☆, Escape, three years later
The virus was right. After climbing over the fence, Ye Xi ran as fast as she could until she was completely exhausted and could no longer run. She stopped, supporting herself on her knees and panting, when a piercing alarm shattered the night. Although she was already some distance from the airport, the alarm was still clear. Damn it, she really was being watched. Hopefully, they won't come back with more bounty notices. Ye Xi thought, turning back to look at the airport.
"Don't look back, keep running forward. There's an unmanned car 230 meters ahead of you." The virus's voice echoed in Ye Xi's mind again, its flat tone startling her.
"You mean... a car?" Ye Xi murmured. "I mean, don't you know I've never even taken a driving test..."
"You can choose not to, and then wait for the government to hunt you down. Maybe they'll give you the T-virus so I can let you escape, just like last time in Japan." The O-virus interrupted Ye Xi calmly, offering another solution in a serious manner.
“…Okay.” Ye Xi nodded emphatically. “But you must tell me what’s going on later. Also, that car…I don’t have an automatic unlocking function.”
"The car wasn't turned off, the keys were there, and the owner and another person went to the grass to take care of their business." O Virus's voice was as serious and monotone as ever, making Ye Xi almost choke on her own saliva. "I mean, don't you know that saying things like that in that tone is incredibly jarring, honey?"
Ye Xi dashed forward for over 200 meters with her head down before finally spotting a black sedan. The headlights were on, and the driver's and passenger's doors were open, but the person was nowhere to be seen. Ye Xi quietly approached the car, the soft humming gradually reaching her ears, causing her cheeks to flush slightly. As the humming grew louder, Ye Xi's pace quickened, until she finally ran into the car and slammed the door shut.
"Hey, my car!" Ye Xi had just fastened her seatbelt and was about to step on the gas when a naked man suddenly jumped up from the bushes, yelling and running towards her. Startled, Ye Xi closed her eyes and slammed on the gas, speeding away like a gust of wind. "Damn, this guy is so useless... in such a short time..." Ye Xi muttered, gripping the steering wheel tightly, eyes fixed on the road ahead, looking like a nervous novice driver on their first day on the road. "Now, can you tell me what's going on? A virus that can talk? This is too fantastical! Even if you exist inside my body, how can you know so accurately where people are and what they're doing?"
'Have you forgotten the original intention of creating me?' If it weren't for the rising tone, it would be hard to tell that the O virus was posing a rhetorical question in that bland, genderless voice.
Ye Xi paused slightly, seeing her parents who had died from illness. It was precisely because she didn't want to see such a tragedy happen again that she began her research. The patient with muscular dystrophy gave Ye Xi this opportunity. "It's a cure," Ye Xi frowned, pondering the feelings of "Ye Xi" at that time—she inherited the memories of that Ye Xi, not her emotions—and shook her head, adding, "More accurately, it's the original, the root, Origin, returning everything to its most primitive and unpolluted state, hence the name 'O virus'."
The voice paused for a moment, then immediately spoke again: 'That's right, you created me by chance, uniquely yours. And your hope is my power. I can allow you to continue surviving the madness of the T-virus because I can break down the virus's structure, allowing it to completely integrate into your body, and then use it to modify and repair it. Of course, this requires an adaptation period, so initially your appearance won't be much different from those zombies. I can help you see the initial state of everything and then modify it; I can sense all elements within a 300-meter radius… This true power is far greater than you imagine.'
Ye Xi was stunned. She almost crashed the car into a street lamp. She quickly stepped on the brakes and opened her mouth several times but couldn't make a sound. It wasn't until five minutes later that she recovered and asked in a trembling voice, "Then...then...then why am I still so weak? Why did that ability you mentioned only appear once? And it was when my life was in danger!"
"It's your own fault." The voice carried a hint of helplessness that Ye Xi couldn't detect, leaving the problem to her.
"Me?" Ye Xi frowned. "How could that be? If I could use such an awesome ability, I'd be laughing in my sleep. I'd be scared of that damn Wesker and just dismantle him!"
The O virus remained silent for a moment before speaking calmly: 'That's where your stubbornness lies. Although you say you want my abilities, your body and your heart don't desire them, which is why you keep rejecting me.'
Although the content of his words could easily lead an uninformed person to misinterpret his meaning, the effect was immediately different upon hearing his earnest and calm tone. This time, Ye Xi fell silent. Indeed, the O virus saw through Ye Xi's true nature at once. She had always been so stubborn, disguising herself as a hedgehog and constantly convincing herself to harden her heart, attempting to become a bad person. But what happened? Ye Xi was repeatedly tormented by her conscience, yet she ignored this self-reproach time and time again. Although on the surface Ye Xi had said she was willing to do anything to survive, even become a monster, in reality, Ye Xi had her own principles—no matter what, she could not lose her dignity as a human being!
It has to be said, the O virus, which had been dormant in her spinal cord for so long, understood her so well. Ye Xi sighed; she seemed to have accepted the virus within her body. "So, how did you gain intelligence and begin to speak?"
"I've already said it, I am unique. The T-virus contains the power that allows me to grow, so I have intelligence. But I cannot speak; I merely communicate by connecting to the nerve endings in your brain," the O-virus replied calmly, as if the question were naive. "Because of those T-virus live experiments in Japan, your body has become accustomed to, even dependent on, the T-virus's modifications, and I, too, cannot live without the nutrients provided by the T-virus. It's all too late, Ye Xi. If you still want to live, don't reject the T-virus. Of course, if you don't want to, I will force you, because I don't want to die yet."
“I…I understand…” Ye Xi murmured, her bright eyes instantly dimming. The almost cold voice of the O virus confirmed her guess. The T virus was like a drug to Ye Xi now. She desperately wanted to quit this addiction, but she could only bow her stubborn head before it—she had to accept this reality in order to survive.
"Just accept it, it's just the T-virus. You don't necessarily have to bite zombies to get it, right?" Ye Xi smiled bitterly, touching her cheek marked with the humiliating symbol "01." Her nose involuntarily stung with tears. "Look at you, you've already become so cowardly and humiliated just to survive. What are you worried about with the T-virus?" Ye Xi took a deep breath, trying to hold back her tears. Already immersed in her own sorrow, Ye Xi felt something was off, but she didn't delve into the reason for it. She simply gripped the steering wheel and pressed the accelerator again.
It was midnight. On the wide road, besides Ye Xi's car, only the regularly arranged streetlights stood out. Ye Xi maintained a speed of 60 km/h, though she was incredibly nervous, fearing pursuers were closing in, but dared not accelerate. After a while, even the powerful, all-powerful O-virus, with its consistently aloof demeanor matching its generic face and pretentious manner, couldn't help but speak: 'You…'
"Shut up!" Ye Xi immediately interrupted the O virus. "There are no pursuers now, why drive so fast? Besides, what if we crash into something? I'm already scared of being chased by those people demanding compensation..." Ye Xi muttered the last sentence, which of course could not escape the ears of the so-called O virus located in Ye Xi's body.
How much did you break and how much money did you pay...? O Virus wisely chose to remain silent, but Ye Xi could guess what this guy was thinking even with her toes.
Three years have flown by in the blink of an eye. The T-virus swept the globe like a storm, and the end of the world suddenly arrived, leaving people stunned. How much can three years of living through the apocalypse change people living in comfort? Some people collapsed in the disaster, while others were reborn. Setbacks make people stronger, but they also make them more indifferent.
Ye Xi may be an anomaly in the apocalypse. On the surface, she is easily corrupted by the cruelty of the world, but deep down, perhaps unnoticed, she humbly and cautiously protects a small patch of pure land. She refuses to walk with others, stubbornly believing that she can trust no one in the world but herself. She is afraid of seeing death, and even more afraid that these deaths will be caused by her own hand.
For Ye Xi, the T-virus, like a poison, had successfully captured her. For the past three years, she had tried to break free, but always failed. Now, she had completely succumbed to endless darkness, attempting to find a way to survive in this decay and decay. She lived in unbearable pain, yearning for the warmth of companionship, yet always keeping herself tightly locked away, preventing anyone from getting close.
Of course, except for the O virus.
As the only "living being" who could communicate with Ye Xi for the past three years, the O virus was her only trustworthy partner, even her only family, and her emotional support. Although the O virus's voice was always very flat and monotone, it was precisely this calm and steady tone that gradually calmed Ye Xi during the countless nights she was awakened by fright. Since their conversation three years ago, he had become very taciturn, but he always managed to awaken Ye Xi at crucial moments, giving her the courage to live.
It's fair to say that without the O virus, which sounds quite ordinary, Ye Xi would have gone mad from three years of loneliness.
On the deserted road, only a person and a black horse stood. The sun blazed overhead, distorting the air with its intense heat. The person rode slowly along the road; there were no people, no cars, and the world was as silent as death. The person held a gray cowboy hat as a fan, revealing a delicate and beautiful face. Her dark hair was tied high in a ponytail, and a black bodysuit was faintly visible beneath a linen cloak. Two black Miao swords with gold lettering were neatly sheathed at her waist. Her slender legs, clad in riding boots, occasionally tightened around the horse's belly.
“Hey, Ah Quan,” she suddenly spoke, sounding a bit out of place on the empty road, “Why is it that those deserted deep mountains and forests are either devoid of zombies, like old, wrinkled prostitutes who no one wants, or teeming with zombies, like a group of celibate rapists surrounding a stunningly beautiful, naked woman with a great figure?”
This person was none other than Ye Xi, who claimed to be terrible at driving. Fortunately, she had finally learned how to ride a horse after three years; otherwise, she would have had to walk across most of America. She suffered from a fear of driving, so she would never drive any machine-like vehicle unless absolutely necessary. Ye Xi had been trying to find a place to hide, but it seemed like fate was against her. Every time she found a remote mountain forest, it was either devoid of zombies or teeming with them, leaving her no time to escape. Without zombies, she would die; with so many zombies, she lacked the ability to directly confront their hordes. So, Ye Xi was forced to constantly be on the move.
As for the name "A-Quan," let's just consider it Ye Xi's quirky sense of humor. "O" looks like "Quan Quan," and calling it "A-Quan" becomes "A-Quan" in a more intimate way. That's the new name for the O virus.
A-Quan didn't answer her, which didn't surprise Ye Xi. It seemed the O virus had never liked the (cute) name "A-Quan," so he rarely responded when called, only uttering a word or two when he wanted to or needed to, before returning to silence. Although Ye Xi would get bored when he was silent, she didn't feel lonely because she could feel A-Quan was always there, always with her. This sense of security made Ye Xi very dependent on him.
Ye Xi pulled out a syringe filled with a reddish-black liquid and skillfully injected it into her arm. Only after all the liquid was injected did she show a comfortable expression—just like taking drugs—this was blood, the blood of a zombie, filled with the T-virus.
For a long time, Ye Xi had been using this method to continuously absorb the T-virus. At first, she felt nauseous, but over time, the nausea gradually faded, and this perverse injection became a routine, everyday occurrence—injection was much better than biting directly. Moreover, because of A-Quan, Ye Xi didn't have to worry about blood type incompatibility or sterilization issues; after all, she would eventually be cured.
That evening, Ye Xi leaned against her beloved horse, preparing to rest and recharge for tomorrow's journey, when suddenly, scattered lights in the distance caught her eye. She immediately stood up, extinguished the fire with sand, and then mounted her horse—she'd run into survivors! What bad luck! She'd better stay away…
Author's Note: Just got busy lately... I'm aware of the vulnerabilities of the O virus myself, this is just setting the stage for later chapters~ Please comment and support! Thanks to Fox-kun's Ayun for the Ye Xi character design~~~↓
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