Chapter 140: Save… Save Me

With just one movement, the pain from the wound made Zhou Liming feel a wave of dizziness.

A chunk of flesh the size of a palm was blasted away from his waist, even revealing his internal organs. This kind of injury could definitely be considered fatal. The power of the Heavy Electromagnetic Cannon was terrifying; this showed just a fraction of it. Zhou Liming, whom even a Missile could not harm, suffered such severe injuries just from a glancing blow.

The powerful Fierce Beast Gene had repaired somewhat over the past few days, but after the wound festered, the repair was very slow. It had only repaired a layer of inner membrane, just enough to stop the internal organs from being exposed. But even so, this wound caused Zhou Liming endless pain. Now, he might be able to block ordinary bullets, but any Super Warrior could easily take his life.

Having fled here, Zhou Liming no longer had the strength to run. He did not know who was coming, so he could only sit blankly against the tree trunk, staring in the direction where the voices came from.

Very quickly, five figures appeared at the edge of the woods. After rounding a few towering trees, they appeared before Zhou Liming’s eyes.

All five held weapons in their hands. From what Zhou Liming knew, they should be police submachine guns. They wore camouflage uniforms, and each carried a backpack. Although they were talking, they did not let their guard down. Intentionally or unintentionally, they always maintained vigilance, ready to enter combat at any time.

Zhou Liming leaned silently against the tree trunk. Without making a sound, these five people initially did not see him.

“Leizi, be more careful next time. You almost got us killed this time.”

A man with a full beard spoke; he looked to be in his thirties and very tough. The Leizi he mentioned was in his twenties, with lingering fear on his face. He nodded repeatedly and said, “Uncle Rui, I understand.” Every time he thought of the danger in the city just now, cold sweat streamed down his face. Fortunately, it was a close call without incident, but who could guarantee they would be so lucky next time?

Beside him was a middle-aged man who looked somewhat gentle. He was in his forties and smiled faintly, “Tang Rui, it’s Leizi’s first time out. It’s inevitable he’s a bit nervous. He just needs to pay attention next time.”

Tang Rui could not really blame him too much and said, “I’m just reminding him that he must follow orders, otherwise he will get everyone killed. The Fierce Beasts are powerful; we are snatching food from a tiger’s mouth, so we must be cautious above all else. Let’s leave it at that this time. We only encountered a Multi-legged Insect Beast, which we could handle with guns.”

Another man, around thirty years old, did not speak but was responsible for keeping watch.

Suddenly, Li An, who was responsible for vigilance, shouted. The other three threw themselves to the ground in the woods at top speed, then rolled to find trees to hide behind. Clearly, they had finally discovered Zhou Liming not far ahead.

“Who is it?” Tang Rui’s voice rang out. He leaned behind a tree trunk and made hand signals to the others.

Zhou Liming watched their every move, but he could only smile bitterly in his heart. His whole body was weak now. Killing these ordinary people was not impossible, but what about after? With excessive exertion, the layer of inner membrane that had formed with such difficulty would definitely tear. Once his internal organs spilled out, not even a great god could save his life.

To be honest, Zhou Liming felt a bit surprised. He had not expected to run into people here.

Zhou Liming tried hard to open his mouth, but he could only make some hoarse sounds. Even he could not hear clearly what he was saying, let alone them in the distance.

At Tang Rui’s signal, Li An carefully stuck his head out, took just a quick glance, and then pulled back. This movement was incredibly fast, but it was enough for Li An. He was confident in his eyesight: “It looks like a wounded man.”

The signs of Zhou Liming’s injury were too obvious. The white gauze wrapped around his waist was half-stained red, and he sat blankly against the tree.

As long as it was not a Fierce Beast, it was not a problem. So, after receiving Li An’s confirmation, Tang Rui signaled the others to cover him, then carefully revealed himself from behind the tree trunk. Only after realizing there was no attack did he walk out. From this angle, he could fully see Zhou Liming’s position.

To prove he was still alive, Zhou Liming raised his hand, then let it fall weakly.

But this movement still startled Tang Rui. There was no helping it; in the Fierce Beast Era, living in a Fierce Beast Occupied Area, they had long been like startled birds. The slightest rustle of leaves could scare them into a cold sweat. Fortunately, although Tang Rui’s gun was pointed at Zhou Liming, he ultimately did not fire.

Seeing there was no danger, Tang Rui clapped his hands, and the others walked out.

“This man looks seriously injured,” the young man named Leizi said, looking at Zhou Liming, seeing his weak state, and especially the shocking bloodstains on his waist.

Among the four, the middle-aged man in his forties was the leader. Although he looked gentle, the faint cold glint in his eyes showed he was definitely not as simple as he appeared. He frowned and stared at Zhou Liming. Unfortunately, Zhou Liming’s X Squadron black vest had long since been torn to shreds and lost, and his trousers were hurriedly taken from a village during his escape, so what distinguishing features could he have?

Zhou Liming was very young. Although his cells had restructured and he became very strong due to radiation in India, there was still a trace of immaturity on his face.

Zhou Liming’s appearance often gave people the first impression of being harmless. His honest face could easily deceive people. If he had not appeared here so mysteriously, why would anyone suspect anything?

In fact, Wang Ruijin did not have much suspicion, for a simple reason. It was now the Fierce Beast Era. Facing the rampage of Fierce Beasts, humans felt much closer to one another. Unless necessary, there was rarely conflict between people now. What worried Wang Ruijin was that, in his view, the young man before him was too severely injured and could lose his life at any moment.

He sighed softly, withdrew his gaze, and said to Tang Rui, “Let’s go.”

Tang Rui did not hesitate, but Leizi hesitated and said, “Isn’t that bad? We…” Wang Ruijin shook his head and said, “Leizi, he is beyond saving.”

Leizi still argued, “He’s just injured.”

“It’s useless.” Wang Ruijin pointed at Zhou Liming’s waist. Even though it was wrapped in gauze, it was still indented by a large chunk. He said, “Can you see? The sunken area is very large, which means his wound is huge. Look, his face is red and his eyes are bloodshot, indicating the wound infection has caused a high fever. Hmm, the fact that he hasn’t fallen into a coma is already a miracle.”

With Wang Ruijin’s explanation, the others all looked regretful, shaking their heads as they prepared to leave.

With the arrival of the Fierce Beast Era, every survivor living in the coastal areas had seen their fair share of life and death. The fall of every city was destined to mean the death of hundreds of thousands of people. Sometimes, you could even see an entire street of people turn to ashes under the power of Fierce Beasts…

“Save… save me…”

Seeing them about to leave, Zhou Liming struggled to say these three words.

He knew his own wound. In the eyes of others, it was fatal, but Zhou Liming knew that with some medicine, he could recover. With a physique modified by the Fierce Beast Gene, how could he be brought down by such a small wound? If he were not too weak to exert strength now, why would he need to beg for help?

The four, who had already taken a few steps, stopped again and looked at each other. Seeing the look of intolerance on Leizi’s face in particular, Wang Ruijin sighed and said, “Forget it. Watching someone die without helping is not our style. It’s not far from the Settlement. Even if he dies in the end, at least we tried. Sigh, enough humans have died already.”

Wang Ruijin meant to leave it to fate; whether Zhou Liming could survive depended on his luck.

Hearing Wang Ruijin relent, Leizi immediately became happy. He ran over to help Zhou Liming up and carried him on his back.

Tang Rui walked up to Wang Ruijin and said somewhat helplessly, “Leizi is still too kind. He hasn’t suffered any losses yet, so he doesn’t understand human nature.” Wang Ruijin sighed lightly and said, “Although that is his weakness, isn’t it also his strength? In this terrible environment, people might not fight each other, but scheming is inevitable.”

Both of them smiled bitterly, glanced at Leizi, and then walked forward.

Leizi’s real name was Wang Lei. He had lost his parents since childhood and had always lived with his uncle, Wang Ruijin. In Wang Ruijin’s heart, he had always treated him like a son.

To a large extent, saving the young man before them was because of Leizi; Wang Ruijin did not want him to have a psychological burden. In Wang Ruijin’s eyes, this young man could last two days at most. As a doctor, he had that much judgment. With such a severe injury in the current environment, no one could save him.

Wang Ruijin did not want to ask about the other’s background, nor did he want to know how he was injured. Anyway, two days later, he would disappear from this world, and there would simply be one more nameless grave.

Because Wang Lei had to carry Zhou Liming, Li An took his backpack.

With the addition of Zhou Liming, none of the four spoke, only walking in silence. They seemed very familiar with this place, winding their way through this vast, boundless forest of mountains and ridges. Under the towering trees, there were not many thorns, so moving was not very difficult.

They seemed to be heading away from the city, constantly moving further from it and going deeper into this sea of trees.

After crossing two small ridges, the terrain ahead became more complex. The ridges became dense and undulating, and the thorns became thicker. But Zhou Liming noticed that upon reaching this area, their previously tense and serious faces quietly relaxed, revealing a faint smile. It seemed they were not far from their destination.