There was a moment of silence in the room.
Eve exhaled and asked slowly, "Doctor, do you think zombies can turn into humans?"
Dr. Shu snorted and straightened up.
"Don't play word games with me," he said contemptuously, "The point isn't whether zombies can transform into humans, but..."
He looked directly into Eve's eyes and whispered, "Are you immune to the zombie virus?"
Eve's breathing paused slightly, and she said calmly, "I don't understand what you mean, and maybe your friend is mistaken. After all, you know for sure that there's not a single sore on my body, and my heart is beating."
She smiled, "But zombies don't."
Dr. Shu frowned in embarrassment.
"You're not going to tell me?" He looked troubled. "Then it seems we need to take some special measures."
Eve blinked.
"Torture?" she asked.
"No, no, no, dear," Dr. Shu shook his head. "Torture won't work on you, will it? You acted so fake just now. Let's try something else."
Eve wanted to say that he had misunderstood and that she was really afraid of pain, but she was too happy to unravel this beautiful misunderstanding and said cheerfully, "So what are you going to do?"
Dr. Shu stood up.
"I heard from Chang Qingfeng that Yu Kui's ability had a great influence on you?" He paced the room and slowly walked over to Eve. "Isn't it a coincidence? I just happen to have a device here that can simulate Yu Kui's ability."
He looked at Eve and smiled maliciously.
Eve remained calm.
"What kind of supernatural power does Yu Kui have?" She thought about it and guessed, "Can he extract the most terrifying memories from my deepest heart?"
"That's right," Dr. Shu snapped his fingers. "Here, this is the instrument."
He walked over to a metal stand, carefully removed a round instrument, and showed it to Eve.
The device looks like a hollow helmet, with several tubes connected to the top. The tubes end up connected to a two-meter-tall cylindrical machine in the corner of the room. Dr. Shu sighed, "This thing took me two and a half years to make."
"Two and a half years?" Eve looked up suddenly. "You started making this device shortly after the apocalypse?"
No, it might be even earlier. After all, Dr. Shu still needs to collect materials to make the instrument, not to mention this laboratory. Eve believes that what she sees now is definitely just the tip of the iceberg.
Her eyes narrowed slightly - if we were to be conservative, Dr. Shu should have started preparing to build a laboratory before the end of the world.
She suddenly thought of the Qi in her memory. How old was he then? About ten?
And she vaguely remembered that she seemed to be only seven years old, which means...
"That happened ten years ago," she murmured.
"Okay," Dr. Shu coughed to cover up the fact that he seemed to have accidentally leaked important information, and picked up his helmet. "Dear..." He thought for a moment, "Eve? Is that what they call you?"
Eve looked up at him.
Dr. Shu said, "If you don't want to suffer, answer my question just now, otherwise I will put a helmet on you."
Eve interrupted him: "If I tell you the truth, can you answer my question accordingly?"
"Oh?" Dr. Shu raised his eyebrows in surprise. "What do you want to ask?"
Eve paused for a second.
"'Number Seven,'" she whispered. "Experiment Number Seven? Zombie Number Seven? I don't know what you call it internally, but..." She paused, then said, "Three months ago, a zombie escaped from the Qingshan base. It had a tattoo of the number [7] on the inside of its arm. It came from your place, right?"
After saying this, she carefully studied Dr. Shu's expression.
Interestingly, although Dr. Shu's expression showed no change on the surface, his grip on the helmet suddenly tightened, so much so that his knuckles turned white.
"I don't understand what you mean." He said slowly.
Eve smiled.
"So, is it your turn to say that to me now?" She narrowed her eyes like a fox, sizing up Dr. Shu's sullen face. "Okay, I'll tell you too."
"As for the secrets of my body," she said slowly and leisurely, "I'm sorry—I can't tell you."
Dr. Shu's chest heaved violently.
"Are you sure?" He looked at Eve gloomily. "Don't blame me for not reminding you. I have no patience for disobedient experimental subjects."
Although he really wanted to inject the zombie venom directly into Eve, he was afraid that if their speculation was wrong, it would be a waste of a precious experimental subject.
But... Dr. Shu tried his best to hide his inner astonishment. How did Eve know about number seven...
"Well," Eve's voice brought him back from his thoughts, "Whatever, come on."
Dr. Shu looked astonished.
"But you're not..." Wasn't she almost stuck in Yu Kui's illusion, even going berserk?!
Eve knew what he wanted to say and smiled slightly.
"Although I really don't want to experience that illusion again," she shrugged, "but there's nothing I can do about it. An interrogation should be like an interrogation. Otherwise, how can I establish my authority?"
Facing Dr. Shu's incredulous gaze, Eve narrowed her eyes, a strange light flashing in her emerald green pupils.
and……
Only by entering the illusion can she reconnect with the Seven in her memory.
She had to figure out what was wrong with her memory.
After Eve finished speaking, the room fell into a brief silence.
Dr. Shu still intended to adopt a conciliatory policy and said with a smile, "No, no, no, we generally don't use tough measures. If you are willing to cooperate..."
"Don't waste your energy," Eve interrupted him. "I won't say a word."
Dr. Shu's smile froze at the corners of his mouth.
"So," his eyes turned cold, "you are determined not to cooperate?"
Eve chuckled.
Dr. Shu paused for a few seconds and suddenly stood up.
"Okay, then I'll do as you wish."
He grabbed Eve's head, put the helmet on her head roughly, pressed the switch with his hand, and turned it on.
Eve felt a strong electric current rushing into her head. Before she could react, her head tilted and she fainted.
***
"The Great Witch, she has been tortured for five hours and still refuses to reveal Mary's whereabouts."
"Nothing came out?"
"Yes... She has been subjected to all criminal laws, but..."
There was a silence.
"I understand. Go ahead."
"Yes...yes! Thank you, Great Witch!"
Another set of footsteps as soft as mycelium fell to the ground. The Great Witch - Ian walked to a round table and calmly looked at the red-haired girl tied to the table.
"Eve," she whispered, "open your eyes. I know you are awake."
The girl at the round table slowly opened her eyes.
"You found out." Eve smiled lightly.
She casually turned her wrist and found that the witches had tied her up very tightly and she could not move at all.
"Don't waste your energy," Ian noticed her little movement and said coldly, "These are dragon tendon ropes, you can't break free."
Eve gave up struggling.
Ian seemed very satisfied with her sensible attitude. He slowly walked to Eve's side, raised his cane slightly, and tilted Eve's chin: "Are you still going to continue to protect that boy?"
Eve was forced to look up, but stared at Ian unyieldingly: "What boy?"
"Don't play dumb," Ian said. "Su Sidu has seen your memories. Who is that boy? What's going on in the silver room? Tell me everything!"
As she uttered the last word, Ian raised his cane and hit Eve hard in the face, leaving a red mark on her fair skin.
Eve's head tilted sideways after being hit. She sneered and slowly turned her gaze back: "Why bother asking me to answer? You can just let Su Si peek into my brain again."
"Shut up!" Another heavy blow.
Ian put down his crutches and looked at Eve coldly.
Didn't she want to? But as soon as they entered Eve's memory, she noticed it immediately. She closed her mind in just a few seconds, making it impossible for Su Si to do anything.
Ian said coldly, "Eve, don't think I don't have a way to deal with you."
Eve said softly, "What? If you can't get a confession out of me, are you going to kill me?"
"How could I let you off so easily?" Ian sneered. "You've been to the abyssal corpse chamber. You should understand the pain of being gnawed by zombies, right? If you continue to be so stubborn, I will have no choice but to throw you back and let you relive the nightmare from ten days ago."
Eve looked at her quietly, her green eyes covered with a layer of fog, making it impossible to understand her thoughts.
Ian changed his tone again, and said earnestly: "Why are you doing this? Ten days have passed, and the boy hasn't come to see you. I think he is no different from those stinky humans. But you-"
She placed her hand on Eve's chest, and the darkness in her eyes grew darker.
"Eve, you possess the strongest witch's heart I have ever seen. With proper training, you will surely surpass everyone and become a legendary wizard..."
Eve's chuckle interrupted Ian.
Ian was slightly annoyed: "What are you laughing at?"
"That sounds tempting," Eve said nonchalantly, "but... I don't care."
"I just want to protect that boy. I won't tell you anything about that world." She stared at Ian with a half-smile. "You can kill me if you want - I won't reveal any information anyway."
Ian pulled his hand away coldly.
"Su Si, come in." she said suddenly.
The stone door opened, and a young witch dressed in black walked into the interrogation room, bowing her head respectfully. "Are you calling me? High Witch."
"Take Eve to the Abyss Corpse Chamber." Ian said.
Su Si was stunned for a moment, then quickly asked, "How long will it take this time..."
"How long?" Ian sneered and interrupted her, "How long do you think it will take?"
Su Si hesitated: "This..."
"Lock him up until he dies!" Ian suddenly raised his voice, pounded the ground with his cane, and pointed at Eve. "No one is allowed to open the door to the morgue until they see the remains of this little bitch!"
Su Si leaned forward quickly and said, "Yes, Great Witch!"
She untied Eve's restraints, pulled her up from the execution table, and said sternly, "Get up!"
Eve stood up obediently. Even though her legs were already bloody from the torture, she took the initiative to keep up with Su Si's pace. When she passed by Ian, she suddenly said, "Great Witch."
Ian raised his gaze coldly.
"Although it wasn't long," Eve said, "I'm very grateful for your kindness in raising me. After all, if it weren't for you, I would have frozen to death on the streets of the Elysees."
Ian: "So this is how you repay me?"
Eve shook her head with a strange smile on her face.
"How could that be?" She smiled brightly, "I even specially prepared a gift for you."
Ian frowned suspiciously.
Is she finally going to confess?
"Eve, you..."
Just as Ian hesitated to speak, there was a sudden violent movement under his feet!
"boom--!"
A deafening explosion suddenly exploded in the air. She was caught off guard and was so frightened that she almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, Su Si helped her up.
"What's going on?!" Ian asked in surprise.
"I don't know..." Su Si was busy trying to steady his body amidst the vibration, and said reluctantly, "But this sound..." It felt like it came from under his feet!
Eve seemed to have read her thoughts and smiled slightly.
"Shh," she said mysteriously, putting a finger to her lips and lowering her voice to the lowest possible level, "Just listen."
The other two paused subconsciously.
The room suddenly became quiet, and in a moment, a deafening roar suddenly sounded from under his feet!
When Yian and Su Si heard this, their expressions changed drastically.
They were all veterans dealing with zombies, and knew everything about them. Even though the roar didn't sound real, they recognized it quickly...
That was an adult abyss zombie roaring!
Thinking of the shock just now, Ian suddenly reacted and glared at Eve: "Could it be...you...?!"
"The high-grade explosives produced by the dwarves are indeed as good as their reputation. They can even blow up the Blood Dragon Rock," Eve winked at her. "An ounce costs fifty gold coins. How's that? Dear Great Witch, are you satisfied with my gift?"
Ian's face turned pale and he looked at her without saying a word.
"Eve?!" Su Si said in disbelief, "You blew up the door to the Abyss Corpse Chamber?!" She suddenly became anxious, "Are you crazy? Do you understand the consequences of doing this?! Those Abyss Zombies..."
"If you keep talking nonsense here," Eve interrupted her, "the zombies will be here soon."
Upon hearing this, Su Si froze.
"Eve," Ian said slowly, "Do you think I'll let you leave alive after doing something like this?"
She walked forward slowly, tapping the ground with her crutches. Her short, hunched body exuded a suffocating pressure.
Eve looked at Ian with a smile.
"Of course not," she laughed, "so I have a backup plan."
As soon as she finished speaking, Eve suddenly raised her hand, pulled out a small silver ball from her spacious sleeves, and glared at Ian and Su Si!
“Bang!”
The moment the ball hit the ground, a dazzling light burst out!
Susi screamed, "Great Witch! My eyes...!"
"What is this?!" Ian's slightly surprised voice came from the flash. She obviously didn't pay attention to Su Si's howling. "Light spell?!"
"Well," Eve said, "this is a treasure from another world."
——This little ball was something the boy secretly gave her when she came back from the silver room last time.
"I originally wanted to use it when I escaped," he whispered, "but I think you might need it more now."
As he said this, his eyes were fixed on Eve's scarred arm.
Eve nonchalantly shook her sleeves over her arms.
"It's okay," she took the ball from the boy's hand and patted his shoulder. "I'll use this first, and then I'll take you with me."
Following the boy's instructions, Eve covered her eyes with her sleeves before throwing the ball, so when Ian and Su Si were hit by the strong light and temporarily blinded, she had already successfully reached the door of the interrogation room.
Ian sensed something was wrong and roared, "Don't leave!"
She stomped the ground with her crutch, and with a loud roar, the ground beneath the three people's feet shook, and four earth zombies crawled out of the ground.
In response, Eve just snorted contemptuously.
Ian roared, "Come on!"
The four zombies howled angrily and rushed towards Eve fiercely!
Eve took a half step back, pressed the switch of the stone door with one hand, quickly bit her other hand, and swung it violently, shooting a few drops of blood into the zombie's brow.
"Stop," she said briefly.
The four zombies paused and actually stopped.
Ian: “!”
"You..." She couldn't believe her eyes, "How is it possible... you can actually override my contract...?!"
Eve curved her lips at her.
"This is all thanks to you," she raised her hand and gently licked the blood. "If you hadn't sent me to the Abyssal Corpse Chamber, perhaps my strength wouldn't have improved so quickly."
Ian seemed to realize something and took a sharp breath.
"You..." She turned and shouted at Su Si, "Quickly sacrifice all your zombies! Quick!"
"!" Su Si said quickly, "...Yes! The Great Witch!"
Eve shook her head with regret in her eyes.
"Sorry, you two," she drawled, "it's too late."
“Bang!”
Eve raised her hand and slammed the stone door switch hard.
The ancient mechanism immediately activated, and the heavy stone door moved to both sides, gradually revealing the scene behind the door -
Hundreds of abyss zombies crowded at the door. The densely packed heads almost occupied the three people's sight. When Ian and Su Si were exposed behind the stone door, they all raised their heads at the same time and growled in their throats.
Eve stood right in front of the zombies, looking at the terrified Ian and Su Si, and smiled slowly.
"Please, everyone," she said softly, "they are yours."
***
In the silver room.
A huge crack suddenly appeared on the originally smooth ceiling, and a little red-haired girl rolled out from the chaotic hole and fell heavily to the ground.
Before she could get up, the voices of two adult men rang out from a distance:
"Did you just hear anything?"
"……What?"
"It seems to be coming from over there."
After the man finished speaking, there was a sound of a curtain being lifted. Eve didn't care about her scraped elbows, she quickly got up and got into the shadow of a metal frame.
There was a small area under the metal rack, just big enough for a seven-year-old to hide in. As she gathered the long, wide hem of her dress, two pairs of boots came into view.
Eve held her breath, slowly changed her angle, and looked at the two pairs of boots.
One person said, "There's nothing. Did you hear it wrong?"
The other person was very firm: "Impossible! It was a loud noise! Let's wait and see."
They walked around the room, and at one point one of them almost stepped on Eve's robe, but fortunately he didn't stop and quickly walked away.
"Rosen, you're too worried," the first man said impatiently, "This room is so small. Even if someone breaks in, where can they hide?"
The man named Rosen hesitated and muttered softly, "But I really heard... huh?" He suddenly raised his voice, "Wu En, what do you think this is?"
Eve's gaze moved over subconsciously, and her breathing couldn't help but hitch.
There were a few red plum-shaped marks on the ground not far away.
Eve secretly sighed - that was her blood dripping.
Seeing the two men coming closer to examine the bloodstains carefully, a cold light flashed in Eve's eyes. She lifted her robe slightly to expose her arm.
She didn't want to alert the enemy, but if she was discovered by these two, she might as well strike first...
“Bang—!”
Just as Eve was about to summon the zombies, a loud noise suddenly came from behind the curtain on the other side of the room!
Eve paused.
The two men were shocked: "Fuck!"
They didn't care about the bloodstains at the moment and ran back behind the curtain. After a while, Eve heard the first person's relieved voice: "I was so scared, I thought No. 7 had broken free." It turned out that he just fell off the operating table.
"You're just being suspicious!" the second man scolded him. "Help me drag him up!"
There was another round of labored breathing and pushing and pulling sounds. Eve's eyes flashed and she cautiously leaned forward a little.
Through the translucent curtain, she could vaguely see a third figure. His limbs seemed to be tied up, and he was at the mercy of the other two people like a helpless doll. They fixed him firmly on the operating table before withdrawing.
One person said, "Damn, I think I touched his teeth. Is he okay?"
"It's okay," another person comforted him, "Number Seven hasn't mutated yet, and there's no blood, right?"
The first person turned his left hand over and over before he breathed a sigh of relief: "...No."
"Let's go," the second man said, "it's almost time to move. Go and push the cage in."
The two said a few more words, then turned and walked out of the room.
Eve held her breath and waited for a while. After confirming that they would not come back, she quickly ducked out of the metal frame and ran towards the curtain.
The two men wouldn't take too long, leaving her with little time. Eve rushed over, lifted the curtain, and said urgently, "Hey! You..."
When Eve saw the scene clearly, she froze suddenly.
A young man lay horizontally on the operating table, his limbs bound tightly with several belts and ropes, so tightly that they almost cut into his skin. His head was half lowered, and his messy long hair covered most of his face, making it difficult to see his features.
Eve took a few steps forward, her hands trembling unnoticed, and gently touched the boy's shoulder: "Hello...?"
The boy's tattered clothes slipped off, revealing a small piece of skin - the skin was completely necrotic and had a dull blue color.
Eve gasped suddenly, and without thinking, she slapped the boy's face hard: "Are you awake?! Get up quickly..."
Before the word "come" came out, the boy shuddered and slowly opened his eyes as if waking up from a dream. However, when he met Eve's gaze, he suddenly turned his head away and said in a trembling voice:
"Eve...don't!"
Eve was stunned.
"Please..." the boy whispered, his tone filled with humble pleading.
"Please, don't look at me..."
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