Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Inside a dim room sealed off on all sides, the only source of light was a low-wattage incandescent bulb. This kind of light bulb had already been on the verge of disappearing before the apocalypse, but now it flickered faintly, providing the only illumination in the enclosed space.
A figure was concealed in a corner, so well hidden that it was almost impossible to tell anyone was there.
Meanwhile, a middle-aged man paced anxiously back and forth in the secret room. He seemed to have been holding himself back for a long time. After a while, he finally questioned the figure lurking in the darkness in a tightly controlled voice.
“Why did what happened tonight happen at all? Didn’t you say that neither you nor your people would be exposed before the plan was completed? What are we supposed to do now? Why didn’t you discuss this with me beforehand?”
“Didn’t I already tell you? What happened tonight was an accident. Su Muxu took the experimental subjects out without permission. I had no idea.”
The figure spoke in a gentle, unhurried voice, its composure in stark contrast to the middle-aged man’s agitation.
“Why didn’t you keep him under control? I’ve never understood why you would keep a zombie by your side!” The middle-aged man’s voice was thick with barely suppressed fury. “What does a zombie have to do with your experiments or our plan?!”
The figure let out a contemptuous laugh in the darkness, though the middle-aged man did not see it. When the figure spoke again, its voice remained as gentle and composed as ever.
“General, you have nothing to worry about. You are the master of this base. You have countless ways to deal with an incident like this. Or…” The figure paused slightly. “Do you feel that you lack the ability to handle it?”
The general froze. He seemed somewhat intimidated by the figure, and his furious demeanor immediately weakened.
“Th-then what about those people? They know the secret of the crystal cores… Once we obtain the secret, should we kill them?”
The general changed the subject. Those people had seen the monsters, and he was afraid the secrets of the laboratory would be exposed. Even in the apocalypse, experiments so devoid of humanity would immediately put him under intense scrutiny and make him a target for everyone’s condemnation.
He could not afford to take that risk. He had to consider how to silence those people before the secret leaked out.
The figure’s mocking smile deepened, though the general, lost in thought, still could not see it.
“That depends on which you consider more important: the secret of the crystal cores or the secret of the laboratory.”
The figure sounded completely indifferent, as though it did not care about either of these so-called secrets.
Humans…
By comparison, the figure had much higher expectations for Chu Tian and the others.
Just how far could they go? Would they stop here?
Only time would tell.
Chief Gu’s residence.
Chu Tian and Quan Xiaoyu casually picked a clean room and went inside.
After locking the door securely, all three of them entered the space. After the commotion tonight, no one would be coming to disturb them for a while.
Inside the space, Bai Mingxi and Li Nan were both safe and sound. They had washed up, changed their clothes, and were rummaging around for snacks to eat. The two little ones had also gotten into the water and were happily causing trouble for the schools of fish again.
As soon as Xie Mingxuan entered, he did what he always did and retreated into the little house.
Only after entering the space did Chu Tian finally feel the full weight of his exhaustion. He sat down wherever he happened to be, grabbed a bottle of water, and drank it.
Quan Xiaoyu, on the other hand, looked much worse for wear, covered in grime from head to toe. Li Nan noticed the wounds on his face as soon as he arrived. She cried out in alarm a couple of times before rushing over to examine him.
After making a huge fuss over treating his injuries, Li Nan finally confirmed that he was all right and gave him permission to go bathe in the river.
“What happened afterward?”
After a while, when Bai Mingxi noticed that Chu Tian looked a little better, he finally asked. Once they had entered the space, they had lost track of everything happening outside.
Chu Tian accepted a packet of beef jerky from Li Nan. As he tore open the packaging, he slowly recounted what had happened outside.
“Th-this is actually possible?” Bai Mingxi was equally appalled by the girl’s logic. Why, why was everyone who had even the slightest connection to those people from Tianze such a lunatic?
“She’s just looking for an excuse to justify what she’s done to herself. She doesn’t need anyone else to believe her. As long as she believes it herself, that’s enough. She’s lost both her reason to live and her faith in life, so she’s desperately searching for an excuse to keep living—or to die. It’s a typical example of human self-interest.”
Chu Tian chewed his beef jerky as he spoke, his words somewhat muffled.
Although he was talking to Bai Mingxi, his gaze remained fixed on Quan Xiaoyu, who still refused to get out of the river. That guy had been in a foul mood all day. Unfortunately, he was the sort who kept his anger bottled up instead of letting it out. Now he was sulking underwater, and Chu Tian had no idea who he was angry with.
“What’s wrong with him?” Bai Mingxi followed Chu Tian’s gaze and also sensed that something was off about Quan Xiaoyu. He was someone who often wore a blank expression, yet he was so straightforward that they could easily tell what he was feeling.
“Probably sulking,” Chu Tian replied.
“Who’s he angry with?” Bai Mingxi asked, bewildered.
“Probably everyone. He’s angry at the state of the world, at people who do terrible things, at people who know perfectly well that they’re incompetent but insist on blaming everyone else. And perhaps…” Chu Tian’s lips curved into a faint smile. “He’s even angry at himself.”
This was the person he liked, the person he loved—a fool who appeared cold on the outside but was warmhearted underneath.
“Angry at himself?” Bai Mingxi exclaimed. “I guess only a freak like you could understand something like that.”
“Maybe he thinks he’s useless, that there are so many things he can’t do anything about. He even failed to protect you guys, letting you fall into danger for a while… And then that girl said a few more unpleasant things, which affected his mood.”
“Then why don’t you go comfort him?” Bai Mingxi asked, puzzled. He was much more thick-skinned and carefree, so he wasn’t nearly as sensitive or prone to brooding.
“I will in a bit…”
Chu Tian propped his head up with one hand and lay flat on his back on the grass. His voice was almost a murmur.
“He’s not a child anymore. There are some things he can figure out for himself.”
His voice was quiet, but Bai Mingxi still heard him clearly. So he retorted, “I’m not a child anymore either! From now on, you can stop lecturing me about everything, too. It’s annoying as hell!”
Chu Tian gave a cold snort at that.
“Intelligence isn’t measured by age. Do you think I enjoy having to look after an idiot like you? Even Xiaonan is more sensible than you! If you have no say in the matter, then shut up!”
“Chu Xiaotian!”
Bai Mingxi roared and launched himself at him.
Meanwhile, Quan Xiaoyu sat quietly in the water, lost in thought. The two little ones played by themselves, while Li Nan stood on the bank, smiling as she watched Chu Tian and Bai Mingxi roughhousing. For the moment, no one disturbed Quan Xiaoyu.
Just as Chu Tian had said, Quan Xiaoyu really was angry about this absurd state of affairs.
He carefully thought back over everything he had experienced in his previous life and in this one. He had encountered all kinds of people and witnessed all kinds of events, only to realize that although his own fate had changed, certain people and certain things were still repeating themselves in this world.
He began to ponder the meaning of his rebirth, but no matter how much he thought about it, he could not come up with an answer. This only made him frustrated with himself for not being clever enough.
He did not know how long he had been sitting there when a warm body finally approached him and suddenly pulled him into an embrace.
A gentle, pleasant voice sounded softly beside his ear.
“Come out and eat, okay?”
Moist lips brushed against the base of his ear. More than anything, the gesture was meant to comfort him.
Quan Xiaoyu felt a little awkward and bashful. He wanted to explain himself, but Chu Tian spoke first.
“No matter how terrible the world becomes, we’re still doing our best to stay alive. No matter how much human nature changes, Dawn Base is still holding on to its beliefs. All right, let’s eat first. Beef fried rice—I made it myself.”
He sounded rather proud of that last part.
It was rare for the two of them to be naked together in the water, yet they somehow managed to do absolutely nothing. They climbed out together and went to sample Chu Tian’s cooking.
The fried rice tasted rather average, but Quan Xiaoyu surprisingly had a good appetite. It was the most he had eaten in several days.
Bai Mingxi, however, complained about the food the entire time. Chu Tian nearly got into another fight with him—or, more accurately, nearly pinned Bai Mingxi to the ground and gave him a beating.
After dinner, Chu Tian and Quan Xiaoyu walked hand in hand to the other side of the river. They had already collected most of the ripe fruit whenever they had found the time, leaving only a few scattered green fruits hanging from the trees.
Farther ahead lay the spring and the strange seven-colored fruit tree. Its fruits looked as though they were almost ripe, too.
Chu Tian led Quan Xiaoyu beneath the tree. He stared at the fruit for a long time before finally speaking.
“Xiaoyu, I want to give Nizi’s crystal core to Xie Mingxuan. In the next few days.”
He spoke as though he had already made up his mind. Although his words sounded like a statement, there was still a hint of uncertainty in his tone. After all, this concerned Xie Mingxuan, and Quan Xiaoyu should have the final say.
As expected, Quan Xiaoyu fell silent. It was a long while before he finally asked, “Why?”
“You’ve noticed it in our recent battles, haven’t you? Even Su Muxu noticed it. Simply improving Xie Mingxuan’s control abilities won’t make much difference in future battles anymore. He doesn’t have the intelligence necessary to control and lead the zombies, who are evolving rapidly as well.”
“Besides, as the rest of us continue to grow stronger, you’ve probably noticed that Xie Mingxuan’s evolution has slowed down significantly, haven’t you?”
“And I’ve always felt that, given the direction his evolution is taking, he’ll eventually develop intelligence anyway. Perhaps his current slow progress is actually a sign that his evolutionary path is changing.”
“I understand your concerns. I’m worried, too. But we can’t keep putting it off just because we’re afraid, can we? After all, it’s only a matter of time.”
When it came to this matter, Chu Tian had no choice but to explain everything so patiently and thoroughly. He knew Quan Xiaoyu well: the more he cared, the more he worried; the more precious something was to him, the more afraid he became of losing it.