Chapter 223 : Chapter 223 He only knows how to think about her
"Brother Mu, your left arm!!"
As her gaze swept over Qi Zhimu's empty left shoulder, the newly awakened Herta's face instantly turned pale.
"It's gone, no big deal. I still have my right arm to protect you." Qi Zhimu smiled nonchalantly, reaching out to rub her head.
"...How can you call that a small matter..."
"It's really fine. Once we return to the Azure Star, I can just get a prosthetic limb attached. You've been asleep for a long time; eat something first."
Unwilling to dwell on the subject, Qi Zhimu used one hand to open a can of instant mixed congee; the can was printed with 'Made in Xia Country.'
Herta bit her lower lip tightly.
Even though he was so severely injured, he acted as if it were nothing, only knowing how to worry about her.
No matter how advanced the Azure Star's prosthetic technology was, it could never compare to a limb one was born with...
Saying more at this point would be useless. All she could do was take care of herself and not add more burden to Qi Zhimu.
With that thought, Herta picked up the canned congee and began to eat quickly.
Due to the sweeping virus, the former nighttime bustle of the city had been replaced by intermittent human screams and the roars of zombies.
Fortunately, the zombies only had the instinct to feed and lacked intelligence, so they were temporarily unable to break through the defensive structures set up in the corridor.
The night passed in silence.
The four of them waited in the apartment for two days. In a few more days, the water and electricity would likely be cut off.
This wasn't a major problem, as the supplies prepared by Qi Zhimu and the Protagonist of Disorder were enough to last for several more days.
On the third day, a deafening sound came from outside, and the entire apartment building shook violently.
"What's going on?" The Protagonist of Disorder's expression turned stern.
"I'll go take a look." Qi Zhimu opened the locked door and looked toward the direction of the noise.
It was better not to have looked; the sight was somewhat unexpected.
Billowing smoke rose from the Hospital's open-air parking lot. A large number of zombies, attracted by the commotion, were continuously converging there.
Because the distance was too great, it was difficult for Qi Zhimu to see the specific situation clearly, so he simply assumed it was a crash of a private jet or a helicopter.
After the others in the room found out, they didn't think much more about it.
Facing such a dire situation themselves, they had no mental energy to spare for the outside world.
But sometimes, even if you actively avoid trouble, trouble will come looking for you.
Not long after a few shrill screams, three figures rushed into the staff apartment in a panic, followed by another violent tremor.
With a loud boom, several floors of the fire escape collapsed from the explosion.
The zombies could no longer pursue them, but they had also completely surrounded the people upstairs.
Qi Zhimu went downstairs to check the situation and ran head-on into the three people sprinting up for their lives.
With just one look, he recognized the Azure Star uniforms they were wearing.
Although Qi Zhimu was missing his left arm and his shirt and newly donned coat were Grizzly City styles, his trousers were still from the Azure Star.
Just as he recognized their origin, they recognized his as well.
"Are you... from Spaceship No. 067? What happened?" Qi Zhimu asked.
"We were attacked by an unknown creature, and the ship crashed into this world..."
"I'm asking about the explosion just now."
As an executor of the Space-Time Coordinate Mission, Qi Zhimu knew very well that the ships were equipped with various self-defense gear to deal with Virtual Substance Lifeforms.
Most were thermal weapons like guns, with a few melee weapons.
But the commotion just now sounded exactly like portable explosives, which were strictly controlled by the United Government and forbidden from being brought onto the ships.
These things could easily damage the ship's structure; how did they smuggle them on?
After a brief exchange, Qi Zhimu learned the names of the three people; the leading woman was named Isabella.
They weren't rebels.
Even so, Qi Zhimu didn't give them a friendly look.
He had originally been waiting peacefully in this building for military notification while recovering from his injuries, but these uninvited guests had drawn a large number of zombies to the ground floor.
The Protagonist of Disorder was with his daughter, and he was with Herta while missing his left arm; if the zombies didn't disperse, evacuation would be exceptionally difficult.
"There were screams just now. Was your companion eaten by zombies?"
"Uh... yes, right!"
Hmm?
Qi Zhimu keenly observed that the expressions of the three were a bit off, their eyes darting around.
However, it had nothing to do with him.
The Space-Time Coordinate Mission was inherently a saturated rescue; for those who had already found the coordinates, the primary task was to return to the Azure Star, not to save others.
He had to, and only needed to, protect Herta, who had completed the mission.
With that thought, Qi Zhimu left them there without hesitation and returned to the Protagonist of Disorder's home to lock the doors and windows.
Upon learning the identity of those three, Herta's expression remained calm.
As for the Protagonist of Disorder, knowing he had enough on his own plate, he wouldn't interfere either.
But neither Qi Zhimu nor Herta expected that Isabella would be so deranged as to want them dead.
The woman had found a large amount of high-concentration medical nitrogen in a certain room; once a human inhaled too much, they would quickly lose consciousness.
In the dead of night, while everyone was asleep, the colorless and odorless gas seeped into the room through the crack in the door.
Qi Zhimu seemed to sense something; he suddenly opened his eyes and subconsciously held his breath, his gaze immediately turning to his side.
Herta was sleeping soundly.
Or rather, under the influence of the medical nitrogen, she couldn't wake up in the short term.
Although the Protagonist of Disorder and his daughter were sleeping in the bedroom, all the windows were tightly shut, and now the entire house was filled with the gas.
Over time, the people inside would even be in mortal danger.
Qi Zhimu dared not delay and immediately channeled the small amount of the Power of Abundance he had recovered to firmly protect Herta.
Just then—
Bang!
The layout of the Hospital's staff apartment wasn't high-end, and the door was wooden; it was violently kicked open from the outside.
Three figures wearing gas masks walked in. As soon as they turned on the light, they met Qi Zhimu's icy gaze.
Clearly not expecting him to still be awake, Isabella and the others were startled, but soon, a look of ruthlessness surged onto their faces.
"You have quite the nerve."
As soon as Qi Zhimu spoke, three pistols were aimed right at him.
Isabella really couldn't figure it out. She had clearly released all the medical nitrogen stored in that doctor's home; why was Qi Zhimu still conscious?
No... that's not right!
After observing carefully for a few seconds, Isabella reached a new conclusion.
Qi Zhimu was also affected; it was just that his resistance was beyond that of an ordinary person, so he still retained consciousness.
"Qi Yun, you probably don't know what this world is yet. Let me tell you, this is disorder," Isabella said.
Qi Yun was the pseudonym Qi Zhimu had used while infiltrating the United Government during his time with the rebels.
"And?" Qi Zhimu asked back coldly.
"If you want to live, you must listen to us. The owner of this house is the male lead. Your luck is actually... huh?!"
Before she could finish, Isabella saw the person lying with their back turned next to Qi Zhimu slowly sit up.
The light illuminated that face, revealing a countenance that everyone was incredibly familiar with.
"Herta?!"
In the United Government, Herta's name was known to everyone.
Not just because of her background, but more because of her intellect and abilities.
Herta hadn't fully reacted yet, being firmly protected behind Qi Zhimu. She quickly realized something was wrong, her gaze sweeping over the three people at the door.
"Isabella, what do you want to do?"
Facing the muzzles of the guns, she couldn't help but frown.
These three's ship had clearly crashed, yet they hadn't ejected immediately during the evacuation and had even taken the firearms from the ship.