An office in L Base, simple furnishings that nonetheless faintly revealed a touch of luxury.
A man with a cold, handsome face sat on the leather chair behind the desk. He stared out the window, his deep gaze fixed blankly on the sky.
Last night was another sleepless night. For years, his sleep had always been poor. He often woke up from nightmares, that heart-rending pain making it impossible to fall asleep again. He always dreamed of that boy, dreamed of him lying there, his body turning black, on the verge of mutation.
But last night, for some reason, the dream changed. It was still that boy, the one who had only spent a single day with him five years ago and then vanished, the boy named Qi Yue. He dreamed that the two of them were sitting at a table eating dinner. The boy smiled at him, speaking gently as he chatted about trivial daily things.
The same table, tablecloth, the layout of the room, the sofa, even the curtains were exactly the same as his current home. He had only moved into that house after the apocalypse; everything inside was arranged by himself. Every corner was carefully chosen. He didn’t know what was wrong with him to make him dream such an absurd thing.
A surge of heat rushed to his eyes. He raised his hand and forcefully wiped it away. He must be losing his mind. Ever since that boy disappeared, he often ended up like this. It was completely unlike him.
Knock knock. A knocking sound came, and the door was pushed open from outside.
Han Fei walked in and sat directly on the sofa. He loosened his shirt collar a bit and spoke before the other could say anything: “People from M Base said they’ll come tomorrow.”
“Mm. Did you get a clear list of who’s coming?” Yan Bin asked.
“Ten people in total. Leading them is Liu Zhengnan’s daughter.”
Liu Zhengnan was the second-in-command of B Base, highly authoritative within the military. For years he had been competing with the Tang family.
Yan Bin turned in his chair, puzzled, and asked carefully: “Liu Zhengnan has a daughter? Doesn’t he only have a son at B Base?”
“She’s not his biological daughter, she’s a stepdaughter his current wife brought with her. I heard that woman holds a lot of power in M Base.” Han Fei was a bit interested, curious what kind of woman could be that capable.
“Oh?” Yan Bin truly hadn’t expected that. M Base was heavily guarded. None of the people he’d sent over had been able to get anywhere near the decision-making level.
“And the one with the foresight ability is that woman.” After saying this, Han Fei met Yan Bin’s eyes and continued: “Could it be that Liu Zhengnan is sending her to test us?”
After the apocalypse, the four major bases rose. The Tang family held power in B Base; S Base was chaotic and mixed, currently under the Li family; M Base was jointly controlled by the official Feng family and Liao Feifan; and then there was Yan Bin of L Base. The four major bases normally had no contact and each developed independently. A few days ago, M Base suddenly sent word expressing interest in forming an alliance. It was truly intriguing.
For this woman to have the same ability as him, a foresight ability.
Yan Bin pondered for a moment, then shifted the topic: “You’re still searching?”
His gaze moved to the man on the sofa. Han Fei picked up a cigarette from the coffee table, lit it, took a drag, and hummed softly: “Mm.”
The atmosphere in the room became silent and heavy. Neither of them continued speaking.
A military jeep parked in front of a six-story building. Two young men in military uniforms got out, one in front and one behind.
At the entrance, a man in his thirties wearing a military uniform under a white lab coat was already waiting. When he saw them get out of the car, delight appeared on his face.
“Greetings, Chief.” The guard at the door saluted one of the uniformed men who had just stepped out.
The man returned the salute. He was tall, with a stern expression. From the insignia on his shoulder, one could tell he was a very young major general. To reach such a position at his age was truly extraordinary. After all, after the apocalypse, high-ranking officers had almost all died. The man beside him was his security aide.
The man who had been waiting quickly stepped forward and began reporting: “Professor Wu still insists on returning to his laboratory.”
The man’s steps paused slightly. He nodded. “Let’s go take a look.”
They took an elevator directly down to the second basement level. This was B Base’s secret research facility, disguised on the surface as ordinary military residential housing.
Ding. The elevator doors opened, and the three walked out. The long corridor was dimly lit. Since the electricity was solar-powered, it wasn’t very stable, and the flickering lights flashed now and then. Through the small windows of the rooms on both sides, one could see sights that made the hair stand on end. Those inside had varying degrees of bodily decay, strictly speaking, they could no longer be called humans. They were experimental subjects.
The man in the white lab coat led the two officers into one of the rooms along the long corridor.
Inside, an elderly man, about 50 or 60 years old with graying hair, was recording data in front of a row of test tubes. His attitude was extremely focused; he didn’t even notice people entering.
The guide spoke: “Teacher, Captain Tang is here.”
The old man ignored him, continuing to write without pause.
The man in the lab coat looked a bit embarrassed, but his teacher had an eccentric temper and never accommodated anyone, regardless of status.
He was about to speak again, but the officer shook his head to stop him. The man could only wait gloomily at the side.
After quite a long while, the old man finally finished recording, turned around, carefully placed the folder in his hands into a drawer, and then walked over to them.
Professor Wu was a world-renowned expert in virus research and genetic development, a leading figure in contemporary medical science. The research topic he was currently responsible for was genetic modification. If successful, they would be able to stop the spread of the zombie virus and even transform the zombie virus into something beneficial to the human body. This research was highly valued by the base’s leadership. If it succeeded, B Base would become the most powerful human stronghold in China and even the entire world, since there were far too few people with healing abilities.
The officer spoke first: “Professor Wu, how about we send people to transport all the machines over? You don’t need to go personally. Safety is more important.”
Before he could finish, the old man instantly refused: “No. Only I know what’s in that laboratory. If your brainless people mess something up or break something, who’s going to take responsibility?”
The officer pondered for a long moment and finally said: “Alright, I’ll make arrangements.”
The old man finally nodded in satisfaction. His wrinkled face showed a smile. “That’s more like it. Young people must act decisively.” Since his request had been accepted, he paused and added, “Hurry up. My time is very precious, not like yours.” After saying this, he ignored them again and returned to the lab table to fiddle with the test tubes.
The man in the white coat explained, “Captain Tang, please don’t mind. Teacher has always been like this.”
“Mm, it’s fine. You’ve worked hard lately. If the research needs anything, just say so.”
“Our progress is thanks to you, Captain Tang. But… is Teacher really going to be alright? That place is very dangerous.” The man in the white coat looked worried.
“We’ll work with the Elite Squad to protect Professor Wu.”
“Mm, then I’ll rely on you to take care of Teacher.” The man finally looked relieved. The Elite Squad was B Base’s number-one ability user squad, and the Captain Tang before him was certainly not someone to be underestimated.
Having met the person he came for, the officer felt that although the result conflicted with what he had hoped, it wasn’t too bad.
Walking out of the building, the officer let out a heavy breath, looked up at the blinding sky above. His face was extraordinarily handsome, his expression stern. The aura he carried matched the military uniform on him perfectly.
“Have Lin Yuze come tonight for a gathering.”
The young aide beside him, who liked to talk, asked, “Is it to tell Captain Lin about going to Hailar?”
“Mm.” The young officer smiled slightly. “We’re going to your hometown. I heard it’s near the grasslands, and the scenery is beautiful.”
The aide said proudly, “Of course. The grasslands of my hometown are the most beautiful.” His gaze softened with nostalgia.
“Then let’s go. I want to see it too.” After speaking, he stepped into the jeep.
Sun Yang finished lunch and, under Qi Yue’s urging, went into the room to rest.
It was already afternoon. Oak had promised to return for lunch but still hadn’t come back. Qi Yue decided to go check out Da Zhuang’s place nearby to see what they were doing.
The main door was tightly shut. Qi Yue pulled back the hand he was about to knock with, glanced left and right, confirmed no one was around, then stepped onto the wall and used his strength to flip into the yard. No one was on the first floor. Using the faint indentations along the wall and the window sill, he climbed up to the second floor. He peered into each room along the window edges.
He found who he was looking for, Oak and Da Zhuang were huddled over a table working on something. Qi Yue knocked on the locked glass window, startling the people inside.
Da Zhuang was around thirty, a mechanic who had grown up in M Country. Before the apocalypse, he had come to the grasslands for self-guided travel and ended up settling there. His hobby was collecting and modifying guns, he was a genius in this field.
Qi Yue slipped in through the window Oak opened. Seeing him, Da Zhuang looked excited and said, “I knew you still had a conscience. Hurry, take it out. I’m starving. Let me see what delicious thing you brought.” No matter how smart he looked, he couldn’t escape his true nature, a foodie.
Qi Yue helplessly pulled out the roast chicken and asked them, “What time is it? Why haven’t you eaten? Why didn’t you come back?” His eyes shifted toward Oak in question.
Oak’s blue eyes were filled with sadness. He was a mixed-race man with one-quarter F-country blood. There was a unique romantic and deeply emotional air in his bones.
Qi Yue more or less understood. He turned to look at Da Zhuang, whose mouth was now stuffed with chicken. Da Zhuang’s real name was Alexander Thompson; his Chinese name was given later by Qi Yue. In fact, he was physically quite thin.
Da Zhuang spoke through a mouthful of food: “Judging from Sun Yang’s symptoms, it’s very likely leukemia.”
No wonder the symptoms were too similar: pale complexion, shortness of breath, some swelling, dizziness.
Qi Yue instinctively reached into his pants pocket, pulled out a cigarette, put it between his lips, and lit it, completely ignoring the rows of guns and ammunition stacked in the cabinet beside him.
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