Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Three: Secret Talk
An Zheng's expression changed dramatically. He didn't even care about the two children and hurriedly followed Xiao Yun. Jiang He and Song Yao exchanged glances, immediately thinking of Ming Junwei, so they followed suit. However, when they reached the entrance of a row of coffin-like concrete rooms, they were stopped by two Soldiers guarding the door.
"Hey? We're together," Jiang He shouted.
"The Vice Commander said that no unauthorized personnel are allowed inside," one Soldier replied expressionlessly, blocking the entrance with his muscular build.
"You go," Jiang He quietly compared their physiques and subtly nudged Song Yao to step forward.
At that moment, Xiao Yun walked out from inside. Seeing the anxious expressions on their faces, she asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
Jiang He looked puzzled and said, "Didn't you say something happened? It's our friend...?"
Xiao Yun suddenly realized, "Your friend is fine."
"What about Dr. An?" Song Yao asked in confusion.
"That doesn't concern you, so there's no need to ask. Are you hungry? There are many people today; you can help out in the cafeteria. The Vice Commander said everyone is having a good meal today." Without further explanation, Xiao Yun walked out and turned back to see the two still looking doubtful. She smiled and said, "Your friend isn't here either. Do you want to go check on him?"
The two exchanged glances and had no choice but to follow the white coat out of the coffin room.
"What do you mean it doesn't concern us?" Song Yao said somewhat displeased.
Jiang He pondered for a moment, suddenly recalling the figure he had seen at the hospital window. His heart stirred as he secretly squeezed Song Yao's palm and said, "Let's talk about it later."
The three of them bypassed the coffin room and arrived at a spacious area at the back. To the left of this open space was another crudely built concrete room. At the entrance, a mud stove had been constructed, and several soldiers were busy boiling water and chopping vegetables. Various green vegetables were laid out on two wooden tables forming a makeshift counter.
"Xiao Yun... Doctor, aren't you afraid of attracting Zombies by cooking like this?" Jiang He asked anxiously as he looked at the smoke and fire before him.
"There are defensive fortifications along the observation post perimeter, and we have soldiers on watch, so there's no need to worry too much." Xiao Yun seemed accustomed to it, cheerfully greeting each soldier who was cooking.
"Do you think this girl has something going on with the Vice Commander?" Jiang He speculated maliciously.
Song Yao shot him a glance, pondering for a moment before saying, "That's impossible. The Vice Commander looks much older than her."
Jiang He curled his lip, thinking to himself that the Old Professor just loved younger women.
Doctor Xiaoyun had a youthful appearance, with a round face and large eyes framed by black hair. The oversized white lab coat obscured her figure, but she was slightly shorter than Song Yao. However, her speech and actions were efficient and decisive, showing no signs of hesitation.
The two watched as Xiaoyun and the soldiers busily went about their tasks, deciding not to interfere. They began to idly look around.
Before them lay a shooting range, roughly the size of a basketball court, with several straw dummies set up in the distance. At the far end stood a low concrete wall topped with barbed wire.
Chao Yifan stood at the shooting range, occasionally raising his hand to gesture. His slender figure cast a long shadow in the slanted sunlight.
The two exchanged silent glances until Xiaoyun approached them. "Your friend has been over there practicing for the entire morning," she said. "He wants to practice shooting."
Jiang He's eyes lit up. "Can we practice too?"
"Sure, there are plenty of blank rounds available. But you'd better check in with the Vice Commander first; he'll assign soldiers to guide you," Xiaoyun replied, shaking off some water from her hands. "But do you even have enough guns?"
"Could you lend us a few?" Jiang He asked, somewhat sheepishly.
"Not a chance," Xiaoyun replied without hesitation. "If it weren't for the pandemic, those two handguns of yours would have been confiscated! You’re dreaming!"
Jiang He chuckled awkwardly and asked, "Then why are you setting up an Observation Post out here in the middle of nowhere? What's it for?"
"For questions like that, you should ask the Vice Commander; I won't answer," Xiaoyun said as she tucked her hands into her lab coat and scanned the area. "We've been stationed here for over a month now. We lost many soldiers in the early days, and the Vice Commander hasn't been able to return due to mission commitments."
"Over a month here?" Song Yao frowned slightly and said calmly, "Why not go into the city to rescue people? Since the Cataclysm began, we've been trapped in the city without seeing any rescue teams."
Xiaoyun sighed. "There should be a Disaster Relief Team out there; our unit received orders that were not focused on search and rescue."
Jiang He had no complaints about this; he and Chao Yifan had waited at the bar for a month, and even when the zombies dispersed, they still hadn't seen any rescue teams. So he had long since given up hope.
The three of them fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts as they gazed at the distant, slender figure, not speaking for a long time.
Inside the Coffin Cement Room, An Zheng looked anxiously at the display screen in front of him. A young Communications Soldier was wearing headphones, his fingers tapping rapidly on the keyboard.
"It's no use; the line can connect, but there's no one on the other end to respond," the Communications Soldier said, taking off his headphones with a look of disappointment.
Bai Yudong stroked his stubble and asked, "What’s the reason?"
"It could be that the authorized responder is not available, or there’s simply no one on the other end," the Communications Soldier replied, standing up and pointing at the blinking green dot on the screen. "Generally speaking, there should be someone available to answer a Level Two code 24 hours a day, so I think… something must have happened on their side."
An Zheng covered his face in anguish and murmured, "That’s impossible; the security measures are definitely fine, and we still have enough supplies."
Bai Yudong paced back and forth with a serious expression, deep worry etched on his brow. He pulled a chair over for An Zheng and sat down himself. "Your personal code has been verified and confirmed to be correct. But according to what you said, there are researchers of even higher rank in the city’s laboratory. Why are you responsible for carrying the data?"
An Zheng's face was filled with concern as he gently tucked a stray hair behind his ear. "Professor Niu's research has entered a critical phase, and Director Hu is responsible for external communications. The person originally in charge of internal information… has died, so I’m taking over."
Bai Yudong nodded. "Dr. An, our unit received orders to ensure that line xjjd001029 remains open so that the research institute and center can maintain information transmission. However, at the end of last month, the signal from Observation Station No. 2 inexplicably disappeared. That’s why Squad Leader Zhao took his team out to investigate. As your team members mentioned, there was an accident, and it was man-made. Since then, we haven’t received any further orders from above, so I cannot respond to your request for now. I hope you understand."
An Zheng urged anxiously, "But they said we could request support along the way..."
Comment 0 Comment Count