After Xue Ling returned, the team held a brief meeting, and then a group of people took weapons and escorted the two specially brought doctors into Long’an Ancient City.
Their mission was to spare no effort to rescue Academician Ji Shiping and ensure his life safety.
Wen Yi also proposed to go with this team. She could not wait to meet Academician Ji Shiping’s research team and exchange new findings about meteorites and the zombie virus.
Being able to first look at the relevant materials would also be fine.
But the request to accompany the team was rejected by the overall commander. The commander could understand her urgent feelings, but believed that now was not a good time.
In the current Long’an Ancient City, having one more person meant one more degree of danger.
Another researcher in the team with the surname Yang, Yang Luo, who was not from Wen Yi’s faction, criticized her:
“Dr. Wen, being eager for quick success is not good. If you rush over now, can you make Academician Ji get up and answer your questions?”
“I suggest we observe here for a few more days. Once Academician Ji’s condition stabilizes and we leave the ancient city, we can go to a safe place. Wouldn’t that be better for research?” Yang Luo spoke righteously.
Wen Yi did not even give him a glance, but continued speaking to the commander: “If we need to stay in Long’an Ancient City for a long time, then I request to enter Long’an Ancient City at the latest two days later.”
The commander was also in a difficult position. The researchers who came belonged to two small groups. He had to treat them equally and, preferably, let them act together.
If one side entered the ancient city while the other stayed at the camp, it would be inappropriate for him to send only one side to contact Academician Ji’s research team first.
So he did not give a definite answer, only saying: “We’ll wait for the team to come back and then see the specific situation. Both of you are senior researchers. I must be responsible for your life safety and cannot rashly let you place yourselves in danger.”
After Wen Yi came out of the temporary tent, she saw Xue Ling wandering nearby.
Wandering over to Wen Yi’s side, Xue Ling showed her tablet, which had written on it: “Sister Yi, if the commander doesn’t agree, in a couple of days I can take you there. I know the route well.”
If it were just Wen Yi alone, she was very confident she could send her over safely.
The tent was not soundproof. Whatever was said inside, Xue Ling, who was strolling outside, heard it all clearly.
Although they had not spent much time together, Xue Ling already understood Wen Yi’s personality very well.
Once she made a decision, no one could stop her. Deep down, she had the exact same madness as Wen Jiuzhe and was truly capable of driving a car herself and forcefully charging into Long’an Ancient City.
She felt it was necessary to coax her a bit. Sure enough, upon seeing her words, the icy expression on Wen Yi’s face eased slightly.
But that Yang Luo who followed over was extremely lacking in tact. He leaned over to glance at Xue Ling’s tablet and then started pointing and commenting:
“Xue Ling, then I have to say something about you. You can’t rely on having merits to openly go against the commander’s orders. Even zombies have to follow discipline…”
Xue Ling suddenly made a ferocious expression and pounced toward Yang Luo with bared teeth and claws.
Yang Luo was so frightened that he staggered backward, his expression terrified as he shouted sharply:
“You! What are you doing, trying to attack me! If you dare attack me, that’s a crime and illegal. Wen Yi won’t be able to protect you either!”
Xue Ling scared him until his face turned pale, then withdrew her hands, tapped her tablet, and a sentence came out:
“I was just joking around with you. Why are you so scared? Do you have a problem with me?”
Researcher Yang’s face turned green.
Previously, he had thought Xue Ling was very easy to talk to, conscientiously carrying out tasks and usually just staying quietly by herself.
Although she was a zombie, she gave people a very harmless feeling. He had not expected her to have this side to her.
Wen Yi said lightly at this time: “If you accidentally turned into a zombie, who knows which zombie infected you. There are so many zombies around the camp. Anyway, it couldn’t possibly be Xue Ling who did it, right.”
Understanding the threat hidden in her words, and seeing that there were not many people around, Yang Luo immediately turned and left, putting as much distance as possible between himself and the two of them.
Seeing him flee as if escaping, Xue Ling raised her tablet and read out more than a dozen “hahas.”
Wen Yi also curled her lips slightly: “Let’s go. Next time you see that idiot, stay farther away. His stupidity is contagious—harder to cure than the virus.”
That evening, half of the squad that entered Long’an Ancient City returned. The latest news they brought back was that Academician Ji’s condition was very serious and he was temporarily unfit to be moved, nor could he withstand the jolting of travel. At present, he needed instrument monitoring in the medical vehicle.
For at least half a month, they would have to stay in Long’an Ancient City. Whether they could leave afterward would depend on the situation then.
Their current campsite could not be stayed in for long. With this turn of events, the overall commander had to consider moving the main force into Long’an Ancient City and arrange manpower to clear out the surrounding zombies.
Wen Yi got her wish. Yang Luo, on the other hand, was full of displeasure. He went alone to the commander to offer suggestions, but they were not accepted, so he could only pinch his nose and reluctantly follow Wen Yi and the others into the ancient city.
The main force was going to move into Long’an Ancient City.
Xue Ling did not participate in the zombie-clearing operation inside the ancient city. She stayed at the temporary campsite outside the city together with several soldiers who remained behind.
Before leaving, Wen Yi reminded her to make sure to wear her soldier uniform properly, not to wander around inside the ancient city, and that if a soldier clearing zombies failed to see clearly and treated her as an ordinary zombie and cleared her along with the rest, that would be bad.
Xue Ling: “……”
What a hellish assumption.
Xue Ling was still very obedient and did not go to join the excitement. Outside of missions, she paid particular attention to rest and often found places to lie down.
Because lying silently in the camp would always accidentally scare other people, Xue Ling deliberately found a spot a bit farther from the campsite, with better scenery, to lie down.
Lying there for a whole day felt like returning to those three years when she was alone—there was nothing she needed to do, and no one would come looking for her, so she could only watch ants crawling on the trees out of boredom.
Her calm only lasted until the sound of vehicles broke the silence.
People had arrived at the camp. From some distance away, Xue Ling heard the noise over there.
There were quite a few people who came. She got up and went over to take a look, and at a glance saw a person by the vehicles.
He was looking around the camp, as if searching for something.
It was Wen Jiuzhe.
According to the plan, at this time he should still be completing the Donghai City mission. How did he run straight here!
Wen Jiuzhe also noticed her and walked straight toward her.
Because he had no expression, this kind of silent, fast approach was a little frightening.
Xue Ling also quickened her steps, but her path diverged from Wen Jiuzhe’s—she went straight toward the vehicle she had been staying in earlier.
Wen Jiuzhe: What does this mean? Why is she running?
If zombies could laugh, he would have almost laughed in anger. He pivoted his steps and also turned toward Xue Ling’s vehicle.
Just as he strode over to the vehicle with a menacing air, Xue Ling came down again holding something.
It was a red corsage. She held that corsage and shook it as if showing it off, then fastened it onto Wen Jiuzhe’s chest.
The fire filling Wen Jiuzhe’s stomach was blocked by her strange action.
He stared at the red corsage on his chest for a while, then took out the tablet he had not used in a long time and sent his first question since meeting her:
“Groom’s corsage?”
“What does it mean to give me a groom’s corsage—are we getting married now?”
Xue Ling: “……”
“This is what I got as a reward after completing a mission. It represents honor. It’s not a groom’s corsage!” Xue Ling explained, speechless.
The moment she saw Wen Jiuzhe, she knew he must be furious, so she immediately decided to use this to placate him.
After hearing the explanation, Wen Jiuzhe felt a little disappointed, and his interest in the corsage dropped sharply.
“They just use a little red flower to trick you into working?” Wen Jiuzhe said.
Xue Ling: “There are other rewards too—rice, flour, grain, oil, sugar, candies, canned food, that sort of thing.”
“Where’s the stuff?”
Wen Jiuzhe crossed his arms, looking very displeased, as if he felt she had been scammed. Xue Ling did not dare say that she had given the things to Wen Yi.
“What about you—how did your Donghai City mission go? Why did you come back so early?” Xue Ling tried hard to change the subject.
Wen Jiuzhe’s tablet read aloud: “The mission was too easy. I came back after finishing it.”
Captain Shen Zhang had originally been walking over to Wen Jiuzhe to discuss some arrangements. Hearing this sentence, he stopped in his tracks, his expression complicated.
Xue Ling also saw him and waved to greet him. She felt that the mission was probably not as simple as Wen Jiuzhe said. Compared to before, Captain Shen Zhang looked as if he had aged ten years.
Captain Shen Zhang said, “We’ll rest for half a day, then prepare to enter the ancient city. Wen Jiuzhe, what are your plans?”
Although he already knew that Wen Jiuzhe would stay here with Xue Ling, the question still had to be asked.
Sure enough, Wen Jiuzhe succinctly told him via the tablet: “Staying.”
Shen Zhang did not understand why he clearly could speak yet chose not to, but he did not point it out. He nodded to show he understood and turned to leave.
They had been desperately rushing along this entire journey and had not rested at all. If the entire team were not made up of soldiers in good physical condition, several people would have collapsed halfway.
Even so, Wen Jiuzhe had still been complaining that they were too slow.
Xue Ling moved closer to Wen Jiuzhe, lowered the tablet’s volume, and asked quietly, “Did you get your merit medal?”
Wen Jiuzhe: “…No.”
At the time, he had not even thought about it.
But after looking at Xue Ling a couple more times, he immediately understood what she meant. Narrowing his eyes, he asked her, “Want to use your corsage to trade for my merit medal?”
Xue Ling widened her eyes. “How could that be!”
If he did not know her so well, Wen Jiuzhe would really have thought she did not want it anymore.
Looking more closely, her gaze was a little guilty and evasive, drifting from his nose to behind his ear.
“No merit medal for now, but there’s this.” Wen Jiuzhe took out a small red box. “Brought back from Donghai City.”
On his trip to Donghai City, aside from the items on the mission list, this was the only thing he brought back.
Xue Ling did not reach out to take the box right away.
It looked far too much like a ring box.
If a box looked very much like a ring box, then nine times out of ten, what was inside would be a ring.
Xue Ling: “……”
She looked at Wen Jiuzhe, then looked at the box that appeared especially small when set against his palm, and slowly extended her hand.
When she took the box and opened it, Xue Ling thought, could it be that Wen Jiuzhe was about to propose?
She opened the box with a bit of nervousness, revealing a ruby necklace.
Xue Ling: “……”
Wen Jiuzhe waited for a while. Seeing that she was just staring at the necklace without any reaction, he asked, “Why no reaction, you don’t like it?”
Xue Ling: “How could that be, I like it a lot, wow, it’s really beautiful, thank you.”
The tablet’s voice was flatter than it had ever been.
Wen Jiuzhe asked, “You didn’t think it was a ring, did you.”
Xue Ling suddenly got angry and punched him once. If you figured it out, then you figured it out—why point it out!
Wen Jiuzhe caught her hand. “There weren’t any good-looking rings over there. This necklace was the most expensive.”
At that time, he had stood at the ring counter for quite a while, but what he thought of was Xue Ling’s fingers getting thinner and thinner.
If a ring were put on, it would probably make it even clearer—how that little circle would gradually become looser on her finger.
So he had only stood at the ring counter for a bit before leaving, and in the end chose this necklace instead.
