Currently, they appeared to be inside one of the drainage or service tunnels beneath the city, the kind that had been locked away from the outside. A sturdy grill gate separated them from the dark tunnel beyond. Peering through it, Zixin spotted one or two straggling zombies wandering aimlessly in the distance, but none of them appeared particularly powerful. Compared to what they had just escaped from, this was probably the best chance they were going to get.
It was prime time for them to leave.
Zixin silently gestured for Bao to come closer. Lowering his voice, he said, "I'll make a distraction. When I say run, you run after me, got it? No whys and no buts."
Bao, who had been about to ask a question, immediately closed his mouth with a small pout. "You really don't like talkative people, huh?"
"Hmm," Zixin mumbled, gazing at him intently.
He couldn't help but notice that Bao's glow had somehow dimmed after he told him to stop talking. The faint silver light surrounding his body had become softer, almost as if it were reacting directly to his mood. Zixin stared at him for a moment, wondering if that was actually possible.
Shaking his head, he pushed the strange thought aside and focused on their escape. The horde of zombies they had left behind could catch up at any moment, and he had no intention of waiting around to find out how many of them had followed their trail. There was no time to lose. They needed to get out now.
Right outside the gate, Zixin spotted the enormous wrench the Level 3 zombie had thrown at him earlier. He carefully opened the gate just enough to slip his hand through, grabbed the heavy weapon, and then tossed it as far down the tunnel as he could.
The wrench struck the wall with a tremendous thud.
The sound echoed through the darkness, traveling deep into the tunnels and bouncing off the concrete walls. The few straggling zombies immediately stopped wandering. Their heads jerked toward the noise, and one by one, they turned in its direction before beginning to stagger toward the source.
Zixin's eyes narrowed.
Perfect.
Taking advantage of the distraction, he quickly pushed the gate open and rushed out, with Bao following close behind. The faint light surrounding Bao illuminated the path ahead, giving them just enough visibility to navigate the dark service tunnel.
But strangely, this time Bao seemed to be the one holding onto Zixin's arm as they ran.
Confused, Zixin glanced down at the hand wrapped around his arm. He tried to pull himself free, but Bao stubbornly refused to let go. Instead, he simply shook his head.
"I can run on my own," Zixin whisper-shouted at him, trying not to make too much noise.
Bao merely raised a brow as if Zixin had said something completely ridiculous. "I don't want you to get hurt again. Besides, you can't see the path ahead, right? I'll light the way forward."
Before Zixin could argue, Bao gave him a dazzling smile and picked up his pace, practically pulling Zixin along behind him.
For some reason, Zixin felt a slight warmth bloom in his chest.
All his life, no one had ever been there to protect him like this. He had always been the one doing the protecting, the one working, earning money, taking care of things, and making sure that the people around him were safe. He had never needed anyone to take care of him because, as far as he was concerned, there had never been anyone who could.
He was used to carrying everything himself.
Yet, as Bao continued dragging him through the darkness with that ridiculous determination on his face, Zixin found himself realizing something he had never really allowed himself to admit.
It was safe to say that he actually enjoyed being taken care of for once in his life.
It felt different.
Almost freeing.
Suddenly, when they came across another fork in the tunnel, Bao slowed down and squinted into the darkness. He came to a complete stop, his expression changing as he stared down the two different pathways.
"Oh, wait."
Zixin immediately pulled out his cracked phone and checked the map again. His brows furrowed as he studied their location. They needed to take the right path this time.
"Right," he muttered, turning in that direction.
He had barely taken a few steps when he realized Bao wasn't following him.
Zixin stopped and looked back. Bao was still standing at the fork, squinting intently into the left passage as though he could see something hidden deep within the darkness.
"Bao." Zixin walked back and tugged at the arm Bao still had firmly wrapped around his. "We gotta go."
Bao didn't move. Instead, he turned his head toward Zixin, his brows furrowed with uncertainty.
"I sense some survivors ahead," he said quietly. "They're calling for help. Should we... should we help them?"
Zixin's expression immediately became complicated.
He walked over to stand beside Bao and peered into the left tunnel, trying to see what had caught his attention. Unfortunately, his eyesight wasn't nearly as good in the darkness, and even with the faint glow surrounding Bao, he couldn't make out anything beyond the stretch of tunnel directly in front of them.
"How many?" he finally asked.
"At least thirty," Bao answered, his expression growing more troubled. His hold on Zixin's arm tightened slightly. "They seem injured too."
Zixin bit his lip and stared into the darkness.
Thirty people…
Every sensible part of him told him to turn around and keep going. They had already been through enough trouble, and stopping to investigate a group of strangers was exactly the kind of thing that could get them killed.
Still, he couldn't simply ignore them.
"Fuck," Zixin muttered under his breath. After a moment of hesitation, he sighed. "Fine. Let's just take a look and then leave. I'm not risking another incident like that woman again."
He really didn't want to trust anyone else again, nor did he want to risk his life for people who might turn around and stab him in the back.
The one time he had tried to be a good person, his trust had been taken advantage of by a scheming woman, and he had almost lost his head because of it.
He wasn't making that mistake twice.
Never again.
Nope.