“Have everyone back off,” Li Feng said as he jogged from his office down to the waiting car at the entrance. “Don’t let him see the guards, especially don’t point any guns at him.”
“Are we just going to let him be?” The captain on the other end hesitated. “Their car is covered in infected blood, and they just came from…”
“Back off!” Li Feng raised his voice. “Don’t make me call Director Zhang to yell at you personally!”
“Understood, Deputy Director Li,” the voice replied. “I’ll have them back off right away.”
“I’ll handle this personally,” Li Feng said. “If anyone finds out, I’ll hold you responsible.”
“Got it, Deputy Director.”
“These fools don’t think ahead. If things go wrong, this city is as good as lost,” Li Feng muttered angrily and then contacted the patrol squad. “Send a team near Nest Three and check out the situation. Report any abnormalities, but don’t touch anything or get out of the car. I’ll send the coordinates right away.”
The driver sped towards the outskirts of the city. Construction vehicles and fully armed patrol soldiers could be seen occasionally passing by. The first task was to clear out the crazed refugees from the outer city, then send people into the inner city to fix this and that. Everything needed manpower, especially with the existing shortages…
Li Feng’s head throbbed.
But the biggest headache was Qiu Shi returning to Yun City, while Xing Bi went missing just 15 minutes away from the city.
If Deng Yeye had brought Qiu Shi to the fertilizer pool, Li Feng wouldn’t be surprised at all. Before connecting with Donglin Town, Deng and her group of radicals had been dedicated to exposing the “dark secrets” of Yun City.
Li Feng wasn’t sure why Qiu Shi had been taken to the fertilizer pool. It was likely to make Qiu Shi see Yun City’s true face, so he would stop serving the corrupt officials and seek a real utopia instead.
The fertilizer pool’s existence wasn’t a deeply hidden secret. Anyone with access to resources was aware of it. Production capacity and materials were limited, and every bit had to be saved. Besides, the security department built it; Li Feng was the direct culprit.
Li Feng’s car took a shortcut through a previously bombed-out breach and arrived at the fertilizer pool.
A black vehicle, resembling a Yun City military transport, was parked on the open ground next to the fertilizer pool, covered in infected blood. Even body parts and a severed head hung from the roof.
Qiu Shi and Hu Xiaoling sat in the car without getting out.
“Wait for me by the mountain,” Li Feng said as he got out and instructed the driver.
“Understood.”
“Li Feng is here,” Hu Xiaoling said, turning to Qiu Shi, who was staring blankly ahead. “He’s alone, Brother Shi.”
“Hmm, don’t get out of the car,” Qiu Shi said, opening the door.
“I took that immunity drug,” Hu Xiaoling said. “The blood on the car shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
“Stay in the car,” Qiu Shi replied as he got out and shut the door.
He didn’t want Hu Xiaoling to hear any of his conversation with Li Feng or to wander near the fertilizer pool.
Li Feng covered his nose as he approached the front of the car. When he saw the bandage on Qiu Shi’s chest, he frowned. “Your injury is worse than I thought. Why don’t you both get in my car and go see Curator Wu…”
“I’m not going,” Qiu Shi replied simply. “There’s equipment at the shelter. If you’re really a decent person, send some usable medicine.”
Li Feng sighed. “That’s not a problem, but your injury needs treatment.”
“Is there any news on Xing Bi?” Qiu Shi asked. “Has there been any feedback from his data in the lab? He should still be within range, right?”
“No,” Li Feng answered honestly. “Curator Wu suspects he’s completed the symbiosis process and now possesses primary abilities. His body’s signals might be blocked, so we can’t receive them.”
“Is that block intentional or passive?” Qiu Shi asked.
Li Feng had to admire Qiu Shi’s sharpness sometimes.
“Could be either,” Li Feng said, “but we can’t determine if it’s intentional or passive.”
“I see.” Qiu Shi’s voice was hoarse.
“I didn’t know much about Xing Bi before,” Li Feng said, “but the data I’ve seen indicates he was one of the most powerful enhanced units in the second-generation covert guards. He’s very aware of his abilities.”
Qiu Shi looked at him.
“He won’t die,” Li Feng said.
“Are you afraid I’ll lose control?” Qiu Shi asked.
“I’ve been beaten by you more than once,” Li Feng said. “It’s always better to take precautions.”
“I didn’t lose control when I saw a pool of shredded human flesh,” Qiu Shi said.
Li Feng glanced over, covering his nose. “You went over and saw it?”
“Have you never gone to see it yourself?” Qiu Shi asked.
“No,” Li Feng answered.
“Where do they come from? Those… people,” Qiu Shi looked at him.
“People die every day, don’t they?” Li Feng said. “In the outer city, in the inner city.”
“And what do they turn into?” Qiu Shi pressed.
Li Feng sighed softly. “Fertilizer, feed…”
Qiu Shi froze, staring at him in shock, his expression a mix of disbelief and something hard to describe.
“Feel like throwing up?” Li Feng asked.
“I can’t throw up.” Qiu Shi closed his eyes. “I’ve heard about the deep pit where we dump the bodies. I always thought… there was some device down there that incinerated them.”
“It is deep,” Li Feng said. “It used to be a drilling hole. The bodies are sorted down there, separating the infected from the regular humans, and then sent…”
Qiu Shi frowned.
“Anything else you want to ask?” Li Feng didn’t continue. “Deng Yeye brought you here to make sure you keep asking.”
Qiu Shi was silent for a moment, then turned and walked back toward the car. “I don’t want to know any more.”
“Ride in my car,” Li Feng said. “I’ll take you both back to the shelter. I’ll have this car cleaned and sent outside the city.”
Qiu Shi looked back at him. “Take Xiaoling back. He still needs to be disinfected, and his wound needs treatment. I’ll stay with you.”
Li Feng tilted his head.
“I want to know about Xing Bi as soon as possible,” Qiu Shi said.
“Alright,” Li Feng agreed.
The patrol team Li Feng had sent was setting out from the wall at Nest One. Qiu Shi stood outside the breach, facing the now-barren forest.
It had snowed in Yun City too, but many of the trees in the forest still hadn’t shed their leaves. The snow on the green foliage stood out vividly.
Qiu Shi was seriously injured. Curator Wu had sent two medical assistants, but they were staying back in the huge, empty command hall, not daring to come closer.
Nest One, even though it was now free of fungus, remained a forbidden zone. After the symbiont attack, any area outside the inner city had become a terrifying, shadowy place where demons could appear at any moment.
Footsteps approached from behind as Li Feng walked up, standing behind him.
“You should go inside,” Qiu Shi said. “If something shows up, I won’t be able to protect you.”
“Maybe I can protect you,” Li Feng chuckled.
Qiu Shi glanced back at him but didn’t respond.
“Go get your wound checked,” Li Feng said. “I’ll wait here.”
“How’s Hu Xiaoling?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Both shots were through-and-through. It’s not too serious,” Li Feng said. “We’ll test his blood for any infections. It’ll be done quickly. Zhao Lü is waiting at the tunnel entrance.”
“Okay.” Qiu Shi nodded. “I still need to go get that car.”
“The patrol team will bring it back,” Li Feng said.
“Do you think that team will make it back?” Qiu Shi asked.
“We’re still getting reports,” Li Feng said. “At least for now, they haven’t encountered any danger… How did you get that injury? A knife wound at such close range.”
Qiu Shi hesitated. “My brother. They say he’s my biological brother.”
Li Feng turned, surprised. “Your brother? You have family?”
“That’s what they say,” Qiu Shi said. “And I’m not the only one who’s immune.”
Li Feng was silent for a moment, his voice low. “Don’t tell anyone about this, for now.”
“Why?” Qiu Shi asked. “If I’m not the only one, wouldn’t that make me safer?”
“No, it wouldn’t. As long as you’re part of a small group, as long as you have value, you won’t be safe,” Li Feng said. “You’ll become bait, a bargaining chip, a cure, and since you’re no longer unique, they can experiment on you freely. After all, if you die, there’s still someone else.”
Qiu Shi frowned. “Can I trust someone who uses corpses for feed?”
“You’ve eaten canned meat and vegetables for years,” Li Feng said. “It all comes from that fertilizer and feed. Did you die? Without them, you’d be dead. Everyone would be dead.”
Qiu Shi didn’t reply. What Li Feng said was a cruel but undeniable truth.
And now, Qiu Shi had to keep this secret.
“Have they found the car?” Li Feng asked suddenly. It seemed the patrol team had contacted him.
Qiu Shi immediately turned to the forest, opening the map. He couldn’t see anything yet, but he kept staring, hoping to see the little dot representing Xing Bi appear.
In the past, he would have rushed into the forest without hesitation to find Xing Bi, not even considering the risk of death, just like when he went to retrieve Hu Xiaoling. But now, he suppressed his anxiety.
He was still alive, standing here, because of Xing Bi. And now, by staying close to Li Feng, he could help Xing Bi the moment anything happened.
You’ve grown a lot, Qiu Shi.
“How many?” Li Feng asked. “Don’t engage. Can you determine which direction they’re headed? Split into two groups and follow.”
Qiu Shi spun around, mouthing the words “Don’t follow.” The patrol team was made up of ordinary humans. If they encountered anything, it would be certain death.
But Li Feng only glanced at him, not retracting his orders. “Within one kilometer east of Nest Three. If you don’t find anything, return. If you discover any signs, do not engage. Return immediately. We just need to confirm Xing Bi’s situation.”
After the call ended, Qiu Shi lowered his voice. “That’s sending them to their deaths. Yun City still has bioroids. Send one, and at least they’ll make it back.”
“Lin Sheng?” Li Feng asked. “Xing Bi hasn’t returned for this long, which means his opponent isn’t easy to deal with. He’s run into trouble. I can’t risk sending another first-tier covert guard. Besides, he doesn’t have a partner. At times like this, their lives are far more valuable than the lives of those ordinary patrolmen.”
Deciding life and death was that simple—just a judgment of importance.
It was crushingly hopeless.
Qiu Shi said nothing. As powerless as he felt, he had no arguments. He had been outside, seen the world beyond, witnessed the situation in Donglin Town, and encountered the symbiont army’s capabilities.
The cold wind gusted into his collar, making him feel chilled to the bone.
“I’m going to get my wound treated,” Qiu Shi said.
If they really found any trace of Xing Bi, if anything went wrong, he might be the only hope of controlling Xing Bi. He needed to be at his best.
The silence in the earpiece made Li Feng anxious. He had been withholding the news of Xing Bi’s disappearance, not reporting it up the chain, and had even secretly arranged for Curator Wu to send medical personnel to treat Qiu Shi.
He needed to confirm Xing Bi’s status as soon as possible—dead or alive, controllable or not. It would all affect how the crisis response team dealt with Yun City. From Li Feng’s perspective, if they were given any hint that the bioroids or symbionts were unstable, Yun City would be finished.
Humans stood little chance of survival when facing bioroids—beings with weapons, intelligence, and physical abilities far surpassing human capabilities.
“Report…” the captain’s voice came through the earpiece, accompanied by static. “We’ve found Xing Bi… we’ve found Xing Bi!”
“What’s the situation?” Li Feng immediately asked.
“The symbiont has been killed, and the host… but Xing Bi is showing hostile intent towards us! We’re retreating… retreating…”
A loud noise erupted, sounding like a vehicle overturning, followed by crashing metal, groaning, and screams.
Li Feng’s heart sank. “Captain?”
Qiu Shi rushed out, already dressed in new gear, standing next to Li Feng and asking, “What happened?”
Li Feng linked Qiu Shi’s earpiece, signaling him to listen.
As Qiu Shi put on the earpiece, he immediately heard gunshots, screams, and heavy breathing from the captain. “I’m the only one left…”
“Is he chasing you?” Li Feng asked. “Are you injured?”
“He doesn’t seem to be chasing me,” the captain’s voice was filled with fear. “I can’t see… my legs are fine, I can run…”
“Head to the breach at Nest One immediately,” Li Feng said. “I’m here.”
“Xing Bi has lost control, Deputy Director Li,” the captain shouted in terror as he ran. “We need reinforcements!”
Each word coming through the earpiece felt like a hammer, pounding into Qiu Shi’s mind, leaving him stunned.
How could he have lost control? Why would killing a host make him lose control?
“Deputy Director Li, we need reinforcements…” the captain’s voice continued to repeat.
A small dot representing the captain appeared on Qiu Shi’s map, moving toward their location. But other than him, no one else was visible on the map.
“He’s coming back,” Qiu Shi immediately ran forward. “I’ll bring him back.”
“I’ll call for reinforcements,” Li Feng said.
Qiu Shi hesitated, then looked back, about to say something, but saw that Li Feng had already caught up from behind.
In the two seconds he had paused, Li Feng had even overtaken him, rushing ahead.
“Li Feng, Deputy Director Li.” Qiu Shi tried to reason with him. “If reinforcements arrive and they can’t control Xing Bi, there will be even bigger problems, more losses.”
Li Feng didn’t respond, so Qiu Shi had no choice but to continue running in the direction the captain was coming from. He wanted to gather as much information about Xing Bi’s situation as possible.
The captain staggered out of the forest, covered in blood.
Qiu Shi rushed over and grabbed him. “What’s Xing Bi’s condition? How did he lose control?”
“He…” The captain, gasping for breath, looked behind him, his eyes full of confusion. “Deputy Director Li.”
Qiu Shi was about to turn around when a low gunshot rang out from behind.
A bullet pierced the captain’s forehead.
The captain’s head jerked back, and his entire body went limp, his weight falling heavily onto Qiu Shi’s arms.
Qiu Shi, unprepared, couldn’t hold him up, and the captain collapsed to the ground, motionless, blood streaming from his forehead, his eyes still wide open.
“Deputy Director Li?” Qiu Shi asked in shock, staring at Li Feng.
“You’ve got some blood on your face,” Li Feng, having run fast, was frowning and slightly out of breath. “Go find Xing Bi and bring him back under control.”
Qiu Shi was momentarily speechless.
“The patrol team encountered a symbiont and was wiped out,” Li Feng said, looking at him. “Xing Bi killed the symbiont but was injured in the process. He needs to be taken to the lab for examination. Understood?”
“…Understood.” When Qiu Shi spoke, his voice was hoarse.
“Some choices,” Li Feng said, “once made, can’t be undone. Every decision after that is simply about whether or not to deny the original choice.”
Qiu Shi said nothing, turning and running in the direction from which the captain had come.
The map still didn’t show Xing Bi’s signal, but Qiu Shi had a feeling that Xing Bi hadn’t left. He was nearby.
He pressed his earpiece as he ran toward where they had encountered the symbiont earlier.
His chest wound had been treated, and now there was no pain or discomfort. Except for a slight shortness of breath, he felt like he could run ten kilometers without stopping.
After running for a while, he saw Hu Xiaoling’s “property”—the car was no longer in the spot where Xing Bi had parked it, as if someone had tried to drive it toward Yun City.
Qiu Shi inspected the car, hoping to find something…
Under the driver’s seat, he spotted something familiar—the silver stick with the wired earphones that he had given to Xing Bi, the one they had only listened to for a short time before it ran out of battery.
Qiu Shi’s hands trembled as he picked it up, checking it over. It wasn’t damaged, and he slipped it into his pocket.
“Xing Bi!” Qiu Shi shouted into the forest. “Come out here!”
No response.
Qiu Shi started the car, turned it around, and drove forward.
“Qiu Shi,” Li Feng’s voice came through the earpiece. “I’ve sent you the coordinates where the team encountered Xing Bi.”
“Got it,” Qiu Shi replied as a highlighted marker flashed on his map. “Received.”
“Don’t hesitate when you need to bring him under control,” Li Feng said. “It’s the only way to save him.”
“Understood.” Qiu Shi floored the accelerator, speeding toward the coordinates. He hardly noticed the bumps and holes in the road now.
After driving for a while, he entered the target area, where detection was possible, but there was still no sign of Xing Bi on the map. Instead, he saw the overturned patrol vehicle and the bodies of the team members.
Qiu Shi stopped the car and went to inspect.
The bodies were in terrible condition.
There were no gunshot wounds. All of the fatal injuries were massive punctures through the chest, instantly reminding Qiu Shi of the time Xing Bi had punched through a bioroid.
There was static in his earpiece.
“Li Feng?” he called.
“Have you found him?” Li Feng asked, his voice accompanied by obvious interference.
“I’ve found the vehicle and… the bodies of the team members,” Qiu Shi said. “There’s interference…”
Li Feng said something else, but Qiu Shi couldn’t make it out. After a burst of static, the connection with Li Feng was lost.
Qiu Shi looked around. He had a feeling this wasn’t ordinary interference.
“Xing Bi?” he called out.
“Qiu Shi.” Xing Bi’s voice came through the earpiece.
“Where are you?” Qiu Shi stood up straight, staring at the map in front of him.
On the map, less than thirty meters away, Xing Bi’s marker suddenly appeared.
To the left, ahead.
“I’m coming over!” Qiu Shi immediately ran toward the spot. “Are you injured?”
“No,” Xing Bi replied.
It didn’t take long to cover the short distance, and soon Qiu Shi saw Xing Bi sitting against a tree.
Even though Qiu Shi had consciously ignored the coldness in Xing Bi’s tone when he heard his voice, now, facing him, the overwhelming pressure of Xing Bi’s icy and oppressive aura was inescapable.
Although Xing Bi sat casually, with one leg stretched out comfortably and the other bent, his arm resting on his knee was covered in fresh blood that had not yet dried, making it a striking sight.
There were several bodies lying next to Xing Bi. Judging by their appearance, they were symbionts who had ambushed earlier. One of them had a completely black face, likely the primary host that Xing Bi had intended to kill.
“I found this,” Qiu Shi said, pulling out the small music player from his pocket. “Do you still want it?”
Xing Bi looked at him but didn’t say anything.
Qiu Shi also remained silent, putting the small player back into his pocket.
“Yes,” Xing Bi finally said.
Qiu Shi’s heart trembled a little, but he suppressed his emotions. “I have to take control of you now and bring you back to the lab.”
Xing Bi continued to look at him.
“What happened here, aside from you, me, and Li Feng, no one else will know,” Qiu Shi said.
Xing Bi remained silent, but he didn’t react to Qiu Shi’s intention to control him either. From what Qiu Shi could tell, Xing Bi didn’t seem out of control.
Qiu Shi clenched his fist, pressing lightly on his wrist.
It was as if Xing Bi’s support had suddenly been pulled away; he leaned his head back against the tree, his arm sliding off his knee to rest by his side.
“Xing Bi.” Qiu Shi crouched down beside him.
That oppressive aura didn’t disappear, even after successfully taking control. However, Qiu Shi still reached out and patted his face. “I’m taking you back now. There’s no containment box, and you’re much heavier than an ordinary person, so I can’t carry you. I’ll have to drag you.”
“Drive the car over,” Xing Bi said.
“…Right.” Qiu Shi paused for a moment.
Those four simple words, spoken in the same cold tone, were undeniably something Xing Bi would say. Suddenly, Qiu Shi felt a strange, indescribable sensation.
“I’ll go get the car,” Qiu Shi said, standing up.
“I killed them all,” Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi stopped mid-step, having just turned around. “The patrol team was accidentally killed by another symbiont…”
“All the bioroids in Yun City,” Xing Bi said, “I wiped them out.”
Qiu Shi froze.
“I killed them all, on behalf of their friends,” Xing Bi said.
