Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
After a night of wild revelry, everyone had returned to a semblance of normalcy. Whether it was emotional rebound or rebuilding from the ruins, the group finally found themselves able to face what had happened and what was yet to come with a calm mindset. Su Lan's judgment was spot on; these individuals had no intention of settling down. Perhaps having lost too much, they had become even more reckless.
The following morning, Ming Junwei and the others gathered in Su Lan and Zeng Yadong's room, sporting dark circles under their eyes and disheveled hair. Breakfast arrived as scheduled, disturbingly considerate. The most comfortable meal they had enjoyed in recent months was likely at Xiao Tian Village, though that joy had turned sour due to drunken mishaps. Now, however, things were different. As Ming Junwei thought, this place might be one of the few formidable fortresses left in the country; as long as they didn’t act foolishly, there should be no further threats.
During breakfast, Su Lan briefly explained her relationship with Kenny and the conditions for staying here, along with a series of other disorganized matters. Ming Junwei and the others listened quietly, not interrupting or asking questions, silently sipping their steaming bowls of rice porridge and contentedly burping.
Zeng Yadong already knew everything in advance; she observed everyone’s reactions with a hint of anxiety. However, the situation she had imagined did not unfold. The group's spiritual leader, Ming Junwei, showed no signs of dissatisfaction. Instead, he turned back to comfort Su Lan, telling her not to feel any psychological burden.
"You did nothing wrong. The fact that we can sit here for breakfast is all thanks to your sacrifice," Ming Junwei said sincerely after lighting a cigarette. "Life is unpredictable. If we hadn’t acted rashly, Old Cao and Qianqian might not have died, and Song Yao wouldn’t be missing."
At the mention of this topic, silence fell over the table. Everyone had been so frenzied yesterday that they deliberately avoided discussing it. Today, however, Ming Junwei brought it up without any warning, leaving everyone momentarily speechless.
"Pull yourselves together; this isn’t the time for mourning," Ming Junwei exhaled deeply, signaling everyone to adjust their emotions before continuing slowly. "Aso, what exactly is this place? Do you know?"
Su Lan sighed and thought for a moment before replying, "I can guess some things, but I'm not sure if I'm accurate."
"Go ahead and share; my mind is all jumbled up and needs some clarity," Ming Junwei stepped closer to the door to listen carefully before relaxing when he confirmed there were no eavesdroppers.
Jin Bo and the others also focused their attention on Su Lan; they had even more questions but didn’t know where to start.
"Do you remember the place we planned to find?" Su Lan sighed softly and looked at everyone.
"The Launch Base that Dr. An mentioned?" Ming Junwei realized he was close to what he suspected.
"Exactly." Su Lan opened the window and pointed toward the towering launch platform in the southeast. "When you were taken into the building, Dong Dong and I were held outside by Cheng Long. When I saw the launch platform, I understood everything."
Ming Junwei connected the dots with Su Lan's words while Jin Bo—who had joined midway—looked confused and asked, "What are you talking about?"
Zeng Yadong gestured for him not to interrupt and explained, "The Launch Base—Dr. An and Aso mentioned it back then."
"Ah!?" Jin Bo, who was a bit slow to react, suddenly realized and exclaimed, "Is this the Launch Base you all were talking about that has the planes?!"
"Besides this place, I can't think of anywhere else," Su Lan shrugged helplessly and said, "Clearly, things are more complicated than we know. After all, we've always trusted the call Sister An received."
Ming Junwei was at a loss for words. He had never held any hope regarding this matter, let alone delved into speculation. When he stood by the window yesterday, he recalled this issue—Jiuquan, Launch Base—wasn't this the very place?
"But... it shouldn't be like this..." Xiao Wei stammered for a while but couldn't articulate her thoughts, staring blankly as she struggled to express herself.
"Anyway, that's how it is. Perhaps when Sister An received the information, this place could indeed help us leave, but something might have happened in between..." Su Lan didn't have a better answer either. For the past few days, she had been pondering how to rescue their companions and hadn't had time to verify these matters.
However, Su Lan's words reminded Ming Junwei. Wheat also raised her head with wide eyes as if she had thought of something.
"Something definitely happened," Ming Junwei licked his lips and said, "Aso, were you ever part of the Establishment or RCA?"
"RCA," Su Lan replied with a tone full of resignation. "I was an insider at the Establishment."
"A spy?" Xiao Wei's eyes widened as images of female military agents flashed through her mind.
"At most, I was a corporate spy," Su Lan said dismissively, shifting uncomfortably. "Let's not dwell on my identity for now. What do you want to ask, Junwei?"
"Weren't you aware that there was such a large Experimental Base in the Gobi Desert when you were with RCA?"
"I didn't know," Su Lan replied honestly; Kenny had kept more than one secret from her.
"Then that means this place originally belonged to the Establishment," Ming Junwei pondered while stroking his stubble. "Later on, RCA took over, and naturally, there were no more government flights."
"How do you know that?" Su Lan raised her delicate brows in disbelief.
"I know too," Wheat chimed in eagerly. "When I was looking for your names in the archives, I saw information about the placement of Establishment personnel; there was also something in the Control Room." The young girl had shone brightly during this prison break attempt; although it ultimately failed, her execution was impeccable.
"Speaking of which, I'm also puzzled. How did you all manage to escape? And make such a commotion?" Zeng Yadong asked curiously. "They even sounded the air raid alarm."
"One accident after another," Xiao Wei said with a gloomy expression, sniffing. "I'm still wondering what happened with the Vice Commander."
"Right? Didn't Song Yao get taken away by your Vice Commander? Is he really one of us?" Jin Bo quickly chimed in.
Wheat blinked and muttered, "I thought Sister Qianqian and Brother Cao could come back to life too."
The group was talking over each other, leaving Su Lan and Zeng Yadong completely confused, not understanding what they were discussing.
Ming Junwei interrupted the chatter and explained to Su Lan, "The Underground Structure is massive. Little Gold, Xiao Wei, and I were locked up on the fourth level underground. It's a prison area, roughly housing... maybe two or three hundred living people. They call the prison area the Cultivation Zone; the living are used as test subjects."
Su Lan's face turned pale, her lips trembled, and she was at a loss for words.
Ming Junwei continued without concern, "This was later on. Initially, we were kept in a pitch-black place. If it weren't for Little Gold's ruthlessness, we might not have even gotten out of there." Jin Bo scoffed but didn't comment on Ming Junwei's choice of words. Ming Junwei lowered his voice and said, "Eventually, we got separated from Dr. An; we haven't seen Old Cao and the others since then—they must have been taken somewhere else."
"I know," Wheat interjected eagerly. "It's on the fifth underground level. There's a Testing Ground there where they send living people and then release Zombies into it for some unknown purpose. Sister Qianqian and Sister Yao are locked up there. I managed to open the isolation door below while the Control Room staff weren't paying attention."
Everyone at the table exchanged glances, and Zeng Yadong exclaimed in surprise, "You went to both the File Area and the Control Room without anyone noticing you?"
"Shouldn't have been any problem," Xiao Gu replied lightly.
Comment 0 Comment Count