☆ Supermarket, government base
Feeling somewhat agitated, Ye Xi snorted and decided to stop thinking about those complicated feelings. In a fit of pique, she roughly opened the fruit can, threw the tin lid out, picked up a disposable spoon, scooped out two pieces of orange, and stuffed them into her mouth, which was now bulging.
An'er, who was also in a bad mood, naturally ignored Ye Xi's childish behavior, and for a moment, the atmosphere in the car became strangely stiff.
After the rain, the air finally cleared, and the stifling stuffiness subsided. Following the long, winding road, they unknowingly arrived at the ghost town of Sacramento. Like most ghost towns Ye Xi had seen, this city was devoid of any life except for ruins and overgrown weeds. However, Ye Xi felt that this place was different from the cities she had visited before. As for what was different, Ye Xi frowned, suppressing the turmoil rising within her from the sight of zombies again; she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
An'er first found a gas station. Luckily, the gas station still had fuel, so they didn't have to drive around the city looking for more. After filling up the tank and putting another tank as a spare in the trunk of their SUV, they went to a weapons shop, rummaged through some portable weapons, and finally arrived at a large supermarket.
Ye Xi leaned against the car, looking inside the supermarket, her brows furrowing even more. Hearing the door close behind her, Ye Xi knew An Er had gotten out of the car, so she strode to the door and kicked it hard. She thought the door was locked, so she kicked it extra hard, but... "Bang—" A loud crash echoed as the metal door slammed against the wall, producing a particularly piercing sound that reverberated through the empty street.
"Unlocked!" Ye Xi's eyes darkened, and her body tensed with alertness. "Perhaps we should go somewhere else... This place... feels too eerie." Ye Xi instinctively lowered her voice, glanced around out of the corner of her eye, gritted her teeth, and suggested to An Er who was walking over.
An Er glanced at Ye Xi, then at the open supermarket doors. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before finally drawing and cocking his pistol. "If you're scared, just wait here," he said coldly before striding into the supermarket.
Who's scared?! Hey, this isn't a question of being scared or not! Ye Xi gritted her teeth and stomped her foot. She hadn't told An Er about her eye abilities; An Er didn't know if there were zombies inside, but that didn't mean Ye Xi didn't know! She was certain, she swore, that she had looked very carefully several times just now, and on the surface, it seemed very safe—not a single zombie! But the important thing was, the supermarket wasn't locked!
Even though everyone in the supermarket was successfully evacuated when the biohazard first broke out, so many years have passed, and zombies can still freely enter and exit through this unlocked door. However, there is nothing in this supermarket that carries the T-virus! Ye Xi, who hadn't been injected with the T-virus for several days, was particularly sensitive to it at this moment. Even if she had misjudged it just now, her intuition and her desire for the T-virus told her that there was no virus she wanted here.
An Er actually went in like that? Doesn't he have any sense of caution at all? Ye Xi spat, pulled out the pistol from her leg pouch, and followed without thinking. Perhaps Ye Xi herself didn't realize that she was becoming increasingly impulsive, irritable, and restless, all because of the lack of the T-virus. In the near future, this would lead to even more unpredictable consequences—of course, all of this was based on the premise that she had never been injected with the T-virus.
The supermarket had good natural light, so even without the lights on, it was still clearly visible during the day. Ye Xi, carrying her gun, rushed to An Er's side, looked around, but still found nothing unusual. This supermarket was too safe, so safe… it made her uneasy. Ye Xi took a deep breath; perhaps it was her heightened sensitivity as a woman, but she felt it was best to leave as soon as possible, so she immediately grabbed a basket beside her and started throwing things into it.
"Go get some water, I'll go get some necessities." An'er pointed to the beverage section at the other end of the supermarket. "Meet at the entrance in five minutes."
Without thinking much, Ye Xi nodded and ran in the direction An Er pointed. Perhaps due to growing unease, Ye Xi moved faster and faster, and two minutes later she was carrying a case of water and a basket of food to the supermarket entrance. After throwing the things into the trunk, she crossed her arms and paced around in circles, somewhat agitated.
Why aren't they here yet? They should have arrived in five minutes, right? Could it really be...? No, impossible, there aren't any zombies in here. Wait, Ye Xi's mind flashed back to the government base she saw last night, or perhaps early this morning. Could it be a trap set up here? An Er hasn't come out yet; could it be to make her panic and run in, only to be easily captured?!
Ye Xi stared intently at the eerily quiet supermarket. She didn't know how long the standoff lasted, but a gunshot rang out, shattering the tense atmosphere. Ye Xi's body trembled involuntarily, and her heart suddenly raced. The thought that she might be overreacting and misunderstanding An Er made her unconsciously take a half-step forward… No, Ye Xi, why are you so worried about someone you've only known for a short time? You should be more vigilant and wait another minute…
Five more minutes passed, and the supermarket remained silent. Apart from the gunshot five minutes earlier, there was no other sound. Ye Xi, who could have easily turned around and driven away, hesitated. Thinking back to An Er's cold and aloof demeanor at the hospital—though he had initially resented her forcibly taking him away, she later realized he might not be as unapproachable as he seemed… Ye Xi felt she owed him something, and she didn't want to owe anyone anything. Coupled with her growing anxiety, Ye Xi gritted her teeth, drew her Miao knife, and cautiously stepped into the supermarket.
Before she'd taken more than a few steps inside, a "click" sounded behind her—the door had locked itself! Damn it, she'd been tricked by that bastard An'er! Ye Xi, you shouldn't have trusted people, no, you shouldn't have gotten close to such complex and dark creatures as humans! Ye Xi immediately pulled out her gun and fired several shots at the transparent glass door. However, the ricocheting bullets forced her to take cover behind a shelf—it was bulletproof! Damn it, it had to be bulletproof! No wonder this city felt so eerie; it was because there were so few zombies roaming the streets!
If the government wants to establish its main base here, they'll definitely need to eliminate the zombies in the city to ensure their safety. And this supermarket might just be the entrance to that so-called base, so of course there shouldn't be any zombies there! Ye Xi, Ye Xi, how could you not see such an obvious problem? Of all places, An Er chose this supermarket; there's definitely something fishy going on. And this so-called supermarket is relatively close to the gas station and weapon shop from before… Of course, to catch the prey, you have to plan a perfect route!
So the only reason he helped her at the hospital was because she was still useful—the so-called experimental subject couldn't afford to get hurt! Thinking of this, Ye Xi, already easily angered, became even more agitated, but the current situation didn't allow her to remain angry. She was like a lab rat trapped in a cage, only the cage was much larger. She needed to calm down and think carefully about how to escape.
Ye Xi took a deep breath, trying to calm her agitated mind, but before she could take a few, a violent jolt shook the ground beneath her feet, and Ye Xi, completely unprepared, fell to the ground. She was falling! No, Ye Xi looked at the rapidly moving steel walls—the supermarket floor was collapsing! Yes, it was falling—and at a speed far exceeding the safe limits of the machinery!
No, she absolutely couldn't let it take her down! Ye Xi thought, staggering to her feet from the violently shaking ground. She lowered her body to maintain balance, quickly moved to the wall, and with all her might, plunged her Miao sword into the rising wall. A piercing, goosebump-inducing sound rang out. Ye Xi, gripping the Miao sword tightly, felt a powerful resistance, a force tearing at her hands. Her tiger's mouth instantly bled, and sparks from the rapid friction of metal against metal stung her eyes. But Ye Xi didn't let go; instead, she increased her grip, trying to force the Miao sword into the metal wall and lift herself off the falling ground.
"Clang—" The sound of metal breaking.
Suddenly losing all resistance, Ye Xi collapsed to the ground, utterly disoriented—was she destined to be a test subject?! Resentment and anger blurred Ye Xi's vision with warm tears. Her hands ached terribly; she had recklessly torn open the wound on her left hand, and with the new injury on her thumb, both hands were now covered in blood.
Ye Xi gave a bitter laugh, her eyes dark and menacing. Since she couldn't run away now, she could only wait... Ye Xi slumped backward, sprawling on the ground in a "V" shape, the cold light in her eyes fading as she stared blankly at the receding square light.
Tsk, this feeling is really not good, and she hasn't been injected with the T-virus for more than three days... Ye Xi sighed and pounded her chest—she hadn't paid much attention to it in the emergency, but now that she's calmed down... that restlessness in her heart surged up again. She couldn't be sure if, with her increasing dependence on the T-virus, she could still control her desire to pounce on a zombie if it was thrown in front of her now.
The supermarket floor descended rapidly, but slowed down just in time upon landing. Had she continued at that reckless speed, she would have been reduced to a pile of mud. After the "elevator" stopped, Ye Xi seemingly lazily propped herself up, but after wincing at the pain from the wound on her hand, she reverted to her most common expression over the past three years—an expressionless, icy demeanor.
Ye Xi had just sat up when a series of steady footsteps drew her attention. She turned to look at the only corridor, where bright lights illuminated the cold, metallic passageway. Within seconds, a group of fully armed men appeared before her, the leader being an old acquaintance of Ye Xi's.
"Oh..." Ye Xi gave a cold laugh, the smile not reaching her eyes, "Isn't this Lyon's great benefactor? It's only been a few months, and you've already missed me this much?"
Lyon, who was leading the group, walked up to Ye Xi, looked down at her with a cold smile, and his eyes were filled with complicated emotions. However, he did not say anything to Ye Xi, but simply raised his chin slightly and gestured to the ten armed men behind him: "Take her to the laboratory arranged by Dr. David and tell the research team that they can start preparing."
"Tsk." Ye Xi pouted and was pulled up from the ground by the two without resistance. "Be gentle. As an injured person, I need to be treated gently."
Perhaps Ye Xi's compliant state was too abnormal, so Leon frowned slightly and added, "Don't let your guard down. She won't cooperate obediently."
Yes, Ye Xi couldn't possibly be that obedient; of course, she had her own plans. She desperately needed the T-virus right now, and maybe she'd get access to it during the experiment later. Then… hmph… the first thing she'd do was smash that bastard An Er's head! Ye Xi thought to herself, seething with hatred, but said aloud, "Hey, Leon, I'm still here. Saying it like that to my face, tsk tsk, I have to say you guys are getting more and more hypocritical…" Perhaps thinking of someone, Ye Xi's tone turned resentful at the end.
Leon stood there for a moment, hesitant about something, before finally speaking just as Ye Xi was about to leave the corridor. "I'll explain things to you then. Anelbot isn't an undercover agent we sent to your side. Perhaps it's a ridiculous twist of fate that brought you here by accident. I just want to say that he hasn't betrayed you, and he's safe in the base's medical bay. As for you, Ye Xi, although I still don't approve of human experimentation… I'll try to get you some time to rest and recover before the experiment. I hope you can think it over carefully during that time." With that, Leon strode out of the corridor and vanished instantly.
He...isn't some government spy? It's just a misunderstanding? Ye Xi blinked...Wait, that's not the point. The point is, she hasn't even expressed her opinion yet! Ye Xi stared blankly in the direction Leon left. Rest and treatment time? Think it over carefully? Oh my god, how many more days does she have to wait to get the T-virus?! Ye Xi cried out inwardly in misery.
Author's Note: Poor Ye Xi, as her "mother," I feel ashamed (picking nose). Uncle Wei is temporarily disappearing for a while. Next, Ye Xi is on her own (shrug). As for the long-term consequences of not receiving T-virus injections… Uncle Wei coldly observes… Overlord, I curse your phone to become a black brick! (resentment)
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