Lijuan slowly opened her eyes in a daze. She realized that her hands and feet were tied up, and panic immediately set in. She tried to untie the ropes, but they were bound too tightly—no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't loosen them.
She looked around and realized she was in a basement. Leaning against the wall, Lijuan slowly struggled to her knees. She noticed a piece of paper taped to the wall. On it were written the words:
> "I'm sorry, Lijuan.
I know you would stop me, so I had no choice but to do this.
Wait for me to come back.
— Chen Jianhuo"
Reading the note, fear began to creep into Lijuan's heart. She turned her head and saw shards of broken glass on the floor nearby. She forced her body forward, crawling toward the glass.
With great effort, she turned over and picked up a shard, then slowly began cutting at the rope binding her hands. Five exhausting minutes passed. Just as she was about to collapse, the rope finally snapped. She quickly cut the ropes around her feet and immediately ran out of the basement.
Curiosity 3
Chapter Four: The Key Figure
Grandpa Chun parked the car outside the iron gate. The entire town of Korya was surrounded by metal fences. Yeey, Kaize, Oye, Liu Ly, and Grandpa Chun got out of the car.
Grandpa Chun pried open the lock on the iron gate and led them inside.
Back at home, Lee Yan asked Fumei,
"Where did the kids all go?"
Fumei shook her head.
"I don't know. It seems like they went to find Grandpa Chun."
Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Lee Yan stood up from the sofa and called out,
"Coming."
As Lee Yan opened the door, a gunshot rang out—bang!
Lee Yan was blasted several meters backward by a shotgun blast. Fumei screamed when she saw it.
Clutching his wounded abdomen, Lee Yan struggled on the ground as Jianhuo, holding a shotgun, walked inside. Seeing Fumei, Jianhuo fired at her. Fumei ducked behind the couch as Jianhuo began reloading. Seizing the moment, Fumei rushed forward.
She tackled Jianhuo to the ground. Jianhuo struck her on the head with the butt of the gun, knocking her backward. As Jianhuo stood up, Fumei kicked him hard in the groin. Jianhuo cried out in pain and slowly dropped to his knees. Fumei grabbed the shotgun and threw it far away. Gritting through the pain, Jianhuo staggered to his feet and ran toward his car.
Panting heavily, Fumei watched Jianhuo drive away, then turned back to Lee Yan lying on the ground. She rushed over to support him. At that moment, neighbors ran over. Fumei shouted,
"Call an ambulance! Now!"
Jianhuo fled the scene by car. A neighbor pulled out a phone to call for emergency help. Fumei pressed her hands against Lee Yan's abdominal wound and cried,
"Hold on… hold on."
Tears streamed down Fumei's face, dripping onto Lee Yan's shoulder. Weakly, Lee Yan reached up and touched her face, then took something from his pocket and placed it into her hand.
Fumei looked down—it was a ring.
She looked at Lee Yan. He smiled through tears, then blood spilled from his mouth. Fumei cried in terror,
"No… no… please don't… hold on, Lee Yan… you can do it… please hold on!"
Lee Yan's hand slowly fell limp. Fumei began to tremble as she sobbed uncontrollably, then gently leaned against his chest and cried out,
"Lee Yan…!"
Meanwhile, Grandpa Chun and the others were still about 100 meters away from the cemetery. Grandpa Chun suddenly stopped. Yeey stepped forward and asked,
"What's wrong?"
Kaize looked ahead and said,
"Look over there."
Everyone turned to look. Amid the dense horde of zombies, a narrow path had been left open—as if deliberately created to let them pass through.
Yeey gripped a baseball bat and slowly walked forward. As they approached, the zombies showed no intention of attacking them.
Low growls echoed all around. Oye stared at the zombies and fearfully hid behind the others. Kaize asked in confusion,
"Why aren't they attacking us?"
Yeey shook his head.
"I don't know. Let's keep moving."
Lijuan ran desperately to Yeey's house. When she saw the ambulance parked outside, she knew something terrible had happened.
She rushed over and saw Lee Yan being lifted onto a stretcher. Fumei, crying uncontrollably, climbed into the ambulance. Lijuan followed and asked,
"What happened? Was it him?"
Fumei looked at her through tears. Seeing Lee Yan critically injured, Lijuan stood frozen, not knowing what to do. The ambulance doors closed, and it sped off toward the hospital.
At the same time, Jianhuo fled to Grandpa Chun's shop. Finding no one there, he hid in the basement.
Elsewhere, Grandpa Chun tightly gripped his cane. Following the path opened by the zombies, they arrived at the massive tree in the cemetery. Liu Ly pointed beneath the tree and said,
"There seems to be someone over there."
Everyone looked. Yeey and Kaize wore expressions of shock. Grandpa Chun, seeing the figure standing in the distance, also looked stunned. Liu Ly glanced at the person, then back at Yeey, completely at a loss.
Oye widened his eyes and said,
"The key figure."