Chapter 3: Symbiotic Contract, The Strangeness at the Fingertips
1004 Words
With the dull thud of the last electronic lock clicking shut, the room fell silent once more.
Su Qingyan's taut nerve finally snapped.
She didn't even have time to utter a word of thanks before her spine seemed to rip out, and she collapsed limply to the floor, her golf club clattering to the floor.
She had fainted.
Lin Ye, seated in his wheelchair, looked down at the intruder.
He didn't approach immediately. Instead, he took two pairs of medical rubber gloves from the side pocket of his wheelchair and slowly and meticulously put them on, his movements as precise as if conducting a delicate experiment.
After confirming that Su Qingyan wasn't faking her unconsciousness, he pushed the wheelchair forward, a sterilized scalpel in his hand.
"Whether she's been bitten or not, it doesn't lie," Lin Ye muttered to himself, his eyes cold.
He slashed open Su Qingyan's blood-soaked sleeve. As the fabric ripped open, a gruesome wound was exposed—the mark of the zombie's claws, the flesh torn and still oozing blood.
Lin Ye frowned slightly, his gaze scanning the area around the wound like a scanner.
No teeth marks.
Only a superficial abrasion, no of those characteristic penetrating bite marks.
"Consider yourself lucky." Lin Ye breathed a sigh of relief, but his hands didn't stop. He skillfully picked up an iodine-soaked cotton ball, cleaned her wound, and then wrapped it with gauze.
Just as he finished bandaging and was about to withdraw his hand, his fingertips inadvertently brushed against Su Qingyan's collar, soaked in zombie blood.
Sticky, foul-smelling.
It was filthy blood mixed with zombie bodily fluids.
Lin Ye's movements abruptly stopped.
Normally, the novel rabies virus spreads extremely quickly through bodily fluids; even skin contact carries a high risk of infection if not washed immediately.
He instinctively wanted to wash his hands immediately, but his heart skipped a beat. There was no burning sensation.
No stinging pain like when the virus invades your pores.
He stared at his fingertips, stained with dark red blood. The skin there was pale and thin, yet… there was nothing unusual.
Lin Ye's pupils suddenly contracted.
To treat neuromyelitis optica, he had been taking a potent immunosuppressant for a long time. This drug, designed to suppress the immune system's attack on the nerves, had lowered his body's defenses to almost nothing. Logically, he should be more susceptible to infection than the average person.
But now, this deadly viral blood lay quietly on his hand like ordinary water stains.
"What's going on…" Lin Ye's heart suddenly raced, but he quickly suppressed the shock in his eyes. He swiftly removed his gloves, and together with the blood-stained cotton swab, discreetly stuffed them deep into his pocket.
This was his secret.
In this apocalyptic world where even the air could be toxic, this might be his only trump card.
"Water…" Su Qingyan on the ground murmured weakly, her eyelashes fluttering as she slowly opened her eyes.
Their eyes met.
Su Qingyan pushed herself up from the floor, first checking her bandaged arm, then looking at Lin Ye, who sat in a wheelchair with a cold expression.
She was a smart woman; she instantly understood what had happened.
"Thank you." Su Qingyan's voice was hoarse, but her eyes quickly regained their clarity and sharpness. She stood up, leaning against the wall; although still somewhat weak, her aura as an investment banking elite instantly returned.
"Lin Ye, I know what you're worried about."
She addressed him by his first name, her tone as calm as if she were negotiating a multi-billion dollar merger, "You're afraid I'll drag you down, afraid I'll steal your resources, afraid I'm an uncertain factor."
Lin Ye looked at her coldly, offering no rebuttal, which was tantamount to acquiescence.
“But I can survive, and I can make your life better.” Su Qingyan looked directly into his eyes, speaking rapidly and clearly. “I saw the supplies in your room, more than enough, but you need someone. You have difficulty walking; going out to gather supplies, fight zombies, and even handle emergencies requires a proxy.”
She pointed to herself: “I’m a former national second-level athlete, proficient in combat. I have extremely strong risk management capabilities; I can handle all the physical challenges you face.”
“You provide the safe house and supplies; I provide combat skills and survival abilities.”
“Let’s sign a symbiotic contract.”
Su Qingyan extended her hand, her gaze intense: “A win-win situation, let’s survive together.” Lin Ye looked at the hand extended before him.
The hand was long and strong, stained with blood, yet radiating an undeniable vitality.
But he didn’t take it.
He pushed his wheelchair back a step, creating distance, his eyes even colder than before.
“I don’t need a partner.” Lin Ye’s voice was like a cold stone. “I won’t let anyone take away my resources for survival.” He pointed to the door, his tone resolute: “You’ll only stay here for one night. After dawn, you must leave.” Su Qingyan’s hand froze in mid-air.
She looked at this man who had locked himself in his shell, at his eyes that, though cold, concealed a deep fear, and for the first time, felt a sense of powerlessness.
“You will need me.” Su Qingyan withdrew her hand, clenching it into a tight fist, staring at Lin Ye’s back, and said, word by word:
“In this apocalypse, no one is an island. Lin Ye, you’ll understand sooner or later.” Lin Ye didn’t turn around, but pushed his wheelchair into the bedroom and closed the door behind him.
The moment the door closed, the coldness on his face crumbled instantly.
He trembled as he pulled a blood-stained cotton swab from his pocket, staring intently at the black blood on it, his eyes filled with extreme complexity.
If… if he really was immune to the virus…
Then this apocalypse, for him, might no longer be hell.
- Writer
