I Have a Post Apocalyptic Online Friend C13.2

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Chapter 13. Part 2

Lu Yuan was here. The image from her phone had become a living, breathing person standing before her—a person who had traveled from the Doomsday over a century in the future. It was utterly unbelievable.

She instinctively took a step closer to get a better look, then immediately stumbled two steps back, clamping a hand over her nose and mouth.

It was rude, but the stench rolling off him was so overpowering she nearly gagged.

“Did you fall into a cesspool?” she asked, her voice muffled by her hand.

Lu Yuan deadpanned, “…What a warm welcome.”

Zhou An’an shoved him toward the bathroom. “Go take a shower. Now.”

“Zombies are pounding on the door, and you want me to take a shower? Hey, hey, stop pushing! Hiss…”

Lu Yuan sucked in a sharp breath, and she immediately looked down at where her hand had pushed him.

She hadn’t noticed before, but there was a large tear in the fabric at his waist. The hole was crudely stuffed with something like cotton wadding, which was dark and caked with what looked like dried blood.

“Is that the injury you got back then?”

She remembered the reason he’d disappeared. But by her calculations, it had been nearly a month. Why hadn’t it healed?

Lu Yuan’s face was pale as he leaned weakly against the bus wall. “Don’t ask. I almost didn’t make it back.”

“What happened?”

Lu Yuan’s gaze flickered before he explained, “I was attacked by zombies while scavenging for supplies. I had to hide in a cave and got trapped. Nearly starved to death. Luckily, the bottom of the cave led to the sea, and there was a seal there…”

Zhou An’an’s mouth twitched. “You ate the seal?”

Lu Yuan retorted, “Hey, why are you looking at me like that? Weren’t you the one who insisted I come?”

“…” Zhou An’an was speechless. She could only say, “Just go shower. After you’re done, clean your wound, or it’ll get infected.”

Perhaps because it was their first time meeting in person and he still had some pride left, Lu Yuan finally stepped into the bathroom. The sound of running water soon followed.

Outside the bus, the zombies finally dispersed. After pounding on the door for so long, their heads seemed slightly deformed.

The foul stench lingered in the air. Zhou An’an turned on the ventilation system and sprayed a bottle of air freshener from her cabinet.

The water in the bathroom stopped. Lu Yuan opened the door, his hair and beard still dripping, still wearing the same tattered clothes.

Zhou An’an frowned. “Throw those rags away.”

“What are you planning? Got some ulterior motives?”

She rolled her eyes, then handed him the new clothes and razor she had prepared.

“Change into these, and shave your beard.”

His beard was thicker than when they had video-chatted, almost completely obscuring his features.

Lu Yuan went in and changed his clothes, but he kept the beard.

“Don’t you know how to use a razor?” Zhou An’an offered, ready to teach him.

He dodged her hand. “It took me a year to grow this. I can’t just shave it off!”

Fair enough. Whether to keep a beard was a personal choice, and she couldn’t force him.

Zhou An’an turned, retrieved a first-aid kit, and said, “Sit down.”

“What are you doing?”

“Treating your wound.”

“It’s fine.”

Lu Yuan tried to leave, but she blocked his way. He reluctantly sat on the bed. “Just hurry up.”

Zhou An’an told him to unbutton his shirt to expose the wound.

She regretted it almost immediately. After all, this was their first time meeting in person, and being this close was incredibly awkward.

It was normal for her to feel awkward—her social anxiety made her uncomfortable around everyone.

But even Lu Yuan, with his thick skin, had a faint blush creeping up from beneath his beard.

When she noticed, her own ears began to burn.

Fortunately, the gruesome wound on his abdomen provided a welcome distraction.

The wound was about the size of a fist, roughly circular, and mostly healed. But perhaps due to prolonged neglect, the surrounding flesh had begun to turn black.

Zhou An’an’s medical expertise was limited to applying Band-Aids. Faced with the array of supplies in the first-aid kit, she was completely lost.

Since she had been the one to offer treatment, she had no choice but to brace herself and imitate what she’d seen in novels and movies. She poured some alcohol onto a gauze pad and began to clean his wound.

Lu Yuan hissed in pain. “Are you trying to murder me?”

“I’ll be gentler,” she replied, her voice laced with guilt.

He was still in agony, and soon his forehead was beaded with sweat.

Zhou An’an quickened her pace. After cleaning away the blood and grime, she sprayed some antiseptic on the wound and wrapped it with gauze.

She had no idea if this would be effective, but she knew one thing that would definitely help his injury.

She shook out two small pills and handed them to him along with a bottle of mineral water.

“Take these.”

“What are they?”

“Painkillers and anti-inflammatories.”

Lu Yuan picked up the pills with his fingers, examining them. “Are you sure you’re willing to give me something this precious?”

Zhou An’an looked utterly confused. “Precious? A huge bottle costs just ten yuan on Pinduoduo.”

“Really?” Lu Yuan was skeptical.

She pulled out the medicine bottle and pointed to the price tag. Only then did he murmur, “This world really is amazing.”

As she watched him take the pills, Zhou An’an asked, “Have you run into any other survivors? I heard they arrived last night. Why did you only get here today?”

Lu Yuan’s temper flared at the mention of this. “I arrived last night too!”

“Huh?”

“That damned System dropped me over a hundred kilometers away! All the cars on the road were locked. Luckily, I found a map and a bicycle. I rode all night—rode so hard the tires blew out.”

Zhou An’an finally understood why there was a bicycle lying outside. She couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

He shot her a glare and stood up. “Can we leave now? The zombie horde will reach here sooner or later, and the living are desperately trying to escape. If we delay any longer, we won’t be able to get out at all. Have you mastered driving yet?”

Zhou An’an nodded vigorously. “No problem.”

“Good. You drive first. We’ll head to…”

He pulled a crumpled map from the pocket of his dirty clothes, found their current location, and after studying it for a moment, said, “We’ll go here.”

Zhou An’an looked at the spot he was pointing to. It was a branch road extending from the national highway, leading to the largest forest in the province—about a six-hour drive away.

Fewer people in the forest meant fewer zombies. Even if the zombies tried to invade later, the thousands of massive trees would hinder their advance.

Finally, my month of driving practice will pay off!

Zhou An’an rubbed her hands together eagerly as she settled into the driver’s seat. She turned to Lu Yuan beside her and warned, “I drive fast. Hold on tight.”

Brake, clutch, shift gear, release brake…

The sequence was smooth as silk. The massive bus slowly began to move, pulling out of the parking lot…

SCREEECH—

As the bus turned, it crashed into the perimeter wall. The same bus body that had withstood hours of zombie pounding now had a noticeable dent, and the wall collapsed with a thunderous crash.

Lu Yuan turned his head slowly and asked in a deadpan voice, “Is this the result of your month of practice?”

Zhou An’an stammered, “…An accident… a complete accident…”

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