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Chapter 43: Forty-Two - s - "The Only Antidote

Chapter 43: Forty-Two Chapters - "The Only Antidote

"They brought back supplies; we finally have something to fill our stomachs with!"

"The People’s Liberation Army uncle is back! Will mom and dad have something to eat now?"

The sanctuary was abuzz as people saw the huge load of supplies carried by the managers, Yang Changxu and his team. Their faces welled with excitement and greed, but the sight of the guns at their waists reined in their greed, and they could only wait hopefully.

"Let’s distribute the stuff to everyone, old rules apply, no distinction of age or gender, it will be divided equally per head," instructed Yang Changxu to the man beside him as he and his companions separated, each carrying a large bag of supplies. Then he watched as the man gradually distributed the goods.

Suddenly, he saw a woman rush over, her child crying "wah wah" in her arms.

"Director Yang, Officer Yang!" the woman wailed pitifully: "Our Panpan is really too hungry, that little bit of food truly isn’t enough, please, please give him a bit more to eat..."

"Oh dear... ma’am, please get up..." Yang Changxu wanted to help her up, but the woman was clinging to her spot on her knees before him. Reluctant to pull her away, he had no choice but to reason with her: "The accessible supermarkets have been looted, and some are full of zombies that we can’t break into... We only have so much, there isn’t enough for everyone, we can’t play favorites..."

He was still speaking when a young woman in her twenties also started to cry:

"I... I can’t stand this life anymore... can’t get full from eating, don’t know where my parents have gone, I really don’t want to play this game, but I don’t want to die either... how can I get out of here, I don’t want to play anymore, I want to be a spectator... sob sob sob..."

"Uncle, are you a People’s Liberation Army uncle? My mom’s been quarantined in that little room over there, when can she come out?" A child tugged at his trousers: "Dad is gone, and mom told me to listen to uncle, but I really miss mom..."

Yang Changxu was firmly fixed by everyone’s gaze and felt somewhat at a loss.

... Despair.

A pervasive despair, an almost tangible despair, hung over the small sanctuary.

Even though death wouldn’t be real, these people still didn’t want to experience dying. Whether by starving or suicide... a bad life beats a good death.

If they could just survive these fifteen days, they might be able to choose to become spectators and not enter the next world.

The human desire for survival exists in any situation.

"Everyone, don’t panic, stay calm... our squad goes out to collect supplies every day, we will help everyone survive..." Yang Changxu could only stabilize people with this promise. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, as if he thought of something. He fumbled inside his chest and took out the half-bottle of purple antidote that Su Ming’an had thrown to him, shaking it in his hand:

"—Look, everyone! We’ve already made significant progress, we’ve obtained a perfect cure for the zombie virus from the generous Number One Player! As long as we continue researching with this, believe that everyone will no longer fear zombies in the future!"

He initially intended it to have a calming effect.

To make everyone believe in him—that there was still hope, that the future was not far away.

Then, as he raised the bottle, he unexpectedly saw everyone’s gaze on him change slightly.

The flame of hope ignited in people’s eyes, but with it came endless desire and greed.

He suddenly realized something.

"That." Someone spoke up amidst the silence, "Who will this only antidote be distributed to now?"

"—Could you give it to my family’s Axiong?" A woman pleaded with hopeful eyes: "My family’s Axiong was among the first to be quarantined, he must be suffering a lot..."

Yang Changxu looked at her with a complicated expression. He wouldn’t tell her that her family’s Axiong turned into a zombie on the second day of infection and was later eliminated, his body left incomplete.

"Save my brother Bolong!" A girl in a school uniform plucked up her courage: "He was only bitten because he was saving others... he deserves to live."

"Uncle, can my mom be let out now? Can that little bottle save my mom?"

A child looked up at him with an innocent face.

Yang Changxu stood there stiffly, holding the bottle.

Surrounded by expectant gazes, he opened his mouth with difficulty:

"This bottle, the antidote," he said with a halting voice, "I will give it to Old Qin... he’s almost done for, he’s a chemistry doctor, has been studying the formula from the start, maybe there’s hope if he continues... However, don’t worry, there will be a chance, as long as Old Qin..."

"—What other chances are there!" A middle-aged woman howled: "My husband, my children—they’ve been quarantined for nearly seven days now... they, they’re already about to..."

Then, she buried her head in her hands and let out a wailing cry.

Someone suddenly picked up a hockey stick beside them and, dragging their body, started to walk outside.

"...Staying here isn’t a solution, might as well take the last bit of my strength to get some food..."

People rose from the corners and staggered outside, their eyes flickering with a mix of hope and despair.

"You guys, you guys...sigh." Yang Changxu wanted to persuade them, but didn’t know what to do, the world outside was indeed incredibly dangerous, but as these people said, staying in the sanctuary would only mean an inevitable death by starvation—after all, he realized, his ability was limited, even if he tried his hardest, he couldn’t save everyone.

He stood silent, watching as people left one after another.

A few shadows gradually approached him, but he didn’t pay attention, thinking they just wanted to say goodbye to him who had protected them for so long.

"Bang—!"

A steel pipe struck him hard on the back of his head, bringing an intense, dull pain.

Yang Changxu’s vision blurred instantly, he was forced to stumble forward a few steps, the bottle in his hand flung out and was immediately fought over by a crowd.

"Mine! It’s mine!"

"Back off! I need it to save Axiong!"

"The bottle is in that woman’s hand, quick, stop her!"

The already chaotic crowd boiled over, human desire flaring in an instant, they shoved and hit each other with ferocity, all for that half bottle.

"Stop—stop... everyone calm down!"

Yang Changxu felt dizzy, he was unsteady but still tried to stop the mayhem, but the youths who had attacked him went all in, lunging at him with sticks, intending to simply take all of his supplies!

...With these supplies, even if they left the refuge, they would live comfortably!

They weren’t like these softhearted people; they didn’t want to experience the feeling of an empty stomach anymore. They didn’t want to be spectators; they wanted points! To survive—to become stronger!

Though there was still some conscience in their hearts, their weapons still swung towards the head of the man who had saved their lives!

Yang Changxu’s normally fiery eyes finally went cold.

He spun around, catching the incoming club with both hands. With a strength value of 10 points, he was much stronger than these players who only stayed in the sanctuary, he pushed the club back forcefully and flipped the charging youth over with a kick, sending several to the ground.

"Don’t be foolish... lads." Sorrow filled his eyes.

Just then, a middle-aged man managed to grab the antidote bottle, clutching it ecstatically to his chest, he crazily dashed towards the exit—!

"Stop him, stop him!" the people behind yelled as they desperately chased. Yang Changxu also immediately wanted to stop the man, but as he stepped forward, dizziness from the blow to his head turned his vision pitch black.

"I’ve made it, I’ve made it—!" The middle-aged man’s face was splattered with blood, he had not thought much, his desperation to save his wife driving him to fight fiercely for the medicine, but none of it mattered now—because the door to light was right before his eyes—

"Bang!"

His abdomen ran into a dark shoe sole.

The person standing at the doorway kicked him back in the stomach, sending him flying back in an arc faster than his charge.

The teenager holding a blood-stained fire axe stood at the entrance, the daylight casting a long, slanting shadow behind him.

Sunlight scattered over his shoulders, brightening him with a halo of light, but the eyes that looked inside were chillingly dark.

He observed the chaos with a detached gaze, then shifted his eyes to the somewhat disheveled Yang Changxu.

"Do you think these people are worth saving?" he asked.