《Sixteen Years》


 CH 1

    fu yan opened his eyes.


    there was a barely noticeable grayish-yellow stain on the snow-white ceiling, and the round ceiling light was on, emitting a brightness that was a bit harsh for him.


    a mist of haziness filled fu yan¡¯s eyes, and he felt the prickling sensation brought on by the light.


    lost in thought, he gazed at the ceiling, not even reacting to the idea of closing his eyes to avoid this minor discomfort.


    he seemed to be close to a bustling urban area; faint cries of street vendors could be heard from the partially open window. the sickly sweet aroma of cheap sweets seeped into the room through the window cracks, like hooks, arousing a reaction in fu yan.


    he blinked, and tears welled up in his eyes. gradually, his senses returned, and he closed his eyes, finally awakening from the state of half-deathly daze.


    a normal day, fu yan thought, but didn¡¯t i die?


    the thought flowed naturally, and fu yan remained surprisingly calm. he slightly bent his knees and sat up from the bed, enduring the dizziness as he lowered his head to look at his own hands.


    except for a shallow scar on the back of his right hand, there were no other injuries.


    his arms and legs were all intact, and nothing was missing from his body. fu yan lowered his head to inspect himself, realizing he was wearing a plain pajama t-shirt with the blanket piled around his waist, looking as though he had just woken up from a nap.


    the ceiling light emitted a gentle, bright white light, and after staring at the bedsheet for a while, fu yan¡¯s eyes felt a bit strained. he furrowed his brows and pinched his temple, his mind nearly blank.


    the sticky aroma of cotton candy from outside the window was soon replaced by the scent of another food¡ªstrong barbecue aroma wafted in the air, mixed with the oily scent of beef and mutton, weaving its way into the room.


    fu yan¡¯s face suddenly turned pale, and he threw off the blanket and rushed into the bathroom. he just managed to lift the toilet lid before bending over, vomiting uncontrollably.


    his stomach was empty, and he couldn¡¯t expel much, just a few mouthfuls of acidic water.


    fu yan couldn¡¯t stop vomiting, but his nausea was intense. the scent of meat seemed like poison to him, making him wish he could rip his stomach out and flush it down the toilet.


    after over a dozen minutes, fu yan finally caught his breath. he put down the toilet lid, leaned against the cold ceramic wall, and leaned on the toilet tank.


    the whites of his eyes were tinged with red blood vessels, and he slightly frowned, turning his head and sitting on the floor, unable to stand up, looking quite disheveled.


    but this couldn¡¯t be blamed on him¡ªafter all, half an hour ago, he had just experienced his own death.


    fu yan panted heavily, squinting as he surveyed his surroundings.


    this seemed to be a guest house-type hotel, cleaned up quite neatly. the bathroom had a floral aroma from the diffuser, smelling refreshing.


    under the mirror light at the nearby sink, there was a small electronic clock, and the time on it blinked, striking a full hour. the date below lit up with the hourly chime, and fu yan, with his excellent vision, easily saw the small text.


    [may 16, 2027.]


    this year was three years before the last memory fu yan had. he lowered his eyes for a moment, then realized what happened in this particular year.


    if he remembered correctly, during this time, he should have been on medical leave due to injuries.


    six months ago in this year, fu yan carried out a test flight mission as the top pilot in the first squadron. he was supposed to collect live data for a new research aircraft. however, the test flight encountered some issues. the radar signal suddenly cut off when entering mountainous terrain, and some of the digital equipment on the test aircraft went haywire. even the central control panel didn¡¯t respond.


    fu yan switched to manual mode, but he still couldn¡¯t save the plane. he had no choice but to parachute out.


    after that incident, he received praise and was granted several months of leave. if it weren¡¯t for the world-changing accident that followed in the next months, he should have been promoted when he returned to duty.


    june 1st, fu yan thought.


    in just over half a month, a rare and highly contagious virus would break out. infected individuals would exhibit symptoms like anxiety, madness, bloodlust, and attacking others. initially, these symptoms were mistaken for rabies, but a few days later, the infected would develop the ¡°zombification¡± condition¡ªrigid bodies, yet retaining the ability to move even after brain death.


    before the ¡°zombification¡± condition spread, fu yan always thought that post-apocalyptic disaster movies were just a form of popcorn entertainment. however, when reality struck, he realized that reality was far more terrifying than his imagination.


    the disaster unfolded so rapidly and mercilessly that they had no means to resist¡ªit led to a sharp decline in the global population, numerous cities being abandoned, and people retreating from urbanized living.


    they were caught off guard by this unexpected catastrophe and could only retreat step by step.


    up until the moment of fu yan¡¯s death, the disaster continued, and no one knew when it would end.


    fu yan¡¯s thoughts paused for a moment, then he had to recall the matter he had temporarily ignored¡ªhe was already dead.


    half an hour ago before he woke up, he and his team members were trapped in an abandoned building. in order to send out research data from a medical building, he left the main force alone and lured the zombies into a twin-level building.


    he had intended to escape through the twin-level passage after luring away the zombies. however, the building had been abandoned for a long time, and the passage was blocked by heaps of discarded building materials. from the outside, it looked fine, but it was completely blocked on the inside, and not even a fly could get through.


    fu yan was already injured at that time, and the knee of his left leg had been shattered by a sharp piece of iron. moving was already difficult, and after struggling for ten minutes, he couldn¡¯t hold on anymore and ended up trapped in a corner of a laboratory.


    it wasn¡¯t a good memory. fu yan furrowed his brows, his throat rolled for a moment, and he couldn¡¯t help but turn his head and vomit a couple more times.


    this memory was still ¡°fresh¡± to fu yan. now, when he closed his eyes, he could still vividly recall the feeling of being pressed to the ground by layers of zombies and being torn apart.


    the stench of decay lingered around him, and the foul saliva fell on him. at that moment, he didn¡¯t die immediately, and he clearly felt how his flesh was bitten piece by piece.


    fu yan instinctively covered his stomach and vomited even more fiercely.


    however, he didn¡¯t stop, but rather indulged himself, replaying this memory in his mind three times until he became desensitized to it. then he wiped the corners of his mouth and pressed the flush button.


    fu yan staggered to his feet, glanced at the mirror on the washstand before heading out.


    in the mirror, the person looked handsome and tall, but his complexion was somewhat pale, with a faint shade of blue and black under his eyes, as if he hadn¡¯t slept well.


    yet, even so, compared to three years from now, his current state could be considered quite good.


    at least his arms and legs were intact now, and he could temporarily relax, not needing to worry about where to go in the next second.


    fu yan quickly averted his gaze, stepped out of the bathroom.


    he didn¡¯t know how he had woken up back three years back, but he wanted to understand why he had come back.


    outside, the sky was already darkening. fu yan walked over to close the window tightly, then turned on the air conditioning and lowered the temperature by two degrees.


    taking a quick survey of the room, he noticed his suitcase neatly placed against the wall. on the table, there was a kettle of hot water that had been boiled, with the lid left open. the thermostat was set at forty-six degrees, and thin wisps of steam were rising from it.


    next to the kettle, there was a sticky note attached to the tea bag box. fu yan reached over and took it, realizing that it was a handwritten note.


    ¡°remember to take your medicine. if you¡¯re hungry, order takeout first. i¡¯ll be back once i¡¯m done.¡±


    the signature was a fancifully written ¡°liu¡± character.


    looking at the note, fu yan finally remembered where he was.


    back in april, after fu yan had fully recovered from his injuries, he was formally discharged from the hospital. as a result, liu ruosong also returned to work.


    before fu yan¡¯s accident, liu ruosong, an outdoor photographer, had been invited by an animal protection organization to participate in an expedition to kekexili. the purpose of this expedition was originally to document the trip for magazine materials. unfortunately, due to rushing back to take care of fu yan, liu ruosong¡¯s part of the documentation was repeatedly postponed and was only recently rescheduled.


    due to work commitments, fu yan and liu ruosong rarely had the chance to be together, so this time fu yan had a rare few months of leave, and he decided to accompany liu ruosong on the trip.


    fu yan had a good memory and his own unique way of recalling events. he could follow a thread of memories to piece together a sequence of events.


    on ¡°this day¡± of his previous life, liu ruosong was supposed to attend a magazine interview. fu yan should have gone with him, but he had woken up with a slight fever that morning. worried about him, liu ruosong had left him at the hotel to rest and went by himself.


    he was supposed to wait for liu ruosong to finish work and come back, but now he was feeling disoriented about his situation, so he instinctively wanted to go for a walk and see if things matched his memories.


    according to the theory of time paradoxes, if you change the ¡°history,¡± a completely parallel new world will emerge from the altered point.


    fu yan didn¡¯t know whether he had ¡°started over¡± or was already on a parallel world, but he wanted to try and see if any deviations from his memories would have a small impact on the future.


    he made up his mind but hesitated. for a moment, he really wanted to call the military district and warn about the disaster that would strike half a month later, but he quickly dismissed the idea.


    firstly, he didn¡¯t have any evidence at hand, and a warning made hastily might not have an effect. furthermore, it might make others think he had some mental issue. secondly, he wasn¡¯t sure whether changing such a significant event would lead to a worse outcome.


    after pondering for a while, he decided to start ¡°testing¡± things from small matters.


    so, fu yan got up, changed his clothes, took out two pills from the medicine box as instructed by liu ruosong, and then, relying on memory, he found his keys, phone, and wallet. he sent a message to liu ruosong.


    ¡°i¡¯ve woken up and feel much better. i¡¯m coming to pick you up now.¡±


    this time, fu yan didn¡¯t plan to wait in the hotel like he did last time. he intended to go out and find liu ruosong.

 CH 2

    when liu ruosong received a call from fu yan, he was greatly surprised.


    generally speaking, according to fu yan¡¯s habits, if they had arranged something in advance, fu yan would usually stick to the plan and rarely make changes midway. this might be related to his years of military life and his inherent personality.


    so when fu yan suddenly called to say he would pick him up from work instead of resting at the hotel as planned, it was indeed quite strange.


    however, since liu ruosong was nearing the end of his work, he hastened his pace and wrapped up the remaining interview questions, packed his things, and waited for fu yan to arrive.


    during the evening rush hour, fu yan arrived fifteen minutes later than the scheduled time. most of the magazine staff had finished their tasks and left, leaving only a few logistics personnel in the studio packing up.


    liu ruosong had been playing the 2048 game on his phone in the rest area, and just at the right moment, a message from fu yan appeared on his screen ¨C it had only two words, ¡°i¡¯m here.¡±


    unless it was an invitation, fu yan rarely ventured into liu ruosong¡¯s work domain on his own. liu ruosong had always felt that there was a touch of old-fashioned gentlemanliness in his character. while it wasn¡¯t necessarily bad, it sometimes made him seem a bit out of touch with certain things.


    liu ruosong replied with an emoji of a tibetan antelope running, then picked up his bag and rushed to head downstairs. as soon as he stepped out of the elevator, he saw fu yan waiting for him in the lobby on the first floor.


    the interview location arranged by the magazine was in an office building. although there was a steady stream of people on the ground floor, fu yan stood tall and straight by the main entrance. liu ruosong immediately spotted him.


    he waved at fu yan with a smile in his eyes, and fu yan nodded slightly in response. then, he patiently stood in place, waiting for liu ruosong to reach him.


    ¡°why did you suddenly decide to come?¡± liu ruosong rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand and asked, ¡°did your fever break?¡±


    fu yan remained silent for a moment.


    on his way to find liu ruosong, fu yan had thought about many things.


    returning to before the disaster¡ªthis idea might sound messianic, but in reality, there wasn¡¯t much he could do. even with all the memories about the ¡°future,¡± he couldn¡¯t issue any warnings before the disaster actually happened. otherwise, he would either be considered insane and locked up or be punished for spreading rumors.


    still, despite this, fu yan reviewed his memories from start to finish. he pondered why he had returned and how he could change the future within his capabilities. he even considered whether he was the only one who had gone back in time or if there were others he didn¡¯t know about.


    in half an hour, fu yan had contemplated numerous potential developments of the future. he thought about where he should start and how to change the established future. but now, seeing liu ruosong, his ceaseless thoughts suddenly paused for a moment, and a single thought popped into his mind.


    it¡¯s been two years since i last saw him, fu yan thought.


    after the apocalypse, he was summoned back to the military district for various tasks ¨C first for rescue operations, then for searching for supplies and valuable information to study the apocalyptic virus. he spent most of his time leading teams on various missions.


    on the other hand, due to his connection with fu yan, liu ruosong had been able to work in administrative logistics at the base. unfortunately, fu yan¡¯s visits had been limited, and the two of them still spent more time apart than together. by the time fu yan had passed away, it had been two years and six months since liu ruosong had last seen him.


    now, the man standing in front of fu yan was still young, untouched by the apocalypse. his skin, tanned from the harsh climate of the qilian mountains, had recovered somewhat in the past few months, making him look healthy and full of spirits.


    i wonder if he knows that he¡¯s already dead from the previous life, fu yan thought.


    this thought finally stirred some emotion within fu yan. for the first time since waking up, he felt a fleeting pang of pain¡ªa sharp pain that swiftly passed through his heart, leaving behind a hint of parting.


    suddenly, fu yan took a step forward and hugged liu ruosong.


    liu ruosong was momentarily taken aback but instinctively hugged fu yan back, patting his back.


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong?¡± liu ruosong asked.


    fu yan remained silent, restraining himself. after a few seconds, he let go of liu ruosong. he then looked at him for a moment, lowered his head, and kissed his lips.


    ¡°nothing,¡± fu yan said. ¡°i just realized that i miss you.¡±


    liu ruosong was caught off guard by his words.


    he and fu yan had grown up in the same area, living across from each other. over the past twenty years or so, they had become closer than ever. they had grown up together, started a romantic relationship in high school, and now, they were more like an old married couple. fu yan was practical and straightforward, with a strong sense of responsibility and loyalty in their relationship. he respected liu ruosong and was open to his opinions. overall, there was little to complain about, but there was just one thing¡­ he never seemed to grasp the concept of ¡°romance.¡±


    during their years together, fu yan had never hesitated to show affection and share kisses, but this was the first time he had kissed liu ruosong in public.


    before his face turned red, liu ruosong began to worry about fu yan¡¯s unusual behavior.


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong, fu yan? is something going on at home?¡± liu ruosong asked anxiously.


    ¡°what¡­ nothing,¡± fu yan quickly realized what he might be implying and gently touched liu ruosong¡¯s face.


    ¡°it¡¯s just that i suddenly felt a bit sentimental.¡± fu yan lowered his eyes slightly, tilting his head to the side. ¡°if i were to sacrifice myself for the country, i wouldn¡¯t be able to see you again.¡±


    liu ruosong¡¯s expression changed, and he unconsciously tightened his grip on fu yan¡¯s hand. he reproached him softly, ¡°don¡¯t say that.¡±


    his reaction was overly sensitive, and fu yan looked at his face, only then realizing that, at this point in time, he had just survived a plane crash. his comment could easily trigger unsettling memories for liu ruosong.


    ¡°i was just joking,¡± fu yan¡¯s face remained neutral as he responded, lightly squeezing liu ruosong¡¯s hand as a form of comfort. he wasn¡¯t very skilled at comforting, so he chose to silently take liu ruosong¡¯s bag and put it on his own back before holding his hand and leading him outside.


    only when they were in the car did liu ruosong let out a sigh and gently traced the scar on the back of fu yan¡¯s right hand.


    ¡°i know your personality, so i¡¯ve never thought about getting you to transfer to support duties,¡± liu ruosong said. ¡°but no matter what, take care of yourself, okay?¡±


    he provided a way out for fu yan, who then took a glance at liu ruosong¡¯s expression. he responded with a soft ¡°okay,¡± tacitly agreeing.


    then, without waiting for liu ruosong to say anything, fu yan awkwardly changed the topic, ¡°you know, what do you think would happen if suddenly it¡¯s the end of the world?¡±


    liu ruosong gave him a puzzled look.


    ¡°what?¡± liu ruosong chuckled. ¡°is the default movie selection in the hotel all apocalyptic films?¡±


    otherwise, he couldn¡¯t imagine why fu yan would suddenly ask such a question. after all, considering his reading and movie preferences, it was far removed from his usual interests.


    ¡°he didn¡¯t return like i did,¡± fu yan thought.


    if liu ruosong was like him, someone who had come back from the future, he would probably understand this implied statement.


    fu yan wasn¡¯t sure whether he was relieved or disappointed. he hoped that liu ruosong didn¡¯t have those terrifying memories, but at the same time, he felt a bit disappointed at the lack of an ally.


    if there was still another person in the world like him, fu yan actually wished that person would be liu ruosong.


    but whether there was or wasn¡¯t didn¡¯t matter. fu yan was almost certain that his ¡°reboot¡± had meaning for the world. since he didn¡¯t intend to escape this responsibility, whether he had an ally or not wouldn¡¯t affect his actions.


    ¡°yeah,¡± fu yan made a rare joke, saying, ¡°i was sleeping soundly when i was suddenly awakened by the zombie apocalypse.¡±


    liu ruosong wondered whether he had forgotten to turn off the tv before leaving. consequently, he didn¡¯t suspect anything and merely smiled as he leaned over to give fu yan a kiss. ¡°okay, my bad. i¡¯ll remember to check the power next time.¡±


    fu yan turned his head and managed a weak smile at liu ruosong.


    since waking up, he had generally accepted the idea of being reborn quite well. he instinctively treated it as something that had ¡°already happened and couldn¡¯t be changed.¡± naturally, he had incorporated this into his understanding and hadn¡¯t dwelled on it too much.


    but just now, he suddenly sensed a kind of detachment from liu ruosong.


    this detachment had nothing to do with liu ruosong himself. it solely originated from fu yan himself¡ªfrom the three-year gap he had with this time, from having memories that could impact the world but not being able to share them with anyone.


    liu ruosong was completely unaware of the turmoil within fu yan¡¯s heart. he habitually set the destination for their dinner on fu yan¡¯s phone for navigation, then reclined his seat and started going through the unanswered work messages on his phone.


    he had a quick and efficient way of reviewing messages. after years of outdoor photography, liu ruosong¡¯s information processing efficiency was much higher than the average person¡¯s. he usually traveled to remote and rugged areas, deep in mountains, forests, glaciers, and valleys. occasionally encountering signal spots, he had to respond to all messages as quickly as possible.


    liu ruosong swiftly scanned through all the messages, and when he reached the second page, he couldn¡¯t help but exclaim softly.


    fu yan had been paying attention to liu ruosong all along. seeing his reaction, he asked, ¡°what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°nothing,¡± liu ruosong said. ¡°it¡¯s a senior biologist who wants to collaborate with me. he¡¯s been researching something in moss, wanting to collect field data. i don¡¯t know how he found out about my background and skills. he¡¯s invited me to join his team for photography.¡±


    ¡°a biologist?¡± fu yan couldn¡¯t recall such a thing from his previous life, so he asked, ¡°who is it?¡±


    ¡°shao xuefan,¡± liu ruosong said. ¡°but it doesn¡¯t matter. i won¡¯t take new assignments until you¡¯re back in the team. since it¡¯s a rare vacation, i want to spend it with you.¡±


    fu yan understood, thinking that perhaps the same thing had happened in his previous life, but since he hadn¡¯t gone to pick up liu ruosong, he must have declined the invitation on the way, without mentioning it when he returned.


    however, the name shao xuefan sounded vaguely familiar to fu yan. he furrowed his brow slightly, trying to remember where he had heard it before.


    with all the tasks related to finding scientists, medical experts, and residual medical resources and equipment that fu yan¡¯s squad had taken on in his previous life, he thought long and hard for quite a while before suddenly recalling who shao xuefan was.


    in the early stages of the apocalypse in his previous life, fu yan had heard of shao xuefan¡¯s name. at that time, the military district had considered bringing him to a safe zone in their area and conducting virus research together. unfortunately, when the rescue team arrived at shao xuefan¡¯s home, he had already died in the virus outbreak, his body turned to mud.


    as the task wasn¡¯t assigned to fu yan¡¯s team, his impression of the matter was not particularly strong.


    thinking about this, fu yan suddenly froze.


    in that instant, he realized something¡ªperhaps this was the purpose of his return.


    to change what had already happened and then attempt to find a new way from what had been missed.


    ¡°don¡¯t be too quick to refuse,¡± fu yan said. ¡°opportunities like this are rare. go and take a look¡ªi¡¯ll go with you.¡±

 CH 3

    shao xuefan, seventy-seven years old, graduated from yanqing university, a renowned professor in the department of bioengineering, specializing in genetic engineering. he spent many years teaching at foreign research institutes before returning to the country two years ago. he resided in s city, j province.


    fu yan didn¡¯t know much about him, only hearing that he was an extremely stubborn old man. his reputation in the scientific community was mixed; those who agreed with his ideas praised him highly, while those who disagreed called him a ¡°rebel against scientific ethics.¡± however, fu yan didn¡¯t have clear information about this old man until he unintentionally heard some scattered rumors during a meeting at the base when the decision to rescue shao xuefan was made.


    compared to his reputation, shao xuefan died very abruptly in his previous life, surviving only a week in the chaotic times. fu yan remembered this clearly as he happened to be passing by when the rescue team recorded the time of death.


    according to the team at the time, when they arrived, shao xuefan had already been torn apart by the invading zombies. most of his limbs were gone, his abdomen was torn open, and his intestines were scattered on the ground. his face was surprisingly intact, sparing them the trouble of identifying the body.


    after shao xuefan¡¯s death, although the base formed a research team, the lack of an effective leader made research progress on the virus very difficult in the following years.


    starting over again, fu yan decided that no matter what, he would keep shao xuefan alive this time.


    fearing that liu ruosong would become suspicious, fu yan decided to use the excuse of accompanying him for work to meet shao xuefan. he planned to assess the situation¡ªanyway, with him present, protecting a few people in the chaos shouldn¡¯t be too difficult.


    he still remembered the early days of the apocalypse, his responsibility was simply to rescue shao xuefan and hand him over to the authorities; the rest would be much easier to handle.


    liu ruosong quickly accepted his explanation. after all, fu yan had always been supportive of his pursuit of a career and interests. he rarely asked liu ruosong to give up anything for his sake.


    ¡°then, go ahead.¡± liu ruosong quickly replied to the message from the other side and comforted fu yan, ¡°fortunately, even if we need to leave, it probably won¡¯t be immediately. there¡¯s still time needed for the early preparations of the project.¡±


    shao xuefan¡¯s response came quickly. the words were polite, thanking liu ruosong for accepting the invitation and then confirming his availability.


    after confirming the schedule with shao xuefan in just a few words, liu ruosong locked his phone and turned to fu yan, saying, ¡°shao xuefan¡¯s student mentioned that he¡¯s currently in seclusion, seemingly working with a few students on data analysis. he won¡¯t be able to leave the lab until the day after tomorrow. so, we¡¯ll meet him the day after the day after tomorrow.¡±


    just as they were talking, the traffic light at the intersection ahead turned red. fu yan pressed the brake smoothly and fell into thought.


    with only half a month left until the outbreak of the apocalypse, four days shouldn¡¯t make a significant difference. fu yan could wait.


    so he said, ¡°alright, i¡¯ll follow your lead.¡±


    putting his phone in his pocket, liu ruosong threw his backpack onto the back seat of the car. then, as if finally releasing a long-held breath, he turned his head to fu yan.


    he remained silent for a moment, until the traffic light switched from red to green and the cars in front began to move slowly again. finally, liu ruosong spoke up.


    ¡°fu yan, is something bothering you?¡± liu ruosong asked.


    his voice carried a hint of concern. although he was asking a question, it was evident that he already had a suspicion in mind.


    after growing up together and sharing a bed for so many years, even though fu yan had concealed it well, liu ruosong still keenly sensed something different about him.


    ¡°is there something wrong at home?¡± this was the second time liu ruosong asked this question today.


    it wasn¡¯t surprising that liu ruosong¡¯s mind was wandering aimlessly. in his impression, fu yan¡¯s nerves were as tough as steel and concrete, unwavering even in the face of a collapsing sky.


    however, today, not only did he uncharacteristically come to pick him up after work, but in just a little over ten minutes, fu yan had already been distracted three or four times.


    his moments of distraction were brief, mostly happening at traffic lights and pedestrian crossings. each time, he seemed lost for only a second or two before quickly regaining his focus.


    liu ruosong couldn¡¯t pinpoint exactly what was off, but he had an overall feeling that¡­ fu yan seemed to be uncomfortable with the traffic and crowds outside, just like someone unaccustomed to them.


    but this guess was too absurd. while fu yan had spent much of his time in the military, he wasn¡¯t a loner from the deep mountains. he took vacations and had shifts, not to mention that he had been wandering around the bustling city for the past six months. it didn¡¯t make sense for him to suddenly be ¡°uncomfortable.¡±


    liu ruosong looked at him with worry, afraid that something significant had happened. at the same time, he hesitated to reveal his own worries, unsure of how to talk to fu yan about them.


    fu yan wasn¡¯t planning to keep up a pretense in front of liu ruosong ¡ª to him, even if there was a huge issue between a couple, honesty should come first. while he couldn¡¯t talk about concepts like ¡°apocalypse¡± or ¡°rebirth,¡± he couldn¡¯t lie with a clear conscience.


    so, while shifting gears, he gently held liu ruosong¡¯s hand and gave it a light squeeze, not directly answering his question, but opting for a different approach.


    ¡°i¡¯ve run into a bit of a problem,¡± fu yan said in a low voice. ¡°i¡¯ve been thinking, if something, given a known outcome, is interfered with, would it possibly lead to unintended consequences, possibly even more severe ones?¡±


    liu ruosong didn¡¯t delve into the specifics of fu yan¡¯s ¡°problem.¡± he understood him well enough to know that if fu yan was hesitating like this, it couldn¡¯t be a minor issue.


    he speculated internally, though he couldn¡¯t be sure if it was an issue with fu yan¡¯s work or something else entirely. fu yan had a unique job, and conflicts of political opinion between superiors were common, something fu yan had occasionally mentioned to him. considering all this, liu ruosong chose a gentle phrasing to advise him.


    ¡°is the known outcome very bad?¡± liu ruosong inquired.


    ¡°very bad,¡± fu yan paused and added, ¡°¡­really bad.¡±


    ¡°what do you think then?¡± liu ruosong¡¯s voice was warm. ¡°what¡¯s your own perspective? since you¡¯re asking me, you must have some inclination in your heart.¡±


    fu yan remained silent for two seconds.


    fu yan said. ¡°i¡¯m more inclined towards change.¡±


    ¡°a butterfly flapping its wings can cause a hurricane,¡± liu ruosong said. ¡°but which direction the wind blows is a matter of luck. if things are already very bad, it might be worth taking a gamble. who knows, you might gain a chance for a better outcome. moreover¡ª¡±


    liu ruosong glanced at the relaxed expression on fu yan¡¯s face and smiled. ¡°moreover, i believe in you. if even you feel the need to take a risk, then this matter must be worth the risk.¡±


    fu yan didn¡¯t turn to look at him. instead, he extended his arm, held onto liu ruosong¡¯s hand again, and gave it a firm squeeze.


    but fu yan had foreseen this storm, yet he hadn¡¯t anticipated how unpredictable it would turn out to be, deviating completely from any of his considerations.


    fu yan had considered the various impacts that shao xuefan¡¯s existence might have on the apocalypse, both positive and negative, and even those that were unforeseeable. however, he never expected that even though he had arrived so early in this lifetime, shao xuefan would still die.


    ¡ªand he died inexplicably.


    shao xuefan led a private life, having returned from abroad without teaching in any public forums. instead, he formed a private research team with a group of students.


    his house wasn¡¯t far from the laboratory, located in the remote outskirts to the north of s city. within a five-kilometer radius, there were only a few decent buildings, making it easy to locate.


    liu ruosong and he had agreed to meet at 10 in the morning. however, when they arrived at shao xuefan¡¯s doorstep, they found his courtyard gate tightly shut. liu ruosong tried pressing the doorbell, but there was no response.


    he considered the possibility that shao xuefan might have mistaken the meeting date. he tried calling his students, but no one answered, which was rather strange.


    on the other hand, fu yan, perhaps due to having experienced shao xuefan¡¯s ¡°death¡± once before in his memories, was extremely sensitive to anomalies like this. as liu ruosong attempted to contact the students, fu yan had already circled the two-story building in front of them.


    when he reached the side of the building, a sound came from within ¡ª a crisp, glass-breaking sound.


    fu yan had a feeling that something was very wrong. he quickly returned, grasped liu ruosong¡¯s phone, and said, ¡°stop calling. let me take a look inside.¡±


    he stepped back a few paces, then with a running start, he grabbed onto the iron railing of the courtyard gate, easily flipping over it.


    liu ruosong was momentarily stunned, calling after him.


    however, fu yan had already reached the ground level of the building. without hesitation, he scanned the surroundings and found an open side window. using the windowsill, he propelled himself upwards and smoothly entered through the half-open second-floor window.


    liu ruosong: ¡°¡­¡±


    liu ruosong didn¡¯t understand why fu yan suddenly acted so recklessly, but he knew fu yan wouldn¡¯t do something without a reason. seeing his actions, liu ruosong also had a faint premonition. looking left and right, he gritted his teeth and followed fu yan¡¯s lead, flipping over the courtyard gate.


    however, just as he reached the bottom of the window, a commotion erupted from inside the building, followed by a heavy thud. as liu ruosong had barely climbed onto the windowsill, he heard fu yan shout loudly.


    ¡°stop!¡±


    liu ruosong frowned and didn¡¯t dare rush inside.


    the place where he stood was a storage room. he randomly picked up a heavy iron chain used to lock the courtyard gate from a nearby cabinet and wrapped it around his hand. carefully, he looked inside through the slightly open door crack.


    but with just one glance, liu ruosong was left in shock.


    in the living room, not far from the storage room¡¯s entrance, an elderly man with white hair lay facing upward on the carpet. large amounts of blood flowed from his body, staining the pale carpet a deep red.


    his eyes were wide open, his body lay splayed on the ground, and his head was slightly raised, his gaze directed toward the storage room.


    liu ruosong unexpectedly locked eyes with him, and his heart skipped a beat.

 CH 4

    it wasn¡¯t until fu yan frowned as he pressed down on shao xuefan¡¯s abdomen that liu ruosong belatedly realized that this professor was somehow still alive.


    he quickly dropped the iron chain he was holding, rushed over and took off his coat, rolling it up to help stem the bleeding on shao xuefan¡¯s wound.


    liu ruosong was accustomed to outdoor activities and had encountered many injuries like this in the wilderness, which made him surprisingly adept at handling external wounds. he skillfully looped the sleeve of his coat around shao xuefan¡¯s side and then pressed the thick fabric firmly against the wound.


    in sync with each other, fu yan handed over the emergency treatment to him and turned to stand by the window, carefully scanning the surroundings.


    the window glass was already shattered, leaving just the frame. about two hundred meters away, a black commercial vehicle closed its door and quickly disappeared from fu yan¡¯s line of sight.


    when fu yan had entered the room earlier, he had stumbled upon the scene of the crime. though the attackers had tried to make it look more like an ¡°accident,¡± the messy knife wounds provided some hints.


    it seemed that the attackers hadn¡¯t anticipated the sudden intrusion of a stranger into the villa at this time. in their haste, they hadn¡¯t even finished their crime before fleeing. they hastily pulled out the triangular blade lodged in shao xuefan¡¯s abdominal cavity and without confirming whether he was truly dead, they turned and smashed through the window glass to escape.


    at the end of the path leading to the villa¡¯s back door, there were already other people waiting for them. fu yan hesitated briefly before ultimately deciding not to pursue them.


    putting aside the fact that he was alone and they would empower him and also he didn¡¯t have a weapon in his possession, fu yan couldn¡¯t bring himself to leave shao xuefan and liu ruosong behind.


    what if those people returned to silence any potential witnesses?


    ¡°fu yan,¡± liu ruosong¡¯s voice sounded muffled, as if squeezed out from between his teeth. ¡°come help me out here, i can¡¯t stop the bleeding.¡±


    fu yan quickly approached to take over the pressure, while liu ruosong let go of his arm and pulled off his coat. he then used it to pad the wound.


    but even with their efforts, shao xuefan¡¯s condition was extremely severe. without the intervention of medical professionals and proper equipment, their actions were pointless. they could perhaps delay the inevitable for a few more minutes, but the end result remained unchanged.


    ¡°if you can¡¯t get through to emergency services, call the police,¡± fu yan instructed liu ruosong. he then turned to shao xuefan and asked, ¡°are those your enemies?¡±


    shao xuefan¡¯s gaze was unfocused, his breathing was labored, and he was losing blood at an alarming rate. it took him several seconds to fully process what fu yan was asking. his eyes widened suddenly, and with a struggling effort, he grabbed fu yan¡¯s wrist.


    ¡°who are those people?¡± fu yan asked further.


    his tone was firm, and liu ruosong couldn¡¯t help but look at him with a mixture of doubt and disbelief.


    however, fu yan had his own thoughts, and after a brief pause, liu ruosong hesitated and refrained from asking more questions.


    shao xuefan¡¯s mouth was spewing blood, and he couldn¡¯t speak clearly. despite his weakened state, he mustered the strength to grip fu yan¡¯s hand and continued to speak with persistence, his gaze fixed on him.


    ¡°they¡­¡­¡± shao xuefan wasn¡¯t able to complete his sentence.


    the smell of blood was nauseating. liu ruosong knelt on the floor, and his knees were soaked with blood. shao xuefan¡¯s life had slipped away in a matter of minutes, and liu ruosong¡¯s mind was a blank slate, struggling to understand what had just happened.


    with an expression of confusion and disbelief, he sat on the ground, holding a warm body. his heart pounded heavily within his chest.


    ¡°fu yan¡± liu ruosong said, ¡°who are those people? by breaking into a murder scene, won¡¯t they come back to eliminate witnesses?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know yet,¡± fu yan honestly replied. he walked over and pulled liu ruosong¡¯s arm, leading him a few steps away from the windows. he then picked up liu ruosong¡¯s phone and activated the speaker function.


    ¡°i am colonel fu yan of the a military region air force 72nd division,¡± fu yan introduced himself. ¡°code ru3729. the reason for my call is confidential, but i need your help to locate someone.¡±


    after a pause, he continued, ¡°among shao xuefan¡¯s students, there is someone named fang sining. i need information about him and his coordinates.¡±


    there was a moment of silence on the other end of the call. liu ruosong could hear faint rustling sounds, indicating that the call was being transferred.


    they soon confirmed fu yan¡¯s identity and code. when the voice on the other end spoke again, it was a slightly deeper male voice.


    ¡°colonel fu,¡± the voice said, ¡°may i ask for the specific purpose of acquiring fang sining¡¯s information?¡±


    shao xuefan¡¯s unexpected death had led fu yan into a web of mysteries. the brutal crime scene he had stumbled upon seemed like an unknown signal, pulling him into a whirlpool. the gears of fate were audibly clicking into motion, and fu yan had a vague premonition ¨C if he didn¡¯t act quickly, he might end up with the same outcome as in his previous life.


    fu yan had no intention of explaining further; he didn¡¯t want to waste time. he chose the most direct and concise response.


    ¡°it¡¯s related to a mission, and i can¡¯t reveal the details.¡±

 CH 5

    fu yan¡¯s identity had some usefulness to it, to some extent. after confirming his identity, the other party quickly dispelled their suspicion of fu yan, assuring that they would coordinate the arrival of police personnel at the scene.


    after discussing with liu ruosong, fu yan ultimately decided to take the risk and stay at the scene. this way, they could prevent the group of people from returning to destroy the evidence. they didn¡¯t want their trip to be in vain.


    instead of moving shao xuefan¡¯s body on the ground, they covered his face with a coat and retreated to a corner of the room away from the windows.


    during the time they waited for the police to arrive, liu ruosong attempted to contact the student he had previously connected with through text to inquire about fang sining¡¯s situation.


    unfortunately, there was no response from the other side. liu ruosong wondered if fang sining might have also fallen victim to the situation.


    liu ruosong couldn¡¯t understand how he, involved in what should have been a very ordinary business collaboration, had stumbled upon such an incident. he was getting impatient, locking and unlocking his phone, staring blankly at the chat interface.


    fu yan glanced at him. for a brief moment, he thought about revealing everything to liu ruosong ¨C including what would happen next and his ¡°previous life.¡± however, this thought lasted only a second before he suppressed it.


    even though he knew that no matter what he said, liu ruosong would believe him, there were two reasons he didn¡¯t share the information: one, the events were too bizarre; two, starting from shao xuefan, things had already deviated from what he remembered, and he himself was faced with a pile of mysteries. he couldn¡¯t clarify anything for liu ruosong at the moment.


    fu yan wasn¡¯t much of a talker to begin with, and in liu ruosong¡¯s silence, he seemed uncharacteristically quiet.


    the two of them remained silently in thought for a good ten minutes. finally, liu ruosong slid down the wall and sat on the floor.


    ¡°fu yan, what¡¯s our plan now?¡± liu ruosong raised one leg, rubbed his forehead, and asked, ¡°shao xuefan was a significant figure in his field. his death might cause problems later.¡±


    ¡°we wait for news, and then we go find fang sining,¡± fu yan said. ¡°among all of shao xuefan¡¯s students, he mentioned fang sining specifically. maybe he knows something.¡±


    liu ruosong looked at fu yan, and there was something he had wanted to ask since earlier but had been sidetracked by the aituation at hand. now, he finally asked.


    ¡°why do you seem completely unsurprised?¡± liu ruosong tilted his head and looked at fu yan with curiosity. ¡°how¡­ is he related to your ¡®butterfly¡¯?¡±


    fu yan met liu ruosong¡¯s gaze.


    it made him want to laugh and feel emotional at the same time. liu ruosong understood him so well that even though he knew nothing, he could still connect two unrelated matters from his unusual behavior.


    fu yan couldn¡¯t find the right words to explain, so he just glanced at liu ruosong and then extended his hand, which was hanging by his side, to him.


    ¡°who said i¡¯m not surprised?¡± fu yan said, ¡°my hands are freezing.¡±


    fu yan said it in a serious tone, but liu ruosong found his seriousness oddly amusing. he pursed his lips, smiled, and reached out to hold fu yan¡¯s fingertips.


    the two of them continued to wait. fu yan had been listening to the sounds outside, afraid that the group of people might return. but liu ruosong began to feel that something was wrong.


    ¡°why haven¡¯t the police arrived yet, it¡¯s been too long?¡± liu ruosong furrowed his brows and said, ¡°isn¡¯t their response time supposed to be quicker? it¡¯s a murder case. shouldn¡¯t they have arrived within half an hour?¡±


    as he spoke, fu yan also realized the issue. after a moment¡¯s thought, he suggested, ¡°try calling again.¡±


    as fu yan spoke, liu ruosong had already dialed the emergency number. however, strangely, this time the call also ended up being directed to the medical emergency line, just as before. it took two full tries before they finally got through.


    on the other end of the line, a new operator spoke, his voice fast-paced and hoarse.


    ¡°is this about the incident on huainan road? we have already¡ª¡±


    ¡°what incident on huainan road?¡± liu ruosong interrupted, puzzled. ¡°we reported a murder case with eyewitnesses half an hour ago. aren¡¯t you sending the police?¡±


    there was a pause on the other side, followed by a silence that lasted for more than ten seconds. liu ruosong waited patiently for a response and then heard the operator¡¯s voice again.


    ¡°i apologize, but at the moment¡­ we¡¯re short-handed.¡± the person said, ¡°a severe incident has occurred on huainan road, and the situation is urgent. please wait for a while.¡±


    liu ruosong couldn¡¯t believe his ears. he hung up the call, feeling that the situation was beyond his imagination.


    in a city as large as s city, let alone emergency services, there were numerous police stations. how severe must an incident be to cause a ¡°short-handed¡± situation?


    fu yan, watching his distressed expression, sensed that something was wrong.


    watching the scene, fu yan realized that the apocalypse¡¯s outbreak in this lifetime might have occurred about ten days earlier than in his previous life.


    is it because of my return? fu yan wondered, or¡­


    fu yan¡¯s thoughts shifted suddenly, and he realized that he was staring at shao xuefan¡¯s body nearby. he was deep in thought, and his expression became increasingly grave.


    is it because i¡¯ve already ¡°changed¡± the original course of events in this lifetime? fu yan thought.


    in his previous life, shao xuefan¡¯s death had been fabricated as an accident before the apocalypse, and no one knew about it until after the apocalypse. but this time, he stumbled upon the murder and then the ¡°apocalypse¡± occurred prematurely.


    liu ruosong explained the situation, and fu yan¡¯s face turned serious. he quickly formed a plan and said, ¡°let¡¯s not wait. we need to take action.¡±


    they decided to visit huainan road, although from a distance, to assess the situation firsthand.

 CH 6

    huainan road was a main road that ran through the east and west of s city. the incident happened at a commercial center at the intersection of the central district. due to its geographical location and convenient transportation, there were numerous people coming and going.


    when fu yan and liu ruosong arrived at the scene, a barrier had already been set up about two hundred meters away from the main road. all traffic was redirected, and a chaotic crowd gathered outside. apart from the victims¡¯ families, there was also a group of media personnel gathered.


    while in the car, liu ruosong had been scrolling through local news. in just a short ten minutes, the situation had already become somewhat chaotic. most of the crowd had rushed out of the mall, scattering, leaving only some injured and sick people still inside.


    outside the barrier, six or seven ambulances were parked. police cars and ambulances were together, their red, blue, and white lights intermingling and shining through the car windows into fu yan¡¯s eyes.


    with excellent eyesight, fu yan could even clearly see the blood splatters on the second-floor windows of the mall from this distance. his expression darkened, and he decided to stop the car.


    ¡°you wait in the car,¡± fu yan instructed, ¡°don¡¯t get out no matter what.¡±


    ¡°what about you?¡± liu ruosong asked.


    ¡°i¡¯ll go take a look,¡± fu yan said.


    saying this, he got out of the car, closed the door behind him, and walked a few steps towards the crowd behind the police barrier. liu ruosong hesitated for a moment, decided to listen to him for now, locked the car door behind him, plugged in his portable charger, and continued refreshing the news.


    the area near the barrier was in chaos. fu yan furrowed his brows and pushed through the crowd. his outstanding personality made him stand out like a straight benchmark in the crowd. even though he was dressed casually, no one stopped him for a while.


    earlier, when he left, fu yan had put on an extra thick coat. he had been cautious all the way and almost didn¡¯t come into contact with anyone.


    standing outside the barrier was a middle-aged officer holding a megaphone, directing the evacuees who ran out of the mall towards the ambulances. fu yan approached him from behind and tapped his shoulder.


    the middle-aged officer was startled and turned around to see fu yan in casual attire. instinctively, he thought he was a civilian and was about to scold him with a wrinkled brow.


    fu yan took out his identification from his pocket and opened it for him to see. he then asked, ¡°what¡¯s the situation inside?¡±


    in his previous life, fu yan¡¯s understanding of the early days of the apocalypse came entirely from the base. he had been on sick leave at the time and didn¡¯t hear about the outbreak until later, when he was urgently called back to participate in rescue missions. it was only then that he had some understanding of the situation.


    but fu yan calculated in his mind. in his previous life, the first case of the disease appeared on june 1st, and he was called back to duty on june 5th. by that time, rescue efforts had already been established on a certain scale nationwide, indicating that the situation had become quite serious within just five days.


    however, this life had brought about so many situations beyond what fu yan could imagine. he couldn¡¯t be sure if this ¡°apocalypse¡± that had hastily arrived this time would be as devastating as the previous life.


    from what he had learned in sha xuefan¡¯s small building earlier, fu yan had a bold speculation lurking in his mind¡ªthis incident seemed to be more than just a natural disaster.


    otherwise, it was hard to explain why he had only stumbled upon sha xuefan¡¯s murder, which should have occurred in the apocalypse over a dozen days later, happening ahead of time.


    fu yan¡¯s mind was a tangled mess of confusion, one question piled upon another, but there was no evidence to support any of his suspicions.


    all of this was based on his assumption, and his assumption was based on vague memories from his ¡°previous life.¡±


    fortunately, fu yan had a very strong mental resilience. he didn¡¯t dwell too much on the unbelievable fact of ¡°rebirth.¡± he had simply accepted it as if returning to this life was the natural order of things.


    the police officer controlling the scene was taken aback by his credentials. instinctively, he wanted to salute fu yan, but before his hand could rise, he heard a shout from the entrance of the mall.


    ¡°someone, stretcher¡ª¡±


    subconsciously, he lifted the megaphone and shouted for two people to go and assist. only after sending the person onto the ambulance did he have a chance to respond to fu yan¡¯s question.


    ¡°it¡¯s a rabies patient who had a seizure. he bit quite a few people in the mall. i don¡¯t know where he got so much strength. he bites anyone he sees, targeting faces and necks, leaving a lot of people infected.¡±


    ¡°the patient?¡± fu yan asked.


    ¡°shot dead,¡± the officer said. his face turned a bit pale as he mentioned this. he looked around, lowered his voice slightly, and continued, ¡°but that person was a bit¡­ strange.¡±


    ¡°how so?¡± fu yan asked.


    ¡°the angle of the sniper¡¯s first shot was off, but it still hit the chest. however, the patient acted as if he didn¡¯t feel it, and he continued to attack people. it wasn¡¯t until the second shot hit him in the head that he stopped moving.¡±


    ¡°and all the victims who were bitten are now showing signs of infection, they are biting others,¡± the officer said. ¡°the situation inside is unclear. some of the crowd is hiding in corners of the mall and won¡¯t come out. we¡¯ve sent several teams in for rescue, but the mall is too large, and it¡¯s difficult to completely evacuate the crowd. moreover, most of the injured are disoriented and feverish now, so it¡¯s challenging to rescue them.¡±


    fu yan turned his head to look at the mall building behind him.


    ¡°what about the thermal imaging device?¡± fu yan asked.


    ¡°it¡¯s in use,¡± the officer said, ¡°but it can¡¯t completely tell those infected from those who aren¡¯t, so¡­¡±


    fu yan understood.


    of course, those who weren¡¯t infected would be willing to be rescued, but in the current chaos, most of them would probably be hiding in some corner. the ¡°zombies,¡± on the other hand, were swaggering around outside, disturbing many lines of sight and causing the rescue efficiency to remain pitifully low.


    fu yan pursed his lips, then suddenly reached back and grabbed a police officer¡¯s uniform jacket that was hanging on the car door, quickly zipped it up.


    ¡°give me a headset,¡± fu yan said, ¡°and a gun.¡±


    the police officer was taken aback by his decisive manner, hesitated for a moment, but before he could say anything out of line, he saw fu yan efficiently fastening the wrist and ankle straps.


    far away in the car, liu ruosong frowned when he saw this, almost immediately guessing what fu yan intended to do.


    so, at that moment, he disregarded fu yan¡¯s advice, opened the car door, leapt out, and in a few steps, he was inside the barrier, grabbing fu yan¡¯s arm.


    ¡°fu yan, what are you doing?¡± liu ruosong asked.


    ¡°i¡¯m going in to take a look,¡± fu yan said.


    liu ruosong furrowed his brows. he had intended to voice his disagreement, but hesitated at the last moment and swallowed his words.


    ¡ªwell, it¡¯s useless to say anything anyway. fu yan was just like this. he couldn¡¯t expect him to turn a blind eye to the situation.


    taking the headset from a nearby person¡¯s hand, fu yan gave liu ruosong a quick glance, didn¡¯t say anything, turned around, and got into a nearby police car. he pulled out a spare jacket that belonged to someone he didn¡¯t know, which was likely left in the car to be used as a cover. it was filled with a strong smell of smoke. as soon as liu ruosong put it on, he began to sweat.


    ¡°listen to me,¡± fu yan¡¯s expression was very serious, ¡°be careful, don¡¯t go into the crowd, it¡¯s better to stay hidden, and make sure not to get bitten by anyone.¡±


    liu ruosong looked at him anxiously, wanting to ask if there was any danger inside, but in the midst of a crowd, he refrained from saying anything. he simply nodded to reassure fu yan.


    ¡°okay,¡± liu ruosong said, ¡°don¡¯t worry about me. if there are too many people, i¡¯ll stay in the car.¡±


    fu yan sensed his worries. having died once before, even though liu ruosong didn¡¯t know about it, fu yan still felt a vague sense of guilt toward him. moreover, he was actually taking risks in front of liu ruosong this time.


    fu yan wanted to say a few comforting words, but unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t skilled in this area. after struggling for a while, all he managed to say was, ¡°when i come back out, we¡¯ll¡­¡±


    he hadn¡¯t finished his sentence when liu ruosong covered his mouth with his hand.


    ¡°fu yan,¡± liu ruosong looked at him with a mixture of tears and laughter, saying, ¡°you¡¯re really tempting fate here. don¡¯t even say it. if you do, i¡¯ll panic.¡±


    fu yan, being a dull and old-fashioned person who had been without entertainment for years, obviously didn¡¯t understand this joke. he was genuinely puzzled for a moment before obediently suppressing the words.


    ¡°trust me,¡± fu yan took the gun and said earnestly, ¡°i¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    this sentence was more in line with his usual way of speaking. liu ruosong nodded in response and patted fu yan¡¯s collar.


    ¡°be careful,¡± liu ruosong said.


    fu yan nodded, then checked his jacket and equipment one last time before heading deeper into the barrier.


    however, he didn¡¯t head straight into the shopping mall. instead, he turned toward the direction of the ambulances. liu ruosong had sharp eyes and noticed him getting a sealed, large syringe from the medical personnel.


    fu yan slipped the syringe into his inner pocket and then got a couple of spare blood collection tubes from a doctor. with everything safely stowed in his pocket, he zipped up his jacket and continued on his way into the shopping mall.


    liu ruosong watched his movements and suddenly came up with an inexplicable guess.


    could he be going in to collect something? liu ruosong wondered.


    as he was pondering, fu yan had already entered the building. he didn¡¯t enter through the sealed main entrance, but rather chose a side door typically used by employees.


    between the revolving glass doors, fu yan¡¯s figure quickly disappeared from liu ruosong¡¯s line of sight. reacting instinctively, liu ruosong took a step forward, his heart racing.


    before he could calm his emotions, a hand quickly stretched out in front of him. in the rough palm was a headset.


    liu ruosong turned his head and saw that it was the officer he had seen negotiating with fu yan earlier.


    ¡°seeing him in civilian clothes, he¡¯s probably on leave. nobody has it easy in situations like this,¡± the officer said, ¡°you¡¯re together, right? you seem to care about him a lot, so it¡¯s fine to listen in.¡±

 CH 7

    this mall had a total of five floors, with the topmost floor housing a semi-open cinema and game center. the overall layout of the building followed a modern and typical circular shopping mall design, with a high ceiling in the middle and shops surrounding it..


    because it was located in a bustling area, this mall was quite spacious in terms of square footage. fu yan communicated with the officers outside and estimated that there were still over two hundred people inside, but they were scattered too widely to be found all at once.


    fu yan walked into the lobby from the staircase, counted the bullets he had, and then carefully reloaded his gun, circling around cautiously.


    it was evident that the central area of the first floor had been the venue for the previous event. the stage set up by the youth palace was still in place, but the backdrop of blue sky and white clouds was now stained with blood. nearby, on the steps, were horrifying pieces of brown flesh. as fu yan looked around, he couldn¡¯t see a single person in this vast mall.


    shop glass doors were open, but there was silence everywhere. the stark white lights cast their glow on the tiles. fu yan walked over a littered area of plastic debris, and the faint crunching sound echoed in the vast lobby, giving him an eerie feeling as if he had stepped back into his past life.


    he heard some distorted commands through his earpiece. besides him, there should be several special police teams searching as well, and occasionally, there were responses indicating that they had found someone.


    ¡°if you trust me, you¡¯d better start looking for injured people throughout the city now,¡± fu yan held his earpiece, paused, and added, ¡°it would be best to find eyewitnesses as well¡­ and then isolate these people.¡±


    ¡°that might be difficult,¡± came the response from the other end of the earpiece. ¡°there are too many people, and there are no search measures in place.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s best to find them,¡± fu yan said, ¡°find as many as you can.¡±


    there was a moment of hesitation on the other end of the earpiece, and no further words were spoken. it was unclear if it was a refusal or if they were contemplating.


    fu yan couldn¡¯t do much more at this point; he had already done his best with his reminders.


    he searched the first floor but didn¡¯t find the so-called ¡°patient shot dead.¡± he furrowed his brow, turned, and headed to the second floor.


    in his previous life, apart from shao xuefan, the ¡°patient zero¡± who disappeared into the sea of people had always been a missing key point. due to the lack of basic data, many subsequent studies could only be conducted on the existing zombies. fu yan didn¡¯t understand much about academic research; he had only heard a few scattered phrases during meetings. it seemed that most of the viruses extracted from those zombies were products of mutations, with limited usefulness. if they could find the source, it would make things much easier.


    however, when they remembered this, the world had already turned chaotic, and people were struggling to escape. not to mention searching for some ¡°patient zero¡± in the vast sea of people.


    this time, coming back again, fu yan didn¡¯t have the opportunity to save shao xuefan, but this opportunity was right in front of him. he couldn¡¯t ignore it.


    fu yan asked about the location of the shooting, then continued without delay, heading straight for the fourth floor.


    ¡°fu yan,¡± came a voice through his earpiece from liu ruosong. ¡°i asked the medical staff just now, and they said this disease is highly contagious. please be careful.¡±


    fu yan was momentarily taken aback when he heard his voice, but then he realized that someone from the outside had given him access. he nodded in response.


    ¡°i¡¯ve evacuated the crowd around here,¡± liu ruosong continued, ¡°according to the medical staff on the ambulance, the incubation period of this rabies is extremely short. in the shortest case, one patient exhibited surface symptoms of biting while being transported to the hospital, and it only took about ten minutes.¡±


    ¡°so short?¡± fu yan was somewhat surprised.


    in his previous life, he had spent most of his time on outdoor rescue missions. most of what he saw were fully developed zombies. even if there were occasionally some bitten victims, they were either left to the medical personnel accompanying the team or were left to fend for themselves.


    he knew that the zombie virus was irreversible, but he hadn¡¯t paid much attention to the time it took for the virus to mutate.


    ¡°but there are exceptions,¡± liu ruosong continued, ¡°the shortest transmission time was seen in a 28-year-old young man. according to information from the hospital, it seems that young men and women have already shown some surface symptoms. however, several elderly individuals temporarily seem fine. so, medical personnel now suspect that younger, healthier adults may be more susceptible to infection¡ªbe careful.¡±


    ¡°understood,¡± fu yan said. ¡°stay away from the ambulance area; a team just left to bring the injured over there.¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t worry,,¡± liu ruosong smiled and said, stepping aside to clear the way, positioning himself behind the police car¡¯s caution tape. he added, ¡°i won¡¯t cause any trouble¡ª¡±


    liu ruosong hadn¡¯t finished his sentence when something suddenly flashed in his peripheral vision. he instinctively fell silent, turned his head, and saw several doctors surrounding a stretcher. they were lifting the stretcher onto the ambulance.


    liu ruosong, who had spent most of his time outdoors, had developed a wild animal-like intuition. he instinctively felt that something was wrong and took two steps forward unconsciously. only then did he notice that the restraints on the patient bound to the stretcher had been untied at some point!


    the person on the stretcher was a young man in a suit, tall and burly, with blood smeared all over his neck and shoulders. his shirt was soaked with blood.


    he looked extremely distressed, with his limbs twisting and convulsing. his face alternated between pale and blue, and he emitted a gut-wrenching, muffled roar. he struggled desperately, tossing and turning on the narrow stretcher, and for a moment, three or four doctors couldn¡¯t hold him down.


    whether it was from excessive blood loss or something else, the exposed skin on the man¡¯s body had turned a grayish-white color, similar to dead ash. dark purple veins protruded from the back of his hand, and his eyes were vacant and hollow, making him look like a zombie just dug up from a grave.


    the flimsy restraint on his right wrist had been torn apart entirely. as if he had lost his sanity, the man suddenly propped himself up, attempting to bite the doctor¡¯s wrist that was holding his own.


    the doctor was caught off guard, and before he could react, he felt a sudden force from behind. the white coat emitted a helpless ripping sound, splitting into two pieces right along the seams at the back.


    the young doctor was pushed back by this force, taking three or four steps backward. the man¡¯s wrist flashed before the doctor¡¯s eyes, and he heard a nauseating sound of teeth clashing together.


    ¡°he¡¯s trying to bite!¡± liu ruosong quickly gathered the torn half of the white coat into a ball, not caring if it would suffocate the man, and pressed it tightly against the man¡¯s face. urgently, he said, ¡°hold him down!¡±


    several young, strong doctors nearby quickly reacted, pressing the man down firmly, and after binding him several times, they finally managed to secure him onto the stretcher. then they loaded him onto the ambulance.


    ¡°thank you,¡± the young doctor looked at liu ruosong, still with a lingering fear in his heart. ¡°thanks to you.¡±


    liu ruosong¡¯s reaction had been purely instinctive, and now that he had come down from the adrenaline rush, he felt a bit scared himself. he waved his hand weakly and stepped back to lean against the car door.


    ¡°be careful yourselves,¡± liu ruosong hesitated for a moment, then said, ¡°there are many unknown viruses in this world. rabies is just one of them¡ªjust like how the ebola virus can turn people into vampires, who knows if there¡¯s a virus that can turn people into doomsday zombies.¡±


    the young doctor had clearly seen the man¡¯s frenzied appearance just now, so he smiled bitterly, nodded, and said he would be careful before turning and following the ambulance.


    the man had become ill too suddenly, and his symptoms were terrifying. liu ruosong¡¯s palms were ice-cold, and he couldn¡¯t help but carefully check himself. fortunately, he hadn¡¯t been scratched, and he breathed a sigh of relief.


    that was reckless, liu ruosong thought. he would need to be more cautious next time.


    he was lost in thought when he heard fu yan call his name through the earpiece.


    ¡°ruosong,¡± fu yan said.


    liu ruosong was momentarily surprised, realizing that he hadn¡¯t turned off his earpiece, and fu yan had likely heard everything that happened during the chaos.


    ¡°you did well, and your reaction was quick,¡± fu yan said. ¡°but next time you encounter something like this, prioritize your own safety first.¡±


    liu ruosong leaned against the police car door, feeling a little relieved. he acknowledged with a quiet ¡°yes¡± that he had heard fu yan¡¯s words.


    fu yan didn¡¯t say much more, but he also didn¡¯t switch back to the public channel. liu ruosong listened to fu yan¡¯s breathing on the other end of the earpiece, and for some reason, he began to feel a bit more at ease.


    fu yan heard the other side of the earpiece quiet down, so he came out from his hiding spot in the corner. he adjusted his earpiece and, from about ten meters away, saw the ¡°patient¡± lying on the ground.


    the patient had been shot in the forehead, limbs sprawled out in the middle of the road, and brain matter and dark brown blood were scattered all over. it was truly not a pleasant sight.


    having seen too many zombie corpses in his previous life, fu yan had an instinctive aversion. he frowned, tucked away his gun, and took out the two blood collection tubes from his pocket.


    fu yan kneeled next to the corpse, gave it a slight nudge, examined it from top to bottom, and then chose a slightly intact piece of skin. he inserted the needle into the person¡¯s blood vessel.


    he had done a lot of sample collection work in his previous life and was familiar with the procedure. unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have much experience in preserving samples, so he could only hope that they would last longer.


    fu yan obtained what he wanted, and his main objective for coming here was mostly accomplished. he taped the blood collection tubes securely inside his clothing pocket. as he was about to retrace his steps, he suddenly heard a loud and chaotic shout coming from his earpiece.


    his heart tightened, and he scanned the area but couldn¡¯t see anyone nearby. he then asked sharply, ¡®coordinates.¡¯


    coming from an air force background, he wasn¡¯t part of the special forces system, and the person on the other end hesitated for a moment, then they quickly responded, ¡®first floor, b2 staircase entrance¡­¡¯


    the design of the escalators going downstairs in this building wasn¡¯t in a straight line; it was arranged in a z-shaped crossing pattern, with adjacent floors on the same side. fu yan looked left and right and saw that the downstairs elevator was on the other side of the corridor. it would be too strenuous to run over there, so he gritted his teeth, propped himself up on the railing with one hand, and flipped down from it!


    then, fu yan used the wall to cushion his fall and landed on a railing on the lower floor, using it to buffer his fall before flipping directly into a gap on the first floor.

 CH 8

    when fu yan had gone upstairs to the fourth floor, he hadn¡¯t conducted a thorough search of the first floor. now it seemed that some individuals had slipped through the cracks from some hidden corners.


    he quickly scanned the area and noticed five civilians in casual clothing surrounding a group of three people. since this was a rescue mission, they didn¡¯t carry many weapons, just one gun among them. however, they hesitated to use their firearms because the individuals in front of them were ¡°injured civilians,¡± and they were trying to control them without causing harm.


    however, perhaps due to the sudden nature of the situation, the three individuals might have let their guard down or were unable to control these mutated zombies in a short time. by the time fu yan jumped down, one of the men already had obvious bite marks on his neck.


    thin lines of blood trickled down his neck and soaked into his black combat suit.


    the situation was worse than fu yan had imagined. the number of zombies exceeded the number of special police officers, and two young officers were pinned down on the first-floor railing, their bodies bending backward in a horrifying curve, struggling to hold on. another officer was entangled with two adult zombies near the out-of-service escalator, at risk of being pushed over the edge.


    the injured officer, however, had no zombies clinging to him.


    due to human rights and mission orders, the special police officers were hesitant to use violence against the ¡°injured¡± civilians, fearing that it would cause secondary harm. but fu yan didn¡¯t hesitate. he quickly and skillfully loaded his gun and, from a distance, blew apart the back of one young zombie¡¯s head.


    brain matter splattered, and blood covered the ground as the young zombie in a hooded sweatshirt swayed in place, as if someone had suddenly turned off its switch, before crashing to the ground with a thud.


    he acted so swiftly that not even the nearby special police officers had time to react. fu yan then put away his gun, slid gracefully to the ground, and, in a matter of seconds, reached their location.


    it wasn¡¯t until then that the officers reacted. one of them, shocked and angry, said, ¡°without orders, how can you just shoot injured civilians?¡±


    fu yan showed no signs of anger in response to the accusation. on the contrary, he seemed to understand their reaction the most.


    in the early days of the apocalypse in his previous life, he had been just like them¡ªadhering to orders, adhering to moral standards. when he encountered infected but not yet mutated zombies on the road, he couldn¡¯t help feeling empathy for them as fellow humans.


    but in just half a month, reality had taught him about ¡°choices.¡±


    if you didn¡¯t cut out the rot, there would only be more people rotting because of it.


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry,¡± fu yan said. ¡°but now is not the time for explanations.¡±


    with that, fu yan grabbed the young man by the collar, withdrew an electric shock baton from his waist, and pressed it into the hand of another zombie.


    his muscle memory was evident. fu yan withdrew his hand swiftly, just before the zombie could bite, without even grazing the skin.


    then, without hesitation, he pulled the officer aside, reached for his gun, and swiftly shot the two zombies in front of him.


    within this short time, the two zombies that had been left by the escalator had already been pinned to the ground face down. two special forces officers knelt on their backs, forced to use handcuffs.


    the immediate crisis was over. fu yan finally had a moment to look back at the two zombies he had killed earlier. they were a young man and woman, dressed similarly and appearing to be a couple.


    they hadn¡¯t mutated for long; their skin had not yet turned that terrifying shade of pale blue, still retaining a softness. unless you carefully examined the cloudy eyes, it was difficult to tell if they had truly mutated.


    fu yan was efficient, having killed three people within a minute of his arrival, which was undoubtedly shocking to the uninformed young officers.


    before they could react, there was a clear sound of a bullet being chambered behind fu yan. he sighed and put away his gun, raising both hands to signal that he was not a threat.


    ¡°why didn¡¯t you report and just open fire?¡± the leading special police officer asked.


    ¡°i judged that the situation had become urgent,¡± fu yan replied calmly. ¡°if it turns out my judgment was wrong, i¡¯m willing to face a military tribunal.¡±


    clearly, they had known his identity beforehand. they exchanged hesitant glances at his words.


    ¡°you saw it too, these things bite people,¡± fu yan continued. ¡°once bitten, you get infected, and the transmission rate outside is already one hundred percent¡ªeveryone infected becomes those monsters who only want to bite others.¡±


    ¡°but¡ª¡±


    ¡°i know what you want to say, but don¡¯t hold onto false hope,¡± fu yan said. he carefully checked his coat for any bloodstains and straightened the cuffs that had gotten wrinkled earlier. finally, he drew his gun from behind again.


    he lowered his gaze slightly, carefully rubbing the barrel with his thumb, as if checking something, yet there was also a subtle hesitation.


    fu yan couldn¡¯t tell them in front of these young officers that these mutations and infections were cruel and irreversible. in his previous life, so many researchers in the base had spent days and nights studying, but by the time he died, it had all been in vain. there were no vaccines, no effective treatments; this virus seemed to appear out of nowhere, with no origins or limits. it had descended like pandora¡¯s curse, taken root in everyone, and grown into completely different forms.


    perhaps there were mother plants or anchor points, but despite extensive searching in his previous life, they had never found anything substantial.


    these things would quickly devour human brains, and before a human¡¯s body ¡°died,¡± they had already met the conditions for brain death.


    as for why zombies could continue to function after ¡°dying,¡± fu yan had no clue. but the only certainty was that once infected, he didn¡¯t believe these young people would live to see the day when a cure was developed.


    with these thoughts in mind, he steadied his resolve, quickly loaded his gun, and aimed it at the injured special police officer.


    almost instantly, two gun barrels were pointed back at him. the young special police officer near the escalator shouted, ¡°lower your weapon!¡±


    ¡°my principle is not to kill teammates, no matter what happens,¡± fu yan said, his eyes locked on the injured officer. ¡°but you need to disarm and go for treatment.¡±


    fu yan paused for a moment, then added, ¡°right now.¡±


    fu yan couldn¡¯t say cold-hearted words like ¡°abandon¡± in front of these uninformed young people. he was a soldier himself, and abandoning a comrade went against his principles. although he had made such choices many times, each time the lingering pain remained fresh, and he hadn¡¯t become numb to it.


    this kind of operation wasn¡¯t something fu yan was very familiar with. in his previous life, they had almost become used to disarming and leaving the team automatically when injured, going solo. everyone had an unspoken understanding of this matter, and there was almost never a need for someone to request it explicitly.


    his actions might seem harsh, but at least the words he spoke weren¡¯t too harsh. the tension in the other person¡¯s shoulders quickly eased, and they nodded in agreement.


    ¡°okay,¡± he said.


    ¡°but that won¡¯t do,¡± the young special forces officer from earlier intervened, saying, ¡°if our team leader disarms, what will he do if he encounters danger when he goes out?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll escort him out,¡± fu yan replied promptly. ¡°i¡¯ll take him to the ambulance.¡±


    after saying this, fu yan actually lowered his gun, approached, and grabbed the officer¡¯s arm. his technique was precise, resembling both supporting and restraining the officer. it seemed as though he could pin the officer to the ground at any moment if there was any sign of mutation, and then shoot him in the back of the head.


    ¡°you don¡¯t need to be so cautious,¡± the special forces team leader said with a wry smile, ¡°even if i¡¯m infected, it¡¯s not like i¡¯ll turn into a lunatic from one second to the next.¡±


    fu yan glanced at him and slightly relaxed his grip, saying, ¡°sorry, i¡¯m used to it.¡±


    unknowingly, the special forces team leader¡¯s eyes drifted away for a moment, and then he couldn¡¯t resist asking, ¡°how long until i become like them¡­ i don¡¯t know why, but you seem to know more than we do?¡±


    ¡°soon,¡± fu yan replied honestly, ¡°quickly, within ten minutes, or slowly, within a day.¡±


    ¡°do you think there¡¯s a cure?¡± the officer asked.


    fu yan didn¡¯t answer this question; he just remained silent, staring at the officer. the team leader, in his long silence, sensed a tragic implication and forced another smile.


    ¡°you¡¯re a straightforward guy, brother,¡± he said. ¡°i don¡¯t¡­ regret it, wearing this uniform, i knew what to expect. i just didn¡¯t think it would be rabies that got me in the end.¡±


    the wound on the man¡¯s neck began to darken, and from this close, fu yan could already smell the putrid odor emanating from it. he shifted his gaze away slightly and flicked off the safety.


    ¡°do you regret it?¡± fu yan asked.


    ¡°i don¡¯t regret it,¡± the man waved his hand, casually wiping away some of the dark brown blood from his neck. he gritted his teeth and said, ¡°defending the homeland, charging into the frontlines, arguing about whether it¡¯s worth it or not¡­ it doesn¡¯t matter anymore. and it¡¯s not just me; those two kids are barely in their twenties.¡±


    unconsciously, fu yan tightened his grip on the gun in his hand.


    at that moment, he suddenly remembered his former teammates. after the apocalypse, the damage from fighter jet deployments was too great, and aside from extremely long-distance missions, he hardly had a chance to fly again.


    he was reassigned to a special operations team, with most of the members being the same, except they had transitioned from flying in the sky to running on the ground. his deputy team leader had joked about it a few times, complaining about the demotion.


    later on, some of these people died, some were injured, and some willingly joined the ranks of the undead, becoming one of the countless walking corpses. but for most of them, their final wishes were the same.


    ¡°brother,¡± the special forces team leader¡¯s voice overlapped with fu yan¡¯s memories. ¡°take a shot.¡±

 CH 9

    ¡°after thinking it over, there¡¯s no cure anyway. you might throw me onto the ambulance and i might end up biting someone else. those doctors don¡¯t have our skills; it¡¯s better to avoid harming people.¡±


    on the public channel, fu yan¡¯s connection was closed, but the special police captain¡¯s wasn¡¯t.


    his tone was light, probably because he didn¡¯t want to leave room for second thoughts, so he spoke hurriedly.


    the man coordinating outside was startled, afraid that fu yan might be contemplating something drastic. he tried to persuade him, saying that there was still no definitive conclusion from the hospital, and the situation might not be as dire as it seemed.


    however, fu yan on the other end of the earpiece, remained silent and unresponsive. after a couple of rapid breaths, it seemed like he had removed the earpiece, thrown it on the ground, and shattered it, cutting off the communication signal.


    the shopping mall fell silent for a few seconds, then a gunshot rang out.


    the gunshot was very close to the mall entrance gate, and the people on the outer perimeter of the barrier simultaneously grew quiet, turning to look in the direction of the gunshot.


    the ground floor facing the street housed a chain fast-food restaurant, with tables and chairs in disarray behind the clean, transparent glass. a suffocating silence filled the area, along with an instinctual sense of panic and unease.


    liu ruosong¡¯s heart pounded. he hadn¡¯t expected fu yan to actually open fire. considering fu yan¡¯s personality, not only would he not abandon his comrades, but he would also avoid harming anyone, even if they were infected.


    liu ruosong¡¯s thoughts were in turmoil. he wanted fu yan to come out and explain, but he was also afraid that fu yan might get into trouble by doing so.


    as liu ruosong hesitated, his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket. he took out his phone and glanced at it, discovering a text message from fu yan.


    ¡°you go ahead,¡± fu yan wrote in the message. ¡°move away from this street, find a place far from the crowd, and wait for me.¡±


    liu ruosong hesitated for a moment but decided to follow fu yan¡¯s instructions. he looked around and noticed that no one was paying attention to him at the moment. he took off his earpiece and placed it on the police car, adjusted his collar, and carefully ¡°slipped¡± out of the crowd.


    although liu ruosong had been to s city several times, fu yan had visited less frequently. liu ruosong was worried that fu yan might not find him later, so he didn¡¯t go far. he simply drove around a block and parked near a closed alley in the commercial district.


    after settling in, he sent his location to fu yan but received no response, wondering if fu yan was dealing with those people.


    liu ruosong patiently waited in place for half an hour before fu yan hurriedly appeared from the other end of the alley. he climbed over a few barricades and walked up to the car, tapping on the car window.


    liu ruosong quickly pressed the unlock button, and fu yan, without saying a word, got in and took off his coat and opened a bottle of mineral water to wipe away the brain matter and blood on himself.


    ¡°actually, your choice wasn¡¯t wrong,¡± liu ruosong¡¯s tone was somewhat solemn. ¡°during the time you were inside, things have gone haywire outside. the batch of injured people sent to the hospital first started a riot. the hospital is short-staffed, and many people have been infected a second time.¡±


    ¡°moreover, from what i heard outside, it seems like there¡¯s chaos happening in places other than this shopping mall,¡± liu ruosong sighed and continued, ¡°i don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because the lightly injured who escaped have also mutated or some other reason. so, you¡­¡±


    liu ruosong wanted to say that you shouldn¡¯t feel too much psychological pressure, but fu yan was a person who, in the end, was firm-minded and self-assured. once he made up his mind, he never doubted himself, so there was no need for liu ruosong¡¯s consolation.


    so liu ruosong sighed and swallowed the words back.


    at times like these, liu ruosong always inexplicably felt a sense of powerlessness. to be honest, fu yan was an excellent boyfriend, loyal, equal, and respectful, the most important qualities in a relationship. he had never crossed those boundaries. he had his opinions but wasn¡¯t domineering, and at home, he often listened to liu ruosong¡¯s opinions. apart from matters of principle and national responsibility, he almost always accommodated liu ruosong.


    setting aside the lack of romance, there were hardly any areas that required liu ruosong¡¯s concern.


    no one is perfect, and liu ruosong thought he should be content. but every time at moments like this, he felt like there was an invisible barrier between him and fu yan. something that he couldn¡¯t touch or grasp, even though fu yan was right in front of him. it was as if he could never truly hold onto him.


    fu yan didn¡¯t need comfort, support, or liu ruosong bending over backward to accommodate him. he didn¡¯t even need liu ruosong to rack his brains to take care of his emotions.


    fu yan seemed like an unbreakable steel rod, never getting trapped, whether outside or at home.


    besides being reliable, liu ruosong couldn¡¯t help but feel a subtle sense of detachment, just like today.


    because of the nature of his work, fu yan was destined to devote half of his energy to his responsibilities. liu ruosong understood this quite well and even took pride in it. liu ruosong considered himself a mature man who didn¡¯t need to constantly dwell on his ¡°sense of self-worth.¡±


    so, he briefly composed himself and stuffed the jumbled negative emotions that had suddenly surfaced into the mental trash can, then smoothly changed the subject.


    ¡°however, how did you manage to get out, and did those people give you a hard time?¡± liu ruosong asked.


    ¡°no,¡± fu yan replied. unaware of liu ruosong¡¯s momentary discomfort, he finished wiping his coat, put it back on, and then said, ¡°there¡¯s video footage, audio recordings, and a lot of evidence. if there¡¯s a need to hold me accountable later, i won¡¯t be able to escape.¡±


    liu ruosong understood the implication of his words. it meant that letting fu yan go now was primarily because his status was higher than that of the on-site commander. if it was determined later that he had acted negligently, others could still hold him accountable at any time.


    liu ruosong¡¯s expression became somewhat serious, and fu yan squeezed his hand and reassured him awkwardly after hesitating for a moment.


    ¡°don¡¯t be afraid,¡± fu yan said. ¡°i¡¯m here, so nothing will happen to you.¡±


    he spoke the truth. even in the previous life when the situation had deteriorated to that extent, liu ruosong had been able to live within the base, thanks to fu yan. although life was tough, he was safe. after fu yan¡¯s death, liu ruosong still benefited from his merits. as long as the other party didn¡¯t have any self-destructive ideas, there shouldn¡¯t be any problems in this lifetime.


    ¡°fu yan, what do you think this virus is?¡± liu ruosong said, ¡°when i was outside just now, i even heard about people biting each other on the streets¡­ the infection spreads too fast. the hospital has fallen, and they¡¯ve taken people to block it off. however, it¡¯s still not enough. there are too many lightly injured people who weren¡¯t controlled or sent to the hospital before. there have even been reports of people biting others on the streets, and we don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening in those semi-closed spaces. among them are children, about eleven or twelve years old¡­¡±


    liu ruosong seemed to recall a gruesome scene and didn¡¯t go into further detail. instead, he impatiently ran his fingers through his hair, sounding tired as he asked, ¡°do you think this mess will end?¡±


    in the shopping mall earlier, the special police captain had also asked fu yan the same question.


    at that time, he had just crushed his own earpiece, and facing fu yan with his hands held up, he had taken several steps back, creating some distance between them.


    ¡°come on,¡± the special police captain tugged at the corners of his mouth, forcing a smile. ¡°you¡¯re such a good shot, so just do it quickly.¡±


    ¡°have you made up your mind?¡± fu yan asked.


    the special police captain frowned, and his voice began to undergo some noticeable changes. his muscles started stiffening, and speaking became much more difficult for him. ¡°i can feel it¡­ i feel so cold, yet it¡¯s like there¡¯s a fire burning inside me. you might not believe it, but i can sense it, as if my nerves are numb, and i can¡¯t even feel my heartbeat anymore.¡±


    his rigid state clearly began to spread, and the cotton-like substances in his pupils expanded. he was gradually losing his composure and spoke incoherently. drool started dripping from his lips uncontrollably.


    fu yan had intended to shoot, but before he did, the special police captain used the last of his rationality to ask fu yan a question.


    ¡°will this disaster end?¡± he said.


    he had clearly lost the ability to think clearly, but he still instinctively used the word ¡°disaster,¡± which gave it a feeling of inevitability.


    fu yan murmured in a low voice and firmly answered him.


    ¡°it will end,¡± fu yan said.


    he said it with such certainty that although liu ruosong couldn¡¯t fully believe it, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit comforted.


    liu ruosong forced a smile and said, ¡°that¡¯s good¡­ oh, by the way, there¡¯s something i forgot to tell you.¡±


    saying that, he took out a mobile phone from his pocket. when fu yan had entered the mall to collect samples earlier, he had left shao xuefan¡¯s phone in the car. liu ruosong was uneasy when he got out of the car, so he decided to take it with him.


    coincidentally, just now, when fu yan was inside the mall, a student named fang sinin who was traveling outside the city had called him.


    the good news was that fang sinin, who shao xuefan had been thinking about, was still alive. however, the bad news was that he wasn¡¯t in s city but in the distant city of pengcheng.


    ¡°so far away,¡± fu yan furrowed his brow, clearly surprised by this answer.


    ¡°he went there on behalf of his teacher to attend some seminar,¡± liu ruosong seemed concerned as well, saying, ¡°that place is a special administrative region, and seminars and such are often held there.¡±


    ¡°i see. public transportation isn¡¯t safe, and we can¡¯t guarantee that those potential mutants who escaped haven¡¯t infiltrated public transportation,¡± fu yan said. ¡°i¡¯ll figure it out myself. give me his contact information.¡±


    liu ruosong sent fang sinin¡¯s phone number to fu yan¡¯s phone. just as he looked up, he saw a pitch-black gun pointed at him, freezing in place.


    before he could even ask fu yan how he managed to take a registered firearm for personal use, fu yan reversed the gun¡¯s barrel and handed the grip to him.


    ¡°take it,¡± fu yan said. ¡°you remember how to shoot, right?¡±

 CH 11

    twelve hours after the outbreak of the apocalypse, fu yan, just like in his previous life, received an ¡°urgent reinstatement¡± notice. however, this time, he didn¡¯t immediately follow the order to return to yan city. instead, he reported the situation truthfully about shao xuefan.


    ¡°fang sining is in pengcheng, and i think it¡¯s necessary to protect him,¡± fu yan said calmly. ¡°once the infection truly spreads, we will need all the scientific talent we can get.¡±


    there was a brief silence on the other end of the phone, as if they were considering his proposal. finally, they said that fu yan should temporarily stay put and that they would hold a meeting to discuss the matter further.


    fu yan wasn¡¯t in a hurry, as he knew they would ultimately agree.


    after about half an hour, the phone rang again, and when fu yan answered, he heard a slightly hoarse male voice on the other end.


    ¡°wu diao,¡± the man said.


    fu yan quickly adjusted his posture discreetly, and lui ruosong blinked, feeling like this was some kind of reflex.


    ¡°number one,¡± fu yan replied. ¡°is that you?¡±


    ¡°get to the point,¡± the man known as ¡°number one¡± said in a deep voice. ¡°in addition to s city, cases have also appeared in shanghai and jiang city. this ¡®rabies¡¯ is spreading too quickly, and our response time is limited. once necessary, we will immediately implement evacuation and containment measures.¡±


    fu yan acknowledged.


    ¡°fang sining is crucial. i¡¯ve already approved your request, and later, we will try to arrange for bai touyuan¡¯s team to assist you,¡± the man said. ¡°given the uncertain circumstances, we may not be able to provide you with actual assistance. be prepared for that.¡±


    fu yan agreed and said, ¡°rest assured.¡±


    the man sighed, then added, ¡°stay in sync with the coordinates, and stay safe.¡±


    both ends of the conversation were brief and to the point. the call lasted only about fifty seconds, which seemed unusually short for a ¡°mission briefing.¡±


    ¡°did your superiors agree?¡± lui ruosong asked.


    ¡°yes,¡± fu yan replied. ¡°since shao xuefan is gone, fang sining, as his closest student, will have to do for now.¡±


    lui ruosong raised an eyebrow, thinking, ¡°this guy doesn¡¯t show much respect for scholars.¡± silently, he added, ¡°fang sining is a highly accomplished scholar, not just a substitute lab instrument.¡±


    lui ruosong sighed and thought that he hoped this mission would go smoothly and that nothing unexpected would happen.


    he had a lot on his mind¡ªworries about fu yan¡¯s safety during the 1,000-kilometer journey, concerns about the blood samples in his possession, and a tangled mess of thoughts and emotions. his heart raced.


    lui ruosong leaned back in his seat, staring at the night sky through the moonroof. his mind was spinning, but he couldn¡¯t come up with any solutions, feeling like a bearing spinning uselessly.


    after a few minutes, a thick jacket was tossed onto him. lui ruosong, puzzled, turned to look and saw that fu yan had handed him the jacket, adjusting it to ensure it covered him properly. this way, the stiff collar wouldn¡¯t rub against his neck uncomfortably.


    ¡°get some sleep,¡± fu yan said, retracting his hand. ¡°do your best to get some rest.¡±


    fu yan sat upright in the driver¡¯s seat, wearing a thin undershirt that showcased his well-defined muscles. his right hand idly rested on the gear shift, while the other hand lightly traced patterns, his gaze unfocused as it stared straight ahead through the windshield. it seemed he was lost in thought or on high alert.


    lui ruosong unabashedly studied him, wrapped in the jacket provided by fu yan. he couldn¡¯t help but find fu yan attractive, both due to his reliability and the gentle care he showed in moments like this.


    lui ruosong couldn¡¯t explain the source of his feelings. maybe it was because of fu yan¡¯s dependability, or perhaps it was the attention to detail he showed even in unromantic situations.


    fu yan was like a double-edged sword. his charm and flaws came from the same source. lui ruosong felt uneasy at times, but he also derived a constant sense of security from him.


    the silence in the cramped car lingered. lui ruosong quietly observed fu yan for a couple of minutes and then extended his hand from the oversized jacket to touch fu yan¡¯s.


    fu yan quickly snapped out of his reverie and took lui ruosong¡¯s hand, asking what was wrong.


    ¡°do you have something on your mind?¡± lui ruosong asked. ¡°what were you thinking about just now?¡±


    ¡°i was thinking about what you¡¯ll do after returning to the base,¡± fu yan said. ¡°we still don¡¯t know the situation over there.¡±


    in his previous life, when lui ruosong returned to the base, it was already the stable period of the apocalypse. the outside world was a wasteland, and the cities had nearly ground to a halt. however, now, they were still in the early stages of the apocalypse, and public awareness of the situation was limited. fu yan was genuinely concerned that lui ruosong might face difficulties upon his return to the base.


    ¡°is that what¡¯s bothering you?¡± lui ruosong chuckled. ¡°don¡¯t worry, uncle zhao is an old friend of my dad¡¯s. at worst, i¡¯ll just visit him, and he won¡¯t kick me out.¡±


    that was the truth. fu yan¡¯s ¡°number one,¡± zhao jincheng, was an old comrade of lui ruosong¡¯s parents. they had a close relationship, and as a child, lui ruosong had often snacked on zhao jincheng¡¯s treats.


    but in reality, fu yan was more concerned about another matter. the fact that a mission notification had been issued meant that rescue operations had already begun. barring any surprises, an official rescue operation would be organized by s city by tomorrow at the latest. at that time, he would hand lui ruosong over to the authorities, and he would set off to find fang sining.


    in other words, at the latest by tomorrow, they would be separated.


    after the early stages of the apocalypse in his previous life, almost all public transportation came to a halt. airplanes, trains¡ªall the means of easily traversing mountains and seas were lost. seeing each other had become increasingly difficult.


    even in the late stages of the apocalypse, due to a lack of manpower and the inability to maintain public facilities, communication equipment was affected. the disappearance of long-range communication meant that the distance between people had grown even larger. fu yan recalled that during the final stage of his previous life, he and lui ruosong had relied almost entirely on their memories of each other to get through their days.


    when they were busy, it was difficult to feel anything, as their minds were occupied with rescue missions, survival, and scarcity of resources. there was no room for nostalgia. however, deep down, fu yan knew that he missed lui ruosong.


    especially now, in this rare moment of quiet, he had the selfish thought that he didn¡¯t want to part ways with lui ruosong.


    fu yan¡¯s previously suppressed guilt began to resurface, and in the quiet of the night, it sprouted like a tender shoot from the depths of his heart, gently tugging at his emotions.


    ¡°today, the weather is really nice,¡± lui ruosong suddenly said. ¡°even though it¡¯s not a good day, the stars are so bright.¡±


    fu yan followed his voice and looked up, realizing that he had opened the moonroof at some point. in the suburbs, there weren¡¯t many streetlights, so the stars shone brightly in the night sky, clearly visible.


    liu ruosong was accustomed to finding joy in tough situations. he shifted into a more comfortable position, resting his right arm behind his head and giving a little shake to the hand he held with fu yan.


    ¡°i know it might not sound right, but i feel like it¡¯s been a long time since we spent time like this,¡± liu ruosong said. ¡°the last time we planned to stargaze at fragrant hills was three years ago, but unfortunately, you had a last-minute training session that day.¡±


    fu yan paused, clearly recalling that incident, and offered an apology.


    ¡°it¡¯s okay, today¡¯s stars look pretty too,¡± liu ruosong said.


    liu ruosong¡¯s voice was gentle, and at times, fu yan even thought that his mild-mannered personality made him well-suited to be a teacher¡ªdefinitely the type of teacher that kids would love, fu yan thought.


    ¡°you don¡¯t need to worry,¡± liu ruosong said. ¡°i¡¯ll make sure to deliver the items safely. although the weather is a bit dangerous, i¡¯ll try to figure out a way to keep them in a low-temperature environment during the journey.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m not worried about the blood samples,¡± fu yan said.


    ¡°so, you¡¯re worried about me?¡± liu ruosong chuckled and continued, ¡°you¡¯ve even entrusted your gun to me. i¡ª¡±


    ¡°once we¡¯re apart, we might not be able to see each other for a long time,¡± fu yan said in a low voice. ¡°i¡¯m thinking about whether you¡¯ll be able to adapt there.¡±


    liu ruosong blinked in surprise.


    fu yan didn¡¯t know what had triggered these thoughts, but he tightened his grip on liu ruosong¡¯s hand slightly and gave it a firm squeeze.


    ¡°i¡¯ll return as soon as possible,¡± fu yan said. ¡°in the future¡­ i¡¯ll do my best to come back.¡±


    fu yan wasn¡¯t one to utter sweet or affectionate words. even saying something like ¡°i miss you¡± or ¡°i can¡¯t bear to part with you¡± made him feel embarrassed. however, just these two sentences left liu ruosong momentarily stunned.


    for both of them, parting had become a routine occurrence. in the past, liu ruosong had often accommodated fu yan, choosing his vacation days when fu yan had to leave due to unexpected missions.


    they had grown accustomed to reuniting and parting in their lives, waiting for the next time they could see each other. fu yan was the one with the unique and demanding job, and liu ruosong had learned to accept this as part of their relationship, even subconsciously considering it normal.


    this was the first time fu yan had openly shown a sense of reluctance. liu ruosong didn¡¯t know what fu yan had thought of during those brief minutes, but he couldn¡¯t help but be affected by fu yan¡¯s emotions.


    both of them understood deep down that opportunities like this, where they could peacefully chat, were becoming increasingly rare. the sword of damocles hung over everyone¡¯s heads, and the current tranquility was just a brief respite in the looming storm.


    ¡°although i¡¯ve said this many times before,¡± liu ruosong pursed his lips, sounding a bit nervous, ¡°but¡­ stay safe. even if you can¡¯t find fang sining, it¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°i know,¡± fu yan said.


    after saying this, fu yan leaned closer to liu ruosong. his hand slipped under the jacket, carefully reaching for the gun holster on liu ruosong¡¯s waist. he ran his fingers along the edges of the holster, inspecting it closely.


    liu ruosong obediently allowed him to inspect it, and fu yan finally secured the holster¡¯s clasp before adjusting his own slightly displaced jacket.


    having completed these tasks, he lowered the car¡¯s sun visor, closed the moonroof, and then slightly bent down to plant a kiss on liu ruosong¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°get some sleep,¡± fu yan said.


    1military wives deserve our respect for sure!

 CH 12

    at 5:20 in the early morning, the car¡¯s radio, which had been quiet all night, suddenly emitted a crackling sound of electric currents.


    fu yan was the first to open his eyes from his half-awake state, carefully listening to the faint noises coming from the radio.


    ¡°broadcast¡­ (crackle)¡­ taking evacuation measures¡­ at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m¡­ location s city high-speed rail station¡­ citizens, please bring identification documents and injury certificates¡­ to proceed¡­ this broadcast will be repeated¡­¡±


    whether it was a signal issue or a problem with the car¡¯s hardware, the broadcast was intermittently distorted by electrical noise, sounding like a cassette tape being played back from an old radio.


    however, as fu yan had anticipated, s city had fallen, and the authorities wouldn¡¯t just stand by. in the previous life, during the early days of the apocalypse, organizations from yan city had conducted several rescue missions in various locations, attempting to control the spread of the apocalypse. unfortunately, the situation escalated too quickly, resulting in significant casualties and equipment damage. human society had to revert to a semi-lawless survival mode.


    during the initial stages, public infrastructure hadn¡¯t completely collapsed yet. although precise devices like airplanes were no longer usable, high-speed trains could still make a few runs¡ªalbeit for only a few days. this mode of transportation had concentrated healthy individuals for evacuation.


    for fu yan, this was the best opportunity to send off liu ruosong.


    the radio broadcast quickly completed one cycle and began to repeat. liu ruosong also woke up from his slumber. he hadn¡¯t slept well that night; every time he closed his eyes, he found himself in a bio-crisis, traversing mountains and fighting off countless zombies in his dreams. when he woke up, he felt a momentary confusion and aches throughout his body, as if he had been through a strenuous ordeal.


    but compared to the nightmares, the reality was clearly more despairing and even worse.


    at half-past five in the morning, it was already becoming light outside. liu ruosong squinted at the car window and noticed several black figures moving in the open area. he wiped his face and realized that the ¡°people¡± wandering outside were mutated beings, their expressions vacant, their clothing in tatters, resembling zombies.


    after a whole night, from a visual perspective, they had become even more similar to ¡°zombies.¡± they moved slowly, their limbs stiff, their expressions vacant, and their exposed skin had turned a deathly shade of pale blue, making them look extremely eerie as they stumbled along the road.


    fu yan had parked the car in a desolate, uninhabited area as much as possible, but they could still see the zombies wandering. one could only imagine what the city, with its denser population, had turned into.


    while in his dreams, liu ruosong had carried a magnum in his pocket and an rpg on his shoulder, upon waking, he found only a pitiful type 92 pistol in his pocket¡ªwith a mere twenty bullets.


    life was indeed much more challenging than artistic creations, liu ruosong thought.


    as he pondered this, fu yan had already started the car. liu ruosong checked the fuel gauge on the dashboard and furrowed his brows discreetly.


    ¡°we¡¯re going now?¡± liu ruosong asked. ¡°wasn¡¯t it scheduled for 8 a.m.?¡±


    ¡°there will likely be a lot of people there,¡± fu yan said. ¡°better to arrive early than late.¡±


    fu yan had performed rescue missions in his previous life and knew what such scenes were like. in a city, the number of residents was enormous, and while it might not be noticeable during normal times, when disasters struck, everyone converged in one place, and anything could happen.


    even though the city had already fallen to the zombie virus, the throughput of s city high-speed railway station couldn¡¯t possibly accommodate this many people.


    in this situation, fu yan indeed had a stronger say.


    s city high-speed rail station had been renovated three years ago and was quite spacious. it was designed by a renowned architect, and the entire exterior was made of toughened glass, resembling a half-formed ¡°egg¡± when viewed from a distance.


    over the night, the people at the epicenter of the turmoil had realized the horror of the disaster. the military had taken full control of the station and its surroundings. using the high-speed railway station as an evacuation center, they had already established a three-kilometer-radius perimeter, leaving only one passage for entry, which was heavily guarded and used for health inspections.


    people had probably noticed the horrific consequences of ¡°infection.¡± as a result, the entry checks were extremely strict. if they discovered any bite marks or injuries, individuals would be immediately ¡°invited¡± into a separate quarantine area.


    for safety, fu yan took the outer ring expressway. this road was one of the main routes out of the city, and it was evident that there had been significant disturbances here during the past night. in just half an hour of driving, liu ruosong had already seen three private cars parked haphazardly by the roadside.


    they all had one thing in common¡ªthey appeared to have stopped due to accidents.


    some had crashed into roadside lamp posts, some were blocking the middle of the road, and some even had their doors wide open with no sign of the occupants.


    bloodstains had splattered on the car windows, and over the course of the night, they had dried into unsightly stains. liu ruosong took just two glances before averting his gaze. those were not normal amounts of bleeding; he had seen many bloodstains and ¡°incident scenes¡± along the way, but he hadn¡¯t seen a single corpse.


    as for where those things that should have been ¡°corpses¡± had gone, liu ruosong didn¡¯t want to dwell on it too much.


    as liu ruosong¡¯s gaze drifted, he suddenly felt a weight on his back. fu yan had abruptly wrapped his arms around liu ruosong¡¯s shoulders, using one hand to push him into his embrace.


    he exerted considerable force with that single arm, causing liu ruosong to almost fall awkwardly into his lap. before he could ask what was happening, he felt the vehicle in front them lurch forward suddenly, accompanied by a massive jolt from the front.


    fu yan had one hand tightly gripping the steering wheel, keeping the car on course, while his other arm was securely wrapped around liu ruosong¡¯s back. his elbow and forearm were thrust forward, creating a barrier between the dashboard and liu ruosong.


    almost simultaneously, the vehicle in front distinctly hesitated for a second, and the car wheels emitted an unpleasant, grating sound.


    liu ruosong¡¯s heart began to race, as he hadn¡¯t seen anything, but somehow images of severed limbs and broken bodies from the middle of the road flashed through his mind.


    following that, he noticed that fu yan¡¯s right leg was gradually descending, creating a noticeable curve.


    the car¡¯s engine roared loudly, and the force of inertia pulled liu ruosong into fu yan¡¯s embrace. his shoulder bumped against fu yan¡¯s chest.


    ¡°is the car okay?¡± liu ruosong asked.


    the impact had been extremely violent, and fu yan hadn¡¯t slowed down at all. liu ruosong couldn¡¯t see the situation outside, but he had an uneasy feeling.


    ¡°give me the gun,¡± fu yan said.


    liu ruosong¡¯s heart tightened, and he subconsciously reached for the gun holster at his waist. he pulled out the gun, chambered a round, and then turned to hand the grip to fu yan.


    ¡°don¡¯t point the muzzle at yourself!¡± fu yan quickly took the gun from liu ruosong¡¯s hand, offering a hurried reminder.


    the hand that had been holding liu ruosong¡¯s back briefly left its place. fu yan should have used his left hand to take the gun, as he immediately opened the car window. the rushing wind carried with it a foul odor of decay.


    ¡°cover your ears,¡± fu yan said.


    liu ruosong wrapped one arm around fu yan¡¯s waist, covered his ears with his other hand, and before he could even adjust himself to a safe position, he heard two gunshots. the car in front of them swerved like a drifting s-curve, seemingly avoiding some obstacle.


    fu yan¡¯s driving skills were superb, and even in this situation, he didn¡¯t hesitate. he quickly left whatever ¡°accident¡± had occurred on the road behind them. liu ruosong finally managed to straighten up, took back the gun, and returned it to its holster, rubbing his chest, which had been sore from the seatbelt.


    after the recent unexpected incident, they could faintly see the ¡°eggshell¡± gathering point ahead. liu ruosong couldn¡¯t help but sit up straighter and take a few glances in that direction.


    he hadn¡¯t even had a chance to fully assess the gathering point when he suddenly heard screeching brakes not far behind them. fu yan had obviously also heard the noise and turned to look in the rearview mirror along with him.


    clearly, they weren¡¯t the only ones with the mentality of ¡°the earlier, the safer.¡± a black jeep had appeared behind them at some point, covered with privacy film that made it impossible to see inside.


    liu ruosong glanced at it and noticed that the vehicle was swaying as it drove, nearly veering off the road several times, but it ultimately managed to stabilize.


    he frowned slightly, sensing that something was amiss.


    however, the anomaly lasted only a few minutes, and when liu ruosong looked more closely, everything seemed normal again. so, he didn¡¯t dwell on it and redirected his gaze from behind.


    although the gathering time was set for 8 am, there were already quite a few people at the gathering point. these individuals were divided into two lines by armed guards and were undergoing pupil color checks and examinations for visible injuries.


    fu yan parked the car about 200 meters away and didn¡¯t take liu ruosong to join the long queue. instead, he led him straight to the guard post.


    the commanding officer overseeing the security was two ranks lower than fu yan. upon seeing their documents, he quickly descended from the platform and saluted fu yan.


    ¡°commander.¡±


    fu yan glanced at liu ruosong and reached out to shake his hand. he didn¡¯t say anything, but liu ruosong nodded in acknowledgment, indicating that he understood.


    fu yan then explained the situation in detail, omitting the parts about shao xuefan and fang sining, only mentioning that liu ruosong was escorting a blood sample back to yan city.


    ¡°understood, commander. we will ensure mr. liu¡¯s safe arrival,¡± the temporary commander said. ¡°commander, what about you? do you need us to issue a pass for you as well?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t need one. i have another mission,¡± fu yan replied.


    he took a step back, patted liu ruosong¡¯s shoulder, and gently pushed him toward a separate inspection room that had been cordoned off.


    in front of the public, especially in front of comrades, fu yan couldn¡¯t bring himself to say any cheesy words as a form of goodbye. so, liu ruosong took the initiative to smile at him and made a gesture.


    ¡°i¡¯ll wait for you in yan city,¡± liu ruosong said.

 CH 13

    the makeshift inspection room was so basic level that it couldn¡¯t even be called a room. inside the small square tent of just a few square meters, there was a simple folding table, and four armed soldiers stood on either side, their spare ammunition glinting and dazzling, enough to make one dizzy.


    ¡°in exceptional times, we must use exceptional means,¡± the commander who brought liu ruosong in looked apologetic as he addressed him. ¡°i apologize for the inconvenience¡­¡±


    he seemed somewhat reluctant to voice the somewhat intrusive ¡°inspection request.¡± however, liu ruosong quickly understood his meaning. he emptied his pockets of everything, including a thick folder he was carrying, and placed them on the table. then, he began to undress.


    in reality, liu ruosong could understand. time was of the essence, and unexpected events could occur at any moment. even if someone had a ¡°no injuries certificate¡± from a hospital, it couldn¡¯t guarantee that nothing would happen on the way to the gathering point.


    when people are fighting for survival, they can tap into their deepest emotional reserves. good intentions and ill intentions can reach their peak during such times, and there was no telling where the moral boundaries would lie.


    after all, not everyone can be as selfless as fu yan, who could willingly sacrifice himself for others. given the strict security measures at the checkpoint, liu ruosong wasn¡¯t surprised at all.


    he didn¡¯t feel uncomfortable. during outdoor shoots, he had encountered all sorts of unusual situations. when he first started in this field, he once miscalculated the outdoor weather conditions and faced extreme weather changes. his clothes were of no use, and he had to resort to wrapping himself in sheepskin using makeshift methods.


    ¡°all right, thank you for your cooperation,¡± the young man behind the folding table quickly filled out a form and placed it on top of liu ruosong¡¯s belongings.


    his gaze briefly passed over liu ruosong¡¯s gun holster, and his lips moved slightly, but under the commander¡¯s signaling look, he didn¡¯t say anything.


    liu ruosong quickly put his clothes back on, secured the gun holster, and adjusted it to a position on his left side, where he could easily reach it.


    before fu yan left, he left his credentials and identification with liu ruosong, probably in case he encountered any difficulties on the way. after some consideration, liu ruosong tucked the item into his pocket.


    since he was brought by fu yan and had a blood sample on him, the people at the gathering point treated him quite courteously. in the end, someone even found a backpack for him to stuff all his belongings into.


    ¡°thank you,¡± liu ruosong said.


    leaving the checkpoint, there was a temporary passage leading to a building. when liu ruosong entered, he turned back to take a look and saw a long line of people outside.


    he only glanced for a moment before shifting his gaze away, tightening the straps of his backpack, and then entered the high-speed rail station.


    inside the building, many civilians had already gathered. surprisingly, despite the chaotic situation, some of the basic facilities of the high-speed rail station were still functioning.


    the large screen in the hall that normally displayed train numbers was still scrolling, but now it showed evacuation times and windows.


    there were plenty of guards in the building as well, but they mostly stayed near the walls, probably to be ready to respond in case of any incidents within the hall. the building was eerily silent, and the survivors hadn¡¯t found much solace after the ordeal. instead, anxiety hung heavily in the air, and no one dared to be the first to cry or disrupt the unnerving order. perhaps it was the fear of shedding the first tears, or maybe it was the result of the ¡°order and discipline¡± maintained by those armed with real weapons. in any case, the situation inside was surprisingly calm, contrary to what liu ruosong had expected. however, the oppressive atmosphere made it difficult to breathe.


    liu ruosong, carrying a case of blood samples, couldn¡¯t be allowed to mingle in the crowded area.


    after he entered the building, a guard received the message and came over to guide him.


    ¡°the vip waiting room on the second floor has been cleared for you,¡± the guard said. ¡°don¡¯t worry; as soon as the situation outside is clear, we will escort you to the train.¡±


    liu ruosong nodded and was about to follow the guard when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.


    taking it out, he saw fu yan¡¯s name flashing on the screen. liu ruosong was surprised.


    ¡°is everything sorted?¡± fu yan¡¯s voice came through the phone.


    ¡°yes, how did you know?¡± liu ruosong asked, still somewhat puzzled.


    ¡°i saw it,¡± fu yan replied.


    liu ruosong paused for a moment, instinctively turned around, and scanned the surroundings.


    the glass building¡¯s outer walls were transparent, allowing a clear view from inside to outside. liu ruosong walked a few steps along the wall, squinting as he surveyed the area. finally, he spotted fu yan¡¯s car a few hundred meters away.


    it was still too far for him to make out details. to liu ruosong, the car was just a black dot, and he couldn¡¯t see whether fu yan was standing next to it or looking at him.


    however, he had a vague sense of an answer in his mind. subconsciously, he took a few more steps forward, pressed his palm against the cold glass wall.


    this type of glass was one-way, allowing people inside to see outside clearly, but those outside couldn¡¯t see inside. fu yan probably saw him entering through the open-air walkway, which was why he made the call.


    at this moment, though, fu yan seemed to have inexplicably seen liu ruosong¡¯s small action, and he chuckled lightly on the phone.


    ¡°alright, go inside,¡± fu yan said.


    he didn¡¯t say anything like ¡°now i can rest easy.¡± the phone call had been rather pointless, without substance, and not at all emotional. nevertheless, liu ruosong saved this call, labeled it as 263, and stored it in his recordings.


    liu ruosong took one last look outside through the window, then turned around, following the security personnel to the second floor.


    outside the gathering point, fu yan hung up the phone, gathered some bottled water from the car into a bundle, and stuffed it inside his jacket. then, he got out of the car.


    the car¡¯s gas tank was almost empty, and it had sustained damage from the previous encounters with the undead. the bumper had been torn off, and the front hood bore a noticeable dent. clearly, it couldn¡¯t be driven any longer.


    fu yan raised his collar, then walked in the opposite direction of the gathering point along the road.


    he walked for about two kilometers and finally selected a car with a full tank of gas parked by the roadside. the owner of the car must have experienced something traumatic, as the car door was wide open, blood stains splattered across the driver¡¯s seat, and the keys were left hanging inside, while the owner was nowhere to be found.


    fu yan¡¯s gaze shifted to the back seat, where he noticed a large rolled-up blanket.


    a terrible premonition welled up inside fu yan. he opened the rear car door, picked up a piece of useless iron from the ground, and used it to carefully lift a corner of the blanket. even before he could see the whole picture, he noticed a small hand, palm-sized, inside the blanket.


    fu yan: ¡°¡­¡±


    he fell into an unusual silence, standing still for a moment, then finally bent down and picked up the rolled-up blanket.


    inside the blanket was a little girl. she looked adorable, with fair skin, long eyelashes, and appeared to be about two or three years old. her body was still warm, and there were small, seeping blood stains around her eyes.


    she had a large bite wound on her leg, spanning her entire lower leg, but there were no signs of mutation. her body remained soft, and she hadn¡¯t turned into one of those monstrous creatures. fu yan scrutinized her for a moment and finally found the reason.


    there was a bruise on her neck, distinctively shaped like a handprint with deep indentations where each finger had pressed into her skin¡ªshe had been strangled to death before she could mutate.


    in just a few moments, fu yan could reconstruct the tragic scene that had unfolded here. the car was a family vehicle, with a polaroid photo of a young family affixed to the dashboard, indicating the husband, wife, and presumably one other person. perhaps one of them had been bitten, but they still wanted to try their luck by reaching the gathering point. unfortunately, before they could get halfway there, one of them began to mutate.


    mutants had no rationality and would attack anyone they saw. what happened next wasn¡¯t clear¡ªwhether the remaining person couldn¡¯t bear to leave their daughter alone to starve to death and decided to end both their lives before reaching the end, or if the daughter had been bitten first, and they couldn¡¯t bear to let her turn into a monster. in any case, the surviving person had resorted to violence, taking the daughter¡¯s life before their own.


    the child was too young, so this process should have been quick. there was no sign of pain on her face; she appeared peaceful.


    fu yan¡¯s eyelid twitched, and he used the blanket to cover the girl¡¯s face.


    this was not the first tragedy, nor would it be the last. as long as this disaster continued, such incidents would occur again and again, until everyone became numb to it, until this method of dealing with the situation became a ¡°norm¡±¡­ until people lost all reverence for death.


    fu yan turned back to the car. he casually ripped off a pillow from the back seat and used it to wipe away the bloodstains inside the car. after a thorough inspection, he finally sat in the driver¡¯s seat.


    he didn¡¯t immediately start the car but instead contemplated the new contact in his phone¡¯s address book, ¡°fang sining.¡± after some thought, he scrolled down to a number labeled ¡°003¡± and made the call.


    the call was answered quickly, but the background noise was loud, and the call quality wasn¡¯t great.


    ¡°hello, captain,¡± a capable female voice said on the other end. before fu yan could respond, she continued, ¡°number one said you won¡¯t be returning to resume your duties and asked us to assist you. what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°i have a mission,¡± fu yan replied. ¡°who¡¯s in the response team?¡±


    there was a moment of confusion on the other end, as if the person couldn¡¯t understand why he was asking this. however, years of following orders led her to answer honestly, ¡°no one else, just our team members: peregrine, me, long-eared owl, little rabbit, and white-headed kite.¡±


    ¡°about him¡­¡± fu yan began to speak but stopped himself. he furrowed his brow slightly, showing an unusual hesitation.


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong?¡± the female voice detected his unease. ¡°is there something wrong with white-headed kite?¡±


    ¡°never mind, it¡¯s nothing,¡± fu yan said. ¡°just be prepared to follow orders.¡±

 CH 14

    modern buildings often seem to emphasize a sense of ¡°design¡± to firmly establish themselves on limited plots of land.


    in addition to the architecture¡¯s design, the choice of materials is an important channel frequently utilized by these designers. liu ruosong didn¡¯t know the aesthetic preferences of the architects who constructed this place, but it was apparent that they had a close relationship with the tempered glass factory.


    inside the gathering point, apart from the tempered steel framework, more modern glass materials were used for partitions and decorations. the vip lounge¡¯s privacy wasn¡¯t any better than the rest, and liu ruosong sat on the plush leather sofa, turning his head to see the crowd below through the high railings. he suddenly felt uncomfortable sitting there, as if he were a prince oblivious to the suffering of the world.


    there was still a long time before the scheduled evacuation, so liu ruosong hugged his backpack to his chest. he took out the two blood collection tubes from his bag and examined their condition under the light.


    after spending the night, the blood samples inside had stabilized. the layer of ¡°fat¡± floating on top had darkened in color, resembling pus. the blood that had settled seemed to have solidified. liu ruosong gently shook the tubes, causing the blood to separate slightly, and strands of thread-ish like material emerged.


    a strong putrid smell emanated from them. despite the numerous layers of plastic and tape that fu yan had wrapped around them, the stench still seeped through.


    liu ruosong frowned, holding the blood collection tubes at a distance.


    the guard stationed at the door cast a wary glance at liu ruosong¡¯s actions, keeping his eyes fixed on the tubes as though he were observing a biohazardous weapon.


    ¡°it¡¯s fine,¡± liu ruosong said, noticing his tension. ¡°based on the current situation, it¡¯s probably just a bodily fluid transmission. there should be no airborne or gas transmission, so relax.¡±


    he tore a piece of cloth from his sleeve and wrapped it around the blood collection tubes to give them extra ¡°padding¡± before placing the items back in his backpack.


    with plenty of time left, and considering he hadn¡¯t slept well the previous night, liu ruosong cradled his backpack against his chest. he lay down on the couch, intending to rest.


    he was only taking a light nap to recharge his energy. he wasn¡¯t sure how long he had been asleep when he was suddenly awakened by a chaotic commotion. in that half-awake moment, he thought there might be a fire outside and instinctively clutched his backpack to his chest as he stood up with a start.


    there was only one guard left at the door who had originally been on duty, and seeing liu ruosong¡¯s reaction, he jumped in surprise.


    ¡°what¡¯s going on?¡± liu ruosong asked. ¡°how long did i sleep?¡±


    ¡°there has been a slight change in the situation,¡± the guard said with a serious expression. ¡°things outside don¡¯t look good. some infected individuals managed to infiltrate and mutated along the way, biting many people.¡±


    liu ruosong¡¯s heart sank.


    as expected, the guard immediately activated his earpiece and tilted his head to listen carefully.


    his expression became even graver, and after about ten seconds, he turned off the earpiece and turned to liu ruosong. ¡°the situation outside is out of control¡­ we may need to close the passage and bring everyone inside the gathering point.¡±


    ¡°you go attend to your duties,¡± liu ruosong said. ¡°i¡¯ll be okay.¡±


    the guard hesitated for a moment, but the urgency of the situation outside left no room for further delay. he nodded slightly and then hurriedly ran downstairs.


    with the guard gone, liu ruosong¡¯s presence in the vip lounge seemed conspicuous. he hesitated for a moment, then left a note on the table with his phone number on it before picking up his backpack, walking to the other side, and using the emergency staircase to descend to the tea room. finally, he made a round through the tea room, blending seamlessly into the crowd without a sound.


    he found a corner not far from the entrance to the station then stood still in the corner.


    the corner he was in was located in the middle of the entire gathering point hall. the hall, covering thousands of square meters, was now packed with people. some came with their families, others were reluctant to leave their possessions behind, carrying bags of luggage.


    the situation outside didn¡¯t look optimistic at all. in just a few minutes, there was a strong commotion at the entrance of the gathering point. shouting and yelling followed. liu ruosong listened carefully amidst the chaos but only caught a few sharp words but couldn¡¯t make out exactly what was happening.


    the language dialects in s city were diverse, and combined with the surrounding noise, liu ruosong couldn¡¯t quite make out what had caused the commotion. he only caught snippets of phrases like ¡°infiltrated¡± and ¡°thrown out.¡±


    he felt uneasy but pressed on. however, when he finally arrived, he couldn¡¯t see the epicenter of the commotion. a large pool of fresh blood stained the bright white tiles, and a young, fair-skinned boy knelt on the ground, staring blankly at the entrance.


    the onlookers seemed to be wary of this scene, keeping a two-meter distance from the bloodstain as if it were a hazardous area, and no one dared to approach it.


    liu ruosong glanced around and noticed that there was an opening created intentionally near the entrance of the assembly point. the blood had spread from there, and he couldn¡¯t see how far it extended.


    ¡°what¡¯s going on?¡± he asked a young man standing nearby, grabbing his arm.


    the young man, dressed flamboyantly, rolled his eyes at his question, then said, ¡°what else could it be? someone infiltrated. we agreed that only those without injuries could evacuate. but this person was found to have a fresh wound on his hand¡­ bringing harm to others, you see.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re talking nonsense!¡± the young man kneeling on the ground reacted with a start, instinctively retorting, ¡°i was bitten by a dog a week ago, and it¡¯s almost healed! we had a certificate, and we passed the inspection to get in!¡±


    the young man, who didn¡¯t appear to have experienced major disasters before, burst into tears without saying another word. he glared at the man who had spoken earlier, his eyes so red they seemed on the verge of bleeding.


    the man was visibly unnerved by the young man¡¯s gaze and muttered something in the local dialect.


    liu ruosong furrowed his brow.


    he had an instinctive feeling that something wasn¡¯t right, but in this situation, he couldn¡¯t change everyone¡¯s mindset alone. the disaster had struck suddenly, and everyone was fearful and anxious, seeing danger everywhere. expecting them to calmly assess the situation was difficult.


    so, he didn¡¯t say anything and reached into his pocket, taking out a tissue. he offered it to the young man on the ground.


    the young man didn¡¯t accept the gesture, so liu ruosong didn¡¯t insist. he simply dropped the tissue into the young man¡¯s lap, said nothing, and walked away.


    however, before he could take more than a few steps, the crowd ahead suddenly began to flee in panic.


    ¡°don¡¯t panic! watch your step and don¡¯t trample anyone! move to a safe position!¡±


    within the building, voices rang out, urging people to maintain order. liu ruosong¡¯s heart grew cold as he moved against the crowd, running ahead for about a hundred meters to find the source of the problem.


    the term ¡°out of control¡± used to describe the situation outside seemed too polite. liu ruosong looked through the thick, tempered glass wall and his mind could only conjure up the word ¡°infested.¡±


    perhaps due to the large number of people in the assembly point, it had attracted a massive horde of zombies. there appeared to be thousands, if not tens of thousands of them outside, and some had undergone new mutations. the scene was terrifying.


    the guards outside had no choice but to retreat indoors. even armed personnel were forced to fall back, and the heavy doors of the assembly point resounded with a loud bang as they were collectively pushed closed from the inside.


    almost simultaneously, the fleeing zombies from outside charged toward the building, colliding forcefully with the reinforced glass doors.


    the tempered glass emitted a muffled ¡°thud¡± as if it had struck liu ruosong¡®s heart.


    the zombies, stacked on top of each other, quickly covered the tempered glass outer wall. their decaying faces pressed against the glass, their lifeless eyes staring intently inside.


    liu ruosong inadvertently made eye contact with one of the zombies and shivered. his heart felt hollow.


    outside¡­ had it already come to this? liu ruosong wondered.


    he squeezed the strap of his backpack tightly. his left hand, concealed in his pocket, opened, and his thumb unconsciously rubbed the base of his ring finger. he continued until he felt the matching silver ring he and fu yan both wore. only then did he regain some composure.


    he turned around and, taking three or four steps, suddenly looked back without warning.


    the fully enclosed inner platform separated them from the tragedy outside. a pure white high-speed train stood silently on the adjacent track. if one ignored the desolation of the platform, everything seemed no different from the pre-apocalyptic world.


    liu ruosong instinctively tightened the strap of his backpack. he opened his left hand, which had been hidden in his pocket, and looked at his ring for a moment. then he turned and continued up the steps toward the first carriage.

 CH 15

    in the suburbs of yan city, the former military base had entered a state of alert. the gates were closed, internal inspections were underway, and people in uniforms hurriedly walked through the corridors. the military boots underfoot echoed urgently on the tiled floor.


    on the third floor of the dormitory at the 72nd division¡¯s base, a young woman in training attire walked out of her room. she carried a large accompanying luggage bag but didn¡¯t bother going downstairs. instead, she threw it out of the window to a man waiting below.


    the man downstairs signaled to her and then checked his wristwatch. he said, ¡°ten minutes.¡±


    the woman nodded at him and quickened her pace.


    instead of going downstairs, she ascended the stairs. on the fifth floor, there was a corridor connecting to the adjacent logistics building, which had now been temporarily converted into the second command center.


    the woman walked with a straight posture, and her every move was precise. she reached the door of the command room, glanced at the new label posted on the door, and then adjusted her training uniform before knocking on the door.


    ¡°come in.¡±


    the woman pushed open the door. inside the command room was a desk over two meters long, with a middle-aged man in his fifties sitting behind it. two young people stood across from him, holding folders, and all of them turned their heads toward the door, likely in the middle of a briefing.


    the woman passed by the two young people and approached the desk. she saluted the middle-aged man and said, ¡°number one.¡±


    zhao jincheng nodded in response and said, ¡°in this operation, do not take unnecessary risks. you are all valuable soldiers, so take care of yourselves. i¡¯ve already provided your squad with fu yan¡¯s coordinates for this mission, but he¡¯ll be traveling incognito this time and won¡¯t have professional equipment. you¡¯ll need to find a way to communicate on the road.¡±


    ¡°yes,¡± the woman said. ¡°you can trust us.¡±


    ¡°you are all seasoned veterans, and there are many things i don¡¯t need to say. you should understand,¡± zhao jincheng fell silent for a moment before continuing, ¡°but, sparrowhawk, i want you to lead the team this time.¡±


    ¡°me?¡± the woman looked surprised. she pointed to herself and asked, ¡°number one, isn¡¯t this a bit inappropriate? our deputy squad leader is still here.¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t waste time,¡± zhao jincheng reprimanded her. he had a touch of a gangster¡¯s attitude in his speech, which was common for him. he gave her a folder and said, ¡°for this mission, the deputy squad is ordered to stand down, so you will lead the team.¡±


    the woman took the folder and flipped through a couple of pages. she furrowed her brows, hesitated for a moment, but didn¡¯t refuse.


    ¡°does the deputy squad leader know about this?¡± she asked. ¡°if he doesn¡¯t voluntarily stand down, it might be difficult for me.¡±


    ¡°he knows,¡± zhao jincheng replied. glancing at his watch impatiently, he waved his hand. ¡°that¡¯s enough. if you¡¯re worried, you can go ask him. the departure time is approaching, so hurry up. if you delay, your own team leader will suffer.¡±


    the woman known as ¡°sparrowhawk¡± didn¡¯t say anything more. she put down the folder, saluted zhao jincheng, and said, ¡°i¡¯ll ensure the mission is completed.¡±


    the preparations for departure were already complete. the woman pressed the button for the elevator to go down and put tactical earphones in her ears.


    as soon as she stepped out of the building, she saw a young man waiting for her in front of the building. he approached her naturally as soon as he saw her.


    the man had a resemblance to the woman, especially in their facial features, which seemed almost identical, with slight variations in contour.


    ¡°tang tang,¡± the man called out to her. ¡°why did you take so long?¡±


    ¡°brother?¡± he tang was somewhat surprised. ¡°didn¡¯t you go to the gathering point?¡±


    ¡°i was waiting for you,¡± he feng said. ¡°they¡¯ve already inspected the vehicles at the airport. i heard that number one had summoned you in his office, so i came to see¡­ what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s nothing,¡± he tang replied naturally as they walked side by side towards the training ground. she reached into his pocket and took out tactical earphones, handing them to him. she casually said, ¡°number one asked me to lead the team.¡±


    he feng was a head taller than he tang. he bent slightly to make it easier for her, and he jokingly asked, ¡°what¡¯s going on? he¡¯s young and in his prime. even if he accidentally offended number one, it shouldn¡¯t result in early retirement from active duty, right?¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t talk nonsense,¡± he tang kicked his ankle playfully and whispered, ¡°it¡¯s to avoid suspicion.¡±


    ¡°avoid suspicion?¡± he feng asked.


    he tang nodded and whispered in he feng¡¯s ear, explaining the basic information from the folder. he feng understood and nodded in response, saying, ¡°that makes sense.¡±


    after saying that, he feng fell silent. he straightened up and adjusted the earphones that had slipped slightly.


    the two of them arrived at the airport just in time, as the spacious field had already been cleared. the mechanical and fighter planes had all been stored away, leaving only a few military jeeps scattered across the large square.


    several young people were by the car doors, checking the last of the supplies. one burly tall man was the first to spot them, and he waved to he tang.


    ¡°little bunny,¡± he tang said, ¡°is everything counted?¡±


    ¡°what¡¯s with the ¡®little bunny¡¯?¡± the man retorted in a rough manner. ¡°it¡¯s not wartime now. can¡¯t you stop using code names?¡±


    ¡°oh, yao tu,¡± he tang said, ¡°it doesn¡¯t make much of a difference.¡±


    yao tu, annoyed, couldn¡¯t retort properly due to he feng, her elder brother, being present. so, he gritted his teeth, turned his head away, and tightened the straps on his backpack as if he were trying to strangle he tang.


    he feng: ¡°¡­¡±


    he tang quickly ended the teasing and looked around. she didn¡¯t spot white-headed kite anywhere, so she signaled he feng to keep an eye out while she made her rounds.


    finally, on the driver¡¯s seat of the front car, he tang found white-headed kite. he was leaning back with his eyes closed, apparently taking a nap. he tang knocked on the car window with her fingers, and when he opened his eyes, she made a downward gesture.


    white-headed kite raised an eyebrow in response and rolled down the car window. he saw he tang leaning on the window frame and cleared his throat before asking her, ¡°did number one tell you?¡±


    ¡°he did,¡± he tang said, visibly relieved. she reached into his pocket and took out the tactical earphones, then hesitated as she spoke, ¡°deputy leader, you don¡¯t need to be too¡­¡±


    ¡°too what?¡± white-headed kite asked.


    he tang hesitated for a moment and said, ¡°well, i just wanted to say, deputy leader, you don¡¯t need to¡­¡±


    it seemed that in this team, all the ¡°seriousness¡± was concentrated in fu yan, leaving the others to engage in friendly banter.


    white-headed kite sized up he tang, then smiled and said, ¡°i¡¯m sure this will satisfy your craving for authority, right?¡±


    he tang let out an affirmative sound but looked at him with some concern, hesitating as she began, ¡°actually, deputy team leader, you should also¡­¡±


    before she could finish her sentence, the man suddenly let out a cold, abrupt laugh. he pulled out a cigarette from somewhere, placed it in his mouth without lighting it, and mumbled, ¡°i¡¯m more than happy about it. what does it have to do with me? we should just follow orders¡±


    his tone was very impolite, and his eyebrows were raised high, his expression becoming mocking and sharp.


    ¡°bai touyuan¡± also known as white headed kite was fu yan¡¯s deputy, two years younger than him, and joined the team a year later. after working alongside fu yan for so many years, he hadn¡¯t learned any of fu yan¡¯s composure. he could be quite pleasant and easygoing on normal occasions, but in situations like this, he could be rather intimidating.


    ¡­fortunately, he didn¡¯t act this way often, he tang thought. otherwise, it would be quite frightening.


    he tang was momentarily at a loss for words, not sure what to say. she could only awkwardly laugh a couple of times and change the subject.


    ¡°all right,¡± the man then ruffled he tang¡¯s hair again and chuckled, saying, ¡°temporary deputy, let¡¯s get ready to go.¡±


    according to the operational plan they had previously established, fu yan would first go to pengcheng city to pick up fang sining. the special operations team would follow his route, striving to rendezvous with him on the road when he returned. this way, they could reunite in the shortest time possible.


    during this process, if any unexpected situations arose, such as ¡°fu yan not picking up fang sining¡± or ¡°fu yan being trapped in pengcheng city,¡± they would adjust their operational plan based on the actual circumstances.


    the journey from yan city to pengcheng city was not short, and even if they drove without rest, it would take a day and a night. moreover, the current situation outside was uncertain, and there was a question of whether they could safely reach their destination.


    ¡°we aim to meet up with the captain within seventy-two hours,¡± he tang, sitting in the front passenger seat of the second vehicle, adjusted her earpiece and said, ¡°my brother and i will lead the way initially, and the deputy team will follow. we¡¯ll switch positions after five hours.¡±


    through the earpiece, they heard several statements, and he tang nodded at her brother, he feng, who was in the first vehicle. she reached her hand out of the window and made a departure gesture.


    he tang had considered all possible contingencies before departure, even applying for an excess of ammunition. unfortunately, as the ¡°temporary deputy,¡± it seemed that she had some bad luck. she had only been in the position for less than three hours when an unexpected twist forced her to step down.


    at that moment, they had just driven out of yan city, heading towards the direction of s city. suddenly, a call from the military headquarters came in.


    they used an internal communication channel, carrying signal boxes with them at all times, ensuring dual-line communication. almost as soon as the call was connected, both vehicles heard the new orders.


    ¡°change of destination. the evacuation train from s city to yan city has overturned near yizhou.¡±


    ¡°the evacuation train overturned?!¡± he tang exclaimed. ¡± are there any survivors?¡±


    ¡°before it overturned, there was a deceleration, but the specific circumstances are unclear, and the casualties¡­ are also unknown,¡± zhao jincheng said with a heavy voice. ¡°the exact coordinates have been sent to bai touyuan. according to the frontline reports, there is a sample of patient zero¡¯s blood on that train. you must¡­¡±


    zhao jincheng¡¯s voice briefly paused for two seconds, and when he resumed speaking, it sounded somewhat shaky. ¡°medical professionals have been dispatched, and they insist on protecting the blood sample at all costs.¡±


    ¡°what about the captain?¡± he tang asked. ¡°are we supposed to protect the blood sample and bring it back¡­?¡±


    ¡°undecided for now,¡± zhao jincheng¡¯s voice clearly sounded exhausted. he sighed and continued, ¡°the external situation is too chaotic right now, and unforeseen circumstances could arise at any moment. it¡¯s pointless to ask too many questions.¡±


    ¡°understood. we have received the coordinates. adjusting mission priorities,¡± bai touyuan quickly regained his composure. he overtook he tang¡¯s vehicle, took charge effortlessly, and said, ¡°what is the status of the blood sample?¡±


    ¡°unclear,¡± zhao jincheng replied. ¡°adapt as necessary.¡±


    ¡°understood,¡± bai touyuan said, ¡°we will ensure the mission¡¯s completion.¡±

 CH 16

    liu ruosong felt that he might have had a stroke of bad luck.


    if time could rewind, he would definitely visit a temple and buy a thousand and eight water-repelling talismans before the apocalypse to protect himself thoroughly.


    before the high-speed train derailed, chaos had already erupted on board for a while.


    at the time, he was in the first-class carriage, and the seats next to him had been removed, leaving only a few scattered seats with several young soldiers escorting him. if liu ruosong didn¡¯t know that there was a blood sample in his bag, he would have thought that the scene resembled the escort of a high-value criminal suspect.


    when the commotion broke out in the rear carriage, liu ruosong didn¡¯t actually know what had caused it. based on the scattered clues he overheard during conversations, the disturbance was happening in the fifth carriage, which was quite far from where he was seated. it seemed that excessive negative emotions had led to some civilians exhibiting aggressive behavior, resulting in a dangerous situation.


    liu ruosong never expected that someone could achieve a literal ¡°explosion¡± in the physical sense.


    suddenly, the alarm on the entire train blared, and immediately after, liu ruosong felt as if the train had slammed on the brakes with tremendous force. he was thrown backward, crashing into the seatback, which left his shoulder blades sore.


    however, the emergency braking didn¡¯t ease the danger. in the blink of an eye, liu ruosong heard a deafening crash from behind, and then the whole train seemed to drop suddenly. he was uncontrollably thrown sideways, causing his world to spin, and his ears were filled with a buzzing noise.


    in the blink of an eye, liu ruosong had only managed to tightly protect the bag in his hand. he curled up to protect his head and face as best as he could, after that, he remembered nothing.


    he didn¡¯t know how long he had been unconscious, it could have been several hours or even an entire day. when he groggily opened his eyes, he found himself thrown out of a window and lying on a rocky slope not far from the tracks.


    the derailed high-speed train was emitting white smoke nearby, and liu ruosong¡¯s ears were still ringing loudly. he could faintly hear the moans of survivors, but he couldn¡¯t see anyone alive around him.


    his backpack had been scattered nearby, and liu ruosong gingerly touched it. he felt relieved when he realized that the blood samples were intact.


    fortunately, due to security measures, the seats around him had been removed, leaving enough space for him. he hadn¡¯t been trapped inside the train. despite the rough landing and various bruises, a quick self-examination revealed that he hadn¡¯t broken any limbs. considering the circumstances, he was in relatively good shape.


    he had no idea how long he had been out, but now it was pitch dark outside. his phone was nowhere to be found, and liu ruosong, clenching his teeth, took a few minutes to prop himself up with one leg, using his hands for support.


    his ear ringing had improved compared to before, but he probably had twisted his leg, as he limped and felt a sharp, stabbing pain whenever he put weight on his right foot.


    he hadn¡¯t walked for long when he came across another scattered passenger.


    this young man was wearing camouflage clothing and lay face down on the grass. in the darkness, liu ruosong hadn¡¯t noticed him and almost tripped over him.


    ¡°hey, wake up,¡± liu ruosong knelt down with difficulty, flipped the person over, and tapped his face, ¡°can you hear me?¡±


    the person should be another fortunate individual who had been far from the accident scene and had not suffered major injuries. liu ruosong called out to him for three or four minutes before he woke up.


    ¡°mr. liu?¡±


    ¡°yes,¡± liu ruosong said, ¡°what happened? why did the train suddenly derail?¡±


    ¡°there was a problem in carriage 5,¡± the young man sat up from the ground and said, ¡°there was a big fight, and it caused a serious fire.¡±


    liu ruosong¡­


    a fire? liu ruosong didn¡¯t know if his ears were playing tricks on him or if his brain had been affected by the fall, but he stared fixedly at the young man, taking a good ten minutes to finally understand what had happened behind him.


    at that time, something big had happened in carriage 5. liu ruosong didn¡¯t know what it was, whether it was an accident or intentional, but he learned from the young man that an entire bottle of diethylzinc reagent had been shattered.


    in hindsight, it was negligence. in the current situation, everyone was trying to save their lives, and there was no time to worry about train safety. security checks had long been forgotten.


    diethylzinc was highly flammable, and someone panicked and instinctively poured a whole bottle of water on it, causing it to explode instantly.


    afterward, the train emergency brakes were applied, but it was too late. the rear carriages derailed first, and during the derailment, they pulled down the front carriages, causing the entire train to overturn.


    as for this young man, he had been planning to go to the front carriage to inform the train supervisor, but halfway there, the train had derailed. he had been thrown against the glass from the aisle and, like liu ruosong, had been lucky not to be trapped inside.


    ¡°how many people are on this train?¡± liu ruosong¡¯s voice was hoarse, and he was struggling to stay on his feet. he blinked his eyes and wiped away the blood that was flowing down his face, then asked softly, ¡°what¡¯s the situation behind us?¡±


    ¡°it was packed,¡± the young man replied, lowering his head. ¡°there were even some who insisted on getting on¡­ i¡¯d say it was probably overloaded by about one-third.¡±


    that would mean there were more than eight hundred people on board, liu ruosong thought.


    the situation didn¡¯t look good.


    as soon as this thought crossed his mind, a shout erupted from the direction of the flames, as if in response to liu ruosong¡¯s inner turmoil.


    ¡°it¡¯s too late!¡±


    it was a rough male voice and it sounded like the person hadn¡¯t suffered much injury. it seemed that survivors on the other side had already begun organizing rescue efforts.


    the young man who had been sitting initially immediately got up from the ground and said, ¡°i¡­ i need to go over there and help with the rescue.¡±


    the young man cast a glance at liu ruosong. in his impression, liu ruosong seemed like someone who needed protection, a ¡°privileged¡± person sent by colonel fu himself. although he appeared friendly and caring, he also seemed pampered, likely a delicate individual.


    he was afraid that liu ruosong would say something like, ¡°you need to protect me first,¡± or ¡°it¡¯s too dark here, you can¡¯t leave me alone.¡± he had mentally prepared himself for explanations and refutations. however, to his surprise, liu ruosong wiped his face, slung his backpack over his shoulders, fastened the waist strap, and said, ¡°let¡¯s go, i¡¯ll go with you.¡±


    liu ruosong then bent down. he didn¡¯t have any simple tools for securing things, but fortunately, he was wearing a pair of high-top shoes today, which was better than nothing. he threaded the shoelaces through the ankle strap buckle, tightened the laces, and managed to secure his ankles.


    the wound on his head hadn¡¯t stopped bleeding, and a small trickle of blood had flowed down again in just a short while. liu ruosong wiped it away casually and flicked the blood to the side.


    the young man was surprised at how efficiently liu ruosong was handling everything, and he seemed momentarily at a loss, perhaps because reality didn¡¯t align with his expectations.


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong? surprised?¡± liu ruosong managed a faint smile, patted the young man¡¯s shoulder, and said, ¡°judging by your expression, your eyeballs are about to pop out.¡±


    the young man was probably around eighteen or nineteen, and he had likely recently joined the military. hearing this, he nodded almost mechanically, subconsciously holding onto liu ruosong¡¯s arm as they walked toward the direction of the fire.


    ¡°i¡¯m an outdoor photographer,¡± liu ruosong explained, still panting slightly, trying to catch his breath. ¡°climbing mountains, going down rivers, and even digging holes on glaciers. once, we lost our equipment in kekexili and almost died there. these minor injuries are nothing.¡±


    the young man was captivated by such adventurous experiences and couldn¡¯t help but admire, ¡°bro, you¡¯re amazing.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s nothing,¡± liu ruosong downplayed. then, raising an eyebrow as if to show off, he said, ¡°i used to play real-life cs with colonel fu, and i¡¯d win him by a landslide every time.¡±


    ¡ªalthough fu yan had intentionally let him win, saying it out loud like this seemed a bit too much, so liu ruosong decided not to mention it.


    nevertheless, the young man¡¯s admiration for him seemed to have skyrocketed, and he genuinely gave liu ruosong a thumbs-up, saying, ¡°no wonder you were entrusted with the blood samples. you¡¯re really something.¡±


    he sighed and continued, ¡°to be honest, i also like taking photos. but my family is not well-off, and i¡¯m not a good student, so i had no choice but to join the army.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s okay,¡± liu ruosong consoled casually. ¡°it¡¯s not that difficult. after you complete your service, you can find a training program to pursue photography as a hobby.¡±


    ¡°really?¡± the young man¡¯s eyes lit up.


    ¡°yes,¡± liu ruosong affirmed. ¡°i¡¯m not a professional photographer either.¡±


    ¡°ah, i just don¡¯t know when this disease will be over,¡± the young man sighed, as if he had just remembered his predicament. he hung his head and said, ¡°i probably won¡¯t be able to leave the army until this disease is gone, and i don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening with my family¡­¡±


    he didn¡¯t finish his sentence before there was another outbreak of shouting and yelling from the crowd up ahead, as if someone was trying to climb into the train but was being held back by others.


    so the young man swallowed his untimely lament, kept silent, and hurriedly supported liu ruosong, quickening their pace.


    with someone helping, liu ruosong¡¯s progress became much faster. after passing another slope, he finally saw the scene of the train derailment clearly.


    some people, like him, had been thrown out, but more were trapped inside the train. the train had flipped on its side, with one side crushed on the ground and the other side¡¯s windows deformed and piled up. many people were in desperate need of help, caught in a dilemma, unable to move, and were already stuck inside the train.


    the air was thick with the scent of blood, stinging the eyes. the fire at the point where the train had broken apart hadn¡¯t completely extinguished yet, and faint flames could still be seen inside.


    the young man had rushed forward to help, while liu ruosong¡¯s mobility was limited, so he lagged a few steps behind. he was currently leaning against the train, catching his breath.


    scattered on the ground were several piles of people. some were still alive, but others had died. the lower halves of their bodies were flattened like pancakes, and their mangled flesh made it impossible to discern their shapes.


    the smell of blood emanated from them, so pungent that it stung the eyes.


    the living and the dead were piled together. liu ruosong took just one glance and averted his gaze.

 CH 17

    there weren¡¯t many armed forces aboard on this train.


    liu ruosong didn¡¯t know how the subsequent rescue and evacuation had been arranged, but from what he saw at the moment, the effective force available on this train was clearly far below his expectations.


    the scattered cries from inside the carriage grew fainter, and with insufficient light at night and inadequate rescue equipment at hand, they had to rely on manual labor. liu ruosong probably had a mild concussion from the fall; if he took a few more steps, he would likely faint. so, he stood a little farther away and helped transport the wounded.


    these people were all civilians who had escaped from s city. they had luckily survived the initial peak of infection, and miraculously, none of them had been injured or mutated. they had taken great risks to board the evacuation train out of the dead city, but they hadn¡¯t expected this disaster.


    fate was unpredictable, liu ruosong thought to himself.


    he helped for a while, but as he was also injured, he couldn¡¯t contribute much. in the end, he could only sit on a large rock, gasping for breath, and stare at the distant flames.


    actually, liu ruosong had a vague understanding in his mind. they had no vehicle, no equipment, and were stranded in this remote area. with so many wounded and no follow-up rescue in sight, it would be a pipe dream to think they could all be evacuated.


    follow-up rescue¡­ his thoughts suddenly paused at this term, followed by a bitter smile.


    he had no idea what the situation was like outside. forget about rescue; it would be good if everyone could save themselves.


    the glance he took through the glass window before leaving s city had caused quite a mental shock to liu ruosong. he found it hard to imagine what the city had become by now. whether the so-called ¡°evacuation¡± was an effective containment measure or just self-deception.


    while liu ruosong was lost in thought, the chaotic sounds around him mixed together. no one heard the extremely faint sound of steel breaking hidden in the background noise.


    the twisted metal couldn¡¯t bear the weight, and thin cracks began to appear. the massive train began to slide slowly downhill, sparks flying at the joints, eventually falling into a deeper crack in the pipeline.


    liu ruosong was contemplating how to get this thing into yan city when he suddenly felt dizzy, his ears ringing loudly. his reactions were slower than usual, and it took him a while to hear someone calling his name. by the time he realized what was happening, a powerful force had thrown him out, and he tumbled several times before being pinned down on the soft grass.


    for what felt like a long time, he couldn¡¯t hear anything.


    the buzzing ear ringing seemed to penetrate his brain, blocking his ears like a barrier. he was in a daze, completely cut off from the outside world, as if he were the only person left on earth.


    liu ruosong¡¯s vision alternated between black and blurry, and it took him a while to react ¨C the train had exploded a second time.


    it might have been due to contraband on the train or a train malfunction, but liu ruosong didn¡¯t have time to think about it right now.


    the soft body that had landed on top of him seemed unusually heavy. he tentatively pushed it away, but there was no response from the person.


    with a bit of effort, he turned the person over, shaking his head in frustration. he wanted to check on the person¡¯s condition, but when he glanced at the person, he noticed that their lower body was nothing but a blur of flesh and bones.


    the person¡¯s back was covered in extensive burns, and their spine had broken into several pieces from the impact of the fall. there was no sign of life left in them.


    in the midst of the stars in his vision, liu ruosong struggled to identify the person¡¯s face and was surprised to find that it was someone he had encountered before ¨C the young man he had found earlier.


    perhaps it was because he had seen too much death in just one day, but liu ruosong found himself strangely numb. his mind was blank, devoid of grief or reflection, leaving only a vacuum of shock.


    liu ruosong didn¡¯t know if the young man had thrown themselves at him or if it was a chance encounter. but it didn¡¯t matter. he didn¡¯t think too much, just sat silently for two or three seconds in the same spot, then reached out and closed the young man¡¯s eyes.


    thank you, liu ruosong thought. although these two words sounded casual and insincere, they were the most he could offer right now.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    because he had previously smelled the scent of the zombies.


    right now, his sense of smell was the only fully functional sense he had left, and fortunately, the smell of zombies was something he would never forget after encountering it once.


    unlike the smell of blood, the infected zombies would rot rapidly, deteriorating from the inside out, turning into hollow shells. their organs would decay into a bloody mess inside their bodies, and the stench would emanate from them, like a corpse that had been rotting in a trash can for days under the scorching sun.


    the stench suddenly wafted over with the wind and was nauseating.


    liu ruosong could smell it, and there seemed to be quite a few of them ¨C he just didn¡¯t know if they were attracted by the smell of blood or by the fire.


    in any case, staying in this place was no longer an option. liu ruosong looked up and realized that the hill he had rolled down was quite high. with his current unsteady state, there was no way he could climb back up.


    so, he gritted his teeth, forced himself to forget the option of ¡°going back to check the situation,¡± and turned in a random direction. he started walking, one step at a time, in the darkness.


    he had no flashlight or source of light on him, and it was a cloudy night. there was no moonlight to be seen. liu ruosong had to move forward in the darkness.


    his experience of evading wild animals in the wilderness had made him cautious. he followed the moisture in the air and gradually found a drainage ditch. he was lucky; this area was a farmland, and the early maize had grown over a meter tall, forming a dense thicket around the ditch.


    liu ruosong crouched down between two rows of maize and sat down awkwardly.


    he didn¡¯t dare to go too deep fearing that he might encounter unexpected situations and not be able to escape. so, he only set up a shallow shelter and breathed a sigh of relief for the time being.


    during the journey to this spot, he had encountered two lone zombies. with obstructed visibility in the darkness, liu ruosong was afraid that a missed shot might attract more of them, so he held his breath and waited for them to approach closer before reluctantly pulling the trigger and shooting them both.


    fortunately, the makeshift training with fu yan had proven useful. liu ruosong didn¡¯t waste any bullets, but the recoil caused his entire shoulder to ache, throbbing with pain.


    liu ruosong thought with a wry smile ¨C he hadn¡¯t expected to end up in such a sorry state just one day after parting ways with fu yan. he had no idea how things were going on fu yan¡¯s side or whether he had encountered any unexpected situations during his journey.


    he leaned against a corn stalk, counted the remaining bullets, and reached into his bag to touch the two blood samples, finding them still intact. he breathed a sigh of relief.


    ¡°pretty resilient,¡± liu ruosong thought. ¡°it¡¯s a good thing i wrapped them in several layers of cloth.¡±


    after checking, he began to worry again. after a night of overturning and explosions, almost being pushed into a drainage ditch by two zombies, and not resting for a moment, he suddenly remembered the ¡°important task¡± he still carried.


    what should i do? liu ruosong briefly fell into doubt for the first time: what if i die here?


    but immediately, he dismissed this thought and thought humorously, ¡°no, that won¡¯t do. i promised fu yan that i would safely deliver myself and the blood sample to yan city.¡±


    so, he briefly made a ¡°three-sided¡± agreement with himself, playing the roles of both the ¡°second party¡± and the ¡°valuable person.¡± he mustered up a bit of strength from deep within himself.


    wait a little longer, liu ruosong thought. after a night of turmoil, it was probably close to dawn. he decided to take a rest here for a while, and when it got light, he would try to find a main road. finding a vehicle would be even better.


    he thought drowsily, his mind becoming increasingly unclear. his head gradually leaned against the cornstalk, and he fell asleep almost without struggling.


    he didn¡¯t know how much time had passed, but a faint line of white light appeared on the horizon, and a gunshot abruptly pierced the tranquil morning light. liu ruosong jolted awake with his whole body, sitting up reflexively.


    it was either almost dawn or not yet dawn. the surroundings were still shrouded in a gray haze, and liu ruosong was both shocked and suspicious. he couldn¡¯t tell if the gunshot was real or if he was dreaming.


    but soon, more gunshots rang out in the vicinity, this time they were rapid and dense. liu ruosong could tell that these were numbered, organized forces.


    he hesitated briefly and then adopted a risky approach.


    liu ruosong gritted his teeth, loaded his gun, and fired a shot into the air as a warning signal.


    the nearby gunfire stopped briefly, but the zombies wandering in the vicinity had evidently also heard the commotion and were slowly turning around, taking slow steps towards him.


    after firing the shot, liu ruosong quickly retreated, circling around in the drainage ditch twice and reaching the other side of the forest. then, he fired another shot.


    the direction he moved in was consistent with the direction where he had heard the gunfire earlier. as he had estimated, two minutes later, a powerful searchlight beam swept through the cornfield, almost forcefully scanning the area.


    liu ruosong emerged from the farmland, exposed under the bright light.


    ironically, after an eventful night, he found himself strangely comforted by the sight of a strong flashlight.


    the searchlight quickly moved away, and from the direction of the slope, several young men and women in unfamiliar uniforms, well-equipped and moving in an orderly manner, rushed out onto the intersection of the small road within a few minutes.


    liu ruosong subconsciously reached for fu yan¡¯s identification on his body to prove his identity. however, the group of people suddenly stopped before they could approach him, exchanged strange glances within a very short time, and appeared to have exchanged some kind of unspoken message.


    among the group, a very young-looking boy couldn¡¯t stop himself and slid over to liu ruosong. he stared at him for two seconds, as if his brain had stalled, and hesitated as he called out, ¡°sister-in-law?¡±


    liu ruosong: ¡°¡­?¡±

 CH 18

    liu ruosong stared calmly at the others, looking unfazed and dependable.


    he tang quickly caught up and kicked the young man¡¯s calf. she didn¡¯t seem to use much force, but her kick made the guy stagger and almost lose his balance.


    ¡°don¡¯t speak recklessly,¡± he tang scolded, her face stern. she continued, ¡°calling him ¡®sister-in-law¡¯ right away, aren¡¯t you afraid of scaring people?¡±


    liu ruosong thought that there was a sensible person among them. he was about to nod in agreement, but before his chin could come down, he saw he tang turn to him with a smile. then, he awkwardly wiped his palms on his clothes.


    ¡°right, brother liu,¡± he tang said.


    liu ruosong: ¡°¡­¡±


    who could tell him where these ¡°heavenly soldiers¡± came from, and how had he become so famous that everyone knew him.


    liu ruosong stared blankly at the person in front of him. he was still puzzled when he tang and the young man looked at each other, pursed their lips tightly, as if they wanted to laugh but didn¡¯t dare to. it looked like they were about to burst.


    liu ruosong was full of question marks. before he could ask for more details, he heard a slightly mocking male voice from behind, ¡°because the captain always carries your two-inch passport photo with him ¨C it¡¯s in the inner pocket of his training uniform, and he checks it regularly.¡±


    as soon as the other person finished speaking, both he tang and the young man burst into laughter as if they had lost all their air.


    liu ruosong: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°he thought he was hiding it well.¡± two similarly sized men walked over side by side behind him. he feng took over the conversation with a teasing tone and continued, ¡°seriously, every time he goes to work, he pats his chest so many times. who wouldn¡¯t be curious?¡±


    liu ruosong: ¡°¡­¡±


    although the timing was wrong, the place was wrong, and it was not the right occasion for jokes, liu ruosong couldn¡¯t help but feel like he was losing his mind.


    unfortunately, these team members didn¡¯t know how to ¡°protect¡± their captain¡¯s image, and they took the opportunity to reveal his secrets one after another.


    ¡°there¡¯s a stack of your outdoor magazines in the captain¡¯s dormitory.¡± he tang exaggeratedly gestured with her hand, saying, ¡°it¡¯s piled up this high, all hidden in his closet.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    on a remote highway more than a thousand kilometers from yizhou, fu yan sneezed out of nowhere.


    poor colonel fu had no idea that his comrades had exposed his secrets, and he furrowed his brows, confusedly touching the collar of his jacket ¨C his clothes had dried three hours ago, and the weather was hot, so he shouldn¡¯t be catching a cold.


    fu yan rubbed his nose in puzzlement, then surveyed his surroundings, switching on the car¡¯s headlights and gradually slowing down. he glided the vehicle down the side road next to the highway and parked it under a dirt slope at a fork in the road.


    he turned off the engine and waited inside the car cautiously for over ten minutes. seeing nothing unusual nearby, he finally raised his collar, opened the door, and got out of the car.


    two hundred meters away, there was a large gas station, and behind it, the adjacent supermarket was still lit. the shelves inside the supermarket had been overturned, indicating that someone had been there before.


    fu yan had his only gun handed over to liu ruosong, and now he only had a folding knife he found in the car.


    he carefully approached, flicking open the knife¡¯s blade and gripping it in his hand. instead of pushing open the front door, he lifted the latch of the window at the back of the supermarket and jumped inside.


    most of the bottled water on the supermarket shelves had already been looted. fu yan bypassed the overturned shelves and went to the front. in the end, he found an untouched bottle of water hidden under the counter.


    he was about to bend down when he saw something flash out of the corner of his eye¡ª


    fu yan instinctively crouched down and avoided a zombie that had crashed into the cash register with a loud noise, denting the metal surface.


    ¡ªthis thing must have been in a dormant state before, hiding in the gap behind the supermarket shelves, so fu yan didn¡¯t see it.


    unfortunately, just when trouble was added to trouble, fu yan noticed another shadow nearby that had been alerted by the noise and was heading straight for him.


    these two zombies had clearly mutated for a while. the one in the work uniform was tattered, and there were marks of a struggle on its body. there was a large wound on its arm, and the edges of the wound had turned white, with thick blood dripping down.


    fu yan twisted his brows, propped up the zombie¡¯s arm with one hand, and evaded its second pounce with ease. the zombie had already extended its neck in an attempt to bite his shoulder but couldn¡¯t make it in time. its teeth clamped down heavily, making a sour impact sound.


    fu yan almost hesitated for a moment but used one hand to forcefully twist the zombie¡¯s arm down, slid behind it, and used his knee to press against its lower back, pinning it to the ground.


    next, he drove the folding knife deep into the vulnerable junction of the zombie¡¯s neck and spine. fu yan inserted the blade and violently stirred it around, as if he were stirring something, until the creature went limp as if it had lost power.


    ten minutes later, fu yan cleaned up the supermarket, closed both the front and back doors, and turned off the bright lights.


    after doing all this, he picked up the unopened bottle of water from the ground, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.


    water droplets flowed down from his lips, dripping into his collar. fu yan lowered his eyes, expressionless, and poured a handful of water onto the folding knife, washing away the traces of blood on it.


    ¡ªin the early days of the apocalypse, the virus was still in its highly active period, and he had to be careful.


    in the first three months of the apocalypse, the virus transmission and mutation effects were at their peak, and blood exchange could easily lead to infection, with a high mutation rate. however, after three months, the virus¡¯s fluctuations stabilized, and the differences in mutation time gradually shortened.


    after finishing half a bottle of water, fu yan¡¯s cell phone suddenly vibrated. he took it out and saw an unfamiliar number.


    ¡°hello,¡± fu yan said.


    ¡°i did as you instructed, and i¡¯m now hiding in a very safe place in pengcheng,¡± a melodious male voice on the other end said. he sounded young, perhaps in his mid-twenties. ¡°there¡¯s no one else around, and the building is absolutely stable.¡±


    ¡°good,¡± fu yan said as he put away the remaining half of the water. he continued, ¡°i will get there as soon as possible.¡±


    there was a silence on the other end of the phone for a moment before the caller asked, ¡°but may i ask, do you have any credentials to prove your identity or your position?¡±


    ¡°no, i¡¯ve already stated my military status, and i have no additional identity besides that,¡± fu yan said. ¡°if you have doubts about this position, i can only assume that you have preconceived hostile intentions.¡±


    this time, the silence on the phone lasted even longer.


    ¡°i don¡¯t distrust the military,¡± after a long while, fang sining finally said, ¡°but i have a request¡­ i have someone i trust, ru8315. i¡¯d like to speak with him.¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t worry, he has also received the rescue and reception task,¡± fu yan said. ¡°if everything goes as planned, you will meet my deputy captain within three days.¡±


    the phone remained silent again, and this time, fu yan didn¡¯t have the patience to wait. he simply hung up.


    when fu yan left the gas station with a bucket of gasoline, the sky was gradually getting brighter.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    the sun emerged from the night, and several hundred kilometers away in a makeshift camp, a bonfire had just been lit.


    ¡°¡­he¡¯s my brother, he feng.¡±


    in the temporary camp next to the military jeep, liu ruosong had already bandaged his wound and was now wearing fu yan¡¯s training uniform. he was holding a cup of hot water and listening to he tang introduce the team members.


    ¡°this one, long-eared harrier, call him xiao ming,¡± he tang said. ¡°as for that one¡ª¡±


    she pointed to the man who had jumped down from the front passenger seat and said with a smile, ¡°that¡¯s our deputy captain, white-headed kite.¡±


    liu ruosong, holding the cup, raised his head, and the tall and long-legged man had already crossed over the military backpacks and sat down next to him.


    the man was well-built and had sharp features, and although he always had a smile on his face, he had a hint of untamed charm.


    ¡°hello,¡± white-headed kite sat down next to liu ruosong without hesitation. he reached into his backpack and handed him a box of military rations. then, he extended his hand with a friendly smile, ¡°white-headed kite, bai touyuan or shao qiu if you prefer.¡±


    liu ruosong¡¯s hand, when he shook it, suddenly tightened, and he was instantly stunned.

 CH 19

    shao xuefan, seventy-seven years old, a renowned scholar in the field of bioengineering, had been living abroad for years, leading a stable and uneventful life.


    he was devoted to his research and rarely discussed personal matters in public. however, a few years ago, during a media interview, he had accidentally revealed that he had struggled to have children and only became a father in middle age.


    ¡°¡­because he was born in late autumn, so i named him shao qiu,¡± shao qiu said.


    as expected, thought liu ruosong.


    ¡°from a biological perspective, he is indeed my father,¡± shao qiu said with a faint tone as he casually threw a small twig into the fire. ¡°but it ends there.¡±


    liu ruosong held the lukewarm cup, unsure of what to say.


    shao xuefan had mentioned shao qiu¡¯s name before his death, and at that moment, fu yan had paused, which had puzzled liu ruosong. however, with so many things happening afterward, he had forgotten to inquire further.


    now, in hindsight, fu yan probably had guessed something.


    ¡°well¡­¡± liu ruosong licked his lips, dryly saying, ¡°my condolences.¡±


    ¡°thank you,¡± shao qiu raised an eyebrow and said sharply, his tone cold and detached. liu ruosong could tell that this anger was not directed at him, so he lowered his head and took a sip of hot water, thinking about the mess shao xuefan had created by abandoning his wife and son, resulting in his son¡¯s strong aversion to acknowledging him as his father.


    but out of politeness and for the sake of maintaining appearances, liu ruosong refrained from asking any questions. shao qiu¡¯s teammates, on the other hand, didn¡¯t seem to care much.


    ¡°before, i never heard you mention¡­¡± he feng begun saying, but shao qiu interrupted.


    ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter,¡± shao qiu said, patting off some dust from his hands. ¡°he pursued his research with or without me. he doesn¡¯t see me as a son, and i don¡¯t see him as a father.¡±


    he didn¡¯t seem inclined to elaborate further, so he glanced around, changing the subject. ¡°where¡¯s little rabbit?¡±


    liu ruosong wasn¡¯t sure about the exact conflict between shao xuefan and shao qiu, but judging solely from the fact that even fu yan didn¡¯t know about their father-son relationship, it was clear that shao qiu¡¯s feelings towards shao xuefan were quite negative.


    although shao xuefan had expressed some guilt before his death, liu ruosong, standing in the shoes of a stranger, found it difficult to utter the words from the ¡°last words.¡± hurt couldn¡¯t be erased so easily, and guilt alone couldn¡¯t redeem a person who had spent years tarnishing his reputation.


    so liu ruosong hesitated for a moment, choosing to hold back those words and tell shao qiu later when the timing was right.


    ¡°little rabbit went to search for the signal source in the vicinity,¡± he tang said, glancing at her watch. ¡°he¡¯ll be back for assembly in twenty minutes.¡±


    liu ruosong, slowly sipping his water, felt that their special forces team¡¯s code names were too abstract and not at all related to the owners. earlier, he tang had instructed him to return to the temporary camp to find ¡°little rabbit¡± to dress his wound. when he arrived, there was only yao tu and another fair-skinned young boy at the temporary camp. liu ruosong had almost instinctively approached the latter. it wasn¡¯t until yao tu, with a grim face, patted him on the shoulder from behind that he realized ¡°little rabbit¡± was the burly man, and the young boy was just a local guide they had borrowed temporarily.


    ¡°¡­your criteria for code names are too abstract,¡± liu ruosong commented with a deadpan expression.


    ¡°it¡¯s fate,¡± he feng floated past him, picking up a one-meter-square briefcase from the open car door behind him. he added with glee, ¡°because code names are decided by drawing lots, and guess who drew the hidden jackpot.¡±


    however, ¡°little rabbit¡± had a personality that was completely opposite to his physique. he was big and, although he appeared to be a front line soldier, he magically took on logistical duties. he argued with others and had a sharp tongue but efficiently repositioned liu ruosong¡¯s ankle. the moment he reconnected it, liu ruosong didn¡¯t even have time to feel the pain.


    from this, liu ruosong concluded that fu yan¡¯s team consisted of extraordinary individuals.


    summer nights were short and quickly turned to day. after finishing his cup of water, it was already bright outside, yet liu ruosong still felt an inexplicable chill. he wondered if it was a side effect of hitting his head. he reached up to touch his forehead but couldn¡¯t feel whether he had a fever through the thick bandage.


    ¡°before fu yan and i separated, he mentioned something about a mission,¡± liu ruosong said. ¡°aren¡¯t you supposed to go to pengcheng to meet him?¡±


    when he brought up business, everyone suddenly became more serious. they exchanged glances, and in the end, shao qiu stepped forward to set an example.


    ¡°that was the original plan,¡± shao qiu said. ¡°but we received news of the train derailment in the middle of our journey, so we came here temporarily.¡±


    if shao qiu didn¡¯t mention the train, liu ruosong would have almost forcibly forgotten about it. now, when it was suddenly brought up, images of the ¡°half-person¡± left in the explosion involuntarily resurfaced in his mind.


    liu ruosong licked his lips and asked, ¡°local military units are also involved in the rescue, right?¡±


    ¡°they have dispatched troops to the scene as well,¡± he tang replied. ¡°they will make every effort.¡±


    he tang didn¡¯t provide a clear answer, but liu ruosong still breathed a sigh of relief.


    ¡°as for us, our main purpose is to protect the blood samples,¡± he tang said gently, looking at him. ¡°we initially located the accident scene according to the coordinates, but we didn¡¯t find any blood samples or fragmented specimens on site. fortunately, we later encountered a wounded survivor among the zombies, who happened to be one of the security personnel who had escorted you onto the train. he provided us with your information, and that¡¯s when we learned that you were the one transporting the blood samples.¡±


    ¡°so you came here specifically to find me?¡± liu ruosong asked.


    ¡°you could say that,¡± he tang said. ¡°in addition to the blood samples, we¡¯re also here to protect the family members of our team leader.¡±


    liu ruosong chuckled at her playful remark, accepting her good-natured teasing.


    ¡°the blood samples are here,¡± liu ruosong said, reaching into his worn-out backpack, whose zipper was stuck halfway. he forcefully pulled the zipper open and reached inside, retrieving two blood sample bottles.


    these two bottles were wrapped in thick fabric, and apart from being slightly compressed, they showed no signs of damage. liu ruosong examined them and handed them over to shao qiu.


    liu ruosong said. ¡°what¡¯s your plan now?¡±


    shao qiu observed the two bottles in the sunlight, besides the eerie word ¡°specimen,¡± he couldn¡¯t discern anything else. he shook his head and put the items back into the cloth bag, just as they were.


    however, this time he didn¡¯t return the items to liu ruosong. instead, he instructed he feng to retrieve a small refrigerated box from the car and placed the two samples inside.


    ¡°the orders from above are for us to split our team to escort both you and the blood samples back to yan city,¡± shao qiu said. ¡°the rest will continue following the original route to support the captain.¡±


    liu ruosong felt a slight stir in his heart and said, ¡°is it necessary to escort me or the blood samples?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s actually to escort the blood samples,¡± he tang scratched her face and said, ¡°but don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll also ensure your safety. it¡¯s a quick drive back to yan city from here, at most nine¡ª¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s fine,¡± liu ruosong interrupted, pushing the refrigerated box out. he spoke quickly, saying, ¡°i request to go to pengcheng with you.¡±


    ¡°i won¡¯t slow you down,¡± liu ruosong said. ¡°my skills may not be as good as yours, but i have a lot of outdoor survival experience. i can handle self-defense without a problem. my static shooting score is at least 9.3, and dynamic shooting is 8.5¡­ most importantly, i don¡¯t trust fu yan too much.¡±


    he openly expressed his personal desires, and the others stared at him, somewhat surprised. they couldn¡¯t believe that their captain, who was known for his stoic personality, had found such an amiable companion.


    ¡°but that¡¯s not possible,¡± he tang said regretfully. ¡°i understand your feelings, but you¡¯re an ordinary civilian. we can¡¯t take you to a dangerous area for a mission, and the captain wouldn¡¯t agree either.¡±


    ¡°you should wait for him in yan city,¡± he feng added, trying to comfort him. ¡°the captain will be back soon.¡±


    liu ruosong¡¯s heart stirred, and he was about to argue when the mobile phone placed on the car¡¯s rear seat suddenly rang. shao qiu gestured for calm and then took a long stride, stepping over to answer the phone in front of everyone, calling for the captain.


    liu ruosong instinctively looked at him, and the telephone wire in shao qiu¡¯s hand was stiff. he lowered his head slightly and listened attentively to the conversation on the other end.


    not knowing what fu yan was saying, most of the time, shao qiu just listened, occasionally uttering affirmations like ¡°yes¡± and ¡°i see.¡±


    after about two to three minutes, shao qiu turned around with a smile, teasingly asking, ¡°liu ge, did you put a spell on the captain or something?¡±


    liu ruosong was puzzled, not understanding the source of his words. shao qiu didn¡¯t explain further, just smiling, remarking, ¡°i get it; it¡¯s the unspoken understanding of an old married couple.¡±


    with that, he handed the phone over to liu ruosong.


    as soon as liu ruosong placed the receiver against his ear, before he could say anything, he heard fu yan urgently ask, ¡°are you okay?¡±


    through the mobile signal box, fu yan¡¯s voice sounded slightly distorted, and liu ruosong couldn¡¯t help but smile before responding, ¡°how did you know it was me?¡±


    ¡°i recognized your breathing,¡± fu yan replied matter-of-factly. then, he quickly followed up, ¡°the evacuation train overturned. are you injured?¡±


    ¡°i have a minor ankle twist,¡± liu ruosong replied nonchalantly. ¡°nothing else, though.¡±


    liu ruosong heard a sigh of relief on the other end.


    ¡°what about you?¡± liu ruosong asked.


    ¡°i¡¯m fine,¡± fu yan replied promptly. ¡°but there¡¯s something that may require your help¡­ i apologize for the inconvenience.¡±


    liu ruosong was slightly taken aback and asked, ¡°what is it?¡±


    ¡°just now, fang sining called and reported new information,¡± fu yan¡¯s voice suddenly paused for a couple of seconds, then continued, ¡°shao xuefan indeed had something in his possession. it¡¯s said to be a highly classified core research document, extremely confidential. fang sining hasn¡¯t seen it himself; he¡¯s just been entrusted with the key to safeguard it.¡±


    ¡°what kind of research?¡± liu ruosong inquired.


    ¡°i don¡¯t know,¡± fu yan replied. ¡°it¡¯s a research project shao xuefan was involved in during his time abroad. i¡¯m not sure if he brought it back without proper authorization.¡±


    liu ruosong furrowed his brows.


    ¡°this shouldn¡¯t have been your responsibility,¡± fu yan¡¯s voice remained calm, but liu ruosong could sense a subtle tone of apology. ¡°but i couldn¡¯t find anyone else reliable on such short notice, so i had no choice but to ask you¡­ i plan to retrieve the research document after meeting fang sining. if your injuries aren¡¯t severe, could you join shao qiu and the others to meet up with me?¡±


    ¡°i need someone trustworthy to examine this document,¡± fu yan said.¡±

 CH 20

    ¡°alright.¡± liu ruosong on the other end of the phone smiled and whispered, ¡°so¡­ see you later?¡±


    ¡°see you later,¡± fu yan replied.


    after the phone on the other end became completely silent, fu yan finally hung up. the last 2% of battery life on his phone had been used up during this call. the screen briefly flickered before going completely dark, temporarily turning into a ¡°brick.¡±


    fu yan put down his phone and took a deep breath before shifting his gaze back to his surroundings.


    he was currently in a small building that was scheduled for demolition. he leaned against a secluded corner on the second floor, far from the doors and windows and his tightly rolled-up sleeve was stained with blood.


    somewhere had ruptured, fu yan thought.


    throughout the entire phone call, he hadn¡¯t moved his injured arm.


    when shao qiu and the others called him to synchronize the mission situation, he was on the national highway. this particular stretch of the national highway was the main route from s province to the south, and it was congested with private cars fleeing the city overnight. some of these private cars had people that had mutated along the way, while others met accidents. the road conditions were extremely complex, and zombies occasionally roamed in the corners.


    there were too many cars blocking the road, obstructing his line of sight. combined with shao qiu reporting the mission status, including liu ruosong¡¯s situation, fu yan was momentarily distracted and didn¡¯t have time to evade a zombie charging toward him. they collided forcefully.


    the zombie was sent flying in all directions by the impact, and unfortunately, the car fu yan had picked up on the road didn¡¯t seem to have an airbag for some reason, and fu yan himself was also heavily injured.


    moreover, there were quite a few zombies in the vicinity, and before he could retreat, the rear of his car was pounced on by two more zombies.


    these creatures had immense strength after their mutations. the back of fu yan¡¯s car skidded at a significant angle. without much hesitation, he grabbed something nearby and clung to the window frame, flipping himself out through the window.


    he had suffered injuries from his previous crash, and although he had recovered somewhat over time, there were still some lingering problems. his left arm lost strength after the violent impact, and it was still numb now.


    coupled with the fact that the front of the car was completely wrecked, fu yan decided to abandon the vehicle altogether. instead, he found an unfinished house nearby to take temporary shelter in, where he could rest and wait for updates from the front.


    fortunately, fu yan had set off earlier than liu ruosong and shao qiu. he had been on the road for almost a day and night and was now very close to peng city. if he could find a second vehicle smoothly, he would arrive in another three or four hours.


    right now, fu yan had planned to stop temporarily and assess the situation before entering the city. although there had been a slight mishap, he still had overall control of the situation.


    he leaned against the wall for a while, then stood up again, walked up and down the building, checked the door and windows, and made sure of the escape route on the second floor. finally, he returned to the corner where he had been sitting earlier and took off his jacket.


    fu yan examined his arm and found no major injuries. there were no fractures or dislocations, just some strain from the abrupt movement. it would likely regain sensation within the next two hours.


    not being physically hindered by the journey was a relief to fu yan. he spread his jacket on the ground, carefully inspected the fabric, and then tore off the inner lining of the entire jacket to prevent contaminated blood from seeping in when he encountered zombies later.


    the material of this jacket was somewhat similar to a mountaineering windbreaker, with thick fabric and several layers of lining. the innermost and outermost layers were waterproof. fu yan rolled it up and tied it around the several wounds on his left arm that had split open.


    the last half-bottle of water in fu yan¡¯s pocket had served its purpose during this process, leaving only an empty and fragile bottle.


    fu yan screwed the cap back on, stood it up beside him, and leaned against the wall, contemplating his next move.


    it seemed that the mention of ¡°shao qiu¡± had given fang sining some trust in him. half an hour ago, fang sinning had called to inform him about the core documents.


    ¡°if you claim that my teacher was murdered, then there¡¯s only one thing i can think of.¡± at that time, fang sining had said on the phone, ¡°that was the only secret in my teacher¡¯s hands.¡±


    ¡°only one?¡± fu yan asked. ¡°are you sure?¡±


    ¡°i am.¡± fang sining replied, ¡°perhaps you don¡¯t know, but there¡¯s a certain process for how research operates. no matter how capable my teacher was, when conducting scientific research, he couldn¡¯t handle all the work alone. there had to be a core research team.¡±


    ¡°i was a member of my teacher¡¯s core research team.¡± fang sining continued, ¡°i¡¯ve been involved in all of my teacher¡¯s research projects, and there was nothing particularly unique about them. i can tell you plainly that my teacher had been researching a data chain and had conducted some bio-chemical reactions for it. these research projects were straightforward and formed the basis for a complex regenerative drug. there was nothing special about them. many people in the field are working on similar things, and it shouldn¡¯t have attracted any danger.¡±


    fu yan didn¡¯t inquire further about what exactly shao xuefan was researching. since these were technical questions, and fu yan¡¯s understanding of them was limited, it would be more productive to let fang sining ponder the doubts himself.


    ¡°so, if we must say my teacher had a secret, i can only think of that core document,¡± fang sining said. ¡°in biological research, a project could take anywhere from a few years to a lifetime. but my teacher¡¯s document was strange. from his attitude, it seemed like an unfinished project. however, for some reason, he didn¡¯t continue with it and instead sealed the document, never to be used again.¡±


    ¡°did he succeed in his research?¡± fu yan asked. ¡°i mean, based on what you know.¡±


    ¡°¡­no,¡± fang sining sighed and said, ¡°it¡¯s difficult to define success or failure. we achieved some good results, and the progress of small projects went very smoothly, but for some reason, my teacher always felt that the experiments were not progressing. the specific research direction was controlled by my teacher himself, and we didn¡¯t know the exact goal. so, according to his attitude, we can consider it a non-success.¡±


    ¡°understood,¡± fu yan said. ¡°please continue.¡±


    ¡°my teacher¡¯s secret document is stored on one of his private hard drives,¡± fang sining said. ¡°that document is not connected to the internet and has been encrypted separately. i have a backup of the encryption key, but the document is not with me¡ªi was merely entrusted by my teacher to keep such things safe.¡±


    fang sining paused for a moment and continued, ¡°i think my teacher gave me the key only as a safeguard, not because he actually wanted me to see the contents.¡±


    so shao xuefan had likely foreseen that he might face unforeseen circumstances one day, fu yan thought, and therefore left this last clue to his closest student.


    ¡°based on what you¡¯ve said, if we find that document, can you fully decode the information inside?¡± fu yan asked.


    ¡°yes,¡± fang sining replied. ¡°i was my teacher¡¯s closest student, and my knowledge in the field is consistent with his.¡±


    ¡°very well,¡± fu yan said. ¡°five hours from now, i will be at the peng city international conference center. during this time, do not wander around.¡±


    four hours remained until the agreed-upon time for fu yan and fang sining to meet. fu yan¡¯s phone had run out of battery, so he had to rely on his strict internal biological clock to estimate the time.


    during his previous call with shao qiu, he had also asked about the current situation outside. the yan command center had more information than they did, and fu yan had chosen the safest way to travel, but it was also the slowest. after a day and night had passed, the situation outside had changed dramatically.


    by the time he contacted shao qiu, various parts of the country had already seen the emergence of corresponding mutants.


    with limited official manpower, even in a place like s city, they couldn¡¯t control it. the mutation rate was skyrocketing, and people were each trying to save themselves, causing chaos throughout the city.


    based on the lessons learned from s city, it seemed that peng city wouldn¡¯t fare much better.


    fu yan didn¡¯t believe that he could rely on a folding knife to make it out of a densely packed crowd of zombies unharmed. however, luckily, the peng city conference center was located near the outer ring road, so he could avoid the overly crowded city center and take a detour.


    in just a few minutes, fu yan mentally drew a map and quickly planned his route into the city.


    fu yan roughly designed several plans in his mind and then took a short ten-minute break before heading downstairs.


    fortunately, it was still the early days of the apocalypse, and there were usable vehicles everywhere on the streets. despite his injured arm, fu yan easily found a backup vehicle within half an hour.


    although the backup vehicle¡¯s fuel level was critically low, it was better than nothing.


    fang sining was a researcher, and he had no self-defense abilities in the apocalypse. earlier, fu yan had instructed him to stay in a sealed space and estimate the time. it was likely that he had been without water and food for a long time.


    before the apocalypse, fang sining had been sent to represent shao xuefan at an academic conference. at that time, the conference center, including the participants, staff, and their respective student assistants, had housed at least four to five hundred people.


    fu yan circled around the city on a coastal highway and parked in front of the international conference center when he saw it. he noticed that the building¡¯s doors and windows were tightly shut, and it was pitch-black inside, with no signs of human presence.


    to be honest, if all the mission environments were ranked by severity, a building with tightly locked doors and windows like this one would be the top choice for the apocalypse rescue team to avoid entering.


    because inside, it was either mostly ordinary civilians who had hidden there from the beginning, or a bunch of nowhere-to-go zombies.


    based on fu yan¡¯s personal experience, the latter situation accounted for more than ninety percent of the cases.


    the international conference center was a complex building with a total of twelve floors. floors one to six were office spaces, and above six were hotel rooms.


    when fang sining had called earlier, he had mentioned his hiding place¡ªhe was in a public suite on the eighth floor, room 8032, at the end of the corridor to the right when you turned right from the elevator.


    closed-type large buildings with dense populations and high floors.


    fu yan¡¯s eyes darkened, and he took steps towards the entrance.

 CH 21

    occasionally, heavy footsteps echoed in the corridor. fang sining leaned against the wall, nervously staring at the room¡¯s door, which was blocked by a sofa, his heart pounding.


    he dared not peek outside, and he couldn¡¯t be sure what those figures roaming the halls actually were.


    when fu yan had contacted him earlier, the situation in peng city had not yet worsened. fang sining had initially been skeptical of fu yan¡¯s words, until he witnessed a delivery guy in the lobby suddenly go berserk and attack the front desk receptionist. it was then that he vaguely understood the seriousness of the situation.


    fang sining couldn¡¯t fight, and he couldn¡¯t run, so he had no choice but to follow fu yan¡¯s advice and hide in the room.


    over the past few hours, he had heard occasional sounds of biting and cursing, along with cries of panic from outside. he had no idea who occupied the rooms upstairs. the toilet had been continuously leaking water, and pinkish, unidentified liquid had seeped through the ceiling, dripping onto the floor of fang sining¡¯s suite.


    the dripping sound had continued for a day and a night, forming a small puddle on the floor.


    fang sining clenched his teeth, forcing himself not to think about what that liquid might be. he had stayed awake for a full day and night, wishing he could memorize the biochemical bonding formula a thousand times over in his mind.


    he had no choice but to put his hope in the stranger known as ¡°blackbird¡± who had traveled a long distance to meet him. he hoped that blackbird could truly help him find shao qiu.


    at the very least, he needed to inform blackbird about the incident involving his teacher, fang sining thought.


    during his negotiations with fu yan, fang sining had spoken confidently, as if he were very familiar with shao qiu. but now, being alone, he couldn¡¯t help but feel uncertain about how shao qiu would react after all these years. their last encounter had ended on bad terms, and fang sining couldn¡¯t imagine what shao qiu¡¯s attitude would be now.


    oh well, fang sinin thought, he would take it one step at a time.


    he pondered aimlessly for a moment, then suddenly remembered something. he slowly got up from the floor, his body feeling weak and shaky after sitting in the corner for a day and a night. he took two unsteady steps and leaned against the wall as he made his way toward the bedroom.


    with the time for his meet up with fu yan approaching, he needed to plan his escape.


    having spent a day and a night in the corner, fang sining¡¯s muscles had turned weak from inactivity. he stumbled a couple of steps and then, clutching the wall, entered the bedroom. from his suitcase, he retrieved a backpack and carefully placed his laptop from under the pillow into it.


    then, after a moment of hesitation, he also packed the research documents he had brought for the conference.


    fang sining had a rough idea of why ¡°blackbird¡± had traveled such a long distance to pick him up. originally, they had hoped to rely on shao xuefan, but unfortunately, his teacher had passed away. so, they were placing their hopes on fang sining to see if they could obtain any assistance related to shao xuefan.


    fang sining finished packing and hesitated for a moment before reaching up to touch his neck. he had a leather cord around his neck with a stainless steel usb drive attached to it¡ªthe backup key that shao xuefan had given him.


    with the outside world in its current state, fang sining couldn¡¯t be sure of the situation. therefore, he hadn¡¯t told fu yan the whole truth.


    one of the things shao xuefan had mentioned when he handed him the key was significant.


    ¡°if someday you need this thing, hand it over to shao qiu,¡± shao xuefan had told him in his office, holding the usb drive seriously. ¡°it has two layers of password locks, and he knows what the passwords are.¡±


    ¡°is that so, professor?¡± fang sining had sounded hesitant. ¡°but shao qiu¡­¡±


    fang sining was clearly aware of the strained relationship between shao qiu and his father. he spoke delicately, but it was enough for shao xuefan to understand.


    regardless of what important task was being entrusted to him, fang sining knew that there was absolutely no understanding or cooperation between the father and son.


    ¡°as long as you tell him this, he will know,¡± shao xuefan said. ¡°no matter how he sees me, i am still his father.¡±


    ¡°alright,¡± fang sining had sighed and hesitated before accepting the item. ¡°what does this contain, professor? can you tell me?¡±


    at that time, shao xuefan had remained silent for a long time. he sat by the window, the autumn sunlight casting a shadow over his hunched figure, making him look like a mayfly in the twilight.


    ¡°in my lifetime, i have conducted many research projects, some good and some bad,¡± shao xuefan didn¡¯t answer his question directly but said, ¡°the academic community has had mixed opinions about me, and i am aware of that.¡±


    ¡°but i have no regrets,¡± shao xuefan continued. ¡°everything i did was for the greater good.¡±


    ¡°professor, academic research is inherently subject to differing views,¡± fang sining consoled. ¡°your academic achievements speak for themselves, and you shouldn¡¯t worry too much about what others think.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re right,¡± shao xuefan looked up at fang sining, and for a moment, his gaze wandered before refocusing. he spoke with a deep and solemn tone, ¡°sining, remember one thing¡ªscience is forever innocent, and we can only move forward.¡±


    ¡°¡­if we have taken the wrong path, we must do whatever it takes to correct it,¡± fang sining repeated quietly to himself.


    shao xuefan had been his mentor, often imparting wisdom to him. fang sining had absorbed many of shao xuefan¡¯s thought patterns.


    they had had many conversations of this nature, and now, fang sining felt as if this backup key contained an outcome that shao xuefan had long foreseen.


    fang sining was startled by his own speculation and shivered. he shook his head to clear his thoughts.


    he glanced at his wristwatch; there were only twenty minutes left until the appointed time. the footsteps outside had quieted down somewhat, but he had no idea about the current situation outside.


    fang sining slung the backpack over his shoulders, cautiously moved out of the bedroom, and stood near the door. he didn¡¯t dare to move the sofa blocking the door, so he sat on it, carefully peeking through the peephole to see what was outside.


    in the next moment, a face suddenly lunged at him through the peephole. the person¡¯s eyes were cloudy, their eyes dark, and their mouth and nose were covered in black blood. their face was rotting, with decaying flesh hanging from it.


    that face suddenly enlarged in front of fang sining. he screamed and instinctively leaned back. however, his limbs were uncoordinated, and he tumbled off the sofa, almost falling to the floor.


    it seemed like the zombies outside were banging on the door. the room¡¯s door was being pounded with heavy, terrifying thuds. fang sining¡¯s heart was pounding, and his limbs had gone weak.


    he didn¡¯t dare to look outside again and could only clutch his backpack against the sofa while trying to calm his breathing.


    after a short while, another round of footsteps seemed to be approaching from outside. these footsteps sounded more regular and powerful, unlike the stumbling steps of the earlier zombies.


    within just two minutes, the relentless pounding on his door suddenly stopped. fang sining hesitated, wanting to check, but he was afraid of encountering another zombie.


    he was wavering when he heard a knocking on the door from outside.


    in a reflex, fang sining shivered upon hearing the knocking. before he could hide, he heard a man¡¯s voice from outside.


    ¡°fang sining?¡±


    fang sining recognized the voice. in the past day and night, they had spoken on the phone three times in total. although the other person didn¡¯t speak much each time, fang sining could easily identify his voice and tone.


    fang sining glanced at his wristwatch and realized that it was exactly five minutes before the agreed time with fu yan.


    he didn¡¯t immediately open the door but carefully moved the sofa aside first. then, he peeked through the peephole.


    the man outside the door was approximately 6¡¯3¡å tall, with neat short hair and a handsome appearance. however, his face had no expression and seemed somewhat aloof.


    he was wearing a dark-colored windbreaker and held a folding knife in his right hand, with the blade stained with blood.


    the zombie that had been on fang sining¡¯s door earlier was now lying motionless at the man¡¯s feet as if it had been switched off.


    fang sining examined him from head to toe, making sure he wouldn¡¯t suddenly turn into one of those biting creatures. only then did he cautiously open the door and step out.


    fu yan looked him over, ensuring he had no injuries, and then they headed towards the corridor.


    fang sining clutched his backpack, looking around. he was surprised to see that there were still quite a few zombies on this floor, maybe four or five of them. however, they were all lying on the ground, facing downward, with a large gash on the back of their necks.


    ¡°did you kill all of these?¡± fang sining asked hesitantly.


    fu yan made a sound of agreement but didn¡¯t say much.


    his left arm was still not fully healed. although he had regained sensation, it occasionally went numb. there were too many people in the building who hadn¡¯t managed to escape, so fu yan had no choice but to take the most circuitous route to get here. to avoid the concentrated area of zombies, he had even climbed the building¡¯s exterior by a couple of floors.


    but fu yan could navigate rooftops and walls with only one functioning arm, while fang sining, who had spent most of his time in the laboratory, couldn¡¯t.


    even though fu yan had already secured a rope when he arrived, fang sining had faced some difficulties in descending, and he had even scraped his palms during the descent.


    fu yan didn¡¯t pay much attention to him. instead, he simply handed fang sining a bottle of water.


    ¡°where are shao xuefan¡¯s documents?¡± fu yan asked.


    ¡°they are in his other laboratory, to the southwest,¡± fang sining replied. ¡°the climate there is suitable for moss cultivation, so my teacher had a research base there.¡±


    fu yan nodded and pulled fang sining around a corner, then pondered for a while before picking up a car from the street.


    this car was more difficult to find than the previous ones for some reason. the car¡¯s doors and windows were tightly closed, and there was a zombie sitting in the driver¡¯s seat. when fu yan saw it, the zombie was restlessly banging on the glass in the confined space.


    unfortunately, that creature no longer possessed rationality or intelligence and was very clumsy. it was firmly secured by a seatbelt and couldn¡¯t move. it looked much worse than the other zombies with seven or eight bloody holes in its body, intestines and blood scattered around, and its internal organs strewn in front of it, all thoroughly rotten.


    fu yan opened the car door, put an end to its suffering, and then unceremoniously dragged the zombie out and threw it on the ground. he then splashed some water on the driver¡¯s seat.


    ¡°what exactly are these things¡­¡± fang sining finally dared to come out from his hiding place. he looked at the body on the ground, still in disbelief, and said, ¡°how can they still move in such a state of decay?¡±


    ¡°even if they are in pieces, they can still crawl and move if their brains aren¡¯t destroyed,¡± fu yan said. ¡°we have to smash their brains to make them lose their vitality. now, get in the car.¡±


    fang sining got in the car with his backpack. he furrowed his brows, looking serious, and kept turning back to look at the corpse on the ground until fu yan started the car.


    fu yan glanced at him through the rearview mirror but remained silent.


    perhaps it was because fang sining was younger, but after hesitating for a while, he couldn¡¯t help but speak up.


    ¡°have you conducted any experiments on them?¡± fang sining asked.


    ¡°not yet,¡± fu yan replied. ¡°there hasn¡¯t been enough time. do you have any ideas?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m not sure but¡­.,¡± fang sining said. ¡°i just suddenly remembered a plant virus that has a similar effect on the nervous system.¡±

 CH 22

    ¡°similar?¡± fu yan asked.


    fang sining frowned and didn¡¯t speak for a while. after a moment, he shook his head and said, ¡°but it¡¯s not as extreme. the toxins from plant viruses at most just paralyze the nerves and induce hallucinations in people, but these people have already lost vital signs, so how can they move freely?¡±


    seeing that he didn¡¯t say anything useful, fu yan lost interest and withdrew his gaze without saying anything more.


    he was too silent, and fang sining felt a bit uneasy about his silence. after a while, fang sining hesitated and asked again, ¡°by the way, when can i see shao qiu?¡±


    ¡°soon,¡± fu yan said. ¡°he¡¯s on his way here.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    ¡°¡­then let¡¯s decide on this for now. i, the deputy team leader, he feng, and yao tu will go to meet the captain as originally planned.¡± he tang pointed to liu ruosong and said, ¡°brother liu, you will go with us. xiao ming, you will escort the blood samples back to yan city.¡±


    ¡°okay,¡± xiao ming said. ¡°don¡¯t worry, i¡¯ll make sure to complete the mission.¡±


    ¡°can he handle it alone?¡± liu ruosong was a bit worried. ¡°what if he encounters zombies or needs to look for supplies on the way? will he be able to manage on his own?¡±


    ¡°no problem,¡± shao qiu waved his hand dismissively. ¡°the captain managed to get himself from s city all the way to peng city on his own. the distance to yan city from here is nothing compared to that. if he can¡¯t make it back, he can just end it right here.¡±


    ¡°puh,¡± xiao ming rolled his eyes unceremoniously. ¡°can¡¯t you say something more encouraging?¡±


    ¡°all right, all right, i¡¯ll say something encouraging.¡± he feng reached out and patted his shoulder, trying to hold back his laughter as he said sincerely, ¡°don¡¯t be like shao qiu. i have high hopes for you ¨C after all, we didn¡¯t buy biohazard vr for nothing, right?¡±


    xiao ming: ¡°¡­¡±


    thanks to that, he got even more annoyed.


    unable to argue with shao qiu or he feng, xiao ming held back his anger and forcefully loaded the container with the blood samples into the back seat of his car.


    ¡°oh, be careful,¡± he feng, who enjoyed watching the commotion, teased without fear. ¡°our brave ming ming might shatter the blood sample box.¡±


    liu ruosong didn¡¯t expect his comment to cause such a stir, so he suddenly felt quite guilty and discreetly moved away from the scene, heading in the opposite direction.


    ¡°no worries, we do this all the time,¡± yao tu noticed his discomfort and comforted him with a smirk, ¡°you¡¯ll get used to it.¡±


    liu ruosong was surprised. he had always thought that elite military personnel had strict discipline and a formal way of speaking with superiors and subordinates.


    ¡°don¡¯t tease him, bro,¡± he tang said. ¡°let¡¯s pack up.¡±


    he feng blinked and instantly dropped his teasing of xiao ming, picking up a spare box from he tang.


    ¡°okay, okay, let¡¯s pack up,¡± he feng sighed. ¡°move it, miss, look what you¡¯ve done.¡±


    he feng complained with his mouth, but his hands were surprisingly fast. he pushed he tang aside and grabbed xiao ming¡¯¡¯s packed supplies. then, after some thought, he added a couple more bundles of straps.


    he tang tilted her head and watched him for a while, then shook off the dust on her hands, and got into the driver¡¯s seat to check the vehicle.


    meanwhile, liu ruosong took a slow sip of water, finding fu yan¡¯s teammates surprisingly interesting.


    initially, he thought that people who were influenced by fu yan¡¯s personality would at least have a somewhat similar personality. however, he did not expect that fu yan¡¯s comrades were a unique bunch, yet they somehow didn¡¯t clash with each other. when they didn¡¯t speak, each had their own roles, and it was easy to see the unspoken understanding that had built up over the years.


    especially he feng and he tang, the siblings. he tang opened the car hood to check the vehicle¡¯s condition, and almost as soon as she looked at he feng, he knew what she needed.


    ¡°they¡¯re like that,¡± yao tu pointed to his temple, joking with liu ruosong, ¡°brother and sister with a telepathic connection. we can¡¯t understand it.¡±


    liu ruosong helped him lift a spare signal box onto another car. hearing yao tu¡¯s words, he smiled and said, ¡°you know, this is quite impressive. you people are so efficient. it¡¯s something to envy.


    fortunately, they were considerate of liu ruosong and didn¡¯t show off their ¡°telepathic connection¡± in front of him. they rarely used professional terminology, making liu ruosong not feel excluded.


    these people were efficient, and it took less than twenty minutes to distribute the supplies among the two vehicles.


    after settling down, liu ruosong used the team¡¯s internal communication system to call fu yan once. unfortunately, fu yan¡¯s phone was off, and he couldn¡¯t reach him.


    liu ruosong knew that fu yan probably didn¡¯t bring a portable charger, so his phone had likely run out of battery. however, the chaotic situation outside made it difficult for him to keep his composure, and he couldn¡¯t help but imagine the worst.


    in just three minutes, he checked his phone three times. even yao tu, not to mention he tang, noticed that something was wrong.


    ¡°liu ge,¡± he tang was driving and glanced at him, asking, ¡°what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°fu yan¡¯s phone is off,¡± liu ruosong said. ¡°i¡¯m thinking about how to meet up with him later.¡±


    he tang smiled and said, ¡°don¡¯t worry about him.¡±


    yao tu, overhearing their conversation, leaned forward from the backseat and pointed to the laptop on liu ruosong¡¯s knee.


    ¡°the captain¡¯s phone has a locator chip. even if his phone is dead, we can still find him,¡± yao tu said, then leaned over and made a few swipes on the screen, opening a dark green icon.


    the computer screen, which had been monitoring four channels, suddenly flipped and turned into a simple map with a black background and green lines. yao tu raised the map¡¯s perspective, then opened the search bar and entered fu yan¡¯s code.


    immediately, a green dot with a long trail appeared below the map.


    yao tu zoomed in on that area, and fu yan¡¯s driving path was clearly displayed on the map.


    ¡°how¡¯s that? impressive, right?¡± he tang chuckled and said, ¡°military equipment, guaranteed quality ¨C even if his phone is broken, this thing can be injected directly under the skin and still work.¡±


    the green locator on the map was moving steadily forward, and liu ruosong stared at the small dot for a while, feeling much relieved.


    yao tu glanced at him, then, after a moment of thought, took out a thumb-sized identity chip from his pocket and plugged it into the computer.


    after identity verification, the computer emitted a beep, and a notification flashed on the screen. the map¡¯s colors deepened, and a small real-time locator window appeared in the upper right corner, showing fu yan¡¯s current location.


    ¡°without identity verification, you can only see it for twenty minutes at most,¡± yao tu scratched his head, pushed the computer back onto liu ruosong¡¯s lap, and said, ¡°this should be enough. you can keep watching as long as you want.¡±


    liu ruosong was slightly surprised, as he didn¡¯t expect yao tu to pay attention to this detail.


    ¡°thank you,¡± liu ruosong said.


    ¡°don¡¯t be so polite with us,¡± he tang chuckled. ¡°little rabbit here is attentive; if you need anything, just ask him¡­ um, if we miss anything, just let us know.¡±


    ¡°little rabbit, what¡¯s this little rabbit?¡± yao tu protested, kicking the driver¡¯s seat from behind. ¡°don¡¯t i have a proper name?¡±


    ¡°tu tu, don¡¯t mess around,¡± he feng leaned against the car door and looked at him playfully. ¡°give it up; there¡¯s no room for contrast cuteness here.¡±


    yao tu: ¡°¡­¡±


    liu ruosong, guarding a functioning tracking chip, felt much more relaxed. listening to the banter between the two in the back, he couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    ¡°so, why was there such an option in the draw that day?¡± liu ruosong curiously asked. ¡°i always thought you guys wanted to maintain a serious and unified style.¡±


    ¡°it was like that originally,¡± he feng said. ¡°but life should have some fun moments¡ªon the day we drew code names, the captain wasn¡¯t around, and number one got called away, so we threw an extra piece of paper into the draw box.¡±


    liu ruosong: ¡°¡­¡±


    no wonder. he knew for sure that fu yan would never do something like that.


    ¡°it was just a prank, and who knew it would be such a coincidence that yao tu would draw it,¡± he feng said with amusement. ¡°it¡¯s fate¡¯s guidance¡ªanyway, after the captain comes back, we¡¯ve already filled out our reports, and maybe number one thought it was too funny to send it back for review. that¡¯s how it passed.¡±


    liu ruosong chuckled, feeling that there was an underlying sense of ¡°when the captain¡¯s not home, we can climb onto the roof¡± in his words.


    feeling relaxed and with a good atmosphere, he was about to casually ask them some trivial questions about fu yan when he noticed that he feng¡¯s gaze casually swept over and suddenly landed on the computer in his hand.


    immediately, shao qiu, who had been quite laid-back before, slightly straightened up, leaned forward a bit, and pointed at the computer screen, saying, ¡°ruosong, can you zoom in for me?¡±


    liu ruosong complied but couldn¡¯t see anything unusual. although fu yan¡¯s vehicle had deviated from the intended route a bit, it was still moving smoothly out of peng city.


    ¡°but where is he going in this direction?¡± liu ruosong furrowed his brow and asked, ¡°isn¡¯t this the wrong direction for the meet up point?¡±


    shao qiu remained silent. his eyes quickly scanned the map, tracing fu yan¡¯s driving route backward.


    ¡°104.68; 31.47,¡± he said.


    liu ruosong didn¡¯t immediately grasp the significance, but he tang quickly understood and asked in confusion, ¡°where is he going, and for what?¡±


    ¡°what?¡± liu ruosong asked.


    ¡°coordinates,¡± shao qiu explained. ¡°look at the captain¡¯s driving route¡­ if you adjust it slightly, from this angle, you can see these numbers.¡±

 CH 23

    liu ruosong¡¯s reaction was quick as well. he tilted his head for a moment and said, ¡°is fu yan trying to tell us to go here?¡±


    ¡°judging from the direction he¡¯s traveling, it seems so,¡± shao qiu muttered. ¡°our captain is quite fast; he doesn¡¯t even take a moment to rest. i can barely keep up with him.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s true. i was surprised he didn¡¯t return to his post this time,¡± he tang added nonchalantly. ¡°i always thought that captain, being so by-the-book, would never make decisions on his own. but this time, he seems quite resolute.¡±


    in fact, not only shao qiu and he tang, but even liu ruosong himself was puzzled. since the beginning of the disaster, fu yan had shown an almost unusual determination. he planned his own route of action, requested an extension of his leave, traveled across most of the country to rescue fang sining, and now he was going after something called ¡°core documents.¡±


    although these were things he was capable of doing, it occurred to liu ruosong, thanks to shao qiu¡¯s comment, that he had been ¡°acting first and reporting later.¡±


    for someone like fu yan, who strictly adhered to regulations, this was indeed out of character.


    ¡°i really can¡¯t figure out our captain,¡± he tang sighed, speaking with a hint of mystery. ¡°he doesn¡¯t say much, so who knows what he¡¯s thinking.¡±


    she seemed to have something on her mind and suddenly changed the subject, asking liu ruosong in a subtle tone, ¡°liu ge, what do you think?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m not sure,¡± liu ruosong thought she was asking about the mission, so he answered honestly. ¡°we don¡¯t really talk about work much, and i don¡¯t know what he¡¯s like when he¡¯s on a mission.¡±


    ¡°well, that¡¯s not what i meant,¡± he tang said with a sly smile, changing her approach. ¡°i mean¡­ what¡¯s captain like when you¡¯re at home? is he the same as in the military, reserved and not saying much?¡±


    it was clear that he tang had changed her line of questioning, trying to dig up some embarrassing stories about fu yan to amuse herself.


    but when it came to ¡°stories,¡± liu ruosong had quite a few in stock.


    perhaps it was because of love, but he always felt that fu yan, despite being a bit stiff, could be unintentionally humorous at times.


    he still remembered their first ¡°date¡± after fu yan had officially asked him to be his boyfriend. they were still in high school and lived on campus, so it could be considered an ¡°early romance.¡± fu yan had climbed over the school wall for the first time, then called him to meet at the unmonitored back gate, where he handed liu ruosong a package of steaming barbecue through the gate.


    at that time, the young liu ruosong had not reached the level of unwavering composure he would later achieve. trembling, he asked, ¡°did you do something wrong? are you apologizing to me?¡±


    ¡°what¡­ no, not at all,¡± fu yan seemed a bit flustered. he furrowed his brow, took a step forward, and pushed the package into liu ruosong¡¯s arms, saying, ¡°here,¡±


    ¡°why are you doing this? it¡¯s not a special occasion, and it¡¯s so sudden,¡± liu ruosong couldn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°my roommate told me,¡± the young fu yan said with a wooden face. ¡°he said we should create surprises regularly to keep things fresh.¡±


    liu ruosong: ¡°¡­¡±


    he slowly looked down and saw that the barbecue paper was slightly crushed, revealing a very tempting charcoal-grilled pig¡¯s trotter.


    liu ruosong: ¡°¡­¡±


    that was fu yan¡¯s first attempt to learn about ¡°romance¡± and ¡°surprises,¡± unfortunately, it ended in a disastrous failure and became the last attempt as well.


    even now, when he thought about it, liu ruosong still felt a lingering fear.


    after that incident, liu ruosong completely gave up on unrealistic romantic fantasies. for fu yan, expecting him to learn about romance and pleasing a partner was like asking a six-year-old to cook; it was bound to lead to disaster. so liu ruosong preferred to let fu yan be himself, which often resulted in some amusing experiences.


    but, of course, liu ruosong couldn¡¯t tell fu yan¡¯s teammates about these things. otherwise, ¡°captain, the wooden block,¡± would become his new nickname, and his ¡°dark history¡± would spread throughout the military district.


    ¡°actually, i pursued him,¡± liu ruosong said casually, ¡°he¡¯s a good person. when he came out, he didn¡¯t even tell me. he just went home and got beaten up alone.¡±


    he tang blinked and glanced at him.


    liu ruosong never said a bad word about fu yan to others. he casually brushed off the topic, ¡°thinking back, i actually wanted to scold him for that. why was he so stubborn? i was so angry that i almost broke a couple of his ribs.¡±


    he tang couldn¡¯t help but laugh, and even shao qiu, who had been resting with his eyes closed, sat up and leaned in to listen to some gossip.


    ¡°speaking of which, are we going to meet up at this coordinate?¡± liu ruosong naturally changed the subject and pointed to the screen with the location. ¡°should i set up navigation in advance?¡±


    ¡°no need,¡± yao tu spoke up. he took the laptop from liu ruosong and then operated the screen for him.


    ¡°based on the captain¡¯s current location, we can guess his route,¡± yao tu said. ¡°we¡¯re heading to the same coordinate now, so we can adjust our route along the way to meet up with him.¡±


    yao tu explained while quickly drawing several marked routes on the screen, including highways and national roads, all converging on the same destination. it looked a bit chaotic on the screen.


    ¡°remove all the highways,¡± liu ruosong suggested. ¡°fu yan doesn¡¯t usually take the highway.¡±


    yao tu followed his instructions, erasing three or four routes from the screen, and then asked why.


    ¡°when we separated, he took nothing with him,¡± liu ruosong explained. ¡°even if he can endure it himself, with fang sining, they would need to find food, water, medicine, and gasoline. taking the highway is too risky; fu yan hasn¡¯t chosen any highways on his route so far, and he probably won¡¯t take that risk later.¡±


    after removing several routes, the map on the screen looked much clearer. liu ruosong pressed the zoom-out button, and the satellite map automatically moved up, revealing the driving routes of their two groups.


    in the planned routes, two green fluorescent lines extended outward, eventually converging at a distant point. the blue planned meeting point was blinking, and it automatically generated a set of coordinates.


    ¡°let¡¯s head in this direction first,¡± he feng said. ¡°if the captain¡¯s route deviates later, we can adjust our course to get closer to him.¡±


    he tang glanced at the meeting point and acknowledged with a nod.


    liu ruosong¡¯s gaze unintentionally swept between the siblings¡ªhe tang held the nominal command of this operation, and shao qiu was the deputy leader of the entire team. however, when it came to deciding the direction, it was actually he feng who made the decision. although it wasn¡¯t a significant issue, liu ruosong found their subconscious allocation of responsibilities intriguing.


    ¡°when we were in the air, ¡®peregrine¡¯ was always on captain¡¯s right,¡± yao tu explained openly, not avoiding shao qiu. ¡°because we had to provide backup and surveillance in the air, he feng could only watch captain by himself and couldn¡¯t give orders.¡±


    ¡°although our code names were drawn by lottery, they do have some personal connections,¡± he feng added with a smile.


    liu ruosong understood now. peregrine was a race that could be trained into falcons. flying alongside captain for route confirmation had become a habit. after landing, it was probably hard for them to adapt to a different role.


    ¡°based on this meeting point, if nothing unexpected happens, we should be able to meet in two days,¡± he feng said. ¡°captain won¡¯t stay out of contact for too long; he will probably find a way to communicate with us at the latest tomorrow night.¡±


    ¡°not necessarily,¡± liu ruosong said. ¡°if fang sining has been with him all this time, there¡¯s a high probability that fu yan won¡¯t choose to contact us directly.¡±


    he spoke with confidence, and before he feng could respond, he tang was the first to react, looking slightly puzzled.


    ¡°why?¡± he tang asked.


    ¡°he doesn¡¯t trust fang sining,¡± liu ruosong explained. ¡°otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have asked me to check the documents.¡±


    liu ruosong paused for a moment and added more clarification about fu yan, ¡°actually, he isn¡¯t a sensitive or suspicious person. i don¡¯t know what fang sining said or did, but fu yan must believe that fang sining is holding something back or doesn¡¯t fully trust him to tell the whole truth.¡±


    ¡°if that¡¯s the case, when he judges that fang sining is not entirely trustworthy, he won¡¯t reveal our internal communication methods recklessly,¡± liu ruosong concluded.


    ¡°captain¡¯s judgment is correct,¡± shao qiu suddenly spoke after staying silent for a while. ¡°what good things can one learn from shao xuefan¡¯s students?¡±

 CH 24

    as soon as shao qiu finished speaking, everyone in the car fell into an eerie silence for two seconds.


    liu ruosong, who hadn¡¯t spent much time with them, found it difficult to speak his mind openly. he tang and yao tu both held lower ranks and positions than shao qiu, so they didn¡¯t usually joke around with him. however, in the end, he feng casually pushed yao tu aside and gave shao qiu a teasing look.


    ¡°your tone sounds just like that of an abandoned lover,¡± he feng said. ¡°is that your old flame?¡±


    shao qiu: ¡°¡­¡±


    he tang and liu ruosong both glanced at shao qiu through the rearview mirror, and even yao tu¡¯s gaze roamed up and down, indicating that everyone in the car shared the same thought as he feng.


    shao qiu was taken aback by he feng¡¯s words, and his expression momentarily became blank. he seemed instinctively inclined to refute the statement but couldn¡¯t find a way to do it. in the one or two seconds of hesitation, he feng¡¯s expression became quite subtle.


    he feng said in disbelief. ¡°is he really an old lover?¡±


    ¡°not at all!¡± shao qiu finally realized that he could deny it directly. annoyed, he made a dismissive sound and pushed away he feng¡¯s hand that was reaching out.


    ¡°we were just childhood acquaintances,¡± shao qiu said.


    ¡°oh, childhood sweethearts,¡± he feng said knowingly.


    shao qiu: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°i misspoke,¡± he feng insincerely corrected himself. ¡°childhood friends, childhood friends. what¡¯s there to be embarrassed about? young guys growing up together, sparks flying, it¡¯s perfectly normal.¡±


    shao qiu hadn¡¯t spoken yet, but liu ruosong found himself reevaluating the implications of this ¡°childhood friend¡± conversation, feeling a bit awkward.


    ¡°no,¡± shao qiu furrowed his brow and said, ¡°we were just together during childhood for a few years¡­ not that close, and we haven¡¯t seen each other in years.¡±


    he feng was somewhat carefree, but he had a sense of propriety. seeing that shao qiu was getting flustered, he dropped the topic naturally.


    ¡°then don¡¯t badmouth him behind his back; it¡¯s not nice,¡± he feng said.


    ¡°shao xuefan is not a good person. he can do anything for his own interests,¡± shao qiu seemed reluctant to talk about his biological father. he leaned back against his seat, closed his eyes, and continued, ¡°back then, he abandoned his wife and child without a second thought. two years ago, when he returned to the country, he tried to deceive me in my mother¡¯s name, wanting to extract my dna profile.¡±


    he feng: ¡°¡­¡±


    the special operations team members were all experts in combat, but they got headaches when it came to scientific lectures. however, even so, they could tell that what shao xuefan did was clearly not morally right.


    liu ruosong spoke up, ¡°illegally extracting someone¡¯s dna profile is a violation of professional ethics and regulations. it¡¯s a crime similar to fraudulently obtaining significant private property.¡±


    ¡°he doesn¡¯t care,¡± shao qiu said. ¡°all he cares about is his research. as for whether his research methods are legal, do you think he cares about that?¡±


    he tang cleared her throat and mumbled, ¡°well, what¡¯s the use of this¡­ unless he¡¯s got kidney problems and wants you to donate one for him.¡±


    ¡°who knows?¡± shao qiu chuckled sarcastically. ¡°maybe he wants to clone an obedient son.¡±


    ¡°dna profiles and organ compatibility are two different things,¡± liu ruosong remarked. ¡°personal genetic information can be replicated or altered. most research in the field focuses on genetic recombination and the encoding of genetic diseases. which one was professor shao working on?¡±


    ¡°neither,¡± shao qiu didn¡¯t pay much attention to how he knew so much about these matters. he replied vaguely, ¡°who knows what he was up to? it seemed like some kind of repair work¡­ but i ran away back then, and he didn¡¯t get a sample of my blood.¡±


    shao qiu sneered, ¡°with those crooked associates of his, he really thought he could control me?¡±


    ¡°colonel shao,¡± he feng said gently, ¡°let¡¯s stick to discussing the issue at hand and not bring in personal matters.¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s done many such things,¡± shao qiu said. ¡°as for fang sining, he knew what kind of person shao xuefan was, yet he chose to be his student. besides ¡®birds of a feather,¡¯ i can¡¯t think of any other reason.¡±


    he feng understood what shao qiu was implying. it seemed like a displaced anger, but not entirely.


    since leaving the military district, every time shao xuefan¡¯s name came up, shao qiu¡¯s attitude had been unusually sharp. he seemed to have reverted to his rebellious teenage years in an instant, forgetting all his experiences and maturity, full of prickliness, easily angered, and instinctively protective of himself.


    the deep-seated enmity between shao xuefan and shao qiu remained a mystery to everyone except shao qiu, but it was evident to everyone in the car that there was more to it than what shao qiu had disclosed.


    even fang sining, who was supposedly shao qiu¡¯s ¡°childhood friend,¡± had chosen to be shao xuefan¡¯s student despite knowing the strained relationship between father and son. in shao qiu¡¯s eyes at that time, this could be seen as a form of ¡°betrayal.¡±


    he feng and liu ruosong exchanged a meaningful glance, and then simultaneously diverted their attention from this topic. however, liu ruosong was reminded of something else.


    inside shao xuefan¡¯s small building, he had taken out several research materials belonging to shao xuefan. those research materials had already been handed over to xiao ming to take back to the base, but liu ruosong still remembered their contents.


    in those project proposals, there were numerous references to a biological cell with the code name ¡°[b-92],¡± which served as the basis for a certain drug. shao xuefan had invested a lot of effort into this biological cell, which was linked to a particular drug.


    moss and glaciers, two unrelated factors, had given rise to substances on the same biological chain. this alone puzzled liu ruosong. now, hearing shao qiu¡¯s admission of past dna theft, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder: what kind of drug was shao xuefan working on? what did he want to ¡°repair¡±?


    as liu ruosong pondered this, a few wandering zombies suddenly appeared on the highway. without waiting for he tang to give the signal, he feng, who was faster, reached for the gun from yao tu¡¯s hand, lowered the car window, leaned out, and quickly fired a few shots, blowing up the zombies¡¯ heads.


    he tang swerved in place to avoid the wobbling zombies, but the road was narrow, and some of the zombie brain matter still splattered onto liu ruosong¡¯s side.


    liu ruosong, who had been lost in thought, suddenly had a realization when he saw the zombie brain matter splatter.


    ¡ªcould the current situation outside be related to shao xuefan?


    this thought was absurd because, from any angle, no scientific researcher should be insane enough to intentionally create an uncontrollable disaster.


    but liu ruosong couldn¡¯t convince himself and kept thinking about it.


    people outside had been transformed into something neither human nor zombie, and shao xuefan, a biologist, had first been murdered in the small building and then discovered to be researching some unknown drug in secret. even if it was far-fetched, liu ruosong found it hard not to connect these events.


    he even wondered if fu yan had also discovered this, which was why he stubbornly wanted to protect fang sining and find shao xuefan¡¯s core files.


    ¡ªif that¡¯s the case, is fu yan safe at all?


    because shao qiu was in the car, liu ruosong couldn¡¯t and wouldn¡¯t voice this baseless speculation. he just subconsciously glanced at the computer in his lap, where the blue preset convergence point was still blinking, and it was still a long way from the coordinates marked by fu yan earlier.


    fu yan¡¯s green driving route was also following the guessed route continuously, without any deviations. seeing this, liu ruosong felt somewhat relieved, thinking that as long as they converged ahead of time, there shouldn¡¯t be any major issues.


    moreover, the situation outside had just started to get chaotic, and things might not be as dire as he imagined. the local military district couldn¡¯t turn a blind eye to this situation and would definitely organize rescue and evacuation operations. it was just that the situation was severe right now, and it was unclear how far they could progress.


    the special operations team¡¯s advance speed was obviously much faster than that of private cars. they were well-equipped with supplies, and their firearms and ammunition were abundant. unlike fu yan, who had to enter the city to find supplies, they tried to take less-traveled and deserted roads as much as possible, with hardly any stops along the way.


    he tang, he feng, and shao qiu took turns driving, changing every four hours, which was highly efficient.


    liu ruosong diligently monitored their location from the co-driver¡¯s seat. a whole day had passed, and the blue convergence point on the screen had moved a bit closer, getting closer to their current location.


    ¡°hmm?¡± he tang, who had woken up from a nap in the back seat, came over and looked at the screen, yawning. ¡°look at this convergence point; we¡¯ll be able to meet up with the captain a bit earlier.¡±


    ¡°how long will it take approximately?¡± liu ruosong asked.


    ¡°considering the time we¡¯ll need for breaks, about thirty-six hours,¡± he tang blinked and playfully nudged liu ruosong¡¯s arm with her elbow. ¡°liu-ge, if you¡¯re feeling like time is dragging on, you can take a few more naps. when you wake up, you¡¯ll see fu yan.¡±


    liu ruosong: ¡°¡­¡±


    due to reduced visibility at night and to avoid any accidents, he tang decided they should rest on the spot and continue their journey at dawn.


    they chose a remote wilderness to make camp. before settling in, he feng and shao qiu scouted the area and confirmed the safety within a radius of about one kilometer. only then did they return to make a fire and prepare dinner.


    they placed the compressed military rations in hot water, and in less than thirty seconds, the heating was complete. liu ruosong held a box of tomato beef stew that had been prepared using a high-concentration soup base, and for once, he experienced the treatment of a top-tier individual soldier.


    ¡°it¡¯s no big deal,¡± shao qiu, not mentioning shao xuefan, appeared as a normal young talent. he waved his hand with a smile and teased, ¡°just consider it as taking the captain¡¯s share; after all, his portion is yours, too. joint property of a married couple.¡±


    liu ruosong chuckled and was about to respond when suddenly, a ringing sound came from the open car door¡ªit was the signal box for their internal communication.


    liu ruosong initially thought it might be fu yan calling. he instinctively put down what he was holding and leaned forward to get up. however, yao tu picked up the call before him, listened for a moment, and made a calming gesture toward liu ruosong.


    ¡°it¡¯s xiao ming,¡± yao tu said. ¡°he has safely arrived.¡±

 CH 25

    when xiao ming returned to the base with the blood samples, the base had already gathered all the local experts and scholars they could find.


    they worked with astonishing efficiency, and within just two days, they had converted a small building in the military district into a dedicated biological research laboratory.


    the city outside was in complete chaos, and the military district wasn¡¯t faring much better. most of the manpower had been deployed for rescue missions, leaving the base heavily guarded. when xiao ming returned from outside, he had to pass through three checkpoints at the gate, almost undergoing a thorough inspection.


    ¡°there¡¯s no other way,¡± one of the guards on duty at the gate sighed and said, ¡°this disease is just too bizarre. the slightest contact can lead to infection, and once it spreads, it covers a large area. it¡¯s really dangerous if you¡¯re not careful.¡±


    ¡°i saw it on my way back,¡± xiao ming¡¯s expression was equally grim, and he added, ¡°front street is almost like a battlefield.¡±


    the guard at the gate, upon hearing xiao ming¡¯s words, let out a bitter sigh, returned xiao ming¡¯s identification and belongings, and whispered, ¡°¡­who knows when this will end.¡±


    the iron gate of the military district base slowly opened up to let the car through. xiao ming saluted the guard at the gate and then got into the military district.


    security was strict outside, and the situation inside the military district wasn¡¯t any better. zhao jincheng was overseeing the position of the head of the rescue command, busy answering multiple phone calls every minute. xiao ming waited at his door for a full twenty minutes before receiving a message allowing him to enter.


    zhao jincheng¡¯s office was crowded with people, and xiao ming scanned the room, seeing a mix of various professions, including some leaders from other departments.


    zhao jincheng looked pale, with dark circles evident under his eyes. he was seated, pinching the bridge of his nose.


    with tired eyes, he half-closed them, waved to the people in the room, and said, ¡°everyone, leave first. i need some time to think.¡±


    xiao ming stood at the back of the crowd, shifted to the side against the wall, lowered his head to make way, and watched as people filed out one by one.


    it wasn¡¯t until the last secretary had left that xiao ming cautiously took two steps closer to zhao jincheng and carefully observed his complexion.


    ¡°how¡¯s fu yan doing?¡± zhao jincheng asked.


    ¡°he¡¯s safe and has already met with fang sining,¡± xiao ming replied. ¡°but i haven¡¯t been in contact with them during my return, so i don¡¯t know the specific progress of their mission.¡±


    ¡°at least he¡¯s safe,¡± zhao jincheng said. ¡°don¡¯t let anything happen to you precious few.¡±


    ¡°no matter how precious we are, we don¡¯t have planes,¡± xiao ming cracked a joke to lighten the mood. then he looked at zhao jincheng with concern and asked, ¡°number one, why do you look so terrible?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve been in meetings day and night,¡± zhao jincheng pressed his temples. he sat in a large armchair, exuding an air of despair.


    ¡°you saw it too; the top leaders have come over,¡± zhao jincheng said. ¡°things are getting increasingly chaotic outside, and while more people are going out for rescue missions, fewer are coming back. it looks like we¡¯re losing control. the suggestion from the adjacent office is to implement evacuation and containment, encouraging self-help.¡±


    ¡°what does that mean?¡± xiao ming furrowed his brow. ¡°are they just giving up?¡±


    ¡°they¡¯re not giving up. how could they?¡± zhao jincheng raised an eyebrow, his tone unkind. ¡°and encouraging self-help is easier said than done. how many ordinary people have the ability to help themselves?¡±


    xiao ming said, ¡°so¡­¡±


    ¡°the problem is that rescue missions are extremely difficult,¡± zhao jincheng sighed wearily. ¡°we can¡¯t possibly escort each civilian individually during evacuation. but if we gather them, infected individuals are bound to be mixed in. in this situation, when you gather civilians together, it¡¯s like creating a large-scale secondary outbreak. several instances of this have already occurred across the country, with fewer than one percent of evacuees making it out, while infections grow exponentially. the higher-ups keep holding meetings, what can i do?¡±


    ¡°moreover, we¡¯re critically short of manpower. the whole country is in chaos, and even logistical personnel like those who raise pigs and grow vegetables for the military districts have been dispatched,¡± zhao jincheng said. ¡°but this disease is highly contagious and fast-acting. infected individuals are running rampant. the rate of infection is much higher than our rate of clearing. the research institute is powerless, with no cure or prevention methods. no matter how many people we send out, it¡¯s impossible to control.¡±


    xiao ming listened quietly as zhao jincheng vented his frustrations, not daring to speak. he knew that zhao jincheng was under much more pressure than they were. while handling frontline rescue dispatches, he also had to bear pressure from higher-ups. it was a thankless position with many constraints.


    xiao ming didn¡¯t dare to ask about zhao jincheng¡¯s future plans. he pursed his lips and placed the refrigerated box that he had been holding in his hand on the table.


    ¡°number one, i brought back the blood samples,¡± xiao ming said. ¡°they are intact. i hope they can be of help.¡±


    ¡°at least we have one piece of good news,¡± zhao jincheng muttered and waved his hand dismissively. ¡°take it to building c. it has just been converted into a research facility. professor yang yuqing should be there. give it to her.¡±


    yang yuqing came from the medical college and held a position similar to shao xuefan¡¯s. however, shao xuefan focused on bioengineering, while yang yuqing was more dedicated to medical research.


    medical virus research mainly focused on the virus¡¯s characteristics and research mechanisms. so, in terms of tracing the virus¡¯s origins, yang yuqing¡¯s team needed some time to provide results. however, when it came to characteristics and transmission patterns, they could arrive at conclusions relatively quickly.


    ¡°professor yang yuqing has conducted preliminary tests on the two blood samples,¡± xiao ming said over the phone.¡±


    yao tu made a sound of acknowledgement and put the call on speakerphone so that everyone present could hear the news from the other end.


    ¡°according to professor yang yuqing, the virus in these two blood samples had already mutated after binding with the human body. it is highly similar to the virus extracted from other zombies, but it is not the original virus strain. the specific information is still under examination, so we are not entirely sure,¡± xiao ming explained. ¡°however, what can be confirmed is that, unlike the virus they extracted, these two samples have lost their activity and are no longer infectious.¡±


    ¡°what does that mean?¡± he tang asked. ¡°does this mean it¡¯s no longer contagious?¡±


    ¡°not exactly,¡± xiao ming replied. ¡°this brings me to the second thing i wanted to tell you.¡±


    liu ruosong put down what he was holding, took a few steps forward, and leaned against the car door, listening carefully to xiao ming¡¯s words.


    ¡°based on the information we currently have, the blood and bodily fluids of ¡®zombies¡¯ are infectious. if there is an exchange of bodily fluids, even without a bite, there can be a mutation after a certain period,¡± xiao ming continued. ¡°however, the blood sample i brought back has already lost its activity and is no longer infectious. we compared the refrigerated box i brought with the one used by professor yang yuqing¡¯s team, and the only difference we found was that the initial blood sample had been stored at room temperature for a while.¡±


    xiao ming paused for a moment and then continued, speaking as if he knew everyone was listening, ¡°liu ge, how long was the blood sample kept in your possession?¡±


    ¡°over a day,¡± liu ruosong replied.


    ¡°professor yang suspects that this virus loses its activity after a certain period of exposure to the air after leaving the host. this time frame might be the time when liu ge took the blood sample,¡± xiao ming said. ¡°we will try to find more samples to determine this time frame more precisely.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s somewhat good news,¡± liu ruosong sighed with relief. ¡°at least we won¡¯t have to wash our hands six times a day while on the road, fearing everything.¡±


    ¡°moreover, based on the information reported from various regions, professor yang and her team have observed a typical phenomenon,¡± xiao ming said. ¡°this ¡®infection¡¯ appears to be a one-time event. after ¡®zombies¡¯ bite someone, they rarely go on to bite other victims again. as a result, most infected individuals remain relatively intact.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s normal,¡± liu ruosong said, leaning against the car door, arms crossed. suddenly, he said, ¡°this ¡®virus¡¯ can be seen as an alternative form of living organism. their ¡®life goal¡¯ is survival and reproduction. so, they probably see humans as carriers for infection rather than food. otherwise, they would consume all the carriers, and the virus would have nowhere to spread.¡±


    xiao ming fell silent for two seconds on the phone, mumbling, ¡°that seems reasonable.¡±


    ¡°so, does this mean that the initial blood sample was not useful?¡± he tang asked.


    ¡°not exactly,¡± xiao ming replied. ¡°although highly similar, there are some differences between the initial blood sample and the virus they collected. it¡¯s just that the time is too short right now, and the research team hasn¡¯t fully formed, so it will take time.¡±


    ¡°what about the current useful information?¡± shao qiu asked. ¡°what are the next steps?¡±


    ¡°the focus now is on finding the latest mutation period,¡± xiao ming said. ¡°professor yang suggests that the mutation period may be related to the loss of activity. taking the initial blood sample that i brought back as an example, if the virus becomes inactive 24 hours after leaving the host, can we speculate that if a person is infected with the virus and doesn¡¯t mutate within 24 hours, they are not at risk of mutation?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s a possibility, but this speculation needs further confirmation,¡± liu ruosong said calmly. ¡°it should be based on the premise that ¡®the human body cannot serve as a viable host.¡¯ currently, we know that the virus causes a person to mutate into something similar to a zombie from the moment of infection. whether this mutation begins at the time of infection or after a period of survival is something that needs to be double-checked.¡±


    liu ruosong¡¯s complexion was calm, his tone steady, and he spoke almost without much thought. he tang stood beside him, listening attentively, admiring his knowledge.


    ¡°liu ge,¡± he tang poked his arm, impressed, ¡°you¡¯re quite knowledgeable.¡±


    ¡°oh¡­¡± liu ruosong realized what she meant and smiled, saying, ¡°after running around for so long, you pick up a bit of everything.¡±


    ¡°liu ge is right,¡± xiao ming continued on the phone, ¡°this is also a concern professor yang has noticed. with the current chaos outside, many pieces of information are not returning, and we cannot completely confirm whether the virus has an incubation period. so, in the next phase, the base here may focus on researching the transmission and mutation cycles of the virus¡­ of course, if there¡¯s any more developments, i¡¯ll inform you all immediately.¡±

 CH 26

    liu ruosong leaned against a large rock, and the campfire next to him crackled, spreading a warm, golden light that dispelled the surrounding darkness.


    shao qiu and yao tu were sleeping in the car, while he feng and he tang, who were responsible for patrolling, hadn¡¯t returned from their rounds. in the makeshift camp, liu ruosong was the only one awake, sitting by the rock, sipping water, and keeping watch.


    strangely, in the dead of night, people tend to let their minds wander. liu ruosong toyed with the campfire and felt an inexplicable sense of loneliness.


    while he had been used to running through wilderness and mountainous terrain for days or even weeks without seeing another soul, his mindset was different then. even in the most remote places, liu ruosong always had an invisible line that he knew he could cross to return to the safety and bustling life of the city.


    but now, that line had disappeared, and the previously assumed sense of security was shattered. it was as if the entire world¡¯s understanding was being overturned, and liu ruosong let out a deep sigh, relaxing his body and gazing at the night. he suddenly had the illusion that the whole world consisted of just the few people in front of him.


    the paper cup in his hand had gone from hot to lukewarm. liu ruosong looked towards the passenger seat, where a computer screen displayed flashing coordinates. in the upper right corner, there was an updated message with the latest information.


    fu yan¡¯s coordinates hadn¡¯t moved for over an hour, indicating that he was resting.


    liu ruosong stared at the blinking coordinate for a while, and a thought suddenly crossed his mind.


    what would fu yan be thinking right now? liu ruosong wondered.


    over a thousand kilometers away, fu yan sat with his arms crossed on a sturdy tree branch, looking up at the sky. the weather in his location was good, with clear skies during the day and a noticeable starry night.


    fu yan bent one leg and leaned against the thick tree trunk, gazing at the group of stars directly in front of him. he thought, ¡°the stars are quite bright tonight.¡±


    he wasn¡¯t the kind of person who would leisurely admire the starry skies, but this comment suddenly came to his mind, partly because he remembered liu ruosong.


    from childhood to adulthood, liu ruosong had been a ¡°free-spirited¡± person. he never followed the paths set for him and was always willing to engage in ¡°pointless¡± activities.


    liu ruosong loved flowers and grass, mountains, water, desolate landscapes, and even the animals and wildlife in remote areas. during one of fu yan¡¯s rare vacations, liu ruosong had kept him company at home, and during the other half, he dragged fu yan around to explore the surrounding areas, claiming they were ¡°discovering the beauty of life.¡±


    liu ruosong seemed to have a natural talent for turning ordinary things into unique and beautiful sights. from sunrise to sunset, from dawn to twilight, and even the unchanging celestial bodies, he always managed to see a fresh perspective.


    ¡°observe them, appreciate them¡ªit¡¯s a happiness that comes at no cost. it¡¯s cost-effective, stress-relieving, peaceful, and private. why wouldn¡¯t you do it?¡± a long time ago, liu ruosong said this to him.


    he said this while they were supposed to go stargazing on a mountain one day. unfortunately, fu yan had to postpone their plan due to a last-minute mission.


    he regretted not going with liu ruosong to s city. he realized that until his last moments, he never had the chance to stargaze with liu ruosong again.


    ¡­ after this is all over, i¡¯ll make it up to him, fu yan thought.


    the dampness of the night fell on his shoulders, and fu yan adjusted his sitting position, relaxing his stiff back. he was about to close his eyes and rest for a while when he heard rustling sounds nearby.


    he turned his head to look, only to find fang sining coming out of the car.


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong?¡± fu yan asked.


    fang sining looked at him, hesitated for a moment, and asked, ¡°aren¡¯t you coming down to rest? i can keep watch instead.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s not necessary,¡± fu yan said. ¡°you rest in the car. if there¡¯s any situation, just call me.¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t mind, actually. why don¡¯t you come up to the car?¡± fang sining suggested. ¡°sleeping outdoors might not be a good idea.¡±


    ¡°no need,¡± fu yan firmly refused.


    he reached into his pocket, retrieved a bag of cookies, and threw it to fang sining. he kept a chocolate energy bar for himself and took a bite.


    fang sining received the cookies with a bit of confusion. after some consideration, he didn¡¯t insist on his offer and turned back to the car.


    he closed the car door and held the supplies in his hands for a while. eventually, he decided to look out of the car window for one more glimpse of fu yan.


    fu yan was wearing a thick black spring and autumn tactical training suit from head to toe, even though it was a warm early summer night and the temperatures had risen. fang sining felt hot and suffocated just looking at him.


    in fact, fu yan was somewhat indifferent to temperature changes, or so fang sining speculated. in some way, he admired fu yan, who remained so disciplined and perfectly composed. even in the absence of witnesses, fu yan always carried himself as if he were invincible, and fang sining had never seen him waver.


    fang sining mumbled to himself and placed fu yan into a category he deemed as ¡°minimal interaction with others¡± in his mind.


    fang sining ate three cookies in a drowsy state and took a couple of sips of water. when he¡¯d finished his ¡°dinner,¡± he stopped worrying about fu yan and decided to save the remaining supplies. finding provisions had become difficult; most small supermarkets in the streets had been ransacked, and large supermarkets with ample supplies had more zombies, making it too dangerous for him to venture in alone.


    besides, fu yan seemed to prioritize a core document, and as long as their supplies maintained them at ¡°not starving to death¡± levels, he wouldn¡¯t expend energy to snatch new ones. so fang sining had to conserve the supplies himself.


    having finished his meal, he didn¡¯t bother fu yan anymore. instead, he put on his coat, curled up in the back seat, and fell asleep.


    fang sining dozed off for some time, not knowing how long, when he heard a buzzing sound in his ear. it was as if someone had been talking right next to him.


    he¡¯d gone through a tense day, surrounded by zombies, and with no proper rest. he was finally able to relax, but he couldn¡¯t fall into a deep sleep. feeling irritable, he turned over twice, almost involuntarily waking from a light slumber.


    fang sining had a terrible mood. before he could get up from the back seat, he realized that the sound wasn¡¯t just a figment of his dream but was emanating from the car¡¯s built-in radio.


    ¡°unfortunately, in the face of this disaster, we are forced to acknowledge the insignificance of humanity,¡± continued the male voice on the radio. ¡°we have made every effort to rescue and evacuate, but the spread of the virus far outpaces our response. since the disaster began, many families have lost loved ones, and many people have lost friends. i deeply sympathize with all those who are mourning.¡±


    the male voice on the radio choked up for a moment. fang sining blinked his eyes, his gaze blankly focused on a smudge on his clothes.


    ¡°however, due to the shortage of rescue personnel and the severity of the situation spiraling out of control, i must ask everyone here to stay strong, summon your courage, and do your best to self-rescue. next, i will publicly share all known medical information with all survivors in society. please take it seriously and try to pass it on to all survivors you can reach.¡±


    ¡°firstly¡ª¡±


    the car¡¯s passenger door suddenly swung open, startling fang sining. he then noticed that fu yan had woken up at some point, and was now standing next to the car, silently listening to the broadcast alongside him.


    ¡°the transmission of this unidentified virus is through bodily fluids, including blood exchange¡ªthere is no incubation period for the virus. once infected, it will lead to mutations. therefore, please survivors, be diligent in identifying both companions and strangers. the time taken for the mutation varies due to individual differences, with a maximum duration of twenty-four hours. the infected mutated individuals exhibit no vital signs or rationality but possess strong aggression and infectivity.¡±


    ¡°note that the infection cannot be controlled or reversed. once infected, you must immediately keep your distance¡ªrepeating this, once infected, maintain your sanity and get away.¡±


    the male voice on the broadcast sounded fatigued and hoarse. fang sining didn¡¯t recognize him, but fu yan could easily tell that it was zhao jincheng himself.


    ¡°encouraging self-rescue does not mean completely giving up on rescue efforts. if there are people in need, you can seek assistance from nearby military districts as much as possible. as long as there are rescue conditions, all military district bases will unconditionally accept any civilians¡ª¡±


    ¡°while the virus is terrifying, it is not entirely unbeatable,¡± zhao jincheng said, ¡°i, in my personal capacity, hereby promise that as long as humanity hasn¡¯t gone extinct, there will always be someone in this world seeking ways to end this catastrophe.¡±


    ¡°so, i also hope that everyone doesn¡¯t give up, hoping for a continued existence in the future.¡±

 CH 27

    zhao jincheng¡¯s ¡°self-rescue proposal¡± was played three times. on this sleepless night, no one knew how many people had heard his voice.


    he tang leaned against the door with her head down, and after a while, she touched her face heavily and then turned to the driver¡¯s seat.


    ¡°no more delay,¡± he tang said. ¡°there are many of us here. we will switch shifts every four hours and rest in turns, and then go to meet the team leader as soon as possible.¡±


    the special task force regarded her as the overall commander, and the only non-official member, liu ruosong, also genuinely wanted to meet fu yan as soon as possible. so everyone in the car didn¡¯t say anything. they quickly packed up their things and hit the road again.


    fu yan¡¯s location remained stationary throughout the night. it was only after the break of dawn that he began moving again. liu ruosong noticed that the other party¡¯s pace was gradually getting back on track, which made him gradually relax.


    he hadn¡¯t slept well the previous night. every time he closed his eyes, he had chaotic dreams that left him feeling anxious and restless. it was as if he had lost something precious, and there was a heavy, murky feeling in his chest. he would wake up in haste after just half an hour of sleep, feeling agitated.


    yet every time he woke up and tried to recall his dream, he couldn¡¯t remember what he had dreamt about, blaming it on the high stress he was under recently, causing him to be mentally exhausted.


    after daybreak, he tang switched to the back seat. at this moment, he feng was sleeping soundly with his head tilted to one side. shao qiu¡¯s driving style was different from he tang¡¯s; it had a wilder element to it. he drove so aggressively that liu ruosong felt a little dizzy and had to press his temples as he leaned back in his seat.


    ¡°liu ge, you can sleep if you want,¡± shao qiu said, looking at him. ¡°we can handle things here.¡±


    ¡°alright,¡± liu ruosong didn¡¯t resist and made a hand gesture, saying, ¡°pull over to the side. i¡¯ll switch with yao tu, let him sit in the passenger¡¯s seat for a while.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s fine without it,¡± shao qiu said, placing one hand on the steering wheel and giving him a smile, ¡°i can manage it by myself.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s safer with more people,¡± liu ruosong insisted. ¡°if there are zombies hidden in the shadows by the road, it¡¯s better to have more eyes looking out.¡±


    since he had put it this way, shao qiu didn¡¯t push back further. so, following liu ruosong¡¯s suggestion, he had him and yao tu switch places.


    the he siblings leaned on each other, while liu ruosong sat alone, propped against the window on the other side. he took off his jacket and wrapped it around himself, quickly drifting off to sleep.


    he wasn¡¯t sure how long he had slept, but in a state between being awake and asleep, he felt like he was having a recurring dream.


    the dream was chaotic, full of fragments that didn¡¯t connect, and liu ruosong felt as if he were walking in a maze of mirrors. no matter where he looked, he saw repetitive mechanical things. the dream¡¯s scenes were like being shrouded in heavy fog, and no matter how hard he tried to look to the other side of the ¡°mirror,¡± he could only see a silhouette. throughout the entire dream, he felt a deep and painful sense of longing and anxiety, as if something was right in front of him, and his survival instincts warned him to escape.


    this dream consumed a lot of liu ruosong¡¯s energy, and the more he slept, the more tired he felt. his body and mind seemed to be sinking in deep water, and he felt himself falling deeper and deeper.


    he didn¡¯t know how long he had slept, but at one point, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, shaking him.


    ¡°liu ge,¡± someone called him.


    liu ruosong woke up abruptly, as if he had been pricked by a needle, grabbing the person¡¯s wrist tightly and calling out, ¡°fu yan.


    ¡°i just remembered; i didn¡¯t ask your age,¡± he feng said with a smile. ¡°i¡¯m twenty-nine this year. what about you?¡±


    liu ruosong was still disoriented. his chest heaved violently, and he stared blankly at he feng for a couple of seconds before finally coming to his senses and quickly releasing the other¡¯s hand.


    ¡°¡­i¡¯m also twenty-nine, born at the end of october,¡± liu ruosong said.


    ¡°so, i¡¯m older than you,¡± he feng said. ¡°i was born in june.¡±


    he feng tactfully avoided the awkwardness of liu ruosong waking up and calling him ¡°fu yan¡± by mistake. he looked at liu ruosong¡¯s complexion and was reassured that he had improved. then he opened a bottle of water and handed it to him, asking if he was okay.


    ¡°i had a dream,¡± liu ruosong said. ¡°but i can¡¯t remember what it was about¡­ i forget as soon as i wake up, it¡¯s strange.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s a good thing; it means your sleep quality is good,¡± he feng patted his shoulder and said. ¡°although it¡¯s a bit embarrassing, i woke you up because there¡¯s something i need to tell you.¡±


    although he feng¡¯s expression was calm, liu ruosong found the words, ¡°so, get ready mentally,¡± quite terrifying. his heart skipped a beat, and his first thought was that something had happened.


    ¡°the situation has changed now, and we may need to change our route,¡± he feng said, pointing to a bright spot on the screen and added, ¡°the team leader¡¯s location hasn¡¯t been updated for three hours.¡±


    liu ruosong then noticed that he had slept through the entire morning. and fu yan¡¯s location stopped updating shortly after entering the next city. initially, yao tu assumed that fu yan was resting in the same place. however, after waiting for two to three hours without any change, they began to feel uneasy.


    ¡°so we can¡¯t wait for our pre-arranged meeting point. we¡¯ll go directly to find the team leader based on his location,¡± he feng said. ¡°we¡¯ll use the location point to provide backup. if his location continues to update during this process, great! if it still doesn¡¯t update, we will need to search for his movement traces based on the location point.¡±


    liu ruosong¡¯s heart was beating fast, and within just a few sentences, he thought of countless possibilities, and almost all of them were gloomy.


    he clenched his teeth and took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his emotions. he refused to consider the possibility of something terrible happening to fu yan, as it would cause him to lose control of his emotions. instead, he focused on a less optimistic scenario, preparing himself mentally.


    ¡°it¡¯s possible that he¡¯s encountered a dangerous situation and is unable to move,¡± liu ruosong said. ¡°in the cities, the situation is severe. take s city, for example. zombies have heightened senses to detect humans. when the zombies encounter a ¡®transmission,¡¯ and the conditions allow, they easily gather in large numbers, becoming extremely dangerous. if he encounters such a situation, he might be stuck in one place.¡±


    ¡°so where did fu yan stop moving?¡± liu ruosong asked.


    ¡°in lin city,¡± shao qiu replied.


    liu ruosong was startled, and his face suddenly turned grim and he feng, in turn, noticed the same shock on shao qiu¡¯s face.


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong?¡± he feng asked. ¡°is there something unusual about lin city?¡±


    ¡°during the first three days of the apocalypse, there was a major fan meeting in lin city,¡± liu ruosong said. ¡°it involved many a-list celebrities, as well as numerous fans. it¡¯s a huge event. the venue is an open sports stadium. there are no barriers to entry and exit unless there¡¯s a security team. if something went wrong¡­¡±


    liu ruosong didn¡¯t complete his sentence, but judging from his expression, it was quite evident what he meant. with tens of thousands of people, and a virus spreading, that place would become a living hell.


    if these over a hundred thousand people scattered throughout the city, it would be manageable, but if they gathered in one place, surrounding the nearby area, it would be terrible for outsiders.


    liu ruosong didn¡¯t dare to dwell on it any further. he saw that he feng noticed his unpleasant expression, and he feng reached over and decisively closed the laptop with a loud snap, taking that thing from liu ruosong¡¯s hands and handing it back to yao tu.


    ¡°it¡¯s alright, don¡¯t panic for now,¡± yao tu took the laptop, offering some comforting words. ¡°the team leader is not just idly sitting by. at the very least, he found a building to hide in. as long as it¡¯s an enclosed space, those things can¡¯t pass through walls, can they?¡±


    ¡°i know,¡± liu ruosong said, ¡°but the sports stadium has no water or supplies, and it¡¯s not part of our resupply plan. fu yan can¡¯t possibly intend to go there. if he¡¯s really held up, it¡¯s probably because he wandered into someplace by mistake. but given his personality, he should have a plan when choosing routes through the city, and there must be evacuation options along the route he selected.¡±


    shao qiu, hearing the calmness in liu ruosong¡¯s tone and seeing that his mind was still clear, couldn¡¯t help but be surprised. he turned from the driver¡¯s seat to look at him.


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong?¡± liu ruosong asked.


    ¡°nothing, i just thought you¡¯d be more anxious, wanting to see the captain right away or something,¡± shao qiu said. ¡°in fact, before waking you up, i had several plans prepared to calm you down.¡±


    ¡°i am anxious, but being anxious doesn¡¯t help. being anxious while also thinking of solutions is more useful than causing chaos,¡± liu ruosong said. ¡°but since you thought i¡¯d be anxious, why did you guys even tell me about this?¡±


    ¡°we wouldn¡¯t hide it from you. since you¡¯re in the car with us, we are a team. even if you might break down or lose control of your emotions, we still need to tell you the full truth,¡± shao qiu said calmly. ¡°concealing and deceiving erode trust. if we want to be true companions, we¡¯d rather endure the storm and be completely honest with each other, than sow the seeds of future troubles.¡±

 CH 28

    lin city experienced heavy rain.


    dark clouds loomed in the sky, unleashing torrential rain, casting a heavy shadow over the entire city.


    the infected blood and severed limbs littered the ground, carried into every corner by the rain. trash cans on the streets were overturned, and a thin milk tea sticker floated out and drifted away with the rain.


    in a large cold storage warehouse in the central area of lin city, fu yan leaned against a corner, distantly observing a dozen or so survivors in the room, positioned diagonally across from him.


    this massive supermarket was four stories tall, and the cold storage warehouse covered hundreds of square meters. the survivors huddled together, with fu yan taking a corner, and the straight-line distance between them and the others was at least ten meters.


    they shivered against the wall, occasionally glancing at fu yan, but not daring to meet his gaze.


    fu yan didn¡¯t pay them much attention either. he loosely held his gun in his right hand and casually tossed his backpack on the ground. a long wound on his left shoulder¡¯s clothing revealed a lengthy cut. fu yan leaned against the wall, and every movement left a trail of blood.


    fang sining ripped open a clean piece of clothing and looked across at the group of people in the warehouse.


    ¡°you don¡¯t need to be afraid,¡± fang sining said dryly. ¡°he got this cut from a metal shelf, it has nothing to do with the zombies. you won¡¯t get infected.¡±


    the group remained silent. they cowered, appearing both fearful and wary, but for the moment, they showed no hostility.


    fang sining guessed that these were likely ordinary people who had been scared by the sudden changes, so he didn¡¯t dare to further agitate their fragile nerves. instead, he silently turned away and tore the fabric into strips to make bandages.


    hospitals were high-risk areas, and neither he nor fu yan had stocked up on medical supplies during their journey. they had to make do with this makeshift method for now.


    fu yan unscrewed a bottle of mineral water, casually poured it over his wound, then took the cloth strips from fang sining and, avoiding his assistance, haphazardly wrapped his own wound.


    fang sining, observing fu yan¡¯s actions, realized that fu yan had no intention of seeking his help. he could only sit down idly and watch fu yan¡¯s movements.


    in fact, stumbling upon this supermarket was a complete accident. fu yan¡¯s goal had always been clear: to obtain information and deliver it to the yan city military district. he didn¡¯t need to search for a way out in the post-apocalyptic world, nor did he intend to play survival games in the wilderness.


    therefore, he had avoided supply points that might consume a lot of time along the way, including hospitals, large shopping malls, and supermarkets. even when it came to finding food and drinking water, his first choice was always small supermarkets hidden in corners. throughout their journey from peng city to lin city, they had spent most of their time at open gas stations.


    this time was no different. fu yan had originally planned to pass through the city center, head toward lin city¡¯s outer highway, but just as they had arrived near this supermarket, a little girl suddenly dashed out of an alley.


    the child looked small, about six or seven years old, and appeared as if she had been rolling in the mud when seen from a distance. her clothes were soaked with mud, and her face was barely visible. she clung tightly to a black plastic bag, pressing it to her chest like it held something precious. her entire body was drenched by the rain.


    she rushed out of the alley and, while running, stepped into a puddle, stumbling and falling in the middle of the road.


    despite her young age, she displayed remarkable resilience. she didn¡¯t cry or complain, but instead gritted her teeth, stood up immediately, and clutched her black plastic bag, determined to keep moving forward.


    fu yan was still a considerable distance away from her when he witnessed this. without hesitation, he slammed on the brakes.


    fang sining immediately grabbed his hand and exclaimed, ¡°you¡¯re so far away; can you be sure that¡¯s a human?¡±


    evidently, he had been deceived by some individuals on the road who hadn¡¯t manifested their infection yet, and now he was suspicious of everything, not finding anything safe.


    however, fu yan had developed sharp eyes from three years of navigating the apocalypse in his past life. he could tell at a glance whether someone was a human or a zombie, whether they had been infected but not yet mutated.


    ¡°it¡¯s a human,¡± fu yan hastily explained. ¡°she¡¯s agile and doesn¡¯t exhibit the stiffness of infection.¡±


    in the few seconds it took to exchange these words, the zombies that had been chasing her were already getting close. the zombie in the front pounced forward with a contorted posture, grabbed the girl¡¯s ankle, and tried to bite her.


    the little girl screamed in shock, her fingers scratching the ground as she attempted to crawl forward. however, the expected pain did not come. she only heard a loud noise by her ear, followed by a sudden, ice-cold and slippery substance spraying onto her leg. the hand that had been gripping her ankle released.


    the little girl, startled and perplexed, stopped screaming as if her voice had been choked off.


    she tried to turn around instinctively, but before her head could fully rotate, she was lifted by the nape of her neck and spun half a circle in the air. before she knew it, her vision had gone blank.


    the zombie¡¯s brain had been blown apart, with brain matter and blood splattered all over the place. this was hardly suitable for child-friendly viewing. fu yan lifted the zombie¡¯s body by the foot and kicked it to a higher place before reaching down to pick up the little girl, who had blood spatters on her leg.


    ¡ªno injuries, thank goodness.


    the little girl apparently realized what had just happened. she looked at fu yan and instinctively clutched the black plastic bag even tighter, drenched from head to toe.


    ¡°i won¡¯t take your things,¡± fu yan said. ¡°why are you here alone?¡±


    unfortunately, fu yan was clueless about child matters. he inadvertently hit the emotional nerve and her tears flowed instantly.


    fu yan: ¡°¡­¡±


    he did want to comfort her, but the situation around them wasn¡¯t conducive. for some unknown reason, there seemed to be more and more of those things around, despite the road appearing completely deserted. in just a few moments, nearly a dozen zombies had emerged from various corners.


    fang sining was a bit farther away, giving him a clearer view. he could see seven or eight zombies swaying and staggering in the back alley on the other side of the road. he couldn¡¯t help but get out of the car and call out to fu yan from a distance.


    ¡°there are too many of those things!¡± fang sining said. ¡°we have to go!¡±


    fu yan also understood this situation. he had limited bullets and only intended to use them in critical moments. in this open environment, he could probably fight his way out on his own, but he couldn¡¯t abandon fang sining.


    moreover, there was this little girl who had suddenly appeared from who knows where, and he couldn¡¯t ignore her.


    fu yan held the little girl as if he were carrying a sack of potatoes. he put away his gun, drew a knife from his boot, and surveyed the area. he retreated a few steps toward fang sining and shouted in his direction, ¡°run!¡±


    fang sining didn¡¯t need any urging. he had already begun to sprint at top speed towards him. fu yan kept a watchful eye on him from the corner of his eye and was somewhat surprised by his reaction. he quietly upgraded his assessment of fang sining¡¯s ¡°self-preservation ability.¡±


    fu yan pressed the little girl against his shoulder and called out to her to hold on tightly. he disregarded the supermarket¡¯s front entrance, instead running a few steps to get closer to the wall, where he used the wall to boost himself up to the second floor, pulling fang sining up after him.


    the little girl was still in shock. she muttered to herself, ¡°uncle, brother,¡± but her words were incomprehensible, and she seemed to have forgotten what she wanted to say.


    once fang sining had successfully reached the second-floor platform, fu yan turned to see that the area inside the supermarket was larger than he had imagined, and the place seemed to be packed.


    the little girl finally seemed to recall what she wanted to say. she frantically slapped fu yan¡¯s shoulder and stammered, ¡°don¡¯t go, don¡¯t go, there¡¯s something inside¡­¡±


    zombies, fu yan thought. i know.


    after the disaster, large shopping malls were bound to be crowded with ordinary people seeking supplies. however, these large gathering places were easy sites for secondary infections. soon, the situation would become more chaotic, with one bite leading to ten, and ten leading to a hundred. inside would be a breeding ground for those creatures.


    fu yan believed he was mentally prepared, however, as soon as he stepped inside, his heart sank heavily. the air was thick with the stench of rot, so sharp that it stung his eyes. fu yan hadn¡¯t even raised his head, but he already knew that there was no way there could be few zombies inside.


    the second floor near the street was the sports section, which now appeared to have been invaded. mannequins and various equipment were scattered everywhere, and the ground was dark with blood. dozens of zombies loitered in just this sales area, but when fu yan looked around, he saw a vast horde in the distance that was beyond counting.


    fu yan suddenly remembered the scene from his previous life just before his death. his stomach churned, but he forced himself to suppress the feeling.


    his instinct was to retreat, but when he looked backward, he realized that within a short time, the zombies from the street had gathered below, along with the group chasing them. they formed a dark mass and were stretching their necks, reaching out to claw at the signboard, as if they were eager to pull them down.

 CH 29

    going forward was like entering a tiger¡¯s den, and retreating was like entering a wolf¡¯s lair. if you could navigate the tiger¡¯s den successfully, there was still a chance of survival. but if you fell into the wolf¡¯s lair, you would be going right into the jaws of danger.


    in an instant, fu yan made up his mind. he tore the little girl off himself and pressed her into fang sining¡¯s arms, shouting at him, ¡°run!¡±


    fang sining had never seen such a situation before and was momentarily stunned. he instinctively asked, ¡°where should we run?¡±


    before fu yan could answer, he crouched low, found a gap, changed his grip on the knife, pushed off the wall, and rolled on the ground, swiftly moving in one direction.


    the zombies inside the building reacted to the noise and almost immediately started converging on him.


    fang sining finally grasped the situation and stopped asking where to run. he hugged the little girl and turned to follow fu yan.


    fang sining lagged behind fu yan by several seconds, and most of the zombies were drawn away by fu yan. occasionally, some zombies noticed fang sining and the little girl, but they were quickly distracted by the commotion fu yan was causing.


    fortunately, the supermarket was quite large, and apart from the sports and electronics sections, the rest was an open public area with shelves that could provide some cover, allowing people to play hide and seek inside.


    fu yan didn¡¯t dare to stop for even a moment. he was afraid of being cornered or leaving fang sining and the little girl vulnerable. he moved swiftly, and his knife quickly became coated in a thick layer of blood. fu yan casually shook it to remove a string of blood droplets.


    fang sining wasn¡¯t sure how these creatures identified humans, so as he passed the household goods section, he grabbed two bottles of floral water from the shelves and poured them over himself and the little girl, turning them into two large mosquito repellent sticks.


    the little girl seemed to be more familiar with the surroundings than he and fu yan were. when they first entered, she screamed in fear at the sight of zombies all around, but in just a short time, she had adapted and was urgently patting fang sining¡¯s back.


    ¡°over there!¡± the little girl pointed to the ceiling.


    fang sining, running while glancing in the direction she was pointing, noticed that the supermarket had lost power, and the ceiling was pitch black, making it impossible to see anything.


    ¡°what¡¯s over there?¡± fang sining asked.


    ¡°away from here,¡± the little girl said, ¡°the ducts!¡±


    fang sining finally understood what she meant. in large supermarkets, the suspended ceiling had reinforced steel frames to support central air conditioning and lighting. if there were gaps in the suspended ceiling, one could crawl through.


    zombies could run but not jump, and certainly not climb into tight spaces. so, hiding in such a place was much safer.


    fang sining looked at the ceiling and saw a suspended ceiling panel hanging in the corner of the freezer area. beneath it, there happened to be a freezer about a person¡¯s height. fang sining estimated that he could give it a try.


    he silently praised the little girl for her quick thinking, thinking she had been a great help. then he popped his head out from behind a shelf and shouted to fu yan.


    fu yan turned around and saw fang sining pointing at the ceiling in the direction of the freezer area. he immediately understood and nodded, then turned and ran in the opposite direction with his ¡°large army.¡±


    it was a somewhat comical scene if you looked closely. the zombies were strong but lacked intelligence. when dealing with ordinary people, they were like fierce ghosts, but in fu yan¡¯s hands, they were like a group of little monsters being playfully avoided. fu yan¡¯s running angle was clever, and he often flipped over shelves, causing the pursuing zombies to bump into each other and eventually roll into a pile due to their force.


    however, human stamina was inferior to these monsters. although fu yan moved quickly, the virus-enhanced zombies were also fast. there were a few times when they almost surrounded him in a corner, but fu yan¡¯s quick reactions saved him.


    he seemed to have some experience in dealing with such situations. he would hide if possible, only taking care of the zombies that got too close. if he couldn¡¯t eliminate them within three moves, he would give up and move on.


    but not all zombies followed fu yan. fang sining scrambled left and right on the shelves in distress. once he didn¡¯t pay attention and came face to face with a zombie. if it weren¡¯t for him toppling the nearby shelf in panic, he would have probably lost a hand.


    however, that zombie had one leg flattened by the shelf, yet it still relentlessly stretched its arm out to grab him. fang sining felt a chill, and his feet turned into a spinning wheel.


    he even felt that he had run more today than in his entire life.


    he ran, crawled, and stumbled through most of the public area, with the cold storage area just a stone¡¯s throw away. but before he could catch his breath, he suddenly heard the little girl on his shoulder scream.


    immediately after that, he felt a powerful force push him from behind, nearly causing him to fall onto the tiled floor. he tumbled into the cold storage area in the blink of an eye, crashing onto a freezer, but he wasn¡¯t a fool. he instinctively stepped on the freezer, lifted the little girl up, and stuffed her into the overhead vent.


    only then did fang sining have the time to turn around and take a look, but as soon as he did, he broke into a cold sweat. when he had come over earlier, he hadn¡¯t noticed the situation nearby. from who knows where, a zombie had appeared, and now it was lying on the ground with fu yan pressing it down, trying to claw its way towards him with both hands and feet.


    fang sining was terrified for a moment and felt like he was spinning. he hadn¡¯t noticed his surroundings earlier, so he was lucky that fu yan had pushed him out of the way; otherwise, he might not have made it.


    fu yan had arrived rather hastily and had been paying attention to the movements on fang sining¡¯s side from the corner of his eye. however, the angle at which the zombie had appeared was too tricky. he had to borrow strength from the shelves and roll over with the zombie still underneath him, saving fang sining from danger.


    in general, he rarely opted for such close encounters with zombies. after all, these creatures were walking virus incubators. you couldn¡¯t predict when you might get infected.


    fu yan was determined to end the battle quickly. he gripped his knife with the blade ready to thrust into the back of the zombie¡¯s neck. however, before he could smash the creature¡¯s brain, he heard fang sining¡¯s sharp shout.


    the next moment, the shelves beside fu yan collapsed with a loud crash. he was pressed down by the zombie, unable to let go, so he quickly smashed its head. instinctively, he bent over to protect his vital areas.


    the heavy shelves fell on top of him, making a lot of items on the shelves fall to the ground with a clatter. the bottom of the iron frame couldn¡¯t bear the weight and instantly opened up a deep and narrow gap right behind fu yan.


    fu yan gritted his teeth, trying to stand up. but he couldn¡¯t muster any strength, and he knelt heavily on the tiled floor. blood flowed from his wound, dripping onto the snow-white tiles. nearby zombies seemed to smell the blood and became restless, moving chaotically towards him.


    the air was filled with the stench of decay, accompanied by terrifying roars. fang sining¡¯s heart raced like a drum, and his blood flowed into his heart, pumping quickly throughout his body. his limbs felt weak, and he struggled to breathe.


    fu yan gasped for air, looking over his shoulder at fang sining. ¡°you go first.¡±


    the odor in the air grew stronger, but fu yan was trapped between two rows of shelves, so he couldn¡¯t see anything. however, fang sining could see clearly. those mindless zombies couldn¡¯t navigate, relying solely on their sense of smell for the scent of blood. they insisted on heading straight for it, crashing into the shelves along the way and reaching out to grab whatever they could.


    the fragile shelves creaked, and fang sining, feeling a sudden burst of courage, rushed back. he cleared the bottles and cans off the ground and tugged at fu yan¡¯s arm to pull him out.


    fu yan didn¡¯t ask what fang sining was doing. he used fang sining¡¯s help to stand up, then pushed the shelves in the opposite direction and whispered to fang sining, ¡°go!¡±


    seeing fu yan free himself, fang sining turned and rushed back to the cold storage area. he climbed onto a freezer with all limbs and squeezed into the overhead vent.


    fu yan deliberately stayed behind to cover their retreat. the zombies, still attracted by them, swarmed towards the area. one of the zombies, the fastest among them, nearly grabbed fu yan¡¯s ankle.


    with a slight push, fu yan clung to the ceiling¡¯s framework with one hand, and with the other hand, he thrust his sharp knife through the air, nailing it through the zombie¡¯s neck from front to back. he left only a shallow handle sticking out.


    the zombie paused briefly, and fu yan had already climbed up from the overhead vent and stepped onto the steel frame.


    surprisingly, the little girl they had brought in was still here. she was lying on a steel frame, staring at him with her eyes wide open.


    fu yan frowned slightly, thinking she had nowhere to go. he was about to ask her, but the little girl timidly asked him, ¡°are you going to turn into a monster?¡±


    fu yan: ¡°¡­¡±


    he turned to look behind him and found that his earlier movements were too intense. blood was flowing out of his wound and dripping onto the steel frame.


    ¡°no,¡± fu yan replied. ¡°i¡¯m very careful and haven¡¯t touched any zombies.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s good,¡± the little girl sighed in relief. then, she turned around familiarly, clung to the steel frame, and climbed in a certain direction. ¡°follow me.¡±


    the little girl led the way, and their destination was not far. they climbed for about five or six minutes, and she easily lifted another movable ceiling panel, jumping down from above.


    fang sining followed her, only to discover that this was actually a ¡°secret base¡± of the survivors.


    this child, fang sining couldn¡¯t help but be amazed; she was too easy to fool. when fu yan said he wasn¡¯t infected, she believed him. what if he were a bad guy? wouldn¡¯t they all be in trouble?


    apparently, besides the little girl who had brought them here, the others in the room had the same thoughts.


    however, fu yan¡¯s proactive attitude had surprisingly put these people at ease. until he had treated his wound, there was no sign of any hostility from them.


    fang sining felt that it was understandable that they were being scrutinized in this environment. however, being watched so closely made him feel awkward. he looked around, coughed awkwardly, and tried to strike up a conversation with fu yan.


    ¡°what do we do next?¡± fang sining asked.


    ¡°we wait,¡± fu yan replied.


    ¡°wait for what?¡± fang sining asked, puzzled.


    ¡°wait for rescue,¡± fu yan said.