Lin Chu turned her head and saw Bai Wei pushing Wu Xiangming behind her. Wu Xiangming looked flustered, glancing nervously at Xia Zhengyang.

The old man walking in front turned back and noticed the little tail following behind. His brows furrowed, and he looked like he was about to snap—but then his gaze landed on the bandages wrapped around Assistant Wu.

His frown slightly relaxed, and he resumed leading the way.

“Xia Zhengyang, bring them along.”

Lin Chu gave Bai Wei a sidelong glance, then stepped forward to follow the old man.

She had expected Bai Wei to come here with the same purpose as hers.

If she was after a blood sample, she should’ve stayed in the research room from earlier. That would’ve been the best move.

So what was she up to now?

While Lin Chu was mulling over Bai Wei’s motives, the old man led them into the second-to-last research room down the corridor.

This entire hallway was lined with glass-doored rooms.

Even the partitions between each room were made of glass.

It resembled the conference rooms of office buildings from Lin Chu’s original world.

The glass walls were fitted with blinds, which could be drawn to block views between rooms.

In this particular room, the blinds on both sides had not been drawn, but the blinds in the adjacent rooms were all closed, completely cutting off Lin Chu’s line of sight.

Strictly speaking, this wasn’t a research lab.

Its layout was more like a ward from the small hill base.

At the far end was a hospital bed with a man lying on it, his body completely wrapped in bandages.

His skin was flushed red, just like Wu Xiangming had been days ago—on the verge of bursting apart.

Standing beside him was a male researcher in a white lab coat.

The man had just finished listening to the patient’s heartbeat with a stethoscope when he looked up to see a group entering.

He quickly greeted the old man in front.

“Professor Cheng, you’re here.”

The old man didn’t spare the researcher a glance, his eyes fixed on the bandaged man on the bed.

“How’s he doing?”

“It’s been fifteen hours since he was bitten. Heart rate is at 200 bpm, breathing is heavy and irregular. The infection has already spread to his lungs. If we don’t act soon, I’m afraid…”

Everyone present understood what he meant.

If they didn’t treat the bandaged man’s wounds soon, fish scales would start appearing on his body.

“What are you doing here? Our base already informed you—if you cut out the bitten flesh in time, you don’t even have to wait for the fever…”

It was Wu Xiangming in the wheelchair who finally spoke, fully realizing at that moment the cruelty of human experimentation.

Professor Cheng glanced at him without expression.

“You’d better pray he doesn’t start growing scales too soon, or we’ll be drawing even more blood from you.”

Without waiting to see Wu Xiangming’s face go pale, he turned to Lin Chu.

“You there… Lin Chu, come over. How did you debride that man before? Do it again now.”

Lin Chu knew this was the real reason they had brought her.

Before the trip, Xia Zhengyang had promised food, lodging, and transport. If Base No. 1 was satisfied with their performance, they’d even receive material rewards.

Lin Chu had agreed with full mental preparation.

She spread her hands. “No problem, but I’ll need tools.”

Professor Cheng immediately instructed Xia Zhengyang, “Get her the tools.”

A full medical kit was placed in Lin Chu’s hands.

After scrubbing in, she looked at Bai Wei behind her and was about to speak when she suddenly noticed the blinds to her right flutter slightly.

A few growls echoed in her ears.

They seemed to come from the adjacent room.

But soon, the mouth making those noises seemed to have been gagged—only muffled sounds remained.

Just as she tried to get a better look, Xia Zhengyang lowered the blinds on their side, cutting off her view.

She glanced at him, but he looked completely unfazed.

Bai Wei, who had previously been pushing Wu Xiangming’s wheelchair, had already washed her hands and walked up beside Lin Chu.

“I’ll pass you the tools. You can start.”

Lin Chu gave her a long, hard look before accepting the surgical scissors and beginning to unwrap the bandages on the patient.

The infected wounds were even more red and pus-filled than Wu Xiangming’s had been.

The bluish-gray skin covered a larger area.

Lin Chu couldn’t help frowning.

There were at least a dozen wounds of various sizes. She feared the man might die before she could even finish treating them.

When she voiced her concern, Professor Cheng merely looked at the patient and said indifferently, “That’s not your concern. Just do your job.”

Bai Wei frowned a few times but ultimately held back her words.

Lin Chu said no more. Her scalpel moved swiftly and decisively.

The room was silent.

Only Xia Zhengyang, under the professor’s orders, operated a video camera beside Lin Chu, recording the procedure.

The others stood a short distance away, watching her movements.

The lab door remained open.

Researchers occasionally passed by outside, walking quickly and not sparing even a curious glance through the door.

Lin Chu’s hands moved rapidly.

In the zombie world, dissecting three corpses a day had sharpened her hand speed to the extreme.

The man on the bed had been thoroughly delayed by Professor Cheng’s team.

If she couldn’t win back time now, he might as well be a corpse.

Lin Chu treated him as such anyway.

That mindset helped her claw back precious seconds.

By the time she finished treating the fifth wound and checked the rest, the bluish-gray skin had spread, but no scales had yet formed.

He was still salvageable—for now.

Lin Chu took a hemostat from Bai Wei and kept going.

As she concentrated on cutting away the bluish-gray skin, she again heard that same growl.

Though it wasn’t quite a growl now—more like groaning from unbearable pain.

Her hands didn’t stop, but her ears remained alert.

Whoever was groaning seemed to be struggling to escape.

The footsteps were chaotic—only one person’s, though.

Where had the guards gone?

Lin Chu already had a suspicion, but her hands never slowed.

Seconds later, those staggering footsteps reached the door.

“What are you doing?!”

From his corner, Wu Xiangming immediately sensed something was wrong and shouted.

Right before him, a “person” covered in black fish scales stumbled into the room.

But Professor Cheng didn’t move.

Nor did he instruct anyone else to act.

Xia Zhengyang, holding the camera, turned to look but stayed still when he saw the professor wasn’t reacting.

So the scaled man charged straight toward Lin Chu’s unprotected back.

“Hey! Stop him!”

“Doctor Lin—look out!”