Chapter 43 Hidden "Power"

Qi He curled his lips: "Okay."

Then he said to the system, "Every step forward requires your complete trust in me."

System code drums: [What should I do? ]

“Show me your source code.”

The source code touched upon the essence of the program. Qi He held his breath for two seconds, and then a large section of code appeared directly in his mind.

Qi He scanned through the lines and analyzed: "Next, I will rewrite your program."

The system was shocked: [Won't this trigger an alarm? ]

"As long as the program is still running, there won't be any errors. Otherwise, the panel bug would have been fixed long ago."

Qi He started to tamper with it after he finished speaking.

The system's voice was scattered: [Wait... why... can you do this? ]

“When I was a game reviewer, I often encountered program bugs.”

While making the changes, Qi He replied, "I've been exposed to a lot of code. Don't worry, I'll use the most appropriate method to infect you with the virus."

His eyes narrowed slightly, his expression shifting. "Add a few more firewalls. That way, when the main program takes you back for inspection, the firewalls will be triggered, and you'll be attacked by viruses."

【So, what will happen to you while I'm being recycled? 】

"Do you remember that time I triggered the alarm?"

During that dinner at the apartment, he had tentatively asked: What would happen if I told Yan Chuanbai directly about the plot? At that time, the warning program was triggered and the system disappeared.

"If you disappear, the warning program will most likely take over and release subsequent plot missions."

Line by line of code was recompiled.

The system felt like it was already a poison: […I also feel full of power!]

"That's right." Qi He happily told it the last step, "Once you have completely infected the main system, the warning program will also crash. At that moment, I will know that you have completed it-"

"I'll pick you up."

The system screen seemed to remain blank for several seconds: […Hmm.]

Then, it asked: [How can I be recycled? ]

If it just triggers a warning, the few moments of hosting time will not be enough for it to infect the main system.

The last code falls.

Qi He relieved the burden brought by the high-speed operation of his brain, took a deep breath, and stood up.

The night sky above is bright with stars.

A gentle breeze blew, and the corner of his clothes flipped up slightly. "System, haven't you always wanted to know what I evolved into the third time?"

【……What? 】

Qi He raised one hand, and the other wrist, wearing the Little Genius watch, also came into view. In the gap between the two hands, a divine light gathered in his eyes.

Some powers cannot be used arbitrarily on the world because he cannot control the chain reactions that will result.

But if it's not something from this world—

He smiled softly: "Fortunately you have a carrier."

He mobilized all his mental strength, concentrating it on his fingertips. Through the ice above, it seemed as if moonlight was shrouding the edges of his knuckles.

Under the weak interaction force, the system carrier as a medium, its properties are gradually changed...

【？ ？ ？ ？】

[Wait a minute▇▇▇he…▇▇▇▇huh!? ]

Qi He's face turned visibly pale.

A drop of sweat slid down his forehead, and all his mental strength was used to control this "forbidden" force.

With a click, my mind became completely quiet.

If there is a problem with the carrier, it will be recycled and repaired.

At the same time, his mental strength was also exhausted.

Plop. Qi He fell down.

In the last blurry vision, there is a clear and bright starry sky reflected by the ice surface——

He smiled. "Go ahead and attack the main program."

The red panel flashed. Beep!

【During system maintenance, the managed program is enabled.】

-

When I woke up again, the first thing I saw was the ceiling.

Qi He was lying on the sofa in the living room.

The last scene before he fell came to mind: he should have fallen on the roof, and there was that flash of red panel.

It seems that it has indeed been taken over by the warning program.

As Qi He sat up, the military personnel outside the door walked in and said, "Mr. Qi, you're awake."

He asked, "Why am I lying here?"

The subordinate said, "You collapsed on the roof last night. It seems that Colonel Yan brought you back. He also guarded you for a while this morning until there was a battle situation."

Qi He, "?"

He tilted his head and glanced sideways: "...Yan Chuanbai went out? How did he go out?"

The subordinate was also stunned, "Uh, walked out?"

Qi He: “…”

The subordinate didn't know how to explain, so he continued, "There was a small-scale attack this morning, and the other S-class soldiers have all left the city. The colonel said that Mr. Qi, you fought one against ten thousand yesterday, and the cost was too great, so he will go today."

…Where does the “wan” come from?

Qi He shook his head, "One against three at most."

Subordinate: “Hmm?”

Qi He stood up and gestured, "Chuan coming sideways."

“????”

He sighed inwardly: "System, people nowadays don't understand literature..."

【No plot access yet. 】

Qi He paused and fell silent for a moment.

The atmosphere around him also became stagnant.

At this moment, the sound of a door opening was heard. A familiar figure pushed the door open and walked in. The subordinate turned around and breathed a sigh of relief:

"Colonel!"

Qi He raised his eyes and met Yan Chuanbai's gaze.

His heart skipped a beat.

Yan Chuanbai wore a black mask covering the lower half of his face, from his neck to his collar, giving him a colder, clearer look. His hair fell over his eyebrows, revealing a pair of aggressive eyes.

After staring at each other for a few seconds, Yan Chuanbai said to his subordinate, "You go out first."

The room door was closed.

Yan Chuanbai walked towards Qi He and stopped one meter away.

He carefully scanned Qi He's still slightly pale face, was silent for a moment, and asked: "Are you okay?"

"It's okay, I'm just mentally exhausted."

Yan Chuanbai's shoulders seemed to relax a little.

Neither of them mentioned the antibody injection.

Qi He looked at Yan Chuanbai's tightly packed package and asked, "Why did you go out?"

Yan Chuanbai spoke in a normal tone, as if he hadn't been infected yet. "When I woke up today, my fever had subsided. I'm very conscious. I can't stay in this room all the time. I might as well go outside and expend my energy."

He smiled again: "Don't worry, as long as there is any sign of losing control——"

A hand patted the gun at his waist, "I'll take care of it."

Qi He's eyes fell on the gun, his heart fluctuating, and he gently retracted his gaze: "There's no one here, take off the mask."

He paused for a moment, then took off the mask with one hand.

The purple lines were more exaggerated than last night.

It spread from Yan Chuanbai's neck to his cheek. Covered by a layer of frost, it didn't look creepy at all, but instead had a dangerous and strange beauty.

Qi He looked at it for two seconds, and Yan Chuanbai asked, "Scary?"

He shook his head. "It's okay. I've seen this kind of skin before. It sells for 88r in the game."

“…”

Yan Chuanbai suddenly lowered his eyelashes and smiled.

-

There was nothing to do at the moment, so the two of them stayed in the guard room to rest.

Qi He leaned on the sofa and looked at the corner of the wall.

After a while, he called out, "System."

【No plot access yet. 】

The warning program still gave a mechanical response. It was true, only one night had passed, so the optimization couldn't be completed that quickly.

Qi He was silent for a while, then turned to ask Yan Chuanbai: "Do you remember the time of the collapse yesterday?"

"You can't tell time on the battlefield." Yan Chuanbai pursed his lips and thought for a moment, "But, it was about half a minute before you arrived."

Qi He said in his mind: "System, retrieve the previous script."

This time, the command triggered: [Ding! ]

"City F is under siege by mutants..."

...You looked at the zombies that surrounded you, turned around and threw Yan Chuanbai

He skipped all the content and looked at the time of the final plot card.

5:20.

When he first arrived, there were 30 seconds left on the countdown. If he went forward another 30 seconds, it would be 5:19.

Qi He said to Yan Chuanbai: "I set off the fireworks at 5:20, so let's assume you were infected at 5:19."

Yan Chuanbai raised his eyebrows, "520?"

"...What?" Qi He blinked and looked back, "Are you still sensitive to these numbers?"

Yan Chuanbai looked at him without saying anything.

If one day he really gets to that point.

Then 5:20 is not the darkest time for him.

——At least when he faced death, his heart was beating like thunder.

After a moment, he turned his head and said, "All numbers are meaningful only because of certain people."

Qi He's heart moved slightly.

He didn't know if Yan Chuanbai was stating a theory or if he had a hidden agenda. Too much complicated information had flooded his mind these past few days, and just as he was trying to sort it out, there was a knock on the door.

Knock, knock! Someone outside the door said, "Colonel, the other S-class have returned to the city. Let's go to the city lounge for a meeting now."

Yan Chuanbai put the mask back on with one hand and said, "Let's go."

Qi He also withdrew his thoughts, and the two of them got up and went out.

…

When I walked into the lounge, everyone else was there.

Several military adjutants also followed.

Everyone was stunned when they saw Yan Chuanbai coming in wearing a mask. Le Yunyu looked at him, "What's wrong?"

Yan Chuanbai was conscious, but he still kept a distance: "The collapse in the east area is too serious, just in case."

The effectiveness of antibodies is not 100%, so no one asked any more questions after hearing this.

"I've called everyone here mainly to summarize the battle situation and convey the headquarters' instructions."

Le Yunyu sat down and said, "After three days of continuous resistance, the mutants within a radius of 100 miles have been basically wiped out. There is a high probability that there will be no more large-scale attacks in the future."

Qi He was also sitting nearby.

If the purpose of the plot was to let Yan Chuanbai be infected in City F, then now that the purpose has been achieved, the follow-up should have stopped.

Le Yunyu added, "But just in case, we'll have to hold out for another day. Tomorrow, the ground forces from headquarters will arrive to take over Base III, and we'll withdraw."

After he finished speaking, Qi He and Yan Chuanbai raised their eyes at the same time.

Yan Chuanbai stood alone behind Qi He with his hands in his pockets.

Qi He didn't look back at him, but there seemed to be an unspoken atmosphere flowing between the two of them - if Yan Chuanbai wanted to meet someone from headquarters, he had to take off his mask.

By then, it will be impossible to conceal the infection.

Either Yan Chuanbai will be taken back to the headquarters for isolation and supervision; or he will have to leave the human base on his own before then.

But according to Yan Chuanbai's personality, he will definitely choose the latter -

Once the Super 3S level was known to have been infected and turned into a zombie, it would have greatly shaken the entire military. This was also the reason why neither of them chose to disclose the news until the end of this battle.

Besides, it is better to realize your own value until the last moment than to die uselessly and imprisoned.

Qi He pursed his lips.

No matter which side's deadline is, it can only be until tonight.

-

The military meeting ended at noon.

Lunch is ready at Base III.

A table was set with food, and people from other bases sat down as usual and prepared to eat.

Yan Chuanbai stood against the wall, not moving.

The adjutant greeted: "Colonel, please take a seat."

Yan Chuanbai was silent for a moment, and Qi He sat down calmly: "When I just came back, I gave him two nutrient supplements, and he's full."

Everyone paused: "..."

The adjutant glanced at him and asked, "Are you full?"

Yan Chuanbai nodded, "I'm full, you guys eat."

Everyone turned their attention away and picked up their chopsticks.

Yan Chuanbai didn't leave either, but leaned over there, as if waiting for Qi He to finish eating so that they could go back to the guard room together.

There were quite a few dishes on the table, eight dishes, one soup, and some staple food.

Perhaps because this hard battle was finally coming to an end, everyone at the dinner table started talking a little more.

Qi He didn't join in, he was just picking up some food by himself.

Suddenly, he heard a "beep!" sound in his mind. He paused with his chopsticks, his heart rate quickening. "System?"

[-Program in Hosting-]

[The key plot suddenly opens, please execute it as soon as possible. 】

Qi He: “…”

He took a deep breath, his eyes stern.

It was so sudden indeed!

The script has been released: "After Yan Chuanbai was confirmed to be severely infected, he isolated himself. After pushing him, you were thrown away with great force, unexpectedly dodging the zombie tide and returning to F City."

You took advantage of the fact that no one knew about your actions for the time being and raced against time to win over the people in City F.

Thanks to your efforts, I soon came into contact with the high-level

Qi He's eyes fell on the panel: The system is gone, but the bug it left behind is still there.

His pause attracted attention: "Qi He?"

Qi He retracted his gaze and quickly scanned the table: Who cares if it’s City A, City B, or City F—

He placed his chopsticks on the edge of the bowl, and several large white steamed buns on the plate flew out and landed in everyone's bowl, one for each person.

Qi He raced against time to win them over: "Eat more, you all have worked hard."

Everyone: “…”

Then he stood up and scooped a bowl of F City's broth from the table: "I'll just drink the soup."

Everyone: “!”

Behind him, Yan Chuanbai cast a deep gaze at him.

Qi He scooped up the soup and sat back down.

He faced the awkward and emotional gazes of everyone at the table, took a sip of soup, and continued to read the next page of the plot.

"You've heard from higher-ups that the zombie tide in City F has receded. The city is organizing teams to go out on patrol, and these missions outside the city carry high rewards."

You suddenly thought it was a rare high-reward and safe mission. What's more, you planned to change your life here, so you immediately joined a team.

As expected, there are no more mutants outside the city. Just as you breathed a sigh of relief, your face suddenly turned pale, and a feeling of exhaustion and dizziness came over you.

As soon as Qi He saw the end, he suddenly felt weak and dizzy.

His hand trembled and he put down the bowl.

"So, when you pushed Yan Chuanbai into the zombie tide, you were also infected."

He was not infected.

Qi He was very clear about his situation. He remembered the thin muscles that were repaired when he first came to this world.

He should be adjusting his senses to suit the development of the plot.

“A huge panic comes over you.

You were about to start a new life, so why were you infected now? You were shaking all over, attracting the attention of your teammates. They asked you with concern: Are you okay?

You looked at their faces, but suddenly thought maliciously: Even if I die, I will still lead the team to drink~▇▇▇』

The story ends here.

Across from him, Le Yunyu was already looking over: "Qi He, why are you so pale?"

Qi He adjusted his breathing and stood up.

The moment I stood up, I felt dizzy.

He stumbled backwards, almost uncontrollably, and fell. Everyone at the table stood up.

"Qi He!"

"Qi He——"

Yan Chuanbai rushed over almost instantly.

The hand reaching out to him suddenly stopped and clenched back to the side.

The adjutant was quick to help him hold the man up.

Qi He also reacted very quickly. As he fell, he clenched his fist and used his strength to support himself.

Then he leaned against the sofa behind him and slid down.

A group of people gathered around, and in front of them were worried faces:

"Qi He, are you okay?"

"What's wrong with you? You look so ugly!"

【There are 5 seconds left until the end of the plot. 】

Qi He sat up immediately! Without even looking, he grabbed Le Yunyu from the person in front of him.

The sounds around me stopped abruptly.

Le Yunyu, "?"

Qi He stared at him and said weakly, "Although it's a bit inappropriate, I want to sing a song."

“…”

The author has something to say:

Le Yunyu: Don’t mess with me.