Chapter 38: Where Is He?

Li Yexing rushed around the ship's hold with Lilith as the infected became more and more numerous. They emerged from corners and slid out of ventilation ducts, an endless stream that couldn't be stopped.

Soon, the two of them had run out of bullets for their submachine guns. Following Li Yexing's suggestion, Lilith learned to take a handgun from one of the infected security guards, which greatly alleviated their ammunition problem.

Finally, after a relatively easy battle, Li Yexing and Lilith's successfully reached the captain's cabin. The cabin required a corresponding magnetic card to open, but Li Yexing was already familiar with this kind of situation.

"Kick it open, Lilith," Li Yexing said.

Upon hearing Li Yexing's words, Lilith took a deep breath, then kicked the door to the captain's cabin with a flying kick. With the familiar sound of the door hinge breaking, the captain's cabin door collapsed.

Once inside, they found a meticulously arranged room with a wooden desk, bookshelves, and a bed. However, what caught Li Yexing's eye the most was the shotgun hanging under the deer head specimen in the captain's cabin.

He casually took down the shotgun and slung it over his back. Then, he opened the desk drawer, which contained only two boxes of shotgun shells. He stuffed all the ammunition into his pocket, then turned to ask Lilith, "Did you find what we're looking for?"

"No," Lilith's replied, searching the bookshelf.

Next, the two of them searched the entire captain's cabin. Apart from a large-caliber revolver and a few revolver bullets, they found nothing. However, Li Yexing was not ready to give up yet. In this situation, there must be some kind of mechanism in the captain's cabin, like playing the piano or moving a box to turn on the lights.

"Li Yexing... it's so strange." Lilith couldn't help but comment as she watched Li Yexing jumping up and down to search for the mechanism.

"Why is there none?" Li Yexing muttered to himself with a disappointed expression. "Could it really be on the infected captain who ran away through the ventilation ducts?"

Li Yexing furrowed his brow as he pondered. If the infected captain had really crawled through the ventilation ducts and run away, where would he go in such a large ship like the Orianna?

If he had really run through the ventilation ducts, then the captain was most likely in... the kitchen of the banquet hall!

Li Yexing and his team realized that when the chaos first erupted, the first place that was affected, aside from the control room, seemed to be the kitchen of the banquet hall. The infected body of the captain was likely to have crawled through the ventilation ducts and ended up in the kitchen.

Although this reasoning was not perfect, Li Yexing had no other options and had to give it a try. However, in order to reach the kitchen, they had to face a huge problem—the banquet hall.

Who knows how many infected people were in the banquet hall at this moment?

"We may have to go back to the banquet hall..." Li Yexing turned to Lilith and said, "We'll act according to the situation when we get there. If there are too many enemies, we'll find another way."

Lilith nodded, and the two of them started to retrace their steps.

The path they had just walked had become bloody by now. Li Yexing and Lilith ran into a fleeing nobleman in a suit, whose neck was covered with terrible wounds and was continuously bleeding. His body was constantly leaking water as if he had been soaked. Seeing Li Yexing and Lilith holding guns, the nobleman, who was covering his neck wound, showed an expression that seemed to have found a savior on his pale face.

"Help... help me! There are so many monsters in the banquet hall, they..." Before the nobleman could finish his sentence, Li Yexing raised his hand and fired a shot, the bullet piercing through the nobleman's forehead. With a bang, the nobleman's forehead exploded into a bloody mess, and with an expression of confusion, he fell to the ground.

On the way, Li Yexing saw many refugees running towards him, screaming and trying to escape from the direction of the banquet hall, hoping to return to their rooms for safety. However, the ship had lost power, and their magnetic cards were unable to open their rooms. These poor creatures had no choice but to flee aimlessly, running towards the upper decks of the ship, as if they could survive as long as they stayed away from the banquet hall.

Li Yexing knew that they had no chance of escape tonight. He had noticed that there was no cellphone signal on the ship and that the powerless ship could not send out any distress signals. Normally, the Orianna would sail in the Mediterranean for two to three days, and during this time, the infected on board would be able to suck the survivors from the banquet hall dry.

Finally, after a long journey, Li Yexing and Lilith returned to the banquet hall. Without the flashing lights, the once lively banquet hall became gloomy and terrifying. Stains and bloodstains could be seen everywhere on the beautiful carpets. The neatly arranged wine and dishes on the dining tables were scattered on the floor.

At least twenty infected individuals were present in the hall. Some of them were gathered in small circles, sucking the blood from the corpses on the ground, while others wandered aimlessly around the hall.

When Li Yexing and Lilith entered, a few of the infected individuals made eerie noises and rushed toward them. Li Yexing and Lilith quickly pulled out their guns and took care of the infected individuals who charged at them. However, most of the infected individuals continued to feast on the corpses and remained unfazed by their presence.

"Since our ammunition is limited, try to avoid direct confrontation with these monsters," Li Yexing cautioned Lilith. The two of them walked cautiously, avoiding the infected individuals who were eating, while also confirming the clothing of the infected individuals. Once they confirmed that there was no captain among them, they quickly made their way through the entire banquet hall to reach the kitchen hallway.

The hallway was long and devoid of cover, with bloodstains and white fluids left behind by the infected individuals covering the walls and floor. Honestly, this terrain was far from ideal, as even a small mistake could result in being attacked from both sides. Li Yexing took the opportunity to close the door tightly behind them when the infected individuals in the banquet hall weren't paying attention, so they wouldn't be ambushed from behind.

With their guns in hand, the two of them walked slowly through the dark hallway, their footsteps making nauseating sounds as they squished on the slimy ground. Eventually, they arrived at the kitchen. Upon pushing the door open, they found that the kitchen was a mess, with food ingredients thrown carelessly on the ground and the stove still burning. Blood and fluids were everywhere, and a desiccated body lay on the dirty floor.

There were no infected individuals in the kitchen.

Li Yexing looked up at the ventilation duct and saw blood and fluids dripping from it. "Damn it, where is that bastard?" he muttered.

While he was pondering, the ventilation duct suddenly shook violently. Li Yexing and Lilith instinctively tensed up, raising their guns toward the duct.

The duct continued to shake violently, and blood and fluids sprayed out of it. Li Yexing frowned in annoyance, but then the shaking suddenly stopped.

After a moment, a person covered in white fluid fell out of the ventilation duct. Li Yexing noticed keenly that the person was wearing a captain's uniform.