Chapter Thirty-Three: Qin Sheng Cannot Possibly Be Dead

“Since that’s the case, let’s see for ourselves. If it’s really as you say, we’ll definitely give you a twenty percent share.” Jiang Miaomiao spoke to Li Chengbin, then left the warehouse with Lin Xing and Chu Xingyu, taking several people with them.

“Everyone, be careful. When we step outside, try to hold your breath. There may be substances harmful to our health after the explosion outside,” Chu Xingyu reminded as they neared the door.

Lin Xing nodded, pulling his sleeve farther down over his wrist and pressing the fabric against his nose. The others, following Jiang Miaomiao’s lead, did the same.

“Open the door.”

At the command, the two people at the entrance nodded at each other, one to the left and one to the right, preparing to open the warehouse door.

Everyone instantly held their breath, trying to minimize contact with the outside air.

The door was quickly opened, and the dust outside, disturbed by the movement, fell in a wave toward Jiang Miaomiao and the others. Before they even stepped through the doorway, their clothes were already covered in dust.

Fortunately, it was only grime, not something harmful to their bodies.

Jiang Miaomiao, Lin Xing, and Chu Xingyu stood at the front of the group, leading the way. Once the dust had settled, the three carefully stepped out from the warehouse.

The scene that greeted them left them momentarily frozen in place.

After the explosion, the cafeteria had been utterly destroyed—nothing remained but the bare floor and a few half-burned table and bench legs. And, of course, some human bones.

All the zombies that had been outside that day had died in the explosion. Those who didn’t die instantly were consumed by the raging fire, reduced to white bones.

The sight was shocking and gruesome. The entire group fell into a heavy silence.

Especially Jiang Miaomiao, Lin Xing, and Chu Xingyu.

Even if they didn’t believe that Qin Sheng was among these countless bones, the odds of her having escaped that day were so slim as to be almost nonexistent. They would rather believe in that one percent of hope than accept the ninety-nine percent certainty.

In their hearts, Qin Sheng could not—would not—die.

Jiang Miaomiao pressed a hand to her nose, her other hand gripping the dagger tightly. The setting was dreadful and dim, but she could still sense the trembling of Lin Xing and Chu Xingyu beside her.

“Trust Shengsheng,” Jiang Miaomiao whispered softly, and the two steadied themselves.

Lin Xing, unafraid of the ghastly white bones, went over them one by one, searching despite the impossibility of identifying any features. Even if Qin Sheng was among them, he would never recognize her. But it was as if this was Lin Xing’s obsession—he had to look at every single thing here, leaving nothing unseen.

“Let’s keep moving,” Jiang Miaomiao said with concern as she glanced at Lin Xing, finally urging the group onward, away from the cafeteria.

The violence of the explosion was obvious from the scene: the cafeteria’s interior was gutted, even the stairs had partially collapsed, and the door had been blasted to pieces. The explosion’s devastation reached thirty meters beyond the cafeteria.

Within that thirty meters, nothing survived—everything was scorched and blackened.

The sight of these wounds upon the earth left Jiang Miaomiao deeply shaken. If Shengsheng hadn’t pushed them into safety, their remains might have been among the white bones now.

“You can all breathe now, but stay alert at all times.”

The cafeteria was located at the western edge of the university, while the location Li Chengbin mentioned was on the east. The shortest path led them straight past the campus commercial street; any other route would be longer or risk encountering more zombies.

The commercial street was close to the cafeteria, and the explosion must have affected the area. Some zombies were unlikely to be in the vicinity for a while, making this the safest and quickest way.

“But the commercial street isn’t absolutely safe,” Chu Xingyu warned. “Stay vigilant for stray zombies.”

Jiang Miaomiao nodded, gripping her dagger and taking the lead with Lin Xing, while Chu Xingyu guarded the rear.

The group hurried toward the east gate. As expected, they encountered only a few isolated zombies—easily handled by Jiang Miaomiao and Lin Xing. In just over ten minutes, they had reached the warehouse Li Chengbin had described.

“Be careful,” Jiang Miaomiao reminded. She exchanged a glance with Lin Xing, then both moved to the warehouse door, one on each side, and opened it.

Chu Xingyu stood at the entrance, dagger ready, prepared for any lurking zombies.

But the place was just as Li Chengbin had said—well hidden. Not even Lin Xing or Chu Xingyu, who had spent years at the university, would have imagined anything was stored here. Anyone would assume it was just a storage closet for cleaning tools, which was why Li Chengbin had been able to exploit it.

“The three of us will go in first and check it out. You wait at the door. When it’s safe, you can come in,” Jiang Miaomiao said to several of the men sent by Wang Yu.

“You’re not planning to stash anything for yourselves, are you?” Just as Jiang Miaomiao was about to go in with Lin Xing and Chu Xingyu, a voice piped up behind them, carrying a note of suspicion.

“What are you talking about?” Lin Xing bristled with anger. Jiang Miaomiao had made it clear the three of them were going in to check for danger, yet this person suspected they’d hide supplies for themselves. How could anyone even say something like that?

“Zhang Yang, they said they’re checking ahead for us. It’s for our safety—why wouldn’t we let them?” one of the others tried to reason with the man named Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang scoffed, pointing at the warehouse. “What danger could there be in here? Not even a zombie, let alone a person. What are you all so scared of?”

With that, he ignored everyone’s protests, strode up to the warehouse, hesitated for a moment, then stepped boldly inside.

Jiang Miaomiao could only roll her eyes. If Qin Sheng were here, and Zhang Yang had dared to speak like that, one flash of Qin Sheng’s broadsword would have scared him into wetting his pants.

“Let’s go in, too—”

“Help! There’s a ghost!!”

Jiang Miaomiao had barely finished speaking when Zhang Yang’s scream echoed from inside.

“Something’s wrong!”

Everyone gripped their weapons and rushed in, only to find Zhang Yang cowering in a corner, trembling and shouting about ghosts.

“There’s a ghost! A ghost!”

Jiang Miaomiao tightened her grip on her dagger and nodded to Lin Xing and Chu Xingyu. Understanding her signal, the three began a careful sweep of the warehouse, weapons at the ready.

“Who’s there?” Lin Xing called out, hearing a noise from the corner. He gripped his dagger tighter, cautiously stepping toward the sound.

Jiang Miaomiao and Chu Xingyu, hearing Lin Xing, hurried over. The three inched closer to the source of the noise, fully prepared for anything.

“Put down your knives, put them down—it’s just me!” came a trembling voice.

Only when they saw who it was did they breathe a sigh of relief.

“My shop assistant and I stumbled on this place that day. There was food, so we decided to hide here. We thought zombies had found us, but it turned out to be you,” Li Wei stammered as he emerged from the shadows, Summer following behind.

Lin Xing frowned when he saw Summer and asked, “Didn’t I tell you to get into the warehouse that day?”

Summer shook her head, lowering her eyes in guilt. “The manager saved my life. I couldn’t just leave him behind.”

Lin Xing clenched his fist in frustration. Qin Sheng and the others had gone out to look for this girl, thinking their job was done once she was safe. Who knew she’d run out again?

“Do you realize because of you, Sister Sheng’s life is now uncertain?!” Lin Xing could contain his anger no longer and shouted at her, regardless of the fact that she was just a girl.

It was only now that Summer realized Lin Xing had been sent by Qin Sheng to find her that day.

“How is Qin Sheng?” Summer asked anxiously, looking up at Lin Xing.

Lin Xing calmed himself with difficulty, and though he found it hard to say, he finally answered, “After you left, the cafeteria exploded. We don’t know if Sister Sheng escaped. No one can find her now…”

“What?” Summer’s legs gave way, and she stumbled back several steps, tears welling in her eyes as pain twisted her heart. She lowered her head and whispered, “I killed Qin Sheng. I killed her…”

Jiang Miaomiao supported the distraught Summer, unable to bear seeing her like this. She tried to comfort her, saying, “Not finding her isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Shengsheng is so capable—she’ll be fine, she’ll be fine.”

The mood grew heavier still, everyone bowing their heads in silence.

“Qin Sheng… I remember her. She was a good person. But if she hadn’t died, none of you would have survived, right?” Li Wei, understanding the situation now, sighed. Like the others, he thought Qin Sheng’s death was selfless but ultimately insignificant.

“Say that again!” In a flash, Lin Xing’s dagger was at Li Wei’s throat. In recent days, this was the one thing he couldn’t bear to hear. Why should Qin Sheng have to die so they could live? Why should a savior be the one who perishes?

“Hey, hey, put the knife down! Even in the apocalypse, you can’t just kill people…” Li Wei was terrified, shrinking back from Lin Xing’s blade.

A sudden roar sounded outside the door—a zombie’s howl. Jiang Miaomiao and the others tensed immediately, rushing forward to close the tiny warehouse door and signaling everyone to keep silent.

A few minutes later, the growls faded away outside.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

“If you speak out of turn again, there’s no telling where I’ll put this blade next,” Lin Xing said, finally lowering his dagger from Li Wei’s throat once the danger had passed.