Chapter 2: A Race Against Time, The Door That Was Opened
809 Words
The scene on the monitor screen carried a suffocating sense of oppression.
Lin Ye, seated in his wheelchair, stared intently at the woman outside the door through the high-definition projection of the peephole.
It was Su Qingyan.
The investment banking tycoon who was always impeccably made-up, replying to emails in the elevator while wearing ten-centimeter heels, now looked as if she had been pulled from a pool of blood.
Her business suit was torn in several places, revealing bleeding skin underneath, and the broken golf club in her hand was still dripping thick, black blood. Less than five meters behind her, three zombies were charging forward, howling in a twisted and ferocious manner.
Their eyes were grayish-white and cloudy, their mouths were smeared with undried bits of flesh, and they emitted low, gurgling sounds like wild beasts.
"I know you're in there!" Su Qingyan's voice came through the heavy security door, extremely calm, yet tinged with a tremor on the verge of death.
She spoke rapidly, as if conducting a final, life-or-death negotiation: "I'm Su Qingyan from the 32nd floor. You can check the security footage. I only have abrasions, no bite marks! I'm not infected!" Lin Ye's fingers gripped the wheelchair armrests tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force.
To open or not to open?
This wasn't just a matter of a door.
This was the absolute safe zone he had built over three years, his shell for survival. Opening this door meant letting unknown dangers, viruses, even death, into his only sanctuary.
For the past three years, he had shut himself off here, like a wounded beast hiding in a deep cave, refusing anyone's approach, refusing any uncontrollable factors.
Outside the door, Su Qingyan's pupils suddenly contracted.
The three zombies were already upon her!
The stench of decay assaulted her senses, and one of the zombies suddenly opened its blood-red maw, lunging for Su Qingyan's neck.
"Bang!" Su Qingyan rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow. Her golf club slammed into the zombie's kneecap, producing a sickening cracking sound.
But two more zombies had already flanked her from the left and right.
"Hiss—!" A zombie's sharp claws slashed across Su Qingyan's forearm, blood gushing out instantly, staining half her body red.
The excruciating pain made her groan, her body staggering as she crashed into Lin Ye's door.
It's over.
In that instant, Su Qingyan closed her eyes in despair.
However, the expected tearing pain didn't come.
"c***k—Boom!" A dull metallic clang suddenly rang out.
Just as the zombie was about to bite her throat, the security door, which had been tightly closed for three years and seemed destined never to open, suddenly sprang open from the inside! A tremendous force suddenly shot out, grabbing Su Qingyan's blood-stained collar.
"Come in!" Lin Ye's voice was low and urgent.
Sitting in his wheelchair, his veined arms unleashed astonishing strength, forcefully dragging the hundred-pound Su Qingyan into the house.
Almost simultaneously, the zombie pounced, its claws grazing Su Qingyan's heels.
"Bang—!!!" Lin Ye slammed the door shut with all his might.
The zombie's head was violently crushed by the heavy security door, letting out a piercing scream before being thrown away by the force of the impact.
"Click, click, click..." Lin Ye's fingers danced rapidly across the door lock panel: deadbolt, bolt, electronic lock, physical reinforcement... A series of complex locking sounds rang out clearly in the silent room.
Only after the twelfth locking of the wheelchair did Lin Ye seem to lose all his strength, collapsing limply into his wheelchair, his chest heaving violently.
Outside, the frenzied crashing and howling of zombies echoed, rattling the doorframe.
But the door remained unmoved.
Inside, deathly silence reigned.
Su Qingyan sat slumped on the cold floor, gasping for breath, her heart pounding as if it would burst. She looked up at the pale-faced man in the wheelchair before her.
This was the first time she had seen Lin Ye so clearly at such close range.
He was shockingly thin, his eyes sunken, looking sickly, clutching a bottle of disinfectant spray tightly in his hand, watching her bleeding arm warily.
But he had just saved her.
In this apocalyptic world where everyone is fearful and even willing to push their companions out to feed the zombies for survival, this man with "autism" who had locked himself away for three years actually opened the door for her.
"Why..." Su Qingyan's voice was hoarse, carrying a hint of disbelief from surviving a near-death experience.
Lin Ye didn't look at her, but simply pushed his wheelchair back a few steps, creating a safe distance, his voice as cold as a machine:
"Don't move. Put your hands up."
He held up the disinfectant spray in his hand, his eyes icy:
"Prove to me that you really aren't infected."
- Writer
