Chapter 253 Future and Values
"How do I contact the relevant departments?" Lin Xi asked. "I mean the legitimate departments."
After the outbreak of war, the major bases were divided into two major camps: one led by the relevant departments and the other led by the White Shield Base.
Since the emergence of the semi-infected, semi-infected organizations have appeared in both camps.
The Watchtower base is still under the jurisdiction of the relevant authorities, but the bases are relatively independent. While they follow the general direction of the relevant authorities, their internal governance is left to the free rule of the leaders of each base.
Many bases are now certainly being misled by the "half-infected body project." After the Watchtower base fell, more and more bases have issued manhunts for Lin Xi.
Some were hunting him down, while others, like Jiang Wenxian, were obsessed with the half-infected body project and tried to capture Lin Xi to perfect the half-infected body.
With each base harboring its own agenda, Lin Xi truly didn't know where to go.
All she wanted was a high-standard laboratory.
"We can't stay here any longer."
Although the Iron Wolf base has electricity, enough to sustain daily life and power the vaccine coolers, it lacks a laboratory, making it impossible to continue vaccine research.
Lin Xi looked serious, but Feng Xue next to her sneered: "Nobody wants to keep you. You big jinx, if other bases find out you're here, they'll probably swarm and raze the Iron Wolf base to the ground."
Yang Yicheng gave her a warning look.
Feng Xue winked at him, trying to cover it up with a playful smile.
Lin Xi then asked Yang Yicheng, "Didn't you say you were going to put her in solitary confinement when you got back?"
Yang Yicheng doesn't seem like the type to play along. When Feng Xue kept provoking Lin Xi and causing trouble, Yang Yicheng's comment about "going back to solitary confinement" was probably not meant to be said to outsiders.
"You!" Feng Xue pointed at Lin Xi, about to unleash her attack, but then suddenly realized what she meant and calmly said, "The base is short-handed right now, and it's the perfect time to use people. There's no time to confine people."
Lin Xi: "Really? You seem to have a lot of free time."
Feng Xue took a deep breath, the provocation she had barely managed to suppress finally bursting forth: "You're far more free than me, you great scientist, you've been eating, living, and lounging here for four days straight."
Xiang Xin slammed her hand on the table, ready to join the battle.
Yang Yicheng closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and exchanged a glance with Lu Wei.
Lu Wei showed no intention of mediating the fight.
Seeing that the three women were about to start fighting, Yang Yicheng finally couldn't help but slam his hand on the table twice, and said to Feng Xue, "You can go out now."
After all, he had something to discuss with Lin Xi and Lu Wei.
Feng Xue was not convinced, but she did not want to be kicked out. She raised her index finger and thumb together and gestured to her mouth, as if she were zipping up her mouth.
She said she would shut up and call a truce.
Lin Xi and Xiang Xin were not the type to hold a grudge, so they sat down calmly.
Yang Yicheng continued the previous topic, saying, "Nowadays, any force claiming to be a branch of a relevant department is not trustworthy. It's best to contact the headquarters of the relevant department directly, but I have long since left the organization and have no authority to do so."
Lu Wei: "My instructions require specialized equipment, which was lost during the escape."
The relevant department headquarters has always wanted to concentrate its efforts on eliminating the zombies and leading everyone back to the ground to rebuild their homes. If they knew about Lin Xi's situation, they would definitely send people to help.
The problem now is how to contact headquarters. Yang Yicheng's current authority only allows him to contact some bases, but the internal situation of these bases and the key teams are unknown.
According to Lu Wei, even he didn't know which base the relevant department's headquarters was located in.
Yang Yicheng shrugged: "Our communications department has tried everything, but without instructions from headquarters, we can't get in touch."
A silence fell over the room.
The first to break the atmosphere was Xiang Xin: "Xiong Er...didn't Liang Hui say our truck is still here? Let's go straight to headquarters."
Feng Xue couldn't help but let out a soft laugh, as if mocking the decision.
This time, Yang Yicheng did not warn her, but said, "Your car is indeed here, but it's risky to go directly to headquarters."
Lin Xi turned to Lu Wei and Yang Yicheng and asked, "Do you know where the headquarters of the relevant department is located?"
Since the apocalypse, Lin Xi has been focused on scientific research, while Lu Wei has handled the dealings with the higher-ups and provided combat support.
Lin Xi had never heard of the location of the relevant department's headquarters.
Lu Wei and Yang Yicheng shook their heads in unison: "The location of the core department is unknown."
Yang Yicheng added, "I think it might be in the Northwest."
The Northwest region has a relatively high altitude, with many deserts and high mountains, and is sparsely populated.
The zombies' influence on the Northwest region is relatively weaker than that on the densely populated cities of the Southeast coast, but nearly five years into the apocalypse, it has already reached there.
Yang Yicheng: "In the years since the outbreak of zombies and war, various guns and shells have been released, but nuclear weapons have never been used. Weapons with powerful destructive capabilities, such as nuclear weapons, have always been in the hands of relevant departments and have never been used."
Lin Xi: "You mean, those weapons are concentrated in the northwest?"
Yang Yicheng nodded: "There is no completely reliable information, but according to analysis, it is there. In addition to the public network, there are also special signals from relevant departments in the Northwest area. If it enters the range, the relevant departments may be able to receive the signal."
After the apocalypse, White Shield Base, ambitious and attempting to become independent or dominate other bases, came up with the idea of using the zombie virus to develop biological weapons. In their view, researching biological weapons was less difficult than researching nuclear weapons.
Nuclear weapons are extremely destructive, and the relevant departments will definitely keep them firmly in their own hands.
Yang Yicheng is right. Although the future is uncertain, at least there is hope.
The relevant department headquarters must have a laboratory for vaccine research and development. At this point, Lin Xi can only seek refuge with the headquarters for protection and resource support to prevent the vaccine from falling into the hands of those with ulterior motives again.
Seeing that everyone had fallen silent, Feng Xue spoke up again: "Speaking of which, with things in such a mess now, why don't the relevant departments drop a nuclear bomb on the White Shield base? Maybe then everyone will calm down."
After all, who isn't afraid of an atomic bomb?
"What a stupid question!" Xiang Xin finally seized the opportunity to retort to Feng Xue: "The White Shield Base isn't all reactionaries; there are refugees too!"
Lin Xi rarely agreed to talk to Feng Xue: "We've been to the White Shield Base. It's a very large base. Apart from the armed forces, civilians make up more than 75% of the base's population."
That was the most developed and prosperous of the bases Lin Xi visited.
At least on the surface, the base was rich in resources and had a thriving commerce. The living conditions of the civilians that Lin Xi saw at the time were much better than those of Dawn Base, and even the later Watchtower Base could not compare.
Lu Wei: "Some bases were originally military bases, such as White Shield and Dawn. Continuing to develop on the existing foundation is naturally better than later-built bases like Dawn and Watch."
White Shield and Dawn completed the base's basic construction long ago, unlike Lin Xi when she entered the Dawn base, where the accommodation area was very small and everyone lived together until the base was gradually expanded.
Feng Xue said indifferently, "So what? In the end, the White Shield Base is the root of all evil. If bombing the White Shield Base can end this chaos, what does it matter if a few refugees are sacrificed?"
Lu Wei coldly looked at him: "Not just a few. According to reliable statistics, the number of surviving civilians inside the White Shield base is the largest of all bases."
With the population drastically reduced in this post-apocalyptic world, the fate of these people is naturally a concern.
Yang Yicheng shook his head: "The relevant departments will not abandon those civilians. If they had agreed to the bombing, things wouldn't have developed like this."
Lin Xi understood the implication: "What does this mean? You also agree to drop the bomb?"
Lin Xi already had the answer in her mind when she asked that question. Given Yang Yicheng's style, he was indeed very likely to do so, if he had the authority.
Yang Yicheng glanced at her and said seriously, "We missed two opportunities to save the zombie crisis. First of all, cities where the zombie outbreak was out of control should have been sealed off and cleared with bombs, such as Nanhua, Yunxiang, and Chenzhou."
Before he could finish speaking, Lin Xi, Lu Wei, and Xiang Xin all glared at him.
If that were the case, the three of them would have disappeared along with Nan Hua.
Yang Yicheng added, "Secondly, since we've decided not to drop bombs, we should concentrate all our efforts on eliminating the zombies, instead of evacuating survivors while simultaneously clearing out zombies. That would be far too inefficient."
This is why Yang Yicheng later left the team.
Lin Xi: "But you overlooked one issue: the zombie outbreak was actually caused by deliberate poisoning. After we captured the first mutated zombie at Nanhua Hongwen Hospital, the relevant departments began investigating the cause of the zombie outbreak. It was at this time that a second poisoning occurred. The second poisoning was widespread and directly caused the collapse of several important cities, including Nanhua, disrupting the original plans of the relevant departments."
"Your idea of using bombs to deal with cities where zombies have broken out is simply not feasible, because the poisoner has not yet been caught. Even if you blow up a city where zombies have broken out, zombies will still appear in other cities."
Just like in the past, Lu Wei and Liang Hui cooperated with the police to postpone the large-scale zombie outbreak to the afternoon of May 20th. The relevant departments mobilized all the surrounding military forces to cooperate in clearing out the zombies in Nanhua. Not long after the clearing was completed, large-scale zombie outbreaks occurred in various places at the same time.
The zombie virus can survive for a long time without being sterilized by high temperatures, and it will cause large-scale infection when it is put into food at room temperature or refrigerated.
There were too many sources of infection, and the zombie outbreak destroyed many important clues and investigators, so the identity of the poisoner could not be found.
Yang Yicheng did not respond.
He always weighs the pros and cons and does what he believes is most beneficial to the overall situation.
He had different values from the relevant departments, so he left the team early.
Lin Xi couldn't help but ask, "I'm curious about something. What does Captain Yang think of the statement 'women and children should be evacuated first in dangerous situations'?"
Her tone was calm, devoid of any emotional color.
Yang Yicheng: "It depends on the disaster. If it's like the Titanic, prioritizing the evacuation of women and children is not only a matter of good manners and etiquette, but more importantly, it preserves the very foundation of life."
"But if it were a zombie apocalypse like now, and we were to evacuate at the same time, I would prioritize evacuating those who could contribute to the end times, including armed forces and scientists."
"Zombies are formidable adversaries. Even if women and children are evacuated first, they will find it difficult to survive and may even become infected with the virus and turn into zombies, adding to the burden on humanity. Only by ensuring the survival of armed forces can they possibly defeat the zombies."
Lin Xi and Lu Wei looked at each other, realizing that this wasn't their first time knowing Yang Yicheng.
This is the principle that Yang Yicheng has always adhered to.
Xiang Xin pursed her lips and didn't say anything.
Feng Xue gave Yang Yicheng a thumbs up: "Yang... Captain Yang is awesome!"
Yang Yicheng: "Getting back to the main point. You're going to the Northwest, but you can't set off right now. There are several places around here that are battlefields where semi-infected people are fighting against other bases. Going there now would make you vulnerable to being caught in the crossfire. I'll take some people to escort you there once things calm down."
Xiang Xin was stunned when she heard Yang Yicheng's speech, and she was even more surprised when she heard him say "I'll send you there".
She asked sincerely, "Captain Yang, are you still working for the relevant department now?"
Yang Yicheng: "My original intention was to eradicate zombies."
He has simply broken away from the organization's command, but he continues to work on clearing out zombies, and will cooperate with relevant departments if possible.
Just like when they contacted Lu Wei to provide special zombies to the Dawn Base, and later helped Liang Hui meet Lin Xi and Lu Wei who were carrying vaccines.
-
With the fighting outside still raging, Lin Xi and his group had no choice but to remain at the Iron Wolf base.
They rarely went out. Men made up 90% of the base’s population, and they were all warlike and combative. Lin Xi didn’t know any of them.
She left the watchtower with only a vaccine cooler, leaving behind all her learning equipment and materials.
After measuring her heart rate and breathing again, Lin Xi was unable to record them directly.
Lu Wei: "Your notebook..."
“Here it is.” Lin Xi pointed to her brain.
Lin Xi kept a special record of everything from Lu Wei's infection with the virus to his vaccination and the medications used, but he didn't bring that record with him.
She wasn't afraid of the Watchers finding and studying her records; she had her own unique symbols that others couldn't understand.
She knew Lu Wei's situation very well and had a general impression of him without having to search for anything.
Without the real-time vital signs information provided by the watch, Lin Xi could only revert to measuring by hand.
Lu Wei's vital signs continued to decline, and the medication in the refrigerator was limited. Lin Xi didn't know how long she would have to stay there, especially if the medication ran out...
Besides daily exercise, Lin Xi would press herself against a wall to force herself to calm down when she was upset.
Seeing this, Lu Wei stayed with her as if she were at the White Shield base.
Lin Xi: "...No competition."
"Um."
As the organs of the semi-infected gradually stiffen, various reactions in them weaken, and Lu Wei can stay upside down for even longer.
"Knock knock." A knocking sound.
"Enter."
It was Xiang Xin who came in.
Lin Xi: "Why would you knock on the door when you get back to your own home?"
“I’m afraid of seeing things I shouldn’t see. Even though I know you’re ‘listening to their breathing and heartbeats,’ it still feels weird.”
Xiang Xin also did a handstand against the wall.
"Knock knock." Another knock on the door.
Li Shuyi came in and looked at the three upside-down geckos against the wall in surprise: "I'm so bored. I was going to play with you guys, but if you play with this every day, I'll just play by myself."
Lin Xi: "Let's find something to do."
Li Shuyi: "I'd like to, but the factory isn't short-handed. If I went there, I'd just be competing with them for wages, so I think I'll pass."
The Iron Wolf Base provided Li Shuyi with the same living conditions as ordinary soldiers, and she could eat three meals a day. Although they were not very plentiful, they were better than those of the women.
They were all brought back to the Iron Wolf base after contributing supplies, but their contributions were different.
Similarly, the charging pads provided at the beginning of the base's construction were commonly used equipment.
The charging plate provided when the vaccine refrigeration box faced a power outage had extraordinary significance, as it saved the scientific research results.
Lin Xi's promise to Li Shuyi was to exchange their lives, so even when they arrived at the Iron Wolf Base, Yang Yicheng didn't separate them.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
