The task Wen Yi mentioned progressed very quickly. On the very day they entered this base, a notice came to attend a meeting regarding the Donghai City operation.
Although Xue Ling was told she did not need to participate in this operation, she still went, because it was said that the administrator of this base, General Hao, wanted to meet them.
The base they were in had no name, only the code 01. Countless important secrets and research were stored here.
So important that even if the neighboring Beizheng Base were attacked by a zombie tide, everything here would be prioritized for transfer to a safe location.
The main research institute in the base was managed by Academician Rong Lanjia, Wen Yi’s teacher, while the stationed troops and security were under General Hao’s responsibility.
This old general was over seventy years old and had participated in many important battles in his life, yet his name was not well known to the public.
He had already retired before the apocalypse, but after it began, with the military suffering heavy losses, he stepped forward without hesitation to stabilize the situation, like a pillar anchoring the sea, steadying the overall state of affairs.
It was also he who chose to establish the Beizheng Base here.
After the Beizheng Base got on track, he stepped down again and came to this secret base to hold the line.
The old general’s legs were not in great shape. He entered the conference room leaning on a cane, but his mental state was very good.
His eyebrows were thick, his eyes sharp. When those eyes looked at someone, even Wen Jiuzhe unconsciously reined in that careless attitude of his.
General Hao carefully observed Wen Jiuzhe for a while, then looked at Xue Ling.
With two zombies present at the same time, everyone’s attention naturally focused more on Wen Jiuzhe.
General Hao noticed that Wen Jiuzhe always used his body to half-block Xue Ling, not letting her be fully exposed to others’ scrutinizing gazes.
He appeared relaxed on the surface, but what kind of eye for people did the old general have—at a glance he could see that his emotions were taut, never relaxing for even a moment.
He did not trust anything here. Even though their attitudes were quite good, it had not dispelled his vigilance.
General Hao beckoned Xue Ling to come closer. Compared to the other one, she was much more straightforward. Noticing that she was nervously clutching her hands, the old general suddenly smiled.
“No need to be nervous. Teacher Rong has already told me about you. You’re all outstanding!”
There were not many participants in this meeting. On General Hao’s side, he brought only a guard and a middle-aged subordinate who looked very serious.
Almost at the same time, Wen Yi led her teacher, Academician Rong Lanjia, in as well.
Everyone sat down amicably around the simple conference table. The atmosphere did not feel like a serious meeting at all.
Academician Rong held a paint-chipped thermos cup, and Wen Yi took the initiative to pour tea for everyone.
The young guard beside General Hao hurriedly took over and brewed tea for them one by one.
When the water was set in front of Xue Ling and Wen Jiuzhe, he seemed to think for a second about whether zombies should drink tea, then treated them the same and placed it in front of them.
Xue Ling looked at the steaming tea brewed in the white porcelain cup before her, then looked at the green pothos placed on the table ahead, and heard Academician Rong asking General Hao how his leg had been recently.
This relaxed atmosphere was completely different from the scene she had imagined before coming, where many people would scrutinize and assess them.
But it was very relaxing. The stiff, straight back she had been holding quietly bent down.
“Then let’s talk about the Donghai City operation,” General Hao said, getting down to business.
“We have sent action teams to Donghai City twice. Both times the operations failed. We couldn’t break through the dangerous area in the city center, and ninety-seven people died.”
As he spoke of this, General Hao clasped both hands over the head of his cane, planting it in front of him.
“Those were all my soldiers. Every single death pains me, but the mission must be done. No matter how hard it is, someone has to do it. If those before us don’t clear the way, those after will have no road to walk.”
“Now it’s better. With you two special talents cooperating, casualties can be greatly reduced. I won’t say anything else about all that. I truly thank you for being willing to step forward.”
General Hao’s gentle attitude came from exactly this place.
Whether they were zombies or not—this old man who had seen too many storms did not take it to heart.
As long as everyone could direct their strength in the same direction, they were all good comrades.
“In view of the failures of the previous two attempts, this time we plan to recruit civilians with special skills to form a new special operations team, as a supplement to our soldier teams, to cooperate with the mission.”
“For this operation, we plan to dispatch a total of forty people. Thirty special operations members will be led by Captain Shen Zhang here beside me, along with eight special external personnel, cooperating with Comrade Wen Jiuzhe.”
༚༅༚˳ . . ˳༚༅༚
The meeting did not last long. Once the arrangements were explained clearly, it was adjourned.
Before leaving, General Hao casually patted both Xue Ling’s and Wen Jiuzhe’s shoulders and said to them:
“You still have rationality, so you are human. Firmly be human. No matter how much this world changes, you must maintain the bottom line of being human. Don’t give up on yourselves. Always look upward.”
“Do the mission well. Once the mission is completed, we’ll award you merit medals!”
Wow, there would be merit medals! Xue Ling’s eyes practically sparkled as she grabbed Wen Jiuzhe’s arm and shook it excitedly.
She also wanted to complete the mission and exchange it for a merit medal.
Mom, I’ve made something of myself!
After General Hao left, Captain Shen Zhang came over to greet the two of them and asked to shake hands.
After finishing shaking hands with Wen Jiuzhe, he extended his hand to Xue Ling as well, treating her the same.
Xue Ling: Ah, me too?
She looked at her dark, sharp fingernails and carefully extended her hand to shake his.
“In the future, we should have many opportunities to cooperate. I hope we can learn from each other,” Captain Shen said calmly, his expression unchanged after shaking the zombie’s bluish hand.
The Donghai City operation was set for three days later. During this period, Wen Jiuzhe had to undergo emergency training. Various firearms and weapons training—since he already had a foundation, he passed through it quickly.
Another most important training course was given to him by Wen Yi, telling him that after entering the laboratory, he needed to take away various precious instruments and materials.
He had to know how to properly dismantle and move them intact, know which were the most critical, and prioritize taking the things they needed.
Captain Shen Zhang and the others would wait on the perimeter. The most dangerous area for humans—only Wen Jiuzhe would go in. Only he could enter that laboratory.
So he additionally needed to learn how to crack doors with extremely high security coefficients.
Time was tight, and there was no time for detailed study. Wen Yi had him bring several instruction manuals with him, telling him to flip through them on the spot if he was unclear later.
Wen Jiuzhe held those several thick manuals, listening rather inattentively.
Seeing him like that, Wen Yi seriously suspected that he would accidentally damage the equipment and drag back a pile of broken machines.
She placed her hand on Xue Ling’s shoulder, who was listening in, and threatened, “Xue Ling can’t run away here. You’d better complete the mission properly and not deal with it perfunctorily.”
Wen Jiuzhe’s dark red eyes looked at her dangerously. “Threatening me again?”
At this moment, Xue Ling suddenly raised her hand.
“I have a proposal,” her tablet read aloud flatly. “Why not leave Wen Jiuzhe behind as a hostage and send me to do the mission instead!”
Wen Jiuzhe, who had just been threatened by Wen Yi and was about to lose his temper: “……”
Wen Yi, who seemed a little tempted: “……”
It didn’t seem completely impossible.
Xue Ling: “I request to compete for the position, leader. I have more than three years of zombie experience. That counts as an advantage, right?”
Wen Jiuzhe: You’re even getting competitive now—comparing work experience with me?
Wen Yi: “That makes sense. Then take a look at these books. Do you remember the key points I just explained?”
Xue Ling: “I can stay up all night memorizing them. I’ll definitely study seriously!”
Wen Yi: “Mm, your attitude is very good. Much more proactive than Wen Jiuzhe.”
If they let them keep talking, the mission might really change hands.
Wen Jiuzhe interrupted the two of them: “Enough. I’ll study properly.”
Xue Ling was a little regretful: “I really can’t go?”
Wen Yi said: “No need to rush. We have many missions, not just the Donghai City search mission.”
“This Donghai City mission is relatively heavy. It involves a lot of heavy lifting, violent forced entry, and you must also be proficient with firearms and ammunition. These are things you can’t master in a short time.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll have chances to go on missions in the future. Since you’re unwilling to cooperate with experiments, we definitely won’t let you sit idle.”
Wen Jiuzhe tapped the table. “You two—are you treating me like I don’t exist?”
Watching Wen Yi and Xue Ling chatting back and forth, Wen Jiuzhe only felt Wen Yi was detestable, and Xue Ling was helping count money for someone even after being sold.
When the class ended and they were about to leave, Wen Yi remembered something. “Oh right, a friendly reminder—after you go out, don’t infect people. If you have to deal with humans, it’s best to use weapons.”
If Wen Jiuzhe could smile, he would definitely be showing a cold smile right now. “Didn’t you already have Xue Ling warn me? You still need to emphasize it?”
Wen Yi: “Oh? Then did she tell you why you can’t infect humans?”
As soon as these words came out, Xue Ling, standing behind Wen Jiuzhe, instantly widened her eyes and pressed her palms together in a pleading gesture.
Sis, don’t say it, don’t say it!
Hearing that something was off in Wen Yi’s tone, Wen Jiuzhe pressed, “Why?”
Wen Yi exchanged a glance with Xue Ling without revealing anything, her expression betraying no clue, and answered:
“You’re a zombie after all. Before, it was one thing, but now that you’ve been incorporated into the base, if you infect humans again it will cause some issues of stance. If nosy people investigate it, it’ll be very troublesome.”
Such a boring explanation—Wen Jiuzhe couldn’t even be bothered to listen further.
“Got it.”
While Wen Jiuzhe was studying hard with the books, Xue Ling secretly went to find Wen Yi to thank her.
“You don’t dare tell him your situation. Are you afraid he won’t be able to accept it? He’s already become a zombie, what is there left that he can’t accept?” Wen Yi said.
Xue Ling lowered her head to the tablet. A moment later, she handed it over. On the screen was a single sentence: “I’m afraid that once he knows, he’ll immediately go out and randomly bite people, turn into the same situation as me, and then come back to let you research him first.”
Wen Yi: “……”
Sometimes she really couldn’t understand some couples.
Logically speaking, all feelings were driven by hormones. They had already turned into zombies—how could they still love and fuss over each other like this?
That night, as she lay in bed sleeping, she could vaguely hear Wen Jiuzhe next door acting ridiculous, just like a lively and stupid male college student.
Was this still her half-brother who, back at the Wen family estate, wore an unconvinced expression and woke up every day ready to fight the entire world?
“How long has Wen Jiuzhe had this symptom?” Wen Yi asked.
She tried to attribute it to the virus altering Wen Jiuzhe’s brain, making him so mentally unstable.
Xue Ling: “?”
“I mean, he’s like this now—was he like this before too?”
Xue Ling: “He seems to have always been like this.”
It was just more obvious sometimes, and less obvious at others.
“Looks like you can only cooperate with me in doing research,” Wen Yi said lightly. “Little sister, you also wouldn’t want the things you’re hiding to be found out by him, right?”
It took Xue Ling a moment to react before realizing that Wen Yi was joking with her.
She laughed, then made a sighing gesture and offered a sincere explanation: “Sister Yi, it’s not that I’m unwilling to agree. It’s that if I agree, Wen Jiuzhe will go crazy.”
After returning from Wen Yi’s place, Xue Ling opened her door and was startled by Wen Jiuzhe standing there.
He was still holding the thick instruction manuals Wen Yi had given him. It looked like he had been reading the whole time before Xue Ling came in.
Now he tossed the books aside and walked toward Xue Ling, quietly looking her up and down.
Xue Ling leaned against the back of the door, feeling a little guilty, her eyes darting around.
“Are you hiding something from me?” Wen Jiuzhe asked.
“Biting people, infecting people—what consequences does that have? It’s not just the issues Wen Yi mentioned, right?”
He moved closer and closer, his chest almost pressing against Xue Ling’s face.
“What have you been anxious about these past two days, Xue Ling?”
Trapped between his chest and the door, Xue Ling had nowhere to escape. She suddenly squatted down on the spot, trying to slip past the obstruction.
Wen Jiuzhe: “……”
He squatted down as well, still blocking her by the door, pressing her firmly in place with just one hand. “Talk. Don’t think you can muddle through.”
Forced by him to the point of anger, Xue Ling raised her tablet high. “If you don’t talk when something happens, then this time I won’t talk either!”
