Alex, with a somewhat more subdued temper, drove all the way until he found the van.

  It seemed like they did not take any precautions against his arrival, seeing as they left the same van out in the open.

  Or maybe they thought he would be dead by now and there was no need to.

  As for other survivors, well, there wasn’t that much left of the population.

  The young man seemed like he could take on anyone that dared to try it.

  Alex shook his head to clear away the discouraging thoughts and parked his car right beside the van.

  The building had two floors, and a light shone brightly in the darkness of the night like a silent invitation.

  Alex sat inside his car and looked at the bright light warily.

  He didn’t follow them immediately after he was released, but made sure to circle around the area once he got their direction.

  He heard Shae Harris talking about dinner, meaning they would have stayed up for some time before going to bed.

  So Alex thought it was best to steal her away once everyone was asleep.

  He didn't come here to hurt anyone, and would never hurt kids.

  …except for that crazy guy that he spoke to this morning.

  Most importantly, the man named Yi Zheng was very dangerous.

  He wouldn’t dare to underestimate him after losing to the Guide.

  Alas, his plan was blocked by a light bulb before it could even happen.

  Gritting his teeth, Alex suddenly got courage.

  The courage came from his instinctive rage at the feeling of being helpless.

  After all, the evil entity had played him for a fool for so long.

  Therefore, he was very sensitive to people trying to intimidate or manipulate him.

  Alex got out of the car with steady steps and walked up the steps with heavy feet.

  He stretched out a hand to the doorknob, and it opened with a twist.

  Unlike the bloody scene he expected to intimidate him into leaving, the man named Yi Zheng was seated at the end of the couch facing the TV while holding a game console.

  Shae Harris was sprawled beside him, with her upper body leaning clumsily on him.

  With a sound from the game, she woke up startled.

  Then she dazedly wiped off the drool almost flowing down her mouth and looked at Alex confusedly.

  “Jeez, what were you waiting for, a place to park?” she snickered, rolling her eyes.

  Alex looked at her, completely speechless.

  “You’ll get used to it.”

  Yi Zheng suddenly felt lighter.

  After spending so much time with them, he was beginning to wonder if the problem was with him, or the whole world had collectively gone crazy.

  Turns out it was really just these idiots who were crazy.

  “You’re cursing me in your head, aren’t you?” Shae Harris turned to Yi Zheng swiftly.

  “I’m not cursing you…” just saying the truth, Yi Zheng said one thing but kept the rest of the words in his head.

  Shae Harris obviously looked at him with doubt, but Yi Zheng shrugged.

  Alex coughed at this moment, then decided to graciously take a seat.

  “Aren’t you here to kidnap me? Why are you taking a seat?” Shae Harris looked at him in confusion.

  “Honestly, I don’t know anymore.” Alex felt his eyebrow twitch and resigned himself to fate.

  Hey, I came to kidnap someone; instead, I found out I was the one who was late between the two of us.

  “Oh… well then I’m off, Yi Zheng.” Shae Harris stood up with vigor.

  “Okay,” Yi Zheng hummed.

  Shae Harris frowned and snorted at him.

  “Okay… okay… is that really all you have to say to me?” Shae Harris stood angrily in front of him.

  “Safe trip,” Yi Zheng thought for a moment before replying.

  “Not good enough,” Shae Harris bared her teeth at him.

  “Have fun,” Yi Zheng tried again.

  Shae Harris: ??

  Brother, I’m probably going to my death and all you can say is have fun.

  She gave him a thumbs-up in her mind.

  “You’re really hopeless. Alright, just follow my lead,” Shae Harris sighed and shook her head.

  Then she took his hand and placed it on her head before shaking it slightly to make it seem as if he was rubbing her head.

  “Repeat after me…” she started solemnly.

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  “Don’t be scared or anxious because everything is going to be okay.

  Rest well, eat well, and I’ll come visit you every day.

  You’re just going for a little while and then you’ll be good as new.

  And after all this is over, we’ll have anything you want,” Yi Zheng said the words blandly.

  Yet the girl still wiped a tear from her face and hugged him at the end.

  “I heard those words from a cliché movie where the child still died at the end.

  But I still remember being jealous that no one had said it to me before.

  Yi Zheng, thank you.” Shae Harris smiled up at him with tears streaming down her face.

  Shae Harris remembered the day her parents abandoned her at the hospital.

  How much she begged them not to do it.

  The loneliness of watching everyone around you come and go — whether by getting healthy or finally dying.

  The solitude of being the only one left.

  Until all she could do was play games; after all, her game characters would always revive.

  They wouldn’t leave her.

  Yi Zheng silently nodded at her, with his arms at his side and his body stiff.

  “You… you’re really bad at comforting people.” Shae Harris started giggling at his reaction and released him.

  Then she used his sleeve to wipe her tears off casually before sticking out her tongue.

  Yi Zheng gave her a disgusted and impatient look.

  “Luckily that green tea is around to comfort Mori Aoi.” Shae Harris pursed her lips in displeasure at the thought.

  But there wasn’t much else she could do about it.

  It’s odd to think about it.

  But for the first time, Shae Harris wasn’t the only one left.

  What an odd, sad feeling it is. I’ll miss them.

  “Come on, mister, it’s time to leave.” Shae Harris, wearing a baggy shirt and shorts, urged her kidnapper to leave.

  Alex turned kidnapper: ??

  “Why are you slow at taking people away?” Shae Harris said in dissatisfaction.

  Alex: Well, excuse me — this is the first time the victim came so willingly.

  “Forget it, where are your keys?” Shae Harris stretched out her hand.

  “Can you even drive?” Alex looked at her up and down.

  Alex, a few seconds later: No, why would the victim want to drive in the first place??

  “Where would a terminally ill patient learn to drive?” Shae Harris looked at him like he was an idiot.

  Alex: So what do you need the keys for, and why were you so confident asking for them??

  Alex took in a huge breath and stood up to walk to his car.

  Shae Harris followed behind him, looking at him like he was stupid.

  “Shae Harris,” Yi Zheng called out.

  She turned back to him with a curious face.

  “Let’s buy ice cream once you get better,” Yi Zheng said.

  “It’s a promise.” Shae Harris smiled brightly, waving as she stepped out of the apartment.

  Yi Zheng chuckled and went to close the door before turning off the light and heading upstairs to his room.

  …………

  Shae Harris watched the lights go off in the apartment and the building grow smaller as they drove away.

  “Regretting it already?” Alex asked beside her.

  She turned to him and snorted before crossing her arms and slouching into her seat.

  “So why did you kidnap me?” she asked curiously.

  After all, before and after the apocalypse she had no value, and there was no one looking for her.

  “I thought you already figured it out,” Alex said, dumbfounded.

  “Nope, but I do know that it has something to do with evil voices.” Shae Harris shrugged.

  “Evil voices?” Alex asked in a sharp voice.

  He was skeptical that this girl was an important clue to the evil entity.

  After all, she seemed a bit… stupid.

  “You just cursed me in your head, didn’t you?” Shae Harris squinted at him.

  “Tell me what you know about those voices.” Alex brushed the question away.

  Although he was a tiny bit curious as to how she guessed that he had insulted her.

  “Heh, my parents used to curse at me all the time, until they realized they couldn’t beat me in words, so they started cursing in their head.

  Of course, I would not be outdone, so I picked up a sharp nose for it,” Shae Harris said proudly.

  Alex: …what are you, a dog?

  Besides, how can someone even sniff out thoughts!

  “Believe it or not.” Shae Harris shrugged.

  “Anyway, I was sent here by the doctor.” Alex got back to the previous topic.

  “Which doctor? I’ve been seeing different ones since I was a child.” Shae Harris asked, trying to remember.

  Alex raised an eyebrow, thinking: if she can’t figure out the head of the base sent him, then does that mean he wasn’t that impactful to her?

  But the way he heard it, the two had an inexplicable feud and bond spanning both past and present.

  “He was the head doctor in the Special Illness Unit and the doctor in charge of you,” Alex said, studying her change of expression.

  It went from recognition to amusement, then disdain, and finally disgust.

  From that, Alex was sure that the two people definitely had something going on between them.

  “That guy is still alive — how ironic,” Shae Harris said with deep sarcasm.

  Unlike her normal cheerful self that he had observed, she gave off a cold, depressing feeling.

  “Aren’t you curious as to why he asked me to bring you back?” Alex asked.

  “No need. I know that guy’s tricks very well and I don’t need to bother with it.

  But I am curious as to whether anyone from the hospital is still alive,” Shae Harris asked with a sharp glint in her eyes.

  “I don’t think so,” Alex said slowly.

  “Well, that’s good then. I wonder what face he made once he saw that he couldn’t save them,” Shae Harris chuckled darkly.

  “So what he said was indeed right — then was that all an act before?” Alex felt that the doctor might have been right.

  Shae Harris seemed to really despise him.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about. After all, we just met, so why are you so sure that you can determine my personality by a few words?

  Secondly, I have nothing to prove to you, so I don’t care what you think.

  Thirdly, you have no right to judge me.

  And fourth, the doctor isn’t who you think he is,” Shae Harris said, each word flat.

  “Then why don’t you explain it to me instead of being so cryptic?” Alex’s fist tightened in anger.

  Anger at being played around between the two of them.

  “It is none of your business. Besides, if it’s the evil entity you seek, then I think it’s best to see for yourself,” Shae Harris said.

  She turned to face the window and began to ignore Alex.

  Alex resisted the urge to grab her and shake the information out of her.

  After all, he had seen enough in the past day to know that this girl wasn’t so simple.

  “See how?” Alex asked, turning to her.

  “Just look ahead at our destination and naturally you’ll understand.” Shae Harris looked outside with complex emotions.

  After trying so hard to escape the hospital, she walked right back on her own two feet.

  Really ironic, isn’t it?

  Meanwhile, Alex turned slowly to behold the bloody disaster in front of him.

  The entire base was ravaged, with bodies haphazardly lying on the ground and the building in shambles.

  With his heart in his throat, Alex clumsily parked the car and hurried off.

  He rushed through the building, calling for Paul.

  His eyes never looking too closely at a body for fear of seeing the worst result.

  “Here,” a voice cried out weakly.

  Alex hurried over to the voice and found Paul lying weakly on the ground with a knife in his chest.

  Blood was oozing out, and he coughed weakly but still gave Alex a trembling smile.

  “Friend, you’re back,” Paul smiled.

  “And you brought another old friend.” Paul beckoned Shae Harris closer.

  She looked at the pale Alex and shook her head weakly.

  “Looks like I’ll be meeting my girlfriend soon, Alex,” he said, shrugging.

  “You idiot, why didn’t you just try to run?” Alex could clearly see from the position of his body that he was trying to protect someone.

  Alas, the woman also lay dead beneath him.

  “Actually, I was already tired of living, but I didn’t want to go against my faith.

  So I decided to sacrifice myself because I wanted to look handsome in front of my wife.

  Although I am sad that I never got to convert you, hopefully this would remind you of me,” Paul said, handing Alex a wooden cross on a string.

  “Actually… I wanted to be a cook,” Alex blurted it out of emotion.

  “Then let’s share a meal you make one Sunday afternoon, friend.” Paul laughed and patted his shoulder as he took his last breath.

  “I’ll make for your girlfriend too, and it’ll be the best meal of your life,” Alex said solemnly while closing Paul’s eyes.

  “What happened here?” Shae Harris looked around, resisting the urge to vomit.

  “Maybe he would know.” Alex kept the cross in his pocket and stood straight.

  “Isn’t that right, doc?” Alex said, with his killing intent surging to the peak.

  “How nice of you to join us,” the doctor said, stepping out of the shadows.

  Alex also realized that Shae Harris had disappeared at some point, and now it was only the two left.

  Meanwhile, she was in her former ward, unconscious, with weird red symbols swimming on her skin.