Luo Ning walked into the research institute's conference room. The moment she pushed open the door, she saw that the conference room behind the iron railing was full of twenty or thirty people, including elderly people with white hair and young students. They were all sitting upright with paper and pens in their hands, and no one avoided her gaze.
This is the attitude towards conducting research.
Over the years, she has witnessed all sorts of looks in the eyes of humans when facing other species: fear, hostility, hatred, and murder...
Only this time did she feel at peace.
Here, among these people, she felt like she was truly in the world.
She smiled gently and said, "Hello everyone, my name is Luo Ning. It's nice to meet you all." She introduced herself just like she did when she participated in activities during her student days.
Those people were taken aback, perhaps not expecting her to be so proactive and calm.
An old man nodded to her and said, "Then please begin your story, the more detailed the better."
“Okay.” Luo Ning sat down in the chair and began to recall and recount her story.
Disciplinary Department.
Lu Xinghe and Du Lu stood on the judge's bench. Very few security officers had ever stood in this position; the last person to stand here was Zhuang Yu.
As Shen Ni had predicted, the disciplinary department's trial of Lu Xinghe revealed that, according to the statements of the mining team and other security officers, he had already caught up with the plane but returned to rescue the two female mutants, causing others to follow suit. As a military commander, this was a very serious mistake.
As for Du Lu, his crime was that, as the prison warden, he sexually assaulted female inmates in the prison.
Although both incidents ultimately benefited the base, they were considered very serious violations of discipline within the strictly disciplined military.
"Lu Xinghe, do you plead guilty?" the judge asked coldly.
"I admit it." Lu Xinghe stood straight. Although he never intended for others to help, he had to take responsibility since the incident had occurred.
"Attorney Du, do you plead guilty?" The presiding judge asked Attorney Du.
"I don't acknowledge it," Du Lu replied coldly.
"You won't admit it?" The judge slammed his hand on the table. "You already have a child and you still won't admit it?"
Du Lu looked up coldly at the presiding judge: "I did not defile her."
The presiding judge was taken aback, clearly not expecting that what Du was denying was the word "desecration".
However, according to evidence provided by other people in the prison, he repeatedly violated regulations by using inhibitors on Subject 11. Moreover, how could a mutant possibly please a human? If it wasn't out of curiosity, why would a human have had relations with a mutant multiple times?
Because of the serious violation of discipline, he should have been punished with □□, but considering that the two experimental subjects were related to them, he changed it to caning, which was carried out on the same day.
Exogenous Research Institute.
Three hours later, Luo Ning finished recounting everything. She focused on speaking from her own perspective and feelings, briefly mentioning An Xiaoruo and Lu Xinghe's feelings for her.
After the meeting ended, the researchers left one after another. The old man walked towards the isolation fence and asked her, "Miss Luo, have you met An Xiaoruo's parents? Or is there someone named Han Ling?"
The old man stood within her range of attack; Luo Ning couldn't tell if he was genuinely unafraid or simply trusted her implicitly.
“I’ve never seen it before,” Luo Ning replied.
In the novel, An Xiaoruo's parents had already been eaten by the alien species. After she found An Xiaoruo, she also went to look for whether there were any other people still alive, since An Xiaoruo's parents had gone out as a team. However, she found nothing except a motorhome covered in blood and claw marks.
The old man sighed softly, "Her parents were both very talented people, what a pity."
“Yes, they are excellent,” Luo Ning replied.
As the old man was about to leave, Luo Ning called out to him, "Sir, aren't you afraid of me?"
The old man looked at her peacefully and smiled slightly: "We revere all life in this world."
Watching the old man's departing figure, Luo Ning felt a warmth slowly rising in her heart. How could someone who reveres life be afraid of it?
She was led out by people from the Genetics Department and found that Meng Ting was gone, and a strange face was guarding the door.
After leaving the exogenous research institute, the vehicle took her to the hospital. She wanted to see how An Xiaoruo was doing, but as soon as she arrived at the hospital, she smelled the familiar scent of blood.
Even though the place was filled with the smell of disinfectant and other people's blood, she could still smell Lu Xinghe's scent; he was injured.
She walked nervously into An Xiaoruo's hospital room. An Xiaoruo was still pale, but when she saw her, she immediately forced a smile and said, "Mom, you're here."
Seeing her smile like that, Luo Ning felt a pang of sadness: "Hmm, how are you feeling today?"
"I'm fine, I'm alright," An Xiaoruo replied weakly.
Luo Ning looked at her wound; it was still bleeding. Although it hadn't become infected, the wound showed no signs of improvement.
An Xiaoruo is now a contradiction. She clearly has the gene to kill alien species, but she is helpless against the virus in her own body.
The door was pushed open and Song Pei walked in. When he saw Luo Ning there, he nodded slightly as a greeting. An Xiaoruo called Luo Ning "Mom," so he should call her that too. However, Luo Ning was a different species, and she looked to be about the same age as him.
When time stands still for some people, some relationships are destined to become complicated.
After talking with An Xiaoruo for a while, Luo Ning's visiting time was over, and Song Pei saw her out.
"Captain Song, is Major Lu injured?" she finally couldn't help but ask.
Song Pei nodded.
"What's wrong with him? He was perfectly fine last night. Is he being invaded by some alien species?" She looked at him anxiously.
Song Pei hesitated for a moment: "He was sentenced to caning by the disciplinary department for violating military discipline."
Luo Ning was taken aback: "What military discipline did he violate?"
Song Pei replied, "You'd better ask Major Lu about that." After saying that, he turned and went into the ward, leaving Luo Ning standing there blankly.
Caning is a very serious punishment. She didn't know what kind of military discipline he had violated. She wanted to go see him, but when she thought about what happened last night, she hesitated and finally returned to the villa.
When she wasn't there, Wen Xi was the only one in the villa. Wen Xi didn't like to talk or move around, and the whole villa was quiet.
As I walked into the courtyard, I looked up and saw Wen Xi sitting on the second-floor platform, gazing into the distance. Following her gaze, I saw only a gray suspension bridge.
She also went up to the platform and sat down next to Wenxi, then handed her a small computer: "There are many pre-apocalyptic TV series and movies in there. You can watch them if you get bored."
Wen Xi took the folder, opened it, and looked at it: "I never thought I'd be able to watch TV again."
Luo Ning never imagined that such a day would come, but life is full of surprises.
On the other side of the bridge, a large bird was circling in the sky. Luo Ning looked at it and felt that it was somewhat familiar. She wanted to show it to Wen Xi as well, but the bird quickly disappeared into the forest.
This reminded her of Wen Xi's older sister, Wen Rong, but Wen Rong had a human body; perhaps she was just an ordinary winged mutant.
Three days passed quietly like this. Luo Ning didn't know how Lu Xinghe's health was. He didn't contact her, and the people guarding outside kept quiet and didn't reveal any information to her. The base had given them freedom, but a lot of information was still kept secret.
When she went to talk to Wen Xi that evening, she found that Wen Xi was not in the room. She searched inside and out but could not find her. Then she found a secret passage in the basement and could smell Wen Xi's faint scent.
If it weren't for Wen Xi's presence, she would never have known there was a secret passage under the floor. She didn't know how Wen Xi had discovered it.
It was only when she lifted the wooden plank and went down that she felt a breeze in the passage, indicating that the passage led outside the base. Wenxi was able to sense the airflow, no matter how faint it was.
She walked quickly forward along the secret passage and soon arrived at a grove of trees outside the villa. It was the time when the trees were budding and blooming, making it difficult to be discovered if she left from there.
With a loud rumble of thunder, spring rain began to fall. She glanced at the sky, then slowly retreated back into the tunnel and returned to the villa. Wen Xi wouldn't abandon her; she must have gone to see where she wanted to go, and she would definitely come back.
Therefore, she should stay in the villa so that she can provide cover should anyone come in.
But where could she be going? She doesn't know anyone here. Could she be going to see Zhuang Yu's grave? Because she's been staring at that bridge for the past two days.
If that's the case, she must have a good heart-to-heart talk with Wenxi when she comes back, and not let her fall back into the past.
Military headquarters dormitory.
The base lost power again. In the dim light of the communicator, Du Lu bit a wooden stick and poured the powder onto his back in front of the mirror. He was in so much pain that fine beads of sweat covered his forehead. The executioner showed no mercy. Three days had passed, and some wounds on his back were still bleeding.
Just as he finished applying the medicine and was about to get dressed, there was a knock at the door. He thought it was Lu Xinghe. It was only eight o'clock in the evening, not yet time for the security officer to come back and rest. Only he and Lu Xinghe, the two wounded, were here.
But the knocking was very soft, not like a man's strong knock.
He opened the door and was stunned. Wen Xi, who should have been in the villa, was standing in front of him, wearing only a thin set of clothes, wet and barefoot. Her once fair feet were covered in mud and water, clearly from walking through the rain.
He immediately pulled her into the room, then cautiously looked outside. There was no one in the hallway; he didn't know how she got in or if anyone had noticed.
"How did you get out?" he asked.
However, the woman in front of him, who was soaking wet, only looked at him vaguely before hugging him.
She was soaked with rain, but her body was burning hot. He knew why she had come.
“You don’t actually need to come here. If you need it, the base will provide you with a man who suits your taste.” He said with a sneer.
Wen Xi remained silent. She could smell the blood on his back, and she could feel the marks on his back through his clothes.
She seemed to have sobered up a bit, let go of his hand and turned to leave, but Du Lu grabbed her wrist again.
"Do you want me to get another beating if you go out now?" Du Lu said coldly.
Wen Xi was at a loss. She had come here following his scent in a daze, and she had even lost her shoes. Now she didn't know how to leave. And why did he say "again"? Was his whipping related to her? But she had never caused him any trouble.
Du Lu dragged her into the bathroom, turned on the hot water, and poured it over her head. She was startled, but her body quickly warmed up from the hot water. Her feet, which had been almost frozen, regained feeling, and the mud on them was washed away, revealing their original fair and smooth appearance.
She knew she shouldn't come looking for him again, but her body wouldn't listen to her. She was mocking herself, but she was powerless to do anything about it. Perhaps only death could bring her relief.
She didn't know how she got out of the bathroom. When she came to, she was straddling Du Lu while he sat in a chair. She was holding his neck, and the sound of his heartbeat was almost touching her body.
Her feet couldn't touch the ground, and all her weight fell on that one spot. She was in so much pain that she wanted to run away, but once she left, she would rush back to him like a moth to a flame.
Du Lu didn't move, and he turned off his communicator. The room was pitch black, and he couldn't see her expression, but he could clearly feel her body.
She was the most delicate flower in the world, and her soft whispers were the most beautiful sounds in the world, but he knew clearly that none of these belonged to him.
During those nights when he and she were entangled, in her half-dreaming state, she never called out his name.
"Who am I?" he asked, pinching her cheek.
The woman's eyes were misty, and she seemed to be looking at him as if she were in a distant dream. She did not answer him, but gently bit his finger and put it in her mouth, her small tongue intertwining with his slender fingers.
"Did you treat him like this before?" he asked, enunciating each word clearly.
She seemed to have stopped hearing what he was saying, and threw herself headlong at the scorching flames...
When she woke up again, it was already daylight. She saw Luo Ning sitting by her bedside, asleep. She looked around in surprise. She was in her villa room, not Du Lu's room.
It turned out to be a dream, but the dream was so real that she could still feel his outline in her lower abdomen right now.
She dreamed about him again.
She breathed a sigh of relief and felt a little thirsty. When she got up to drink some water, she felt weak and sore as soon as she moved her body. Luo Ning woke up at this time.
"You're awake." Luo Ning hadn't actually slept much. Du Lu had brought Wen Xi back half an hour ago. He carried Wen Xi in through the secret passage, put her down, and then left.
Wenxi nodded: "Why are you sleeping here?"
Luo Ning looked at her: "Wen Xi, have you been feeling unwell lately?"
"No, I'm fine," Wen Xi replied in the same way.
"How long are you going to keep lying to me? You were brought back by Du Lu an hour ago. It's several miles from here to the military dormitory, and you actually walked all the way to his place," Luo Ning said angrily.
Wen Xi stared at her blankly. It turned out that it wasn't a dream. She really went to Du Lu's place and entangled with him on the chair, the bed, and even the windowsill in his room.
"Don't you remember?" Luo Ning saw the confusion on her face.
Wenxi replied softly, "I remember, but I don't remember how I got there."
Luo Ning realized something was wrong. She knew that the alien species had desires, and Wen Xi must have gone to Du Lu because of desires. But could such desires make a person lose their mind?
Could it be that the base drugged Wen Xi, just like she had lust for Lu Xinghe last time? But she's been by Wen Xi's side these past few days, no one has injected her with drugs, and they share their food. Besides, the base doesn't need to do that now, since Wen Xi is already pregnant.
The only explanation is that it's due to Wenxi herself. Just like her appetite, hunger can make aliens lose their minds, and so can desire.
Will she end up like Wen Xi?
Just as they were getting worried, footsteps came from the courtyard, and Lu Xinghe's presence was clearly felt in the air.
Three days have passed, and he has finally arrived. In these three days, he has not had any contact with her. She doesn't know what kind of injury he suffered, nor does she know why he hasn't contacted her. Although it was indeed her fault, has he just become distant like this?
She got up and looked around. She saw seven or eight security officers standing in the yard. He was half a head taller than them and immediately caught her eye. She just didn't know why there were so many of them.
"Don't come out yet, I'll go see what happened." Luo Ning thought that Wen Xi's running out of the villa had been discovered.
She opened the door and went out, and saw that Lu Xinghe was a little thin and his face was a little pale, but he was still standing straight.
"What happened?" she asked.
Lu Xinghe took out a white scarf and handed it to her: "Take a look, is this yours?"
Luo Ning recognized it at a glance as the one she had stolen from a civilian when she first arrived at the base. She had worn it ever since, and even carried it in her arms when she left the base. However, she had left the scarf and the two books at Wen Xi's mansion. At the time, she was only concerned with wearing it when she ran away from Wen Xi and didn't take anything else.
Why is this scarf in Lu Xinghe's hands?
"It's mine, how did it end up with you?" she asked疑惑地, wondering if Wen Rong had come.
Lu Xinghe did not explain immediately, but said to the people from the Gene Department guarding the place, "From now on, this place is under our complete control."
The personnel from the gene department immediately withdrew, and the security officers, fully armed, guarded the area around the villa. Drones and armed helicopters were even deployed in the air.
"What happened?" Luo Ning stopped him.
Lu Xinghe then replied, "The Minister of the Exogenous Department was killed last night, and this white scarf was left at the scene."
Luo Ning remembered the white-haired old man and his words of reverence for all life. Yet, in just three short days, the old man had been murdered.
“I didn’t do it,” she said firmly, while reminding them, “I suggest you check the sonic devices immediately; winged aliens have already infiltrated the base.”
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