"No!"
Wang Lan said decisively, "Let's leave here together."
Old Zhang shook his head and said, "Stop deceiving yourself, Wang Lan. I understand my physical condition, and... it seems that I have gained some more memories."
"Let's not talk about this anymore," Wang Lan said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Save your energy, we'll leave after we rest."
Old Zhang sighed, his eyes seeming somewhat unfocused. He said, "Don't hold a grudge against what the Final Fortress did. No matter how they experimented on living people, their goal was to ensure the continuation of humanity and to allow them to once again become the masters of this planet."
Wang Lan nodded. "I understand."
Old Zhang shook his head and said, "But in the end, we still failed. We still know too little about that white mist that can enable biological evolution. We thought that through continuous research we could unravel the secrets of the evolutionary mist, but unexpectedly... it caused the entire survivor city to be destroyed..."
"Wang Lan..."
Old Zhang looked at Wang Lan, his listless eyes suddenly revealing a hint of determination. He said, "I firmly believe that there must be other survivor cities outside. We need to find them, unite with them, and only by uniting everyone can we truly escape the apocalypse and be reborn. Otherwise, humanity will be gradually devoured and eventually disappear from this planet."
As Old Zhang was speaking, just as he uttered the last word "up," the massive, desperate roar of the infected echoed once again from the nearby steam.
Wang Lan quickly said, "Stop talking, let's get out of here right away, the giant infected is about to rush over."
"You can leave now!"
Old Zhang said firmly, "They say that before a person dies, they can recall their entire life. My memories are gradually returning, which makes me realize that I should never have been born into this world. I am just a clone..."
Upon hearing this, Wang Lan and Sun Muchen's expressions immediately changed.
They had long expected that Lao Zhang was a clone, but now that Lao Zhang himself had said it, they couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.
Old Zhang continued, "My existence means I'm just an experiment. My destiny is to die here, not to live. I'm tired too. It's your responsibility to leave the survivor city in order to reverse the situation."
Old Zhang suddenly laughed, "Wang Lan, you possess power that ordinary people cannot imagine. You can compete with monsters like giant infected and rippers, and you can fight among mutated animal groups. As for Sun Muchen, you can manipulate objects remotely. This means that the two of you have already surpassed the realm of ordinary people. You have evolved in this post-apocalyptic wasteland. You must survive. The future depends on you!"
"roar--"
Amidst the steam, the roars of the giant infected were drawing ever closer.
Hearing the voice approaching, Wang Lan felt a surge of inexplicable anger and raised his Vajra Umbrella to rush over.
But then Old Zhang's hand weakly touched him, and Wang Lan quickly grabbed Old Zhang's hand.
“No…don’t go,” Old Zhang’s voice trembled. “Let’s go, leave this place. The buildings in the core area are getting more and more damaged. It will definitely affect the residential area above. In that case, the final fortress will no longer exist. There is a passage between the second and third underground floors. There are cars there. Let’s leave the final fortress.”
Wang Lan knew where this passage was located.
He had seen it on the structural diagrams of the bunker.
Sun Muchen couldn't help but ask, "We're leaving, what about you?"
Old Zhang gave a bitter laugh, turned his head with difficulty, and looked at the reactor behind him.
Wang Lan seemed to understand Lao Zhang's meaning instantly. He stood up, stared at Lao Zhang for a while, and then said to Sun Muchen, "Muchen, let's go."
Sun Muchen was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Wang Lan's attitude to change so suddenly. She wanted to say something more, but Wang Lan had already turned her head and looked at Lao Zhang again, solemnly saying, "Lao Zhang, goodbye!"
Old Zhang smiled, the bitterness gone from his face, and nodded, saying, "Take care..."
Sun Muchen also looked towards Old Zhang.
This middle-aged man, who was initially useless and timid, became a completely different person after entering the final fortress, becoming knowledgeable and erudite.
Up until this moment…
It was as if they had finally found some kind of relief.
Wang Lan walked to Sun Muchen's side, took his hand, slung the Vajra Umbrella behind her back, glanced at Lao Zhang one last time, and turned to leave.
They walked towards the elevator.
The elevator fell into the ruins due to the collapse of the third floor below. The elevator entrance was now a square hole, but the scattered cables were still hanging there, which made it convenient for Wang Lan and Sun Muchen to swing directly to the exit between the second and third floors.
"Wang Lan!"
Just as Wang Lan and Sun Muchen were about to grab the cable and jump down, Old Zhang suddenly called out to them.
The brother and sister turned to look.
At this moment, Old Zhang actually stood up and said to the two of them, "Remember to go to the sea. According to the early information left by the final fortress, the original source of the mutation originated from the sea and has been continuously releasing evolutionary mist. If you want to stop the mutation and regain the right to use the Earth, you must go to the seaside!"
Wang Lan and Sun Muchen looked at each other in bewilderment.
Although none of them had ever seen the sea, they could understand what they were hearing.
Old Zhang placed his last hope on the two of them.
But…
Is there really any hope left?
The brother and sister exchanged a glance.
Then he nodded emphatically.
Old Zhang smiled with satisfaction.
Just then.
In that thick fog-like mist.
The voice of the giant infected could be heard!
"Walk--"
Old Zhang suddenly roared at the two of them.
Wang Lan and Sun Muchen immediately woke up and jumped into the elevator, holding hands.
At the same time, the enormous figure of the giant infected burst out of the water vapor and stood beside Old Zhang.
"Is this the monster created by the final fortress...?"
Old Zhang seemed to be getting to know the giant infected anew, but he clearly didn't see that Wang Lan's giant infected was extremely agitated at the moment, and with a wave of his hand, he sent Old Zhang flying.
He crashed into the reactor's magnetic field device and fell helplessly to the ground.
Old Zhang felt waves of dizziness washing over him, as if he were about to die at any moment.
He stood up.
He looked at the enraged giant infected.
"monster…"
Old Zhang's eyes were listless, and he laughed self-deprecatingly, "We didn't die at the hands of those mutated animals, but at the hands of the monsters we created..."
Let this absurdity end here!
Old Zhang was trembling all over, but he still forced himself to stand up and then rushed towards the beam of light swirling around the reactor...
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