Chapter 177 Experimental Subject?

Lin Xi leaned back in her chair, her arms hanging limply over her body like cotton.

Zhao Jing, standing in front of me, was wearing a mask, only her eyes were visible, and those eyes were as blurry as the empty cup on the table.

No……

The hard texture pressed against her palm through the fabric, but her trembling fingers couldn't reach into her pocket.

Zhao Jing silently took in this scene. She shook her head and gently removed Lin Xi's hand, which fell into the air like a kite with a broken string.

Lin Xi watched helplessly as the exquisite pocket gun was taken out of her sight, along with the watch on her wrist, and gradually disappeared from her view until it was finally placed on the table.

Although it was only less than a meter away, it felt incredibly far to Lin Xi right now.

The watch was still lit up, and the screen displayed "Xiong Da" as the incoming caller ID. It lit up again after Zhao Jing hung up.

“Lu…” Lin Xi tried to speak, but it was difficult to make a sound. Even if she could call out, the person on the other end of the phone could not hear her plea for help.

"Is 'Big Bear' the same as 'Lieutenant Xiang'?" Zhao Jing asked.

This question wasn't directed at Lin Xi, because Lin Xi was already unable to speak.

Another voice responded timidly: "It shouldn't be. We just confirmed that 'Lieutenant Xiang' is on a mission outside the base and hasn't returned yet..."

So take action now.

Xiang Xin would sometimes come to the lab to see Lin Xi, so many of Lin Xi's colleagues knew that her friend was a military figure at the base.

The voice continued, "Furthermore... Xiang Xin has always called Lin Xi 'San San,' but Xiong Da only has one younger brother named Xiong Er, and there is no such person as San San..."

Zhao Jing rolled her eyes in annoyance and turned off her watch.

She didn't look into Lin Xi's eyes again, but counted the time and waited for two minutes before she and the person behind her lifted Lin Xi onto the mobile hospital bed.

Lin Xi seemed to have lost all her strength and could only let her two female colleagues do as they pleased. She stared intently at their actions, opened her mouth and closed her mouth but ultimately couldn't utter a word.

Zhao Jing didn't dare look her in the eye the whole time. It wasn't until she was helping her change from her lab coat into a hospital gown that she couldn't help but explain, "Junior sister, don't stare at us like that..."

“You are that mutant zombie’s cousin, the only blood relative we can find right now. The professor told you this a long time ago, and you already knew it.”

Lin Xi suddenly remembered that Song Heng had summoned her for a talk, which was actually a hint or indication.

Feeling guilty, Zhao Jing avoided looking Lin Xi in the eye. "We've all tested you. You don't want to admit it, and we understand you don't want to be a guinea pig..."

Driven by a sense of morality, she said with difficulty, "But our research has reached a bottleneck, and you are currently our only hope to break through it... After the New Year, the laboratory will be renovated, and with hardened zombies roaming outside and drugs that continue to destroy zombie structures available, and resources limited, our project, which shows no results, is very likely to be halted first..."

"Like us, you've always hoped to extract the complete antibody..."

Lin Xi felt as if her voice had several echoes.

It turns out that Song Heng and Zhao Jing's words were intentional tests. They already knew about Lin Jie's relationship with her, and the two tests were to see if she intended to reveal her identity.

As the hospital bed was wheeled out of the room, Lin Xi stared blankly at the flickering lights above her head. Amidst the shadowy figures, she saw many people, faces that were once familiar now appearing utterly unfamiliar.

She heard Song Heng's voice again, choked with emotion, a mixture of joy and guilt: "Xiao Lin, we're almost there! We have new hope! You...you hang in there...we will definitely develop a vaccine!"

Lin Xi closed her eyes helplessly, trying not to think about or see what she was going through.

A chill ran down her spine as a bright light shone on Lin Xi's face; even with her eyes closed, she couldn't ignore the glare.

Although the temperature inside the base remained between 10 and 20 degrees Celsius, making it feel like winter, Lin Xi still felt uncomfortably cold.

It's not just physical.

After an unknown amount of time, my body suddenly felt warm.

Lin Xi opened her eyes with trembling eyelids and found herself covered with a thin blanket.

That timid voice rang in my ears again: "Junior Sister...does this feel better..."

Lin Xi didn't even have the strength to roll her eyes. How could she feel good being placed on the operating table with such a weak body?

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... You helped me at the research institute... But I... I couldn't disobey my teacher's orders. You are our hope. I'm so sorry..."

Lin Xi forced herself to turn her gaze to her. This person had been working with Lin Xi since the beginning of the Nanhua Research Institute. Lin Xi had helped too many people at the research institute, and she couldn't remember which one it was.

It wasn't until the person picked up the reagents and syringe to get the medicine, looking at her with a mixture of fear and pleading in their eyes, that Lin Xi remembered.

This is when the research institute was first poisoned. Lin Xi rushed into the laboratory to save people, killed the mutated zombies and infected people on the spot, and then took the initiative to admit that he had only drunk a little milk. He was willing to be tied up and wait for the observation period to pass. In the end, he was the only lucky one who was not infected into a zombie because of his low viral load and timely rescue.

At that time, people's understanding of the virus was still very limited. Lin Xi gave her a lot of antibiotics and antiviral drugs. Although she experienced some aftereffects in the short term, the girl was always grateful for Lin Xi's timely help, which prevented her from becoming a zombie.

Now it's reversed; the girl is holding a syringe.

Lin Xi didn't dare to think about what the liquid inside was.

The girl's eyes were filled with tears, and her hand holding the syringe was trembling. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, she quietly confessed, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... I can't help you alone..."

Lin Xi found her very noisy and Zhao Jing and Song Heng's explanations annoying.

It's all the same now, the result is what it is, the psychological journey and process are no longer important.

They're all... bastards.

As the cold medicine was injected into her body, Lin Xi's already weak limbs became even more numb.

Her mind went blank; all the sounds around her seemed to echo in the distance, and she couldn't hear or see what was happening around her.

Why is the lab so noisy? There are sounds of arguing, clattering, and the crisp sound of metal triggers being pulled.

Lin Xi couldn't turn her face away, and couldn't even shed a tear.

When she caught a glimpse of Lu Wei's face through the blur, she felt utterly powerless—

It felt like I was back in that park in Block B of Nanhua, when she was lying on the ground in a mascot costume.

She was lying there like that when she saw Lu Wei, and she was also awake but unable to control her body.

So many years have passed, so many lifetimes have passed, and this feeling of powerlessness and loss of control has surged up again.

It turns out that even without turning into a zombie, one can still feel this powerless.

"Lin Xi".

All the sounds seemed to be separated by a barrier; Lin Xi couldn't hear any of the extra words, and could only react to her own name.

Then she was helped up, and the soft touch, whether from a quilt or clothing, wrapped her up like a spring roll. The scene before her eyes was blurry and moving.

When military doctor Tao Yiran arrived, Lu Wei stopped the use of the zombie virus test strips as soon as they were put into use: "They are not infected."

Tao Yiran: "Just a routine matter."

She knew that the ground colonel, who was often out fighting zombies and stationed at the base's border, was very familiar with the characteristics of the infected, and his eyesight was almost as accurate as that of a test strip.

Putting down the test strip, she pinched Lin Xi's eyelids and made a preliminary judgment by taking a sample from Lin Xi's mouth after a simple examination: "There are signs of oral chloral hydrate, but the composition of the drug is quite complex and it is not a common anesthetic on the market. It needs to be tested professionally."

Lu was unaware that the lab was full of medical professionals and chemistry PhDs, and synthesizing anesthetics not available on the market would not be difficult for them. He only cared about one question: "Is it toxic?"

Tao Yiran shook her head: "Probably not. Was she drugged inside the base? Forgive my bluntness, but such a thing should be reported to the police inside the base."

Instead of summoning military doctors.

Lu Wei did not answer, and Tao Yiran did not stop checking Lin Xi's vital signs. Since they were not in a military hospital, the equipment she brought was limited, and she could not conduct more examinations, so she could only draw a preliminary conclusion:

"She must have taken an oral anesthetic and then received an injection of an anesthetic to cause this." She sensed that something was amiss because Lin Xi was wearing some kind of hospital gown from the laboratory.

The laboratory does not admit patients; those wearing hospital gowns there are mostly infected individuals and zombies for experimental research.

So when she first arrived, she wanted to test herself with a test strip as a precaution.

But if the person lying there is indeed an infected person and is wearing a laboratory gown, how could they be given anesthesia and then transferred here?

But this is the residence of a colonel, and I shouldn't ask too many questions that I shouldn't.

Tao Yiran took out a syringe: "My initial judgment is like this. I need to do a blood test to find out if I have been poisoned by other substances."

Blood draw.

Lu Wei frowned. He couldn't let Lin Xi's blood sample leak out for the time being, even though Tao Yiran was a military doctor and had no close connection with the laboratory. He couldn't let the information be leaked.

He stopped Tao Yiran from having her blood drawn: "No need, when will she wake up?"

Tao Yiran: "I don't know the specific ingredients and dosage of the anesthetic she was injected with, but judging from her breathing and heartbeat, it shouldn't be too serious. She will wake up after a certain period of time. Of course, if you want to shorten the anesthesia time, I can give her an IV to promote metabolism."

Lu did not answer.

Tao Yiran raised the syringe in her hand: "Are you sure you don't need to take a sample for testing?"

"No need." Lu Wei got up to see the guest out, adding as he left, "What happened today cannot be told to anyone."

Tao Yiran raised her eyebrows, nodded, and left with her medicine kit.

-

Lin Xi had a nightmare.

In her dream, she couldn't control her body and rushed into a building to hit and bite people. Seeing the panic on the faces of those fleeing for their lives, Lin Xi felt both guilty and afraid.

The scene shifts, and she is tied to a tree. Lu Wei and Liang Hui are discussing something, one still and one moving. She struggles and screams helplessly, but what comes out is the ugly roar of a zombie.

This dream felt so real; it was a true memory.

Lin Xi stared blankly at the unfamiliar rooftop, her consciousness gradually receding, leaving her at a loss.

This was a bedroom, and she was nestled in the soft mattress, not the cold bed in the laboratory, nor the double room she shared with Xiang Xin.

She tried to raise her hand and twist her neck, and saw her watch and pocket gun on the bedside table, next to a food jar and a thermos.

The watch and miniature gun were taken away and thrown far away...

Lin Xi tried to sit up. Although her limbs were still weak, she could control her movements with her mind.

She remembered that this was Lu Wei's empty bedroom, where she and Xiang Xin had slept after getting drunk on New Year's Eve.

As Lin Xi held the miniature gun in her hand, she realized that the Lu Wei she had seen before losing consciousness was not an illusion, and she knew she had been rescued.

She restarted her watch, and countless messages popped up, mostly from work groups and messages with her workplace prefix. Lin Xi numbly pressed the screen shut.

My stomach felt empty, and my whole body felt completely weak.

Lin Xi picked up two cups from the cabinet and shook them. Both cups were full; one contained warm water, and the other contained porridge that looked unpalatable.

Lin Xi quickly adjusted her body and prepared herself, but didn't know what to do.

Normally, she prioritizes work in her life, and even after get off work, she immerses herself in books. Having just gone through those experiences, she doesn't want to get involved in anything related to the lab for the time being.

Lin Xi looked at the hospital gown she was wearing, feeling a mixture of disgust and a chill in her heart.

But this wasn't her home. On the bed was a set of the base's most basic clothes, clothing issued by the base that everyone could receive.

She decided to change her clothes and then see if they had returned.

Upon opening the door, Xiang Xin and Lu Wei were not there; Liang Hui was sitting in the living room, operating something on the computer.

Upon seeing her come out, Liang Hui opened his mouth, but a hint of pity suddenly appeared in his eyes: "San San is awake."

"Don't call me that so affectionately." Lin Xi rejected this pity.

"Okay, Zhang San."

"What about them?"

Liang Hui: "Xiang Xin is returning today, and should be going through security right now. Brother Lu... he's a bit busy."

Lin Xi then realized that it was already 5 p.m. the next day.

“Um…” Liang Hui explained, “The clothes are new ones from the property management office. If you want to go back to your dorm, I can go with you. Brother Lu wants you to stay here for now; ordinary people can’t access this place…”

"good."

-

About an hour later, Xiang Xin returned first, carrying military luggage and heading straight here without even going back to the dormitory.

As soon as the door opened and she saw Lin Xi sitting there, she pounced on her, rubbing Lin Xi's face and arms. If there hadn't been a third wheel in the living room, Xiang Xin would have touched other places as well.

"San San, are you alright? I heard about this from Brother Lu on my way back to the city, so I rushed back."

"No..." Lin Xi felt a warmth in her heart.

Xiang Xin quickly checked everything and breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "When Brother Lu said that, I thought I'd only be able to see your specimen when I got back..."

"..." Lin Xi imagined what that scene would look like. Normally, she would have thought it was a funny joke and replied, "It's not that exaggerated." But now, she felt a chill run down her spine.

The door was unlocked again by swiping the card, and Lu Wei returned, still wearing the uniform that signified his identity.

Seeing that the three of them were in the living room, he glanced at Lin Xi's condition and nodded to greet her.

As soon as Xiang Xin finished listening to Lin Xi's account of what happened, Liang Hui, unusually, didn't have a joking expression and just sighed. Xiang Xin, on the other hand, paced back and forth angrily.

"Come back, come with us."

"You're a good shot and a strong fighter, you're definitely better than me."

"Being a military doctor is also an option."

"We're not going back to that lab."

The more she thought about it, the more disgusted she felt: "If I were there, I would definitely point a gun at them."

Liang Hui: "Don't be angry, we pointed it out when we were rescuing people."