Chapter 26: Experimental Potion
Suddenly, a man charged in like a madman. Li Ning immediately raised her gun and fired, dropping the attacker after a brief struggle.
"Are you police?"
"Something like that," Li Ning replied, exchanging a look with Du Bin. She guarded the entrance while Du Bin moved to help the woman up. "Let me take you back to your cabin—it's safe in there," he said.
Yan Yan clung tightly to his arm, her voice desperate. "No, I want to find them. Will you take me to them?"
"You mean... my brother?"
She nodded.
Li Ning was secretly pleased by her response, but she couldn't risk Yan Yan’s safety. "No, it's too dangerous out here. I can't guarantee your safety. Du Bin, take her back inside—now."
Du Bin nodded, ignoring Yan Yan’s protests as he hurried her back. Li Ning checked her remaining bullets before charging out of the cabin. Meanwhile, the other two had managed to push back the approaching abominations, but the wave was relentless.
"This isn't working. Which way did he go?"
Hu Guozheng pointed toward the bow. "That way."
Li Ping and Hu Guozheng were midship, Li Ning at the stern. With both the bow and stern cabins open, Du Bin and Yan Yan weren’t much safer inside.
"Let's go find him," Li Ping said, patting Hu Guozheng’s shoulder before sprinting toward the bow. Passing the captain’s quarters, he caught sight of an impressive weapon. "That knife looks like the ship’s prized relic."
On the wall hung a set of large, semicircular bayonets—an emblem of the ship's pride—and beside them, a sword reminiscent of a medieval knight's blade, the two crossed decoratively.
"Then let’s take them," Hu Guozheng said.
They burst into the captain’s quarters, taking down the weapons. Hu Guozheng chose the imposing broadsword, while Li Ping picked the lighter knight’s sword. Without delay, they dashed forward. Upon reaching the bow, they found nothing but corpses—no survivors in sight.
“He’s there!”
Following Hu Guozheng’s shout, Li Ping looked up to see Chen Zhuohao standing dazedly on the upper deck, clutching the rail. Someone seemed to be beside him.
“Fatty, keep that man occupied—I’ll get him!”
“Leave it to me!”
The stranger dodged as Hu Guozheng rushed in with his sword. Li Ping seized the opportunity to reach Chen Zhuohao, who sat weakly, staring at the bodies of friends and family below. His eyes were filled with terror—but also with hatred, and that hatred was reserved for Li Ping.
“Don’t come near me! I don’t need your hypocritical charity, or your pity. You’re all liars. Even a woman who doesn’t love someone wouldn’t deceive him like this—she’s nothing but a whore.”
“I’m sorry. This all began with me. If you want to hate someone, hate me. Yan Yan is innocent; she’s a victim too.”
Chen Zhuohao glared, rising to his feet. “If it weren’t for you, my marriage wouldn’t have ended like this! Two days—you changed her mind in two days! What were my two years worth? Answer me!”
“Some feelings can’t be forced. The tighter you try to hold her, the further she slips away. Don’t you understand?”
As Chen faltered, Li Ping reached out to steady him, but Chen shook off his hand with a crazed laugh. “Don’t bother with your twisted logic—I don’t care. Death means nothing to me now. Even if I die, I’ll drag you to hell with me, Li Ping!”
“Good. If you want revenge, I’ll help you.”
At that moment, the stranger broke free from Hu Guozheng, seized Chen Zhuohao, and dragged him further upward. The two friends raced after them in alarm.
“If you drink this blue liquid, you’ll be invincible. Anyone you want dead will die.”
“Anyone?” Chen Zhuohao stared at the glass vial, its contents glowing an unnatural blue.
“Yes.”
Slowly, Chen reached for it, thinking that if he was doomed, he would at least take his enemy with him.
“Don’t believe him—he’s lying!”
Li Ping and Hu Guozheng burst onto the scene, shouting as they caught sight of the strange liquid. Chen Zhuohao hesitated, but at the sight of Li Ping, hatred overcame doubt. He snatched the bottle. “He lied to me. But didn’t you lie to me, too?”
With that, he twisted off the cap and drank in one gulp. Li Ping was powerless to stop him, realizing too late that his very presence only fueled Chen’s resentment.
Meanwhile, in the cabin, Du Bin and Yan Yan had managed to evade the abominations by ducking into a guest room. Yet the monstrous creatures continued to prowl the halls, relentless as specters. They could have hidden quietly, but Du Bin wanted a weapon.
He cracked the door and tossed out a grenade Li Ning had given him, slamming the door shut just as a deafening explosion rocked the corridor. After everything he’d endured—from the Binxing Grand Hotel to General’s Hill—his understanding of reality had been turned on its head. Now, to survive, he would not hesitate to kill.
Those monsters were just puppets, controlled by their creators; to ordinary people, they were nothing more than madmen. When the hallway finally fell silent, Du Bin and Yan Yan dashed out. Ahead, another lunatic pounded at a door, forcing Du Bin to find another route.
A glass vial—clear, empty, and fragile—fell, drawn down by an invisible force. Upon hitting the floor, it shattered mercilessly, shards scattering like a broken heart, shattered beyond repair.
Already, Chen Zhuohao’s skin was undergoing a bizarre transformation, flushing green. His face twisted in agony as he howled and writhed, descending into madness. Yes, he had gone mad.
His muscles swelled, tearing his skin as blood seeped from every pore. He seemed beyond pain now, his body overtaken by rot from within. Plant-like roots burst from his flesh, enveloping his frame in a monstrous cocoon, growing larger and larger until only his head remained visible.
Li Ping and Hu Guozheng stared, dumbfounded, nearly retching at the grotesque sight.
“Damn, this is sick!” Hu Guozheng’s teeth chattered and his legs shook uncontrollably.
“Brother!”
Li Ning rushed in, witnessing with her own eyes the transformation of Chen Zhuohao from an ordinary man into a towering monstrosity, nearly six meters tall.
“Could this be…the monster that Sister Lingling foretold?”