Chapter 60: Corpse Transformation in Southern Xinjiang!
The warmth of the New Year's bells and the fireworks still seems to linger.
After the hustle and bustle of New Year's Eve, the Lu Family Compound returned to tranquility.
The snow has stopped.
Thick white snow covered every corner of the courtyard, and the shadows of red lanterns under the eaves fell on the snow, spreading out in warm red patches.
These past few days have been the most peaceful days Su Wanqing has ever experienced in both her lives.
She no longer needs to struggle for a living, nor does she have to live in constant fear of being plotted against.
With Huichuntang's business on track, the internal conflicts within the Lu family have also melted away.
Her daily life consisted of playing chess with Lu Zhenguo, chatting with Lu Yao about the latest happenings in the capital, and occasionally relaxing in the kitchen, pondering new medicinal recipes.
Of course, he spent most of his time with Lu Zhanting.
The man seemed determined to make up for the lack of companionship he had missed over the past few months.
His injuries had clearly healed considerably, but he stayed at home and refused to return to the team.
My greatest pleasure every day is following behind Su Wanqing and watching her busy herself like a hardworking little bee.
While she was reading medical books, he quietly peeled an apple, the peel forming a long, continuous strip.
She went into the space to process medicinal herbs, and he stood guard outside the door like a guardian deity, not allowing anyone to approach or disturb her.
At night, he would hold her tightly in his arms, needing to smell the delicate fragrance of her hair to fall asleep peacefully.
These ordinary yet tender moments are as beautiful as an unreal dream.
Su Wanqing almost drowned in it.
However, a soldier's destiny is to say goodbye.
Late at night on the third day of the Lunar New Year, an unexpected event shattered this tranquility.
At that time, Su Wanqing and Lu Zhanting had already gone to sleep.
The moonlight outside the window was cold and clear, reflecting off the snow and making the objects inside the room vaguely visible.
A very faint engine sound came from afar outside the Lu family compound, then suddenly stopped.
The next second, Lu Zhanting, who was breathing heavily in his sleep, suddenly tensed the muscles in his back and opened his eyes in the darkness.
Those eyes showed no sign of sleepiness, only a chilling vigilance, fixed intently on the view outside the window.
"What's wrong?"
Su Wanqing was startled awake by his stiff body, her sleepy voice soft and sweet.
"Someone's coming." Lu Zhanting's voice was extremely low, like a block of ice.
Before he could finish speaking, Uncle He's aged but urgent voice rang out in the courtyard, accompanied by the sound of banging on the door.
"Young Master, someone from the palace has arrived with urgent business!"
Inside the palace.
Urgent official business.
Six words, in the dead of night, exploded like thunder.
Lu Zhanting rolled out of bed, and without turning on the light, quickly put on his clothes in the dark.
In the darkness, his movements were so fast that only the faint sound of his clothes rubbing together could be heard. One second he was a tender husband, the next he had switched back to a tough soldier ready to rush to the battlefield at any moment.
Su Wanqing sat up, her heart sinking.
She knew very well that for Uncle He to resort to "banging on the door" and to send someone directly from the "palace" at this time, the matter was far beyond what anyone could imagine.
Lu Zhanting, dressed neatly, walked to the bedside and leaned down to place a kiss on Su Wanqing's smooth forehead.
"Don't be afraid, I'll go check on you, you go back to sleep."
He turned around and walked steadily out of the bedroom.
Su Wanqing, however, was far from sleepy.
She put on her coat, went barefoot, and quietly walked to the door, peeking out through the crack.
The living room was brightly lit, but the atmosphere was oppressive and suffocating.
Lu Zhenguo, already dressed in a military overcoat, sat upright in the main chair, his weathered face radiating a grim aura.
A strange man dressed in a black Zhongshan suit stood straight in the center of the living room, like a javelin.
Unmelted snowflakes still clung to his shoulders, his face showed the weariness of a long journey and an almost overflowing anxiety.
Upon seeing Lu Zhanting come downstairs, he immediately took out a brown paper document bag sealed with sealing wax from his briefcase.
"Battalion Commander Lu, urgent coded telegram, from the highest level in 'Southern Xinjiang'."
Southern Xinjiang.
Upon hearing these two words, Lu Zhanting's pupils suddenly contracted.
He took the file bag but didn't open it immediately. His gaze fell on the newcomer's face: "Who are you?"
"Chief's Office, Second-Level Secretary, Zhou Cheng. I am here to personally deliver this document to you." Zhou Cheng answered clearly.
Lu Zhanting said no more and tore open the file bag.
Inside was not telegram paper, but a special sheet of paper as thin as a cicada's wing, on which the writing could only be seen with developing solution.
He strode into the study, but came out again a minute later.
His face was so dark it looked like it could be wrung out, and there was even a hint of surprise between his brows.
“Grandpa.” He looked at Lu Zhenguo.
Lu Zhenguo slowly raised his eyes, his voice as steady as an old bell: "What is the order?"
"I hereby order you to depart immediately for Area Seven on the southern border to investigate the disappearance of the 'Longevity' project base," Lu Zhanting said, enunciating each word clearly.
"The Longevity Project?" Lu Zhenguo frowned. This code name was too unfamiliar, and it was obviously a higher level of secrecy that he could not access.
"Yes." Lu Zhanting turned his gaze to Zhou Cheng. "The telegram says the situation is extremely urgent, and you will be responsible for conveying the specific information verbally."
Zhou Cheng's face turned ashen. His Adam's apple bobbed, and he spoke in a voice that was suppressed to the extreme, yet clearly audible to everyone:
"The Longevity Project is a top-secret biological research project conducted in southern Xinjiang. A week ago, Professor Chen Huanzhi, the project leader and codenamed 'Candle Dragon,' issued his final report, stating that an accidental leak occurred at the base while studying an ancient virus discovered locally."
"Three days ago, the base completely lost contact with the outside world."
"The first reconnaissance team dispatched by the military region lost contact with all members five kilometers away from the base."
"The second reconnaissance team, equipped with the highest level of biochemical protection, transmitted back a final video and audio clip after approaching the base... and then, they also lost contact."
As he spoke, his voice began to tremble uncontrollably.
"The video is static, but the audio... in the audio, there are the heart-wrenching screams of the scouts, and a kind of... a kind of roar that is not human, like that of a wild beast gnawing on flesh and bone."
"Most importantly, Professor Chen Huanzhi mentioned in his final report that preliminary analysis showed that this virus was highly similar to a certain unknown energy that caused the mutation of the Heart-Eating Vine in the 'Black Widow' jungle in Southwest China."
Heart-Eating Vine!
Behind the door, Su Wanqing felt as if an invisible hand was gripping her heart tightly.
She finally understood why the coded telegram had been sent directly to the Lu family.
Sure enough, Zhou Cheng's next words confirmed her guess.
"Therefore, the supreme directive has two points." Zhou Cheng's gaze swept between Lu Zhanting and Lu Zhenguo. "First, Comrade Lu Zhanting is appointed as the commander-in-chief of this operation and granted the highest decision-making authority on the battlefield."
"Second..." He paused, his tone becoming unusually strained, "...the requirement is that we must go together with the medical expert who resolved the Heart-Eating Vine crisis during the Southwest incident."
In the living room, you could hear a pin drop.
All eyes were drawn through the crack in the door, as if by a magnet, and landed precisely on Su Wanqing.
The identity of that "medical expert" is self-evident.
Su Wanqing pushed open the door and slowly walked out.
There was no panic on her face, only a frosty calm.
She knew that her comfortable days were over.
The gears of fate turned once more, pushing her and Lu Zhanting together onto an even more dangerous and unknown battlefield.
Lu Zhanting's face instantly turned ashen, and he practically roared, "No! I don't agree!"
This was the first time he had said "no" to an order.
"Zhan Ting!" Lu Zhenguo shouted sharply to stop him.
“Grandpa, do you know what kind of place that is! The jungles of the southwest, we faced almost certain death! This trip to the southern frontier will only be worse!” Lu Zhanting’s fists clenched until his knuckles turned white. “Wanqing is not a soldier, she has no obligation to take such risks!”
"Battalion Commander Lu, this is an order." Zhou Cheng's tone was firm, but his eyes revealed helplessness. "Professor Chen's report emphasizes that the virus's infection method is extremely bizarre, beyond the comprehension of all modern medicine. Currently, the only person with experience in successfully handling similar energies is Comrade Su Wanqing."
"Her participation was not a choice, but a necessity."
"I said, no way!"
A terrifying killing intent exploded from Lu Zhanting's body. It was a substantial pressure that had been honed in the midst of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, which made Zhou Cheng's face turn pale and he almost couldn't stand up.
He had barely managed to pull her back from the brink of death; how could he possibly push her into another abyss with his own hands?
"I'll go."
A clear, firm voice cut off Lu Zhanting's rage.
It is Su Wanqing.
She walked to the center of the living room, to Lu Zhanting's side, and took his hand, which was trembling slightly with anger.
“I’ll go.” She repeated, looking directly at Zhou Cheng, and calmly asked, “When do we leave?”
“Comrade Su…” Zhou Cheng hadn’t expected her to be so decisive.
"Wanqing! Stop fooling around!" Lu Zhanting grabbed her shoulders with his backhand, his voice trembling.
Su Wanqing ignored him and simply looked at Zhou Cheng quietly.
Zhou Cheng glanced at Lu Zhenguo, whose face was ashen, and seeing that he did not respond, he immediately said, "We'll leave at dawn. The special plane is already waiting at the West Suburbs Airport."
"Okay." Su Wanqing nodded, then turned around to face Lu Zhanting.
She looked at his bloodshot eyes, at the anger, fear, and struggle within them, then raised her hand and gently stroked his tense cheek.
“Zhan Ting,” her voice was soft and gentle, yet it carried a power that could soothe everything, “Have you forgotten what we said? From now on, it’s ‘us’.”
"This time, it's not you going to save me, nor is it me waiting for you to come back."
"It's us, fighting side by side."
Lu Zhanting's body froze completely.
He looked into his wife's clear and firm eyes, where there was no fear, only complete trust and unwavering determination.
yes.
They are husband and wife, and also comrades-in-arms.
Why did he treat her like a vulnerable person in need of protection and presumptuously take on all of her burdens?
She is no longer that parasitic vine; she has her own abilities, her own responsibilities, and her own battlefield.
for a long time.
The turbulent waves in Lu Zhanting's eyes gradually subsided, eventually settling into a bottomless resolute determination.
He took her hand that was touching his face, his voice hoarse.
Okay, let's do it together.
After speaking, he looked at Zhou Cheng, his eyes now displaying the absolute composure expected of a soldier.
Give me twenty minutes.
The night was still dark, but the lights in the Lu family compound never went out.
A silent farewell was hastily undertaken.
Lu Yao, Li Juan, and the others were also awakened. They didn't ask anything, but with red eyes, they silently helped the two pack their bags.
Lu Zhenguo sat alone in his study, smoking one cigarette after another. In the swirling smoke, his figure seemed to have aged considerably overnight.
Inside the bedroom.
Lu Zhanting changed into a full set of field training uniform and was checking his equipment.
The maintenance and placement of every component—firearms, ammunition, and sabers—is carried out with a mechanical precision.
Su Wanqing then sank into the space.
She had no time to grieve the interruption of their tender moments; her mind was completely focused on this new crisis.
Southern Xinjiang, ancient virus, Heart-Eating Vine energy.
Several words collided rapidly in my mind, sparking dangerous ideas.
She rushed into the Inheritance Hall, her divine sense frantically scanning rows of ancient medical books and jade slips.
Finally, in a tattered scroll titled "Records of Strange Things in Southern Xinjiang," she found a horrifying description.
"In the southern borderlands there is a miasma called 'Rotting God.' If a person touches it, within three days, their flesh will rot, their mind will be completely lost, and they will turn into a walking corpse, craving blood and flesh, which is beyond human resistance..."
The Walking Dead!
Su Wanqing's heart sank to the bottom.
This perfectly matches the inhuman screams in that audio recording.
She dared not delay any longer and immediately rushed into the alchemy room.
She threw all the most yang and potent medicinal herbs from her spatial medicine field, which were specifically designed to counteract yin evils and poisonous miasma, into the alchemy furnace without regard to cost.
Golden flames roared as she refined an antidote specifically for the "Corruption God's" poison.
She didn't know how effective it would be, but this was her only preparation at the moment, and their only chance of survival.
Twenty minutes later, Su Wanqing emerged from the space, carrying three heavy white jade porcelain bottles.
Lu Zhanting is also ready to go.
He carried a huge pack, and the cold outline of a pistol and a military knife was at his waist. He looked like a sharp sword about to be drawn, its edge fully revealed.
The two looked at each other in the room, neither of them speaking.
He stepped forward, reached out, and straightened her slightly disheveled collar.
She stood on tiptoe, raised her hand, and helped him straighten the brim of his military cap.
A glance, a gesture, speaks louder than a thousand words.
A faint glimmer of dawn appeared on the horizon.
A military jeep with a special license plate was turned off and quietly parked at the entrance of the compound.
The Lu family members stood at the door, silently seeing them off.
Lu Zhanting took Su Wanqing's hand and walked out of the warm home they had just acquired.
Before getting into the car, he turned around and gave Lu Zhenguo, who was standing on the steps, a perfect military salute.
Su Wanqing also bowed deeply to the old man.
This journey will leave its fate uncertain.
The jeep started and silently drove into the pre-dawn mist, resolutely leaving behind the red lanterns filling the courtyard and the figures of the family members.
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