Chapter 70

Xue Ling nodded.

Wen Jiuze’s stiff face cracked into what might have been a smile, but it came off as rather sarcastic.

“Okay.” He typed on his tablet, “Then we’ll leave.”

Where would they go? To the remote cabin they stayed in that winter, or somewhere else?

Xue Ling couldn’t guess, but Wen Jiuze said they would leave tomorrow, so she decided to say goodbye to those she knew today.

Last time, she had lost consciousness so suddenly that she hadn’t had a chance to say farewell. If she left this time, she probably wouldn’t see them again.

When she went to say goodbye to the soldiers she once knew, Xue Ling didn’t let Wen Jiuze follow. She went alone to the familiar training field.

The weather was cold, but the field was full of people, all sweating. The warm breath of everyone made the air feel less chilly.

As Xue Ling approached, she felt the familiar hunger gnawing at her, more intense than before.

At first, she had intended to find a familiar team or its leader, but she found herself unknowingly staring at a group of people sitting near the edge of the field.

The group was resting against the iron fence, laughing and talking.

For a moment, Xue Ling seemed to lose consciousness, walking forward without thinking, until the iron fence outside the training field stopped her.

Suddenly awake, she jerked her hand away from the fence.

She had been a zombie for a long time and had always been able to fight the instinctual hunger. She knew very well that she didn’t like attacking humans.

But this was the first time she realized, in a fully conscious state, that she couldn’t control herself.

It was like the time when her body failed to respond, but this lack of control felt much more terrifying than being unable to move.

She didn’t go through the nearby gate. Instead, she quickly turned around and rushed back to Wen Jiuze’s side.

“Done saying your goodbyes already?” Wen Jiuze was still sitting in the same position on the chair, unchanged since she left.

Xue Ling approached, pulled his coat open, and hid her head inside.

“What happened? Did they say something bad about you?”

“…”

“Didn’t find anyone you knew? Are you upset because someone you knew passed away?”

“…”

Wen Jiuze pulled her out, gave her the tablet, and told her to answer.

Xue Ling shook her head, holding the tablet. After a while, she opened her mouth, showing her sharp teeth, and made a motion as if she wanted to pull them out.

“…Want to bite someone?” Wen Jiuze asked.

Xue Ling buried her head back into his coat.

Wen Jiuze wrapped her up with the coat, stood up, and walked over to the desk. He opened a drawer, retrieved a small insulated box, and took out a syringe that had been stored at low temperature.

As Xue Ling heard the packaging being opened, she looked up and saw that the box was almost empty, except for the syringe Wen Jiuze was holding, and one more vial of medicine.

She had seen similar packaging on a table when she first woke up on Jiading Island.

Wen Jiuze pressed her head down, and Xue Ling didn’t feel the sharp pain of the needle. She only felt a faint chill at the back of her neck.

The cold sensation spread like a spider web through her scalp, followed by a feeling similar to soda bubbles bursting inside her brain.

Xue Ling stood there in a daze for a moment before hearing Wen Jiuze’s comforting voice from the tablet: “Don’t be afraid.”

“It’s fine. I’ll be with you. If you feel like biting someone, it’s okay.”

Xue Ling still went around saying a brief farewell to the people she knew. She gripped Wen Jiuze tightly, suppressing the urge to bite, and walked through the crowded area. By the time they left, she felt an odd sense of exhaustion.

When she went to say goodbye to Wen Yi, her expression was a little strange: “Is it really necessary to come all the way to say goodbye?”

Xue Ling replied, “Of course it is. After this, we might not come back. Thank you for all your help and care during this time.”

Wen Yi’s expression grew even more puzzled: “Might not come back?”

She glanced at Wen Jiuze and didn’t say more: “Alright, I hope you have a safe journey.”

The next day, as Xue Ling sat in the car, she couldn’t help but feel strange. “Sister Yi didn’t even try to stop us. No one tried to keep us from leaving.”

They had officially joined the base, yet they could leave whenever they wanted, without any restrictions?

This confusion was soon resolved.

After they’d been in the car for a while, they boarded a train. Xue Ling saw that the final destination on the sign was Jizhou City.

Xue Ling: “?”

“Where are we going?”

“Jizhou City.”

“For a mission?”

“Yeah.”

“…”

Then what had all the preparations and sincere goodbyes been for?

Xue Ling realized that she had been tricked by Wen Jiuze. He had never intended to take her out of the base. He had been planning to go to Jizhou City all along.

Wen Yi must have known too, which was why her response had been so strange when Xue Ling said goodbye.

When Xue Ling asked, “Is it okay to leave here?”, Wen Jiuze had indeed wanted to leave.

After the hem of his coat was torn into strips by Xue Ling, Wen Jiuze finally explained, “I didn’t want to go before, but the latest news from Jizhou City came in, and now we have a reason to go.”

Jizhou City was a special place. In the early days of the apocalypse, it was the only city that had been “cleared” by a special weapon. The entire city, along with millions of zombies, had been buried.

However, people didn’t have time to celebrate, as something worse soon occurred.

The zombies around Jizhou City, after being exposed to radiation, began to mutate.

Their bodies became deformed, they became more infectious, more resilient, more perceptive of humans, and faster in their movements. This caused dozens of bases surrounding Jizhou City to fall.

As a result, the remaining human bases continuously reorganized and retreated further from Jizhou City.

But the mutated zombies did not stop. They spread out from Jizhou City, infecting the surrounding areas.

Moreover, these mutated zombies began to infect animals, shattering the initial belief that animals couldn’t be infected with the zombie virus.

Numerous infected animals appeared near Jizhou City. These animals were even more aggressive and harder to escape than the zombies.

Due to the lack of communication restoration, many areas were operating independently, with information failing to circulate. The base in Jizhou City had imposed a lockdown, and only the Beizheng Base, which had the best intelligence network, knew some of the details.

“In the past few years, the Jizhou City base hadn’t contacted the Beizheng Base. But this year, as things worsened and nearby bases were on the brink of collapse, they finally reached out for help.”

“The Beizheng Base has long been planning to regain control of other regional bases gradually. Previously, they couldn’t spare the manpower, but now it is a good opportunity. The pleas from Jizhou City have become more urgent, and their attitude has improved as well.”

“Last year, they managed to rebuild the Jizhou Base, but it’s been hit hard by the mutated zombies and animals. It’s in a semi-collapsed state. Among the wealthy alliance controlling the base, three major families have also been affected. This is one of the main reasons they’ve requested assistance from the Beizheng Base.”

“Wen Yi revealed some insider information. One of the families in the wealthy alliance had a biological company before the apocalypse. They have a well-known research laboratory and possess top-tier human cryogenic technology.”

“Their latest achievement was defrosting a person who was infected with the zombie virus in the early days of the apocalypse but hadn’t yet mutated. After administering the latest vaccine developed by the Beizheng Base, the person successfully recovered.”

“This lucky individual didn’t turn into a zombie. Apart from being weak, they were fine.”

“This cryogenic technology was initially only used by wealthy people who were infected with the zombie virus, willing to freeze themselves. After this success, many in the wealthy alliance were willing to be frozen, hoping to wait for the best vaccine or for the zombies to be eliminated before being defrosted.”

“Now, they are willing to offer their confidential cryogenic technology in exchange for help from the Beizheng Base.”

This was the reason Wen Jiuze was willing to go to Jizhou City.

Xue Ling’s current condition couldn’t be solved, but with enough time, there might be a treatment. She could be frozen, and years later, when a suitable drug was developed, she could be thawed, just like the successful case from Jizhou City.

This glimmer of hope was enough to convince Wen Jiuze to change his decision and stay.

As one of the first supporters sent by the Beizheng Base, Wen Jiuze’s name had been specifically chosen by the Jizhou City side.

Once they arrived in Jizhou City, Wen Jiuze understood why they were willing to share their confidential cryogenic technology. Their laboratory was located in an area now overrun by zombies, and it was impossible to get in.

To enter, they would have to force their way through, but such an approach would destroy their research materials, equipment, and the precious frozen individuals. They could only choose the most peaceful approach to retrieve the entire lab.

As a special zombie who wouldn’t be targeted, Wen Jiuze’s accomplishments were already well-known in the Beizheng Base.

Several bases, maintaining good relations with the Beizheng Base, had requested his assistance in the past. He was the quickest and safest option.

Before Xue Ling left, she had imagined two zombies leaving the base to wander, living freely and carefree, a life without burdens. However, the reality was far different. Instead, she was surrounded by a group of well-trained soldiers from the Beizheng base, as if they were preparing to take over a territory, making their way into Jizhou City Base.

To make things even stranger, the soldiers behind them were calling them “officers.”

Xue Ling: “…”

“Uh, is this team under our command?” she whispered.

Wen Jiuze, being more experienced, replied, “Just follow my lead.”

Following his lead meant putting on a neutral expression and reacting to nothing around them.

Other matters were handled by the team’s diplomats, who managed communication.

The wealthy alliance of Jizhou City, the current administrators of the Jizhou base, came to meet them.

The middle-aged wealthy man had a friendly attitude, presenting himself humbly. Xue Ling could sense the underlying intention in his words—he was trying to undermine them.

However, his attire was somewhat ridiculous and oddly bulging. It was said to be a new type of zombie protection suit developed by the Jizhou base.

Expensive, scarce, and supposedly indestructible by zombies—was it really true?

Xue Ling, who had sharp claws, couldn’t help but wonder whether she could tear it apart. Wen Jiuze’s tough skin had been easy for her to cut through with ease.

As the middle-aged administrator engaged in a verbal sparring match with the diplomat, Xue Ling kept her eyes on his zombie protection suit.

She didn’t pay attention to the conversation but guessed it was not going smoothly.

In the end, the middle-aged administrator wanted to shake hands with Xue Ling and Wen Jiuze.

Wen Jiuze didn’t offer his hand, but Xue Ling did. As she extended her hand, her sharp nails scraped through the sleeve of his zombie suit with a sharp sound.

Xue Ling clearly saw his face change as he instinctively pulled his hand back, his composed expression disappearing. He stepped back, stunned, and then hastily left.

Xue Ling wondered if she would have to compensate for the damaged suit.

The diplomat in the team suddenly clapped and praised her, “That was a great threat!”

Xue Ling: “…” What, was that a threat just now?

Wen Jiuze: “Even though you say you don’t want to do the mission, you must really want to help in your heart. You cooperate so actively.”

Xue Ling: “…”