Chapter 115: Rescue

Bai Ge checked the map and said, "If we go straight from our current route, it’s quite direct. Barring any traffic, we should arrive in about 20 minutes. If we go to the Future Medicine headquarters first, the round trip will take over an hour... What do you all think?"

Everyone remained silent, waiting for Yi Chen to make the call.

Zhu Youzheng was their friend; he had shared hardships with them and contributed a great deal. They never expected the infected to track him down.

The person on the phone earlier had been quite clear: if they arrived late, his life would be forfeit. This couldn't be delayed. However, Liang Bing was in poor condition and required immediate treatment; it was truly a dilemma.

"I'm fine; I can hold on," Liang Bing stated.

"Don't push yourself," Yi Chen stared at her.

"When have I ever lied?" she retorted.

"Then... hold on a little longer. We will try to resolve this as quickly as possible," Yi Chen promised.

Liang Bing nodded, signaling she understood.

Ling Lan silently reinforced the bandage on her wound, her heart aching for the young girl. Only Liang Bing knew how much pain she was truly in, but because she kept her emotions hidden, no one else could tell how bad it was.

The place where Zhu Youzheng lived was a staff dormitory provided by the Future Group. The residential complex was in a remote area, some distance from the bustling city streets, though there was a man-made lake nearby, making the scenery quite pleasant.

Yi Chen and his team had no time to appreciate the view; they headed straight for their destination.

As they parked and searched for the building number, a wave of cold air washed over them upon entering the vicinity. It was late summer, and the daytime temperature was still quite high, yet this area felt as cool as if the air conditioning had been turned on. Caught off guard, everyone felt their skin prickle.

At Zhu Youzheng’s apartment, the door handle was coated in a thin layer of frost. It was fortunate that it was during work and school hours, so there was no one else in the building; otherwise, such an anomaly would have surely been reported to the authorities.

The door was unlocked. Yi Chen sensed two infected inside.

He pushed the door open and entered, the others following closely behind.

"You must be Yi Chen?" Sitting on the sofa was a young girl in white robes with her purple hair tied up high. Her attire felt completely out of place in the modern room.

"Are you the Ice Queen?" Yi Chen appraised her.

The purple-haired girl looked to be about the same age as Liang Bing. With her small nose and mouth, she couldn't be called stunning, but she had a fresh, clean look.

There was a sense of pride and stubbornness on her face that didn't match her age; it was clear she was a straightforward person who didn't like to beat around the bush.

"What Ice Queen..." the girl said with a look of disdain. "That codename was given to me by Ouyang Hong. You can just call me Xueman."

Zhu Youzheng was tied up tightly, tossed on the floor at her feet. Suspended above his head was an icicle hanging from the ceiling.

The icicle was crystal clear and beautiful, yet its tip was sharp as a blade.

Meltwater dripped continuously onto Zhu Youzheng’s head, soaking the front of his shirt. Whether from the cold or sheer terror, his stout body was shivering uncontrollably.

Yi Chen finally understood why Xueman had told them to hurry.

At the current room temperature, if the connection between the icicle and the ceiling melted and gave way, it would surely pierce a bloody hole right through Zhu Youzheng’s skull.

Where was the other infected?

Yi Chen then noticed a strange character at the other end of the sofa.

It was an infected individual who looked rather ridiculous.

He was round and extremely short, like a smaller version of Zhu Youzheng. He sported a head of curly yellow hair and wore skin-tight, shiny, deep-red leather clothing, making him look like an onion.

Who was this person, and what was his ability?

The "Onion" was currently staring blankly at Bai Ge and the other women behind Yi Chen, making no effort to hide his lewd expression, like a wolf that hadn't seen meat in days.

"Hmm... good shape, just a bit small," the Onion said, suddenly flashing to Bai Ge’s side.

Bai Ge was startled. She hadn't expected someone so bulky to be much faster than an average person!

Yi Chen watched the Onion out of the corner of his eye, observing his every move.

Although the Onion had moved, he hadn't shown any intent to attack, otherwise, Yi Chen would have stopped him immediately.

What was he talking about, and what was he trying to do?

"Girl, you should eat more papaya!" the Onion said earnestly, pointing at Bai Ge’s chest.

Bai Ge reacted instantly, throwing an angry punch that landed squarely in the Onion’s eye socket.

Surprisingly, the Onion, who had been incredibly fast earlier, didn't dodge or weave, taking the punch head-on. His eye immediately began to swell.

"Wah!" the Onion screamed. "I really couldn't tell, you have such a heavy hand!"

Yi Chen hadn't expected things to turn physical before he could even finish talking to Xueman.

However, Xueman didn't react when she saw her companion get hit. She chose to ignore it.

"Manman, I’ve been hit! Hurry up and help me get revenge! Protect me!" the man wailed.

Xueman felt incredibly helpless; she could no longer ignore him.

"Stop embarrassing yourself. You brought this on yourself, and I’m not going to help you! When will you ever change that lecherous nature of yours?"

"Are you shunning me, too? Waaah—"

"I don't want to argue with you. If it wasn't for the fact that no one else was willing to be in a group with you, I wouldn't have chosen you as a partner!"

"It’s not that no one else wants to be with me, it’s that I want to be with you, Manman. You need to get that straight. My feelings for you..." The Onion had been wailing, but now he was grinning again.

Xueman finally reached her limit. Gritting her teeth and closing her eyes, she flicked her hand, and several ice blades appeared between her fingertips.

"If you keep talking nonsense, I don't mind killing you before I deal with them!"

Seeing the two of them bickering and even coming to blows, Yi Chen and his team were speechless.

How did this feel like watching a stage play?

Seeing that Xueman was serious, the Onion finally shut his mouth.

Xueman gripped the ice blades and, with a *swish*, severed the nylon rope binding Zhu Youzheng.

The ice blades were sharp; they grazed Zhu Youzheng’s skin, and he could already feel the biting cold. If Xueman’s control hadn't been so precise, he would have been sliced open.

Zhu Youzheng realized he had been temporarily freed. He scrambled to roll away, then gripped the wall to slowly stand up.

"Since you’re here, this hostage has served his purpose," Xueman said crisply.

"I thought you would keep holding him," Yi Chen said, surprised she had released him so quickly.

"If I wanted to kill him, I could do it at any time. I can manipulate all the water molecules in this air and turn them into weapons. Do you really think I’m afraid of you trying to run away with him?" Xueman said, quite confident in herself.