Chapter 17: The Person I Least Wanted to See, Now the One I Most Want to See

“Damn it, even using speed hacks now!” Lu Dongnuan’s scalp tingled. 

“Are Zombies evolving too?”

This was definitely not good news.

The Blind Monk’s strength was monstrous. 

As he flung Sister Jing away with his left arm, he suddenly reached down, grabbed a Zombie, and squeezed its head until it burst, then picked up its corpse and hurled it at the surrounding horde.

Seeing more and more Zombies swarming in, Lu Dongnuan watched the Blind Monk’s rampage and immediately checked Xiao Fang’s wound.

Xiao Fang hadn’t been skewered through like she was, but his injury was just as deep. 

Logically, with such a severe wound…

A wave of grief suddenly clogged her throat.

She fought to open the Rooftop’s so-called door of hope, only to find, before her eyes, a deeper, darker corridor.

Lu Dongnuan felt all the blood in her body turn cold.

Uncontrollable fury and despair surged to her head.

“Fuck you!! Which motherless idiot designed this shitty Dead Mall?”

She couldn’t even finish cursing, her voice breaking with a sob, left only with helpless rage.

Using the last of her strength, she dragged Xiao Fang into the corridor and slammed shut the door to hell behind them.

With her back pressed to the freezing iron door, she could clearly feel every pounding impact, every savage howl from outside, and her own heart thumping so hard it felt on the verge of collapse.

She was utterly spent. 

Her body’s healing seemed to have used up too much energy, but if she didn’t keep moving, Xiao Fang had no chance to survive.

But even if she kept moving…

She looked at Xiao Fang—his face already turning ashen. 

Was even Heaven unwilling to let him live?

She dragged Xiao Fang, muttering under her breath, “God, if you really exist, then this is the first time I’ve ever prayed to you, please…” 

Lu Dongnuan took a shaky breath and continued, “Please, just give him a little more time.”

Half dragging, half hauling, she finally made it to the end of the corridor, to the door that represented their last hope.

“Bang!”

That door was hit with tremendous force, a huge dent bulging out.

Her pupils shrank. 

Terror gripped her throat.

She spun around and twisted the doorknob frantically, but it didn’t budge an inch!

Her mind buzzed blankly.

She twisted again, using every ounce of strength, nails scraping white marks onto the metal, the webbing between her thumb and finger splitting and bleeding—still, the door didn’t move!

She kicked the door viciously, slapped at it again and again, leaving bloody smears on the metal, but the door remained firmly shut.

Despair welled up.

“It’s deadlocked, the door is locked…”

‘It had to be Zhuo Lei.’

That always-absent Zhuo Lei.

He hadn’t come to look for her at all—he’d escaped on his own and, in passing, locked the only way out for her and Xiao Fang.

She collapsed, drained of strength.

She remembered how she’d faced such desperation once before on the first floor, but this time—why did her chest feel torn open? 

So unwilling, so hurt, so angry.

She lowered her head to look at Xiao Fang’s face—pale as paper—and, without warning, hot tears spilled onto his cold skin.

She reached out, gently wiped the tear tracks from his face.

“It’s not easy, little junior,” she murmured, her voice as light as a sigh, as gentle and despairing as when she comforted patients in the past. 

“You actually made me cry out of regret for you… Even someone like me, I almost wish I could die in your place.”

She glanced back at the iron door, trembling on the edge of collapse, and gave a soft laugh, “Heh, guess it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Well, let’s not struggle anymore. You go to heaven, I’ll go to hell, that’s settled. If you get a chance, next life you reincarnate as Darius, come back and chop this bastard up—mince it real fine.”

Her next words dissolved into sobs, but soon, she took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, pressed all her emotions deep inside.

“Bang—!!”

“Boom—!!”

With a sickening metallic screech, the door was smashed open by the Blind Monk, several battered Zombie corpses flung inside, rolling to her feet.

The air was thick with dust and the stench of blood.

Lu Dongnuan slowly bent down, leaned close to Xiao Fang’s ear, and left her final words: “My name is Lu Dongnuan…”

The Blind Monk lowered himself, his gaze locked tight on Lu Dongnuan, overflowing with endless hatred.

“ROAR!” With a deafening bellow, the giant body stepped forward, the pressure overwhelming.

Lu Dongnuan hugged Xiao Fang’s corpse tight, ready to face death.

Just then—

“Click.”

A faint, clear sound of metal catching came from behind her.

Not from the door that was being battered and warped almost beyond recognition—but from the exit she’d nearly broken her nails on, the one locked tight moments ago.

It had opened, by itself.

Lu Dongnuan felt her blood freeze solid. 

She whipped around.

From the crack in the door, a beam of light—different from the corridor’s darkness—shone through, then a man’s face. 

He was tall, wearing a perfectly tailored, spotless black suit that looked completely out of place amidst the carnage and ruin.

He dangled a ring of keys from his fingertips, a cold smile on his lips, mixing amusement, surprise, and undisguised malice.

“Well, well. Who’s here putting on such a tearful farewell?” Lin Mo’s voice wasn’t loud, but it stabbed straight through Lu Dongnuan’s last line of defense. 

“Isn’t this our ever-lucky Lu Dongnuan? What’s this, messed up this time?”

He leisurely pushed the door wide open, his eyes sweeping disdainfully over Lu Dongnuan, sprawled on the ground, covered in blood and dust.

When Lu Dongnuan saw him, she broke into a cheerful smile—genuinely happy.

“Hello, Lin Mo,”

O(∩_∩)O

“Getting to drag you down with me before I die is just the best. I can die with no regrets now.”

She immediately reached out and grabbed his ankle.

Lin Mo, however, wasn’t angry at all, instead watching her antics with keen interest.

“Tsk, nice figure—chest isn’t bad. Even with your face covered, you’d still be fun to play with.”

He even deliberately stepped aside half a pace, exposing the terrifying silhouette of the Blind Monk fully to her view.

That massive figure, reeking of blood and rot, advanced through the debris. 

Its hollow eyes “locked onto” the living flesh in their direction.

It unleashed a roar that rattled the air, thick saliva dripping from its split jaws. 

Every heavy step shook the ground—like a moving mountain of meat.

“Beg me, Lu Dongnuan.” His voice was low and hypnotic, “Crawl over like a dog and beg me to save you.” 

Hearing Lin Mo’s words, Lu Dongnuan only tightened her grip and said, “Then let’s die together.”

“Ohhh so you don’t want to save him?”

“Lin Mo, you’re the daddy, I’m your dog, I’m a little puppy, you’re an old mama 🐕.”

“Shoo, shoo! Get lost!”

Seeing her so willing to grovel without shame, muttering nonsense as she clung to him.

Lin Mo glanced down at her dirty fingers, his suit pants now smeared with blood, yet he only chuckled softly, unconcerned.

“Be my dog? You’re not even qualified.”