Chapter 025 Chapter 25
Xia Meng carried the cat out of the isolation area.
I saw Director Bai and Director Zhou rushing towards me.
She looked carefully and found that Lao Wang was there too.
The master and disciple stared at each other from a distance. Lao Wang quickly pushed aside the two directors in front of him and rushed to her. He looked her up and down, observing her from front to back, and said in a tone of disbelief: "You are okay?"
Xia Meng found it funny and habitually made fun of him: "Master, your tone sounds a bit regretful?"
Wang Xiangyi glared at her unhappily.
When he first arrived, he clearly saw her lying on the hospital bed. She looked very sick, breathing more out than in. He almost thought she was dying.
So he was so angry that he jumped up and grabbed Zhou Qi and Bai Yizhu by the collars.
He immediately started yelling at the two of them: "She's only been in your care for less than half a day! Less than half a day! And this is how you take care of her? Huh? What's the point of having you two? You can't even protect a little girl! You two might as well go back to your hometown and sell sweet potatoes!"
The chief directors of the two core departments of the Black Tower were scolded harshly in front of their subordinates.
But he didn't dare to say a word back, just kept his tail between his legs and didn't dare to say a word.
They were indeed in the wrong in this matter.
Afterwards, Wang Xiangyi took the two of them to a meeting.
Urgently discuss how to save people.
As a result, when the meeting was halfway through, one of his subordinates suddenly ran over and said that he saw that they were all awake.
Wang Xiangyi rushed to the ward, but found it empty, so he hurried here again.
Wang Xiangyi breathed a long sigh of relief, raised his hand and rubbed Xia Meng's head hard.
Xia Meng didn't dare to hide at all. Comrade Lao Wang's fatherly love as high as a mountain and as deep as the sea was all expressed in this seemingly rude action.
Xia Meng smiled ingratiatingly.
He glanced down at the time on his phone and whispered, "Master, you have classes this afternoon. Don't delay."
Wang Xiangyi glared at her unhappily.
You have no conscience, you start chasing people away now!
Taking advantage of this time, Zhou Qi and Bai Yizhu did not delay. They each acted like an old father and walked up to Li Zhou and Ou Xu to show their care.
The two men moved in unison, each pulling their own child up and down to look him in the eye. "Are you all right?"
Li Zhou and Ou Xu had different reactions.
Ou Xu hugged Director Bai tightly, tears streaming down his face as he complained, "Director!! I thought I couldn't get out!! I was so scared! Wuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!"
Director Bai was also in tears: "I was so scared! I'm glad you're okay! I'm glad you're okay!!!"
Li Zhou looked relaxed.
Without waiting for Zhou Qi to ask, he shrugged and said, "I'm fine."
Zhou Qi felt relieved.
That’s right, after all, he is Li Zhou.
Li Zhou has been carrying out various missions abroad in recent years and has not been in China much, but various legends about him can often be heard in China.
He had single-handedly carried out countless S-rank missions, his 100% mission success rate had him top the Sentinel Rankings, and he was the strongest of the seven S-rank Sentinels.
Under countless halos, Li Zhou has long become the most unattainable existence among the sentinels.
After a brief reunion, they finally remembered the most important thing.
Director Bai said excitedly, "It's been a month since the strange disease appeared, and you are the first group of people to successfully wake up from a coma! Quick! Come and tell us what happened to you after you fell into the coma, and how you managed to wake up! Also, we will have to do a set of tests on you later to see if there are any special fluctuations in your mental power data-"
With that, Director Bai led them to the conference room, and at the same time did not forget to send someone to give Huo Qingyu another detailed physical examination.
…
Many people gathered in the conference room of the Guide Center at this time.
In addition to all the parties involved in the "Huo Qingyu Incident", several senior leaders of the Black Tower Beijing branch also came one after another. Almost everyone's rank was higher than Zhou Qi and Bai Yizhu.
The emergence of the strange disease has been causing them a lot of anxiety for a long time.
This time, Xia Meng and the others were involved in a similar strange disease incident, but they managed to escape successfully after three hours. Moreover, after a thorough examination, it was found that none of the four of them, including Huo Qingyu, had suffered any substantial injuries.
You know, in the cases of strange diseases that occurred before them, all the innocent people involved have not woken up yet.
What’s most worrying is that the vital responses of many of them are becoming increasingly weak.
Everyone realized that the situation could no longer be allowed to continue to develop.
They must stop the spread of the strange disease.
We must also find the source of the strange disease.
But they had no idea about these two things.
There is no way to start.
——Until today.
The four young people who woke up from their coma finally gave them a glimmer of hope.
So they gathered here, waiting for these eyewitnesses to share their success stories with them.
After getting Huo Qingyu's permission, Xia Meng and Ou Xu, the two eyewitnesses who witnessed the whole process, had to share everything that happened to them after being pulled into that world. Of course, Xia Meng slightly concealed the most socially awkward parts of Ou Xu, such as dancing on stage in women's clothing. Xia Meng slightly embellished this part with his frantic look of seeking help.
The meeting lasted a long time.
Wang Xiangyi also stayed.
Huo Qingyu's condition should logically fall under the jurisdiction of the medical center's psychiatric department, but... the hard part is that all the guides in the psychiatric department, from top to bottom, have been wiped out by the strange disease and are still in a coma.
Xia Meng is the only child and a newcomer.
In everyone's opinion, this pink and tender newcomer is really of little use.
The only one who can take over is Wang Xiangyi, an experienced expert.
So Comrade Lao Wang was forced to take up the post.
Wang Xiangyi cursed.
Ou Xu pulled Xia Meng over and whispered in her ear, "Your teacher has a very bad temper. This is the first time I've seen a guide with such unstable emotions."
Guides are known for their emotional stability and generally have gentle and peaceful temperaments.
It is really rare to find a high-level guide as irritable as Wang Xiangyi.
Xia Meng glanced at him and said, "Are you saying bad things about my teacher in front of me?"
Ou Xu quickly apologized: "Oh, sorry!"
Xia Meng: "Actually, I also think my teacher has a very bad temper. He's like he's on fire every day."
Ou Xu: "...You're talking more excitedly than me, huh?"
Xia Meng: "Nonsense, that's my teacher. Only I can say bad things about him!"
Xia Meng: "To be honest, I love saying bad things about him the most."
Ou Xu: "...I think I know why your teacher has such a bad temper."
Xia Meng was too lazy to pay attention to him and just hugged the cat in her arms and stroked its fur.
Ou Xu looked down at her cat and asked in surprise, "Where did this cat come from? Your spirit body? That's not right. I heard that your spirit body was a ferret."
Xia Meng: "Yes, it's someone else's spirit body."
The cat had been staying in her arms and refused to leave. Ergou had been squeaking at her feet for a long time in anger, but Wang Xiangyi, who couldn't stand it any longer, took the cat away.
Xia Meng turned her head and saw Ergou lying comfortably in Wang Xiangyi's arms, enjoying Comrade Lao Wang's superb fur-stroking service.
It was as if I saw the legendary relationship between generations.
Xia Meng clicked her tongue inwardly.
He always calls himself a weasel, but his body is actually very honest.
Xia Meng looked away and saw Ou Xu still staring at the cat in her arms.
Xia Meng: "What's wrong?"
Ou Xu's face was full of curiosity: "This little kitten looks very cute, so adorable. Can I pet it?"
Xia Meng didn't take it seriously, thinking that this cat was so friendly and it should be fine to just touch it gently.
She nodded.
So Ou Xu boldly reached out.
The cat raised its head from Xia Meng's arms, opened its mouth and bared its fangs, and cried out: "Ahoa!!!"
An extremely powerful voice came out of its small mouth.
It's as terrifying as a Barbie doll with a rough voice coming out of its mouth.
Ou Xu's pupils trembled, and the hand he had extended quickly retracted.
He turned his head in surprise and stared at Xia Meng.
Ou Xu: “…”
Xia Meng: “…”
Ou Xu: "...Am I hallucinating? Why do I feel like I heard a lion roar?"
Xia Meng: “…I heard it too.”
The two of them looked at the golden kitten at the same time.
It is so small, it looks like an ordinary kitten of four or five months old at most.
The smell of milk and the baby's hair are still there.
But he just stared at Ou Xu with a stubborn look on his face.
She looked very noble, cold and unattainable.
Not far away, Li Zhou, who was being talked to by several other Black Tower leaders, suddenly turned his head and looked in their direction.
The kitten was instantly startled.
A second later, it raised its pure and innocent little face, pinched its throat, and meowed twice at the two of them in a baby voice.
Ou Xu swallowed hard and said, "Let me...confirm again, is this thing really a cat?"
Xia Meng: "...I think so, right?"
Cat: “Meow!”
…
The meeting lasted more than two hours.
Everyone discussed it over and over again, but there was still no clear result.
Everyone could only repeatedly speculate on the reason why the three of them were able to get out safely this time.
On this point, everyone's opinion is relatively consistent.
They believed that they could be safe this time thanks to the presence of Li Zhou, an S-level sentinel.
The strength of the S-level Sentinels is unfathomable, and the appearance of Li Zhou must have become the biggest variable in this special case.
Others - mainly leaders who are guides - believe that the two young guides Ou Xu and Xia Meng also made great contributions.
Neither Xia Meng nor Ou Xu likes to take credit for themselves.
In this situation, the two newcomers simply huddled in a corner as a quiet background, letting the top brass of the Black Tower fight each other.
Li Zhou can't do it.
No matter where he sits, he will automatically become the center of the crowd.
All the Black Tower leaders surrounded him.
Li Zhou seems to be an easy person to get along with.
The other S-class Sentinels they had encountered before were either very distant or had a dangerous aura that made them difficult to approach.
Unlike Li Zhou.
He is probably the most approachable of all the S-class.
When he looks at people, there is always a smile in his eyes and on his lips.
Therefore, everyone will unconsciously believe that he is a sunny and good young man.
…
During the meeting, Li Zhou looked towards Xia Meng many times.
Every time he wanted to get up and go to her, he was called back by the leader next to him before he could even get up.
Seeing Xia Meng and Ou Xu talking and laughing, and even making fun of his cat, Li Zhou was visibly unhappy.
The smile on his lips faded, his eyes lowered slightly, his elbows resting on the armrests on both sides, his fingers crossed and folded in front of him.
The whole person exudes a lazy and indifferent feeling.
The sharpness of his facial features, which was usually weakened by his smile, gradually emerged.
The distinct sense of distance carved by knives and axes is even more pronounced than that of other S-class items.
The leader sitting next to him shuddered subconsciously and looked up in confusion: "What's going on? The air conditioner in the conference room is broken?"
Zhou Qi sat a little further away and saw all the changes in Li Zhou's expressions and demeanor.
He frowned slightly, feeling something was wrong.
He couldn't see anything from Xia Meng's side.
The little girl seemed to get along well with everyone and could chat with anyone.
In just a short while, not only Ou Xu, but also the other people sitting around her were brought up by her, and several young people gathered together to talk and laugh.
But Li Zhou——
Zhou Qi thought, unless there was something wrong with his memory, it seemed like this was the first time he saw Li Zhou paying attention to a guide, not to mention that he had taken the initiative to risk his life to save people before.
Could it be that Li Zhou has some other thoughts in mind?
Thinking of this, Zhou Qi couldn't help but feel complicated.
Hasn’t Li Zhou been looking for his guide?
Could it be that he... finally gave up?
In fact, Zhou Qi always felt that Li Zhou's persistence was groundless, as if he was a person he had imagined out of thin air.
All the records in the Black Tower prove that Li Zhou has been a single sentinel since the first day of his awakening.
He never had any guide.
Zhou Qi was worried before, thinking that Li Zhou might have some kind of delusion.
I created this person in my mind.
But now, seeing Li Zhou's eyes set on Xia Meng, Zhou Qi couldn't help but feel worried again.
If Li Zhou really has a guide, then what's going on between him and Xia Meng now?
A love affair? An affair?
And it seems to be unrequited love.
...I feel like this sounds even worse than paranoia.
…
At this moment, the sound of hurried footsteps suddenly came from the corridor outside the meeting room.
In the conference room, the sentries with keen hearing all looked up at the door.
A few seconds later, the door of the conference room was hurriedly pushed open from the outside.
The person who came was Zhou Qi's assistant.
The assistant was out of breath from running. Before he could catch his breath, he quickly said, "No, this is bad!"
Zhou Qi frowned slightly. Normally he was expected to be calm and steady, and remain calm even when faced with a crisis. But now there were so many leaders watching him, and he looked so frightened!
Zhou Qi: "What happened?"
Assistant: "There's an emergency in the city center."
The young assistant raised his hand to wipe the sweat off his face.
The assistant said, "Half an hour ago, there was a sudden food poisoning outbreak at the Affiliated High School of Beijing University. Over a hundred people were sent to the Affiliated Hospital of Beijing University. Three of them were sentinels. They passed out upon arrival at the hospital. They then infected some of the sentinels and guides there. Currently, at least thirteen sentinels are in a coma."
Zhou Qi stood up in surprise: "What?"
The strange disease appeared again?
not good!
Hospitals are typical densely populated areas. If the situation is not brought under control immediately, who knows how many people will be implicated!
Suddenly, the expressions of everyone in the conference room changed.
Zhou Qi quickly stood up and instructed his assistant, "Contact the Public Security Bureau immediately and have Director Fu send some personnel to seal off the scene and evacuate the ordinary people! Then contact the special forces and see how many special forces are on standby today."
Zhou Qi is worthy of being the big boss of the Criminal Investigation Center, he is very capable of keeping things under control.
In an instant, a series of orders were issued.
While Zhou Qi was quickly thinking about a response plan, he quickly glanced at Li Zhou.
When it comes to the Black Tower Special Forces, the best candidate is actually right in front of them.
Is there anyone more suitable than Li Zhou?
With a 100% mission success rate, as long as he takes action, this emergency should be no problem.
Most importantly, an hour ago, he had just brought Xia Meng and Ou Xu back safely from a similar situation.
Probably no one here knows what to do better than Li Zhou.
Rather than sending other sentries who don't understand the situation to get killed, it would be safer to ask Li Zhou directly.
But the problem is that Li Zhou's status is far above that of the Beijing Tower.
No one present here can command him.
Zhou Qi hesitated for two seconds and slowly shifted his gaze to Xia Meng.
Li Zhou's weakness is obvious.
Others may not be able to see it yet, but he knows it very well.
If Xia Meng is sent, Li Zhou will definitely go as well.
Controlling Xia Meng is equivalent to controlling Li Zhou.
For a moment, Zhou Qi felt that his idea was too despicable.
Who would send a new guide who had only been on the job for a few hours to such a dangerous site?
What's the difference between this and letting her die?
If he dared to make such a suggestion, Wang Xiangyi's saliva would probably drown him.
Zhou Qi hesitated for a moment and looked at Director Bai.
Zhou Qi tried to circumvent this issue: "Also, could the Guide Center send me one or two people? In Huo Qingyu's case, I believe you have also discovered that the guides played a very important role."
Bai Yizhu refused to respond. "Where can we find suitable candidates? They're all asleep in the quarantine area. Besides, as you know, guides usually don't go out on field missions. The scene is too dangerous, and guides don't have enough self-protection skills."
Bai Yizhui is still very protective of his subordinates.
Zhou Qi confronted Bai Yizhu silently.
Just when the two were in a stalemate, the assistant received another call from the scene.
He raised his head in panic. "Director! Reports from the scene say they've discovered a number of ordinary humans who have also fallen into comas."
Even ordinary humans are involved?
Now, even other leaders couldn't sit still.
The young assistant was conscientious and quickly input the on-site intelligence he received into the light screen in the conference room.
At this moment, a large amount of intelligence information was synchronized on the light screen.
The assistant stepped forward and synchronized the list of ordinary humans who had just fallen unconscious, including the map of Jingbei Hospital, the current count of the number of people on site, and so on.
When the list was revealed, Wang Xiangyi stood up in shock: "What!?"
Xia Meng looked at the list.
On the list of more than thirty names, a name called Bai Rou appeared prominently on the third line.
Bai Rou is the name of Master's wife.
Xia Meng then remembered that, yes, the master's wife was in poor health and went to the hospital to get medicine every two weeks.
I didn’t expect it to be today!
What a damn coincidence!
Zhou Qi didn't notice Wang Xiangyi's strange expression as the meeting room was in chaos.
He argued with Bai Yizhu: "You can't possibly be unable to send even one person, right? I don't want more, just one will do!"
Bai Yizhu: "Really not!"
Wang Xiangyi: "I..."
Xia Meng: "I'll go!"
Xia Meng interrupted Wang Xiangyi loudly, stood up, walked to his side, held his arm, and supported his shaky body without leaving any trace.
Wang Xiangyi turned his head with a complicated expression.
Xia Meng's tone was her usual nonchalant, "Master, you're already old, so don't try so hard. You can easily guess what's going on in there; it must be very complicated, and you really may not be able to handle it. By the time Master's wife is rescued, your old bones will be broken."
Xia Meng is not exaggerating.
Not to mention the unpredictable situation in Huo Qingyu's mental picture at that time.
Just by looking at the people lying in all directions in the guide center, many of whom are senior guides with decades of experience, and who haven't even woken up yet, you can tell how dangerous the situation is.
Wang Xiangyi hesitated to speak, caught in a dilemma.
Emotionally, he was not comfortable letting Xia Meng take the risk, but rationally, he knew that Xia Meng was indeed more suitable than him.
Zhou Qi felt relieved.
Unexpectedly, things really developed in the direction he expected.
He struck while the iron was hot and looked at Li Zhou: "Li Zhou, if the Black Tower offered you this S-rank mission right now, would you accept it?"
Li Zhou raised his eyes, looked past Zhou Qi and looked at Xia Meng.
Xia Meng looked at him calmly.
Li Zhou: "Well, I accept."
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