Chapter 143 [End]
The cave was filled with thick black smoke, and the rising temperature reminded the two brothers all the time that they didn't have much time left.
Despite his deep grief, Wen Xin managed to calm down and asked rationally, "If that's the case, why didn't I get this test tube earlier?"
"No, you got it, but it was later stripped away." Wen Jinfeng was obviously a little emotional, and pressed his temples, "Because even if you sacrificed your parents, you still couldn't absorb this power. You almost followed in their footsteps."
"My mother was a very far-sighted person. Even in such a dire situation, she left behind a plan for dealing with it."
"She returned to the First Base, using the excuse that you were in poor health and wanted to use the First Base's medical technology to treat you. In fact, she wanted to arrange for reliable and available personnel to take away this power in time when you could no longer bear it."
Wen Jinfeng curled his lips, as if to mock himself: "It's a pity that I found out the truth too late, it's only been a few months. My parents didn't tell me the truth directly back then, probably because they knew that with my personality, I would just keep it for myself, not to mention saving the world."
Fate is so unreasonable.
The letter that Xin Nuannuan handed to Wen Jinfeng and Wen Xin was delivered to them more than ten years late due to various coincidences.
Wen Jinfeng's heart was filled with grief, and he couldn't help thinking all the time: If he had been allowed to convert this power, would his mother and father not have died?
Don't talk about the future being set! The future has already been changed. What's wrong with having one more Xin Nuannuan and one more Wen Guodong?
It would have been fine if his parents had told him the truth at the beginning, why didn’t they tell him? !
Just when Wen Jinfeng was still stuck in his dilemma, Wen Xin suddenly lowered his voice and said one word: "No."
"That's definitely not the reason."
He held Wen Jinfeng's shoulders and looked into her red eyes: "Have you forgotten what mom said? She said that anyone who tries to save the world is an idiot because it's so hard and tiring."
"It's my wish to save everyone, not yours. How can you expect her and Dad to sacrifice you as a matter of course?"
Wen Jinfeng was stunned when he heard these words, with a hint of moisture in his trembling eyes.
The temperature in the cabin continued to rise, and it seemed that it had finally reached a critical point that it could no longer bear. A series of ominous explosions erupted from inside.
Wen Jinfeng gritted his teeth and looked towards the lake. If he jumped into the water now, he should be able to avoid the explosion, but the oxygen supply would become a fatal problem afterwards.
Choose to suffocate to death or be blown to death?
The man only wanted to pull Anqi out and whip her corpse.
Wen Xin exhaled slightly. In that short time, which was not even 0.01 seconds, he buried all his emotions and asked with a smile in a light tone: "Brother, which one do you choose, becoming a merman or staying alive?"
"What?" Wen Jinfeng couldn't get used to his incoherence and glared at him unhappily, "Who wants to die when they can live? You..."
Before he finished speaking, Wen Xin quickly took something out of his pocket and stuffed it into Wen Jinfeng's open mouth.
Wen Jinfeng was caught off guard and subconsciously wanted to spit it out, but the round bead instantly turned into a pool of cold liquid when it entered his mouth and slid down his throat.
He was simply stunned: "What did you give me to eat?!"
Wen Xin caught a glimpse of the burst of fire from the corner of his eye, and before he could answer, he pulled him into the lake.
The moment you fall into the water, the cool water caresses your skin, and all the noise from the outside world recedes from your ears like the tide, leaving only depth and tranquility.
The next second, the hull exploded, and raging flames instantly engulfed the entire cave.
…
I don't know how much time passed.
"Puff!"
Wen Jinfeng poked his head out of the water, the shock on his face still not dissipating yet.
The explosion would suck out all the oxygen in the cave, and the continued high temperature that followed would make it impossible for them to stick their heads out from underwater, leading to their drowning.
This was originally a fatal situation.
But who would have thought that they could actually breathe underwater?
No, Wen Xin just fed him something!
Wen Jin didn't bother to look at the cave that had been ravaged by the explosion. He turned his head and stared at Wen Xin who had climbed ashore.
The latter seemed to know that he was confused and shrugged innocently: "Blue pearls are produced in the Mermaid Bay in the southern region. After eating them, you can breathe in the water. The side effect is that you will turn into a mermaid, but Lan Lan can solve this problem. I only got two at the beginning. I ate one and fed the other to you just now."
"..." Wen Jinfeng widened his eyes, "Why didn't you take it out earlier?"
Wen Xin blinked as if it was a matter of course: "If you knew earlier that we could survive, would you still tell me the truth?"
Wen Jinfeng: “…”
So, he was fooled by Wen Xin just now?
The man covered his chest, feeling a heart attack. He didn't know whether to be shocked that his innocent brother had become a bad student, or to be relieved that his silly brother had finally become smart, and no one could fool him anymore, which was a good thing.
Wen Xin had no time to comfort his wounded heart and looked forward.
The hull exploded, and parts shattered into pieces. The cave was filled with the remains of the laboratory and lingering with a little black smoke.
This scene was within the expectations of the two brothers, but what appeared before them at this moment was more than just this scene!
They saw that the place where the capsule was originally located was replaced by a passage - it seemed that there was originally a road there, but it was blocked by the capsule, so the two of them could not find it for a while.
This road extends out to another cave. Different from the cave where the other two are, the cave in front of us can only be described as a palace!
It was so big that it seemed like it could hold three aircraft carriers. Twelve columns that could be climbed to the top stood on both sides of the road, and ancient mysterious patterns were inscribed on the columns with exquisite craftsmanship. There were many irregular vessels scattered on the ground, which seemed to be a kind of burial objects.
And at the very front of the road stands a tall and majestic statue.
The statue resembles a dinosaur, with sharp teeth and claws, a sturdy body and limbs, and its eyeballs are painted blood red with some unknown material, which has not faded to this day, and it exudes a cold and fierce light.
The huge sarcophagus was placed under the statue, but the dozen or so chains on it had been violently opened and the contents inside disappeared.
Although it has been destroyed by time and no longer has the grandeur and magnificence it once had, it is not difficult to see a hint of its former glory from the well-arranged architectural outlines.
With a little speculation, one can guess that this temple is the remains of the genetic creation that was originally sealed, the tomb that Xiao Hei has guarded for tens of thousands of years, and the starting point for Dr. Anzi to bring sin into the world.
It took Wen Jinfeng a long time to come back to his senses, but he found that Wen Xin didn't seem surprised at all.
After a second thought, he understood the key point and laughed angrily: "I was confused too. You said that the crystal stone could produce oxygen, so I really believed your nonsense."
"How can rocks provide oxygen? Even if they can, you can't tell since it's colorless and odorless. There is an altar inside the cave, which means there must be a passage for workers to enter and exit. Neither of us found it, so the passage must have been blocked by the wreckage of the laboratory!"
"You guessed all this from the beginning, but you didn't say anything!"
"I can't help it. You are too defensive, brother." Wen Xin smiled helplessly, "If you don't say that, you won't be able to fool me."
Wen Jinfeng was shocked when he saw him take out the test tube again. He stood up in panic: "What do you want to do? We are safe now, don't do anything stupid!"
"We are safe, but Xiao Hei and the others up there are not, and neither is this world."
Wen Jinfeng interrupted him bluntly: "That can't be helped. We have already tried our best! The gravekeeper of this time period is still alive. It has the same power to destroy the world. Why don't we let it quell the disaster?"
"Because it transfers the power of healing to me."
"Brother, let me ask you." Wen Xin held the test tube, "If I return this test tube to Xiao Hei, can it still use this power?"
Wen Jinfeng's voice paused.
He didn't say anything, Wen Xin smiled and answered for him: "Definitely not. If it was possible, the tube of reagent should have been given to Xiao Hei instead of me."
Wen Jinfeng explained sternly: "Because it is only after being transformed by the human body that it changes from nothingness to a substantial energy substance, so..."
"So I'm the only one who can use it, after all, my body has accepted it before."
Wen Xin walked faster and headed towards the statue in the center of the hall.
As if sensing a familiar source of power, a brilliant blue light shone from the test tube, eager to show its presence.
Accustomed to Xiao Hei's mighty appearance, Wen Xin did not feel the slightest bit of fear even though the statue was portrayed as extremely ferocious for the purpose of shocking people.
He stood still, staring at the statue, and then without hesitation filled the test tube with the injection needle.
Wen Jinfeng couldn't keep up with his speed and yelled from behind: "Wen Xin! That power cannot be controlled by humans at all! Have you forgotten that you almost died? Have you forgotten your parents who have already died?!"
Wen Xin was a second faster than him and resolutely pushed the medicine into his body.
The gorgeous emerald blue liquid surged back and forth in the test tube, and finally disappeared bit by bit. Wen Jinfeng froze in place, his eyes bloodshot: "Wen Xin!!"
Wen Xin pulled out the needle, looked up and smiled. The smile was very shallow, but it was like the first breeze on the riverside in spring, warm and bright.
"Brother, no matter what, I will never forget why my parents left us."
Wen Jinfeng: "Then how can you——"
"It's because my parents' lives and determination are hidden in it that I can't give up." Wen Xin answered him in a firm voice.
聽到這話，溫勁風滿臉怒容驟然一空，似乎平地鑽出好幾條名為宿命的枷鎖，将他的手腳牢牢捆住。
只因他知道溫辛這番話裏，承載着怎樣的重量。
半晌溫勁風擡起頭，高傲的臉上竟充斥着哀求：“……活下來。”
“不管你變成什麽樣，你必須要活下來！”
“聽到沒有，溫辛！！”
當然。
當年的我還太幼小，但如今的我已經大不相同，未必不能承受這股力量。所以請放心，我一定會活着回來。
溫辛想這樣寬慰自家悲痛欲絕的兄長，卻發現自己已經無法再發出聲音。
力量在身體裏流竄，他清晰地感受到了自己的變化。
脈搏加快，鼓噪如雷鳴，多年停滞生長的骨骼咔嚓作響，血液不斷地升溫、升溫，再升溫，直至像岩漿一樣滾燙沸騰。這種變化同時帶來了劇烈的疼痛，痛到他的靈魂似乎與身體分離，化作一葉孤舟被卷入洶湧的浪潮。
溫辛近乎被溺斃在那海水裏。
他不斷喘息，揮動手臂拍打海面，發出無聲的吶喊，哪怕撕裂靈魂也不願屈服在這兇險至極的困境。
這段抗争的過程是那樣痛苦和漫長，漫長到時間仿佛已經過了幾百上千年，血肉遭到海水的侵蝕，一點點地腐爛脫離，只剩單薄殘破的骸骨在苦苦支撐。
體力即将耗盡，但海水仍在沖刷。一道巨浪劈天蓋地地打來，淹沒了溫辛的身軀。
就在溫辛即将沉入幽暗無光的海底時，他終于拼盡最後一絲力量，從無情的流水中抓到了一個東西。
那東西是個人，長着一張平平無奇的臉。
溫辛曾花費了很大功夫，去練習怎麽記憶人臉，只是此時的他痛得有些神志不清。
許久之後，他才一點點地想起來，眼前的人正是和他一起出過任務的同伴。家中妻女尚在，養了三只老母雞。
正當溫辛陷入回憶時，更多似曾相識的面孔出現在海底。
人群中有昔日推心置腹的戰友、臨時合作的朋友、共同抗敵的同盟，一面之緣的路人。
他們一人伸出一只手，拉住溫辛，無聲地往上游。
也會有人在中途脫力放手，但緊跟着又有新的面孔出現，代替前者繼續。
過去和原本未來的影像混雜在一起，如同走馬燈般從溫辛的眼前接連閃過。
他仿佛看見了小黑獨自守墓的那段歲月。仿佛看見父親坐在母親的病床前，悲怆卻也堅決地接住試劑管。仿佛聽到災害爆發時，無數人聲嘶力竭的悲泣。
恍惚中，溫辛又聽見那一聲詢問，自耳邊回響。
【如果你有改變未來的機會，你是否會竭盡全力去把握它？】
不能放棄。
溫辛想。
這份力量不再是他一個人的願望，它也承載着爸媽的生命和決意，承載着小黑的萬年堅守，承載着大家共同期待的那個未來。
随着溫辛堅定自己的決心，那些拉他浮上海面的手越發用力，眼前的面孔也變得越來越熟悉。
唐啓、溫勁風、阿綠、三三、阿九、阿紫、小七、藍藍、小黑、父親……
最後的最後，一位美麗幹練的女人來到溫辛面前。
她對溫辛欣慰一笑，捧住兒子的臉，在額頭落下一記飽含愛意的輕吻。
去吧。
母親無聲張口，雙手往溫辛的後背用力一推。在那不遠的前方，就有着将他拉出海面的救生繩。
溫辛再一次找到靈魂的錨點。
他用力拽住那繩索，竭盡全力，再無顧忌，一點點地往光亮處爬去。
……
此時的第一基地，不亞于人間煉獄。
S級喪屍變異體的戰鬥力，完全不是之前那群雜兵能比拟的。它們兇殘且毫無理性，無差別攻擊周圍的一切活物，自身還攜帶着詭異的變異病毒，有好多人都在戰鬥中不知不覺地變成了喪屍，轉過頭來咬破同伴的咽喉。
原岩中他們可以抵抗喪屍變異體的攻擊，卻抵抗不住病毒的擴散，能夠殲滅無數的敵人，卻無法讓同伴的慘叫消弭。
屍橫遍野，滿目瘡痍。
就在衆人逐漸陷入絕望之時，一道耀眼無比的光芒破開層層陰霾，自高空而下，鋪灑在這片飽受風霜的土地上。
被光芒籠罩的衆人，由衷感覺到一股如沐春風般的舒适。
同時大家驚訝地發現，怪物們凄厲的吼叫停止了。
它們似乎被那溫暖的光芒所吸引，顧不上繼續攻擊周圍的生物，踉踉跄跄地朝那光芒靠攏。
在這行走的過程中，怪物們的臉上再看不見瘋狂之色。
渙散無神的眼睛重新煥發光彩，腐爛發黑的血肉像是被沖開的墨水，唰啦啦掉落在地，直至幹淨的血肉再次流淌，自畸形扭曲的肢體以一種肉眼可見的速度恢複原狀。
直至它們來到光芒的就近處，緩緩蹲下，盤踞趴卧，仿佛回到母親身邊的孩童，終于找回了一絲久違的寧靜，又在這寧靜中逐漸停止呼吸。
這一幕的一幕，宛若神明降下神跡。
活下來的幸存者們瞠目結舌，簡直不敢相信自己所看到的這一幕。
喪屍……死了？那些怪物和變異體，也死了？
為什麽它們會恢複原貌，難道說……喪屍病毒被消滅了？！
“溫辛！”
一聲大喊，終于喚回無數被震撼得無以複加的幸存者，他們順着喊聲擡頭，差點又一次驚掉了下巴。
那帶來神跡的光裏居然還有一個大活人！
幸存者們面面相觑，每個人的臉上都是大寫的懵逼，紛紛伸長了脖子，想要将那人看得更清楚一些，卻見那光芒在淨化完在場的怪物之後驟然熄滅，如同斷線的風筝一樣往下墜落。
團子們的心跳都要停止了！
它們完全沒料到溫辛會以這樣的形式出現，剛才那股爆發的力量很強大，強大到它們清楚地明白，那絕對不是人類可以承受的力量。
眼見溫辛生死不知地往下掉，團子們急得如同熱鍋上的螞蟻，當即就要飛蹿出去。
一道龐大的黑影卻快過在場所有團，從昏暗的高空中一掠而過，化作人形将溫辛牢牢接在懷中。
“溫辛！”“溫辛怎麽樣了？他有沒有事？”“為什麽溫辛體內會有那股力量，他不是個普通人嗎？”……
團子們叽叽喳喳地趕過來，卻發現原岩中一動不動，也沒有回應它們的話。
鱗樹蝰縮小體型，瞄見男人那恐怖的臉色，心髒好像被刀一下紮爆，痛得鮮血淋漓。
它不敢相信，顫顫巍巍地伸出尾巴尖尖，探向溫辛的鼻前。
良久之後，鱗樹蝰擡頭，茫然至極地說：“為什麽溫辛沒有呼吸？”
它仿佛無法理解這種情況，繼續固執地探着溫辛的鼻息。然而不管它試探多少次，都只有一個結果。
——溫辛停止了呼吸。
“你在開什麽玩笑？溫辛怎麽可能沒有呼吸！”
小狐貍激動地将鱗樹蝰扒拉到一邊，努力去聽溫辛的心跳。
沒有。
為什麽會沒有？
怎麽可能會沒有？！
恐慌如潮水一般在團子們的心中蔓延，小狐貍瞬間就急了，瘋狂地搖晃溫辛的肩膀：“不可能，溫辛怎麽可能會死？！他不可能會死的！”
“溫辛，你醒一醒，這個玩笑一點都不好笑，從今以後我都聽你的話，你叫我幹什麽我就幹什麽，快醒過來好不好？溫辛！”
小狐貍急得被逼出了泣音。
金絲雀的胸口劇烈起伏，轉頭抓住小熊貓，雙目赤紅地問道：“在你離開之後，溫辛他去了哪裏？又見過了哪些人？”
小熊貓嘴唇緊閉，它回答不了金絲雀的問題。
越來越多的淚水盈滿它的眼眶，瞳孔是與金絲雀別無二致的血紅，那是即将狂暴的征兆。
我那時候根本不該離開溫辛，小熊貓想。
“說啊！”金絲雀怒吼。
眼看着它們之間即将爆發一場大戰，紫松鼠突然開口，一字一頓地說道：“是那股能量。”
“那股能量極其強烈，它不該出現在一個人類的身上。找出溫辛從哪兒獲得的能量，就能知道是什麽東西害死的他！”
最後一個字脫口而出的時候，紫松鼠的語氣裏已經染上了揮之不去的血腥氣，它的毛發急速膨脹，如同尖刺一般根根豎立。
“……是我。”
殺意十足的團子們聞言一僵，齊刷刷看向忽然開口的原岩中。
再然後，它們愣住了。
一滴滾燙的液體劃過男人的臉頰，啪的一聲，滴在青年緊閉的眼睑上。原岩中的嗓音極其沙啞 ，每一個字都像是從齒縫擠出來的一樣。
“那力量是我給他的。”
就在剛才，被那道光芒照耀到的瞬間，他都想起來了。
想起來原本的未來是如何慘烈，想起來自己和青年執行官定下的契約。
想起來自己直接交付出去的力量，會給人類的身體帶來何其巨大的負擔！
“所以，是我害死的他。”
驚天霹靂！
The group was stunned, watching Yuan Yanzhong reach out and hug Wen Xin's upper body. His arms were shaking, his lips were trembling, his clenched fists were creaking, and he was so strong that it seemed as if he wanted to rub the young man into his bones and blood.
Everyone was in despair because of Wen Xin's condition, and no one noticed that the blue walrus had kept its flippers on the young man's arm that had slipped to his side.
Finally, it let out a long sigh of relief, retracted its healing ability, and without even bothering to wipe off the cold sweat on its head, it gently pushed the back of Wen Xin's head: "Wake up, Wen Xin."
This call was like a magic medicine, and Wen Xin suddenly started coughing.
"Cough! Cough cough..."
The dumplings widened their eyes again.
The canary and the panda didn't care about the argument and turned around quickly.
The little fox and the scaled viper leaned forward and stared at Wen Xin's trembling eyelids.
The purple squirrel used its claws to hold back the excited group of kids to prevent them from squeezing Wen Xin, while at the same time looking at the young man who had "come back from the dead", it was so angry that it dared not breathe a word.
Under the gazes of so many people, Wen Xin finally opened his eyes.
He couldn't help but rub his swollen and painful forehead vigorously. It felt like all the bones in his body were falling apart. He was in great pain and couldn't use any strength at all.
It felt as if someone had grabbed him and thrown him to the ground, thrown him dozens of times, and then hung him on a rack to be exposed to the scorching sun. It was an extremely painful experience.
Wen Xin groaned in pain for several seconds, and suddenly felt that the surroundings were too quiet. The moment he raised his eyes, his sight went straight into the red eyes in the original rock.
He was stunned immediately, ignoring his physical discomfort, and reached out to touch the man's eyes, which were still wet: "Why are you..."
Are you crying?
Unexpectedly, this action directly awakened the Black Dragon in front of him. In just ten minutes, the Black Dragon's mood fluctuated greatly, and his emotions towards the young man were suppressed to the extreme like a volcano about to erupt, and finally erupted completely.
In front of the other dumplings, he lowered his head and bit Wen Xin's lips hard!
Wen Xin: “……!!”
The dumplings were stunned, not knowing whether to look or not to look.
The young man didn't react at all, his pupils suddenly shrank, and when he came to his senses, he was extremely ashamed and angry, and reached out to push Yuan Yanzhong's head hard: "Xiao Hei, what are you doing? You——"
But my hands were stained with tears.
The man's eyes were red as he stared into his eyes stubbornly. The emotion revealed in his eyes was so intense that Wen Xin was speechless for a moment.
After a long while, he stretched out his arms, put his arms around Yuan Yanzhong's neck, and patted the man's tense back twice: "I'm sorry for worrying you."
After saying that, Wen Xin turned her head and gave the man a light kiss on the corner of his mouth.
Because of the strong auras emanating from the S-class, people were reluctant to approach the center of the incident. Seeing Wen Xin wake up, the survivors finally felt relieved and breathed a sigh of relief.
At this time, the search and rescue team also found Wen Jinfeng, whose vital signs were stable, at the exit of the ruins.
On the battlefield, the wounded supported each other with smiles on their faces. Some people bitten by monsters found that they had no signs of infection and cried with joy on the spot.
As those figures staggered up in groups of two or three, walking out of the smoke-filled ruins, the first rays of sunlight in the early morning finally broke through the long night and rose from the horizon.
The night will eventually pass, and the dawn will eventually come.
【Author’s words】
This article ends here. Thank you little angels for your company and waiting. I love you all!