Chapter 15
Chapter 15
No. She couldn’t turn into a disgusting monster like that.
An Xiaolin slowly pressed the knife against the side of her neck. Her hand trembled as she waited for the change to begin. She would rather kill herself than become one of those revolting monsters!
A minute passed, but nothing happened.
An Xiaolin finally came back to her senses. She wasn’t infected!
A surge of overwhelming joy swept through her, but it didn’t take long for her to remember what truly mattered.
Chen Yuhui was still in danger!
The car!
She scrambled to her feet and stumbled toward the black SUV. The key was still in her hand. Trembling, she pressed the unlock button.
Beep, beep.
The vehicle’s lights flashed.
She yanked open the door, threw herself into the driver’s seat, and immediately locked all the doors before trying to start the car.
The engine rumbled to life. It worked!
The headlights came on, illuminating the way ahead. An Xiaolin gripped the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She was about to step on the gas, escape this hellish place, and find some way to reach Chen Yuhui when…
Knock, knock, knock.
Someone was tapping on the front passenger window.
An Xiaolin jolted so violently that she nearly screamed. She whipped her head around and saw a figure standing outside through the blood-smeared glass.
It wasn’t one of the madmen.
It was a living person. A young man.
He was fairly tall and dressed in dark outdoor sportswear, with a quiver strapped to his back and a compound bow in his hand. Dust and flecks of blood stained his face, but his eyes were clear and alert. There was even a hint of… exasperation in them.
He pointed at the door lock, then at himself, and mouthed, “Open the door.”
An Xiaolin’s heart was still pounding. Fear and suspicion rooted her to the spot.
Had he fired that arrow? Had he saved her? But how could she know he wasn’t another lunatic, or that he didn’t have some ulterior motive?
The young man seemed to be losing patience. He knocked harder this time, the sound ringing sharply through the silent parking garage.
An Xiaolin snapped out of it. She couldn’t waste any more time here! Chen Yuhui’s fate was still unknown, and Qingshui and the others were waiting for her!
Gritting her teeth, she pressed the window control, but lowered the glass only a crack, just enough for them to hear each other.
“There’s no room in the car! Find another one!” she practically screamed. Her voice trembled with tears, and she made no effort to hide that she wanted him gone.
She had to leave. Now!
The young man outside visibly froze. A moment later, the exasperation on his face turned into incredulous disbelief.
“Hey, I just saved your life,” he said, his voice hoarse but his words coming quickly. “I risked my life to do it, too! Is this how you thank me?”
He pointed at the SUV’s spacious interior. “This thing can easily seat five, and you’re telling me there’s no room?”
An Xiaolin’s face flushed, then paled. “I don’t have time to argue with you!” she shouted through reddened eyes as she tried to raise the window. “Get out of the way! I have to find her!”
The young man reacted instantly, grabbing the edge of the rising window before it could close.
“Take me with you.” His tone turned serious, and his gaze sharpened. “I’m a decent shot. I can help.”
He paused, watching the conflict play across An Xiaolin’s face, then added, “Relax, I’m not interested in you. I just want to make it out of here alive. Working together benefits both of us.”
An Xiaolin bit down hard on her lip, nearly drawing blood. With every passing second, Chen Yuhui’s danger only grew. This young man might have appeared out of nowhere, but he had a point. And he really had saved her…
“Get in!” she finally forced out through clenched teeth, slamming the unlock button.
The young man swiftly yanked open the door and slipped into the passenger seat. “Ji Feifan,” he introduced himself curtly.
An Xiaolin ignored him. The instant he shut the door, she slammed the accelerator all the way down.
The SUV’s tires let out a piercing screech. Its engine roared as the massive vehicle shot backward.
Caught completely off guard, Ji Feifan was thrown hard against his seat, nearly biting his tongue. “Holy shit! Slow down!”
“I can’t!” An Xiaolin screamed. Tears spilled from her eyes once more, but her gaze burned with an almost crazed determination.
She wrenched the steering wheel around, sending the SUV into a perilous fishtail as it turned around in the narrow lane. The rear end clipped an abandoned van with a bang, and the shriek of metal scraping against metal set their teeth on edge.
She didn’t care anymore. Careful driving, damage to the car, all of it could go to hell.
She only wanted to find Chen Yuhui. Right this second.
An Xiaolin pushed the SUV to the limit possible in those conditions, weaving madly between concrete pillars and parked vehicles and taking one sharp turn after another.
Every turn felt as if it would send the SUV rolling over. Every time she hit the brakes, it seemed certain they would crash into the obstacle ahead.
Ji Feifan clung tightly to the overhead handle, his face pale, yet a trace of surprise and… admiration flickered in his eyes.
This girl drove like a suicidal maniac.
“To the right! Something’s happening over there!” Ji Feifan suddenly pointed toward an area ahead of them where construction materials and discarded tires had been piled up.
An Xiaolin immediately jerked the wheel. The SUV swung around the corner, missing a concrete pillar by inches. Its headlights illuminated the depths of the cluttered area.
And then they saw Chen Yuhui.
She was standing on an iron pipe about eight feet above the ground, trapped in a corner. Three or four madmen below were hurling severed limbs at her, while several more were about to climb onto the pipe.
“Yuhui!” An Xiaolin screamed at the top of her lungs. She floored the accelerator, and the SUV charged straight at the madmen like an enraged bull.
Bang!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The SUV plowed through them, the crisp sound of bones snapping filling the air. An Xiaolin stuck her head out the window and shouted, “Yuhui!”
“Jump!”
Chen Yuhui kicked down the madman lunging at her, then leaped from the pipe. She hit the roof of the SUV with a heavy thud.
“Stay down!”
As soon as An Xiaolin finished shouting, she slammed the SUV into gear and floored it, ramming the madmen charging toward them and sending them flying.
Her face was twisted with fury. She showed no mercy.
For a moment, Ji Feifan couldn’t tell who looked more insane: An Xiaolin or the madmen outside.
“Huff… huff…”
The only sound left in the parking garage was An Xiaolin’s ragged breathing. She lowered the window and called out to Chen Yuhui. “Yuhui? Yuhui! Chen Yuhui!”
Still dizzy, Chen Yuhui climbed down from the roof. Her face was deathly pale, and her voice came out barely above a whisper. “Here… I’m here.”
She scrambled into the car, only to spot the unfamiliar young man in the passenger seat. Before she could speak, he introduced himself. “Hi. I’m Ji Feifan. I helped this classmate out just now.”
“Chen Yuhui. I know who you are.” Chen Yuhui settled into the back seat. “You’re the only person in our college who was guaranteed admission to grad school.”
Ji Feifan gave a rueful reply. “Not that it does me much good now.”
“Enough,” An Xiaolin cut in. “We need to go help Qingshui and the others!”