Chapter 144: Sobriety

The floor cracked, and both figures plummeted from the second floor down into the central courtyard, kicking up a cloud of debris and dust!

The main building shook violently, and the booming echoes continued for quite a while before finally subsiding.

Yichen smashed into the ground, creating a large crater, unable to move.

Perhaps triggered by Lu Yu's electric shock, his numb brain received a heavy jolt, reviving a fraction of his human consciousness.

As his awareness gradually cleared, the black patterns and crimson muscle tissue on his body rapidly faded, and his right eyeball turned from red back to black, dissipating the vicious aura of zombification.

Could this be... Lu Yu? Yichen stared fixedly, managing to clearly recognize the face just inches away.

Lu Yu's eye whites had turned entirely black, resembling deep, ancient wells, while what should have been his black pupils had become white. Set against his pale skin, this contrast appeared increasingly terrifying, looking at a glance as though he wore a bizarre mask.

"What has happened to you?" Yichen desperately wanted to ask, but he could not speak.

He had just transitioned out of his zombified state; his mind was in chaos and his head throbbed with pain, yet he quickly deduced the answer.

At such close range, he could feel no breath coming from Lu Yu... This meant he was already dead.

The events that had transpired before flashed rapidly through his mind like a slide show, filling Yichen with agonizing grief.

He remembered that the Lurker had successively attacked Lu Yu and his mother, Chen Hong, but he only retained a vague impression of what had happened afterward.

Where was the Lurker? Where had it gone?

Yichen could not read the black eyes gazing back into his; they now existed in two entirely different worlds!

Lu Yu's throat emitted a gurgling sound as he spat out a mouthful of dark, congealed corpse blood, then struggled to prop himself up and crawl to his feet.

His shoulder and chest were connected by only a sliver of flesh and skin; he had nearly been sliced in half by Yichen!

In the instant before they fell, each had struck a fatal blow to the other.

Now Yichen was immobilized, while Lu Yu, though appearing severely injured, had missed any vital organs and thus emerged slightly victorious.

Before Yichen's astonished gaze, Lu Yu pulled out the Shengxie sword wedged between his spine and ribs.

Though he felt no physical pain, the mere sight made Yichen wince!

He had driven that sword in with his own hands, and the reason for their combat now seemed clear to Yichen as well.

The faint aura of a zombie emanating from Lu Yu was identical to that of the Crawlers and the Lurker. Though Yichen refused to admit it, the truth was glaringly obvious—Lu Yu was dead, and due to some unknown reason, he had transformed into a monster!

Lu Yu stared back down at Yichen as well. Though his current condition was poor, he held the absolute initiative, and finishing off his opponent would be effortless.

Covering his wound with one hand and raising the Shengxie with the other, he aimed the tip directly at Yichen's head.

The blade rested a mere ten centimeters from Yichen's skull, yet Yichen's eyes did not waver as his thoughts slowly calmed.

If it were Lu Yu who struck the final blow, he would feel neither resentment nor reluctance; on the contrary, it would serve as a form of release.

He owed Lu Yu far too much.

Had it not been for him, Lu Yu would never have been dragged into these conflicts, would never have been infected, would never have died, and certainly would never have been reduced to this state.

Lu Yu had still longed to return to his family and resume a normal life, yet it was Yichen who had shattered all of that completely.

*Swish*—the fierce blade grazed past Yichen's cheek, shearing off a lock of his white hair before burying itself deep into the ground.

Like a deformed monster, Lu Yu swayed unsteadily, turned his head, and walked away.

...Wait! Why didn't he strike?!

Yichen wanted to shout, but still no voice escaped his throat.

Cheng Xianglong covered Yilin's mouth, waiting several full minutes after Lu Yu had vanished through the massive hole he smashed in the wall before finally letting go. He was terrified the little girl might make a sound and draw Lu Yu back, which would spell absolute disaster.

This movement aggravated the injuries on his back, causing a stabbing pain so intense that he could no longer remain sitting and was forced to collapse sideways onto the floor.

Consumed by worry for Yichen, Yilin, now free from restraint, ignored Cheng Xianglong's warnings and rushed into the pile of rubble to check on him.

This was the first time she had seen Yichen's infected state up close.

White hair and red eyes; it was somewhat terrifying... Yilin felt a flutter of fear in her chest, but recalling everything they had recently endured, she pushed her terror aside, walked over to his side, and crouched down.

"...Brother, you're going to be alright, right?" Yilin asked, her voice trembling with soft sobs.

Rather than asking him, it sounded more like she was trying to comfort herself.

Yichen's eyes grew moist, and tears rolled down his cheeks, his numb face feeling slightly warm.

Yilin was right; he had to get better.

Though their mother was gone, she had placed her hopes in him. He had to survive in this apocalyptic wasteland!

Ever since he was a child, he had constantly rebelled against his mother's wishes, but this time, he finally needed to listen properly.

His young sister still needed him to protect her, and while their father was currently safe in Xijing, there was no guarantee of perpetual peace ahead.

Even having lost Lu Yu, he still had other friends. They trusted him, relied on him, and had offered him immense help.

If he truly drowned himself in grief and surrendered to despair, whom would he be failing?

Wallowing in self-pity and escaping reality was always easy; the difficult part was hacking his way through thorns and brambles to survive in adversity.

How could he afford the luxury of self-pity and endless regret when time was so precious?

He had to grow stronger!

Several minutes later, Yichen's fingers twitched. After a few failed attempts, he finally managed to roll over and sit up.

"It's your brother's fault for letting you worry... Everything will get better from now on, I promise." He pulled Yilin into his embrace, kissing her forehead and letting her weep freely in his arms.

He chose not to bring up Chen Hong's fate; it was far too cruel for the two siblings. Especially for Yilin, who was still just a child—the psychological impact of witnessing her mother's murder firsthand was unimaginable.

To have endured this far meant Yilin was an exceptionally strong child, and it was simply too heavy a burden to place upon her.

While comforting Yilin, Yichen walked over to Cheng Xianglong, whose face was the color of pale wax.

"...The Lurker was killed by Lu Yu, but it didn't truly die. Something like a fleshy tumor transferred itself onto Lu Yu," Cheng Xianglong said.

Because Yilin was too young and had missed some details of the process, Cheng Xianglong knew he was a crucial eyewitness. Eager to be of help, he wanted to convey every detail he had seen and suspected to Yichen right away.

Yichen nodded.

The birth of the Lurker had been the result of a Crawler fusing with Zhang Lei. However, Lu Yu's appearance remained far more humanoid; whether because the hosts in both cases were human, the influence of the monster part seemed diminished.

"...Aren't you going to chase him? If he doesn't die, in the future... *cough, cough*..." Cheng Xianglong broke into a violent fit of coughing.

"Stop talking for now, we can talk slowly later when there's time. Don't let a broken rib puncture your lung," Yichen said, adjusting Cheng Xianglong into a relatively more comfortable posture.

Startled by the warning, Cheng Xianglong broke out in a cold sweat across his forehead, biting his tongue and daring not utter another sound.

Yichen had indeed considered the problem Cheng Xianglong raised.

On one hand, Lu Yu had already been gone for some time; blindly chasing after him now might yield no results, and it would be far wiser to spend that time rescuing the surviving teammates right in front of him.

On the other hand, Yichen still harbored personal misgivings. If he truly caught up to Lu Yu, he honestly did not know whether he could bring himself to eliminate him.

This dilemma was far too tangled, and he was not yet ready to face it.