☆、Recovery, Experiment Conspiracy
Ye Xi kept her mouth tightly shut to prevent blood from spitting out, her rapid breathing causing her body to rise and fall. Ye Xi forced herself to look at the few people running towards her, trying her best to keep her expression unchanged, but her physical condition was beyond her control. At least the three people who ran over changed their expressions when they saw Ye Xi's appearance.
"You are... Ye Xi!" Claire looked at the person in front of her in surprise. Although her face was already ashen, like a corpse, the soft features of her face and the iconic "01" tattoo made it clear that she was the woman who had left a deep impression on her at Howardville Airport three years ago! But Ye Xi looked more like... a zombie now?!
Amidst the buzzing in her ears, a muffled voice suddenly appeared. Ye Xi turned her glasses toward the slightly shorter of the three people. She couldn't see their faces clearly, but she could at least vaguely make out who was speaking.
Claire gasped, as did Carlos and Nicola beside her—Ye Xi's once bright black eyes were now almost milky white, with only the outline of her pupils faintly visible. "She needs to rest," Carlos was the first to react, cursing Umbrella's shamelessness under his breath, and then called to Nicola to help support her toward the convoy.
Claire stood there watching Ye Xi's departing figure, her expression somewhat complicated. She slowly moved her hand to her breast pocket, took out a black cell phone, but hesitated to press the only number on the phone.
Ye Xi was helped onto a small bed in the car. As Carlos and Nikola let go of her hand, Ye Xi suddenly grabbed Nikola's hand, her voice hoarse and strained, the earlier slurred words returning: "Help me... find Nikola, ask him... ask him to... bring me my backpack..."
Nikolai and Carlos exchanged a glance, increasingly convinced that Ye Xi's condition was serious. However, the only medic in the convoy was dead, and whether the cause of her illness could be determined remained uncertain. "I will," Nikolai patted Ye Xi's hand. Perhaps having received an answer, Ye Xi relaxed, her grip on Nikolai's arm weakened, and she closed her eyes to rest.
Nicola and Carlos got out of the van and closed the door, plunging the enclosed van into darkness. Ye Xi immediately opened her eyes, propped herself up, and pulled a dagger from her leg bag, sticking it into the door to prevent anyone from entering. Although she couldn't see their faces clearly, she could at least tell from their attitude towards her that they were Carlos and Nicola.
She was probably back to her initial zombie form. The number and spread of the T-virus far exceeded the O-virus's purification speed, causing the T-virus to dominate for a time. Fortunately, the T-virus couldn't infect the O-virus, while the O-virus could devour the T-virus and evolve, so she would soon return to her original state. Ye Xi didn't want anyone to disturb her at this time, so she had to send Carlos and Nikolai away, hoping they would realize her intention when they saw the door wouldn't open…
Ye Xi sat cross-legged on the bed, took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and began to endure wave after wave of nausea. She didn't know how long she was tormented by this agonizing pain, but Ye Xi, whose consciousness was becoming somewhat blurred, finally stopped feeling nauseous, and her swollen and painful brain finally calmed down for a while.
As her tense body relaxed, Ye Xi let out a heavy breath and slowly opened her eyes. The sparse sounds of arguing gradually reached her ears. Although she had fully recovered, Ye Xi did not get out of the car immediately. Instead, she sat there and listened carefully for a while, rubbing her slightly numb legs before slowly getting out of bed and putting away the dagger.
"Are you sure you want to let a guy who used to be an Umbrella spy join us?! Damn it, have you lost your mind?!" LJ yelled at Claire and the others, speaking very fast.
“We can’t just leave her like this,” Claire replied, her brow furrowed. Her voice was soft, but it left no room for argument.
"Leaving her alone won't do any good. Didn't you see what that wild woman just did? Oh God would be terrified if he saw her! She's become a monster!"
“Even if she turned into a monster, I don’t think it was her own choice. We all know what Umbrella’s methods are; human lives mean nothing to them.” Another female voice joined in, mature and magnetic.
“Alice, have you forgotten how she treated you in the Hive? You said it yourself, she made it sound so noble and then lured the monsters to you so you could be her shield!” LJ almost shouted when he saw her speaking up for Ye Xi. Alice arrived after Ye Xi had gone to rest in the car. Although she had also seen the flock of crows, by the time she reached the Desert Ship Motel, all the threats had been eliminated by Ye Xi alone. She only heard a rough outline from Carlos, knowing that Ye Xi, like her, had evolved and developed other abilities.
Seeing that Alice was silent, LJ continued to ramble on: "If that monster had appeared with Nikolai, would we have lost so many people? I think she deliberately showed up at the very end, then pretended to be a saint to save us, and now she's pretending to be seriously injured, just to gain sympathy and sneak into the group to serve Broken Umbrella!"
Indeed, Ye Xi had always acted alongside Nikolai, which naturally led people to assume that Ye Xi was present when Nikolai appeared. "You…" Nikolai almost couldn't speak, "Didn't you hear what I just said? I am…"
"You don't need to explain anything, Nikolai." A cold voice suddenly rang out in the tense atmosphere. Everyone was startled, staring blankly at Ye Xi who had appeared beside their horses, then at the completely closed van doors. When did she get out?! She hadn't made a sound... How much of the previous conversation had she heard?
"It's incomprehensible that she complains about being too late after being rescued." Ye Xi was tidying up something with her back to everyone. Nikolai realized something and looked towards the car door, even taking the package that was placed by the door!
"You... what do you mean by this?!" Perhaps feeling seen through, LJ's confident voice carried a hint of bluff.
Ye Xi tightened the straps of her backpack on the horse's back, a hint of mockery creeping into her cool voice: "Expecting more help?" She glanced sideways at LJ, her dark eyes seeming to pierce through him. "Then perhaps I can bestow even more upon you..."
Perhaps Ye Xi's gaze was too meaningful, because Nikolai, who had been with her for almost two days, realized something. Although she had only been there for two short days, during those two days, whenever Ye Xi saw the red figure that belonged exclusively to zombies, she would always show this kind of look—a cold and indifferent look, as if she were looking at a speck of dust that was dispensable.
"Red on the chest, surrounded by an orange-red ring, then gradually fading...tsk, you've been bitten for a long time now." Ye Xi said slowly, seemingly speaking in a very ordinary way, but it made everyone around LJ take a step back.
Ye Xi had no intention of keeping it a secret for him. Given his current condition, if he didn't receive the antibody injection within an hour, he was definitely beyond saving. So why would Ye Xi create trouble by waiting until he turned into a zombie before eliminating him? She might as well let the team exclude him now and let him fend for himself. Although LJ's anger and terror stemmed from the death of the person he loved and being bitten, what did that have to do with Ye Xi? She wasn't a saint, and she wouldn't casually sympathize with a dying person because of this, especially since this dying person had bitten Carlos after turning into a zombie.
"You... what nonsense are you talking about! How could I possibly have been bitten!" LJ panicked immediately, anxiously trying to explain, but it only made him look like he was trying to cover something up. "And how could you possibly have seen that!"
Ye Xi glanced at the silent Alice beside her before shrugging. "The T-virus modified my eyes, allowing me to see zombies, even those hiding behind walls. As long as there are zombies, my eyes can see them. Of course, this only applies to what I can see. As for what you do afterward, that's none of my business." With that, Ye Xi led her horse to the side, away from the group.
The sun was already high overhead, the scorching heat distorting the air itself. Ye Xi rested her chin on her hand, watching the crowd bury the dead and erect inscribed wooden tablets as tombstones. She sighed inwardly, lamenting that she had still come to this. Fortunately, three years had passed, and Alice had long since let go of the past. Besides, Alice had also been a member of Umbrella, so she didn't hold a grudge anymore. Otherwise, Ye Xi would have had even more to worry about.
"How have you been these past three years? Carlos said he never saw you again after the helicopter crash until today." Alice walked over and sat down next to Ye Xi. Compared to Ye Xi, Alice was much kinder. It was precisely because there were kind people like Alice in the apocalypse that people still held a glimmer of hope for the world.
Ye Xi glanced at Alice but remained silent. Alice's gaze softened, and she stared intently at Ye Xi's left cheek, her magnetic voice now tinged with sympathy and pity: "You were captured by them just like me, weren't you? The only difference is that Carlos and the others haven't found you. If we had tried a little harder, perhaps..." Alice slowly reached out her hand, and Ye Xi immediately stood up, her eyes filled with wariness.
"You're really overthinking it, Alice," Ye Xi said coldly. She truly disliked Alice's gaze; her strong will wouldn't tolerate anyone looking at her with such pitying eyes, like someone looking at a stray dog. Moreover, the mark on her left cheek was her Achilles' heel, and Alice had actually tried to touch it just now!
Seeing Ye Xi baring her teeth and acting defensively like a cat with its fur standing on end, Alice's emotions intensified. She sighed, then lifted the sleeve of her left arm, instantly revealing the black number "02" to Ye Xi. However, unlike the number on Ye Xi's face, the number on her arm had two intersecting scars, the intersection of which was precisely between the "0" and the "2".
Ye Xi frowned, immediately reaching out her hand. Seeing that Alice didn't object, she touched the space between the "0" and "2," but there was nothing there. That makes sense; if she had a chip, Alice would have already removed it… But… how could she not have a chip? Could it be in her head?
“See?” Alice lowered her sleeve. “I understand how you feel, just like I did when I first saw it. But… how could they be so cruel to you, carving it into your face…”
Ye Xi frowned. Although her feelings were complicated, she didn't show it on her face, and simply said softly, "I'm sorry..."
"It's alright, it's alright." Alice patted Ye Xi's arm. "We're in the same boat, we'll need to help each other in the future..."
Ye Xi certainly didn't want to travel with her through the zombie world. Seeing that everyone else was ready to set off, Ye Xi immediately pulled her horse towards the main group. "Hey, Ye Xi!" Alice called out from behind her, "You'd better be careful from now on. Umbrella won't let us off the hook, especially you. 'Subject 02 is preparing for Subject 01,' that's what they said."
Ye Xi paused for a moment, then continued walking towards the team. Whether she was as calm inside as she appeared on the surface, only she knew. "A-Quan, what do you think?" Ye Xi asked softly, her eyes fixed straight ahead, as if she hadn't said anything at all.
"...What?" The O virus finally spoke after a long while.
"...It's nothing." Ye Xi chuckled and shook her head. She just couldn't shake this habit of asking about the O virus whenever she felt confused...
Author's Note: This chapter was so difficult to write, am I experiencing writer's block? Please comfort me, please pat me on the back QAQ I love any BW (fanfiction/romance) that pops up~
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