"Captain Zhou! Are you alright?!"
Xie Mian's eyes held relief and surprise, but also a complexity that Zhou Jinze couldn't comprehend.
"Where...is my baby?"
The first thing Zhou Jinze asked was about Qian Yuan's whereabouts.
He didn't believe that everything that happened in his dream was real, yet he couldn't offer any reasonable explanation for his sudden resurrection after being on the verge of death.
Xie Mian hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
He was the one who knew the situation best, but when he saw the urgency on Zhou Jinze's face, he didn't know how to start the conversation.
Zhou Jinze frowned and ordered Xie Mian, "Deputy Captain Xie, tell me what happened after I was contaminated?"
Xie Mian could only step aside so that Zhou Jinze could see the outside world.
"See for yourself..."
The night was pitch black, thick fog billowed, and serpentine shadows appeared and disappeared within the fog.
People were fearful and uneasy, not yet understanding who was protecting them and who was harming them.
Ignorant humans, living in a mystery, only felt that the end of the world had finally arrived. They knelt down and prayed, hoping for divine salvation. Some even went mad, shouting that this was God's punishment.
"...He took you with him and restored you to the legendary god who dwells in deep space. He drove away the thing that corrupted you and returned you to your original state, leaving you at the entrance of the base. But he did not come back. He got lost."
Xie Mian tried her best to hold back her sobs and said to Zhou Jinze, "He is also unwilling. Why should the children they raised have to suffer all this to protect them? Why can't we tell these humans how much someone has sacrificed for them?"
Why is it that they are so powerless, yet still need the protection of their smallest and most vulnerable companions?
"Don't cry."
Zhou Jinze said coldly.
Xie Mian thought Zhou Jinze would scold him, but he just said, "Zai Zai doesn't like us crying, it makes him sad too."
The others were on the verge of bursting into tears.
Except for a few dissenting individuals who have been dealt with, almost everyone in the base tacitly accepted and protected the fact that the cub was an evil god. Even after Zhou Jinze was resurrected, they all kept quiet and treated him as usual.
Human hearts are made of flesh and blood. After spending a long time with cubs, no one would so simplistically think that cubs are dangerous monsters.
He was clearly just a silly little boy, a silly little boy who would smile at people and give them candy.
They'll still be silly kids who protect their children.
As soon as Zhou Jinze woke up, the leaderless base finally found its center of gravity. They all crowded around Zhou Jinze, reporting the situation and asking what to do next.
Zhou Jinze sensed something was wrong: "Where's Bo Yuchuan?"
The others wore complicated expressions.
"Professor Bo... left the base and joined the church..."
It's that deus ex machina church that claims to worship a true god.
“I told you long ago, Professor Bo seems off. He’s been acting crazy ever since the cub incident, there’s definitely something wrong with him…”
"Who knew the professor believed in this stuff? I noticed the way he looked at the kid was different all the time..."
Zhou Jinze was completely overwhelmed.
Although Bo Yuchuan is a bit eccentric, he is indeed a capable assistant. He handles most of the affairs in the base, since Zhou Jinze has to take care of his child and worry about every mission, so he has been a hands-off manager.
Another reason is that Zhou Jinze is too fierce, so researchers don't dare to ask him questions.
However, no one revealed the reason.
Now Zhou Jinze could only let Xie Mian and Lin Jue take on the main responsibility for the entire base, while he packed his things and prepared.
Xie Mian watched as Zhou Jinze packed the equipment he needed for the mission and understood what he was going to do:
"Captain Zhou, the baby is unconscious right now. We've already been there, and he hasn't responded to us at all."
Zhou Jinze ignored him and continued doing his own thing.
"Captain Zhou, this is an emergency. You can't abandon the entire city and leave them to their fate!"
Zhou Jinze may have hesitated and struggled before, but now he intends to follow his heart.
He has protected humanity so many times; this time, he only wants to protect those he is meant to protect.
Seeing that he couldn't stop him, Xie Mian stopped trying to persuade him. He planned to familiarize himself with the base's affairs first, but then a researcher rushed over in a hurry:
"Captain Zhou, headquarters wants to see you!"
Zhou Jinze narrowed his eyes and could only follow the researcher to the conference room to connect with headquarters via video.
Across from me sat a large group of high-ranking officers, their imposing presence commanding respect without a hint of anger, not to mention the numerous medals adorning their uniforms—enough to make one feel breathless.
But Zhou Jinze stood there motionless, looking respectful yet neither humble nor arrogant.
"Zhou Jinze, you have protected the contained object and have not reported the situation of C-036 to headquarters until now. This is a serious disciplinary violation!!"
Zhou Jinze calmly replied, "I have nothing to say."
He knew he had violated the rules; that was a fact.
"According to regulations, you should have been dismissed from your post and stripped of your military merits long ago. But as someone who dedicated your life to the army, do you think it was worth it? What do you think your deceased teacher and your deceased comrades will think of you?!"
Zhou Jinze remained silent.
Seeing that Zhou Jinze remained silent and was wavering, the other party seized the opportunity to say:
"Now you have a chance to redeem yourself by taking over C-036 and making it work for us."
Zhou Jinze only looked up when he heard those words, and saw those familiar faces.
It turns out that, under the control of time and power, these people had long forgotten that they were not omnipotent. Faced with monsters, humans were ultimately like mayflies trying to shake a tree.
Now their ambitions are aimed directly at the evil god.
So, if they truly possessed abilities comparable to those of gods, would they become guardians of humanity?
Zhou Jinze, noticing the fleeting greed in the other man's eyes, hardened his gaze and said in a deep voice:
"I disagree with sacrificing comrades to complete impossible tasks, and gods cannot be manipulated by humans with desires."
"I, Zhou Jinze, hereby resign."
"We, the A City branch containment base, stand with Captain Zhou through thick and thin!"
It turned out that Zhou Jinze was now surrounded by researchers from the base.
"You...! You!"
The people at headquarters seemed furious; they immediately cut off the video call. It looks like their branch base will be at odds with the whole world from now on.
"Not bad, decisive enough. It's no wonder my lord values you so highly."
A familiar voice came from behind Zhou Jinze.
Zhou Jinze looked up at Bo Yuchuan, who had previously been wearing a white coat but was now dressed in a divine robe. He didn't know how Bo Yuchuan had convinced the security guards to let him in, but Bo Yuchuan looked even more sinister and eerie than before. He reached out his hand:
"I did pretty well at the church; I became a high priest."
"How about we cooperate with the church? The people here aren't very bright, but they are all very loyal to my Lord."
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