Chapter Sixteen: Wounded

"Mutant... mutant... mutant zombie!" Someone shouted, and panic instantly erupted among the crowd.

They all knew that the mutant zombies before them were far beyond their ability to handle, so a single thought dominated their minds—escape!

Qin Yu couldn't shake the feeling that the leading zombie had its eyes locked on her. She furrowed her brow, struck by a sense of déjà vu. Since her last awakening, she'd forgotten much, so she found herself momentarily dazed by the situation.

While Qin Yu was lost in her thoughts, Li Mo glanced at her, a flash of hatred in his eyes. Looking at the zombies approaching them, he made a sudden decision and shoved Qin Yu toward them.

The moment Qin Yu was pushed, an image flickered across her mind, and a surge of overwhelming hatred burned in her eyes. She raised her hand, meeting the mutant zombie head-on... As Qin Yu cautiously tangled with the mutant zombie...

"Li Mo, you bastard!" Zhao Meng’s voice cut through the chaos. Distracted, Qin Yu looked over to see Li Mo sitting in her car, with that woman in the passenger seat. The car was loaded with supplies they had collected. Wang Yan grinned arrogantly at Qin Yu...

Qin Yu's hand faltered—the scene was so familiar. That hesitation gave the mutant zombie its chance; its pitch-black hand slashed across Qin Yu’s skin. She shot Li Mo a venomous glare, feeling something on the verge of erupting from within her. With a violent spin, she decapitated the mutant zombie.

From a distance, Li Mo saw Qin Yu get wounded and immediately started the car, fleeing. Zhao Meng, worried for Qin Yu, was too distracted to stop him.

Qin Yu felt terrible—kill! That was her only thought. The others watched as she slashed through the horde with her dagger. Zhao Meng quickly unleashed her abilities to eliminate the zombies as well; she knew Qin Yu’s condition was dire. The battle had to end quickly!

Zhao Meng glared fiercely at Wang Bing and the others. "What are you staring at? Start killing zombies!"

Wang Bing and the rest snapped out of their daze and joined the fight.

Zhang Kuang exchanged a glance with his companion and joined the fray as well.

When the last zombie fell, everyone finally breathed a collective sigh of relief.

But just then, Qin Yu’s body slackened, and she collapsed to the ground.

Before losing consciousness, she heard Zhao Meng’s anxious cries, "Xiaoyu! Xiaoyu!"

At that moment, in S City, Qing Li suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart. The jade pendant in his hand grew so hot it burned his palm, yet he refused to let go. He knew something had happened to his beloved Yu’er, but he was trapped inside S City. The sense of helplessness grew stronger—he couldn’t even protect the one he loved. All he could do was silently pray that his Yu’er would live, live long enough to reach S City, so that he could stay by her side always.

Clutching the jade pendant, a cold glint flashed in Qing Li’s eyes as he gave orders to those beside him. "Go to B City and look for a woman named Qin Yu. Issue a bounty: anyone who provides reliable information about Qin Yu will be rewarded with 100 catties of grain. Whoever finds her will receive 1,000 catties."

His subordinates stared at their king in surprise, noticing the worry etched between his brows. They understood how much this woman named Qin Yu meant to him. After accepting the orders, they hurried off to make preparations.

Watching his men leave, Qing Li's worry only deepened. "Yu’er, wait for me. You must!" As if recalling something, he tucked the jade pendant back against his chest and left the room, heading down to the basement.

Immersed in his anxiety, Qing Li failed to notice the deepening color of his jade pendant. A strange green hue, laced with a thread of blood-red, had mysteriously appeared and was blending eerily together.