Chapter Sixty-Four: I’m Suffocating

Zou Lin lay weeping at Zhao Qiang’s bedside, her tears streaming as she sobbed uncontrollably. Zhao Qiang’s body alternated between tensing rigidly and curling up like a shrimp, his limbs spasming with wild, frantic jerks. The leather military straps binding him were stretched to their limit, looking as if they might snap at any moment.

Meng Longwei’s brow was furrowed with worry. He had seen similar symptoms in soldiers bitten by zombies before, but never anything as extreme as this. Anxiously, he wondered if Zhao Qiang’s mutation would turn him directly into a Crusher. There was no time to hesitate: with so many people here, if Zhao Qiang broke free after turning, the consequences would be unimaginable. He called for reinforcements, ordering more soldiers to help bind Zhao Qiang with several extra layers of thick leather straps, oblivious to Zou Lin’s anguished protests.

After a long while, Zhao Qiang’s spasms finally ceased. The pain faded from his face, and his chest, which had been heaving violently, gradually became still. At this, the mood in the room grew heavy. Everyone knew this was the final stage—when Zhao Qiang opened his eyes again, the comrade who had once fought at their side would be an enemy.

Some of the more nervous soldiers had already drawn their guns, the metallic clatter of magazines being loaded echoing through the room. Their hands trembled as they pointed their weapons; no one wanted to shoot a former comrade, but perhaps true death was the only release for someone turned into a zombie.

The sound of guns being loaded pushed Zou Lin over the edge. She threw herself over Zhao Qiang’s increasingly cold body and broke down in wailing sobs.

“Commander, what do we do?” a young soldier, his voice thick with tears, asked, overcome by the sorrow in the room. He was young and inexperienced, unsure how to proceed.

“Drag Miss Zou away and stay alert!” Meng Longwei ordered coldly. As a soldier, his duty was to protect the living. He knew this well.

Two soldiers stepped forward to pull Zou Lin off Zhao Qiang, but she fought like a lioness, writhing with such fury that they could do nothing with her.

"Enough! This is not the time for such nonsense!" Meng Longwei snapped, urgency sharpening his voice. "Zhao Qiang could turn into a zombie at any moment! Get her out of here!"

A few more soldiers joined in, but faced with a young woman, they hesitated, unable to use force. The result was only more chaos—Zou Lin managed to pull Zhao Qiang’s head tightly against her chest and wouldn’t let go.

“Stay back! Don’t come any closer!” Zou Lin’s hair was disheveled, her face streaked with tears, eyes bloodshot as she screamed, “No one touches him! If you want to kill him, you’ll have to kill me first!”

Now Meng Longwei grew truly anxious. Zhao Qiang’s head was buried deep against Zou Lin’s chest, and her hands were locked so tightly that, alive or dead, he would suffocate like this—if he hadn’t already, this would only hasten his transformation. Yet dragging her away by force seemed impossible.

Just as everyone was at a loss, a low sound came from within Zou Lin’s embrace. Zhao Qiang’s bound limbs twitched, showing signs of life.

“Not good!” Meng Longwei’s face changed drastically. He’s turning! There was no time to hesitate. Zou Lin, lost in her grief, failed to notice the danger. Meng Longwei leapt forward, his hand chopping down sharply on the back of Zou Lin’s neck. As she went limp, he quickly pried apart her locked fingers and pulled her away.

The sounds of guns being cocked rang out in succession. The soldiers switched off their safeties, aiming their weapons at Zhao Qiang, ready to fire the moment he opened his eyes—if he was a zombie, they would not hesitate.

Once Zou Lin had been dragged away, Zhao Qiang’s movements subsided. His chest began to rise and fall gently. Everyone stared intently at him, Meng Longwei’s palm slick with sweat as he gripped his gun. The makeshift infirmary was silent; only the soldiers’ heavy breathing could be heard, so quiet that a needle dropping would have echoed.

“I almost suffocated.” Still with his eyes closed, Zhao Qiang drew a deep breath and finally spoke—a sentence that made everyone in the room exhale in relief.

“You’re alive, you brat!” The weight lifted from Meng Longwei’s heart. This rascal had given everyone a fright. He flopped onto Zhao Qiang’s bed, letting out a long, relieved sigh.

Zhao Qiang slowly opened his eyes, glanced around, flexed his arms and legs, and said weakly, “So, this is your way of welcoming me back?”

“Are you alright?” Meng Longwei was hesitant; no one had ever survived this ordeal before. Yet Zhao Qiang’s eyes were clear, not a hint of zombie-like cloudiness. Though pale, his complexion was nothing like the ashen hue of the infected. Even the wound on his chest was quiet—there was no sign he was turning.

Meng Longwei burst out laughing. “Put your guns away, everyone! Our brother is fine! Hurry up and unbind him! Call Dr. Li and revive Miss Zou! Don’t just stand there—move!” With that, he gave a soldier a light kick to get him moving.

The soldiers, shaken from their stupor, responded in unison and quickly dispersed.

“Brother Zhao is incredible, he actually made it through.”

“Told you he’d be fine. Didn’t I say so?”

“Yeah, right! You were the first to load your gun, just waiting to fire. If not for Brother Zhao, you’d have shot first! Ha!”

Meng Longwei, in high spirits, chased the chattering soldiers out of the ward with a string of good-natured curses, then returned with a broad smile.

…

Zhao Qiang was half-sitting up in bed, leaning against the headboard. Zou Lin sat beside him, opening a can of fruit and carefully scooping a piece to bring to his lips.

He smiled, took the spoon from her, and said, “I can do it myself.”

Zou Lin said nothing, watching in a daze as he swallowed the fruit. Tears welled up in her eyes again.

Zhao Qiang panicked. He could face hordes of zombies without flinching, but he couldn’t bear to see a woman cry. Setting the can aside, he gently wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Don’t cry. I’m fine, see? Look at me, I’m perfectly alright.”

It took some effort to calm her. Finally, Zou Lin stopped crying, though she still sniffled as she sat by his side. Zhao Qiang turned to Meng Longwei. “Brother Meng, can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead,” Meng Longwei replied.

“Who tried to suffocate me just now?”

“Well, uh…” Meng Longwei stammered, glancing at Zou Lin, whose face was now as red as a Fuji apple. He stood up abruptly. “Miss Zou, I’ll leave Zhao Qiang in your care. If you have questions, ask her—she’s a good girl. I, uh, have some things to attend to. I’ll be off now.”