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墨書 Inktalez
Emerging from the small cabin, Wang Chao swiftly and silently made his way toward the Nuclear Power Plant. In the distance, monsters were running aimlessly, but Wang Chao could see that despite their chaotic paths, they were vaguely heading toward the Nuclear Power Plant. Listening carefully, he realized that only sounds from the Nuclear Power Plant reached his ears. It seemed that these monsters were navigating by sound.
Wang Chao quickened his pace, having deduced that no matter how erratic the monsters' routes appeared, each of their steps was equivalent to a dozen of his own. It was only a matter of time before they reached the Nuclear Power Plant. Running at full speed, he no longer cared about making noise. After nearly an hour, he finally arrived at the main gate of the Nuclear Power Plant.
He pushed against the large door, and it swung open. Inside was a vast space filled with machines that Wang Chao had never seen before and could not comprehend. Looking around, he noticed there were no people in sight. Continuing forward, he discovered a solid metal door with a thick bolt on it. No matter how he pushed or pulled, the door would not budge. Scanning his surroundings, he found no other passageways, which meant that those people must be behind this door.
"Is anyone there?" Wang Chao called out.
Silence followed. Frowning, he was about to leave when he heard a voice emanate from somewhere. He looked around but saw no one. "Stop looking around, kid; there are cameras here," the voice said. Wang Chao looked up and indeed spotted cameras around him; the voice was coming from a speaker. The person continued, "It seems you are also with the military."
"I'm here to investigate," Wang Chao replied, suddenly remembering that the person could see him through the camera and wanted to find something to write on.
The voice continued, "I can read lips; just look at the camera."
"I am a subordinate of Commander Lei. The Nuclear Power Plant lost contact a week ago, and I'm here to find out what happened," Wang Chao stated. "Where are you? Is it behind that door? Open up; this isn't a place for conversation—monsters are coming this way!"
"I'm sorry; we can't open the door," the voice replied.
Anger surged within Wang Chao. If they wouldn't open the door and the monsters caught up to him here, it would be certain death for him. These people were simply refusing to help; he had even thought about saving them. If it weren't for his admiration for the bravery of that soldier earlier, he could have left safely at that moment and still completed his mission. But now, these people were shutting him out.
Wang Chao shouted angrily, "I came all this way to help you evacuate! Didn't you say the reactor is unstable? Open the door; I need to know what happened!"
The voice sounded somewhat somber through the speaker, carrying a sense of desolation: "It's not that we don't want to open the door; it's just that whatever monsters are out there pale in comparison to what lies behind this door. It's not that we don't want to leave; it's that we can no longer escape." Wang Chao was taken aback by the revelation of such terrifying creatures behind that door and asked, "What kind of monster are we talking about?"
"This monster is called Nuclear Leak," the voice said.
"What?" Wang Chao exclaimed.
"You are correct; nuclear energy has leaked. Although not in large quantities, it is enough to be fatal. By the time we arrived, the reactor was already unstable. Unfortunately, all the operators had turned into Zombies. We lacked the knowledge to operate it ourselves and could only send someone back. However, until today, you are the only one who came. The day after that person left, a small explosion occurred."
As the speaker continued, their voice became somewhat distorted. Wang Chao was unsure of what had happened afterward. After a moment of silence, the voice resumed: "We managed to control the explosion to a minimum, but it still caused a slight crack on the periphery. Nuclear energy began to seep out through that crack, little by little. Our captain, he used his body to block the crack at the first opportunity."
"Isn't that asking for death?" Wang Chao replied.
"Yes, it was indeed asking for death," the voice said. "Our captain was a farmer who had no idea what nuclear energy was; he only knew that it couldn't leak. He thought he could block it with his body, and the outcome was predictable. In just half a day, the captain turned into..."
Wang Chao fell silent.
The voice continued: "After the captain died, Xiao Li, that kid was only eighteen and knew nothing at all, yet he also tried to block it with his body. Then there was Liu Qi, a college student who understood everything but still chose to do the same. He said something like, 'If I can hold it back for a while, that's something. If it leaks to a certain extent, the whole Nuclear Power Plant will explode, and then it won't just be one or two people dying.'"
"Next was Wang Yong, Lu Zhi... In total, twenty people chose not to speak and used their bodies to block it." By this point in the story, the voice had begun to sob.
Wang Chao quickly asked, "How many of you are left?"
"We had three just now; during this conversation with you, there are only two of us remaining," the voice replied.
Wang Chao felt himself trembling uncontrollably. These two teams of over twenty soldiers had chosen to use their bodies to shield against the leaking nuclear energy. They were not ignorant or misled; they knew they would die but resolutely stood their ground. With Wang Chao's arrival time factored in, they had been cut off for about a week.
This week was paid for with the lives of twenty people.
"You arrived just in time," the voice said. "It's been a week, and two of our team members haven't returned. If you encounter them, tell them we've moved on. Also, my wife is in the Refugee Zone, her name is Magnolia Huang. She's the prettiest girl in our village. If you make it back, please tell her I love her. It sounds so cheesy; I used to think it was ridiculous when I saw it on TV, but now saying it doesn’t feel so cheesy after all."
As he spoke, the man laughed and continued, "I thought I'd never say those words in my life, but luckily you can't see my face, and I'm all alone here now. Otherwise, I would never have said it."
Just moments ago, there were two others; now only one remained. As time passed, the rift grew wider. However, Wang Chao had no mood to ponder these matters at that moment. He lit a cigarette to ease his shock. Wang Chao couldn't imagine what kind of willpower those twenty soldiers had to endure without any orders or rescue, especially after witnessing the appearance of those affected by radiation. These individuals didn’t flee; they all stayed behind.
In an instant, Wang Chao recalled many stories. One soldier had once remained motionless in the flames during a battle to avoid exposing their position and complete the mission, ultimately burning to death. Wang Chao had always found such tales fake and laughable because that kind of pain was unbearable for anyone; it was a physiological response that couldn't be controlled at will.
But here, Wang Chao finally understood that some wills could transcend physiology.
"It's time for me to go," the voice said. "You should leave too. If you can return, tell everyone to evacuate, and tell Magnolia Huang that I truly love her."
Then Wang Chao could hear no more.
In that moment, Wang Chao understood why some could remain motionless in flames and why these twenty soldiers could use their bodies to withstand nuclear energy. Because they were Chinese Soldiers, united by a common spirit—the spirit of the military.
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