Chapter 40: The Unopened Gate and the Sky’s Glimmer of Doubt

Listening to the desperate cries for help echoing from the other side of the metal gate, the students on the rooftop, some standing, some sitting, immediately turned their gaze towards Li Lin Guan.

They wondered whether the gate should be opened.

Although those students hadn’t entered earlier, the two groups weren’t far apart. Simply opening the gate would allow them to save lives.

With a little caution, even if they encountered someone maddened by the disease, nothing major would happen!

These thoughts belonged to the students who had joined the onlookers midway. However, the henchmen who had followed Qiao Xia and Li Lin Guan all the way up to the rooftop harbored no desire to open the gate.

The image of a red-eyed patient cleaving a person’s head with an axe, seen through the glass door earlier, continued to replay vividly in the henchmen’s minds.

If that metal gate were to open, and the battle-ready red-eyed patients surged in, it would undoubtedly be a bloody massacre.

As everyone’s eyes turned to Li Lin Guan, he, in turn, looked towards Qiao Xia.

Despite the crowd believing Li Lin Guan to be their leader, he was far more inclined to follow Qiao Xia’s arrangements.

If not for Qiao Xia earlier, he and his henchmen would have met their end by that glass door!

Therefore, if Qiao Xia said to open the gate, it would open. If Qiao Xia said not to, it would remain closed.

“Don’t open it.”

When Li Lin Guan’s gaze met his, Qiao Xia immediately understood the unspoken question. Without a moment’s hesitation, he shook his head at Li Lin Guan, firmly stating that the gate should not be opened.

He had, in fact, asked the students on the other side of the metal gate one last time if they wanted to come in, right before he sealed it.

Yet, they hadn’t taken his words seriously.

They neither entered nor left.

Their posture, as if waiting to watch a spectacle, made Qiao Xia realize that continuing to ask would be fruitless. They hadn’t entered when it was safe, and now they cried for help in danger. What had they been doing before?

Qiao Xia didn’t believe he could handle the frenzied red-eyed patients behind the door. Opening it now would be a suicidal act. Thus, even when some students cast accusing glances his way after he finished speaking, Qiao Xia paid them no mind.

If these people wished for death, they shouldn’t drag him along.

While Qiao Xia didn’t harbor grand ideals, he certainly didn’t want to die young. Even facing a major epidemic outbreak and a city on the brink of destruction, Qiao Xia refused to casually abandon his hope for survival.

As long as he was alive, there was still a chance.

“What the hell are you all staring at? My brother said no, so it’s no. If anyone’s hands get restless, I’ll cripple them directly.”

Qiao Xia himself wasn’t bothered by the strange looks, but that didn’t mean Li Lin Guan wasn’t.

Li Lin Guan spat on the ground, his gaze sweeping over the students who had, by sheer luck, followed them onto the rooftop. He spoke, his eyes challenging each of them.

Simultaneously, his dozen or so henchmen chimed in, causing the students who had deemed Qiao Xia cold-blooded and merciless to quickly avert their gazes. They then huddled together, creating a clear distance from Li Lin Guan’s group.

Li Lin Guan’s side paid this no mind; after all, they weren’t kindred spirits.

The cries for help from the other side of the metal gate did not last long. They soon faded, replaced only by a persistent ‘thump-thump-thump’ against the metal, ringing ceaselessly.

Seeing that there was nothing else to do, Qiao Xia found a corner to sit down. He rubbed his calves, aching from running too fast, while his mind raced, contemplating how to escape the school.

Although Qiao Xia should have been thinking about how to leave U City, with the red-eyed patients now surrounding the school, escaping the school itself had become the immediate priority.

Qiao Xia had seen clearly: the playground outside the teaching building was swarming with a multitude of slow-moving figures. Even from a distance, he knew these were all red-eyed patients.

They had likely entered through the school gates and then advanced towards the teaching building.

Earlier, the noise from the other side of the metal gate had been too loud. Now, in the quiet, Qiao Xia could hear the ceaseless wailing and screaming echoing throughout the entire building, suggesting that the red-eyed patients were already engaged in a widespread slaughter.

It would likely be quite some time before a complete silence descended.

The speed at which the Red-Eye Contagion spread was something Qiao Xia had never anticipated. Essentially, anyone bitten by a red-eyed patient would be infected within ten minutes, then lose all reason and proceed to attack the next normal person.

This pattern was strikingly similar to zombies.

Their man-eating habits were also eerily similar.

Could the Red-Eye Contagion truly be a zombie virus?

However, when Liu Ge was infected before, the onset of his symptoms hadn’t been so rapid! In the early stages, one could largely control their actions and not attack others, only losing control after about a week. This was starkly different from the current situation, where full symptoms manifested in just ten minutes.

Furthermore, what was the purpose of the mysterious liquid in that syringe? Why did it have a temporary inhibitory effect on the Red-Eye disease?

Would it still be effective against the updated version of the Red-Eye disease?

How did the Red-Eye disease even appear?

Why was its spread accelerating in U City, while other cities saw only a slow increase?

A barrage of questions assailed Qiao Xia, giving him a splitting headache. He decided to cease his contemplation.

Overthinking would yield no answers; it was better to focus on the immediate challenges at hand.

How to escape the school.

‘Boom’

As Qiao Xia continued to fret over escaping the school, a loud whirring sound of helicopter blades suddenly reverberated above them. Qiao Xia looked up immediately, spotting a camouflage-painted military helicopter swiftly flying overhead.

One departed, and another arrived.

It was only after a full ten aircraft had flown past that the deafening roar finally subsided.

On the rooftop, the group of students, who had excitedly waved at the helicopters, slowly lowered their hands. Their eyes, unable to hide their disappointment, stared blankly at the distant aircraft, now mere black specks, bewildered as to why they had been ignored!

They had been so close, and there were so many of them; the pilots must have seen them!

Yet, they chose to disregard them.

These were clearly military aircraft; shouldn’t they be rescuing people in such a time? Otherwise, what purpose did their presence serve?

Unlike the general disappointment, Qiao Xia, having somewhat anticipated this, squinted at the departing aircraft. He mused that these planes were likely here to survey the situation.

He wondered if, after witnessing the current scene—a veritable living hell—the leaders would solidify their resolve to destroy U City in a week’s time.

“Brother Qiao, do you know some inside information?”

Damao, Li Lin Guan’s strategist, was a sharp individual, always observant and quick-witted. Having consciously kept some attention on Qiao Xia, he now noticed the helpless and pensive expression on Qiao Xia’s face, immediately realizing something was amiss.

The somewhat mysterious Qiao Xia very likely possessed some highly confidential information!