Chapter 43 Collaborators
A resounding victory sent cheers and jubilation throughout the town.
The local garrison suffered casualties, but the militia inside the walls never even encountered the Fallen Insects.
The gratitude and admiration of the officers, soldiers and civilians in the town for the reinforcements reached its peak!
Although they couldn't afford to treat 500 soldiers to a good meal and drinks, they could at least reward the officers and purifiers.
The men were already preparing to slaughter pigs and sheep, but Qi An wanted to return to the base.
The purifiers who couldn't participate had just gone to the town hospital to help purify the wounded, and the purifiers who did participate had only recently rested.
The members of the "White Pagoda" project team were not in a hurry to leave, but Qi An made this request.
Everyone was taken aback, but Qi An ignored all advice and remained as calm and unmoved as when he was presiding over the purification ceremony.
I just said she's the chosen commander of the White Tower, a shining gem! Chen Huaizhi was the first to break down and called for a return to base:
"Let's go first! Dr. Qi, and the six purification specialists who have been on the job all need to rest."
He immediately ordered his technicians to pack up the equipment.
This group quickly packed their things and got into the vehicles. The rest of the reinforcements, as well as Commander Ren, who still had command duties on another battlefield, stayed behind.
As the cars drove out of the town's west gate, hundreds of eyes watched them go, all reluctant to part!
The one who was most reluctant to leave was the captain of the ambush team. He clung to the wall, wishing he could stick a hook out of his eye and pull those purifiers back!
"Commander! Prepare some gifts. Our regiment must cultivate a good relationship with those people, especially with that Dr. Qi!"
"What we give away are gifts, but what we save are lives!" The captain looked back at Ren Haoyuan and said with utmost sincerity.
Ren Haoyuan chuckled, but then nodded seriously, "Okay. Make sure you get along well with that Dr. Qi."
On the way back, the relationship between Dr. Qi and others had become strange.
There seemed to be some kind of force field around her, which drew all eyes to her while preventing people from getting close.
All the purifiers were watching her, some with concealment, some with directness, some with awe, some with doubt, and some with fear.
The word "monster" was etched into those pupils, and when it shone on Qi An, it was clearly imprinted on her forehead.
Qi An lowered her eyes and leaned slightly against Lin Jia Ran, who was standing close to her.
The car was still bumpy, and the sounds of gunfire could be heard from near and far. However, it was daytime, and the journey was going back, so it was smoother than the way there, and we arrived quickly.
After the convoy passed the gate tower, it drove into the military camp. Qi An got out of the car and went straight to the military hospital.
Chen Huaizhi wanted to call her back to say a few more words, but he didn't.
Wen Yan followed closely behind Qi An, who asked him, "Has Tan Fu woken up? Did your colleagues question her?"
Wen Yan maintained contact with his superiors and knew that Tan Fu had woken up.
After the strong winds carrying the flames of war blew by, Wen Yan had come to understand many things.
This includes whether Qi An was an accomplice of Tan Fu, and why Qi An suddenly proposed a practical test.
Wen Yan didn't stop Qi An. He made a phone call to his superiors, and the 9th floor of the military hospital allowed him to pass directly.
Wen Yan stopped at the top of the stairs and watched Qi An go upstairs alone.
The stairs seemed steeper than usual, to the point that he felt an urge to rush up and help her.
However, he didn't move. The slender figure went up step by step and turned the corner.
Qi An pushed open the door to the ward.
When Tan Fu saw Mao Anlin, his body was about to straighten but did not, but when he saw Qi An, he straightened up immediately, the piercing grit in his eyes receded, and a very shallow pool of water appeared.
Qi An quickly walked to Tan Fu's bedside, and was also surprised by the person in the chair.
She saw this person in a video of the North 1st Headquarters extending New Year's greetings to soldiers across the mainland during the Spring Festival last year.
She didn't know how to greet him for a moment, so she just nodded and said "Hello".
Without stopping, he walked to the other side of the ward and took Tan Fuliang's soaking hand in his.
Tan Fu immediately leaned towards Qi An, the two girls half-huddled together, half-straightening their backs. Their eyes, one deep and one shallow, both looked at Mao Anlin.
This is the time for a formal conversation!
“You should already know about my situation,” Qi An said, pulling up a chair and sitting down to look at the person opposite her from her usual angle.
Across from her, Mao Anlin looked her over with curiosity and a lot of thought.
He did indeed already have a general understanding of Qi An's situation.
Before Qi An even proposed a practical test, he had already read the relevant information about the "Star Fortress" incident and was 99% certain that the two girls were of the same ilk.
However, while relationships are one aspect, the suspicious aspects surrounding Qi An himself are another.
The White Priest was poisoned, Tan Fu was poisoned, but Qi An was not.
The toxin enters the body through the wound and travels to the brain via the bloodstream. It is not a deadly poison, but detoxification is not easy.
Qi An had two major wounds and countless minor wounds on his body.
Does Qi An possess the ability to resist toxins?
One person, three superpowers?
Add to that the combat power and purification ability that are completely inconsistent with the actual enhancement values, and the fact that Elder Wei mentioned that Qi An's enhancement value might increase two levels within a year...
Enhancement values are typically determined based on performance results, but they can also be determined at the genetic level.
They did have a general understanding of Qi An's situation, at least the most crucial aspects: her strangeness and her terrifying strength.
"From your perspective, I think dangerous outcasts like us should be locked up forever, dissected for research, or simply killed," Qi An said.
"But we cannot accept this fate."
Of course, we don't want to mutate or join the Fallen Insects; you can see that from our battle record.
Mao Anlin hummed in agreement.
Not only from their past battle records, but also from their expressions and words, he could conclude that they genuinely hated the Fallen Insects.
Wen Yan was trained, but Mao Anlin possessed superhuman observation skills and information processing speed.
He is a more accurate "lie detector".
Qi An had no intention of lying; every word she spoke was sincere.
"We cannot accept the fate of imprisonment, and the 'Star Fortress' incident has already demonstrated our stance."
But death is not unacceptable. Between being imprisoned by humans and mutating, I choose to mutate.
Tan Fu's voice followed closely: "Me too."
She had said long ago that "under normal circumstances she would not want to commit suicide," but that was only "under normal circumstances."
It's not that she's afraid to commit suicide.
"The base should be able to come up with many ways to contain us, such as using one to restrain the other."
"But if something happens to one of us and the other finds out, we will surely die!" Qi An said.
This wasn't a lie after all; Mao Anlin couldn't find any trace of wavering in their eyes.
"Even if we die, it's not a big deal. The base will just lose the best pilots of 'Weaver Girl' and 'White Tower'. We can replace them with artificially trained combat AI and other purifiers."
The base was safe and sound before we were even here, wasn't it?
However, you might have to consider whether the Fallen Insects will be laughing all the way to the bank if the two of us mutate or die.
The Fallen Insect might indeed wake up laughing from its dream; the price of losing two people wasn't that it was unbearable, but rather that it would never willingly bear it unless absolutely necessary. Mao Anlin thought.
Sunlight slanted across the two girls' faces, creating a play of light and shadow. One side held an unyielding composure, while the other radiated a tentative brightness and a soaring confidence.
"You might as well not treat us, especially Tan Fu, as a dog that has suddenly learned to hurt people."
Don't be heartbroken or angry because of this.
After all, people aren't dogs.
Why don't you look us in the eye and cooperate with us?
Cooperation based on equality, facing reality squarely, and possessing sovereignty, is like the cooperation between North Base 1 and New Base.
For example... I can accept the base using my genes for research, but the sampling must be done with my consent, and the experimental results must be communicated to me simultaneously.
I also want to know what I am, and I can cooperate in experiments. Couldn't we work together on this?
"If we don't cooperate, we'll lose two lives and at least one newborn Ash Priest. If we cooperate, we will be humanity's protectors!"
How would you like to choose?
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