. Come on up — I'll get you all out now.'

'Okay.' Liu Zhaoyang immediately pushed a table under the vent. She waved Luo Peishan over, her tone gentle. 'Luo Peishan, come here — I'll help you up first.'

Luo Peishan hurried over, climbed onto the table, reached up and took Jin Zhaoye's hand, and was lifted into the ventilation duct.

Then Zhou Yu, then the backpacks belonging to Xie Li and Jin Zhaoye, passed up one by one.

Once everything from the break room had been sent up, Liu Zhaoyang was the last to climb into the duct.

Jin Zhaoye led the way out again, the group crawling through the duct in a line. With more people now, the metal panels rattled and groaned louder than before, drawing a chorus of snarls from the Zombies in the rooms below — they tracked along beneath, keeping pace.

Everyone crawled in silence. Along the way they came across two students trapped in a room; Jin Zhaoye brought them into the group and they joined the line crawling toward the exit.

Above an empty room near the outer edge of the building, Jin Zhaoye stopped, removed the grate, and checked below — the room was bare, no Zombies.

She signaled to the others and dropped down first, then dragged a table under the vent to make it easier for the rest to descend.

Xie Li followed right after her. As soon as she landed she jogged to the door, locked it from the inside, shoved a sofa against it, then crossed to the window, pulled back the curtain, and looked out.

Most of the Zombies on campus had been drawn toward the Administrative Main Building. The area around the Auditorium was noticeably sparser now — only a handful drifted past outside, swaying lazily in the sunlight.

Jin Zhaoye was likewise scanning the scene outside. She turned back to the group. 'Wait here for a moment. I'll go to the Parking Lot, get the car, and come back for you.'

Xie Li glanced at her. 'Will your car fit everyone, Dr. Jin?'

'We'll squeeze. It'll work.'

'Then I'll go with you.' Xie Li said. 'One car definitely won't hold this many people. We'll drive two back — safer that way.'

The Auditorium was a fair distance from the school's Parking Lot. Thinking of the injury on Xie Li's knee, Jin Zhaoye shook her head. 'Stay here with the others and wait for me.'

'If I hadn't gone with you last night, Dr. Jin, you'd have been Zombie food by now. Everyone has their limits — an extra pair of hands matters.' Xie Li turned and put it to Zhou Yu and the others. 'What do you all think?'

Zhou Yu reacted immediately, hand shooting up. 'I think Xie Li's right.'

'Same.' Liu Zhaoyang raised her hand too.

The remaining few exchanged glances and raised their hands as well.

Jin Zhaoye's gaze swept across the roomful of raised hands and finally settled on Xie Li.

Xie Li stood by the window and held her gaze. In that moment she had completely forgotten she'd been annoyed just a minute ago.

After a few seconds of silence, Jin Zhaoye turned away, her back to the room — and no one saw her quietly roll her eyes.

Xie Li caught it. A small, private thrill bloomed in her chest. She felt, for once, like she'd won a round.

'Grab your Baseball Bat. Let's go.' Jin Zhaoye said, then gripped the Fire Axe, pushed the window open, and leapt out. Xie Li followed at once.

The two of them ran along the Auditorium toward the Parking Lot. The path was indeed much clearer now. The few stray Zombies they encountered never got close before being left behind; the ones that couldn't be avoided, Jin Zhaoye dispatched with a single swing of the axe.

The sun was bright. The wind moved through their hair, carrying something that tasted like freedom.

Xie Li ran behind Jin Zhaoye, watching her hair stream out behind her as she ran, and thought: they looked like a pair of lovers fleeing to the ends of the earth together. Somehow, that didn't feel so bad.

Without incident, the two of them made it safely to the Parking Lot.

Jin Zhaoye's car was a black SUV — large-bodied, with clean, hard lines, and a look of solid dependability.

Xie Li circled the area around the car once, confirmed it was clear for now, and walked briskly back.

Jin Zhaoye had already popped the trunk and was leaning inside, pulling out a small silver case and a black backpack.

Xie Li leaned in beside her and saw her transferring items from the case into the backpack. She couldn't help asking: 'So that's the Inhibitor — aren't you going to inject yourself now?'

Jin Zhaoye's hands stilled. She straightened up, lifted her eyes, and looked at Xie Li.

That look — it was the look of someone staring at a shameless, insufferable Alpha who was asking a question she already knew the answer to.

Xie Li felt a chill crawl up her spine and reflexively spun around, thinking a Zombie had crept up behind her.

Nothing. The space behind her was completely empty.

She turned back and met Jin Zhaoye's gaze again. She was about to ask what was wrong when Jin Zhaoye spoke first.

'What exactly do you want me to say?'

'Do you want me to thank you for last night's marking — for suppressing the fever? Or do you want me to compliment you, tell you an Alpha's pheromones work better than an Inhibitor?'

'Or do you want me to tell you: last night you were wonderful, and you made me very happy?'

Xie Li was completely blindsided by that rapid-fire volley of questions. She couldn't make sense of it — why had Jin Zhaoye suddenly gotten angry?

She stared blankly at the woman's cooling expression, lips parting, and managed to squeeze out a single dry sentence: 'You... what's wrong? Are you angry?'

'No.'

Jin Zhaoye didn't even spare her a glance. She reached up, pressed the button to close the trunk, picked up the backpack, and walked toward the driver's side.

Xie Li grabbed her hand.

'You are!' she said urgently. 'You look angry.'

Jin Zhaoye was caught by the wrist and naturally came to a stop.

Xie Li stepped around to face her and spoke quickly: 'Listen to me — when I asked whether you were going to take the Inhibitor, it was pure instinct, genuine concern. I didn't mean anything by it.'

'And besides... didn't you tell me to forget about last night once we were out the door? I literally just forgot, which is why I asked that question in the first place. Please don't be angry, okay?'

Jin Zhaoye's expression didn't soften at the explanation — if anything, it went colder.

Xie Li backpedaled immediately: 'If you don't want me to forget, I can remember it all again right now.'

Jin Zhaoye felt her own anger was inexplicable even to herself. She let out a quiet breath and said, resigned: 'No. Forget it.'

'Okay, so — I've forgotten last night, which means what I said just now wasn't intentional, and I wasn't fishing for you to say any of those things. It was purely concern. Can you accept that explanation?'

'I can accept it. And I wasn't complimenting you.' Jin Zhaoye's gaze shifted past Xie Li to something behind her. 'Let go of me.'

Xie Li followed her line of sight and turned around — a Zombie was charging toward them from not far away. She released her grip at once.

Jin Zhaoye walked toward it with the axe, brought it down, and took the Zombie's head clean off. The headless body lurched forward a few stumbling steps before pitching to the ground.

She reversed her grip on the axe, crouched down, and yanked a set of car keys from the Zombie's belt. She stood, walked back to Xie Li, and tossed the keys to her.

'Here — car keys. Go find the car.'

Xie Li closed her hand around the keys and ventured carefully: 'You're not angry anymore?'

Jin Zhaoye gave a small nod. 'I was never angry. Xie Li — go do what you need to do.'

'Oh. Okay.' Xie Li glanced down at the brand logo on the key fob. 'I'll go find the car then. You can get in yours and wait — once I find mine I'll honk, and we'll head back to the Auditorium together.'

'Good. Go.'

Xie Li looked at her still-expressionless face a moment longer, said nothing more, and turned to walk deeper into the Parking Lot. She hadn't gone more than a few steps when a voice came from behind her.

'Be careful.'

Xie Li turned her head and flashed her a smile, giving a little wave. 'Don't worry — I've got nine lives.'

Jin Zhaoye had no patience for this sunshine-at-the-slightest-encouragement Alpha. She pulled open the car door and settled into the driver's seat.

Xie Li gripped the keys and searched the Parking Lot for a while before she found the matching car.

She got in, started the engine, and hit the horn twice. From the far corner of the Parking Lot, two answering honks came back.

Confirmed. Xie Li pressed the accelerator, pulled out of the parking space, and drove toward the exit. In the rearview mirror, Jin Zhaoye's black SUV quickly fell in behind her.

The two cars looped once around the open Parking Lot, shook off the Zombies that had followed, and headed in the direction of the Auditorium.

Zhou Yu and the others had been watching from the window the whole time. The moment they saw the cars pull up, everyone jumped out the window and piled in.

The two cars drove toward the Administrative Main Building — but the situation was far worse than any of them had imagined.

From several hundred meters away, they could already see it.

The entire building was besieged by Zombies, packed so densely it was impenetrable — a Zombie Herd blanketing the structure like ants swarming over a sugar cube, thick enough to make your scalp crawl just looking at it.

Zhou Yu pulled her head back in from the car window, her voice slightly unsteady: 'Dr. Jin... there are so many Zombies. Even in a car, we can't just ram our way through, can we?'

Jin Zhaoye's eyes moved to the rearview mirror, sweeping over the people in the back seat. 'Which of you can drive?'

'I can.' Liu Zhaoyang raised her hand at once.

'Then you take the wheel.' Jin Zhaoye picked up her backpack, pushed the door open, and stepped out. She turned to Liu Zhaoyang and said, 'Once I've drawn the Zombies away, drive straight for the building — head for the Rooftop.'

'Understood, Dr. Jin.' Liu Zhaoyang agreed without hesitation.

Xie Li saw Jin Zhaoye get out of the car and immediately rolled down her window, leaning out to look at her.

'Xie Li, get out.' Jin Zhaoye walked to the window and said, 'Ride with the others — give me this car.'

Xie Li rested her arm on the window frame and looked up at her, making no move to get out. 'You want to use the car to draw the Zombies away from the building?'

'Yes!'

Xie Li turned to the two unfamiliar students in the back seat. 'You two, go get in the other car.'

They didn't say a word — they pushed the doors open and jogged away.

Xie Li looked back at Jin Zhaoye and tilted her chin toward the passenger seat. 'Come on. Get in.'

Jin Zhaoye frowned. 'You get out too.'

Xie Li rested her hand on the steering wheel and looked out at the dark, seething Zombie Herd in the distance. 'Dr. Jin, if you don't get in right now, I'm going to lean on this horn. Once that draws the Zombies over here, you won't have time to run — and there are at least three to five thousand of them.'

Jin Zhaoye had no choice. She pulled open the passenger door and got in.

'Buckle up,' Xie Li reminded her.

Jin Zhaoye reached for the seatbelt without expression and clicked it into place.

Xie Li looked at the taut line of her profile and smiled — then floored the accelerator and pressed her palm flat against the horn.

'Beep — beep — beep —!'

The piercing blare of the horn rang out across the campus sky. The car surged forward like a horse breaking free of its reins, roaring straight into the dark, heaving Zombie Herd.