Chapter 138: Chapter 138: Public Outrage
Shi Ailing was the first to let out a bloodcurdling scream. The urge to pee vanished as she turned and ran.
Several other middle-aged women also ran, screaming in terror, "Murder! Someone’s being murdered!"
Wei Zhengtong looked mortified. ’Are all my colleagues from the research institute going to die because of their big mouths?’
If Fang Jiawen had just kept her mouth shut, none of this would have happened.
But no, she just had to provoke Xie Ning, who was already bottling up a cataclysmic rage.
Xie Ning silently walked into the kitchen and retrieved her signature great-axe from her private Space.
"This acid rain only affects ordinary people. It has no effect on Superpower Users."
"What?" Wei Zhengtong looked astonished. "How did you reach that conclusion?"
Xie Ning turned her head and fixed him with an ice-cold stare.
Wei Zhengtong was actually so intimidated by the young woman’s gaze that he took a step back.
Xie Ning didn’t explain. She simply threw on a disposable raincoat—without a mask or face shield—and marched toward Li Dawei’s house at number 84 across the street, great-axe in hand.
Song Kexin swallowed hard. "I, I think... we should let her get that ba-bad energy out of her system. Sh-she’ll probably be fine after that."
And the source of that bad energy? The "rice parasites" themselves, Li Dawei and his sister, of course.
If it weren’t for that trouble-making pair of siblings, her mom would never have gone to help cook.
She brought the axe down on their door. "Li Dawei, get your ass out here!"
"You eat and eat and eat, and it still doesn’t kill you! Would it kill you to miss a single meal? You’re the ones who did this to my mother!"
Hearing the THUD, THUD of an axe hitting their door, Li Dawei and his sister ran to the third-floor balcony to look.
They saw Xie Ning, looking like a raincoat-clad killer, hacking away at their stainless-steel courtyard gate with an enormous great-axe.
Meanwhile, the people in cars three, four, and six were in an uproar, their emotions running high.
After finishing her full-body disinfection, Shi Ailing, her face still pale, gave an exaggerated and embellished account of what she’d seen at Xie Ning’s house. Afterward, everyone in car six was clamoring for the driver to leave, to leave immediately.
"We can’t travel with someone who has a high fever!"
"Yeah! Zombies bite people! We can’t let her endanger everyone in this car!"
"Where’s your Director Gu? Just drive already!"
The people from cars one and two had gathered at the glass doors on the right side, watching Xie Ning hack at the stainless-steel gate of number 84.
"Why isn’t she wearing goggles and a mask?"
"Is she looking to die?"
"Rain spray will definitely get on her. They said a few of Commander Gu’s men got rained on while standing guard, and one of them turned."
"That’s terrifying. Just a little bit of rain spray can make you get a fever and turn?"
"Probably."
"Hey, isn’t that Commander Gu?"
"What a nice young man, trying to pull her back. He shouldn’t be trying to save someone who wants to die."
Xie Ning kicked the stainless-steel gate open, but just as she did, a hand gripped her wrist and pulled her back.
"Ningning, Song Kexin told us everything. I know Li Dawei and his sister are despicable, but your mother is at the most critical point in her fight against the virus. Can you have a little faith in her?"
"If you act on impulse now and chop up Li Dawei and his sister, what happens when your mother wakes up and has even awakened a superpower? With her personality, don’t you think she’ll blame herself endlessly when she finds out what you did?"
Xie Ning slowly calmed down. Head bowed, she asked in a small voice, "Will she really be okay?"
She was so afraid that everything would follow the same trajectory as her previous life.
In her last life, her mother had been dragged down by that group of useless teammates—her colleagues—and hadn’t survived the first month of the apocalypse.
That’s why Xie Ning was terrified when she saw her mother’s high fever.
She was scared, doubting her mother would pull through. She feared her mother would leave her, just like in her past life.
Ningning had already lost her father; she was terrified of losing her mother, too.
Her facade of calm composure was like a bubble in the sea.
It popped at the slightest touch, leaving only panic and turmoil.
"Good girl, Ningning. Don’t be afraid. She’ll definitely be fine." Gu Chen nodded. "Let’s move her out first. We can deal with everything else later."
Xie Ning gave a listless "mhm."
"Gu Chen." Du Zhonggang walked over with a grave expression and waved him over. "I’ve heard. Word just came from the safe zone. No one with a high fever is allowed in."
"They have to stay outside for a seven-day observation period."
Du Zhonggang glanced at Xie Ning. "Besides, the people in the six cars are raising a huge fuss. They don’t want to travel with someone who has a high fever."
"What fuss?" Gu Chen cut in coldly. "Do they have a say in the matter? If they don’t want to travel with us, they can get out of the car themselves."
Du Zhonggang was taken aback. "That’s not how it works, Xiao Gu."
"Then what should I say? Do I, Gu Chen, need other people’s approval for my decisions? I’m simply fulfilling my obligation to inform them, not asking for their opinion."
’This damn autocratic brat!’ Du Zhonggang was speechless.
Xie Ning tugged his wrist and mumbled listlessly, "Don’t fight."
Gu Chen turned his head to look at her and smiled faintly. "Big Brother isn’t fighting with him. Big Brother never argues with people. At most, I’ll just throw a few punches to solve the problem."
His gentle tone was a complete departure from the cold, decisive voice he had used with Du Zhonggang just moments ago. He was like a completely different person.
Du Zhonggang looked like he was about to roll his eyes into the back of his head.
"In that case, I’ll go consult Mr. Wu."
"Ningning, you go back first." Gu Chen squeezed Xie Ning’s cool little hand. "I’ll be right there. It’s okay."
Xie Ning dragged her heavy feet back to the villa’s entrance, only to see Fang Jiawen huddled on the steps, wiping rain from her face and hair while cursing up a storm.
When she looked up and saw Xie Ning approaching, she flinched in fear and shrank back.
Xie Ning stepped right past her without a second glance.
Back in the living room, Xie Ning took off the disposable raincoat. She accepted a dry towel from Song Kexin to wipe her hair and face, her gaze shifting toward the sofa.
Wei Zhengtong gave an awkward cough.
Dr. Yu’s mental fortitude was actually quite impressive...
From the brawl that had broken out in the living room to Miss Xie dragging an axe out the door to attack the neighbors, Dr. Yu had remained completely focused on bringing down You’ai’s fever, ignoring everything else...
Yu Tianfeng looked up and saw Xie Ning, then pressed a large packet into her hand. "These are fever-reducing patches I made. Change one for your mother every two hours."
Xie Ning nodded. "Thank you."
"Make sure she gets plenty of fluids. She’ll be fine. There’s nothing seriously wrong with her, so don’t be so anxious." Yu Tianfeng glanced at her.
Just then, Gu Chen and Lu Wei walked in from outside the villa.
Xie Ning looked at the worried Song Youzhi standing to the side. "Uncle, take Grandpa, Grandma, and everyone else, and go with Xiao Gu’s group."
Song Shijun was stunned. "What about you, sis?"
"My mother and I are staying here." Xie Ning tightly gripped her mother’s hand, a flicker of worry in her eyes.
"No!" Gu Chen, Song Youzhi, and the others all protested at once.
Xie Ning turned to Gu Chen and his group. "Director Du just said that even if we get to the safe zone, anyone with a high fever has to be quarantined outside for seven days."
"I don’t know how long my mother’s fever will last, and I don’t know what will happen to her."
"Staying in a quarantine tent at the safe zone is less secure than staying here at home," Xie Ning explained rapidly. "This way, we also avoid jostling her by moving her back and forth on the road."
Song Youzhi’s expression was heavy. "Ningning has a point."
