“The girl with glasses just now got eaten by a ghost!”

Dr Chen hurried toward the hall. He might not like those people, but they were still on the same side. He had to warn them.

But when he got back, he found that all the light bulbs that had been lighting the place were already shattered. Two talismans lay scattered on the floor, still burning. Their faint glow barely lit up a small patch of space.

Using that weak light, Dr Chen vaguely saw someone pinning Big-Boobs Girl to the ground, both hands clamped tightly around her neck.

“AAAAAAAH—!”

That was Tech Otaku’s voice. It sounded agonized, coming from the darkness. But for some reason, Big-Boobs Girl made no sound at all.

“It’s you!”

Dr Chen rushed forward and saw that the one choking Big-Boobs Girl was that annoying guy, Brother Li.

He had no idea why this was happening, but when he saw her bluish-purple face, her rolled-back eyes, and her body giving no response at all, he knew that if this dragged on any longer, she’d really die.

“Let go!”

Hammer in one hand, wrench in the other, Dr Chen dashed behind Brother Li in three strides. Both arms swung at once, the two tools flashing like a Starburst Stream attack. Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap... under Dr Chen’s shocking hand speed, they rained blows onto Brother Li’s head.

This was to save someone. It absolutely had nothing to do with any personal grudge.

But Brother Li’s hands still stayed locked around Big-Boobs Girl’s neck. Her neck was already visibly deforming.

“Fuck you!”

Dr Chen gripped both weapons together, swung in a huge arc, and put all the strength he usually used for loosening tires into the blow. With a bang, he smashed it into the back of Brother Li’s head.

A body that had been rotting for who knew how long couldn’t withstand that kind of force. His whole head was sent flying on the spot. Only then did Brother Li’s body finally lose strength and collapse onto Big-Boobs Girl.

“This is a zombie.”

Only then did Dr Chen clearly see what Brother Li was wearing. He had changed into a white coat, like a doctor’s. The exposed parts of his body were already rotten. No one knew how long he had been dead.

“S-save... save... me... ah...”

Before Dr Chen could even catch his breath, Tech Otaku’s voice came from somewhere nearby.

Dr Chen had no choice but to wipe off his sweat, grab the wrench and hammer, and run over to him.

His situation was much better. The zombie that looked like the deadpan pretty-boy was trying to choke Tech Otaku, but its arms weren’t as long as his. Tech Otaku was bracing a hand under its chin, keeping it at bay. Its hands couldn’t reach his neck. It was short by just two inches.

“...Sorry about this.”

Now that he knew the method, Dr Chen moved fast to save him. He pulled a screwdriver from his bag, pressed it against the back of the deadpan guy’s neck, then brought the hammer down hard.

As the screwdriver was driven into the spine, the deadpan guy went still like a robot that had lost power. His movements slowly came to a stop.

“Cough, cough... I almost died.”

Shoving the rotting corpse off himself, Tech Otaku lay on the floor, gasping for air.

“As long as you’re not dead. Hmph.”

Dr Chen shot him a look, then went back to Big-Boobs Girl to check on her. He crouched down and pulled the thing on top of her away. Seeing her up close in that miserable state made his heart clench.

Her neck had already been snapped. There was no saving her.

“...Sigh.”

It was the first time he had watched a life slip away from this close. He had been mentally prepared for it long ago, but Dr Chen still felt awful inside.

If it had been the old him, he probably wouldn’t even have dared go near her. He would’ve run out in fear. But after everything he had gone through these past days, Dr Chen had grown much stronger mentally.

Even with Big-Boobs Girl’s face twisted like that, Dr Chen still slowly reached out, covered her face, and gently brushed a hand over it, closing those wide-open, bloodshot eyes.

“This kind of thing is normal. Sooner or later, it’ll be our turn too.”

After catching his breath, Tech Otaku walked over to Dr Chen. Since he’d been saved, his tone was a little better now. He patted Dr Chen on the shoulder, then found a piece of clothing and covered Big-Boobs Girl’s face with it.

“I’ll put her on a blanket.”

Tech Otaku picked up Big-Boobs Girl’s body. The skin under his palm still held a trace of warmth, and he couldn’t help letting out a sigh.

“She was talking to me just a few minutes ago...”

He had seen teammates die during missions before, but those people had all been dragged away by ghosts, dying horribly. Very few ended up like Big-Boobs Girl, with her body still intact, lying here quietly. So this was also his first time feeling the loss of a life from this close.

“Thank you. I’m sorry about what happened before.”

After going through this, Tech Otaku had a new impression of Dr Chen. He had smashed a person’s head clean off, and even if it was a zombie, his expression hadn’t changed at all. Tech Otaku still remembered clearly the look on Dr Chen’s face when he drove the screwdriver into the zombie’s skull. It wasn’t the kind of decisiveness an ordinary person should have.

“It’s nothing. Just lending a hand.”