Chapter 4
The leading officer also came from a shelter. When he passed by Wang Haitong, he whispered "Teacher".
"What's going on?" Wang Haitong asked.
The officer wiped his face, his voice choking. "Earlier, Zun Yue told Commander Yan that something was wrong with the monsters, so we went to Fir Mountain during our patrol. We discovered that the monsters' weak spots had indeed changed, but we thought their evolution would be very slow. Who knew they would suddenly attack today, and they're even more powerful than before? Anywhere covered by the black fog will...will be eaten by them."
Fearing to cause panic, he lowered his voice and dared not say more, but he could not hide it for long. For safety reasons, the military would definitely temporarily ban hunters from leaving the city to hunt in the near future.
After bidding farewell to the officer, the two men set out on their journey home again, but the atmosphere was no longer as relaxed. Wang Haitong sighed and asked, "How much food have you stored?"
Having just watched it last night, Qin Zunyue had a good idea and consoled him, "I got a few golden pills a few days ago and exchanged them for a lot of flour and rice. Although we don't have much meat, as long as we have enough rice and flour, we won't starve to death."
This is the truth. Although they had been extravagant before and bought cakes for the children, they had a lot of food stored, so even if something unexpected happened now, it was enough to guarantee the lives of several of them.
"Is there enough at the shelter?"
"That's enough. They're just old people and children. They can't eat much. We haven't finished the rice, flour, and meat you sent us before. Besides, the command center won't ignore the shelter. Just worry about yourself."
The streets were no longer filled with the usual laughter and joy. Passersby were in a hurry. Wang Haitong sighed, "How long have the good times lasted?"
After returning home, he found that Liu Huaizhao had not left yet, and the others were also lying in the living room with nothing to do. Qin Zunyue sat down, poured himself a glass of water, and told him what happened this morning.
"Eat the arm directly?" Liu Huaizhao frowned.
Seeing his expression, Qin Zunyue and the others understood that the monsters in the past were not as powerful as this.
Wei Zhirong was silent for a while, then said, "The hospital is probably most short of staff right now, so I want to go and help."
Qin Zunyue nodded. Wei Zhirong was a half-baked nurse. Although her bandaging technique was inhumane, it could still be used during special times. It was better to have it than not.
As soon as Wei Zhirong opened the door, he saw several guards walking towards him.
It was Yan Ming who wanted to see Liu Huaizhao.
Everyone in the headquarters office building was still busy, but compared to the first time he came two days ago, Liu Huaizhao felt a more solemn atmosphere.
Yan Ming was making a phone call on the office landline. Since the end of the world, the signal base station has not been maintained by anyone, and people can no longer use mobile phones. They can only use landlines that are not affected by base station coverage.
Tianhai City took a lot of effort to establish a stable communication method with other places. Yan Ming is now discussing solutions with the heads of other regions. Qin Zunyue and Liu Huaizhao are standing quietly by waiting for her.
After hanging up the phone, Yan Ming pressed his eyebrows and called others in.
Since she couldn't ensure that Liu Huaizhao could really seal the monster, Yan Ming didn't dare to reveal Liu Huaizhao's identity. Otherwise, if Liu Huaizhao failed, the feeling of despair would be even stronger than usual, and she couldn't take the gamble.
Therefore, apart from Qin Zunyue's team, the only people who knew Liu Huaizhao's identity were the command staff and senior military officials whom Yan Ming trusted.
"We're going to give Young Master Liu a full-body checkup," Yan Ming said, jumping straight into the point. "We don't have time to let him slowly recall his past. We can only hope to use technology to help him recover his memory."
Before Qin Zunyue could speak, Liu Huaizhao agreed directly.
"Master Liu, will you not reconsider this?"
Liu Huaizhao shook his head and said, "Even if you explain it to me, I still don't understand, and I also want to figure out what I've forgotten."
The physical examination will be performed by Director Xu of the research institute, and Tong Le, as Director Xu's adopted daughter and student, will assist.
"Don't worry." Qin Zunyue was afraid that Liu Huaizhao would be nervous: "Although Lele looks unreliable, she is quite capable. Even if she can't compare to the staff of the institute, she can still guarantee your safety."
"I'm not worried." Liu Huaizhao ate the biscuits Qin Zunyue bought for him and said, "I said you can't kill me."
"Is that so?" Qin Zunyue was silent for a while, then said, "You don't have to do it if you don't want to."
"What's wrong with you? I don't want to do it." Liu Huaizhao looked at Qin Zunyue in confusion.
"Nothing." I'm just afraid that putting all my hopes on one person will put too much pressure on him.
Dean Xu was ready, and Tong Le secretly made a gesture to Qin Zunyue to reassure him.
The research institute has the most sophisticated instruments. Qin Zunyue watched through the window as Liu Huaizhao was pushed into the inspection device by Tong Le, and Wei Zhirong, who was called in temporarily, was drawing blood from him.
For safety reasons, all the staff this time knew Liu Huaizhao's identity. Zheng Shu stood beside Qin Zunyue, watching tube after tube of blood being drawn, and frowned, "Xiao Liu is already thin."
Qiao Lang's expression was not good either. He muttered, "It was so painful for Lao Wei to have his blood drawn. Has he ever studied nursing?"
Yan Liao stood next to her sister. Both sisters had the same cold expression, but Yan Liao's eyes were fixed on the inspection device.
Tong Le took several tubes of blood for blood analysis, while Dean Xu pushed Liu Huaizhao to another room. They couldn't see and could only surround Wei Zhirong who had just come out.
Wei Zhirong took off his mask and said, "Don't ask me, I don't know anything."
They had no choice but to wait patiently until Director Xu came out and announced the examination results: "There's no way to interfere with his memory. I checked his hippocampus and there's no sign of any memory loss."
"Did he lie?" Yan Ming murmured.
"Impossible!" the others said in unison.
"How long have you been with him? Half a month? How can you guarantee his character?"
"Commander Yan." Qin Zunyue said seriously, "It is an established fact that monsters will evolve. Even without him, we still have to face the current situation. We can't push all the problems onto him."
But they all understood the pressure Yan Ming was under. Humanity was now too scattered, and each safe city was like an isolated island. This island now had limited resources and manpower. There were only so many soldiers in the army, and there were many casualties this time. Yan Ming felt sorry for her subordinates and was also worried about the future of mankind.
The solemn atmosphere was broken by Tong Le. She didn't pay attention to the current atmosphere and just said excitedly: "We extracted a component similar to the golden elixir from Liu Huaizhao's blood, but compared to the golden elixir, the research value of blood is higher. The teacher has taken over now, and Liu Huaizhao will be out soon."
Qin Zunyue nodded and said to Yan Ming, "Commander Yan, he is different from us. Even if the examination does not show any memory loss, it does not mean that he is lying."
Yan Ming's back remained strong as he said, "I'm sorry, I was impatient."
"Sister Yan." Qin Zunyue interrupted her: "That's not what I meant. You have your responsibilities, and I was too emotional."
When Liu Huaizhao came out, the atmosphere was so solemn. He stood next to Qin Zunyue, looked at this and that, and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Zheng Shu replied: "It's getting late, what do you want to eat tonight?"
"Anything is fine."
The young master's "anything is fine" means he doesn't eat onions or garlic, he can't eat spicy food, and he thinks bland food is tasteless.
Zheng Shu was worried, but thinking about the several tubes of blood he had drawn today, he felt that he still had to make something to replenish his blood.
Zheng Shu took a few people home to cook, leaving Qin Zunyue to accompany Liu Huaizhao to the meeting.
The same few people were still in the conference room. Liu Huaizhao had adapted well to modern life. Except for his long hair which he refused to cut and which he maintained with sleight of hand every day, he was no different from modern people in other aspects.
He sat there quietly, listening to Yan Ming's speech. "Previously, we divided monsters into three levels. Low-level monsters are slow to react and weak in attack, but ordinary people can kill them after training. Intermediate monsters are faster and the black fog has a stronger corrosive ability. High-level monsters are encountered less frequently, but their corrosive ability is the strongest. Even if you can kill them, your arms will be severely damaged."
Liu Huaizhao said: "The monster seems to be weaker than we were back then."
"What?" Everyone exclaimed. They were already having a hard time dealing with such a monster.
"Which aspect is weak?" Yan Ming asked.
"The monsters of the past and the monsters of today are no different in terms of attack, they're just harder to kill. My spiritual power is almost exhausted now, but even with my weak spiritual power, I can easily kill the monsters of today. In the past, I could only make their black fog fade a little. But the monsters that can devour humans now...we didn't have them back then."
"Mr. Liu, I hope you can tell us everything you know."
"…I'm sorry. I was negligent."
However, based on the information they currently knew, knowing this was useless, so Yan Ming nodded and continued the meeting.
"That means the monster has evolved again. Old Chen, tell us about this operation."
An officer reported, "This time we went out on patrol, following the same route and timing as usual. We initially didn't take the monsters seriously, but when several soldiers attacked, their arms, which had entered the black fog, were severed... as if they had been eaten."
Everyone was silent. This news was truly devastating. The reason Safe City could maintain its current status was because they had built high walls that the black fog couldn't penetrate, and they were constantly patrolling, exterminating all nearby monsters. If the patrolling soldiers couldn't eliminate them, then the people would have no choice but to live within the walls, or even—
"What I'm most worried about is that the monsters will evolve the ability to pass through walls." Yan Ming rubbed his eyebrows.
Monsters currently have no way to pass through any solid object. Even if they dissipate and reunite, it will be in an unobstructed space, so they can only move outside the city. Even if they reach the base of the city wall, they cannot pass through the wall.
"I can capture the monster alive and bring it back for you to study." Liu Huaizhao said.
Yan Ming nodded: "Xiao Qin said that we can't put all the problems on you, but Mr. Liu, you are indeed our only hope."
Before the meeting ended, Yan Ming asked Liu Huaizhao if he had any discomfort after having his blood drawn. After receiving a negative answer, she asked Liu Huaizhao to have a tube of blood drawn every once in a while, and Liu Huaizhao agreed without any hesitation.
The two walked side by side on the way home. After a few steps, Liu Huaizhao was attracted by the announcement posted on the bulletin board.
"From now on, all residents are strictly prohibited from leaving the city to hunt..."
As expected, as guessed during the day, the army temporarily closed the city gates. For safety reasons, people could only enter the safe city but not leave.
"Then I will have to go out alone tomorrow."
Seeing his frown, Qin Zunyue said, "I'll submit an application with you. Commander Yan will agree."
Liu Huaizhao was about to nod, but hesitated again: "Forget it, I don't know what the turbid demon has become now. What if I can't take care of you and you die or become disabled?"
"No, I'd better go and apply. I'm worried about you being alone."
After saying that, Qin Zunyue turned around and went back to the headquarters office building. Liu Huaizhao muttered on the spot: "What's there to worry about? You don't even know magic."
Under Yan Ming's disapproving gaze, Qin Zunyue returned to the notice board with the signed exit permit. In fact, he knew that he could not help much, but he just didn't want Liu Huaizhao to take the risk alone. It might be because he was used to taking care of children, just like he never trusted Tong Le to act alone.
Dinner was still lively, and there was enough meat at home. The temporary inability to hunt did not affect their lives. However, when they told others that they were going to leave the city alone tomorrow, they encountered opposition from everyone.
"This is too dangerous, Brother Qin. If Liu Huaizhao can't beat him, he can still fly. You can't fly, so what are you going to do?"
"Who said I can't beat him?" Liu Huaizhao retorted silently.
Qin Zunyue said: "I'm not going to die. I even applied for a car. I'm afraid Liu Huaizhao will get lost if he's alone. Monsters can't touch me in the car. Can't he catch monsters from a distance? All he needs to do is open a window."
"Oh, yes, I forgot that there are such things as cars in modern society." Tong Le stopped talking, and only Zheng Shu was left looking at the two of them worriedly.
"Don't worry." Qin Zunyue comforted Zheng Shu.
The next morning, Qin Zunyue drove the off-road vehicle he had applied for to the door of his house. His skills were not very good, but fortunately, as long as he didn't hit any trees, he would be fine.
He drove Liu Huaizhao slowly to the city gate and got off the car to register.
There were not many people leaving the city. After seeing the announcement, everyone chose to stay indoors. Only a few people did not see the notice and were persuaded to go back when they arrived at the door.
After registering with Qin Zunyue, Liu Huaizhao was about to get on the bus when he was bumped by a child. It turned out to be the little fat boy who had surrounded him and asked questions before.
"Tsk." Qin Zunyue skillfully took the man aside and asked, "Why are you running around instead of staying at home?"
"An uncle from out of town just came and was telling stories to Xiaoyu and the others. I want to go ask him what it's like out there!"
"Why don't you ask me? I go outside every day."
The little fat man gave him a look of disdain: "The most you've done is climb Fir Mountain. What's there to ask?"
"You little brat." Qin Zunyue put the man down and pretended to kick him. The fat man made a face at him and ran away.
"Let's go." Qin Zunyue opened the car door for Liu Huaizhao, and the two drove out of the city.
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