Rotting Land: Survive

"Derrick!!"

Old Xu pushed open the door, stepped inside, and heard a woman’s voice calling.

He instinctively looked around, and saw a graceful figure stand up from a chair.

The girl was tall, at least around 1.7 meters by Old Xu’s estimate. She had a fullness that didn’t match her age, and even though her mixed-race face was pale, it still couldn’t hide her perfect appearance.

No doubt, this should be Derek’s girlfriend.

"Derrick, what’s happened to you?" The girl showed a concerned expression upon seeing Derek injured.

Derek raised his eyebrows to glance at the girl before him, forcing out an awkward smile: "I’m fine, Demmi. After I left, that group..."

The word "bastards" was just about to slip out, but Derek swallowed it down.

He had no choice. Under the roof, one must bow one’s head.

For survival, for his girlfriend... "That group didn’t trouble you, did they?"

"No! They didn’t trouble us, but you, what’s happened to you? Did they...?"

"I’m fine!" Derek waved his hand rather spiritedly, though his injuries made him involuntarily let out an "ouch."

Hearing Derek’s "ouch," Demmi’s heart tightened further. She quickly pulled over a stool and gestured, "Quick! Quickly let him sit down!"

Finding himself shouted at by the girl like this, Old Xu felt slightly embarrassed.

But he wasn’t petty and didn’t mind such trivial matters.

After all, he wasn’t here for Demmi. Once Derek was settled, Xu Renjie surveyed the classroom, then asked, "Little Derek, didn’t you say you were taking care of two girls here?"

He refrained from mentioning Zhao Lina’s name, primarily to prevent the whole affair from being exposed.

After all, Old Xu and his team faced great task risks, and the key to success depended on him and Lei Tong maintaining their identities.

To keep identities secret, the best method was to minimize the number of people who knew the truth.

It wasn’t that Old Xu didn’t trust the stances of Demmi and Zhao Lina, but once people know the truth, it’s hard for them to maintain their original attitude.

Old Xu didn’t want the task to fail due to someone else’s carelessness, leading to casualties.

With furrowed brows, Demmi, whose attention had been fully on Derek’s injuries, noticed the strangers in the room: "Derrick, who are they?"

Her tone was noticeably cautious, which was understandable. In such a confined school building, living with a group of psychopathic people, any girl would likely become neurotic.

So, Old Xu completely understood Demmi’s wariness.

"They’re on the road..." Derek paused, raising an eyebrow to glance at Xu Renjie.

The look in Derek’s eyes made Old Xu feel odd, as he could sense a disdain from Derek’s gaze.

And just when Old Xu felt inexplicably puzzled, Derek said coldly, "They’re the helpers I brought back."

"Helpers!?" Demmi jumped in surprise at the words, then asked incredulously, "Why did you get helpers? Do you plan to..."

Stopping short of words, Demmi’s enigmatic expression clearly indicated her thoughts.

"Haha, Demmi, you’re overthinking. I found them purely to help. You see, in order to gather supplies, I have to go out every day. Honestly, I worry every time I go out. I worry about your safety at school. I’m also afraid that if something goes wrong, I won’t come back. You say, if... if I can’t come back, then, then..."

"Derrick!!" Demmi spread her arms, tightly hugged Derek, then gave him a passionate kiss. After the kiss, Demmi gazed deeply into Derek’s eyes and said tenderly, "Derrick, you will be fine, and I will be fine. I pray to God every day that we can escape this ordeal safely. So, promise me, no matter what happens, you will keep surviving for me, for our love, okay?"

"Okay! You promise me too, no matter what, you have to persist."

"Mm!"

"I love you, Demmi!"

"I love you too, Derrick!!"

The couple embraced again, and watching Demmi and Derek’s affectionate scene made Old Xu and Lei Tong feel awkward.

This foreign gene surely makes them open-minded! At least stay aware of the occasion!

Perhaps Old Xu’s complaint took effect, as after 30 seconds of hugging and kissing, Derek released his embrace of Demmi. His expression, which had been indifferent earlier, now seemed slightly warmer.

"Demmi, where’s Lina?"

Hearing Derek mention "Lina," Old Xu immediately perked up.

"Lina is resting inside, she’s not feeling well."

"Not feeling well? What’s wrong?"

"I’m not sure either. Shortly after you left that day, Lina quickly lost energy, and then... sigh." Demmi sighed lightly, shaking her head helplessly.

"Where is she?"

The main objective of the task was to rescue Zhao Lina; if she experienced any issues, the task would become meaningless.

Demmi gave Old Xu a surprised look, clearly finding the man’s urgency rather odd.

She thought: You’re not familiar with Lina, so why are you so anxious?

But due to the determination she saw in Old Xu’s eyes, Demmi quickly raised her right hand and pointed to a curtain: "Lina is over there, she’s resting."

Since there were two women and one man living there, considering gender issues, Derek had intentionally set up a curtain inside the room.

One side was for him and Demmi, the other was left for Zhao Lina.

From the bedding laid out on the floor, Old Xu could deduce the purpose of the curtain, leading him once again to respect Derek’s character.

It seemed he had indeed misunderstood the young man earlier; he truly was risking his life to protect the safety of the two women.

"Um... can I go over and check on her?"

Demmi didn’t reply, her sense of oddity was even stronger. On top of that, before Old Xu arrived, he purposely disheveled himself to appear weak and cowardly, smearing his face with dirt. So at the moment, he indeed looked somewhat timid in Demmi’s eyes.

Seeing the vigilant look in Demmi’s eyes, Derek timely eased her concern: "Take him over; he studied medicine. He can go over and help Lina find out what’s wrong."

"Are you sure?" Demmi was clearly skeptical about Derek’s words, thinking that from the look of this guy, he might not have even gone to school. How could he have studied medicine?

But as Demmi was pondering this, Old Xu took out the medical supplies he had obtained from the pharmacy earlier and swiftly began treating Derek’s wounds. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read on m.qidian.com.)