Chapter 20

Getting out of the car, Su Hao walked into the small building with an unimaginable calm and speed.

There were only four people left outside to keep watch. He directly snapped the throat of the thug who was tearing off Han Ying's clothes and used the M500 to blow the heads off the other three.

Xin Yan grabbed the head of the zombie biting Lao Song's shoulder, threw it on the ground, and split it in half with an axe.

Han Jing picked up her sister, furious and looking for targets to kill and vent her anger.

In the distance, Tao Yuan's figure was rapidly approaching. He rushed over at the sound of gunfire but was still a step too late.

Led by Su Hao, the group rushed into the building from the door, just in time to see Gouzi get shot and fly out of the crowd, hear Li Xiaomei's roar, and the laughter of a baby.

The moment Tao Yuan pulled the trigger on his assault rifle, Su Hao had already started moving forward.

Holding a dagger, he moved like a ghost to the back of the thug at the outer edge of the crowd and cleanly cut his throat. Before the corpse, full of shock, hit the ground, the sharp blade quickly slashed the same part of another person.

Xin Yan and Han Jing, holding guns in both hands, took up advantageous positions on either side of the door and shot at the strangers in front of them. One target after another entered their sights, only to fall with a scream. The dead and the dying rolled on the ground, and the number of thugs rapidly decreased. The two girls, who had never killed before, were pale-faced but had an unprecedented calmness in their eyes, and their hands holding the guns did not tremble at all.

It was their first time killing.

But their hearts had become as cold as stone, their methods as swift as lightning, fierce and ruthless, doing whatever it took.

"Kill them all! Don't leave a single one—"

Tao Yuan roared as he charged into the crowd, his gun spitting fire, his face red with hatred. Bullets flew into the thugs' bodies, splattering blood, and people cried and begged, running back and forth in the narrow space. Some fearless ones hid in the dark, trying to rush out and grab weapons, but were shot in vital spots by Xin Yan and died on the spot.

No evidence was needed to clarify the facts; the bound Lao Song and Han Ying were enough to explain everything.

Su Hao's killing speed was no slower than Tao Yuan's. No one could see his movements clearly; it felt like a gust of wind passing by, the blade easily slicing through flesh and organs. They could not resist the third-stage strength that surpassed ordinary people, watching helplessly as the knife severed arms, cut off legs, or simply sliced through the neck, decapitating them.

No one could escape, and no one could hide. The small building was the survivors' home, and they knew it better than anyone. If not for their previous negligence and kindness being exploited, the thugs would never have broken through the defenses. Now, they had to pay for their actions with their lives.

Gunpowder and blood filled the entire building.

Tao Yuan rushed to his wife's side, took the baby from her arms, and held it tightly like a treasure, gently caressing the baby's soft hands with his sweat-soaked forehead.

Xin Yan and Han Jing provided cover for each other, searching through the fallen thugs. The former aimed her gun at the targets, while the latter, wielding an axe, brutally severed the necks of those who were not quite dead.

Su Hao grabbed a still-twitching corpse, wiped his dagger clean on the man's clothes, and walked over to Hu He, staring at the face that was barely managing a fearful smile for a few seconds. He then pulled out a pistol from the back of his waist and pressed it against the man's forehead.

Li Xiaomei's gun was still aimed at his forehead. Because of this, Hu He stood out among the many thugs—his hands raised high, his knees on the ground. The death and chaos around him were close, with blood and flesh splattering on him, making him look like a dead man, but he was still alive.

The first targets for snipers were those who resisted and tried to escape. Unarmed captives often survived until the end.

Li Xiaomei, controlling her intense emotions, pointed to Du Tianhao and Liao Qiu lying in a pool of blood and said, "They... are good people. They... saved me."

Han Jing immediately pulled the wire off Du Tianhao's neck.

His face was already dark blue, and there was no pulse in his carotid artery. Seeing this, Su Hao punched his chest hard, opened his lips to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and then pressed his chest repeatedly. Finally, the blocked throat let out a heavy breath, and he began to breathe.

He turned Du Tianhao's face, lifted his chin with his fingers to keep the airway clear. Gradually recovering, Du Tianhao looked at him blankly, then turned his head to look at Liao Qiu, buried in the blood and brain matter, confirming that he was still alive, and saw Xin Yan helping him sit against the wall before shifting his gaze elsewhere.

The fat man was covered in footprints, bloodstained, and had a tragic death.

Hu He's eyes had been following Su Hao.

After days of observation and his current performance, he was certain that this man was the leader of the survivor group. He searched his mind for the right words to explain his actions and exonerate himself, but his brain felt like it was filled with concrete, completely solidified.

Su Hao looked at him calmly, with no trace of mercy or hesitation in his eyes, only endless coldness.

"Listen to me, it's not what you think..."

Before Hu He could finish, Han Jing, like a mother animal, roared and swung the butt of her gun, smashing him to the ground.

"Stop—"

Su Hao rushed over, grabbed her around the waist, and inserted his fingers behind the trigger to prevent her from shooting, speaking in a calm and steady tone, "Trust me, let him live for a few more hours."

Han Jing, with a fierce expression, spat and growled, "He must die! He must die!"

Su Hao turned around, coldly looking at the pale-faced Hu He, and nodded.

...

Everything calmed down.

Xin Yan and Tao Yuan brought a few cars from nearby, loaded all the bodies into the trunks, and transported them several kilometers away from the building, dumping the cars and bodies. They would soon rot, stink, and attract a large number of zombies and flies, so they had to be dealt with quickly.

Han Jing brought a hose from the kitchen and washed the blood-stained floor. For a while, this place would still be their home.

Li Xiaomei tended to the injured Han Ying in the guest room, while Su Hao helped Lao Song into a specially cleared room on the first floor and closed the door.

The area where the zombie had bitten his shoulder had turned gray. The damaged flesh was greenish and pus-filled, the skin retracting, and the tendons showed signs of detachment. It looked like a severe bacterial infection, with the invisible viruses spreading through the bloodstream.

"I'm done for... I've seen this kind of wound before. Those who are bitten will mutate."

Lao Song's face was flushed, and his eyes were unfocused. He suddenly thought of the retired female teacher he had almost married but decapitated.

Su Hao was silent, with no movement, but his heart was filled with a rage that could explode at any moment.

He did not like killing.

He had always believed that the time and space he chose to land in was a civilized era governed by morals and rules. Here, he could find friends, and the people had a sense of conscience. They were热情而善良，虽然面对突如其来的灾难措手不及，但尚未泯灭最根本的人性。

就像自己睁开眼睛看到的那朵雏菊，美丽，淡雅，脆弱，却保留着最清纯的颜色，成为最深刻的记忆。

然而，他低估了环境对人性的破坏和影响。在死亡威胁面前，道德秩序金字塔变得前所未有的脆弱。轻轻一触，即刻崩塌。

“我知道你在想什么..”

宋老的手一直在颤抖，他坐在椅子上，拿起一瓶从外面商店里弄回来的高度白酒，用力旋开瓶盖，仰脖灌了一大口，喷吐着浓烈的酒气，声音嘶哑地说：“我已经活够了。呵呵..我从没想过什么长命百岁，那种事情不适合我。在这个世界上，我已经没有任何牵挂。都说越老越成精，但我还是那么蠢。居然没有看穿那女人是个诱饵，否则，那些混蛋也不可能冲进来..老子站在楼上，完全可以一枪一个。”

苏浩倚靠在墙边，双手交叉抱在胸前。他紧抿着嘴唇，低头默默注视着老人肩膀上逐渐变黑的伤口。

在未来，他见过无数种死亡方式。但最悲痛，也是最令人绝望的，莫过于看着重伤的同伴在自己眼前渐渐终止呼吸。

丧尸的咬伤并不致命，病毒却可以通过血液传播寄生在感染者体内。从未来出发的时候，苏浩准备了很多免疫药剂。时空乱流吞没了其中大半部分，只给他留下最后一支。

这种药剂在未来世界非常普遍，就像文明时代的感冒药一样毫不为奇。现在，苏浩却宁愿用十年的生命去交换。

他从来就不是那种铁石心肠的人。他也有感情，也有属于人类的正常思维。小楼虽小，居住在这里的人们，从某种意义上说其实早已演变为家庭。

他靠着墙，身体顺着墙壁慢慢下滑，最后瘫坐在地面上。苏浩低着头，把脸深埋在双手中间。人为制造的黑暗驱散了光明，却无法带走心底最深处的彷徨，还有悲哀。

他救不了这个老人，无能为力。

“我..我还剩下多久？”

宋老又灌了一口白酒，醉醺醺地问：“一个小时？三十分钟？被那些怪物咬过..会变，会成为它们当中的一员..”

他的脸色苍白得可怕，不断有血沫从嘴角涌出。那或许不是真正的血，其中也掺杂着酒精和唾液。它们顺着下颌滴淌，湿透了衣服前襟。

“出去吧！你不该呆在这儿。”

宋老脸上的皱纹显得越发密集，因为过于用力，脸上的青筋都在跳动着。他虚抬着眼皮，努力挤出一丝微笑：“还有很多事要做，他们缺了你可不行。我这辈子运气不错，遇到的都是好人。小陶、那两个丫头..他们都需要你的帮助，用不着把时间浪费在我身上，我知道该怎么做。”

说着，他把目光投向苏浩腰间的手枪，长长呼了口气：“给我留颗子弹。这种死法应该很痛快。我..我不想变成那种怪物。”

艰难地说完这些，体力接近干涸的老人慢慢闭上了眼睛，将头低垂着，仿佛是陷入对往昔岁月的回忆。

苏浩静静地坐着，脑子里瞬间出现了无数画面。他抛弃了其中无用的感情和理智，疯狂搜寻着所有与“免疫药剂”这几个字有关的信息。这是意识回流，也是对现实世界的补充。他想要挽救这个老人的性命，但希望很渺茫，几乎等于零。

他不知道免疫药剂的配方。这种东西在未来世界虽然普通，生产流程却被军方牢牢把持。哪怕豪门贵爵，也根本无法参入其中。

忽然，他从地板上猛然站起，大步走到宋老身前，蹲下，抽出匕首，对准左腕狠狠划下，一条鲜红明亮的血线顿时从皮肤中间显现出来，迅速拓宽，变成小溪般的血流。

老人眼里满是疑惑。

“张开嘴，喝下去。”

苏浩把滴血的手腕伸到老人嘴边，用不可置疑的口气命令道：“多喝点儿，动作要快。”

他注射过免疫药剂，拥有对病毒的抗体。但这并不意味着他就是最好的“药”。病毒随时都在发生变化，细胞自身强化与病毒变异是两个互为矛盾的存在。就好像某个癌症患者被治愈，然而他的血液永远不可能对其他人产生效果。人类个体的细胞和基因具有共性和唯一性，适用于自身的有力因素，不可能适用于其他人。

用血治病这种事情非常荒谬，甚至要比远古时代胜利者吃掉敌人尸体而获得勇气的概念更为荒唐。但从理论上看，多少带有一点点可行性。

苏浩的身体，是集中了能够收集到所有优秀人类基因的复制品。他的细胞结构很独特，也产生了某些出乎意料之外的变异。最明显的例子就是“自愈”。据他所知，这种事情从未在强化人身上出现过。

既然是发生在自己身上的真实，也就意味着细胞或者病毒的演化方向有所偏移。他没有研究设备，无法对自己的身体进行全面检测。但不管怎么样，他必须尝试着用这种被无数生物权威和医学专家斥为谬论的观点，去挽救宋老的生命。

酒精发挥的效果，远比血液迅速。很快，宋老已经躺在床上沉沉睡去。麻醉，或者说是困顿，消磨了体内最后的精力。他睡得很熟，连苏浩用绳索将自己手脚捆绑都毫无知觉，鼻孔里发出有节奏的鼾声。

...

夜风，有些冷。

苏浩驾着车，在夜幕掩护下连续穿过几个街区，来到一条幽深的“丁”字路口附近。

他搜索过这一带，对周边情况非常熟悉。从交通主干道上延伸出来的岔路，通往一个原本人口密集的居住区。那里没有活人，只有遍地的死人残骸在发臭腐烂，以及数以千计的庞大尸群。

丧尸是一种非常古怪的生物。它可能仍然保留着生前的部分残留意识，也拥有群聚的特性。这里虽然没有食物，它们却在本能意识的诱导下，依旧在曾经的住所附近徘徊。也许，在它们所剩不多的主动思维深处，仍然还有那么一点点对曾经生活的短暂画面。

苏浩没有熄火，直接走出驾驶室，掀开紧闭的车尾箱，拎出被捆绑成粽子一般的胡赫，重重扔在地上。

他用匕首割断绳索，把半死不活的囚徒放了出来，却没有松开从背后紧紧捆住双手的铁丝。

胡赫大口喘息着，让肺部尽量吸入足够的空气。车尾箱空间狭窄，他差点没被活活憋死。

“为..为什么来这儿？”

对于这座城市，胡赫比苏浩更熟悉。他当然清楚这里是什么地方，却不知道街道深处隐藏着大量丧尸。

他本能地感到畏惧。产生这种心理其实并不奇怪——他杀了很多人，也差点占领银行小楼。如果不是在预料中本该被丧尸当做点心啃光的苏浩等人突然出现，胡赫早就已经躺在小楼客房里最舒适的床上，肆意玩弄被打成重伤的韩莹。

苏浩没有说话，脸上也没有任何表情。这让胡赫甚至产生了一种错觉——眼前这个男人，根本就是一尊无生命的雕塑。

他从车厢里拿出一根两端磨尖的钢筋，抓起胡赫的衣领，连拖带拽走到马路中央，站住，以令人吃惊的力量，把钢筋硬生生地插进地面。

胡赫站在旁边，呆呆地看着苏浩的每一个动作。

巨大而本能的恐惧已经彻底控制了他的身体。

他不是傻瓜，虽然猜不出苏浩的用意，但他明白对方绝不可能放过自己。他感觉空气几乎凝固，脑子里一片空白，求生的意志瞬间成为贯穿脑海的唯一思维。他不断地挣扎，用能够想到的各种字句哀求，甚至像狗一样跪在地上，伸出舌头去舔苏浩的鞋尖..这些动作没有收到丝毫效果，那个英俊年轻的男人依然冷漠，用野兽猎食般的森冷目光注视自己。

苏浩非常谨慎。

之所以没有在几小时前当场杀死胡赫，是因为他怀疑对方的身份。详细审问之后，确定胡赫与自己原来的时空没有任何联系，这才将其带过来。

小楼里刚刚打扫干净，血水会污染环境，尸体会招来更多的丧尸，也可能引起不必要的麻烦。

在远一些的地方干掉他，一了百了。