Chapter 13 The Lone City (13)

Chapter 13: The Lonely City (Part Thirteen)

Zheng Weiguo, the supreme commander of the Human Alliance, remained silent, frowning, his stern, square jaw tense. While the conference room was in an uproar, he noticed the blood on the floor was minimal, and the amount on Jiang Lingxiao's chest was also scant. Just as the Jiang father and son were locked in heated argument, the body on the floor twitched—in that very moment! Zheng Weiguo shouted at the top of his lungs, "Watch out!"

In a blur of motion, Jiang Lingxiao sprang up from the floor, leaped onto the conference table, and lurched towards Jiang Songnian with blinding speed. In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Jiang Songnian. Blood still streamed from his forehead, splattering as he moved. In his hand, he clutched a fountain pen, its tip aimed straight for Jiang Songnian's eye!

Hearing Zheng Weiguo's warning, Jiang Songnian instinctively raised his hand to block. The pen pierced through his palm, and blood from the back of his hand splashed into his eye, turning his vision red.

Clenching his fist, Jiang Songnian countered with a punch. With Jiang Lingxiao's right hand still gripping his left, the two engaged in a desperate one-handed grapple, trading blows within the confined space.

Jiang Songnian had been hardened by a decade in extreme environments. His nature was cold, his fists hard. Jiang Lingxiao, however, was the opposite. His body was uncannily supple, his wrist capable of rotating a full 360 degrees. His skin possessed a remarkable resilience; when Jiang Songnian's fist connected with his cheek, he felt a strange, subtle difference, as if striking a spring, the force easily dissipated.

Jiang Songnian landed a final punch and simultaneously released his left hand. The pen clattered to the floor, leaving a streak of blood.

His face, having taken several hits, was now a mess. Jiang Lingxiao, however, was completely unharmed. Bizarrely, even the wound on his forehead was gradually healing.

Jiang Lingxiao wiped the blood from the bridge of his nose, meticulously straightened his clothes, and said in an unruffled tone, "Floods, tsunamis, major earthquakes. After the scorching heat will come prolonged rainy seasons, followed by long, dark winters with temperatures plummeting hundreds of degrees below zero. Aimeile Company is dedicated to helping humanity survive the apocalyptic crisis. This newly developed drug of ours can accelerate human evolution—a necessary path for mankind. Mr. Carlos, in his benevolence, aims to raise awareness among the common people to face the crisis. Yet, in reality," Jiang Lingxiao paused briefly, a faint smile curling his lips, "you, the ones hiding the truth, are the real terrorists."

"Oh, and I forgot to remind you, your research is lagging behind," Jiang Lingxiao added. "The Madness Disease is highly contagious with a long incubation period. Without the serum, the consequences are unthinkable."

Jiang Songnian's icy, frozen expression suddenly cracked, a bone-chilling coldness surfacing in his eyes.

*

The sudden ringing of a cell phone startled Lin Yanqing out of his thoughts. The internet signal was down, but calls and texts could still be sent. The call was from Hong Yafen in apartment 1501.

Lin Yanqing answered to hear Hong Yafen weeping, "Xiao Lin, I'm sorry to bother you. Do you have any fever medicine? Mao Mao's fever won't break; it's almost 40 degrees Celsius. The child is delirious."

In the background, Xu Bing scolded, "Keep your voice down! Don't let the mad ones hear!"

"I should have some. Let me look," Lin Yanqing said.

"Could you... could you..." Hong Yafen hemmed and hawed for a while before, under Xu Bing's urging, whispering almost inaudibly, "Could you bring it down to us?"

Lin Yanqing's face darkened. Remembering Mao Mao was just a child and getting him medicine was critical, he said, "I'll try to send it down on a rope. Be ready to catch it."

"Okay, okay, yes, yes. We'll be in touch then."

Xu Bing was still chattering about something in the background as Hong Yafen quickly hung up.

Lin Yanqing sighed helplessly. He found fever reducers and anti-inflammatory medicine, grabbed a bottle of vitamins, and finally retrieved a ten-meter-long rescue rope from the defensive supplies Jiang Songnian had given him.

"What are you doing?" He Yunchuan asked.

"Going back next door, and incidentally sending some medicine down to Mao Mao on the 15th floor," Lin Yanqing replied.

"Going back next door at a time like this? Be careful not to attract those monsters again!" He Yunchuan warned.

"Can't just let someone die without helping," Lin Yanqing said. He went into the room, fetched a down jacket, and bundled himself up tightly. Crossing the hallway would only take two seconds. If, even dressed like this, he could attract the mad ones, then perhaps the smell from under the door could too.

After putting on the down jacket and a mask, Lin Yanqing finally pulled on the hood. Touching his hair, he walked slowly over to look in the mirror. The white hairs seemed to have multiplied; his scalp looked like it was dusted with frost. Staring at his reflection, it made him deeply uncomfortable and he quickly pulled the hood down.

In the living room, He Yunchuan had just turned on the air conditioner. The daytime temperature had been climbing steadily, already past 30 degrees Celsius. Especially after seeing Lin Yanqing put on the down jacket, he felt his body boiling with heat.

Xia Li walked over, hugged Lin Yanqing, and stuffed a pack of candy into his coat pocket. "Be careful, brother," he urged.

"You too. For the next seven days, you must be extra careful," Lin Yanqing said, ruffling his hair. "And eat less candy."

Among the supplies were walkie-talkies. After adjusting the frequency, Lin Yanqing took one. His coat pockets were stuffed full, the rope slung over his shoulder. Finally, he put on gloves, took the keys in hand, and sprinted the ten meters to apartment 1901 at full speed. Opening and closing the door was done in one fluid motion.

Once inside, Lin Yanqing leaned his back against the door, suppressing his panting as he listened intently for any movement outside. He suddenly thought wearing the down jacket wasn't so bad—at least it made it harder to be bitten.

It was just that this damn weather was unbearably hot. In just a few minutes, he was already drenched in sweat.

There was no sound from outside. Confirming it was safe, Lin Yanqing took off the jacket. He went to the kitchen for scissors and a ziplock bag, then sat at the dining table, patiently portioning out the medicine.

That day in the parking lot, Xu Bing and Hong Yafen had seen him buying a lot of things. Perhaps they assumed his home was well-stocked with supplies. But obviously, this wasn't a good sign.

Lin Yanqing opened the medicine boxes. He took out the instructions and one blister pack of fever reducers, gave the whole box of anti-inflammatories, poured half the vitamins into a sealed ziplock bag, wrote "Vitamins" on it with a marker, and finally put all the portioned medicine into a plastic bag.

The rescue rope was only ten meters long, not enough to reach the 15th floor. Lin Yanqing rummaged through Jiang Songnian's apartment, finding several lengths of rope. He tied them together and attached the plastic bag to the end.

Once everything was ready, Lin Yanqing sent a text to Hong Yafen, telling her to meet him on the balcony.

After receiving Hong Yafen's reply, Lin Yanqing secured one end of the rope to the flower stand on the balcony and began lowering the bag-tied end, simultaneously keeping an eye on the surroundings to prevent any unexpected objects from leaping out.

On the 15th floor, Xu Bing poked his head out. Lin Yanqing also looked out and gestured to him.

The rope was slowly let out. Just as it was almost within reach of the 15th floor, a window on the 16th floor suddenly opened. A hand reached out, swiftly snatching the plastic bag inside.

Xu Bing below, unaware of what had happened, was puzzled why the rope was being pulled back up.

Lin Yanqing was furious. He popped a soft candy into his mouth to calm himself down quickly, lest he impulsively went to beat up the bastard on the 16th floor!

Hong Yafen called. Lin Yanqing explained the situation, told her to wait another ten minutes, then repacked another portion. Based on the length of rope he had lowered before, he added another half meter. He urged Hong Yafen to be quick and not give the 16th floor another chance.

This time, Lin Yanqing didn't lower the rope bit by bit. Instead, after calculating the length, he threw the entire rope down in one go.

Xu Bing and Hong Yafen were indeed quick. They leaned out and grabbed the swinging rope. Simultaneously, the person on the 16th floor reached out again, also grabbing a section of the rope. That person pulled upwards, trying to drag the rope into the 16th-floor apartment.

Worried the rope might fall, Lin Yanqing also tightened his grip on his end. One rope, three parties pulling, especially between the 15th and 16th floors, a tug-of-war ensued.

The stalemate persisted. Lin Yanqing roared, "You on the 16th floor! Let go now, or I'll throw a knife!"

Hong Yafen and the others were also cursing from below. The 16th-floor resident turned a deaf ear. That hand was incredibly strong; even with the combined strength of Xu Bing and Hong Yafen, they couldn't compete.

Xu Bing tried to untie the plastic bag from the rope's end. He leaned half his body out the window, picking at the bag's opening with his fingernails. But at that moment, the person on the 16th floor suddenly yanked hard. The rope shot up half a meter, and Xu Bing, caught off guard, was pulled right out the window!

Xu Bing screamed, his hands desperately clutching the rope, the tips of his shoes hooked on the windowsill, his body dangling in mid-air.

Hong Yafen was also jerked forward, the coarse rope scraping across her palm, leaving a bloody gash. Ignoring the searing pain, she lunged and grabbed Xu Bing's calf, shouting, "Be careful! Help! Someone help!"

At the same time, on the 19th floor, Lin Yanqing was also jerked off balance. Half his body was nearly pulled out the window. Xu Bing was now suspended outside, but fortunately, the other end of the rope was tied to the flower stand, barely supporting the weight of a grown man.

Coming to his senses, Lin Yanqing held onto the rope for dear life, preventing Xu Bing and the rope from plummeting.

Bystanders, unaware of the details, poked their heads out of windows to watch the commotion. Hong Yafen frantically cried for help while simultaneously cursing the bastard on the 16th floor.

Just as everyone was seething with indignation, another mishap occurred.

The man from the 16th floor actually climbed out the window! Using the rope for support, he began climbing down!

The man's face was smeared with blood. He even had his eyes closed, moving purely on instinct towards the scent of humans.

A mad one!

Lin Yanqing's eyes widened in shock. The sudden additional weight on the rope was overwhelming him. The flower stand creaked and groaned, screws popping loose, on the verge of collapse.

Lin Yanqing was at a loss. If he let go of the rope now, Xu Bing would fall to his death along with the mad one. But if he held on tight, the mad one might very well bite Xu Bing to death and then climb into the 15th-floor apartment, putting Hong Yafen and Mao Mao in danger as well.

Lin Yanqing pulled out his gun and aimed at the man from the 16th floor.

In his daze, a thought flashed through his mind, his wrist trembling slightly.

Just then, a window on the 18th floor opened. Someone leaned out, glanced upward first, meeting Lin Yanqing's gaze, then turned back without hesitation and fired two shots into the madman's chest.

The gunshots silenced the neighborhood.

The madman plunged from the building, taking the teetering Xu Bing with him.

Two bodies thudded into the first-floor flowerbed.

A breeze stirred, swaying the bag of medicine on the rope.

Moments later, in silence, Hong Yafen retrieved the bag of medicine with bloodied, trembling hands and banged the window shut.