Well, it was obvious that these new survivors had no idea how urgent their situation was. Instead of getting out as quickly and quietly as possible, they kept chatting among themselves, making loud accusations and complaining about one thing or another, especially the middle-aged woman.
Just as Zixin was about to pull her out of the train, she glared up at him.
"Why can't you jump in and help me up, huh? Young people today are all fucking lazy," she grumbled, glaring at him as though he were personally responsible for her predicament.
Zixin, who had been about to hold out his hand, paused.
"Do you want to come up or not?"
Her eyes widened in outrage. "Are you fucking threatening me? You incompetent idiot! I will have you sued!"
Zixin stared at her for a moment.
He really didn't have the patience for this bullshit, nor did he have the leisurely time to stand here and argue with a woman who seemed determined to make as much noise as possible. Every second they wasted increased the chances of the zombies finding them.
Rolling his eyes, Zixin was ready to turn around and leave her behind.
Bao, however, glanced at him and raised a brow.
"You two."
He pointed toward the two women already standing on the overturned train compartment. "Help her out. Don't just stand there."
The women looked hesitant, exchanging uncertain glances, but after Bao's insistence, they finally stepped forward and helped the middle-aged woman climb out. It wasn't particularly easy, and they struggled with her weight as they tried to pull her through the opening, but Zixin didn't even bother lending a hand to that wretched woman.
He had already done enough.
"Some humans really seem to have pretty loud mouths," Bao whispered, leaning against Zixin's side.
Zixin felt Bao's slightly cool arm brush against his own. The strange closeness made him instinctively step away.
"Let's go."
"Hm?" Bao blinked before looking back at the survivors, who were still desperately climbing out of the train. "Aren't we going to take them with us?"
"No. They're dead weight."
Zixin didn't even hesitate.
If he had no other goal in life, perhaps he would have spent some time escorting these people outside. Maybe he would even have helped them find a safe place to stay. But that wasn't his situation.
Right now, time was everything.
His little brother was somewhere in this city, with barely any food left. Every minute Zixin wasted here was another minute his brother had to survive without him.
He couldn't afford to take responsibility for a group of strangers.
"Wait, sir! Wait for us!"
The middle-aged man who had been speaking to Zixin earlier quickly climbed out of the train and hurried after him.
Zixin frowned and glanced back over his shoulder. "Don't shout. There are zombies in here. They'll eat you."
"Don't listen to that bastard," the middle-aged woman scoffed from behind them. She was clearly holding a personal grudge against him for refusing to lift her out himself. "He's probably lying just to get some attention."
Zixin merely shrugged. "Believe me if you want to."
The moment he finished speaking, a loud, guttural growl suddenly echoed through the tunnel.
Everyone froze.
From the darkness of the last compartment, a zombie crawled into view. Somehow, it had managed to make its way through the overturned train and had finally reached the compartment where the survivors were gathered. Its blood soaked hands scraped against the metal floor as it dragged itself forward, its hair hanged down hiding its face.
The new survivors stared at it in shock.
"Sir, do you need help? Where are you bleeding?" the middle-aged man asked, apparently unable to understand the situation at all. He actually moved closer to the crawling zombie trying to help iyt.
Zixin stared at him for a second. He really didn't want to watch this stupidity any longer.
Before the man could do anything else, he dashed forward and swung his baby-killer broomstick. The blade sliced cleanly through the zombie's neck, sending its head rolling across the floor.
"Ahhhhh!"
The women's screams echoed loudly through the dark tunnel.
Zixin's expression darkened.
That only strengthened his resolve.
He was never taking a bunch of helpless people along with him.
"Zixin..." Bao's voice came from behind him, his expression suddenly tense. "There are zombies coming closer... a lot of them."
Zixin's eyes narrowed.
He didn't want to waste another second here.
He immediately turned and dashed away, heading toward the intersection.
But before he could get very far, something grabbed the back of his shirt and violently yanked him backward.
"You fucking murderer! Do you think you can escape?" the middle-aged woman screamed, clutching onto him with surprising strength. "I'll make sure you rot in jail!"
Zixin's face twisted in disbelief.
Was this woman seriously doing this now?
He tried pulling himself free, but she had thrown her entire weight into holding onto him, refusing to let go.
At first, he hadn't wanted to hurt the woman. She was annoying, loud, and completely unreasonable, but she was still just a frightened person trying to survive.
Unfortunately, he no longer had the luxury of being patient.
He turned around and punched her squarely in the face.
"OW!"
The woman let out a shrill squeal that sounded almost like a startled pig before finally releasing his shirt.
Zixin shook his hand once and glared at her.
"Suit yourself. There's a shit ton of zombies coming this way." He pointed back toward the tunnel. "Stay here if you want to die. Or just run."
That was his final warning.
Without waiting for a response, Zixin turned and took off toward the intersection, heading for the right-hand pathway they had originally planned to take.
Behind him, the distant sounds of approaching zombies grew louder.