Chapter 15: Danger
Xiao Hen and his team wandered around South City for a few days. Along the way, their route was either blocked by zombie hordes or they were hunted by groups of zombies. Gone was the gentleness of the zombies from before.
They put the matter of Wen Qingling at the back of their heads first. Whether he truly had antibodies or not was still uncertain, so the team decided to head to the Ling City base first and continue their search for their mission target.
Fang Zhen, having heard that people were trying to locate his whereabouts, hurriedly fled from Ling City into South City. Xiao Hen’s team chased him to South City. However, many days had already gone by. Fang Zhen couldn’t remain in South City and escape their detection—he’d probably gone back to Ling City by now.
Xiao Hen and the four secretly investigated at the Ling City Base.
Fang Zhen was a very important individual. If he truly had antibodies in his body, humanity’s problem with creating the zombie virus vaccine could be solved. This was the reason why the higher-ups had sent their team over.
However, what Xiao Hen’s team did not expect was how cunning Fang Zhen was. It was hard to pin him down. Besides, they were currently in the apocalyptic era. Finding someone was not easy.
The only way to locate someone was through rumours and word-of-mouth, and even so, they had to consider whether the information they received was true or false.
At the Ling City base, Xiao Hen’s team heard a rumour. Apparently, South City had a doctor who could cure the infected.
After inquiring about it, Xiao Hen’s team of four found the mother-and-son pair who sold the news and paid up.
The woman was in a good mood—Xiao Hen was rather generous with the payment. The living expenses for the mother and her son for the next few months were basically settled.
“At that time, my son was bitten by a zombie, and we were abandoned by our team members. This happened not too far away from South City. I was at the end of my rope back then and considered holding my son and taking a few zombies down with us before dying.”
“However, a car drove out of South City and stopped right beside us. I rushed over, begged for help and gave him all the crystal nuclei I had with me.”
“I originally wanted to ask him to take us back to the Ling City base. However, I never would’ve expected him to get out of the car, take one look at my son, then fully cure him—my son was cured right in front of my eyes.”
“Everything I’ve said is true; you have to believe me. That man is a good person—we don’t see those often. He removed the zombie poison from my son and even gave me his car, while he walked back to South City on foot. I asked him where I could find him in the future. His reply to me was that he had opened a clinic in South City.”
Ji Rong looked at Xiao Hen. Why did this scene seem so familiar?
Come to the rescue in a car, then head back to South City after saving people.
Ji Rong asked, “What does he look like?”
The woman gestured with her hand, “He’s around this height. Pale, clean, handsome and obedient looking. It’s just that he seems a little indifferent. Though deep down he’s a warm-hearted person.”
Judging from the woman’s gestures, the other party should be about 180 cm tall, fair, handsome, and expressionless.
It was confirmed. There was no one else who fit that description as well as the person they’d been following did.
To convince them, the woman continued: “Do you know who Captain Chang is? Some time ago, his girlfriend was bitten by a zombie and they seemed to be at their wits’ end. I pointed him in the right direction and told him to go to that clinic in South City—and that his girlfriend could perhaps still be saved. After they left, I stood guard at the entrance of this base. Sure enough, that pair managed to find the clinic and returned fully intact.”
Xiao Hen had a pensive look on his face. “Do you know where that clinic in South City is located?”
The woman shook her head, “I don’t know. I was on the outskirts of South City at the time, and I never saw what the clinic looked like, but you can ask Captain Chang. He has been there and can definitely find it.”
Xiao Hen’s team of four left to find Captain Chang Boheng.
They arrived at a poor time. Chang Boheng and his girlfriend Wen Chu had led their team out to hunt and would not be back till evening.
Xiao Hen and his team decided to wait. When Chang Boheng returned, they explained the purpose of their visit and asked for information on the clinic.
Chang Boheng looked at them. Their auras were too sharp. One look was enough to tell him that they weren’t people to mess around with. Filled with vigilance, he questioned, “Why are you asking about the clinic?”
Xiao Hen saw his precaution. “We have some matters we need to discuss with the doctor.”
Wen Chu walked over. “What’s the matter?”
Wen Chu had a great impression of the doctor. Not only did he save her life, but he also had very likeable looks. His personality was interesting as well. She wanted to prevent people with ulterior motives from disturbing the doctor.
Xiao Hen stretched out his hand and pointed at He Lin’s thigh. His trousers had already been changed to new ones.
Xiao Hen said: “He treated my team member’s leg before and said that he wanted 100 ordinary crystal nuclei. I only had 80 at the time and told him I’d return the remaining 20 crystal nuclei in the future. I know he is situated in South City, but I don’t know his exact location. Could the two of you take us there?”
Ji Rong: “…”
He Lin: “…”
Shi Chong: “…”
Had the boss been forced into learning how to lie?
Chang Boheng and Wen Chu glanced at each other. Xiao Hen was right about the consultation fee—perhaps his words were true.
Chang Boheng: “I don’t know the exact location. All I can remember is that it’s near the centre of Ling City1Possibly a typo. The author probably means to say South City.. The clinic’s name is ‘South City Clinic’.”
Xiao Hen: “How did you find it?”
Chang Boheng hesitated for a moment. “A group of zombies opened up a path for me and guided me to the clinic… I know this is hard to believe, but it’s true.”
This was very similar to how the zombie horde had created a path that led out of South City for them.
Xiao Hen inquired carefully: “Can you tell me more about your situation back then? Will zombies guide you the moment you drive into the city?”
Chang Baiheng shook his head, “No, I drove around South City and couldn’t find where the clinic was. I was hysterical and desperate back then and kept shouting: ‘Where’s South City Clinic?!’
. I couldn’t find the way. I didn’t want to live anymore and drove right into the crowd of zombies, but they dispersed by themselves. Then, they led me to the clinic.”Wen Chu held his hand.
They all had lingering trauma from back then. Their experience could be considered bizarre. Nobody would believe them if they said this story out loud, but this had happened to them. In a stroke of luck, they even managed to escape unscathed.
Xiao Hen understood and left after bidding farewell to Chang Boheng.
Ji Rong: “What now?”
Xiao Hen: “We’ll stay a night here and head to South City tomorrow morning. The higher-ups may have made a mistake.”
He Lin continued calmly, “It might not be that a person with antibodies appeared, but rather, a person who can treat the zombie virus.”
Xiao Hen added, “He can instantly hypnotize the three of us, which shows that his spiritual power is very strong. In South City, I constantly felt as if I was being watched. It was probably not my mistake, but rather, someone was truly watching us with his spiritual power.”
Xiao Hen paused, then continued, “Perhaps the entire South City is under his surveillance. Perhaps he knows everything that’s going on in South City.”
Ji Rong felt his scalp go numb. “No matter how strong a person’s spiritual power is, how could it be strong enough to control so many zombies?”
He Lin: “If that’s the case, then his danger level is unimaginable.”
Shi Chong: “Someone with his own thinking, immense strength and the ability to control a quarter of the zombies in Ling City is extremely dangerous.”
Ji Rong suddenly stopped, “Do you guys think…”
“No.” Xiao Hen, He Lin and Shi Chong said in unison.
Before the apocalypse, they often went on missions together, and the tacit understanding between the four of them was unthinkable for ordinary people.
Ji Rong didn’t need to say his thoughts out loud. They all knew what he was thinking.
Xiao Hen: “Let’s not argue about whether or not he is Wen Qingling. We were in South City that night. Even if he is Wen Qingling, we saw with our own eyes that the zombies in South City did not leave its walls despite making a large ruckus.”
Ji Rong guessed, “Is there any possibility that he manipulated the zombies from the other directions?”
The other three looked at him like they were looking at an idiot.
Ji Rong hurriedly surrendered. “OK, just pretend I didn’t say it.”
If Wen Qingling really wanted to destroy the South City base, he didn’t have to wait until now. He could do it at any time.
The fact that survivors of South City Base were able to escape from South City meant that Wen Qingling had no intention of killing innocent people.
Xiao Hen made a declaration.
“That person is extremely dangerous. We must find out more about him.”
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Possibly a typo. The author probably means to say South City.