Chapter 76

Wen Jiuze didn’t like “special,” because special means danger.

It was because of their special circumstances that Wen Yi had once been helpless. She repeatedly delayed the thawing time until she had no choice but to seal them away.

It was because of their special circumstances that after Wen Yi’s death, they were coveted by various parties. After going through many twists and turns, they were scattered and placed in different locations.

Even though the people at the First Research Institute in Beifeng District hadn’t harmed him directly, once they showed an interest in research, Wen Jiuze would reveal his aggressiveness as a warning.

During the ten years he searched for Xue Ling, he saw too many ruins of laboratories left over from the past.

Two hundred years ago, there was a boom in illegal private research, and those frozen in the cryogenic chambers were their best test subjects.

It wasn’t until a few decades ago, after the turmoil ended, that laws were passed to ban such practices. Yet, some darkness still lurked.

Thus, Wen Jiuze had to eliminate all possible threats. They couldn’t even entertain the idea of research.

Under Wen Jiuze’s pressure, none of the researchers slept. They worked overnight to prepare medication for Xue Ling and get ready for the revival treatment the next day.

While waiting for the treatment preparations, Xue Ling sat on the bed, flipping through the book.

Apart from Wen Jiuze, the only person she had heard about from the past was Wen Yi.

“They said this photo is of Sister Yi.” She flipped to a page and showed Wen Jiuze the photo.

In the photo was an elderly woman with silver hair, calmly looking at the camera, gazing into the eyes of an old friend from another time.

Xue Ling’s voice was a little low: “It feels like I just took a nap. Before I closed my eyes, Sister Yi was still young, but when I opened them, I found she had grown old.”

Wen Jiuze sat in front of her, wrapping his arms around her, speaking normally, “She didn’t grow old. She died.”

Xue Ling: “…”

Wen Jiuze had seen this photo long ago, and he had also seen many other photos and records of Wen Yi.

“She used to speak sharply and look indifferent. I never expected that in her old age, she’d become a kindly old lady, smiling so kindly. It must have been an act.”

Xue Ling: “…”

Xue Ling raised her hand and hit his shoulder.

She said, “If I had known, I would have said goodbye properly when I saw her for the last time.”

“Goodbye is easy,” Wen Jiuze said. “Once you’re better, I’ll take you to her grave. It has a QR code for VR interaction.”

Xue Ling: “…”

Wen Jiuze took the book from Xue Ling’s hand and pointed to the text under the photo.

“Do you see the dates? She died in 3089, at the age of 80. She passed away peacefully.”

“I read her later journals. She was surrounded by students, taken care of by others, spent her life doing what she loved, and was respected by everyone… Don’t feel sorry for her. Our lives were worse than hers.”

Xue Ling: “…There are journals? I want to read them.”

Wen Jiuze: “I’ll show them to you when we leave here.”

Before she was pushed into the treatment machine, Xue Ling reached out her hand to Wen Jiuze.

“Don’t worry about anything. I’ll stay here with you.” Wen Jiuze said.

Xue Ling thought about him. He was like a wild animal—once injured, he would become even more alert and sensitive to the surrounding environment.

When he underwent this revival treatment, he was alone, with no one by his side. Did he also feel afraid then?

The second round of treatment was the same as the first—she was unconscious during the process and didn’t feel much.

However, when Xue Ling sat up, she saw her cold, pale skin. Her palm had become fuller, no longer dry, and when she raised her hand to touch her cheek, it felt soft and elastic.

“Ah.” She tried to speak and didn’t feel the usual dryness in her throat.

In front of the treatment device, there was a mirror. Looking into it, Xue Ling saw herself—the self she hadn’t seen in a long time.

Her jet-black hair hung in front of her, and aside from her red eyes, she had completely returned to how she looked in the past, before becoming a zombie.

Wen Jiuze stood beside her.

Xue Ling turned her gaze to him and smiled, as if she had just realized something. “I think I’ve just realized… we’ve reunited in this new world.”

As soon as the word “reunion” left her mouth, tears started falling down her cheeks, steadily and endlessly.

She froze for a moment as she saw her tears fall into her hands. “I can cry now.”

She looked at Wen Jiuze again, instinctively giving a small smile, but then she burst into tears, losing all composure.

It was as if she was making up for all the tears she couldn’t shed after turning into a zombie.

All the confusion and sadness from the past, the moments of extreme emotional turmoil when she couldn’t cry no matter what, suddenly erupted all at once.

She could no longer control her emotions.

“Xue Ling,” Wen Jiuze called her name a few times, but she was too distraught to pay attention, crying uncontrollably.

He moved closer, holding her hand. Xue Ling, like someone who had fallen into water and found a piece of driftwood, tightly grasped his hand and leaned on him, sobbing loudly.

Wen Jiuze lifted her up and carried her to a quiet corner, gently rubbing her back and wiping the redness from her face.

Xue Ling cried for a long time, her eyelashes wet, and her eyes almost unable to open.

Gradually, her sobs softened, and she mumbled incoherent words like “They’re all gone,” “Mom,” “Wen Yi .”

Tears continued to pour from her eyes, with no sign of stopping.

She cried so hard that it seemed as if all the moisture in her body might be drained away.

Wen Jiuze tried speaking to her, but she didn’t respond. Suddenly, he leaned down and took her eyes into his mouth.

The unshed tears were sucked away, and even her eyelids and lashes were taken in. The eerie sensation of having her eyeball licked finally shocked Xue Ling back to her senses.

“…What are you doing?”

“Stop crying, or you’ll ruin your eyes.”

Xue Ling leaned back slightly, touching her eyes, which were red and dry from crying. She felt some moisture in the gaps and quickly wiped it away.

Wen Jiuze held her, pushing her back into place, and then opened an injector.

“I’m going to hydrate you. If your body loses too much water too quickly, it could cause damage. Close your eyes.”

Xue Ling saw him preparing to inject her neck and, trusting him, closed her eyes.

It wasn’t painful, just a bit cool on her neck.

After a while, Wen Jiuze had her sit up and kissed the spot where he had injected her.

“All done.” He discarded the empty injector and cupped Xue Ling’s face.

“Undead aren’t truly immortal. At least we’ve outlived Wen Yi, and lived past eighty… next time, don’t cry so much.”

Xue Ling, still numb from the intense crying, rested her head on his chest. After a few minutes, she suddenly looked up and asked, “Why isn’t your heart beating?”

Wen Jiuze: “You scared me so much that my heart stopped beating.” 

Xue Ling: “…Mine doesn’t seem to be beating much either.”

Wen Jiuze: “The more you cry, the less it beats. Want to try crying again?”

Xue Ling thought he was just joking, but for now, she didn’t feel like questioning him. She relaxed against his shoulder.

His shoulder was damp, and when Xue Ling glanced at his clothes, she saw several wet marks, especially on his shoulder, as if the fabric could be wrung out.

She shifted her head and rested on his other, dry shoulder.

Turning her head, she noticed that it was afternoon. The building across from them was bathed in golden light, and a large area of pagoda trees below was in full bloom, golden and brilliant.

The combination of the bright blue sky and the vivid yellow made everything seem so vibrant.

Yu City also had a lot of pagoda trees.

As this thought crossed her mind, Xue Ling hugged Wen Jiuze’s broad shoulder tightly again, clutching his clothes.

“I woke up ten years before you.” Wen Jiuze pulled her from his chest and onto his lap, looking into her eyes as he said, “Do you know what that means?”

Xue Ling: What does it mean? Are you implying you’ve waited so long to settle the score with me?

“It means I’ve prepared everything and have just been waiting for you.”

So relax. Don’t be so hesitant and panicked.

Wen Jiuze’s voice softened, with a reassuring tone. “We have a place to stay, good jobs, and I have savings. Want to see how much?”

With him saying that, Xue Ling replied, “How much? Show me.”

Her voice still had a slight nasal tone as she leaned in, watching him open the communicator on his wrist.

This was the “phone” of the current world. In its simple mode, it looked like a wristwatch, but it could expand into a tablet size.

Xue Ling watched him tapping on it, and when he finally opened a page, she looked closely to see that the balance was zero.

Xue Ling: “?”

Wen Jiuze: “What do you think? Doesn’t it suit your name?”

Xue Ling immediately shot upright, but Wen Jiuze calmly closed the page, opened another one, and showed her: “I made a mistake. The deposit amount is on this page.”

This time, the balance displayed a very considerable amount.

The size of the number made Xue Ling wonder if inflation had made the currency less valuable, explaining the large sum.

“Is this a lot?” she asked. “Can we buy an aircraft?”

“What kind of aircraft do you want?” Wen Jiuze responded.

“Can we buy the one you were riding in when you came yesterday?”

“That large aircraft, specially designed for abnormal teams, isn’t available for private purchase. But if you really want one, it’s not impossible,” Wen Jiuze mused. “If it gets damaged during a mission…”

Xue Ling broke into a cold sweat and quickly stopped him, placing her hand on his chest. “I don’t want it anymore! Any other aircraft that’s available for purchase will do!”

Wen Jiuze laughed as he held her around the waist.

Xue Ling frowned.”You are playing tricks on me again, aren’t you?”

Wen Jiuze lifted her up and cradled her in his arms. “I have a private aircraft. It’s parked at the research institute. Let’s go, we can take it back now.”

That was the vehicle he had prepared for finding Xue Ling during their vacation.

Buying an aircraft privately was difficult and required many qualifications, but Wen Jiuze’s status made things much easier.

It was a legacy from three hundred years ago.

If he had been alone at the beginning, he might never have come into contact with Wen Yi and would never have entered the Beizheng base.

It was Xue Ling who led him down that path, leaving behind this fortune which had now become their safety net.

“Wait, are you guys leaving already? You just finished the revival treatment, shouldn’t you rest a little more? She still needs medication at regular intervals for stabilization…”

Wen Jiuze interrupted, “Give me the medicine, I know what to do.”

He didn’t seem interested in staying there any longer. The research institute staff knew they couldn’t stop him, so they handed over the necessary medicine.

“You finally found Xiaoxiao, and you don’t have to torture us anymore.”

“Xiaoxiao, goodbye, come back to see us if you need anything.”

Wen Jiuze looked puzzled. “What did you call her?”

Xue Ling immediately covered Wen Jiuze’s ears with both hands and kicked his thighs randomly: “Go, go, go, go, go!” 

She hadn’t managed to stop him from finding out the origin of that nickname.

He seemed to be in a good mood now, much better than when they first met. His smile had become more natural, no longer forced like a criminal’s grimace.

“Oh…” He only let out that single word, and Xue Ling immediately knew it wouldn’t be anything good. She firmly covered his mouth to stop him from saying more.