Chapter 5 The Lone City (5)

Chapter 5: The Lonely City (Part Five)

Lin Yanqing's research institute had strict security measures. Access required a pass, and outsiders were not permitted. Visitors had to undergo a complex approval and security screening process before they could enter the building.

Once past this gate, Lin Yanqing felt a temporary sense of relief. No matter how dogged Jiang Songnian was, he couldn't possibly follow him into the research institute.

In principle, they had weekends off, but they were required to work two extra days each week, euphemistically called "voluntary overtime."

Since he had taken a day off yesterday and left early on Saturday, Lin Yanqing was met with sarcastic remarks from the department head as soon as he entered today.

"You're the only one in the entire institute who insists on taking a weekly break. You have things at home, but others don't? Look at the situation we're in! Will we meet the deadlines? If anything goes wrong, will you take responsibility?" Director Zhou scoffed. "If it weren't for your father's connections, you wouldn't even get through the institute's front gate. Forget the year-end bonus, keeping this job would be in question. Get your priorities straight!"

Lin Yanqing replied earnestly, "I apologize, Director. I'll be more mindful in the future."

The colleagues gathered in the lobby all knew Lin Yanqing was just saying that; he would still take his weekends off. It was a clash between an old-timer throwing his weight around and a young calf not fearing the tiger, a natural pairing of adversaries.

A head popped out from an office, waving an arm at Lin Yanqing. "Yanqing, come take a look at this urgent document."

"Okay, I'm coming right away." Lin Yanqing hurried into the office.

Su Weiming was hunched over, polishing a globe with a towel. His graying hair swayed with each movement. Without looking up, he said, "Ignore him. That guy just likes forming cliques, putting people down, and hearing flattery. Don't take it to heart."

Lin Yanqing gave a bitter smile and sat back at his desk. "I'm not taking it to heart."

Su Weiming remained with his head down. After reading through his emails and shutting down his computer, Lin Yanqing picked up a stack of documents from his desk. "I'm heading to the lab first."

Su Weiming seemed not to hear, mechanically polishing the globe. He had been wiping it for a full ten minutes already.

"Mr. Su?" As Lin Yanqing passed by, he patted Su Weiming's shoulder.

Su Weiming's neck was stiff. When he lifted his head, it made a *crack-crack-crack* sound. His eyes were cloudy, filled with red veins, his pupils constricted. His wrinkled face showed an unusual grayish pallor, as if the blood had drained from beneath his skin, making the wrinkles appear even denser.

Lin Yanqing was slightly startled and quickly asked, "Are you feeling unwell?"

Su Weiming clenched his teeth tightly, as if enduring something. After half a minute, he put down the globe, pushed open the window, and took a deep breath. His eyes gradually cleared. He turned his head and gave Lin Yanqing a strained smile, his voice hoarse. "It's too stuffy in here. You go ahead. I'll join you later."

"Alright. Call me if you need anything. Don't push yourself too hard." Uneasy, Lin Yanqing left the office and headed towards the laboratory building via the connecting corridor.

Lin Yanqing spent the entire morning in the lab. Su Weiming had said he would come, but he never showed up.

At lunchtime, as people streamed towards the cafeteria, Lin Yanqing, genuinely concerned about Su Weiming, went to the office to look for him.

These past few days felt cursed. Too many strange things had happened, and the weather was abnormally hot, leaving Lin Yanqing's mind in a jumble. Everything felt off.

Especially Su Weiming's cloudy eyes earlier. He had seen similar looks on a few people in the subway recently—faces ashen, eyes bloodshot. But Lin Yanqing hadn't thought much of it at the time. After all, most office workers looked half-dead by the end of the day.

As Lin Yanqing reached the office door, he ran into Director Zhou again. Director Zhou, with his prominent belly and hands in his pockets, said sarcastically, "Well, well, Xiao Lin. Not going to eat? Planning to go out for a fancy meal instead? So careless with work and so extravagant with spending. That lifestyle won't last long."

Lin Yanqing forced a smile, trying his best to avoid conflict. He knocked on the office door and tried to push it open, only to find it locked.

Lin Yanqing hadn't seen Su Weiming on his way here and guessed he might have taken another route.

Originally, Lin Yanqing should have gone straight to eat, but with Director Zhou standing right behind him, he felt deeply disturbed and wanted to get away immediately. So, he took out his key, inserted it into the lock, and turned it.

The moment he pushed the door open, he was stunned to see Su Weiming's back. Su Weiming was crouched behind a cabinet, his hunched back visible, head bowed as if doing something.

"Mr. Su, you're still here? I thought you went for lunch. Are you feeling any better?"

Lin Yanqing wanted to close the door, but Director Zhou stepped forward and walked in, shouting, "Mr. Su, what are you doing? What are you messing with in that corner?"

Lin Yanqing sniffed the air, catching a faint, metallic smell.

At that moment, Su Weiming slowly turned his head. In his trembling palm, he held a half-eaten piece of raw pork liver. The corners of his mouth were smeared with bloodstains and bits of meat. In his lunchbox lay more uncooked, fresh pork.

Lin Yanqing's eyes widened in shock. He took a step back, his hand gripping the door handle.

Director Zhou frowned in disgust. "Su Weiming, what are you doing? What is that you're eating? You're making a mess of the office!"

Su Weiming's throat moved, his voice raspy. "I'm... so hungry..."

He suddenly sprang up, lunging at Director Zhou. His aged body was unexpectedly swift and agile, his strength astonishing.

Caught off guard, Director Zhou was knocked to the ground, screaming in panic.

Lin Yanqing had already retreated outside the door, but seeing the two men wrestling, he rushed back in. He pressed down on Su Weiming's shoulders with both hands, trying to pull him off.

Su Weiming opened his mouth wide and sank his teeth fiercely into Director Zhou's shoulder. He had lost all reason, yet his physique seemed to have regained its youth overnight, brimming with boundless strength. His teeth had also sharpened instantly. He was like a starving wolf that had grown fangs, his sharp teeth piercing through Director Zhou's clothing fabric and digging into his flesh.

The taste of living human flesh excited him, boosting his strength further, making his body even more robust.

Director Zhou screamed miserably, trying to kick him off with a bent leg. Lin Yanqing, behind Su Weiming, pulled hard on his shoulders. Despite their combined efforts, they were no match for this man in his sixties.

Gritting his teeth, Lin Yanqing wrapped an arm around Su Weiming's jaw, tightly choking his neck, and pulled backward with all his might.

Su Weiming's body remained unmoved, but his teeth loosened. Seizing the opportunity, Director Zhou, quick-eyed and swift-handed, delivered a powerful kick to Su Weiming's stomach.

Caught off guard, Su Weiming's body arched backward. In that lightning-fast moment, Director Zhou scrambled out from under him. Lin Yanqing, due to inertia, fell backward, about to hit the floor.

Suddenly, Su Weiming grabbed his arm. The immense force almost wrenched Lin Yanqing's arm out of its socket. The next second, Su Weiming lifted that arm and bit down.

By now, Director Zhou had stumbled to his feet, saying in a panic, "I-I'll go get help." He then left Lin Yanqing alone in the office.

A sharp pain shot through Lin Yanqing's arm as Su Weiming's teeth pierced his skin. A numbness spread through his body, followed instantly by intense pain that engulfed his entire being.

He was powerless to pull Su Weiming off. He simply couldn't comprehend how Su Weiming's aged body could unleash such vigorous strength.

Tears welled in the corners of Lin Yanqing's eyes. He raised his other elbow and, mustering his last ounce of strength, drove it into the back of Su Weiming's head.

With a *thud*, Su Weiming paused for a second. Lin Yanqing quickly yanked his arm free and tried to escape the room.

However, the next moment, Su Weiming pounced again. His strength was tremendous, his teeth sharp, and his speed astonishing. In an instant, he had Lin Yanqing pinned to the ground once more.

Lin Yanqing felt like crying but had no tears left. He was like a fish on the chopping block.

Just when he thought there was no escape, a pair of shoes appeared in his line of sight. Above the shoes were a pair of somewhat familiar camouflage pants.

Su Weiming was hauled up. Jiang Songnian threw a punch at his face. Su Weiming spat out a mouthful of blood. Dazed, his body was shoved by Jiang Songnian onto a swivel chair.

Jiang Songnian pressed one hand against Su Weiming's chest and gestured with the other to Lin Yanqing. "Rope."

Lin Yanqing was dazed for a few seconds. He pushed himself up from the floor, ran over, and started pulling out various cords from behind the desk phone and computer. He handed them to Jiang Songnian with both hands.

Jiang Songnian clicked his tongue. He lifted a foot, planted it on Su Weiming's chest, pinning both the man and the chair against the corner of the wall. Then, using the assortment of cords, he tied Su Weiming up. Finally, he dusted off his hands. "That'll have to do."

Su Weiming was still struggling. His eyes had completely turned blood-red; his eyeballs seemed to have vanished.

Director Zhou quickly returned with security guards and had also called the police. The scene descended into chaos, and Jiang Songnian had long since slipped away unnoticed in the commotion.

Silently, Lin Yanqing pulled down the sleeve of his shirt and put on a white lab coat over it, covering the bloodstains on his sleeve.

An ambulance was dispatched via 120. The medical staff gave Su Weiming a sedative and were about to lift him onto the stretcher when Director Zhou howled in pain, insisting on boarding the ambulance first and refusing to share the vehicle with Su Weiming. They were deadlocked for over ten minutes until a police officer kicked him off, and the ambulance sped away.

Lin Yanqing stood at the back of the crowd, watching Su Weiming being carried away and listening to his colleagues whispering among themselves. Some came over to ask him what had happened, but his mind went blank, and no sound came from his throat.

Director Zhou’s shoulder was a bloody mess, so he obviously couldn’t drive. He took a taxi to the hospital, and before leaving, he warned Lin Yanqing not to ask for leave.

Lin Yanqing clutched his throbbing arm and agreed perfunctorily. Once Director Zhou left the research institute, Lin Yanqing immediately packed up and headed to the parking lot.

Sitting in the car, he felt dizzy. Earlier, amid the chaos, he had gone to the restroom and disinfected the wound with alcohol, but there was a clear bite mark on his arm. Su Weiming hadn’t just broken his skin—his teeth had pierced deep into the flesh.

Lin Yanqing was lost in thought for a moment when he suddenly remembered Jiang Songnian. Glancing in the rearview mirror, he jolted and finally realized.

Jiang Songnian had been following him all along and had even stepped in to help earlier. Lin Yanqing tentatively assumed he meant no harm, but he couldn’t deny that this man was extremely shifty.

Without turning around, Lin Yanqing directly popped open the trunk.

The trunk lid slowly rose. Moments later, Jiang Songnian jumped out of the trunk, walked around to the passenger side, opened the door, and got in, shamelessly smiling at Lin Yanqing.

“You’re clever. When did you figure it out?” Jiang Songnian asked.

“Just a guess,” Lin Yanqing replied, his gaze fixed ahead as he asked indifferently, “Why are you following me?”

Jiang Songnian fell silent for a while, resting his elbow on the car window and propping his head up before finally saying, “I saw you in Yali Very Sweet’s video. I’m a fan of yours.”

Lin Yanqing was speechless. He had never appeared on camera. Jiang Songnian wasn’t telling the truth, but Lin Yanqing no longer had the energy to dig deeper. He looked at his wound, his expression pained and bitter.

Jiang Songnian glanced at his arm and asked, “Do you need to go to the hospital?”

Lin Yanqing, frustrated and angry, wanted to lash out at him. But in the end, he restrained himself, maintaining his composure as he said, “Hospitals are the most dangerous places right now. Besides, given my condition, what’s the point of going to the hospital?”

“To disinfect, apply some ointment, maybe get a few rabies shots.” If such a minor injury had happened to Jiang Songnian, he probably wouldn’t even bother disinfecting it. But Lin Yanqing was different—delicate-skinned and pitiful, his eyes already red from such a small wound. Jiang Songnian thought he might still need to visit the hospital.

“What good would disinfecting and applying ointment do!” Lin Yanqing choked back a sob. “I’m about to turn into a zombie. Don’t you understand that?”

Jiang Songnian: “?”

Seeing his blank expression, Lin Yanqing enunciated each word clearly, “The zombie virus has broken out. I’ve already been infected and will soon turn into a zombie. Haven’t you watched TV shows? Don’t you know this?”

Jiang Songnian was stunned for a full half-minute before bursting out laughing, tears nearly streaming from his eyes. Looking at Lin Yanqing’s pitiful, aggrieved expression, his eyes filled with gentle amusement as he chuckled and sighed, “Sweetheart, why are you so adorable.”

Author’s Note:

Still updating at 9 PM every night. For now, it’s one chapter per day. Once everything is written, I’ll add more updates.