AFTCKCTCKATD - Chapter 28

 Chapter 28

He Seemed To Still Be Able To Feel The Temperature Of Feng Yimo's Chest.

Ji Yanqing quickly pushed that thought out of his mind.

Feng Yimo looked completely human.

When infected by the virus, humans turned into zombies within five seconds. Their skin turned pale, their hearts stopped, and they lost all reason and thought, becoming nothing but walking corpses.

Partially awakened zombies regained some cognitive function, but it was only to the extent of basic animal instinct, not complex thought.

Corpse Kings, evolved from zombies, might possess high intelligence, perhaps even surpassing human intelligence. However, regardless of their intelligence, Ji Yanqing had never heard of any that retained a human form, let alone spoke and communicated like humans.

The Corpse King at the hospital, and the woman in the forest, they had resembled humans, but they were clearly no longer human.

If there truly were human-shaped zombies, they would have to be Corpse Kings that had evolved a third time. Yet, Ji Yanqing had never heard of such a thing. Even Corpse Kings were only the product of a second evolution.

Second-stage Corpse Kings were already powerful enough to force them into such a desperate situation. If there really were third-stage zombies, humanity would truly have no hope left.

Ji Yanqing exhaled softly, curious about what kind of environment could have fostered a person like Feng Yimo.

“Get some sleep,” he said.

Feng Yimo had accompanied him to the hospital last night and hadn’t slept either.

Feng Yimo closed his eyes and leaned against the wall, appearing to fall asleep.

His expression didn’t change, but Ji Yanqing somehow sensed that he was in a good mood.

Ji Yanqing was baffled.

Feng Yimo closed his eyes, but instead of falling asleep, he slowly opened them again. He glanced at Ji An, whom Ji Yanqing held in his arms, unwilling to put him down, then looked up at Ji Yanqing, no trace of tiredness in his eyes.

Between ten and eleven in the morning was the hottest time of the day. Even indoors, they couldn’t escape the scorching heat. It felt as if their internal organs were being roasted in a furnace.

Around eleven, nearing noon, Lan Zi woke up.

Xia Shen Shu, who had woken up from the heat, gave her some water, checked her temperature, and administered another injection.

After the injection, Lan Zi quickly drifted back to sleep.

Xia Shen Shu put away the syringe, checked his remaining water supply, and said to Ji Yanqing, “I’m almost out of water.”

They last replenished their water at the reservoir, and they hadn’t had a chance to do so since. Because Lan Zi had lost so much blood, she was severely dehydrated. He had given her almost all the entirety of both their stored water.

“We’ll leave first thing tomorrow morning,” Ji Yanqing replied. He didn’t have much water left either; he had to share his remaining supply with Ji An and Ji Le.

Xia Shen Shu nodded. He rested for a while longer, then got up and began to organize the medicine that Ji Yanqing had brought back from the hospital.

Ji Yanqing had returned with a backpack full of medication. Not knowing which ones were useful, he had taken some of everything.

They were leaving tomorrow. They couldn’t carry all this medicine; it would take up too much space.

Xia Shen Shu carefully studied the instructions for each medication, setting aside all the anti-inflammatory, fever-reducing, and hemostatic medications, leaving the rest in a corner.

In the late afternoon, Ji An woke up.

He was still burning with fever, but his mind was clear.

Upon seeing Ji Yanqing, and realizing he had returned safely, his eyes welled up with tears.

He held back his tears, gripping tightly onto Ji Yanqing’s shirt as if afraid that if he let go, Ji Yanqing would disappear again.

Ji Yanqing let him cling to him, his heart softening.

The illness had weakened Ji An, leaving his small face completely devoid of color.

Seeing this, Xia Shen Shu boiled some more water and mixed another dose of medicine.

“Drink this, and you’ll feel better,” Ji Yanqing said, taking the bowl after the medicine cooled down and holding it to Ji An’s lips.

Ji An finally let go of Ji Yanqing’s shirt. He tilted his head up slightly and obediently opened his mouth. The slightly sweet liquid entered his mouth, but after only a sip, he turned his head away.

“Ji An?”

“Brother, drink your medicine. Then you’ll feel better,” Ji Le said, his voice soft and childish. He had been watching Ji An enviously, and now he piped up, trying to help persuade Ji An.

Ji An turned his head. He looked at the medicine bowl, his delicate brow furrowing slightly.

He didn’t want to drink it. It made him feel sick.

“It’s not bitter,” Ji Le said, mimicking how Ji An usually coaxed him, gently patting Ji An’s head like a little adult.

“Just drink it all in one go, and you’ll be done,” Ji Yanqing said.

Ji An looked at Ji Yanqing, then back at the half-full bowl of medicine. Holding back his nausea, he reached for the bowl with both hands and gulped down the medicine.

He finished the entire bowl in one go, his face contorting.

Ji Yanqing gave him some water to wash away the taste of the medicine.

After taking the medicine, Ji Yanqing held him for a while longer before putting him down in the corner. He rummaged through his backpack, looking for food. They needed to eat before it got dark.

They wouldn’t light a fire at night unless absolutely necessary.

They had enough food. If they rationed carefully, the six of them, including Feng Yimo, could eat for another three days.

Ji Yanqing divided the food carefully, handing Xia Shen Shu and Feng Yimo their portions before setting Ji An and Ji Le’s food in front of them.

Ji An, still nauseous from the medicine, looked at the food in front of him, his stomach growling, but he had no appetite.

Ji Le, upon seeing the food, immediately grabbed his portion and started eating, his cheeks bulging like a hamster. He was starving after all the excitement.

“I’m not hungry…” Ji An said, glancing anxiously at Ji Yanqing. He was afraid Ji Yanqing would be angry with him.

Food was a precious commodity. Ji Yanqing was already kind enough to share his food; how could he be so picky?

If it were someone else, like Xue Gang, he would have been beaten.

Ji Yanqing’s brow furrowed slightly beneath his goggles. “You have absolutely no appetite?” he asked.

Throughout their journey, they had been eating regularly, but never enough to feel full. Everyone was constantly hungry, craving food with a desperate fervor. Not being able to eat wasn’t a good sign.

“Mm…” Ji An anxiously tugged at his clothes. He looked up at Ji Yanqing, then guilt washed over him and he lowered his head.

Deep in Ji Yanqing’s eyes was a flicker of worry.

“I’ll put it away for now. You can eat it later when you’re hungry,” Ji Yanqing said, not forcing him to eat.

Ji An looked up at Ji Yanqing cautiously, confirming that he wasn’t angry. He subtly reached out and grabbed the edge of Ji Yanqing’s shirt.

Ji Yanqing was the kindest person in the world.

He was so kind, yet he didn’t know that he craved flesh and blood, that he might soon turn into an ugly little zombie.

“What’s wrong?” After putting away Ji An’s food, Ji Yanqing noticed that Ji An was silently wiping away tears.

“Are you feeling sick again?” He touched Ji An’s forehead, finding it still burning hot.

Feeling the warmth of Ji Yanqing’s palm on his forehead, Ji An shook his head. He lunged towards Ji Yanqing, hugging his arm tightly.

Sensing the force on his arm, Ji Yanqing’s heart softened. He pulled Ji An into his arms, letting him nestle there.

Ji Le, who witnessed everything, blinked his round eyes, green with envy. He also wanted a hug from Ji Yanqing.

Ji Yanqing would carry him when they were escaping, but besides that, he had never been held like this.

Though envious, Ji Le was also worried. He shuffled closer to Ji Yanqing. He reached out to pat Ji An’s head, hoping he would recover soon.

After patting Ji An’s head, Ji Le finished his small bag of biscuits and stuffed the remaining cake into his pocket. The cake wasn’t big, but it was filled with cream, making his pocket bulge.

He would save the cake for Ji An after he got better. If Ji An ate more, he wouldn’t get sick again.

Before they could finish their food, darkness fell with alarming speed, bringing along a chilling coldness. The night in the mountains was even colder than before.

Ji Yanqing pulled the blanket from the floor and wrapped Ji An and Ji Le in it, turning them into a large, cozy burrito.

After settling the two little ones, he went into the room to find another blanket for himself.

As he was busy, a series of urgent knocks suddenly came.

Ji Yanqing froze, instinctively looking towards the door.

Inside the room, Xia Shen Shu and Feng Yimo reacted similarly, their eyes darting towards the door.

However, the sound wasn’t coming from their door. To be precise, it wasn’t from the door of the suite they were in.

Xia Shen Shu, who was closer to the window, reacted first. He quietly got up and walked towards the window, peering down from the side wall.

The sound was coming from downstairs.

Seeing the situation below, Xia Shen Shu frowned.

“It’s those people from before,” he said.

Ji Yanqing walked closer.

Three figures had appeared outside the iron gate on the first floor. One of them was knocking continuously, the sound audible even from their position. The other two were looking around nervously.

“What are they doing back here…?” Xia Shen Shu picked up his gun, his face grim.

They had clearly left. Why were they back? And in such a state, it was obvious something had happened. They might even attract zombies.

Ji Yanqing picked up his axe and glanced at Feng Yimo. After instructing him to stay and watch over the other three, he quickly headed towards the door with Xia Shen Shu to open the gate.

If they kept knocking, it would definitely attract zombies. Moreover, if they didn’t open the door, those people might drag them down with them.

When people were desperate, they could do anything.

Ji Yanqing and Xia Shen Shu rushed downstairs and opened the iron gate.

As soon as it opened, the three people outside squeezed in.

A strong, pungent smell of blood wafted in, assaulting their noses. Ji Yanqing and Xia Shen Shu exchanged glances before reaching to shut the gate.

Before closing the gate, Ji Yanqing scanned their surroundings. Within his sight, everything was quiet, no zombies in sight.

“Where are the other two?” Xia Shen Shu asked in a low voice, his tone unfriendly.

Clearly in the wrong, the three people explained, “After we left, we wanted to leave the city directly. But we were attacked before 10 pm. We had no choice but to flee. Two of us died on the way.”

“They chased you for the entire afternoon?” A bad feeling welled up in Ji Yanqing’s heart.

“Yes,” one of them exhaled deeply. It was fortunate they were fast runners.

“Leave this place!” Ji Yanqing instantly rushed upstairs.

After a moment of stunned silence, Xia Shen Shu quickly caught on, grabbing his gun and following behind.

The three people, who had just breathed a sigh of relief after finding temporary safety, were startled by their reactions. They were completely baffled.

Upstairs, Ji Yanqing rushed into the room and immediately opened his backpack. “Ji An, get in. Ji Le, you’ll have to walk. We’re leaving.”

After Ji An got in, he quickly zipped the backpack, leaving only a small ventilation opening. He then swiftly swung the backpack onto his back.

Meanwhile, Xia Shen Shu had also put on his backpack and started to help Lan Zi up.

“What are you doing?” One of the three people who had followed them upstairs asked in bewilderment.

Xia Shen Shu’s face darkened. “This is all thanks to you.”

The three fell silent, even more confused.

“There’s a Corpse King in this city. The Awakened Zombies are sent out by him to hunt. This entire city is under his control. If you were attacked, there’s no way you could have escaped for an entire afternoon,” Ji Yanqing explained as he quickly led Ji An and Ji Le into the dark corridor.

The three of them froze, their faces turning pale.

“How did you know there’s a Corpse King in this city?”

“Don’t joke around. What kind of Corpse King can control Awakened Zombies?”

“Impossible...”

Ignoring them, Xia Shen Shu helped Lan Zi up and hurried after Ji Yanqing.

When they reached the first floor, Ji Yanqing didn’t open the gate. Instead, he stopped behind it.

Gripping his axe in one hand and shielding Ji Le behind him with the other, his eyes were fixed on the darkness outside the iron gate like a predator ready to strike.

Xia Shen Shu felt the hairs on his back stand on end. He also looked towards the gate.

From his position on the stairs, he could see over the iron gate thanks to the higher ground. On the building across the street, two Awakened Zombies were scaling the wall, searching for something as they climbed.

Those Awakened Zombies hadn’t killed those three people before, not because they couldn’t, but because they were using them to find other survivors hiding in the city.

The corner of Xia Shen Shu’s mouth twitched. He had heard about the situation at the hospital from Ji Yanqing, but hearing it and seeing it with his own eyes were two different things.

Seeing how intelligent those Awakened Zombies were, a chill ran down his spine. Zombies this smart could no longer be considered zombies. They were practically monsters!

“Damn it!” Xia Shen Shu cursed silently. They couldn’t escape.

Behind the gate, Ji Yanqing silently took a step back. He scooped up Ji Le, who was standing in the corridor, and gestured for them to go upstairs.

Xia Shen Shu quickly retreated. Turning around, he came face to face with the three people who had followed them down.

“What…?” Seeing them coming back halfway, the three looked at them in confusion.

Suppressing his urge to kill, Xia Shen Shu quickly explained in a low voice, “They followed us. We can’t get out.”

The three were stunned before gasping in unison. They rushed towards the window at the end of the corridor and looked out.

Seeing the two Awakened Zombies searching through the opposite building, they finally believed what Ji Yanqing had said.

“What do we do now?”

“Run?”

“Where to?”

“Then what do you suggest we do?”

“If there’s no other way, then we fight them!” One of them said, preparing to load his gun.

Those were Awakened Zombies; they had no chance of survival. Rather than just waiting to be killed, it was better to fight and at least die a quick death.

Ignoring them, Ji Yanqing’s mind raced for a solution. He wouldn’t die here, nor would he let Ji An and Ji Le die here.

“Xia Shen Shu!” Ji Yanqing called out to Xia Shen Shu, who was about to head back up to the third floor.

Xia Shen Shu stopped and looked back at Ji Yanqing.

“We’ll go to the second floor,” Ji Yanqing said, putting down Ji Le and rushing towards one of the two doors on the second floor.

He covered the axe head with his coat and, taking a deep breath, started prying the door open.

Most residential buildings only had a sturdy iron gate on the first floor. The doors on other floors were usually composite doors with a layer of iron sheet on the outside and flimsy material inside. These doors were more than enough to deal with ordinary thieves, but they wouldn’t hold up against forceful prying.

Ji Yanqing easily wedged his covered axe into the gap. A crisp cracking sound echoed in the darkness as the wood splintered.

Everyone’s heart skipped a beat at the sound, cold sweat beading on their foreheads.

Ji Yanqing stopped and held his breath, listening intently. After confirming that no zombies were rushing towards them, he gritted his teeth and continued prying.

He moved quickly, and with the next attempt, he pried the door open.

As the door swung open, a pungent odor of decay assaulted their senses.

Without stopping to investigate the source of the smell, Ji Yanqing quickly scanned the room for zombies while urging the others to enter.

Xia Shen Shu and the others were quick. By the time Ji Yanqing finished scanning the living room, they had already entered and locked the door behind them.

There were no zombies in the living room.

With all the windows and doors closed, the stench of something rotting, like a dead rat, intensified, making them gag.

Ji Yanqing quickly moved towards the bedrooms on the right side. “This way.”

Stopping at the doors of the two bedrooms, he once again covered his axe with his coat and forcefully pried open one of the locked doors.

Peering into the room, his eyes landed on three figures, two large and one small, lying on the bed. His pupils constricted, his body trembling slightly. He quickly regained his composure and entered the room.

“Find a place to hide.”

After Feng Yimo, Xia Shen Shu, and Lan Zi entered, the three people who followed behind saw the three corpses on the bed and quickly covered their mouths and noses.

“It stinks…”

A family of three lay dead on the bed, untouched by the virus.

Empty food bags and bottles were scattered around the bed, and a knife lay on the mattress. It seemed they had chosen to stay hidden at home when the outbreak happened. But with their food and water depleted, they had to make a choice.

They ultimately chose to end their lives together.

The father had killed his wife and child before ending his own life.

With the windows and doors sealed shut, the decomposing bodies had been left undisturbed for over half a year. The stench was unbearable.

“Crack…” The sound of something scraping against a hard surface came from the wall, signaling that the two Awakened Zombies had reached their floor.

The people inside the room didn’t have time to dwell on the corpses any longer. They immediately looked for hiding places.

The bedroom wasn’t large. It had a bathroom, a bed, and a wardrobe.

The wardrobe was big. Ji Yanqing had already taken Ji An, Ji Le, Feng Yimo, and Xia Shen Shu inside and was helping Lan Zi in as well.

Seeing this, the remaining three people rushed towards the wardrobe.

The wardrobe was the best hiding spot in the entire room.

“You three go under the bed,” Xia Shen Shu said, pointing his gun at them as he helped Lan Zi.

Denied entry, their faces fell.

“You are covered in blood. Are you trying to get us all killed?” Xia Shen Shu questioned.

They exchanged glances, their faces still dark, but they reluctantly moved towards the bed. They had been running for the entire afternoon, and more or less all of them were injured, their bodies reeking of blood.

The stench of corpses could mask the scent of blood.

They quickly squeezed under the bed, lying side by side.

Just as they finished hiding, the sounds of things crashing and breaking came from upstairs. The Awakened Zombies had entered the room where they had rested before.

Everyone held their breath, their bodies tense with anticipation.

In that room, they had left behind some of the medicine Ji Yanqing had brought back, the stool that Xia Shen Shu had disassembled for firewood, the used blankets, and Lan Zi’s blood-stained clothes and bandages.

To ordinary zombies, only the blood-stained clothes and bandages would drive them into a frenzy. But to those increasingly intelligent Awakened Zombies, these were all evidence that other living people had been in that room.

Everyone held their breath in the darkness, afraid to even let their heartbeats become too loud.

“Thump! Crash!” The sound of something being smashed against the floor came from upstairs, making Ji An and Ji Le tremble in fear.

Ji Yanqing patted Ji Le’s shoulder reassuringly and touched his backpack to calm the two children down.

He had placed the backpack in the wardrobe after entering.

Ji Le and Ji An’s small bodies tensed. They bit their lips, trying their best not to make a sound as they stared at the wooden board in front of them, their focus absolute.

Go away, go away, don’t come over…

Feng Yimo glanced at Ji Le, who was huddled in the corner beside him. He noticed a faint golden light flickering in Ji Le’s normally dark pupils.

“Hiss…” The Awakened Zombie outside the wardrobe made a strange sound as if resisting something.

Then, it quickly moved towards the bedroom door, running past the living room and escaping through the window.

It moved with lightning speed, knocking over the stool in the living room as it went, sending a series of crashing noises through the darkness.

Hearing the commotion, everyone in the room shuddered.

Feng Yimo slowly removed his hand.

Only then did Ji Yanqing realize that he had been leaning against Feng Yimo this entire time. Due to his nervousness, he had even unconsciously leaned his entire weight against him.

He shifted uncomfortably.

Feng Yimo’s body temperature was low, but the spot where they had touched was warm.

“We can go out now,” Feng Yimo’s low, husky voice rang out beside Ji Yanqing’s ear, his breath tickling his earlobe.

The sudden voice and the warmth of his breath sent a shiver down Ji Yanqing’s spine, a tingling sensation shooting up to his head.

He pushed open the wardrobe door and stepped out.

Seeing him move, everyone else followed suit, emerging from their hiding places.

The bedroom door, which they had closed earlier, was now ajar, confirming that something had indeed come in.

The lock on the bedroom door, already broken by Ji Yanqing, could no longer be locked properly. Xia Shen Shu had only pulled it closed earlier.

“Dad…” Ji Le’s weak and uneasy voice came.

Ji Yanqing looked back.

Ji Le was clutching his shirt, looking unwell and weak.

“What’s wrong?” Ji Yanqing asked in surprise. Ji Le had been fine just moments ago.

Ji Le touched his stomach with a confused expression. “I’m hungry.”

He had been fine earlier, but he suddenly felt extremely hungry, so much so that his limbs felt weak.

“Ji Yanqing,” Xia Shen Shu called out.

He looked over and saw Lan Zi, unconscious moments earlier, now awake and leaning against Xia Shen Shu, who was trying to help her out of the wardrobe.

He quickly went over to assist them.

After helping Lan Zi out of the wardrobe, Ji Yanqing glanced at the three bodies on the bed and led the group towards the living room.

Upon entering, he immediately noticed one of the windows was open. The Awakened Zombie must have climbed in from the outside wall.

“How are you feeling?” He helped Lan Zi sit down on the floor.

“Like I’m dying…” Lan Zi’s voice was hoarse. “But I’m alive.”

Ji Yanqing breathed a sigh of relief. Lan Zi’s spirit was still relatively good.

“Should we leave now?” Xia Shen Shu asked.

“No, let’s stay here. We’ll leave at dawn,” Ji Yanqing replied.

Those zombies had already been here once. Eager to find people and return to their King, they shouldn’t come back so soon. It was relatively safe here, at least safer than other nearby buildings.

Hearing they weren’t leaving, the three people from Xue Gang’s team exchanged uneasy looks. They didn’t want to stay here for even a second longer, but they didn’t voice their disagreement.

Being able to see Ji Yanqing again was surprising enough. They had all thought he was doomed after hearing he was going to the hospital, but he had returned alive. Perhaps they had underestimated him.

Xia Shen Shu plopped down beside Lan Zi, glancing at the open window but not bothering to close it. He didn’t have the energy to move.

Ji Yanqing placed the backpack on the floor, allowing Ji An, who was peeking out from inside, to come out.

“Brother…” Ji Le grabbed Ji An’s hand.

“Why did that thing suddenly leave?” one of the three people asked.

Xia Shen Shu didn’t want to entertain them, but this question had been weighing on his mind. He glanced at them before turning back to Ji Yanqing. “Could it be that the Corpse King at the hospital summoned them back?”

“The hospital? What exactly happened?” Another of the three asked.

Ji Yanqing looked at them and briefly recounted his experience at the hospital. They were now grasshoppers tied to the same string; he didn’t want them to drag them down with their stupidity at a critical moment.

“Are you serious?”

“Don’t tell me you really believe that the two Awakened Zombies from earlier were being controlled by that Corpse King?” one of them asked, his tone skeptical.

Xia Shen Shu, who had no intention of humoring him, simply retorted, “What else could it be?”

The man took a deep breath. “It seems you know nothing about Corpse Kings.”

He continued without waiting for Xia Shen Shu’s response. “When a Corpse King with enhanced intelligence wants to control other zombies, they need to leave a mental mark. Once marked, those ordinary zombies become their eyes and ears.”

“Leaving a mark requires energy, and the number of zombies a Corpse King can control depends on their mental strength. The strongest one we know of can supposedly control, at most, three hundred ordinary zombies.”

“Awakened Zombies possess intelligence. They won’t obey blindly or allow themselves to be controlled. Controlling them requires significantly more energy. Even if that Corpse King in the hospital is powerful and can control one or two Awakened Zombies, it’s impossible to control as many as you mentioned.”

As he finished, the two people beside him nodded in agreement.

Another one continued, “If a Corpse King can control five or six Awakened Zombies simultaneously, how strong would he need to be?”

The third person added, “Five or six Awakened Zombies are equivalent to five or six hundred ordinary ones, maybe even more. If this is true, then he’s definitely the strongest among all known zombies, including the one that killed all the Corpse Kings in the north.”

Ji Yanqing’s eyes, behind his goggles, turned cold. “He did control that many.”

He couldn’t have been mistaken. Feng Yimo had also seen it.

He instinctively turned towards Feng Yimo. Upon meeting his gaze, the fact that he had been leaning against him earlier resurfaced in his mind.

He could almost still feel the warmth of Feng Yimo’s chest, and his ear, which was gradually cooling down, heated up again.

“Corpse Kings can share their blood with other zombies to accelerate their evolution. Those evolved zombies will become their subordinates,” Feng Yimo’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

Everyone in the room was taken aback and looked at him, including Ji Yanqing.

They had never heard of such a thing.

Ji Yanqing opened his mouth to ask where Feng Yimo had heard this from, but the words remained stuck in his throat. Feng Yimo’s personality was indeed odd, but he couldn’t have survived until now on luck alone.

“The blood of a Corpse King contains their power. Sharing it weakens them. Therefore, the strength of their subordinates can also reflect the strength of the Corpse King.” Feng Yimo’s gaze landed on Ji An and Ji Le, who were obediently holding hands beside Ji Yanqing.

The two small and thin children looked like little dumplings, soft and delicate, calling someone else ‘dad’ and acting spoiled.

“Even then, being able to directly create five or six Awakened Zombies means he’s still very strong…” Xia Shen Shu trailed off.

“That’s considered ‘very strong’? If those five or six Awakened Zombies were truly created by him, then he’s far more powerful than we initially imagined. There might not be a Corpse King in this world that can rival him, not even the Beast King from before,” one of the three people said in disbelief.

The other two could only smile bitterly, speechless.

Feng Yimo’s gaze lingered on Ji Le.

There was a difference between a subordinate created by a Corpse King using their own blood and a zombie controlled by mental power. The former could never be controlled by another Corpse King unless that Corpse King was overwhelmingly stronger than the one who created the subordinate.

Ji Le, who was holding Ji An’s hand and seemingly not paying attention to their conversation, rubbed his stomach, feeling wronged. He was starving.

He looked at Ji Yanqing, who was deep in thought, and then turned to Ji An pitifully. “Brother…”

Ji An, despite having a fever, looked at Ji Le. Seeing his pitiful expression, he asked softly, “What’s wrong?”

“I’m hungry.”

He was really, really hungry.

Silence descended upon the room. The reality of their situation weighed heavily on everyone’s hearts, suffocating them.

After an unknown amount of time, Xia Shen Shu, who had regained his composure, spoke up. “I’d rather the Beast King or that other Corpse King really did follow us here. If they did, the three of them could fight it out. Maybe we’d even have a chance to escape during the chaos.”

“If that really happened, maybe you’re right. But what are the chances?” Lan Zi’s weak voice rang out.

They fell silent again. Although they were reluctant to admit it, what Lan Zi said was true.

Even if those two Corpse Kings had followed them to this city, they wouldn’t specifically go looking for the Corpse King in the hospital for a fight. They might even decide to eliminate themselves first.

“You want that Corpse King in the hospital dead?” Feng Yimo’s emotionless voice cut through the silence.

Ji Yanqing looked at him.

Meeting his cold, dark eyes, Ji Yanqing, who was now somewhat accustomed to Feng Yimo’s obliviousness, nodded. “Of course.”

They had narrowly escaped this time, but who knew if they could successfully leave the city tomorrow?

That Corpse King was terrifyingly intelligent. Ji Yanqing even suspected that he might have set up defenses at the city’s edge, knowing they would try to escape.

Thinking about tomorrow, Ji Yanqing rubbed his temples with a headache. Tomorrow would undoubtedly be a tough battle.

Feng Yimo’s dark eyes were unreadable, but he had taken note.

Ji Yanqing wanted the Hospital Corpse King dead?

In that case, they would kill him.

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