Ling Yechen’s mind immediately went to Li Zilin’s boyfriend, recalling Du Lan’s account of a murder that had occurred in the building on the very day the disaster began.
Li Zilin, as Du Lan had recounted, was killed by her boyfriend, and Du Lan herself had been too terrified to venture out and offer aid.
Based solely on Du Lan’s fragmented description, Ling Yechen had initially found her inaction understandable.
Du Lan had also claimed that the man had long since fled, most likely meeting his end swallowed by the zombie horde.
However, upon closer reflection, something felt profoundly amiss.
If Li Zilin’s boyfriend had been emboldened to commit murder by the impending catastrophe, then he would have had no logical reason to flee the building alone.
Surely, remaining hidden in Li Zilin’s room would have been the far more sensible course of action.
A sudden jolt of realization struck Ling Yechen: Du Lan was concealing a crucial piece of information.
Otherwise, she never would have opened the door with such chilling compliance.
As Du Lan stepped forward and unlatched the door, it was violently shoved inward.
A man, clad in a long-sleeved shirt and vest, his hair a wild, untamed mess, stood brandishing a flashlight.
He swept its beam around the room, the harsh light eventually settling on Ling Yechen’s face as she lay on the bed.
“Well, look at this, a new little stray,” the man sneered, his eyes narrowed to slits.
He tilted his head back slightly, then shifted his gaze to Du Lan, who stood beside the door.
“Your friend?”
“Just passing through, I took them in,” Du Lan replied.
A chilling detachment in Du Lan’s tone sent a tremor of dread through Ling Yechen.
She quickly descended from the bed.
“What is the meaning of this?” she demanded, her voice wavering.
“What exactly do you intend to do?”
The man let out a derisive chuckle.
“What am I doing? I’m bringing you food, of course.”
With a flourish, he lifted the plastic bag in his hand, revealing a few packets of biscuits and other meager provisions.
“Thank you, then,” Ling Yechen said, her voice laced with caution.
“What do you require of us?”
She subtly shifted her body, positioning herself sideways and facing the door, a silent preparation for escape.
With a dismissive flick of his wrist, the man tossed the food into a corner of the room.
“I’m a good man, you see.
Not only do I bring you sustenance, but I’ll also ensure your… satisfaction.”
Ling Yechen gritted her teeth, her gaze fixed on Du Lan.
“Sister, what is truly happening here? Did you know he was still alive all this time?”
“I… I never explicitly stated he was dead,” Du Lan stammered, shrinking further into the corner with a palpable sense of guilt.
“I merely said it would be *better* if he were.”
“You utterly heartless woman!” The man’s wrinkled nose twitched in disgust.
He then reached out and shoved Du Lan’s head, a crude gesture locally known as a ‘brain slap’.
“Last time I brought you eight-treasure porridge, and then used you, weren’t you quite vocal in your pleasure?”
Du Lan’s face turned a ghastly white.
“Don’t say another word,” she pleaded, her voice barely a whisper.
“I can’t bear for you to do that.”
She twisted her head away completely, utterly unable to meet Ling Yechen’s horrified gaze.
A profound chill permeated Ling Yechen’s very core.
Her head swam with a dizzying sense of unreality, and the girl huddled in the corner seemed to drift further and further away, becoming a distant, unrecognizable figure.
The man let out a cold, mocking laugh.
“That’s what you get, you fat pig.
The night Li Zilin and I were fighting, if you had just opened your door and let her hide with you, perhaps once my temper cooled, I might have spared her.
Then I wouldn’t have needed to use you for my amusement.”
“It’s truly a wonder you didn’t see that Japanese case from a few years back, leaving her out there like that.
That shameless slut, even at death’s door, she kept her mouth going, just adding fuel to my fire.
In my fury, I simply sent her to meet Buddha a little early.”
The man’s gaze hardened instantly.
“Or do you imagine I still *like* you? Hmph!
If it weren’t for the biting zombies outside, I’d sooner take a zombie than let you dirty my body.
Look, I’m even bringing you food.
Does such a good man exist anywhere else in this world? That Li Zilin truly had no discerning eye!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than the man abruptly spun his head, as if anticipating this moment, and fixed a venomous stare on Ling Yechen.
“Or, perhaps, you two can switch places tonight?”
“GET OUT!!!” Ling Yechen shrieked, a furious tremor running through her like a startled kitten.
If she had been a loli from birth, she might have instinctively whimpered and pleaded for mercy.
But within her now, a spark of masculine defiance still burned.
The profound fear of a boy who had never accepted being violated, now trapped in a girl’s body and facing imminent assault, was compounded by a volcanic rage, a psychological inertia that refused to yield.
“Get out, you pathetic excuse for a man! I don’t want anything from you!”
The man froze for a moment, then erupted into booming laughter.
“Interesting!” he roared, wiping a tear from his eye.
“Tonight, I’ll simply indulge in a change of pace!”
He squeezed Du Lan’s shoulder.
“Well done.
Next time, I’ll bring even more provisions.
Tonight, however, I’m taking this little stray.”
“Sister Lan!” Ling Yechen cried, a desperate edge to her voice.
“Did you bring me back here simply to take your place with this man? And what about Li Zilin? Was she truly killed right outside your door, and you still refused to open it?”
Du Lan mumbled, her voice barely audible and utterly devoid of conviction.
“You… you can’t quite put it like that.
Didn’t I tell you it would be better if this man were dead?
And as for Li Zilin’s situation, you yourself said there was nothing wrong with acting for self-preservation.
How was I to know if sheltering Li Zilin wouldn’t result in my own door being broken down and me being… compromised?
Besides, Li Zilin wasn’t exactly a person of good character…”
The man scoffed from the sidelines.
“Oh, so now you have something to say, do you?
If you hadn’t opened the door for me in the first place, I wouldn’t have bothered breaking into your home to take you, you fat pig!”
“When you first came in, you never stated your true intentions!” Du Lan retorted, her voice rising.
“You only said you were bringing me food! How could I have known you demanded so much more?”
Du Lan, now feeling profoundly wronged, looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment.
“You fat pig, you’re truly delusional!
Did you honestly believe I *liked* you? You studied for a master’s, studied and studied for a damn master’s, and completely lost your mind!
Giving away food for free—do such good things exist in this world? A bowl of rice and a bed, everything has a price, damn it!
You utter idiot!”
However, the man’s torrent of insults directed at Du Lan seemed devoid of genuine emotion, serving more as a perverse form of recreational catharsis.
He quickly regained his composure, then pointed a finger towards the door.
“Get out.
Go next door.
I dislike being watched while I conduct my… business.”
Ling Yechen watched in utter despair as Du Lan prepared to step out of the room.
“Sister!” she pleaded desperately.
“Please, try to reason with him! We don’t need that meager food.
If you want something to eat, I can brave the outside and find it for you!”
Du Lan turned her head slightly, offering a bitter, resigned smile.
“Xiao Ye, don’t take it too much to heart.
It will be over quickly; this man isn’t… particularly persistent.” [“That’s because you’re a fat pig with terrible texture!” the man interjected, cursing her.] “Didn’t we agree to help each other?” Du Lan continued, her voice gaining a desperate edge.
“We are all weak, unable to survive on our own.
Brother You is a reasonable man; his transactions are fair.
As long as we take turns making him comfortable, he will continue to provide us with good food and drink, allowing us to live here indefinitely…”
“Precisely, precisely~ You fat pig, you truly possess foresight.
What earthly use are you two broken women in this world, if not for a bit of… pleasure?” The man, You Bing, chuckled darkly.
“But you still need to ask for *my* consent!” Ling Yechen shrieked, her voice raw with fury.
The deep-seated aversion of a boy to being brutalized by another man, combined with the primal terror of a girl facing sexual assault, intertwined within her, a horrifying fusion of two distinct anguishes.
Du Lan let out a hollow chuckle.
“Xiao Ye, what’s gotten into you? Last night, when I secretly touched you, you didn’t resist at all, did you?
I actually thought you quite enjoyed such things.
As long as Brother You Bing continues to provide for our meals, we can spend every day, from dawn till dusk, indulging in such intimacies.”
“GET OUT, NOW!!!!” Ling Yechen roared, seizing Du Lan’s coffee cup from the table and flinging it with all her might.
Du Lan slammed the door shut with a resounding crash, the cup shattering into countless shards across the floor.
In that same instant, the man named You Bing lunged at Ling Yechen, his movements as predatory as a starving wolf.
In a flash, Ling Yechen was abruptly transported back to that terrifying night—the memory of waking up in the back of a truck, only to find a zombie lunging at her from the doorway with the very same savage ferocity…