Lucas' exclamation instantly silenced the cabin.

Everyone's gaze focused on the reddened wound on Winnie's arm. The edges were slightly bluish, but it did not look like a typical zombie bite.

Winnie quickly covered her arm with her hand, her face ghastly pale. "This... This is probably from when I was fishing in the sea and got scratched by a seashell!"

Her voice became increasingly shrill, and her eyes darted around in panic.

Hans grabbed her wrist and carefully examined the wound. He frowned. "The wound is very shallow. It doesn't look like a bite mark."

The atmosphere in the cabin suddenly became tense.

Someone muttered, "What if a zombie scratched it?"

Lucas immediately suggested, "Quarantine her and observe first! Safety first."

Winnie suddenly weakly leaned into Hans' arms at the mention of quarantine. "Hans, don't leave me alone. I'm scared..."

Hans' expression softened instantly. He turned to me, his gaze turning unusually gentle. "Clarissa, give me the vaccine."

I clutched the metal box tightly and took a step back. "No! This vaccine is for research in the safe zone!"

Hans' voice was low. "What if she's really infected? Can you bear to watch a living person turn into a zombie?"

Lucas stood in front of me. "Chief Luketon, this is too risky! If Ms. Snowe isn't infected, we'll waste our only vaccine!"

"Get out of my way!" Hans suddenly flew into a rage and punched Lucas to the ground.

When he faced me, his gentle expression returned. "Clarissa, you're sensible. Give me the vaccine, okay?"

Seeing his feigned expression, I suddenly smiled. "Hans, do you grasp what this vaccine stands for?"

"Enough talk!" His patience snapped, and he lunged for the box.

I sidestepped, but he seized my hair and slammed me forcefully onto the deck. The sharp pain from the impact of my head against the metal floor left me dazed.

The vaccine box slipped from my hand, snatched by Hans.

"No!" I fought to rise, only to witness him expertly extracting the vaccine and administering it into Winnie's arm.

Just then, the sound of an engine roaring erupted outside the cabin.

"It's the rescue team!" Lucas exclaimed excitedly, pointing out the porthole.

The beam of a searchlight swept across the cabin, illuminating us completely.

The rescue team leader, Alan Burton, was the first to board our ship, and his first words were...

"Where's the vaccine?"