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墨書 Inktalez
"I have plenty of time here. After the first hibernation period passed, I began to try to accept everything that had happened. It wasn't a good idea to just sit around; it left me feeling spiritually empty. At that time, there was no new city yet, and staying at the Launch Site every day felt particularly oppressive," Su Lan said slowly. Although she had already noticed Ming Junwei's unusual reaction, she wasn't in a hurry to reveal the mystery, much like an experienced hunter teasing the nerves of its prey.
"Later, Cheng Yu told me he planned to build high rises from scratch here. He knew I couldn't sit idle, so he arranged a job for me to pass the time. You should know that the Underground Experimental Zone was originally a confidential area belonging to The Establishment. It later changed hands to RCA, and eventually Cheng Yu moved in here."
"I know," Ming Junwei nodded. When they were resting in Jiuquan, a soldier named Shaoshan had mentioned these things to them.
"Yes." Su Lan smiled slightly, refilling his cup with hot water before continuing, "In a confidential place like this, aside from experimental data, there were also a considerable number of documents retained. Of course, most of them had become useless scraps of paper. Since Cheng Yu wanted to establish a new city, some things had to be destroyed. Even if they were left behind, it wouldn't matter much, but since we were starting anew, it was safer to obliterate the old past, right? So during that time, I was responsible for sorting through the old documents—archiving what was valuable and destroying what was useless. It was just right for me since I had nothing else to do; I could look at those once highly confidential documents as a way to pass the time."
Ming Junwei cleared his throat twice and discreetly wiped his sweaty palms. He understood Su Lan's intention; she was giving him a prelude, laying out the groundwork bit by bit.
"You know, for a while there, I was with Dr. An and her team. I indirectly heard many names and saw corresponding files in the documents. Most of the files revolved around the projects that The Establishment collaborated on with RCA—the incident that led to the Outbreak of the Walking Dead. Following the timeline, I found several earlier documents related to those events and saw familiar names in the earliest files."
Su Lan lightly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and mischievously winked at him, asking deliberately, "Can you guess who I saw?"
Ming Junwei rolled his eyes and ignored her provocation.
Unfazed, Su Lan continued on her own: "It was Summer Rain. That girl from the Gobi Desert who you managed to turn over helped you all quite a bit. I still remembered her back then, so seeing that name piqued my curiosity. Logically speaking, those who could continue working at the Underground Testing Facility after being part of The Establishment should have relatively simple backgrounds—no involvement in core matters and not completely cut off from everything outside—so keeping them around would facilitate operations without worrying about leaks. But these files were classified; anyone appearing in them would either be a core figure from The Establishment or an important role from RCA. How did she end up as Internal Staff at the testing facility?"
"So I carefully examined that document, and what I found shocked me."
At this point, Su Lan paused her narrative, pulled out a cigarette from the box on the table, lit it up, and exhaled a plume of smoke with flair before smiling and asking, "Do you want me to continue?"
"Let's talk about how you can help me find someone instead," Ming Junwei replied quickly, thinking it best not to say too much; he had thick skin.
Su Lan chuckled at his response. She found Ming Junwei's stubbornness amusing; despite his anxiousness being written all over his face, he pretended to act indifferent.
"The Summer Rain in that document is not the same one who left with you all; it's just a coincidence that they share the same name," Su Lan said as she opened that file and pulled out a thick stack of papers. She flipped through them seriously and added, "If it were just a case of sharing a name, I wouldn't bother reading every word; what truly piqued my curiosity was the content of this document."
"Do you know what this document records? It details a pinpoint landing test." Su Lan set down the file and took a gentle puff from her cigarette before asking, "Did Dr. An ever explain pinpoint landing tests to you?"
Ming Junwei squinted slightly, feeling that the term sounded somewhat familiar. After thinking for a while, he recalled it. It should have been during their first encounter with Luci, when a strong yellow wind was blowing outside. An Zheng had revealed some insider information for the first time, mentioning the collaboration between The Establishment and rca on an experimental project. It was a large-scale project divided into many groups, interconnected and conducted in various experimental locations across different regions. He didn't quite understand the other details, but the general idea was that the experimental team would bring certain data results to a specific experimental site.
Ming Junwei nodded in response, and Su Lan let out a sigh of relief. The way she spoke was unusual; if she interrupted with explanations of terms midway, the flow would be significantly disrupted.
"Do you know where the designated testing site recorded in this document is?" Su Lan continued to throw out unanswered questions. After a pause, she smiled mysteriously: "It's the Ancient City Experimental Zone."
Ming Junwei's heart skipped a beat, and he felt a chill creeping up his back as he silently adjusted his breathing rhythm, remaining silent.
"The experimental group where Summer Rain is located is going to the Ancient City Experimental Zone for a drug test," Su Lan slowed her speech, observing Ming Junwei's expression as she spoke. She continued slowly, "And the timing of this drug test just happens to coincide with the day the Infected Virus broke out."
Ming Junwei's eyelids twitched; he did not look up and remained silent.
"Isn't that quite a coincidence?" Su Lan snorted softly and sighed, "What's even more coincidental is that you, Ming Junwei, happen to be the only Survivor in the Industrial Zone where the drug test took place."
"I still remember that before we arrived at that mountain village, you shared some of your experiences with us. You said you were struggling to survive alone in the Industrial Zone ravaged by Zombies, relying on makeshift means to get by in dark floors. By the time you saw daylight again, everything outside had changed drastically. I even asked about your identity; Ginger River told me that your company was merely affiliated with rca, just an inconspicuous cosmetics manufacturing factory, and that you were just a small employee there."
"Ginger River regarded you as a confidant and treated you like an older brother. He never doubted what you said. So you are Ming Daxia who escaped from the Pathogen Zone—a partner who has shared life and death together. No one has ever been curious about your past, right?"
"They are outsiders and cannot know. An Zheng is a researcher from The Establishment and doesn't understand much about the rca system, but I am precisely an insider working under rca." Su Lan paused for breath, seemingly realizing her wording might have been inappropriate. She chuckled self-deprecatingly and continued, "I checked the information on the designated testing organization; that laboratory indeed belongs to rca and is located in Ancient City Technology Park. The so-called Cosmetics Company is merely a facade for safety and secrecy. So your explanation wasn't entirely wrong; at that time, I had no doubts because I wasn't familiar with external testing organizations."
"But later on, after carefully reviewing the documents, I discovered something surprising—Brother Ming, you lied."
Ming Junwei's hand resting on the table twitched slightly as he slowly raised his head. His Cyclops met Su Lan's playful gaze; he moved his lips but still did not speak.
"You are not just a small employee from an external company nor are you completely ignorant of the laboratory." Su Lan smiled as she pulled out a marked page from the document and laid it before Ming Junwei. "Because every designated testing site has internal personnel present; each test experiment needs to be conducted safely and discreetly. If all were uninformed outsiders, it would be impossible for the experimental group to carry out their work smoothly. So I spent a long time in the archived files trying to find out about the personnel arrangements at that time for the designated testing organization. Fortunately, although it was tedious, I managed to find it."
Seeing Ming Junwei's increasingly stiff expression, Su Lan displayed a hint of smugness on her face as she pointed at the paper and teased him: "Ming Junwei, Safety Supervisor of the Laboratory—long time no see."
Upon hearing Su Lan's title for him, Ming Junwei's eyes twitched slightly at the corners as he trembled and reached out his hand to pick up the paper from the table, crumpling it into a ball.
Su Lan pouted and said helplessly, "Maybe you should have destroyed it three years ago."
"You already know," Ming Junwei finally spoke, his voice low and hoarse, lacking the confidence he had shown earlier when facing Su Lan.
"I've only clarified your identity; I haven't asked my questions yet." Su Lan leaned back against the chair. Ming Junwei's words indicated that he admitted to everything he had just said, and there was no denying it. The document clearly stated in black and white, "Chief Safety Officer of the Testing Experiment Zone, Ming Junwei." There was no way to refute it, especially with the color photo attached.
"What do you want to ask?" Ming Junwei exhaled slowly, lit a cigarette for himself, and rubbed his stiff face with both hands, instantly looking dejected.
"The Chief Safety Officer carries corresponding responsibilities with that title. I've reviewed other files; there have been many drop tests, and several incidents have occurred. Yet, in the laboratory you were responsible for, everything seemed fine until the disaster struck. I've read the safety regulations; each testing area is equipped with comprehensive emergency measures. I can't understand how the virus could suddenly leak and spread without reason. Where did things go wrong? Don't say I'm curious; Cheng Yu and the professors know nothing about this either. No one knows how this catastrophe happened."
"The entire experimental team was wiped out, and now Zombies are rampant. Yet you, the Chief Safety Officer, are still alive—alive after walking out of the Pathogen Zone."
"Everyone says Cheng Yu and the professor are the culprits behind the Outbreak of the Walking Dead, but they only developed a drug. They weren't even present when the virus leaked that day. The person who should have eliminated all of this is you."
"I want to know what exactly happened that day."
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