When Luo Ning returned to her room, Wen Xi was already fast asleep. She had taken a shower and hadn't dried her wet hair before falling asleep. Luo Ning assumed she was exhausted from digging into the mountainside that day.
She took a towel and dried Wen Xi's hair. When the hair was almost dry, Luo Ning suddenly realized that Wen Xi hadn't lost any hair this time. She carefully checked the towel, sheets, and blankets, but there wasn't a single hair.
Looking at Wenxi's face again, it was no longer pale, but rosy like a peach blossom. Her body was no longer curled up because of the cold, but lay there naturally and comfortably, quiet and beautiful.
She stared at Wen Xi quietly for a while, and then she roughly understood the reason.
The next morning, when Wen Xi woke up, she saw Luo Ning sitting by the bed looking at her, and she couldn't help but feel a little guilty: "Why did you get up so early?"
Luo Ning smiled: "You'd usually be awake by now, but you slept an hour and a half longer today. Tell me, what happened?"
Wenxi looked out the window and, sure enough, the sun had already risen. She had actually slept for so long.
"No...it's nothing, I was probably just a little tired from chiseling rocks yesterday," Wen Xi replied gently.
Luo Ning gave an "oh" and teased her on purpose, "I don't think it's from being tired of chiseling stones."
Wen Xi lowered her head like a child who had done something wrong. Just a few days ago, she had told Luo Ning about her fear and dislike of Du Lu, but yesterday she had done those things with him in the cave.
Seeing her flustered look, Luo Ning quickly said, "Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore. I have some good news for you."
"What good news?" Wenxi asked.
Luo Ning walked to Wen Xi's side, reached out and combed through her smooth hair a few times, then placed her clean hands in front of Wen Xi: "You've stopped losing hair."
Wenxi stared at everything in disbelief, then ran her fingers through her hair a few times. Sure enough, she exclaimed excitedly, "So I really wasn't pregnant after all; I just had a health problem."
Luo Ning felt that the truth might not be like that, but she didn't have solid evidence.
Just then, An Xiaoruo knocked on the door and came in: "Sisters, you're up. Could you come out for a moment? We need your help with something."
“Okay, I’ll be right there,” Luo Ning replied.
Five minutes later, she and Wen Xi went outside and saw Lu Xinghe and Du Lu sitting together talking. He looked a little better.
"What do you need our help with?" Luo Ning asked.
Lu Xinghe told them that he suspected the mutants buried in the pit might still be alive: "So, I would like to ask you to help us sense the presence of the mutants and Yao Cheng again."
Luo Ning nodded: "I have no problem, but I can't compare to Wen Xi in terms of perception. She's better than me in that area."
Everyone's eyes turned to Wen Xi, especially Meng Ting and the other young ones. They were classmates with Yao Cheng and were like brothers. Although they were frightened by Wen Xi's binge eating that day, they were willing to put aside their grudges for the sake of their brother.
Looking at their pleading eyes, Wenxi nodded gently: "I'll give it a try."
A group of people came to the edge of the mine again. Wenxi closed his eyes and carefully sensed everything around him. But for some reason, even though his mind was still in good condition, his senses were not as clear as before.
She felt something was off, but she continued to listen and sense, and finally heard footsteps coming from the direction of Mine No. 3. She immediately opened her eyes: "They're here, in the place where we were trapped yesterday."
"Them? Are there many different species?" Luo Ning asked.
Wenxi replied, "There are probably a dozen or so."
There are more than a dozen mutants, while on this side are seven security officers and two mutants who are short of ammunition. Fighting might not guarantee a win, but not fighting will definitely result in defeat.
Lu Xinghe immediately made battle arrangements based on the terrain, and everyone was ready for battle.
Du Lu glanced at Wen Xi and said, "You should leave. This place isn't for you."
If these security officers die, it would be worse for someone like Winsey, who once lived among humans, to fall into the hands of those mutants than to die.
Wen Xi was stunned. Although she had heard his words clearly, she still couldn't believe that he would actually ask her to leave.
She met this man three times in her life, and each time he captured her, imprisoned her, and bullied her. She never imagined that one day he would let her go on his own initiative.
She thought that someone like him would take other species with him when he died.
Luo Ning also said to her, "Wen Xi, why don't you go hide for a bit?"
Wen Xi shook her head: "I'm not going. I'll be wherever you are. We agreed on that."
Luo Ning wanted to persuade her to leave, but when she heard the alien's footsteps about to rush out of the cave, she pushed Wen Xi behind a rock to hide her.
The moment the mutants rushed out of the cave, gunshots rang out, and the mutants at the front fell to the ground. They clearly hadn't expected that these humans would know they would come out at this time.
These were the lucky ones who hadn't died. Trapped underground for days, they ate their companions. Their will to survive drove them to dig a tunnel between Mine No. 1 and Mine No. 3, which resulted in the collapse of Mine No. 3, blocking the road once again.
To their surprise, a human safety officer fell in front of them during the collapse. After drinking the officer's blood, they crawled out of the ground and dug their way out. They thought they would see the light of day again, but the first step they took out of the hole was death.
Lu Xinghe and his team fired very accurately. The first three mutants who came out fell to the ground and died instantly. The others dared not come out, thinking that the humans outside still had strong firepower.
"Get out of the way, or I'll kill your companion." A cold, male voice came from inside the cave.
Luo Ning and Wen Xi immediately recognized the voice as that of the male mutant who had been chasing them; he was still alive.
Everyone looked toward the cave entrance and saw Yao Cheng standing inside, being choked by a male mutant. His body was limp, his face was pale, and his eyelids were drooping, indicating severe blood loss. Fortunately, he was still breathing and there was no mutant around, so he was clearly still alive.
The mutants originally intended to use Yao Cheng as a blood bank for a few days, which is why they didn't eat him immediately. Now that they've encountered these security officers, they're pushing him out as a shield.
Faced with the threat of the male mutant, none of the security officers backed down, because the mutant's words were not to be trusted.
"I'll count to three. If you don't back off, I'll infect him," the male mutant said sinisterly.
At this moment, Yao Cheng also raised his head to look at his companions outside, weakly shook his head, and signaled them not to worry about him.
Seeing the once lively child now on the verge of death, Luo Ning felt a pang of sorrow in her heart.
"One...two..." the male mutant began to count.
"Okay, we'll back off. Don't hurt him," Lu Xinghe said loudly, while gesturing for Du Lu and Song Pei to go to the back.
They didn't have many bullets, and it would be difficult for them to shoot these aliens hiding in the cave, so it would be better to let them come out first.
Luo Ning also gripped the iron spikes and circled around to the top and behind the cave entrance, ready to act according to the situation.
The male mutant stepped forward, shielding Yao Cheng. Seeing that no one fired, the other mutants followed suit. These mutants were already extremely hungry, and upon seeing so many humans, they immediately rushed forward without restraint.
As soon as they moved, gunfire erupted, and several more were killed. Seeing that his trick had been exposed, the male mutant immediately prepared to kill Yao Cheng and lunged at Lu Xinghe, knowing that this young security officer was the leader of these people.
However, Lu Xinghe's bullet had already accurately entered his hand. He cried out in pain and released his grip on Yao Cheng, who immediately fell to the ground.
At the same time, a swift figure flashed past and took Yao Cheng, who was about to fall, away. It was the little rabbit he had always wanted to kill. He immediately gave chase, but two bullets hit his knees in succession, and he involuntarily knelt down. The young security officer had also rushed over, and swung an iron spike at Yao Cheng's head.
The male mutant was also very experienced, and he rolled on the spot to avoid Lu Xinghe's killing move.
Luo Ning snatched Yao Cheng away with lightning speed and placed him next to Wen Xi: "Wen Xi, take care of him, and make sure he doesn't eat anything." After saying that, she rushed over to fight as well.
These mutants are extremely powerful, especially when they are hungry, they unleash even more terrifying strength, and anyone scratched by them will be infected. So Lu Xinghe and his group kept their distance and fired, only engaging in close combat when they ran out of bullets.
Luo Ning finished off the injured mutant with a fatal blow and held back the mutants who were trying to get close to the security officer. Gunshots and screams shattered the tranquility of the beautiful riverbank.
Wen Xi stared blankly at Yao Cheng lying beside her. This boy was the only security officer who had spoken to her. He was a very energetic child, but now he looked so weak that he was about to die.
Yao Cheng also looked at this delicate and beautiful alien. He didn't expect that even though he was lying in front of her like this, she didn't eat him.
A female mutant covered in blood suddenly rushed over. She wanted to eat Yao Cheng. She had eaten her companions for several days, but those people were far inferior to the taste of human flesh and blood.
Wen Xi immediately stood in front of Yao Cheng to prevent the female mutant from getting close: "Don't come any closer, I don't want to fight you."
"You think you can fight me?" The female mutant sneered. In her eyes, Wenxi was a mutant who was about as weak as a human. She kicked Wenxi hard in the head. It was common for mutants to kill each other.
Wen Xi did not back down. She grabbed the female mutant's leg and dragged her away from Yao Cheng.
The female mutant slammed a heavy punch into Wenxi's arm, and with a crack, Wenxi's bone broke. Unable to exert any strength, she bit down hard on the arm that the female mutant was swinging at again.
Wenxi's teeth pierced through the female mutant's flesh. In an instant, the female mutant's face turned terrified. She felt her power disappearing, and at an extremely fast speed.
She didn't know what was happening, but instinct told her to run away quickly. She punched Wenxi's head again, but her fist was limp and powerless.
“You…” The female mutant finally realized that there was something strange about the woman who bit her, but a cold dagger pierced her skull, and she could no longer speak. Her originally blue eyes were now stuck between blue and normal human brown.
"Stop biting, she's already dead," Du Lu said. He rushed over as soon as he saw the situation. If he hadn't arrived in time, the female mutant would have been dead with one punch.
In his opinion, Wenxi was too weak. Yesterday in the cave, he had used a little more force and she had cried for a long time. How could she withstand a full-force punch from a female mutant?
He was unaware that the woman beneath him, weeping and begging for mercy, now possessed the ability to strip aliens of their power.
"Stand up while you still have a breath left. Don't let a woman protect you." He handed the dagger/gun to Yao Cheng, then went back to help Lu Xinghe and the others.
Yao Cheng struggled to his feet. He looked at Wen Xi, who was covered in blood from being beaten while protecting him, and gripped the dagger tightly to shield her.
Wenxi stared blankly into the eyes of the dead female mutant, her hand unconsciously resting on her lower abdomen, her body trembling involuntarily.
The battle on Luo Ning's side continued. The security officers had run out of bullets, and only the male mutant and two others remained. They were also seriously injured and, although they had the ability to heal themselves, it would take time. Among them, three men were extremely powerful, and there was also a very fast little rabbit.
The male mutant focused his attention on An Xiaoruo, the girl who was the weakest point in the encirclement. He led his two companions toward the nearest Mengting.
Everyone thought they were going to use Meng Ting as a breakthrough point and tried their best to save him. However, just as they were about to get close to Meng Ting, they suddenly turned and rushed towards An Xiaoruo.
Looking at the girl's pale face, they felt they had succeeded, but three extremely fast figures rushed towards them respectively: Luo Ning, Lu Xinghe, and Song Pei.
Luo Ning had learned this lesson the hard way when she was in the abandoned town, so she knew that their target was not Meng Ting but An Xiaoruo. Although Lu Xinghe didn't remember, his experience allowed him to analyze their direction of action, while Song Pei was always paying attention to An Xiaoruo.
When the male mutant realized his purpose had been discovered, it was too late to change course. Luo Ning jumped onto his back and retracted the spikes. The iron spikes pierced his skull, but did not hit any vital organs in his brain.
The male mutant struggled desperately, but the strength of the dying beast was astonishing, and Luo Ning was thrown out.
The male mutant pulled out the iron spike from his head and stabbed at Luo Ning, intending to kill this cunning traitor.
When An Xiaoru saw Luo Ning about to be killed, the image of Luo Ning being seriously injured while saving her when she was a child involuntarily surfaced in her mind. She desperately grabbed the male mutant's arm and cried out, "Mom, run!"
The girl was immersed in childhood memories, when she was heartbroken thinking her mother was going to die. This time, she was determined not to let the same thing happen again.
Knowing that death is inevitable, yet not backing down, is not only a mother's love for her child, but also a child's love for their mother.
However, the male mutant grabbed An Xiaoruo's shoulder, his fingers digging into her delicate skin like iron nails, intending to tear off the arm that was blocking him.
To his surprise, when An Xiaoruo's blood entered his bloodstream through the wound on his hand, his arm immediately turned ashen. He realized something was wrong and tried to pull his hand back, but the ashen color of death spread rapidly from his arm to his neck and then to his head. The male mutant collapsed to the ground and never moved again.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Before anyone could react, they were all shocked by what they saw. The alien species, which had not been stabbed in a vital spot, suddenly died. No one knew what had happened.
Luo Ning was the first to come to her senses. She crawled over and hugged An Xiaoruo, who was bleeding profusely, her voice and body trembling: "Xiaoruo, wake up."
An Xiaoruo was scratched by the alien species. She has been infected and will turn into an alien species in half an hour at the latest.
Even if she knew that the male mutant's death was likely due to the awakening of An Xiaoruo's genes, An Xiaoruo would still become a mutant. Her genes could only kill mutants, not prevent infection.
This is a contradiction left in the novel: unless humanity has the ability to kill all the alien species or develop a drug to turn them back into humans, the apocalypse will never end as long as there is even one alien species left.
An Xiaoruo slowly woke up. Although she didn't remember everything, she did remember that Luo Ning was her adoptive mother.
She remembered when her parents disappeared when she was little, and she was walking alone in the wilderness in fear. Her mother appeared and hugged her with her warm body. She remembered being surrounded by alien species countless times, and her mother risked her life to protect her.
She remembered her mother teaching her to speak and write, and how her mother, despite being afraid of water, bravely fished and caught shrimp in the river and picked mushrooms and wild fruits in the forest, raising her little by little with great care.
Memories flew into her mind like beautiful butterflies, and her eyes were filled with blooming flowers and sweet fragrance everywhere.
"Mom," she called again, her voice filled with happiness and joy.
Apart from Lu Xinghe, everyone else thought that An Xiaoruo had started to hallucinate from the infection, which was why she called Luo Ning "Mom".
"Mommy's here, Mommy's here." Luo Ning tried desperately to hold back her tears. She didn't want An Xiaoruo to be scared, but the tears still flowed down like pearls from a broken string.
"Mom, don't cry." An Xiaoruo wanted to reach out and wipe away Luo Ning's tears, but her hand was too weak.
Lu Xinghe knelt down beside An Xiaoruo in despair. He had experienced countless life-and-death separations in his life, and he thought he had gotten used to it and become numb to it. But now he realized that the pain of life was still there.
Song Pei held An Xiaoruo's hand, feeling utterly lost. He wanted to say something, but in the end, all his words could be summed up in two words: "Xiaoruo."
An Xiaoruo looked at him, then at Lu Xinghe and the others, and then slowly calmed down. Her wound was too close to her brain, and the virus was invading very quickly. Her consciousness was fading, and her eyes had turned a faint blue. She might become a mutant in less than half an hour.
Then, the moment she transforms into a mutant, she will be killed by the genes within her that suppress mutants, and she will never have a chance to be reborn.
Luo Ning hugged An Xiaoruo tightly in fear. She would rather An Xiaoruo didn't have this gene in her body, and she would rather An Xiaoruo become a different species and then wander the world with her, waiting for her to awaken. She would wait for ten years, twenty years, even a hundred years or a thousand years, rather than let her die forever like this.
"Mom." An Xiaoruo felt very cold and instinctively snuggled into Luo Ning's arms.
This cry of "Mom!" finally made Luo Ning lose control of herself; her heart ached so much that she couldn't even cry out.
"Could it be that she really is An Xiaoruo's mother?" Meng Ting choked up and whispered, otherwise he couldn't explain this heart-wrenching emotion.
Wen Xi walked over with Yao Cheng at this moment. When he saw An Xiaoru lying in Luo Ning's arms, he was shocked. An Xiaoru had actually been infected with the virus.
Seeing Luo Ning's heartbroken eyes, she couldn't help but think of her first child whom she had lost. Although she had never seen the child, she had cried for a long time the day she found out the child was gone. So yesterday, when she was making love with Du Lu in the cave, she finally begged him to be gentle.
"Luo Ning, don't cry," she whispered.
But Luo Ning seemed unable to hear what she was saying anymore; she was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
"Luo Ning, don't cry. Maybe I can make sure Xiao Ruo is alright," she said again.
Luo Ning finally reacted a little. She looked at her and asked weakly, "What did you say?"
Wen Xi looked at Du Lu, then at the others, and finally made up her mind: "I can save Xiao Ruo, I'm pregnant."
The surroundings fell silent instantly, and everyone stared at her in disbelief, especially Du Lu, who thought he had misheard.
"What did you say?" Du Lu gripped her shoulders tightly.
Wenxi looked bravely into his eyes: "I said I'm pregnant, it's your child. I bit that female mutant just now, and her eyes are no longer completely blue."
This is undoubtedly good news, and this is precisely the significance of the laboratory allowing different species and humans to conceive life.
Du Lu was stunned for a moment, his eyes filled with mixed emotions, including excitement and worry. He was excited because she was carrying his child, and worried because he didn't know what she and the child would go through in the future.
Lu Xinghe immediately dragged the female mutant's corpse over, and sure enough, her eyes were not completely blue.
Luo Ning's eyes finally lit up, and she immediately helped An Xiaoruo up. Wen Xi also instinctively prepared to bite An Xiaoruo, but Luo Ning stopped her.
"Luo Ning, I have to bite her for it to work," Wen Xi said.
Luo Ning replied, "You can't bite her. Xiao Ruo has genes in her body that can kill alien species. Give her some blood."
Everyone was shocked once again. An Xiaoruo's body actually contained genes that could kill alien species. How did this happen, and how did Luo Ning know about it?
Although Wen Xi was very surprised, she still unconditionally trusted Luo Ning and immediately cut her palm and dripped the blood into An Xiaoruo's mouth.
An Xiaoruo swallowed the blood, and the blue in her eyes miraculously faded. Just as everyone was about to cheer and celebrate, the blue settled into An Xiaoruo's eyes and never changed again.
"Maybe there's not enough blood." An Xiaoruo enlarged the wound, and more blood flowed into her mouth.
But no matter how much blood was injected, the blue color did not fade, nor did it spread.
"It's possible that the embryo hasn't fully developed yet, so it's not strong enough," Lu Xinghe said. He had read the laboratory's theory, which stated that the better the embryo develops, the more stable the genes will be.
"It's okay, things are already much better now. As long as the virus doesn't spread, there will definitely be a way," Luo Ning said hopefully.
She will definitely find a way to save An Xiaoruo; she is already grateful that she can buy An Xiaoruo some time.
“You’ve already found the radio station, go contact the base,” she said to Lu Xinghe.
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