Chapter 77 Return to Reality
Su Wanqing stared at Lin Che. He looked pale and bit his lips tightly, as if he was suppressing something.
The system's cold electronic voice sounded again: "Seven hours and forty-two minutes of space stay time remaining. The first guest has exceeded the time limit, which will trigger a space rejection reaction."
"Che, we should go back." Su Wanqing tried her best to make her voice sound calm. She knew that Lin Che was very weak and needed rest and recovery.
Lin Che nodded slowly. He stood up from the bed, staggering and almost falling.
Su Wanqing quickly supported him. "Be careful."
"I'm fine." Lin Che's voice was soft and sounded a little tired.
"It's just... not feeling well."
"System, start the space exit program." Su Wanqing gave an order to the jade bracelet on her wrist.
“It is being executed.”
The scene inside the space began to blur, and the surrounding rooms gradually disappeared, replaced by a white light.
Su Wanqing held Lin Che's hand tightly, fearing that he would suddenly fall down.
After a few seconds, the white light disappeared and they were back in the operating room of the abandoned hospital.
The air was filled with a sickening smell of blood.
“Here…” Lin Che frowned and looked around, disgust written all over her face.
“It stinks.”
Su Wanqing did not answer. She directly took out a pistol, several grenades, and a large bag of medical supplies from the space.
With deft movements she checked the weapons, making sure they were in working order.
"Where is E-3?" Su Wanqing asked suddenly. She looked around but did not see the patient.
Lin Che followed her and searched around. Soon, they found the answer in the bloodstains and torn clothes on the ground.
“She…she’s dead.” Lin Che’s voice trembled.
"It seems that she was attacked by zombies at the moment the space was closed."
Su Wanqing sighed. "We are late."
“There are at least hundreds of zombies here.” Lin Che used his water ability to sense the situation in the hospital.
"They are searching for the living."
"We have to get out of here." Su Wanqing said. "The helicopter pad on the top floor is the only way out."
“Okay, let’s go!” Lin Che nodded. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.
Su Wanqing took out a rope from the space and used it to set up a simple trip mine device at the end of the corridor.
Once a zombie steps on a trip mine, it will detonate a fuse, which will knock over a row of potion bottles, creating a chaotic area, giving them time to escape.
"Let's go." Su Wanqing said.
The two men moved forward along the corridor cautiously. They tried their best to avoid the sight of the zombies and used various cover to hide their figures.
Su Wanqing found that she could take objects out from inside the space more accurately.
While running, she can easily take out weapons or medical supplies from the space, and no longer needs to spend time and energy to adjust the position of items as before.
"How convenient," she thought to herself.
Suddenly, a zombie jumped out of the hole in the ceiling and pounced towards Su Wanqing.
“Be careful!” Lin Che shouted. His eyes instantly turned cold. He knocked the zombie down with precise movements and broke its cervical vertebrae.
Time seemed to stand still. The swift and fatal blow formed a sharp contrast with the gentle Lin Che before, and it flashed by.
Lin Che was stunned. He looked at his blood-stained hands with shock written all over his face.
"What...what did I just do?"
Su Wanqing did not answer. She knew that there was some kind of power hidden in Lin Che's body, and this power was gradually awakening.
"Let's walk faster." Su Wanqing urged.
The two quickened their pace and rushed towards the helicopter pad on the top floor.
When they reached the top floor, the scene before them made them gasp.
The square outside the hospital was densely packed with zombies, numbering more than thousands.
What’s even more terrifying is that some zombies were using simple tools to pry open the door and try to enter the hospital.
One of the zombies was wearing a tattered protective suit with a work ID from the research institute hanging on his chest.
"This is..." Su Wanqing's eyes widened. "An intelligent zombie?"
"They are organizing their actions." Lin Che said. "They are no longer beasts that rely solely on instinct."
"What's going on with these zombies?" Su Wanqing was full of doubts.
“What on earth have they been through?”
Suddenly, a zombie used a piece of wood to break open the back door of the hospital and rushed in.
The other zombies followed closely behind, rushing towards them fiercely.
"Get ready for battle!" Su Wanqing shouted, she raised the pistol in her hand and shot at the zombies.
Bang! Bang! Bang! The sound of gunfire echoed throughout the hospital.
Lin Che also activated his water ability at the same time. He controlled the surrounding water pipes to burst, forming a water wall to block the zombies' attack.
But there were simply too many zombies, and they couldn't stop them completely.
"Che, how about your abilities?" Su Wanqing asked.
Lin Che frowned, his face becoming paler and paler. "I...I don't feel very well."
"What's wrong?"
“My water ability fluctuates, and I can’t control it,” Lin Che said.
"One moment I can easily control a pipe bursting across an entire corridor, and the next I have trouble controlling even small drops of water."
"Calm down." Su Wanqing said. "Take a deep breath and focus."
“I know.” Lin Che nodded. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself down.
But at this moment, a zombie suddenly jumped out of the hole in the ceiling and pounced on Su Wanqing.
Lin Che's eyes instantly turned cold, and his movements became swift and precise again.
He rushed to Su Wanqing, grabbed the zombie's head and twisted it hard.
Snap!
The zombie's neck was broken in an instant and he fell to the ground.
Su Wanqing was stunned. She looked at Lin Che with shock in her eyes.
The scene just now was really incredible.
"Che..." She couldn't help but ask. "Who...who are you?"
Lin Che was stunned. He looked at his bloody hands, confusion written all over his face.
"I…I don't know either."
He remembered the name "Night" and some fragments of his memory before he lost his memory, but he couldn't piece them together.
His mind was in a mess.
"We have to leave here!" Su Wanqing said. "It's too dangerous!"
“Okay.” Lin Che nodded. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.
They rushed towards the helicopter pad, with hordes of zombies chasing after them.
Su Wanqing clenched the telescope in her hand and stared at the dark swarm of zombies below.
My heart was beating like a drum against my chest.
"What...what are they doing?" she almost blurted out.
Lin Che beside her also raised the telescope and observed carefully.
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He frowned, his purple hair fluttering gently in the night breeze.
"They don't seem to be wandering around randomly. Look, those at the outermost edge... they seem to be... commanders."
Indeed. At the edge of the zombie group, there were about a dozen zombies. They were no longer roaring and struggling aimlessly like their peers, but stood upright with their arms raised, making some gestures.
The movements were crude, yet strangely coordinated, as if they were directing the actions of the other zombies.
"They are directing the zombies to move towards the hospital."
Su Wanqing's voice was low, with a hint of disbelief.
“And you see,” Lin Che continued, “they seem to be carrying something.”
Su Wanqing looked in the direction Lin Che had pointed, and indeed saw some zombies carrying the fragments of abandoned vehicles, stones on the roadside, and other debris.
They piled these things on the side of the hospital to form a makeshift climbing ramp.
"This... this is no longer a simple zombie." Su Wanqing felt a chill rising from the soles of her feet.
"They... they are thinking. They are beginning to understand how to use tools and how to work together."
Lin Che's eyes became sharp. "I noticed that these zombies all had some fragments of the institute's uniforms on them. It seems that they may be infected researchers. The virus mutated in their bodies, retaining some intelligence but losing their humanity."
"Research Institute...'Scorching Sun Project'..." Su Wanqing muttered to herself.
She remembered what Yang Wenbo said before he left, and the secrets hidden in the research institute, and an ominous premonition came to her mind.
In the distance, an extremely large zombie was directing the other zombies to speed up and reinforce the climbing ramp.
The remaining research institute uniform on this zombie's body was already tattered, but from its majestic posture and decisive movements, one could still tell of its former identity - an academic, an intellectual.
What’s creepy is that there is a glimmer of... cunningness in the zombie’s eyes.
“It’s directing them to climb the wall!” Lin Che suddenly exclaimed.
"This... This is simply..."
"They are conducting a tactical drill." Su Wanqing gritted her teeth and said, "They are really conducting a tactical drill! They know our position, and they are attacking in an organized manner!"
At this moment, a weak radio signal came from Su Wanqing's communicator.
She quickly adjusted the frequency, and an intermittent sound came into her ears.
"...Besieged...Southwest Factory...Experimental subjects...out of control...need...support..."
It's Lu Zhao! Su Wanqing held the communicator tightly, trying to distinguish Lu Zhao's voice: "Lu Zhao? Lu Zhao! How are you now?"
The signal was soon cut off, leaving only a harsh noise.
"The experimental subject...is out of control..." Su Wanqing repeated what Lu Zhao said, her heart full of worry.
Then, another weak signal came, and this time Lu Zhao's voice was more urgent: "Wanqing...if you receive it...don't come to us...bring Lin Che...back to the base...he is the key..."
"Lu Zhao!" Su Wanqing wanted to call again, but found that the signal had completely disappeared.
She widened her eyes and looked at Lin Che in disbelief.
“He…he asked you to take me back?” Lin Che had obviously heard what Lu Zhao said, confusion written all over her face.
"Yes." Su Wanqing nodded. "He said you are the key."
“The key? I…what key do I have?” Lin Che asked blankly.
Su Wanqing shook her head. She didn’t know why Lu Zhao said that.
But she knew that the most important thing now was to make a choice. Should she rush to the Southwest Factory immediately to rescue Lu Zhao, or follow Lu Zhao's instructions and take Lin Che back to the base?
"I'll have to think about it," she said.
At this moment, Lin Che suddenly covered his arm with a painful expression on his face.
"What's wrong?" Su Wanqing asked hurriedly.
“I…I don’t feel well.” Lin Che’s voice trembled.
"My arm...it seems like it was bitten by something."
Su Wanqing immediately checked Lin Che's arm and found that there was indeed a faintly visible wound on his arm.
A purple glow had appeared around the wound, and... it seemed to be spreading at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"You...you were scratched by a zombie?" Su Wanqing exclaimed.
“I…I don’t remember.” Lin Che shook her head. “I just remember that…my head hurt.”
Suddenly, Lin Che's expression changed, and his eyes became empty and cold.
His body also began to tremble slightly.
"He...he is going to change!" Su Wanqing's heart skipped a beat.
“Ye…” Lin Che said in a strange voice. “These zombies… they are extremely sensitive to high-frequency sound waves.
This is the control mechanism designed by the institute.”
“Night?” Su Wanqing looked at Lin Che in confusion.
Lin Che's mouth curled up into a strange smile. "You can use the hospital's ultrasound equipment to make simple sonic weapons. They...they will collapse."
"Lu Zhao... he might have encountered a more dangerous... evolved being."
Night continued. "Be careful...be sure to be careful."
At the moment when "Ye" finished saying this, Lin Che's body shook violently, and he returned to his original expression, and his eyes became clear again.
“What…what did I say just now?” Lin Che asked blankly.
"I...I think I had a nightmare."
Su Wanqing did not answer. She was stunned. She could not understand what had just happened.
"Che, are you okay?" she asked.
“I…I’m fine.” Lin Che shook her head. “It’s just…I feel weird.”
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