Qi Zhimu rose quietly, glanced at the soundly sleeping Black Herta, and then drifted out of the room like a ghost.
Next door.
Isabella and the other two had already fallen into a deep sleep, snoring continuously due to the fright and exhaustion of the day.
The door slid open silently; Qi Zhimu walked in, and ten minutes later, he walked out, closing the door behind him.
No one knew what happened during those ten minutes; everything remained calm.
It was as if he had only gone in to tuck those three in.
Ten minutes later, he walked out silently again.
Returning to his own room, Qi Zhimu lay back down on the bed.
Black Herta was still sleeping peacefully.
Moonlight spilled onto her face, which was more delicate than an automaton's, her long eyelashes casting a shadow under her eyelids.
Qi Zhimu leaned on his side, propping his cheek with one hand, gazing at her sleeping face by the moonlight.
"You are now the pillar of my entire world."
The words the young girl had spoken earlier in a calm tone resurfaced in his mind.
Knowing full well she was food and would eventually be eaten, yet still...
"What a freak."
Qi Zhimu whispered softly, a smile playing on his lips that even he hadn't noticed.
Perhaps in the girl's heart, she had already consciously labeled herself as Qi Zhimu's property, which was why she acted this way.
"There aren't many people in the world as pure as you..."
Qi Zhimu reached out, his fingertips tracing the outline of her cheek in the air without directly touching her.
After a moment, he closed his eyes.
...
The next day, sunlight pierced through the mist, gradually illuminating the city.
The group set off once again.
There seemed to be a subtle change in the atmosphere.
Isabella, who had been panicking and begging for mercy with a face full of fear last night, seemed like a different person today.
After obtaining Qi Zhimu's permission, she quickly approached Black Herta.
"Black Herta, I thought about it all night."
Isabella took out the device containing the data chip and handed it to Black Herta.
"We've lost our spaceship, so there's basically no chance of returning directly to Azure Star."
Black Herta's gaze was calm. "What do you plan to do?"
Isabella: "After we leave Grizzly City, we can only find a place in the Yi Zhi World where we can survive long-term."
"Like Grizzly City, a modern metropolis where the virus hasn't broken out. This chip is the hope of the entire Azure Star; I'm entrusting it to you."
Surprise flashed in Black Herta's eyes, and she instinctively glanced at Qi Zhimu.
Had he done something to the three of them?
Unfortunately, Qi Zhimu gave no special reaction. Feeling her gaze, he looked back with a nonchalant expression.
"Staring at me for so long, have you fallen in love with me?"
Black Herta remained expressionless, the word 'boring' flashing in her eyes.
"Do you want me to report your situation to the United Government after I return, so they can send a rescue team for you?"
"There are too many unknown risks in the Labyrinth Zone; we don't expect that much."
Isabella sighed, her eyes reddening slightly.
"Azure Star is our home. To save her, generations of ancestors have put in countless efforts, only hoping that future generations will remember our names."
"Now, only you can help us fulfill our long-cherished wish. Are you... willing to help?"
Listening to these words, Black Herta fell into deep thought.
She already had the spatial coordinates Isabella provided; she didn't need them.
To be honest, the change in attitude was too fast.
It would be fine if Qi Zhimu had secretly intervened, but if not...
It was hard to imagine that someone whose will to survive was still so high after the spaceship crash yesterday would become so philosophical about their future fate overnight.
From Qi Zhimu's expression just now, it was impossible to tell if he had done anything.
Even now, Black Herta didn't trust any of the three, including Isabella.
She would wait and see for now; anyway, Mr. Creditor was there.
"Alright, I'll take it."
Qi Zhimu witnessed the entire conversation between the two but didn't offer any opinion.
At noon, the sunlight became somewhat piercing.
But in this deathly quiet city, it could at most bring warmth to the body; it couldn't reach the soul.
The roar of an engine broke the silence as a car drifted around a highway corner.
In front of the vehicle, a tornado was spinning at high speed, moving rapidly along the highway.
It wasn't large, just enough to cover the width of the lane.
The tornado contained wind blades; any obstacles on the road, whether zombies or scrapped vehicles, were ruthlessly sucked in and shredded upon contact.
The vehicle's progress wasn't hindered much.
Qi Zhimu didn't have much patience, so he could only use this slightly tiring method to increase the efficiency of finding the evacuation port.
Shortly after, with the screeching of brakes, the vehicle gradually came to a stop.
Standing on the roof of the car, Qi Zhimu and Black Herta both looked at the port ahead, which seemed unremarkable.
"Sir, this is the place!" Isabella shouted excitedly.
Qi Zhimu jumped to the ground while holding Black Herta.
Isabella stood at the entrance and bent down to pick up a hanging sign from the ground.
"Fujin Port, this must be it!"
"The narration at the end of the movie mentioned the protagonist's daughter's whereabouts; she boarded a rescue ship at Fujin Port and reached an island where zombies couldn't land."
"As long as we take a boat from the port and leave, we can truly complete the plot and leave this world."
The Round-faced Man also chimed in: "Ah... yes, yes, yes, this is it. It's a good thing you remembered that detail; I'd forgotten the port even had a name."
Skinny Tall Man: "Me too..."
Seeing their reactions, Black Herta frowned.
She hadn't seen the ending of disorder, and while the ending sounded consistent with what she'd heard, she still felt something was off.
Thinking of this, Black Herta quietly tugged at the hem of Qi Zhimu's clothes.
Qi Zhimu seemed not to notice, giving no reaction at all.
Instead, Black Herta felt relieved.
Normally, Qi Zhimu wouldn't ignore her, which meant they were currently in a situation where he had to ignore her.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."
Qi Zhimu nodded in acknowledgment. Seeing Isabella go in, he took Black Herta's small hand and entered.
Compared to the outside, Fujin Port was even quieter.
The sea breeze kicked up shallow waves that lapped against the shore. In the vast pier, there was no smell of rot, nor the mindless roars of zombies.
Isabella walked in front, her back hunched, maintaining an extremely low posture.
She stopped by a boat at a landing point and respectfully made a gesture for Qi Zhimu and Black Herta to go ahead, her tone filled with just the right amount of excitement and awe.
"This boat has a deep waterline, and the fuel tank should still have reserves. As long as we can start it, we can sail away from this dead end."
Qi Zhimu's gaze moved past Isabella and landed on the sea ahead.
Black Herta quietly observed the surroundings.
A faint smile touched the corners of Qi Zhimu's mouth as he picked up Black Herta and stepped onto the boat with his long legs.
The yacht's cockpit door was ajar; he walked in and started the engine.
A muffled roar broke the silence of the port as the propeller churned underwater, continuously kicking up spray.
"Looks like we're in luck." Qi Zhimu turned to look at Black Herta.
But in the next second, several thick, dark red tentacles burst out of the water, slamming into the hull and coiling around it tightly.
Qi Zhimu and Black Herta on the deck were dragged into the seawater along with the boat by the terrifying tentacles.