Chapter Seventeen: Spinning Lies Without a Second Thought

"Ahhhhh—"
Everyone had fastened their seatbelts, and the police car itself was extremely sturdy. It crashed through the barrier in one go, spinning wildly twice as Qiu Xiaoyan frantically turned the steering wheel, slamming on the brakes. The screeching echoed as she managed to right the vehicle, narrowly avoiding a rollover.

The group barely had time to breathe a sigh of relief before their scream and the deafening crash attracted a swarm of zombies. They howled and surged forward, but Qiu Xiaoyan, reacting instantly, floored the accelerator and plowed straight through them.

This police van was an eight-seater—spacious, solid, and more than capable of mowing down these zombies.

"That was awesome!" Qiu Xiaoyan's eyes gleamed with a hint of madness. She let out a loud laugh, then stamped on the gas, racing ahead until they reached the pharmacy in no time.

"Move quickly!" Qi Xi unbuckled his seatbelt, yanked open the car door, shouted, and leaped out. With a revolver in one hand and a standard issue police knife in the other, he charged toward the pharmacy at breakneck speed.

Li Feidao, Nan Housheng, and Xigua followed in rapid succession, while the three women remained in the car.

As soon as they swung open the door, a zombie lunged at them. Qi Xi, leading the way, kicked it down with a swift blow, then vaulted up, stomping on its head. He bent down and dispatched it with a single stroke.

Qi Xi's movements were fluid and seamless, a pleasure to behold, his actions carrying a peculiar, rhythmic grace. Xigua, at his side, was much the same—anticipating and countering every attack as if he could predict the future, his preemptive strikes leaving everyone awestruck.

...

...

Tianmen Hotel

This was the most luxurious hotel in the county—a four-star establishment.

After killing off the zombies and securing syringes and medicines, the group cruised around in the police van, leaving the zombies far behind and out of sight, until they arrived at Tianmen Hotel.

Inside, they found some food and ascended the stairs to the third floor. The first floor was a restaurant, the second a bar, and the floors above were for accommodation.

There were plenty of zombies wandering the hotel, but in the hands of the remarkably skilled Qi Xi and Xigua, they posed no threat.

Room 308 on the third floor.

Qi Xi dragged in a zombie, startling Li Feidao, Nan Housheng, and the three women inside.

"Qi Xi, what are you planning to do?"

"Brother Qi, why are you bringing a zombie in here?"

The others couldn't help but ask, bewildered as to why he had hauled a dead zombie into the room. The stench was overwhelming, like an animal that had been dead for days—a fetid rot so strong it brought tears to their eyes in the sealed room.

"It'll be useful," Qi Xi replied, offering no further explanation as he dragged the zombie to the center of the room. He considered tossing it onto the bed, but the thought was too revolting and he gave up.

"Which part of a zombie is the most useful?" Xigua had entered by now, and Qi Xi turned to ask him.

Li Feidao and the others stared in disbelief. Useful? What could possibly be useful about a zombie? And this smell—how could anyone bear it?

Even Qi Xi was nearly overwhelmed by the stench. Though one might get used to it after a while, it was still unbearable. "Open the window. Don’t you think it stinks in here?"

Stinks? Of course it stinks! You know it reeks and yet you drag a zombie in here. What are you up to? The group was exasperated and speechless, hurrying to fling all the windows wide open.

"The blood near the heart contains the most potent virus," Xigua said after a moment's thought. "The brain matter is just as effective. Other parts can be used, but not as well as these two."

"Is that so..." Qi Xi nodded, not rushing to act. He turned to Li Feidao and the others. "You want to know what I'm about to do, don't you?"

Li Feidao, Xiao Fengyu, and the others nodded vigorously, like pecking chicks.

"Zombies—creatures straight out of movies and novels—have appeared in the real world. It's surreal for anyone," Qi Xi began, moving far from the giant zombie to sit on the bed. The smell was truly unbearable.

"But who really knows how these things came about? I already know the reason. Even before the outbreak, my research institute had begun studying the virus, never suspecting how fast it would spread—infecting countless people."

"My teacher told me in person: Only by adapting to the virus can one avoid becoming a zombie. My skills are good, and Xigua’s are too, but sooner or later, we might slip up and fall into grave danger. So, we must gain the ability to resist the virus."

Qi Xi lied with practiced ease; the most outlandish tale sounded natural from his lips.

Xigua, listening beside him, was dumbfounded. He immediately realized it was all nonsense and covered his face, unable to accept what he was hearing.

"What should we do?" Xiao Fengyu was the first to ask. Her loved one had been turned into a zombie, a memory that haunted her. If there were a way to reverse it, perhaps zombies could be turned back into humans? She couldn't help but blurt out, "Can zombies be restored to human form?"

At her question, hope flickered in the eyes of everyone in the room.

Qi Xi shook his head, dashing their hopes without mercy.

A heavy silence fell. It took time for them to accept, but Qi Xi pressed on.

"The most important thing now is for us to become people with genetic resistance to the virus."

This time, Li Feidao asked, "How do we acquire this resistance?"

Qi Xi pointed at the zombie.

The group was shocked and taken aback.

"The zombie?"

"What do you mean?"

"What exactly are you getting at?"

Qi Xi proceeded to explain the mechanism by which humans turned into zombies. As he spoke, the group wore incredulous expressions—stunned, but somehow convinced by his words.

He then described the method for becoming a genetically resistant human.

Despite his previous explanation, this revelation left them utterly astounded.

"Inject the virus?"

"Is this really reliable?"

"Won't we turn into zombies?"

"Could this kill us?"

Qi Xi did not answer each question individually. "Of course there are risks. There are always risks in everything. But the choice is yours: become genetically resistant and never fear zombies again, or continue living in terror under their shadow?"

With that, Qi Xi stood, approached the zombie, and cut open its chest, using a syringe to draw out some of the corrupted blood from its heart.

He withdrew only four or five drops, but that was enough.

"This room is too foul. Let's change rooms." He led the group to another room.

Qi Xi dripped a drop of the infected blood into a bottle of mineral water, shaking it to mix. With a new syringe, he drew a drop of this mixture and added it to a fresh bottle of water.

After two dilutions, the corrupted blood was invisible; the water looked no different from ordinary water.

The others were agonizing over the decision, torn by the gravity of the choice before them.

This was a matter of life and death, deserving the utmost caution. Qi Xi did not rush them. He began heating the twice-diluted virus water; after heating, the viral solution would be at a level the human body could tolerate.