Chapter 56 Part 2

Zhou Rong did a side handspring onto the windowsill, crashed through the glass, and leaped down from the third floor!

Chen Yajing's face paled instantly. Wan Biao rushed to the window—only to see Zhou Rong soaring through the air like a falcon, landing steadily, and instantly rolling back to his feet!

"What the hell kind of monster is this..." Wan Biao was both shocked and furious. He stuck the tranquilizer gun out the window, aimed at the fleeing Zhou Rong, and bellowed, "Someone! Stop him!"

The surrounding bushes rustled. Zhou Rong glanced around from the corner of his eye and came to an abrupt halt.

He saw guards rising up all around, forming a tight encirclement in front of him. Dozens of people had been lying in ambush!

"Goodbye, Captain Zhou," Wan Biao said coldly and pulled the trigger.

·

Swoosh—

A bullet tore through the air, hitting the wall right next to Si Nan's ear!

With one hand supporting Doctor Zheng, Si Nan grabbed an oncoming guard with the other and with a crisp snap, twisted the man's elbow. The man screamed and dropped his gun, which Si Nan caught in mid-air with lightning speed. With a click-clack, he chambered a round and shot the ankles of the two guards to his left and right.

The blood and screams of pain incited the ferocity of the others. Several more men swarmed him. In the chaos, Si Nan dodged a bullet but was kicked in the stomach, staggering back half a step. He gritted his teeth and pushed Doctor Zheng, whom he was shielding closely behind him.

Doctor Zheng seemed stunned, staggering to a stop and looking at Si Nan as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

—If one looked closely, one could actually see that for a split second, what flickered in his eyes was clearly an unconcealable apology and pain.

"Run!" Si Nan yelled without looking back. "Go to the front of the cafeteria and find Yan Hao, quick!"

"..." Doctor Zheng took a breath, barely holding back a sob.

Si Nan turned his head. "You—"

It all happened in a flash. Doctor Zheng raised his hand and sprayed something in Si Nan's face.

He had a can of medical Ether spray hidden in his palm.

Si Nan's reaction was actually very fast; he held his breath before he even realized what it was. But the speed at which Ether vaporized was not something he could resist just by holding his breath. In that instant, he felt a faintly sweet scent in his throat, and his heart immediately sank.

He bit his tongue, and his nails dug deep into his palm, but there was no stinging pain.

Clatter!

The pistol fell to the ground. All sounds and movements receded rapidly like a tide.

'Why?' The thought subconsciously flashed through Si Nan's mind.

The tense delivery on the night of the zombie siege, the mutual support during the thousand-mile arduous trek, the Doctor Zheng who had wailed while holding a newborn with blood-covered hands—all of it faded away in his increasingly hazy vision, gradually transforming into the stranger before him.

"I'm... I'm sorry..."

Doctor Zheng's eyes were red and filled with tears. He rushed forward as if to support him, but Si Nan pushed him away forcefully with his last bit of strength.

Si Nan turned and staggered two steps, each footfall feeling like he was treading on clouds. He was then grabbed by several hands reaching out from all around. He no longer had the strength to break free from the restraints. He sank to his knees and then slumped to his left.

"Take him away..."

"Keep it quiet, quickly..."

The voices were jumbled and indistinct, hazy as if his ears were filled with water. Si Nan took two short breaths and struggled to raise his hand. Taking advantage of the blind spot created as he slumped to his left, he pressed the locator in his left ear.

—But that was his last conscious act before he passed out.

Ning Yu walked forward, knelt down, and gently closed Si Nan's eyes.

Bzzz—

Yan Hao raised his head sharply. "Si Nan?"

Sunlight sprinkled over the open ground in front of the cafeteria. A few pedestrians walked by in the distance.

Yan Hao pressed the vibrating earring stud, scanned his surroundings, and a sudden unease rose in his heart. He casually dropped the half-replaced bumper and strode quickly toward the washroom behind the cafeteria.

A black tank top, covered in oil and dust, was draped over a pipe, but there wasn't a soul in sight.

"...Si Nan," Yan Hao's voice was unsteady. "Si Nan?"

The afternoon was silent. There was no reply.

Yan Hao's heart began to pound. Not daring to shout any louder, he turned 360 degrees. The locator vibrated wildly when he faced a certain direction—not far away, a wall was hidden behind a thicket of trees.

'How could he be behind the wall?'

Yan Hao took several large steps back, took a running start, and vaulted over the two-meter-high wall with a side handspring, landing steadily with a whoosh!

Before him was the edge of the base's dormitory area. A few abandoned concrete buildings stood not far off. A secluded path connected to the cafeteria in front, winding its way past these buildings and leading deeper into the base.

Yan Hao seemed to have discovered something. His gaze suddenly fixed, and he strode forward.

At the end of the path, the green belt showed clear signs of being trampled by many feet. The overturned grass and snapped dry twigs were still fresh. Yan Hao's gaze fell on the concrete wall, and he froze in astonishment. At the foot of the wall, there were radiating cracks around a hole—it was a bullet hole!

Yan Hao couldn't stop trembling. He shot to his feet, and just then, the locator stopped vibrating.

He couldn't believe it. He subconsciously reached up and touched the earring stud. The rice-grain-sized ruby earring stud was perfectly still.

An extreme chill rose from his gut. Yan Hao looked around and realized that Si Nan was missing.

—Zhou Rong had told him he must never let Si Nan be alone in this base.

But now, Si Nan was missing.

·

"...You promised me you would absolutely not harm him..."

"He protected civilians, saved many people. If it weren't for him, many of us wouldn't have survived until now!"

"You must not harm him. In any case, you promised me!..."

Footsteps and conversation drifted in and out, near and far. His consciousness was like something bobbing in the deep sea, suddenly surfacing before sinking back to the ocean floor.

"I know." A cold, steady male voice said, this time right next to his ear, every word crystal clear, "I promised you."

Si Nan's eyelashes trembled violently. A few seconds later, he groggily opened his eyes.

Lights—that was his first impression.

The room was a constant, cool temperature. Beneath him was a soft leather recliner. White light encircled the entire space, bright but not glaring, but his blurry, just-awakened vision couldn't make out the surroundings.

Si Nan tried to move his limbs and, as expected, found himself handcuffed.

"..." He forced his eyelids open. A few seconds later, his unfocused vision came into focus, and he found himself in a huge laboratory. Not far in front of him was a large, cluttered lab bench.

Ning Yu was sitting in an armchair, legs crossed, fingers interlaced on his thighs. His gaze behind the gold-rimmed glasses was placid. Doctor Zheng stood in the corner by the door. Seeing him awake, he impulsively took two steps forward.

Si Nan averted his gaze, not looking at either Ning Yu or Doctor Zheng. His eyes fell to his side.

Two or three meters to his left was a surgical table. On it lay a man with a sallow complexion and dark circles under his eyes, tightly bound with restraints for psychiatric patients. He was still struggling blankly, making muffled "Ah—ah—" sounds.

He was infected and was turning into a fresh zombie.

Si Nan withdrew his gaze. His voice was hoarse from the residual Ether. "What is this place?"

"Hello, Noah." Ning Yu spoke, his tone unexpectedly low and gentle. "As you can see, this is my human testing ground."