The old woman kowtowed again and again, pleading, "I beg you, anyone, please save my daughter."
Dong! Dong! Dong!
The sound of her forehead striking the ground echoed through the warehouse—but no one stepped forward.
Even though the woman had saved them by killing the group of men, no one was willing to help. One reason was that they had no ability to offer real help. The other reason was their fear of Jiao Lizhi and Jin Xuyan.
They could see that the couple was different from the others. They could kill without hesitation.
What if they wanted to kill the woman, too? And they helped her?
Wouldn't they just be inviting disaster onto themselves?
When the old couple thought they would lose their daughter, they saw the young couple walk over. She looked at them warily, but also hopefully.
"Comrade, please—save my daughter," the old woman pleaded as she kowtowed to them.
Jiao Lizhi didn't stop her but reached out to check on the old woman's daughter. Even without any medical knowledge, she knew the woman's condition was not promising.
She had suffered abuse, and her wounds were infected. Some were already festering, and she also had a high fever.
Due to how those men treated the women, the chance of them being infected by the zombie virus was very high, as the infection could be caused by their wounds coming into contact with zombie blood or rotten flesh.
After checking her for a moment, Jiao Lizhi took a small bottle of pond water and a strip of fever medicine from her pocket and fed them to the woman.
When she was done, she said, "Take off her clothes."
Hearing this, the old couple were surprised and unwilling to follow her instructions. Their daughter had already been humiliated—they didn't want to expose her bare body to the public eye again.
While they were hesitating, Jin Xuyan said, "Ah Zhi, you treat her. I will take care of the bodies."
Jiao Lizhi wasn't so petty as to mind him seeing another woman's body. As she has seen Pei Yijun's body before. But when she heard his words, she felt more comfortable and agreed readily. "Okay."
Unbeknownst to her, even with so many barely dressed women around, Jin Xuyan didn't spare them a glance.
From the moment they entered the warehouse, his gaze had been focused on his Ah Zhi. After all, he had no interest in copulating with livestock—so, he wouldn't have any desire for them.
After he walked away, Jiao Lizhi said, "If you keep hesitating, I won't be able to save your daughter's life."
Upon hearing her words, the old couple finally relented. The old woman undressed her daughter and asked, "Comrade, can my daughter be saved?"
"That will depend on her."
After saying that, she took out a bar of soap and reached out to touch the woman's skin. As her palm glided over her bare body, water began to flow from her hand.
Everyone was surprised to see water pouring from her palm, which she used to clean the woman's body.
What they didn't know was that the water came from the pond inside her space. The pond water had mild healing properties. It could help the woman fight against the zombie virus in case she was infected and increase her chances of survival.
After cleaning away the blood and filth, she used the soap to wash every nook and cranny of the woman's body. Using the soap helped remove bacteria and viruses, reducing the risk of complications.
Once she finished, she rinsed the soap with more pond water, then took out a bottle of wound medicine from her pocket.
This time, she handed it to the old woman and said, "Apply this medicine to her wounds. Don't miss any part—especially her lower body."
The old woman nodded as she accepted the medicine. While she was applying the medicine, Jiao Lizhi went to check on the other survivors. Before approaching the women, she visited the children and the elderly.
Standing before them, she asked, "Do you want to survive?"
It took them a moment, but eventually, they nodded.
Seeing this, she continued, "If you want to survive, then you have to get stronger and fight for your life. Go find a clean container—I will give you water."
The moment they heard this, a glimmer of hope returned to their eyes. Since the children were too weak, the elderly were the ones who went out to find containers.
In less than ten minutes, they returned with various items—bottles, basins, and even broken glasses.
Jiao Lizhi conjured a water ball and said, "Clean the containers first."
Hearing this, everyone washed the containers one after another. Once cleaned, she filled each with pond water. She let them drink until they were satisfied, then refilled their containers for later.
When she was done, she finally approached the group of women. Looking at them, she threw her dagger to the ground and said, "You have two choices now. Either give up and kill yourselves, or stand up and fight."
The women raised their heads to look at her. Meeting their eyes, Jiao Lizhi could see that most of them had lost the will to live.
She didn't try to persuade them, as no one could help them except themselves. If they couldn't overcome this hurdle, then death would be a relief—better than living a nightmare.
After a while, one woman suddenly crawled toward the dagger and, without hesitation, sliced her own throat. Before breathing her last, she looked at Jiao Lizhi with gratitude.
Everyone was stunned by this. But before long, another woman picked up the dagger and stabbed herself in the heart. She smiled as she closed her eyes, her expression peaceful, as if she had finally escaped a nightmare.
Watching this, Jiao Lizhi remained calm. Her expression didn't change, and there was no ripple in her eyes. She didn't even pity them as they took their own lives in front of her.