Shen Yiting sat on the soft, backless chair, holding a cup of hot water that Xiao Fang had just poured for her. Her hands trembled incessantly, and even the water in the cup was not still, just like her heart, which was beating rapidly due to excessive fright.
Gu Qingqiu patiently watched her with her arms crossed. Shen Yiting carefully drank the water in her glass, sip by sip, and finally numbly began to confess everything she knew.
Gu Qingqiu recorded the entire process, and Xiao Fang assisted in taking notes.
"Are you done talking?" Gu Qingqiu asked casually when Shen Yiting stopped.
"I'm done talking." A hint of sadness and determination flashed in Shen Yiting's eyes. "When will you arrange for me to communicate with Luo Ze'en?"
Gu Qingqiu glanced at her watch. "Let's wait for the notification. Xiao Fang, give Miss Chen some food."
Five minutes later, a steaming bowl of instant noodles was placed in front of Shen Yiting.
Shen Yiting's eyes widened. She hadn't eaten hot food in a long time. In the apocalypse, instant noodles were sometimes as valuable as bullets.
Looking at Shen Yiting's expression, Xiao Fang could guess what she was thinking. "Miss Shen, as long as you cooperate with our work, your treatment at the South Base will be quite good."
Compared to the nomadic life of a wilderness team, which was constantly threatened by zombie attacks, the base was clearly a safer option for Shen Yiting. Her guilt lessened considerably; she had done this for survival, and she was sorry... Zeen.
Gu Qingqiu did not take the initiative to contact Luo Ze'en, because according to convention, he should soon hack into the South Base's communication system.
To ensure smooth communication and a stable signal, Gu Qingqiu specifically asked someone to inform her about this.
As expected, two days later, Lozen's face reappeared on the lab's communication screen. This time, his expression was even more grim than before. "Gu Qingqiu, in the name of the Thunder Squad leader, I hereby declare war on you. We have always maintained a policy of non-interference with the South Base. If you hadn't kidnapped our Thunder's vice-captain first, we wouldn't have bothered you so many times. If you don't release him within three working days, Thunder will launch an attack on the South Base with all its members. I hope you'll think twice!"
Gu Qingqiu listened patiently to Luo Ze'en's long speech and slowly said, "I can release him, but are you sure you want your ex-girlfriend to go back? Or rather, is Thunder willing to let a traitor go back?"
Upon hearing this, Lozen's expression changed drastically: "What do you mean? Explain yourself!"
"Xiao Fang, please invite Miss Chen over," Gu Qingqiu said calmly.
Gu Qingqiu's calm and collected demeanor clearly made Luo Ze'en frown, and he had some bad thoughts in his heart.
A few minutes later, Shen Yiting arrived. She was wearing a brand new casual outfit, her long black hair tied into a neat ponytail. She looked very natural and did not appear to be a captive at all.
Upon seeing Luo Ze'en on the screen, Shen Yiting's expression stiffened almost imperceptibly, but her first words were: "Luo Ze'en, let's break up. You don't need to come looking for me anymore. I'm doing fine here."
"What did you say?" Lozen's eyes were filled with disbelief. "Are you serious? Did they threaten or coerce you into saying this?"
Shen Yiting shook her head firmly: "Luo Ze'en, you can't give me the life I want. You always told me that the base would exploit ordinary people and harm those who have awakened superpowers. I believed you, so I've been living with you in the wilderness, living in constant fear every day. We only eat things that we've confirmed before we dare to eat them. To save water, we can hardly take a bath even once a week. I've really had enough."
Lozen's throat bobbed; he wanted to argue, but he knew he was destined to be unable to reach a consensus with Shen Yiting on this matter.
After all, they were childhood sweethearts, and such betrayal still saddened Lozen. With his last bit of composure, he said dignified words: "Fine, from now on, we'll never meet again. Let's pretend that you were never a member of Thunder."
The communication was unilaterally cut off by Luo Ze'en. A tear slid down Shen Yiting's cheek. She knew that her future with Luo Ze'en was no longer related to her, and that she had severed the connection between them with her own hands.
But was she wrong? She simply wanted to survive. If this weren't the apocalypse, perhaps she and Lozen wouldn't have ended up like this.
Realizing her predicament, Shen Yiting became even more cooperative with Gu Qingqiu's work, marking the locations where Luo Ze'en frequently appeared on the map, and even recounting the interpersonal relationships within the Thunder team, giving Gu Qingqiu a breakthrough.
Thunder once absorbed another wild organization, Bats. Now, Thunder's other vice-captain, Angie, was Bats' former captain. So he is somewhat resentful of Lozen and always secretly wants to replace Lozen's position. However, in the post-apocalyptic world, there are both internal and external troubles, and the losses from fighting each other are too great, so this idea has never been put into practice.
An idea gradually took shape in Gu Qingqiu's mind.
...
"Boss! Daydreaming again!" A burly man grinned, revealing a set of bright white teeth, and patted Lozen on the shoulder.
"Liu Fang, are you done exercising?" Luo Ze'en replied casually, looking at the grass bracelet on his wrist. It was made for him by Shen Yiting, who told him to wear it for good luck.
Noticing Lozen's gaze, Liu Fang sighed, "Boss, don't be too sad. The vice-captain... she may have her own reasons."
Upon hearing such remarks, Luo Ze'en coldly replied, "There's no need to make excuses for her. Besides, she's no longer the vice-captain. My sadness is my personal matter, but I can't be irresponsible to my teammates. If you ever see Shen Yiting again, don't treat her like one of your own."
"Yes." Liu Fang also stopped smiling and nodded.
Lozen stood up. "It's time to go find supplies today. Let's call a few brothers to come with me."
"Okay." Liu Fang immediately went to find someone.
A few minutes later, the group, fully equipped and carrying backpacks, gathered in front of Lozen.
Lozen glanced around, then paused when he saw Angie casually stepping on the stones. "You're being so proactive today?"
Angie shrugged: "As the vice-captain, it won't do to be lazy all the time; the team members will have complaints."
Lozen stared at Angie for a long time before suddenly saying, "Alright, let's go clear the land today. Thanks for your hard work, everyone."
Liu Fang let out a long sigh. He hated clearing land the most! Clearing land now was like opening a blind box. Who knew if he would accidentally disturb a zombie's lair?
Angie remained calm, so Lozen also looked away.
So the group of people headed in a direction they had never been before, as shown on the map.
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