Would Sticking Out My Tongue Be Too Forward?

With no living people moving about outside, the restless Zombie Herd on campus gradually quieted down, and the surroundings fell deathly still.

Outside the window, the dim sky was slowly brightening, ribbons of multicolored light flowing across the heavens—breathtakingly beautiful.

Inside the Medical Room, several people who had been busy and exhausted for an entire day hadn't noticed the change outside. Ning Meng had already fallen asleep slumped against the side of Fu Yunsheng's hospital bed.

Jin Zhaoye wasn't sleepy. She sat beside the bed, holding Xie Li's cold hand, her gaze unfocused.

Time ticked by, second by second. The distracted Jin Zhaoye suddenly sat up straight and looked down at the hand she was holding.

It seemed... softer somehow.

She lowered her head and pressed Xie Li's palm to her own cheek. Still cold, but compared to the icy stiffness before, there was a subtle change.

This hand was slowly warming. Afraid it might be her imagination, Jin Zhaoye held her breath and felt carefully.

The wall clock ticked away, the second hand jumping one notch at a time. The palm against her cheek was indeed growing warmer, though very slowly.

Like frozen earth after a long winter, silently thawing in the spring breeze.

Jin Zhaoye lowered her eyes, looking at Xie Li's pale face—there seemed to be a faint flush of color seeping through.

She didn't wake Ning Meng. Quietly, she placed Xie Li's hand back on the bed and pulled the blanket up to tuck her in carefully.

......

In her hazy consciousness, Xie Li felt as though she were soaking in warm water, cozy and comfortable.

Waves of tingling itchiness spread through her body, like tiny insects crawling, making her want to scratch—but she couldn't move at all.

In a corner no one could see, those tiny green points of light were racing wildly through Xie Li's body.

They surged along her blood vessels, seeping into every damaged muscle, every broken bone, desperately stitching together fatal wounds—or rather, under the blessing of this mysterious power, Xie Li's body was undergoing reconstruction.

Strengthened by the green light points, this newly grown flesh and bone became far more powerful and resilient.

The repair process was extraordinarily long. An entire night passed, and only when daylight broke bright outside the window did Xie Li regain consciousness.

The moment she opened her eyes, she met Jin Zhaoye's concerned gaze.

Xie Li paused for a beat, then tugged the corner of her mouth into a careless grin: "Hey..."

In Jin Zhaoye's eyes was shock—shock that this person had truly come back from the dead—but more than that, an indescribable joy.

In that moment, she chose to believe it on faith: people really could come back from the dead. Science couldn't explain it, and that was fine. Xie Li was alive, and that was enough.

But what Jin Zhaoye blurted out was: "Do you feel like biting anyone right now?"

Xie Li turned her head, looked around, and realized she was lying in a hospital bed with the curtain drawn. In this small space, there were only the two of them—her and Jin Zhaoye.

She hesitated, then asked: "Should I bite now? I just woke up—how about I go rinse my mouth first?"

Watching this little Alpha who'd just come back to life with her head full of nonsense, Jin Zhaoye's face darkened.

She was about to speak when Ning Meng's voice came from beyond the curtain.

"Dr. Jin, are you awake? I thought I heard talking."

Jin Zhaoye mouthed two words: Dummy.

Xie Li stared at her blankly, not understanding why she'd suddenly been scolded, and muttered softly: "Weren't you the one who asked me?"

Jin Zhaoye ignored her and turned to pull open the curtain.

Ning Meng was standing right outside. Seeing the person lying in the hospital bed with her eyes open, the lingering drowsiness in her eyes vanished instantly, replaced by an expression that looked like she'd seen a ghost.

"Xie... classmate, you..."

She didn't know how to describe it. When she'd rushed to the Medical Room last night, she'd only glanced at Xie Li in passing—seen the caved-in chest, the deathly pale face—and assumed there was no saving her.

She hadn't expected that after one night, this person would actually be awake.

Jin Zhaoye's expression didn't change. She casually made up an excuse: "Yesterday, she held her breath from the fall and went into a state of suspended animation. She woke up in the middle of the night, but you were asleep then, so you didn't know."

"Oh..." Ning Meng nodded, half-understanding.

Her gaze drifted to Xie Li's chest area. Something felt off, but she couldn't say what.

She simply felt that this Xie classmate had incredible luck—surviving something like that meant she was really blessed.

"Then Xie classmate should rest well and recover." Ning Meng offered a casual word of concern, then turned her gaze to Jin Zhaoye. "Oh, Dr. Jin, the Major General still hasn't woken up, but her breathing has stabilized a lot, and there's no sign of fever. She should be past the critical stage, right?"

"Let me check."

Jin Zhaoye walked to Fu Yunsheng's bedside and looked at the Alpha, whose eyes were still tightly closed.

Her breathing was much steadier than the night before. The wound on her abdomen was tightly wrapped in bandages, and blood had seeped through, staining a patch of the gauze red.

Jin Zhaoye reached out and felt her forehead—not hot. She checked the area around the wound as well—no signs of redness or inflammation.

An S-class Alpha's physical constitution truly far surpassed ordinary people. With such a severe wound, such crude stitching conditions, and such imperfect disinfection, any ordinary person would have developed an infection and a high fever by now.

But Fu Yunsheng had nothing wrong. She'd slept peacefully through the entire night.

Jin Zhaoye withdrew her hand: "She should be fine. Her constitution is excellent—she pulled through."

Ning Meng let out a long breath. "That's good... that's good... If the Major General hadn't made it either, I wouldn't have known how to face everyone when we got back."

Jin Zhaoye turned to look out the window. The campus in daylight was still deathly quiet.

This military rescue operation could only be described as devastating. Not only had military personnel suffered near-total casualties, but all the helicopters had crashed as well, their wreckage scattered across the campus, still smoking black.

In the end, the only ones left alive were the severely wounded Fu Yunsheng and her guard, Ning Meng.

"Rest well first. We need to recover our strength before we can make the next plan." Jin Zhaoye offered Ning Meng some comfort.

"Mm." Ning Meng nodded, then advised, "Dr. Jin, don't worry too much about the Major General either."

She stretched her arms and legs, picked up the IV stand in the corner, and broke off a section to hold: "You stay here and watch the Major General. I'll search the nearby area—maybe I can find some supplies. If we're lucky, we might turn up some food and a decent weapon."

"Stay safe," Jin Zhaoye cautioned.

Ning Meng nodded, pushed open the Medical Room door, and walked out.

From the next bed over, Xie Li had listened to their conversation and couldn't help mentally ranting: Jin Zhaoye isn't worried about your Major General at all—don't put gold on her face.

She was still muttering to herself when the curtain was pulled open and Jin Zhaoye walked in, sat down by the bed, and reached out to feel Xie Li's forehead.

Normal temperature—not cold, not hot. The same temperature as a living person. Truly miraculous.

"Does anything feel uncomfortable?" Jin Zhaoye asked.

Xie Li seized the chance to play the victim: "I feel uncomfortable everywhere. My chest hurts like death, and my legs have no feeling—I can't move them at all."

As she spoke, she recalled the last moment before losing consciousness—being sent flying by that giant fish head.

Given the force of impact at the time, every bone in her body should have been broken. But now, she'd recovered this well? She could actually survive this?

Xie Li marveled once more—the protagonist's golden finger really was useful.

Jin Zhaoye leaned close to her ear and said in a voice only the two of them could hear: "Last night, you lost your breathing and heartbeat for about four or five hours. It wasn't until the latter half of the night that your heartbeat returned."

Xie Li was first tickled by the warm breath against her ear, then shocked by her words.

What did that mean? Was she saying she'd been dead for several hours last night?

Her lips parted, about to ask something, when a slender, pale finger pressed against them.

"Shh~!" Jin Zhaoye gestured with her eyes for her not to speak. "Only I know about this. Don't tell anyone, or you won't survive."

Xie Li looked at her and asked in a breathy whisper: "Will I be dissected for research?"

Jin Zhaoye nodded.

A case like Xie Li's—coming back from the dead—in this chaotic world where social order had collapsed, with hearts impossible to fathom, she wouldn't just be studied. For survival, those in high positions would do anything terrible.

Xie Li felt a little dazed. No wonder that prickling, watched-from-behind feeling had disappeared after she woke up.

So, she'd successfully passed the death node? If she hadn't gotten this golden finger, would she really have been done for?

Xie Li was grateful for her own decisiveness—forcibly snatching this golden finger. Even though she'd ruined a perfect Space in the process, she didn't regret it. If you don't look out for yourself, heaven and earth will destroy you.

"Jin Zhaoye." Xie Li called softly, her voice carrying an unmistakable smile. "You're protecting me, aren't you?"

Jin Zhaoye glanced at her and changed the subject: "Want some water?"

"Yes, please."

Jin Zhaoye stood up, filled a cup of warm water from the Medical Room's water dispenser, carried it back to the bedside, and set it on the nightstand next to Xie Li.

"Dr. Jin, my hands don't seem to work either." Xie Li looked at her pitifully.

"I'll go see if there's a straw."

"Hey—!"

Xie Li quickly called out to stop her, hinting slyly: "Dr. Jin, don't you think there's an even simpler way?"

Jin Zhaoye's footsteps paused. She turned and sat back down by the bed, leaning close to Xie Li's ear.

"Xie classmate..." she said in a breathy voice, "my fiancée is lying right over there. You want me to feed you water here?"

"Cough cough cough..."

Xie Li choked on her own saliva.

She coughed until her face was red, the flush spreading from her cheeks all the way down her neck.

It was nothing, really—just feeding someone water. But the way Jin Zhaoye said it, the atmosphere suddenly became... delicate.

It felt like having an affair, and right in front of the fiancée, too. That was so immoral. But she was really thirsty.

Xie Li's eyes kept drifting toward the water cup. "Actually, we're kind of friends now, right? Between friends, feeding each other water and stuff—that's totally normal."

Jin Zhaoye looked at her and nodded. "So?"

"So... could Dr. Jin trouble herself to feed me by hand?"

"Alright."

Jin Zhaoye reached out, picked up the cup of water, and took a sip.

Xie Li's expression shifted from anticipation to blankness. This development was way beyond expectations—had bottled Mineral Water just become imported water?

She could only watch helplessly as Jin Zhaoye, water in mouth, leaned down toward her.

That face—beautiful enough to make one dizzy—grew larger and larger before her eyes.

The blush that had just faded from Xie Li's cheeks surged back. Fireworks seemed to explode in her mind, a jumble of thoughts flashing through at speed.

Did Jin Zhaoye like her, and that was why she was using this method to feed her water? Would she break off the engagement with Fu Yunsheng? Should she close her eyes now?

She'd just woken up and hadn't rinsed her mouth—would Jin Zhaoye find that disgusting? Should she stick out her tongue? Would sticking out her tongue be too forward?

Better close them. Keeping her eyes open was a bit awkward...

Xie Li closed her eyes and waited for a while, but no water came, and no lips touched hers. She couldn't help peeking open one eye—and immediately met Jin Zhaoye's smiling gaze.

Her eyes looked like she was watching some amusing little animal.

Xie Li was so dazed by the close-up beauty that she didn't realize she'd been toyed with by this wicked woman.

She stared blankly at Jin Zhaoye, as if asking: Weren't you going to feed me water?

Jin Zhaoye pulled back slightly. Under Xie Li's gaze, her throat bobbed as she swallowed the water in her mouth.

Xie Li's eyes fell on that slender, pale neck, and she swallowed too.

Wait—that water was supposed to be fed to her. Why had Jin Zhaoye drunk it herself?

"Xie classmate." Jin Zhaoye called softly. "If it's just water, why did you close your eyes?"

Xie Li: "......"

Jin Zhaoye brought the cup to Xie Li's lips. "Here, drink."

The rim pressed against her lips. Xie Li lowered her head resentfully and took a big gulp.

While drinking, she mentally cursed Jin Zhaoye a hundred times over.

Wicked woman, using her beauty as a weapon. Hmph. As if anyone would be fooled by tricks like that. Ha—she didn't want to drink imported water at all. Hmph—she wasn't trying to steal someone else's fiancée either.

She wasn't the type to be moved by looks, and she wouldn't let beauty cloud her judgment. These kinds of tricks wouldn't work on her. Hmph!

Jin Zhaoye watched her—angry and anxious, daring to be angry but not daring to speak—and the corners of her eyes curved slightly. "Drink slowly. Don't choke."

Without looking up, Xie Li gulped down the entire cup, licked her lips, and lifted her head, puffed up with indignation: "Another cup!"

Jin Zhaoye stood and went to pour another. The second cup was only halfway fed when the Medical Room door was pushed open.

Xie Li paused mid-drink. Jin Zhaoye pulled the cup back and turned toward the door.

Ning Meng walked in carrying a bulging backpack, with a Fire Axe slung over her shoulder. She seemed to have had a good haul.

"Dr. Jin, Xie classmate." She set the backpack down on the floor and greeted them. "I brought some food back. Want something to eat?"

Jin Zhaoye stepped forward and helped Ning Meng unpack the food from the backpack.

Among the four of them now, two were severely wounded, one had just crawled back from death's door, and the other was still unconscious—no telling when she'd wake.

They'd lost cell signal at some point and couldn't contact the military for the time being. All they could do was rest in the Medical Room and wait until Fu Yunsheng woke up.

"Ning Meng, eat something first." Jin Zhaoye took a bottle of milk and a pack of digestive biscuits from the small pile of supplies and said to Ning Meng. "I'll go feed Xie classmate something."

"Okay, Dr. Jin."

Ning Meng responded quickly, tore open a bag of bread, and buried her face in it. She'd been starving—her stomach pressed flat against her back—and now she was eating like a wolf.

Jin Zhaoye walked to Xie Li's bedside and slowly tore open the biscuit packaging.

The rustle of plastic was very clear in the quiet Medical Room. After opening the package, she broke off a small piece and held it to Xie Li's lips. "Try it. If you can't swallow it, I'll soften it with milk for you."

Xie Li opened her mouth, took the biscuit, chewed slowly a few times, and swallowed it without trouble.

The fact that she could eat saved Jin Zhaoye a lot of trouble.

After feeding most of a pack of biscuits, Jin Zhaoye stopped. She opened the milk and fed Xie Li most of a bottle.

Once Xie Li was full, Jin Zhaoye finally took a bag of bread for herself and ate slowly.

Fu Yunsheng on the next bed was still unconscious and couldn't be fed for now. After eating, Ning Meng didn't forget her Major General.

She found a clean cotton swab, dipped it in water, and carefully dabbed it on Fu Yunsheng's cracked lips.

Jin Zhaoye glanced over, then looked away and continued eating her bread.

Xie Li, lying in bed, watched Jin Zhaoye eat bread and started feeling sleepy again. She opened her mouth and yawned.

"Sleepy? I'll lower the bed for you." Jin Zhaoye set down her bread, pressed the button on the head of the bed, and lowered it flat.

"Thanks, Dr. Jin. I'm going to sleep then." Xie Li mumbled and fell into a deep sleep.

After Xie Li fell asleep, those green light points began working again, slowly repairing the damage to her body and strengthening her bones and muscles.

......

After resting in the Medical Room for a day, the next morning, not long after dawn, Xie Li opened her eyes and found she could move.

She propped herself up against the headboard. As she rose, her joints cracked and popped all over, as if she'd been taken apart and reassembled.

The sharp pain of broken bones was gone, replaced by a warm, comfortable feeling—like she'd just had a hot bath. Very pleasant and relaxed.

Xie Li looked down at her hands, placed her palms on the bed rail, gripped hard, then released.

She had a feeling that if she used her full strength, she could crush this stainless steel bed rail flat.

Jin Zhaoye was still asleep, slumped by the bed. Xie Li didn't make too much noise.

She moved quietly, threw off the blanket, and got out of bed. After moving her limbs a little and confirming she could really walk, she leaned down, intending to pick Jin Zhaoye up and put her on the bed to rest.

The moment she leaned close, the quietly sleeping woman immediately opened her eyes and looked at her.

Xie Li silently withdrew her hands and forced a smile. "You're awake?"

Jin Zhaoye slowly straightened up, her gaze sweeping over her.

"Can you get up and about now?" Her voice carried a husky quality from just waking up, the kind that made ears itch.

"Mm." Xie Li nodded, her voice equally soft. "I feel like I'm already better."

"Even so, take care. Broken bones take time to heal." Jin Zhaoye offered a casual reminder, then stood and raised a hand to rub her stiff neck.

Xie Li's gaze fell on that slender neck line. "Did you sleep on it wrong? Want me to give it a massage for you? I'm pretty good with my hands—everyone who's tried says so."

Jin Zhaoye's hand paused. She turned her head to glance at Xie Li. "Xie classmate, do you often massage Omegas' necks?"

Without another word, she pulled open the curtain and walked out. The curtain swayed a few times before slowly stilling.

Xie Li stared at that swaying beige fabric, feeling like Jin Zhaoye might be a little unhappy?

Was it because she'd mentioned massage? In the past, she'd gone to nursing homes to give lonely elderly people massages, and everyone had indeed praised her technique!

Xie Li scratched her head and followed her out.

Ning Meng heard the movement and looked up. Seeing that Xie Li could already get out of bed, the surprise in her eyes was impossible to hide: "Xie classmate, your injuries are healed?"

"Almost healed." Xie Li nodded. Seeing the backpack in her hand and the one Jin Zhaoye was carrying by the door, she asked, "Are you going out?"

"Mm, we don't know when the Major General will wake. I want to gather more food. What I found yesterday was all snacks—looks like a lot, but it doesn't actually fill you up."

Ning Meng added a little sheepishly: "Especially for us soldiers—we train all year round at the base, big appetites. That little bit of food wouldn't even fill the gaps in our teeth."

"I'll go." Xie Li walked toward her. "You went yesterday. It's my turn today."

"No, no, you're still injured. I'll go." Ning Meng quickly waved her hands in refusal.

"Ning Meng." Jin Zhaoye picked up the Fire Axe Ning Meng had brought back yesterday and said, "You stay in the Medical Room and watch A Yun. Xie classmate and I will go look for supplies."

Ning Meng hesitated: "But..."

"You can't take care of everyone forever, and we can't keep hiding behind soldiers." Jin Zhaoye said the cruelest thing in the most matter-of-fact tone.

"This is a disaster for all of humanity. No one can stand aside. Everyone has to stand up and protect themselves."

Ning Meng was convinced. She nodded: "Then be careful. I've already searched this building—there shouldn't be any danger for now."

"Understood." Jin Zhaoye responded, pulled open the Medical Room door, and walked out.

Xie Li hurried after her: "Jin Zhaoye, wait for me."

Jin Zhaoye slowed her pace and waited for her to catch up.

Xie Li ran to her side and explained in a low voice: "I've never touched another Omega's neck. Only yours."

Jin Zhaoye's steps faltered for a moment.

"Really. Before, I only gave massages to elderly people. I've never massaged a young girl's neck."

"Got it. There's no need to explain that kind of thing to me." Jin Zhaoye turned to look at her. "Xie classmate, watch where you're going. Don't stare at me."

"Oh." Xie Li obediently pulled her gaze back and walked down the stairs side by side with her.

The campus Medical Room at Nancheng University was a small standalone building, only three stories. Ning Meng had already dealt with the wandering Zombies inside yesterday, so the building was relatively safe for now.

Reaching the first floor, before they even stepped outside, a stench hit them.

Xie Li couldn't help wrinkling her nose. Her eyes watered—from the smell. It was so strong it stung.

Jin Zhaoye pulled two surgical masks from her pocket and handed one to her.

"Put this on."

Xie Li took the mask, quickly tore open the packaging. The blue surgical mask covered most of her face, leaving only her eyes visible.

The smell was partially blocked. Still foul, but at least it wasn't slamming into her brain like before.

Jin Zhaoye put on her mask as well and used a key to unlock the iron door leading outside.

The moment the door opened, both of them held their breath at the same time.

There were no living Zombies outside—just a row of rotting, swollen, decapitated corpses lying a dozen meters away.

Pale maggots wriggled through the rotting flesh, arching and squirming, enough to make one's scalp crawl. Swarms of green-headed flies hovered around them like they were enjoying some grand feast.

The image was extremely jarring. Xie Li felt goosebumps rise all over her body, her scalp tingling, unable to suppress the creeping chill.

Jin Zhaoye's brow furrowed slightly. She locked the iron door, grabbed Xie Li's arm, and hurried away.

Once they were far from the source of the stench, they slowed down. Xie Li bent over, hands on her knees, pulled off her mask, and dry-heaved.

"Are you okay?" Jin Zhaoye patted her back, concerned.

"I'm fine." Xie Li shook her head, suppressed the urge to vomit, stood up, and put her mask back on.

"When they were Zombies, snarling and lunging to bite me, I didn't feel much cutting them down. But now that they're lying motionless on the ground, rotting and maggot-infested... I realized they're human too. The feeling in my heart is complicated."

"Sympathy for one's kind—that's a normal emotion." Jin Zhaoye's voice was very calm, as if completely unaffected by what they'd just seen.

Xie Li turned to look at her. The mask covered most of Jin Zhaoye's face, leaving only those beautiful eyes and brows visible, along with a few stray strands of hair tousled by the wind.

She asked, her voice muffled: "Jin Zhaoye, do you think I'm a coward, useless, and a lot weaker than your fiancée?"