Lighting a cigarette, Jack opened the car door and silently got out. Boss Hu in the car seemed a bit sentimental as well, shaking his head regretfully. He said to Xiao Hua, who was crying in Jiao Jiao's arms, "Girl... you should have been mentally prepared for this. You now have two choices: either we give you some food and leave you here to fend for yourself, or you quickly eat your fill, and I will personally send you on your way, letting you become a ghost who died full on the Marcus Spring Road!"
"Old Hu..." Thomas Hong looked at Boss Hu with clenched fists, torn and hesitant, her face full of words left unspoken. But Boss Hu firmly said to her, "Do you have any better ideas besides these two? Look at her arms; they are already starting to turn black and rot. In at most two or three hours, she will turn into a corpse. Do you still want to leave her in the car and endanger us all?"
"But she is our sister..." As Thomas Hong spoke, tears streamed down her face. The despair and pain had long covered her pretty face; the deep bond they had formed over more than a year of being together was something outsiders could not understand.
"Sister Hong..." Cao Mei walked over and gently hugged Thomas Hong's shoulders, softly saying, "Try to see it more clearly. Old Hu is right; we really have no other way. In this world, we all need to be mentally prepared. Look around; what do we humans have left? Even we are just struggling to survive. Little Hua is just leaving a bit earlier!"
"Xiao Hua..." Cao Mei turned her head towards Xiao Hua and gently asked, "It's noon; how about you eat something first? After eating, you can think it over properly!"
"No, I don't want to eat. If I eat, you will abandon me!" Xiao Hua shook her head in pain, lying in Jiao Jiao's arms, completely unconcerned about her open heart, never thinking of hiding it.
"Xiao Hua, look, all your sisters around you care about you. You wouldn't want to hurt them, would you? If something happens to them because of you, could you bear it?" Cao Mei said to Xiao Hua helplessly.
Little Flower lay in Jiao Jiao's arms, silent for a long time. Everyone watched her quietly, no one urging her to speak. After a while, Little Flower finally sat up with tear-streaked cheeks, slowly tidying her clothes, staring blankly at the floor, and murmured, "Sisters, you all know I love being beautiful. I don't want to become something ugly... Because of my poor family background, I've always felt inferior since joining Nanhang, trying every way to dress myself up, wanting to be as beautiful and proud as you. But today, because I loved beauty too much, I shamefully snatched a necklace from a living corpse, and even heaven punished me, making me turn into an ugly living corpse. Haha, what a big joke..."
"Little Flower…" All the women shed tears, looking at her with helpless sadness, thinking that Little Flower's painful experience today might fall upon them tomorrow. While they sympathized with Little Flower, a deep sense of helplessness almost overwhelmed them.
"Sister Hong…" Little Flower slowly raised her head, suddenly smiling brightly. She wiped the tears from her face and forced a smile, saying, "I won't waste your food anymore, but I'm afraid of pain. Please don't let Boss Hu hit me, okay? Let Lin Ye give me a quick end; he can definitely make me die without pain! Sister Hong… I'm counting on you. If they upset Lin Ye, just plead with him a bit; he will surely soften… Sigh~ I really envy you, being able to find a good man during doomsday!"
"Little Flower…"
Jiao Jiao couldn't help but grab Little Flower's hand, looking at her sadly. But Little Flower seemed to have completely come to terms with it, gently patting her hand and smiling, "Jiao Jiao, with your personality, Lin Ye won't like you. Learn from Sister Hong; be less fierce and more feminine… Alright, all good things must come to an end. Take care, sisters. I'll go ahead!"
The women in the car had tears welling in their eyes. At that moment, they all wanted to stop Little Flower from getting out, but didn't know how to speak up. They could only clench their fists tightly, trying hard to hold back their cries. When Little Flower opened the car door and stepped out, they finally couldn't help but embrace each other and cry together. As Little Flower turned back to close the door, she said with a bitter smile, "None of you are allowed to come down to see me. I don't want you to see my ugly face. Also, if possible, send me a lily on this day next year! Goodbye… my dear sisters!"
"Bang…"
Little Flower slammed the car door shut. After a while, everyone heard her talking to Jack. At that moment, the emotions she had been holding up finally collapsed completely, and she cried hysterically in Jack's arms. After that, with Jack's low voice saying, "Take care on your journey," his gun went off…
"Bang…"
At the sound of the gunshot, everyone's bodies involuntarily shook violently, as if the bullet had struck their hearts. They remembered that Little Flower was now tragically lying in a pool of blood, alone and cold on the ground. The women couldn't control themselves and began to cry out loud again.
Jack returned about half an hour later, covered in dirt. He sat in the driver's seat with a somewhat dejected expression, leaning weakly against the back of the chair, taking small puffs from a cigarette with his fingers smeared with Marcus's mud. After finishing the cigarette, he gently started the car and said without looking back, "Crying is useless. This world is no longer what you used to know. You've already lost enough; cherish the life you have left!"
As the car slowly started, the once bustling road was now left with only their solitary vehicle driving in loneliness. Inside the car, a cloud of sorrow hung over them; none of the women made a sound, allowing the car to jolt their young bodies as it carried them slowly toward an unknown distance...
...
It was already afternoon, and Bai Ru was driving the car while Jack lay in the back seat, resting his head on Thomas Hong's thigh, dozing off. Thomas Hong was gently massaging his head, and as he looked at Jack's resolute face, his eyes were filled with an indescribable affection.
The sky outside was getting darker, and the car was traveling on a stretch of interstate highway. The asphalt road, which should have been smooth, made a sound like gravel under the tires, continuously producing a "clattering" noise, as if they had entered a gravel pit.
Bai Ru reached out to turn on the headlights, and two warm beams of light shot out, only to find that the surroundings had turned into a gray haze. The wind was particularly strong, and some stones the size of a thumb were lifted off the ground, hitting the car with a "thud," as if hail was falling.
Cao Mei, in the passenger seat, quickly closed the shooting hole in the door. The wind that rushed in was terrifying, like a ghost wailing. She frowned as she looked at the dreadful scene outside and asked, "Why is the wind so strong?"
Bai Ru silently shook her head. The visibility outside was very low, and she cautiously maneuvered the steering wheel. After a while, she said to Cao Mei beside her, "Fortunately, we're in an armored car. If it were a different one, the windows would probably have shattered by now!"
"Sigh~ Lin Ye really has foresight; this car was the right choice!" Cao Mei smiled wryly, turning to look at Jack on Thomas Hong's lap, her eyes filled with an indescribable mix of jealousy and envy!
The speed of the car gradually decreased, but the sound of stones hitting the car body in the fierce wind grew louder. Occasionally, there was a muffled "bang," startling the people inside the car, making them too afraid to sleep.
At this moment, no one inside the car was speaking. The increasingly loud sounds outside, combined with the dim environment, seemed to remind them of Xiao Hua's tragic fate. Each person felt an inexplicable fear. Except for Jack, who was gradually falling asleep, the girls huddled closely together, trying to comfort their increasingly frightened hearts with each other's weak body warmth.