About ten days after Xue Ling set off, Wen Jiuzhe returned to the base.

After getting out of the car, he went straight back to his residence. Not seeing Xue Ling, he went to Wen Yi’s laboratory instead, only to find the lab door locked and Wen Yi not there either.

A sense of foreboding immediately arose.

As expected, he discovered that Xue Ling was not at the base, but had followed a team to the northwest. In his fury, he kicked over the meeting room table on the spot.

The plain long table had one of its legs snapped off by the kick and crashed against the wall beside it.

Captain Shen Zhang, who had come to inform him of the situation, was startled for a moment by his sudden outburst.

From the first time he saw Wen Jiuzhe at the base, although he appeared not very easy to get along with, in reality he was emotionally stable and reliable in handling matters.

There had been some friction within the team going to Donghai City, and some people had said unpleasant things right in front of Wen Jiuzhe, yet he had never gotten angry.

This made people feel even more that he only looked intimidating, while his temper was actually quite good.

Only now did Captain Shen Zhang realize that it wasn’t that his temper was good and he didn’t get angry, but that nothing had touched the point that would make him angry.

“I understand your feelings, but please rest assured, no one at this base coerced Xue Ling. She went voluntarily to provide support,” Captain Shen Zhang explained.

The moment he heard the word “voluntarily,” Wen Jiuzhe became even angrier. Stiff like a sculpture, on that face so cold it seemed ready to shed dust, he pulled out a strange, cold smile.

But he made no further moves. Instead, he sat down on a bench with legs spread wide, coldly staring at Shen Zhang.

Shen Zhang had seen what he was capable of, and at this moment felt a bit of cold sweat on his back.

He was inwardly lamenting as well. As soon as he returned, General Hao had called him over to explain the situation and had him come speak to Wen Jiuzhe.

But what could he do? He couldn’t possibly have the old general deal with this tough character himself.

Captain Shen Zhang spoke earnestly for a few more sentences, but Wen Jiuzhe no longer wanted to listen. Sitting there, he was merely digesting his own anger. Once his emotions stabilized again, there was only one thing he intended to do.

“Get me a car. I’ll catch up to them,” Wen Jiuzhe said.

“Don’t worry about that. The vehicle is already prepared, and there’s someone to guide you. You can set off shortly,” General Hao walked in from outside the door, as if he hadn’t seen the broken meeting table at all.

He gestured for the guard to bring over a letter. “Almost forgot, there’s also a letter from Xue Ling for you.”

Wen Jiuzhe took it, ripped the envelope open with a tearing sound, and poured out a single Polaroid photo.

In the photo, Xue Ling was holding up that old, battered handwritten board she used before, with the words “Don’t be angry” written on it.

Even through the photo, one could see her unease and nervousness at the time, like a criminal having their first mugshot taken.

After looking at it for a while, Wen Jiuzhe put the photo away, stood up, and left.

Seeing that he seemed to have completely calmed down, Captain Shen Zhang gave a wry smile and asked the old general, “Why didn’t you have me deliver this letter earlier?”

General Hao waved his hand, leaning on his cane. “Young people have big tempers. When they have anger, they need to let it out before it’s easy to calm down. Seeing the letter at that time is what really helps them cool off.”

He was very experienced in this. Back when he was young, he and his old comrades were stationed outside, conditions were harsh, and he had once been responsible for appeasing military family members.

When the accompanying military wives suffered grievances and made a fuss, that was truly terrifying. No amount of persuasion worked. When they started throwing hands, how fierce they could be was something today’s youngsters simply couldn’t imagine.

Forget the meeting table—even General Hao himself had almost been torn apart by them.

Compared to those days, Wen Jiuzhe wasn’t all that difficult to deal with.

When Wen Jiuzhe arrived at the vehicle General Hao had mentioned, he discovered that it was a convoy, specifically for transporting supplies.

The previous convoy had left in too much of a hurry, and many things hadn’t been prepared properly. They were the second batch of support heading to the northwest. Even if Wen Jiuzhe hadn’t asked to go, this second batch was more or less about to depart anyway.

By that calculation, Wen Jiuzhe was the one who just happened to tag along.

Wen Jiuzhe: “……”

It felt like everything had been arranged in advance, all within expectations, and that made him irritated.

Shen Zhang and his team members were also assigned to this convoy.

According to General Hao, they had already successfully cooperated once before—once is experience, twice is familiarity.

If Wen Jiuzhe ignored everything and drove off on his own, they would still be responsible for the safety of this supply convoy.

When Captain Shen Zhang saw Wen Jiuzhe standing in front of the vehicle for quite a while without moving, he even worried that in a fit of anger he might kick the vehicle over.

But Wen Jiuzhe merely took out that photo again, glanced at it twice, then lifted his foot and got into the vehicle.

General Hao came to see them off, a trace of a smile appearing on his stern face. “You have to trust that our military family members understand the bigger picture. They may feel wronged or angry for a while, but they will still think for the sake of our soldiers.”

Captain Shen Zhang said, “Is he considered military family?”

General Hao replied calmly, “Xue Ling is a good comrade of ours. She has already joined us and participated in many routine missions. Her partner naturally counts as military family.”

Captain Shen Zhang said, “What I mean is, he isn’t considered a soldier?”

General Hao’s gaze was sharp. “He may be Xue Ling’s soldier, but he is not our soldier.”

But this wasn’t really a big problem either. With Xue Ling around, he wouldn’t pose any danger to them.

Xue Ling was a sincere, good child, and this young man would also know how to judge the situation.

The experienced General Hao didn’t let this landmine explode at the base, and lightly sent the man away.

༚༅༚˳ .  . ˳༚༅༚

Xue Ling sat in the vehicle, often unable to resist looking back at the road they had come from.

There was nothing on the road except dust, but she kept looking anyway.

Wen Yi noticed and said, “Stop looking. Even if Wen Jiuzhe wants to come, he won’t catch up that quickly. They probably haven’t finished the Donghai City mission yet.”

“You haven’t even been apart that long. Is there really a need to miss him this much?”

Xue Ling uneasily tugged at her pants and explained on the tablet, “I’m not missing him. If possible, I’d rather he stay at the base and not catch up… I’m a little afraid he’ll catch up and lose his temper.”

Wen Yi: “……”

Putting down the materials in her hands, Wen Yi curiously probed, “What did he do when he got angry with you before, to make you this scared?”

Xue Ling said, “It seems he’s never gotten angry with me.”

Wen Yi: “……”

Xue Ling said, “It’s precisely because he’s never gotten angry with me that I’m scared. If he gets angry with me for the first time, it’ll definitely be terrifying.”

She had heard about the mission and bravely come along, but now she had started scaring herself.

Wen Yi said, “So what exactly is the point of you two being in a relationship, if you don’t even have the freedom to do what you want, and still have to worry about the other person’s feelings.”

Xue Ling thought for a moment, then explained, “I have many problems, and he also has many problems. Being together, we solved some old problems and created some new ones, but overall, the problems decreased rather than increased… maybe that’s the meaning.”

Wen Yi said, “Got it. Fix old bugs, new bugs appear, but overall it’s getting better. Being together is a version update for you two.”

Xue Ling: Such a Wen Yi–style explanation, not a trace of human warmth in it.

After chatting idly for a bit, Xue Ling hugged her tablet, looked at the dust rising behind the convoy, and asked:

“Why don’t we use airplanes? If we used planes, we could fly to the northwest quickly, then quickly solve the problem and quickly come back.”

Maybe they could even make it back to the base before Wen Jiuzhe and the others finished their mission.

“Don’t even think about airplanes for now,” Wen Yi said. “Earlier, global communications ran into problems, navigation and radar completely collapsed. More importantly, affected by mutated magnetic fields, unknown interference appeared—once planes fly up, accidents and crashes are likely.”

“Beizheng Base also has people specifically researching this, but communications still haven’t recovered yet. Restoring aerial transport will take time to resolve.”

Xue Ling was very disappointed. She was still thinking about how, during a previous mission, someone had said they could teach her to fly a fighter jet. No wonder the captain had said there was no chance for now.

No choice but to honestly drive on the ground.

Their team was going to save lives, traveling day and night, rotating drivers, never stopping on the road, rushing toward the northwest at the fastest speed.

The thing Xue Ling had been worried about—Wen Jiuzhe catching up midway and losing his temper—did not happen. They arrived at Long’an Ancient City ahead of time.

This journey had been far too rushed and exhausting. Even the iron-hard soldiers had several who looked pale and unwell. Those few researchers under Wen Yi whose health wasn’t great had all lost a lot of weight. Wen Yi couldn’t eat anything at all, surviving entirely on glucose, looking much more haggard.

In this lifeless, exhausted team, only Xue Ling, this zombie, was still lively.

Finally seeing the outline of Long’an Ancient City, everyone felt as if a great weight had been lifted.

But what lay before them were zombies wandering along the roads, zombie hordes lingering outside the ancient city.

They arrived at night. With no lights inside or outside the ancient city, all they could see were shifting human silhouettes. A very heavy, Chinese-style horror atmosphere.

“How can there be so many zombies here?”

“Nearby is Long’an City. Before the apocalypse it was a fairly well-known tourist attraction, with many visitors. Now many of the zombies in the city have come over here.”

With so many people in their group, they were like a bright light in the darkness, attracting zombie attention. Even with the convoy temporarily stopped here, some zombies had already followed the scent over.

Entering Long’an Ancient City would not be easy. To be safe, it would be best to proceed slowly, but Mr. Ji Shiping’s condition was critical and they couldn’t afford to delay.

So in the end, it was decided that Xue Ling would drive the medical vehicle into Long’an Ancient City, first make contact with them, and deliver some supplies inside.

Xue Ling put on a hat and gloves, climbed into the medical vehicle, waved to the crowd watching her with hopeful eyes, and started the engine.

The map had been drawn for her by the soldier who came to deliver the message, marking the location where Academician Ji Shiping and his group were staying when he left.

They were hiding in a famous ancient building within the city, the Li family’s old residence.

From the ancient city gate to the Li family’s old residence was a very long distance.

The roads inside the ancient city were narrow, the ground paved with bricks. As the wheels rolled over them, some places were uneven.

Moreover, there were many alleys, and from time to time several zombies would suddenly pounce out from dark, narrow lanes.

Xue Ling drove very carefully, yet she was still startled by zombies that pounced onto the hood and windows.

In the ancient city with its old buildings, zombies suddenly appearing right in front of her face were just like the frightening scenes in classic horror films.

When Xue Ling was startled, she instinctively stepped on the accelerator, rolling the zombies that had pounced up under the vehicle.

Xue Ling: …Not my fault. You were the ones who scared me first.

For the dozen or so people who were holed up in a single courtyard of the Li family’s old residence, this was a bleak night. Nearly every one of them had already fallen into despair.

The soldiers who had escorted Academician Ji Shiping while hiding and relocating along the way were now down to only ten. Each one of them was dark-skinned and gaunt, having gone a long time without a full meal.

Even the guns in their hands were left with only a few bullets.

Academician Ji Shiping had originally had a team of over ten people, but now only two researchers remained, their cheeks sunken as well.

And their pillar, Academician Ji Shiping, had already been unconscious for two days. Before, he could still wake occasionally to give them instructions, but today, they couldn’t even get any water into him.

His face was so pale it seemed as if he would lose his breath the very next second.

They had no medicine, no food left, and only a little water remaining.

The people who had gone out earlier to seek help had not returned. Those who had gone out to look for food had also not returned. Perhaps they had all already died in the zombie horde outside.

Several of the soldiers discussed it and decided that when daybreak came, they would find a way to go out, then send people to seek help nearby.

Everyone knew clearly that once they went out, it might mean death, but they had no other choice.

Thirteen people in total, all gathered together, sat dry-eyed in the darkness, listening to the zombies’ howls outside.

In the suffocating silence, a soldier suddenly stood up. His voice was hoarse and trembling as he asked uncertainly, “Outside… is there the sound of a vehicle?”