Chapter 159

Chapter 159: The Death of Ji Jiuzhe

The surroundings suddenly fell silent. The foul stench from the mutated wolf’s mouth vanished without a trace, replaced by the fresh scent of grass and the dampness of seawater carried by the breeze from afar.

Gu Ning’s eyelashes fluttered a few times before she opened her eyes. She abruptly sat up from the ground and looked around. In an instant, it felt as if a bucket of icy water had been poured over her head in winter—her entire body turned cold. Ji Jiuzhe was gone!

He was out there alone…

Gu Ning quickly stood up and rushed toward the black door, pressing the handle without hesitation.

Before she could even open her eyes after the golden light flashed, she heard a loud bang! Accompanied by the mutated wolf’s agonizing howl.

When she opened her eyes, she saw the mutated wolf being flung into the air and crashing heavily into the wall!

Not far from her stood the giant bear, towering like a black mountain!

Had the roar she heard earlier not been from within the space? Had the giant bear been released from the space?

As the giant bear charged toward the mutated wolf on all fours, the once-ferocious wolf now appeared pitifully weak in front of the bear, which was several times its size. The wolf was slapped around, completely defenseless.

Though Gu Ning felt a sense of satisfaction, she had no interest in watching the bear torment the wolf. She frantically searched for Ji Jiuzhe, but the spot where they had been was now empty, with only Ji Jiuzhe’s gun left behind. Her heart sank. She carefully examined the nearby area but found no signs of Ji Jiuzhe being dragged or walking away. Suddenly, a terrifying possibility crossed her mind. She turned sharply toward the direction of the mutated wolf, her eyes reddening, and a murderous aura emanating from her. She drew her long blade and charged toward the wolf, which was still being brutalized by the bear.

Hearing footsteps behind it, the giant bear turned its head and saw Gu Ning rushing over with her long blade, radiating killing intent. Startled, it glanced at the battered wolf cowering in the corner and instinctively moved aside to make room for Gu Ning.

The wolf struggled to stand, but Gu Ning didn’t give it the chance.

Gu Ning sliced open the wolf’s belly, and its innards spilled out, mixing with blood on the ground. The bear quickly stepped back to avoid getting blood on its fur, shuddering at the thought of its own belly being sliced open. It moved further away and watched as Gu Ning stirred the wolf’s insides with her blade, seemingly searching for something. Judging by her expression, the bear wisely decided not to approach.

Exhausted, Gu Ning collapsed to the ground, panting heavily but feeling immensely relieved. If she had found Ji Jiuzhe’s mutilated remains inside the wolf, she might have broken down on the spot. Thankfully… thankfully…

The giant bear stood nearby, watching Gu Ning’s dazed expression. After a moment of thought, it walked over. Normally, Gu Ning would have already fled far away, but now she just sat there, motionless. The bear approached and let out two low grunts from its nose, as if to say, “I helped you kill the wolf. Can I go back now?” Gu Ning ignored it, stood up, and walked forward, her steps heavy as if filled with cement. She walked to the spot where Ji Jiuzhe had lain, bent down, and picked up his gun. The bear silently followed her, staying alert, afraid that Gu Ning might sneak back and leave it behind. Its carefully cultivated fish pond couldn’t be taken by this human.

Gu Ning stood in place for a long time, so long that the bear almost thought she had turned into one of those motionless statues.

Suddenly, she turned to look at it, clutching her chest with a bewildered expression, and softly said, “My heart hurts so much…”

The bear didn’t understand her words and didn’t know how to respond, so it let out a gentle growl.

Gu Ning stared blankly at the gun in her hand… It wasn’t sadness, but heartache, as if someone had grabbed her heart and was squeezing it tighter and tighter. The pain made her want to cry.

“Roar!” The bear suddenly let out a powerful roar.

Gu Ning looked up and saw the zombies that had been gathered on another street now swarming toward them. The sea of heads stretched as far as the eye could see.

The bear secretly rejoiced. Surely, the human would take it back now.

Then came a crisp sound. Gu Ning broke her blade into two pieces, holding one in each hand, and walked step by step toward the zombie horde. Her back exuded a mix of determination and despairing killing intent.

Gu Ning felt she must have gone mad. Otherwise, why would she do something so irrational? But at this moment, all she wanted was to swing her blades and kill every zombie in sight—one, three, ten, twenty… More and more zombie corpses piled up at her feet. If they could still bleed, the ground would have been a river of blood. She raised her blades and swung them down repeatedly, zombies falling one after another, until she could no longer lift her arms, and the corpses beneath her feet formed a mountain…

The bear watched from a distance, never intervening, simply observing as Gu Ning kept killing, kept killing.

Until Gu Ning’s blades fell limply to the ground.

“Let’s go,” Gu Ning said wearily to the bear, standing amidst the pile of zombie corpses.

With a thought, she brought the bear back into the space.

Once inside, the bear lingered near Gu Ning for a while, seemingly wanting to offer comfort, but this wasn’t its forte. It eventually turned and walked up the mountain, glancing back every few steps.

Gu Ning, in a daze, returned to the guesthouse. Exhausted and covered in grime, she collapsed onto the bed, staring blankly at the yellowish ceiling until her eyes grew sore. She blinked, wanting to cry but unable to. Her chest felt tight, making it hard to breathe.

“You shouldn’t have come.”

He was right. She shouldn’t have gone. At least then she wouldn’t have had to witness his death. Maybe she wouldn’t feel this heartache. She knew in her heart that Ji Jiuzhe had died because of her. If it weren’t for him luring the mutated wolf away to help her escape, he would have safely returned to the town by now. Gu Ning closed her eyes, and she saw Ji Jiuzhe’s icy face soften. He had looked at her so tenderly, then decisively closed the door, sacrificing himself to draw the wolf away.

He had saved her three times, but she couldn’t save him even once.

Not even his body could be preserved.

The phone on the table suddenly rang, but Gu Ning lay motionless on the bed as if she hadn’t heard it. It wasn’t until the third ring that she picked it up.

On the other end, Ji Qige let out a sigh of relief, then scolded, “You finally answered! Where have you been? You weren’t picking up. Get to Capital City Central Hospital right now. Jiuzhe is in Room 109. Hurry!”

Gu Ning shot up from the bed. “What? What happened to him?”

Ji Qige said, “We were in the middle of a meeting when he suddenly passed out. He hasn’t woken up yet. I can’t explain everything over the phone. Just get here, and we’ll talk more.”

Gu Ning’s heart raced. Could the Ji Jiuzhe from the apocalypse have affected this world?

She didn’t have time to think too much. Grabbing her wallet and phone, she rushed out the door.

As she passed the front desk, the owner was startled and about to say something, but Gu Ning was already gone like the wind.

She hailed a taxi and gave the destination: “Capital City Central Hospital.”

The driver glanced at her through the rearview mirror and was shocked. Her pink down jacket was barely recognizable, covered in dirt and torn in several places. Her hair was a mess, and her face and hands had various cuts and scrapes, as if she had been in a street brawl—and definitely one involving knives… But her face was icy, making the driver swallow his words and focus on driving, silently mourning his newly replaced seat covers.

Gu Ning sat in the car, her mind filled with the worst possible thoughts. By the time she got out, she was drenched in cold sweat. The driver, seeing her pale face and sweat-drenched forehead, and noticing she looked about the same age as his daughter, couldn’t help but ask, “Miss, are you okay? Did something bad happen? Do you need me to call the police?” Gu Ning shook her head, handed over the fare, and thanked him before heading toward the hospital. As she walked, she tried to reassure herself that everything would be fine. But her palms were sweaty, her legs felt weak, and an indescribable fear gripped her.

Her disheveled appearance attracted many stares and whispers from passersby, but Gu Ning acted as if she didn’t notice, walking straight ahead. Soon, she broke into a jog, rushing toward the hospital.

Gu Ning burst into the hospital lobby and asked the front desk nurse for directions to Room 109. The nurse gave her a curious yet sympathetic look before pointing her in the right direction.

The waiting area was packed with people. As Gu Ning walked past, many eyes turned toward her. Though hospitals saw all kinds of people coming and going, someone as injured and disheveled as Gu Ning, arriving alone, was a rare sight, sparking all sorts of imaginations.

Just then, the elevator doors opened in the distance, and several people stepped out. Gu Ning immediately spotted the first man to exit. Her steps faltered, and when she saw Ji Jiuzhe standing there unharmed, all her earlier fear and anxiety vanished. Her eyes reddened, and she opened her mouth as if to call his name, but no sound came out. Her throat felt blocked, and her eyes turned red.

Ji Jiuzhe stepped out of the elevator with a frosty expression. After a few steps, he stopped. He had seen Gu Ning. The frost on his face momentarily froze, his expression shifting several times before settling into calmness, though beneath it lay unseen turmoil.

Ji Qige hurried out of the elevator after him, muttering in frustration, “We haven’t even figured out why you fainted, and you’re already trying to leave as soon as you wake up. Can’t you just—huh? Gu Ning—” He finally noticed Gu Ning’s disheveled state and was shocked. “Gu Ning, what happened to you? How did you—” Before he could finish, Ji Jiuzhe, who had stopped, started walking toward Gu Ning with large strides.

Gu Ning stood there, staring blankly at Ji Jiuzhe. Without a word, Ji Jiuzhe locked eyes with her and walked straight up to her. When he reached her, he naturally cupped her face and, under her trembling gaze, leaned down and kissed her—right there, in front of everyone.

The moment Ji Jiuzhe kissed her, Ji Qige gasped behind them. He grabbed the young man beside him, exclaiming in shock, “When did they get to this stage?!”

The young man was completely petrified—what was he seeing? Ji Jiuzhe, the man who never showed interest in women, was kissing a girl! Not Ji Qige, but Ji Jiuzhe!

It took him a while to find his voice. “Qige… am I hallucinating?”

Ji Qige replied, “Probably not… unless we’re both hallucinating.”

“Is that… Jiuzhe’s girlfriend?”

“Not exactly… Jiuzhe likes her, but she hasn’t responded yet. Tsk tsk, I really underestimated him.”

“What?” Ji Zhaotang thought he had misheard.

But no matter how shocked they were, it couldn’t compare to Gu Ning’s shock.

Gu Ning was so stunned she forgot to blink. When Ji Jiuzhe’s cold lips touched hers, it felt like a thunderbolt had struck her. A tingling sensation shot from the soles of her feet to the top of her head. Her entire body stiffened, her mind went blank, and the strength she had been holding onto suddenly drained away. Her legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed, but Ji Jiuzhe’s right arm wrapped around her waist through the thick down jacket, supporting her. His lips, however, didn’t leave hers.

Gu Ning finally snapped out of her shock and placed her hand on Ji Jiuzhe’s chest, leaning back to break the kiss. She looked up at him, her mouth agape, but no words came out.

Ji Jiuzhe didn’t let go of her waist. His other hand gently brushed the uninjured side of her face, his eyes filled with undisguised heartache as they landed on the scrapes on her right cheek. He gazed into her eyes, as if trying to see into the depths of her soul, and murmured in a low voice, “It’s me, Gu Ning… it’s me.”

Gu Ning was momentarily stunned, then her expression changed. A thought she couldn’t believe surfaced in her mind. She stared at Ji Jiuzhe in disbelief, her hand clutching his clothes tightly. Her voice trembled slightly from shock. “What… did you say?”

“I was wrong,” Ji Jiuzhe said deeply, his voice like a sigh. “You should have come.”

Gu Ning was completely stunned.