Chapter 81

Wen Jiuze answered the communicator, his tone not too happy. “Mission? You’re calling me for a mission now? I’m busy.”

“Xiao Gao, do you know I just got married yesterday? Today is still the second day of my honeymoon.”

“Didn’t know? Then check the system. What? I didn’t take leave? Fine, I’ll take leave now, and you can write me a leave request and sign it.”

On the other end of the communicator, the leader of the A District Special Abnormal Team, Gao Ninghai, sighed.

He hung up the phone and asked his assistant, “Just now, the grandfather surnamed Wen said that he registered for marriage? Who did he register for marriage with? Can he still get married? I remember he is still looking for someone.”

The assistant quietly opened his social media feed for the leader to see. “You’ve been in C District for meetings lately, so you might have missed it. Mr. Wen finally found the person he was looking for. They registered their marriage at the Bureau yesterday, and many people saw it live.”

Gao Ninghai scrolled through several photos on the assistant’s phone, all taken from a distance. In each picture, the notorious guy of the Abnormal Team was holding a young woman.

His face was no longer grim, and his eyes no longer piercing. He looked calm, almost unrecognizable.

There was even a photo of him holding a ring box. The photographer was close enough to capture the details of the box and the ring.

“This ring series is quite famous. I bought the same one for my wife. It’s called ‘Waiting for You a Lifetime.’ I didn’t know our ace was this romantic,” Gao Ninghai commented.

The assistant reminded him, “Mr. Wen was the one proposed to. The ring was given to him by Ms. Xue.”

Gao Ninghai: “…”

The family dynamic was obvious now.

He decisively said, “Add Ms. Xue’s contact to the list. From now on, if there’s any notice, contact her first.”

Afterward, he started writing a leave request for Wen Jiuze and signed it.

Wen Jiuze has been looking for someone since he joined the abnormal team. It’s been so long, so just let him take days off.

“He’s been looking for someone for so long, so it’s not easy for him to get married. No wonder he was so annoyed when I contacted him earlier. He’s probably on his honeymoon now, too busy to answer me,” Gao Ninghai sighed.

At this moment, Wen Jiuze, on his second day of marriage, was on his way to visit a grave.

Wen Yi’s grave was on the outskirts of A District, at a small but scenic spot. It didn’t require an entry fee or extra charges.

However…

“Why are there so many people?” Xue Ling asked as she tugged on Wen Jiuze’s arm, looking at the large groups of young people in front of them.

Wen Jiuze had just ended the call, looking rather displeased. He casually said, “They’re students getting ready for exams. It’s exam season, so they come in groups every year to visit Wen Yi’s grave.”

“How do you know there’s one every year?”

Xue Ling didn’t get the question out. She leaned beside him and looked up at the sculpture at the door.

It depicted an elderly woman wearing glasses, with short hair, her gaze looking far away. In her hands, she held a book, and a smile played on her lips.

At her feet, there were many fruits and snacks placed around.

“Wen Jiuze, don’t you think this statue doesn’t look like Sister Yi?”

In Xue Ling’s memory, Wen Yi had been a stunning beauty, so how could she be portrayed like this?

“It doesn’t look like her. Apart from sneering and mocking, could she smile so kindly? Is it a genetic mutation?” Wen Jiuze said.

Xue Ling noticed some students were looking over, so she hurriedly patted his arm, signaling him to lower his voice.

They continued walking forward, passing by the monument of Wen Yi’s life.

She lived for over eighty years, leading a remarkable and yet difficult life.

She had experienced the apocalypse and the subsequent disaster brought by mutated animals. She dedicated her life to researching the zombie virus, laying the foundation for many of the current special medications. She was called the “Mother of the Zombie Virus Vaccine.”

In addition, she led her team to continually optimize and improve cryogenic technology, allowing frozen individuals to be better preserved, significantly reducing their mortality rate.

From the first batch of frozen individuals in 3037 to several decades after, she had frozen and thawed virus carriers, a task she oversaw as the director of the research institute.

From being the head of the research institute at Beizheng Base to later fleeing with students and critical research data after the base disbanded, she passed through many bases, eventually passing away in her later years in Fengling City while still conducting new research.

In contrast, Xue Ling and Wen Jiuze were like meteors, briefly mentioned in Beizheng Base’s history. Wen Yi’s achievements and contributions made her a brilliant star in history.

After passing through the tranquil, tree-lined path, they reached Wen Yi’s simple gravestone.

“Look over there,” Wen Jiuze turned Xue Ling’s head, motioning her to look at the small inscription at the bottom of the gravestone.

It was Wen Yi’s epitaph, which read, “Life is brief, no need for farewells.”

It resonated deeply with Xue Ling’s regret for not having said a proper goodbye earlier.

Xue Ling buried her face in Wen Jiuze’s shoulder, her voice muffled, “You didn’t secretly carve this, did you?”

“What, am I that free to carve something like this?” Wen Jiuze said. “If you carve randomly here, you will be fined.”

Xue Ling: “Have you been fined before?”

Wen Jiuze: “Not for carving things.”

Xue Ling: “Then why?”

Wen Jiuze: “…”

Xue Ling: “…”

It was because he had once searched everywhere for Xue Ling but couldn’t find her, so he suspected Wen Yi had buried her with her and wanted to dig up the grave to check.

“Alright, the people ahead are leaving, hurry up and scan to experience the VR interaction,” Wen Jiuze casually changed the subject. “It’s said to be based on her images from before.”

Xue Ling scanned it awkwardly, and soon a room appeared before her.

An older lady with an elegant demeanor sat at a desk, holding a pen, and looked at her as if speaking to a student:

“As long as time is long enough, the world will eventually get better, but I can’t run anymore. The next baton is in your hands. Keep running toward the future.”

Xue Ling sniffled, about to say something to Wen Jiuze, when she heard the young people scanning next to them shout, “Director Wen, bless me for a smooth exam!”

“Director, give me a blessing, I’ll pass with flying colors!”

Amidst the energetic, cheerful voices of the young people, Xue Ling’s sadness couldn’t last long.

She quietly finished watching the hologram, placed flowers at the grave, and hugged the cold stone tablet, whispering, “Thank you, Sister Yi.”

For once, the usually blunt Wen Jiuze didn’t make any sarcastic comments. He just stayed with her and walked around the cemetery.

They sat on a bench under a pine tree to rest. Wen Jiuze had his arm on the backrest, and Xue Ling leaned back, her head resting comfortably on his arm.

She looked up at the pine trees overhead and suddenly said, “Look, there’s a squirrel.”

“There are so many squirrels here, they’re almost taking over the cemetery,” Wen Jiuze replied.

“Little squirrel, come here, come here, nibble nibble.”

“You’re calling a dog, how would a squirrel come over if you call it like that?” Wen Jiuze said, taking out a small pack of sunflower seeds from his pocket and handing them to her.

Xue Ling opened the package and sprinkled some seeds on the ground, attracting several nearby squirrels. They weren’t afraid of people and started picking up seeds right at her feet, their reddish-brown tails swishing around.

Xue Ling watched the squirrels and teased Wen Jiuze, “You’re so familiar with them, do you come here often? You even carry sunflower seeds with you.”

Wen Jiuze replied, “Oh, I just grabbed them from Wen Yi’s grave earlier. Those students offered them to her.”

Xue Ling: “…”

How many times has he made me speechless today?

Suddenly, she grabbed Wen Jiuze and stood up. “Let’s go, I’m a bit scared.”

“What are you scared of? Scared the cemetery is creepy?”

“I’m afraid Sister Yi will jump out of the grave and beat you up,” Xue Ling said.

After visiting Wen Yi’s grave, they went to a nearby history museum to view Wen Yi’s journals.

The museum was small, very close to Wen Yi’s grave, and there were very few people.

“This exhibit shows old items from the early days of the apocalypse and before.”

As Xue Ling walked through the display cases, she saw many familiar items, including canned food, game consoles, phones, TVs, tablets, chargers, vacuum cleaners, and drones.

The items she once knew so well were now frozen in time, displayed in glass cases. As she passed through, it was hard not to show a strange expression.

At the back of the museum, there was even an exhibit of zombie corpses from the early apocalypse.

Xue Ling glanced at the date of the skeleton zombie’s excavation.

“He’s not even older than me? My birthdate is before his. The whole row is like this,” Xue Ling said.

Wen Jiuze: “What do you want me to do? Should I have them move them out and we lie down inside?”

Xue Ling bit down on her back molar, a little annoyed. “You’re quick to get into character again, huh? Starting up again, are you?”

She nudged his side, urging the annoying chatter out of the way and towards Wen Yi’s journal exhibit.

Inside the glass display case, a common-looking black notebook was opened and placed under the spotlight.

Xue Ling leaned in to take a closer look. Like Wen Jiuze, Wen Yi’s handwriting was beautiful, and even her bold and flowing script was still elegant.

The two open pages contained her thoughts on a new research project. Overall, it exuded a formal and academic tone.

Xue Ling could read each word, but when they were put together, she couldn’t quite make sense of it.

She asked Wen Jiuze, “Can I flip through the other pages of this notebook?”

“No, of course not. How could anyone just flip through artifacts in an exhibit?” Wen Jiuze replied. Noticing her disappointed expression, he made an unexpected turn. “But this museum has a complete digital version of the journals.”

Wen Yi’s journals were available online in some parts, but only this museum housed the most complete collection, and it wasn’t limited to just this one notebook.

Since the journals contained sensitive information, they weren’t open to the public. Only those with permission could access them.

Given Wen Jiuze’s familial relation to Wen Yi, he enjoyed special privileges.

This wasn’t Wen Jiuze’s first time viewing Wen Yi’s journals, and the museum’s curator was familiar with him. When they saw him arrive, they didn’t even ask for verification and directly opened the door, allowing him to use the reading station.

Xue Ling sat down at the terminal as Wen Jiuze accessed the journals for her.

Most of Wen Yi’s entries focused on her recent research projects, filled with various hypotheses and reflections, with very little about her personal life.

To someone not involved in the same field of study, these might seem dry and dull.

But Xue Ling still read through every word, flipping through many pages until she finally came across something different.

“The freezing technology has gradually matured over the years, and at the beginning of this year, the survival rate of the thawed ones reached fifty percent. Breakthroughs have also been made in zombie virus research, and we’re preparing to try thawing 0. Hopefully, it will be successful.”

This entry was from 3044, seven years after they were frozen.

The next entry was much shorter, only a single sentence: “The first attempt to awaken failed, 0 has been resealed.”

There was no psychological reflection or any sense of disappointment, just a lengthy recap and new thoughts. It seemed as though this failure had sparked new insights.

“My mentor passed away. She died with regrets because she couldn’t conquer the zombie virus. She said she left it to me.”

“I should recruit a few students to assist, or else I’ll be overwhelmed by the workload.”

This was one of the rare moments when Wen Yi expressed emotions.

“I’m sick of these idiots who want to focus on struggle rather than research. They’re more annoying than Wen Jiuze. Thinking about those crazy dogs makes me even more irritated.”

At this point, Xue Ling finally felt a sense of familiarity, unable to hold back a laugh.

The kindly elderly woman at the cemetery, the noble Director Wen from the records, all seemed foreign to her, not matching the Wen Yi she remembered.

But this sentence—yes, that’s her! She’s still as irritated with Wen Jiuze as ever.

This was the only place in Wen Yi’s journals where Wen Jiuze was named. In the rest of the entries, they were only referred to by the numbers 0 and 9^[1] 0 refers to Xue Ling, while 9 refers to Wen Jiuze.

“I’ve made sufficient preparations for the second attempt to awaken 0. This time, I’m confident.”

“Still failed. Why is this happening?”

This entry came twelve years after their freezing.

…

In the existing journals, Wen Yi made three attempts to awaken Xue Ling, all of which failed. Wen Jiuze was never mentioned as having been awakened.

“These are the only diary entries, but I’ve also seen some records at the First Research Institute,” Wen Jiuze said. “Wen Yi couldn’t find a cure for us before she died. After that, she stopped trying to thaw us out.”

“Before she passed, she decided to seal us. But once she died, her students scattered, and our cryo-chambers were no longer documented.”

Wen Jiuze guessed that because there was no record of him being awakened, and Wen Yi had intentionally concealed the information, he was considered a useless subject and remained sealed.

But Xue Ling had her awakening data on file, and Wen Yi’s students likely saw her as valuable for research, so they took her away.

That’s why they ended up in different places.