Chapter 5 : A Man’s Word is His Bond!

Li Xiaoyao had originally been determined to fight her brother Li Yiming to the very end!

However, after hearing what Li Yiming had to say…

She suddenly calmed down!

“R-Really?”

Li Xiaoyao looked at him in disbelief. 

Her brother’s face was full of smiles—he didn’t look like someone on the verge of death at all!

“Of course it’s true!”

“A man’s word is his bond. Would your big brother lie to you?”

Li Yiming spoke with absolute confidence.

Somehow, Li Xiaoyao felt a strange sense of trust in her heart.

Even though a normal person infected by the virus should be as good as dead…

That peaceful and reassuring smile on Li Yiming’s face made her start to believe—just a little.

Maybe… maybe her brother really did have a plan.

Even though she now trusted him deep down, Li Xiaoyao still couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

She stuck out her pinky finger and looked at Li Yiming seriously.

“Let’s pinky promise!”

Li Yiming scratched his head.

He’d originally wanted to refuse such a childish gesture.

But faced with those big, watery eyes of hers…

He just couldn’t bring himself to say no.

Li Yiming reached out his pinky and hooked it with Li Xiaoyao’s.

But the pinky swear alone wasn’t enough for her.

She extended her thumb too, and the two of them gave it an official “stamp” to seal the deal!

Only after that did Li Xiaoyao reluctantly let go of his hand.

Seeing her still standing nearby, unwilling to leave, Li Yiming let out a soft sigh.

“Alright, it’s time for me to go.”

His time was limited, and he couldn’t afford to spend more of it managing Li Xiaoyao’s emotions.

He gently patted her head, then turned and walked away without looking back.

As soon as Li Yiming left, murmurs broke out from the survivor squad behind Li Xiaoyao!

After all, Li Yiming was well-liked.

Most members of the survivor team had received help or kindness from him in one way or another.

Seeing him leave the group alone now…

Everyone felt a sense of deep regret.

This departure likely meant farewell—forever.

But unlike the others, Shen Feiyan remained completely indifferent.

Even though things were slightly different from his memories of his previous life—and he hadn’t personally executed Li Yiming with a bullet this time…

To him, it didn’t matter.

In Shen Feiyan’s eyes, someone leaving the group alone like that…

Would be dead in a few hours anyway.

Rather than waste his attention on a man about to die…

He was far more interested in Li Xiaoyao, whose potential was just beginning to shine.

At that moment, Li Xiaoyao stood frozen in place, staring at the back of Li Yiming as he walked away, unable to let go.

Shen Feiyan approached, intending to comfort her.

“Xiaoyao, don’t be too upset… I—”

Before he could finish, Li Xiaoyao slapped him across the face—hard!

“Scum. Stay away from me!”

Now that she had finally seen Shen Feiyan’s true colors, she shoved him aside without hesitation.

Shen Feiyan stood there stunned for a long moment before he finally reacted.

Damn that Li Yiming…

He turned to glare at Li Yiming’s disappearing figure.

He couldn’t shake the irritation bubbling inside him from the way Li Yiming had acted just now.

Just a few simple words, and he had nearly unraveled the entire survivor squad that Shen Feiyan had painstakingly built!

When did that guy get so much backbone and confidence all of a sudden?!

Shen Feiyan was full of confusion.

But it didn’t last long. 

He quickly brushed it off.

Why bother thinking about it?

That side character’s doomed anyway.

With that comforting thought, Shen Feiyan’s mood improved significantly.

He even forgot about the slap Li Xiaoyao had just given him.

With a wave of his hand, he began ordering the survivors to clean up the battlefield and scavenge supplies.

…

Meanwhile, on the other side—Li Yiming, who had just left the survivor group, was moving on his own.

He found an abandoned car by the roadside—its door ajar and the inside splattered with blood.

After sweeping the rotting flesh off the driver’s seat, he climbed in.

Sitting inside the small vehicle, Li Yiming finally let out a long sigh of relief.

He unwrapped the bandage on his left arm and checked the wound.

Fortunately, the artery hadn’t been hit.

The bleeding had stopped.

But things were still far from good.

A faint stench coming from the wound made it clear—the zombie virus had already begun to spread through his body.

“Damn it…”

Li Yiming cursed under his breath and rewrapped the wound tightly.

After tending to it, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a wristwatch.

This watch was a birthday gift from Li Xiaoyao.

He remembered how, back when he read the comic, the author Isayama Z** had milked this watch for all it was worth in the story—flashback after flashback, tearing the readers’ hearts out.

Those memory sequences had emotionally wrecked Li Yiming.

Shaking his head, he sighed and set a timer on the watch—for five hours.

According to the comic’s logic:

From one to three hours post-bite is the virus’s incubation period.

During this time, the infected show no obvious symptoms.

Between the fourth and fifth hour, the infected begin to experience high fever, dizziness, and uncontrollable shivering.

This is known as the “window phase.”

After the fifth hour, symptoms escalate rapidly.

Vomiting, muscle failure, and even slipping into a coma.

At that point, the infected are basically beyond saving.

The five-hour timer Li Yiming set was to remind himself:

He had exactly that much time left… to find a way to save himself.

As long as he could find an antivirus serum within that time…

Li Yiming would be saved!

And as for where to find the serum.

He already had the answer in mind.

Sacred Heart Hospital in Wanxiong City!

Having read the comic , Li Yiming knew the truth.

On the surface, the place was just a hospital.

But in reality, it was a covert clinical trial site co-run with the biotech company Umbrena.

If his memory served him correctly…

Due to the sudden outbreak of the zombie crisis, a whole batch of pure T-virus concentrate had been left behind in the first basement level—unincinerated!

And along with it, the hospital’s laboratory still held a significant stockpile of the matching antivirus serum.

If he could get there, not only could he use the serum to cure himself.

But that crate of virus concentrate could also give him the chance to awaken superpowers!

After all, in the original story…

Shen Feiyan, the protagonist, used that very same batch of pure T-virus to awaken his second ability.

With twin powers, Shen Feiyan went on to dominate the post-apocalyptic world, slaughtering foes left and right!

But unfortunately for him.

That “power-up gift box” originally written for the hero…

Might just be claimed early by Li Yiming instead!

After setting the timer, Li Yiming slowly slipped the pocket watch back into his coat.

“Five hours… More than enough.”

He curled his lips into a wicked grin.

Then, with a hard stomp on the gas pedal.

The abandoned car by the roadside rumbled to life!

The wheels trembled as the car began to move.

And in that moment…

The gears of fate quietly began to shift.