XG 24 - Like you, I have my daughter to protect

“None whatsoever. But I have information about this virus that will be useful for everyone. My source is reliable and you may share it among your trusted allies, but I hope my and my husband’s names will not be shared as your informant. Like you, I have my daughter to protect.”

It was best to avoid alerting the snake while they were still gathering allies.

“...It will be difficult to gain everyone’s trust without revealing my source of information.”

Suzie Yap chuckled. “As a show of trust, I saved your daughter, Nurul Hanani, from succumbing to the virus. Without any cure being researched yet, your daughter will be valuable to others. If you form an ally with me, your daughter will not need to live the rest of her life inside the lab.”

“You are threatening me?” The Chief of Police asked heavily.

“I’m not a scientist, why would I do that to your daughter? As for my husband, he only provides funds and keeps his employees in check. He isn’t the representative of researchers. Chief, surely you know human behaviour the best when they are facing life and death situations?”

Suzie Yap patiently waited, knowing that the two big shots would need to discuss her proposal.

“What will you get in return for helping us? Would you not want to gain a good reputation if you reveal the information publicly?” the Chief of Police asked. “Better yet, you can sell your information to our government directly.”

Suzie Yap laughed. “Are you telling me that I could not trust you, the head of the police force that serves the country and protects the civilians from danger?”

“This matter is too big for us to handle.”

“I trust you more than the government that has too many different ears and ambitions. To make this simple, we have a common enemy, the one that spread this virus on purpose. I had yet to figure out who, or how many people are in that group and I don’t want to give myself up before capturing the enemy. But I will need help from anyone I could get, yet be careful to trust those that might be sent over by the enemy.”

Suzie Yap only dared to seek alliance from them because she knew they were not her enemy. They were potential allies that were unfortunately wiped out in the early days of doomsday.

The Chief of Police’s heart was as heavy as a mountain. He does not know whether a man-made, on purpose virus was worse or a creation of a dangerous mutated virus was accidentally spread to the environment. But man-made viruses had their own benefits, such as the person behind the scene will eventually release the cure once they get what they wanted.

If the person behind the scene indeed has a cure before maliciously releasing the virus.

With a heavy sigh, he stared at the man on the screen with a similar tense expression as his. Mr Low finally nodded and the Chief of Police closed his bloodshot eyes.

The police force had been tiring themselves out and even lost a lot of their comrades in just one week. The public was demanding answers from the police that were in the dark about the true nature of human infectious rabies and had been blindly going around without a clue of what was really going on.

The police force had sought advice from the government, but they remained tight-lipped and vague with their direction, where most of the time would be spent deflecting their responsibilities. The police force was the one that took the great burnt from this incident, being shoved into the limelight for being incompetent.

It was only Mrs Wong who finally approached them with a possible answer and might be the only way to get the police force out of the public execution. Even if Mrs Wong’s words were dubious, he was more willing to believe her than the shifty government that until now was hiding whatever they knew from him.

He had already developed trauma from receiving reports of his subordinates and civilians dying, starting from daily reports until it became hourly.

“Thank you for your trust in us. We will accept this cooperation and investigate our people properly. Your information will only be shared with my trusted men.”

Suzie Yap smiled. “Happy cooperation.”

Among their group, only Nurul Hanani and Low Lin Ya will be leaving with the helicopter. Mr Kwan's gaze was full of vigilance towards Nurul Hanani, but he did not do anything other than stare.

Suzie Yap stopped Nurul Hanani before she got onto the helicopter. “Do not panic once you remove your tudung. That colour is one of the side effects and will not harm you. Eat more food while you still can to regain your vitality, before food becomes scarce.”

Nurul Hanani resisted the urge to touch her head which suddenly felt itchy. “Thank you, Mrs Wong. You saved my life and I will you with whatever I can. I will ask my father to help too.”

Her father always told her that she should never forget those that helped her and remember to repay them.

“These days, find out what your ability is and train yourself. Stay low-key if you can. Remember, not everyone could survive the bite like you, and it's best not to share that tidbit with anyone but your father. If possible, hide that you have been bitten to avoid trouble. I will contact your father one of these days.”

She did not hide the information from Nurul Hanani that those who survived the bite tend to have a supernatural ability. They will need more fighters if they want to win against the army of zombies and avoid humankind from going extinct.

Low Lin Ya hugged Wong Xue Guo tightly. "Stay safe, okay?"

"You should listen to your own advice," Wong Xue Guo rebuked and patted Low Lin Ya's back.

Low Lin Ya pulled away from the hug and pouted. "Whatever. Keep in touch!"

Mood subdued, Wong Xue Guo waved as she watched the helicopter soar from the rooftop and flew away. The helicopter brings a great gush of wind, accompanied by the ear-piercing sound of the engine, and leaves the danger area.

“You will meet them again in the future,” Suzie Yap soothes her daughter once the rooftop gains peace from the sound population.

“Mhm.” Wong Xue Guo lowered her hand. “Mother, we need to leave quickly. They are getting louder.”

The helicopter had landed on the rooftop without the engine switched off, hence the sound of the fan had been loudly transmitted for a long while. They could distantly hear the restless scratching and growls coming from the other side of the door, causing their heart to stay on edge.

Those zombies’ hearing was unnecessary sharp.

Fortunately, none of the zombies tried to break the windows on each floor and climb up to the rooftop. If that happens, the outbreak will spread even further once the zombie slipped during their climbing adventure and fell down to the street.

No one knows if the zombie could survive the fall and still be able to move even with great injuries.

“Suzie, your car is in the parking lot?” Vihaan looked troubled. His own car was also in there and he hoped it was not damaged.

“I’ve asked my bodyguard to drive out,” Suzie Yap sighed. “Hopefully they managed to do it before the army blocked the entrance.”

Vihaan also sighed, knowing that the chances of getting his car out were slim to none. He should have already been content to be able to find a way out of this building alive but the thought of his car that he had just finished paying off the instalments hurt his heart very much.

“Do we know how to use that carriage?” Wong Xue Guo eyed Chen Yibo, who was examining the buttons.

“I will try,” Vihaan offered, since it does not matter who will do it as none of them know how to do it.

“No, let Yibo do it. He has a better response speed,” Suzie Yap said.

“Yeah, Yibo could do it!” Chen Jiang An remembered his cousin was indeed good in reaction speed, which could contribute to his karate and Taekwondo lessons. He had also followed his cousin to learn, but he was stuck in the white belt, unable to chase after his cousin.

“I will try,” Chen Yibo agreed, without any sign that he was troubled by their expectation. Disassembly and reassembly of a gun was tougher than figuring out how to operate the carriage.

Luckily the remote control was on the carriage, and none of them needed to stay behind for the second round of ride. With only six people, none overweight, they hope that their total weight could be supported by the carriage.

The carriage had parked at an inch lower than the rooftop level, so they had to be careful when stepping down into it. Chen Yibo was already on it to examine the remote earlier, which was then followed by Suzie Yap. A little embarrassed, Wong Xue Guo allowed herself to be lifted up into the carriage by her mother, who had done it without looking as if struggling with her weight. Vihaan did the same to Kim Sung-Ho, and Chen Jiang An was the last to climb in by himself.

Once they were sure their weight would not topple the carriage, Chen Yibo pressed the button to let it start descending. The speed was not as fast as the elevator, which helped Wong Xue Guo to contain her fear of height, especially without any wall around her.

When they reached the fourth floor, Wong Xue Guo nearly let out a shriek when she saw faces pressed onto the window. Fortunately, they were not zombies, but survivors that hid in the dark corners in fear and waited for help.

Noticing the descending carriage, a man was saying something which they could not hear, but Wong Xue Guo had a dreadful inkling of what he wanted to say.