Chapter 162 Parachute Interrogation
When Lin Xi woke up, a thigh was stretched across her waist, and Xiang Xin was squeezed next to her on the narrow bed, with the two of them covered by the same blanket.
There was a noise on the ground. Lin Xi looked down and saw Liang Hui, who was tied to a sleeping bag, reaching out to scratch his head in a daze.
Seeing Lin Xi sitting up on the bed, Liang Hui's eyes widened in terror, and he exclaimed dramatically, "Holy crap! How did I get here too!"
I ate too much last night and fell asleep right there.
“What’s wrong with Brother Lu? He left on his own, leaving me all alone…” Liang Hui realized something was wrong and didn’t dare to continue, but muttered to himself, “That’s so unfair. Why did he leave me all alone on the ground?”
"It might have been too much trouble to drag you out of the carriage, but at least he put you in a sleeping bag," Lin Xi whispered.
But what I was really thinking was, "Why be so sentimental!" In my previous life, before entering the base, the four of us spent almost two months together in one carriage. We took turns driving the train, keeping watch, and sleeping on the bed and the floor. We were practically inseparable.
She sighed again. Even though she had reconnected with Liang Hui after her rebirth because of Lu Wei, rebuilding trust and affection between people was not so easy.
Liang Hui was about to say something when he said, "I...!"
Xiang Xin threw a jacket at him: "So noisy!"
After venting her first bout of morning grumpiness, Xiang Xin rubbed her eyes, also wanting to question Liang Hui about why he was there.
Lin Xi nudged Xiang Xin, stopping the pointless conversation from continuing: "Get up quickly and see what instructions the shelter has."
All three of them were asleep fully clothed. After getting up, they quickly tidied themselves up, stuffed a biscuit into their mouths, and got off the bus.
Lin Xi arrived here late at night yesterday. Although she knew this was a prison, she didn't have a clear view of the area.
During the day, the towering fence inside exudes an oppressive aura. Originally designed as a safety measure to prevent people from escaping, it has become a barrier against zombies in the apocalypse.
Even if you make noise here and attract zombies, you don't have to worry about them climbing over the wall. The only problem is the lack of food.
It was already 8 o'clock, and the soldiers were moving supplies in an orderly and silent manner in preparation for the relocation.
Liang Hui rushed off to assist Lu Wei, while Lin Xi, concerned about the safety of the research institute, inquired with Liang Hui about the institute's location and went there with Xiang Xin to meet up.
In the past, at this time, the shift handover had just ended, and the night shift employees who observed the real-time changes in the experiment had just finished their shifts, and the day shift colleagues would take over.
But yesterday, the entire research institute relocated and all projects were suspended. Everyone is resting together in the shelter and just woke up.
When Lin Xi found Song Heng, he and a group of his fellow disciples were squatting in the prison eating dry steamed buns.
This was probably the first time everyone had eaten prison food. It had been a long time since they had eaten right after waking up, so everyone ate with extra care.
Upon seeing Lin Xi and Xiang Xin, someone breathed a sigh of relief and, while finding them steamed buns, said with satisfaction, "We didn't hear from you until the security check was over yesterday. Your teacher was worried for a long time and just asked Captain Lu about you."
Since they couldn't find any new steamed buns, the group of people spontaneously broke off pieces of each bun and shared some with the others.
Everyone had relied on each other for a while at the research institute. Lin Xi and Xiang Xin took on a lot of work in protecting the institute, so everyone was willing to do so.
Lin Xi and Xiang Xin, who had already secretly finished their delicious meal in the carriage, paused when they saw the large white steamed buns, and both felt a little guilty.
"We already received ours." Lin Xi handed the bread pieces back, changing the subject as she asked, "How did everyone's rest yesterday?"
"Of course we feel safe once we're in the orange grove." After being moved to a safe area under military control and receiving food supplies, everyone was much more relaxed and even had the energy to joke around.
Lin Xi: "This is a prison, and it's different from the oranges."
For example, in her previous life she only served time for selling oranges, and had not yet been formally sentenced to prison.
After chatting for a while, they talked about setting off at night to be escorted by the military to "Dawn Base".
Lin Xi took some time to ask Song Heng for leave, explaining that she had something to do and would be going to the base a few days later.
Song Heng glared and puffed out his beard: "I told you you were a spy."
This time, Lin Xi didn't deny it, and said mysteriously, "That's true. The identity of a spy must be kept secret, so please don't say any more."
The best way to effectively resolve rumors or gossip is to acknowledge them directly.
Song Heng was surprised that she admitted it so readily, and instead felt a little disbelieving, his eyes shining as if asking: Really? Is that so?
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Things didn't go as smoothly as Lin Xi had imagined. She had just said goodbye to Lu Wei and Song Heng and was looking for an opportunity to sneak back to District D when her plan was thwarted.
After seeing Song Heng, she was not allowed to return to her truck for a short period of time, but instead stayed in the prison like most researchers, awaiting instructions.
The refugees who were transferred from the research institute to the shelter with them were sent to Dawn Base the following night, while all the original staff of the research institute were still sleeping in the prison.
During the day, they were unable to conduct normal scientific research work and were taken turns being investigated by their superiors.
The higher-ups believe that the zombies that first appeared at Hongwen Hospital are inextricably linked to the poisoning case at Nanhua Biological Research Institute. There is no record of where the virus came from, but it is certain that the virus was not accidentally leaked but was maliciously released.
Qian Zetao, the military official stationed at the research institute, immediately obtained all the surveillance videotapes from the two months prior to May 20th, as well as all the surveillance videos since the zombie outbreak.
After review by relevant departments, no abnormalities were found in the monitoring of all laboratories and passageways.
On the day the milk was poisoned a second time, no one in the cafeteria showed any unusual behavior; the fresh milk was delivered from outside.
After the large-scale zombie outbreak, all the canteen staff perished, most of the milk company's employees turned into zombies, and the logistics personnel responsible for delivering the milk to the Nanhua Research Institute also disappeared during the riot. There were too many people handling the milk, making it impossible to trace them.
The person who poisoned the second time wanted this effect: to catch everyone off guard with a riot and destroy all witnesses and evidence.
Nevertheless, the relevant authorities have not given up on finding out the truth.
Lin Xi entered the interrogation room again. The person in charge of taking the interrogation record was suddenly parachuted in and had a higher title than Lu Wei, so even Lu Wei didn't know about this.
The interrogator was a middle-aged man who, even after the apocalypse, appeared quite refined and even treated the researchers with a degree of respect and politeness.
"Lin Xi, intern at the Virus Laboratory of Nanhua Biological Research Institute, please have a seat." He even smiled slightly, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.
This man didn't seem as authoritative as the military interrogator sent by Yue Mingyuan in his previous life, but his penetrating gaze reminded Lin Xi of a profession: psychologist.
The interrogator said calmly, "Relax. You are all outstanding staff members who have persevered in the research institute until now. We will not use torture to extract confessions. It's just that the incident at the research institute happened suddenly. In addition to watching the surveillance video, we also want to reconstruct the specific events from your descriptions. Professor Song and Captain Qian both praised your performance at the research institute. Before questioning you, I would like to ask you a few questions about your personal life."
Instead of getting straight to the point, Lin Xi knew this was a way to put people on their guard, so she simply replied, "You flatter me, please ask."
Interrogator: "You were the first to stop or save people during both zombie outbreaks at Hongwen Hospital and the Research Institute. We think it's too much of a coincidence. Did you know anything in advance?"
Lin Xi: "Before the zombie outbreak, I was interning at Hongwen Hospital. I happened to be there when the zombies first appeared. It was because I was there when the first incident occurred that Professor Song brought me into the virus research group. The laboratory had already researched the virus's inability to withstand high temperatures, so the National Health Commission also issued a notice reminding everyone not to eat raw food. Breakfast that day was cold raw milk. As soon as I got it, I felt something was wrong. After hearing the commotion of the zombie outbreak, I thought that I was good at kung fu and should save people first."
The interrogator listened patiently: "That sounds perfectly reasonable. But I have two questions about details."
Lin Xi knew that her actions were somewhat ahead of their time. She had thought about her words when she heard that the researchers would be interrogated one by one. At this moment, she remained calm and said, "Please speak."
Interrogator: "First question, you were interning in the Department of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases at Hongwen Hospital, but you were in the outpatient building on May 20th, the day the zombies appeared. Why was that?"
Lin Xi: "I am good friends with Captain Lu. He told me that he might have a brain problem and needed to see a doctor. I didn't have any work scheduled that day, so as a friend, I went to say hello to him."
Lin Xi was already worried about how to explain having a gun in her hand, since she hadn't met Lu Wei before.
"Oh? Is that so?" The interrogator seemed skeptical but not particularly concerned. "According to the surveillance footage from the research institute's cafeteria, after the zombie outbreak, you rushed towards the lab while shouting, 'Everyone who just drank the milk, go take anti-inflammatory drugs!' You determined that the milk contained the virus based on the temperature, but at the time, the research institute hadn't announced that antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs could be used when the viral load was low. How did you predict that?"
Both questions indicate that Lin Xi has the ability to predict the virus.
This signal is dangerous because only the person who poisoned the virus or created it would know its characteristics before anyone else.
Lin Xi smiled calmly, even confidently, and asked in return, "Although I don't know your specific position, I think we're in different fields, and you might not be familiar with our major. I studied pathogenic biology. Although the zombie virus is an unknown virus, many viruses and bacteria share the same characteristic—insufficient viral load won't cause widespread infection, but it will trigger some inflammation, and taking anti-inflammatory drugs can relieve the symptoms. In that situation, everyone was probably already infected, but I was in a hurry to save my teacher and couldn't worry about so many people, so that's the only way I could say it."
Seeing that she spoke fluently without any stuttering or nervousness, the interrogator seemed to be convinced. He continued with a slight smile, "Those were just two of my personal questions. Another question I'd like to ask is that your personal skills are excellent. After the zombie outbreak, you single-handedly killed countless zombies and infected people, saving the people in the laboratory at the time. People in the research institute often jokingly call you a spy. Can we talk about your skills?"
Lin Xi: "I think you probably did a background check. I lost both my parents at a young age and lived alone, so I was more concerned about safety issues. I was also interested in Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) and studied it for a few years."
Interrogator: "According to the staff at the martial arts school you frequent, you only paid to use the venue and hire sparring partners, but we found no record of you learning Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) at the martial arts school."
Lin Xi: "Now that we live in the information age, I can learn by taking online classes at home."
"That's true." The interrogator nodded. "Are you friends with Xiang Xin?"
Lin Xi: "Yes, my house is quite big, so I rent it out to share the rent. Xiang Xin is my roommate."
The interrogator adjusted his glasses: "According to our observations, you and Xiang Xin had a modified truck, you used some professional drone equipment at the research institute, and you secretly provided the research institute with a lot of compressed biscuits. May I ask how you managed to prepare these supplies in advance?"
Having learned from the previous life where revealing that he was a reincarnated person caused trouble, Lin Xi didn't want to bring up the reincarnation issue for the time being. The person in front of him was a stranger, and no one knew which side the interrogator was on or what verdict they would make against the reincarnated person.
Lin Xi decided to secretly pin the blame on Xiao Qipa: "Xiang Xin is an anime enthusiast who often tinkers with interesting things, so she has all sorts of equipment. But she's a freelance cartoonist with an unstable income, so she plans to open an online store to supplement her income, and those supplies are for the online store's reserves."
The interrogator smiled enigmatically: "That's quite a coincidence. All of this has made your lives much more convenient later on."
Lin Xi understood the implication, but she was tired of explaining. She had said everything she could; believe it or not, it was up to her.
She shrugged and agreed, "Yes, thank goodness we have these things."
The interrogator asked a few more common questions.
For example, questions like "Was there anything unusual at the research institute in May?" or "Who exhibited unusual behavior?" are likely to be asked of every researcher.
Lin Xi shook her head: "As you know, I'm just a junior intern. I mainly work at Hongwen Hospital, and occasionally Professor Song takes me to the research institute to help out."
Seeing that there were no more questions to ask, the interrogator was still smiling at her.
Lin Xi took a deep breath: "You are asking me these questions on behalf of the military, so you must know my background information. The relevant departments have also seen the surveillance video of the research institute and know that I have not done anything unusual. Otherwise, I would not be sitting here properly."
The interrogator said with some helplessness, “‘Subjective will guides behavior.’ From your behavior, we can see that everything is beneficial to the research institute, but asking about these details is also an important part of our work.”
Lin Xi expressed her understanding.
As Lin Xi left the interrogation room, she saw Lu Wei, Xiang Xin, and Liang Hui waiting for her.
Upon seeing her, Xiang Xin eagerly asked, "Why did you take so long? What did you ask?"
Lu Wei also asked curiously, "The higher-ups know we know each other, so they asked me to avoid suspicion. Your interrogation..."
Lin Xi could handle unfamiliar interrogators with ease, but when faced with trusted partners, especially a quirky person she had just passed the buck to and a teammate she called "mentally ill," Lin Xi felt a little embarrassed.
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