Chapter 467: The bite mark

They barely made it behind the inner barricade before the gates began closing.

Chen carried the little girl through first, with Skyy close beside him. Soldiers rushed around them, dragging the wounded inside while others reinforced the entrance with heavy metal barriers. Behind them, gunfire continued from the direction of the western checkpoint.

Fan Xui didn’t follow.

The moment Chen realized it, he turned.

His father was still outside, directing the retreat while the remaining soldiers fought their way toward the barricade.

“Dad!”

Fan Xui glanced back. “Stay inside!”

Chen instinctively moved toward him, but a soldier blocked his path. His first impulse was to shove the man aside. Then he looked beyond him and stopped himself.

His father was working.

Going out there would only give Fan Xui another person to worry about.

Skyy came up beside him and touched his arm. Chen didn’t move away. He stood near the barricade and watched.

He knew this battle.

Or at least, he thought he did.

Chen had been young when the western defenses of City S nearly collapsed. He hadn’t been allowed anywhere near the fighting. At the time, he’d been furious about it. He remembered adults rushing around, doors being locked, distant explosions and being told repeatedly to stay where he was.

Later, he’d learned what happened through stories from his family and older survivors.

Hundreds of infected had reached the western defenses.

As a child, hundreds had simply sounded like a large number.

Seeing it now was completely different.

The infected filled the road.

They crawled over abandoned vehicles, pushed past fallen bodies and poured between buildings in numbers Chen had never imagined when listening to those old stories.

The soldiers held their positions.

Fire swept across one side of the road while chunks of broken pavement rose from the ground and smashed into the approaching infected. Ice spread beneath another group, slowing them long enough for gunfire to tear through them. Powers Chen couldn’t immediately identify flashed between the soldiers as they fought to keep the road clear.

Fan Xui stood in the middle of it. ⅇ

“Fall back by rows! Don’t break formation!”

His voice carried clearly through the chaos.

Chen watched him move between groups, directing the retreat while constantly checking that everyone was moving toward the gate.

Something tightened painfully in Chen’s chest.

He knew Fan Xui as his father. The man who complained about his eating habits, criticized his posture and had somehow spent part of their reunion staring in disbelief because Chen had become taller and broader than he remembered.

This was different.

This was Commander Fan Xui.

A soldier stumbled while retreating. Fan Xui caught him by the back of his uniform and hauled him upright before sending him toward the barricade.

Beside Chen, Skyy watched silently.

“He’s good,” he murmured.

Chen couldn’t stop the small flicker of pride that rose in him.

“He is.”

Another wave of infected reached the road.

The soldiers attacked together.

For several seconds, the entrance disappeared beneath smoke, dust and flashes of power. When it cleared, bodies covered the street.

The remaining soldiers began falling back.

Fan Xui was among the last through.

The moment he crossed the barricade, the heavy gates slammed shut behind him. Metal locks dropped into place while soldiers rushed to reinforce them.

Only then did Chen finally breathe properly.

Fan Xui spotted him across the crowd.

For a moment, Chen thought he would come over.

Instead, another soldier reached him with a radio. Within seconds, Fan Xui was issuing orders again.

Chen watched him disappear into the crowd.

Skyy’s hand slipped into his.

Chen glanced down at their joined hands but didn’t let go.

Several medics approached soon afterward, ordering everyone who had entered through the western checkpoint to undergo screening.

Chen didn’t like it, but refusing would only attract attention. ⅇ𝒃𝚗ℴ

The little girl was taken first. She immediately grabbed Skyy’s sleeve when the medic tried to lead her away. Skyy crouched and quietly reassured her until she finally allowed the woman to take her.

Chen watched her disappear behind a curtain.

At least she was somewhere relatively safe.

His own examination was quick. The medic found bruised ribs, cuts and heavy bruising around his throat. Chen endured the examination impatiently, more interested in watching Skyy than discussing injuries he already knew he had.

Then it was Skyy’s turn.

Chen remained beside him.

Skyy removed his wet outer shirt while the medic checked his shoulders, back and arms.

Everything was normal until the man reached his arm.

The medic stopped.

Chen noticed immediately.

His eyes followed the man’s gaze.

The faded bite scar.

Skyy saw it too.

His body stiffened.

Chen moved before the medic could react.

He stepped between them and pulled Skyy behind him.

“He’s not infected.”

The medic stared at him, then at the scar visible beyond his shoulder.

“That is a bite.”

“I know.”

The medic’s expression immediately became guarded.

“If he’s been bitten, he needs to be quarantined.”

“No.”

Chen’s answer was immediate.

Skyy’s fingers closed around the back of his shirt.

The movement was small, but Chen felt it.

Several people nearby had begun looking toward them.

Chen lowered his voice.

“He isn’t infected.”

The medic studied him for a moment before looking toward Skyy again. His initial alarm slowly changed into confusion.

The wound was clearly old.

The skin had completely healed, leaving only the scar behind.

“How long ago did this happen?”

“A while ago,” Chen answered.

The medic frowned.

“He survived a zombie bite?”

“He mutated.”

That was the simplest explanation Chen could give.

People surviving infection and developing abilities afterward were uncommon, but they existed. Chen would rather have them believe Skyy was one of those rare cases than let anyone discover what had actually happened.

The medic stepped closer to examine the scar.

Chen shifted with him, keeping himself between the man and Skyy.

“He’s not one of those things.”

The medic looked up at him.

“He’s human. He survived the mutation and developed an ability afterward.”

Behind Chen, Skyy remained silent.

The medic’s gaze returned to the scar. The fear in his expression had begun fading, replaced by something Chen liked even less.

Interest.

Chen knew how dangerous that could become.

Skyy’s ability was already something people would kill to possess if they understood it. Someone capable of reversing infection wouldn’t be treated like an ordinary survivor for long.

Chen wasn’t allowing that to happen.

The medic straightened.

“This needs to be reported.”

Chen’s expression hardened.

Before he could respond, a familiar voice came from behind them.

“What needs to be reported?”

Chen turned.

Fan Xui stood at the entrance to the medical area.

His uniform was covered in dust and zombie blood, and exhaustion showed clearly across his face. He must have come looking for Chen the moment the immediate situation at the barricade was under control.

His gaze moved from the medic to Chen.

Then to Skyy.

Fan Xui noticed the scar.

His expression changed.

Chen immediately stepped farther in front of Skyy, almost completely blocking him from view.

Fan Xui’s brows slowly drew together.

Chen had been waiting for the chance to finally speak properly with his father.

Now, judging by the way Fan Xui was staring at Skyy’s arm, that conversation had just become considerably more complicated.