The supplies Qiu Shi requested were all delivered before noon. With Li Feng’s level of cooperation, there were two possibilities: one, to demonstrate his authority as the newly appointed deputy leader; or two, this mission was not as simple as Qiu Shi imagined.
Given Li Feng’s usual outward calm and low profile while being ruthless behind the scenes, the first possibility could be ruled out.
“This mission is not simple,” Zhao Lü said, looking at the supplies on the vehicle.
In addition to some necessary mission supplies, with weapons and equipment to be loaded onto the vehicle tomorrow, the winter clothes and various heating devices that Qiu Shi had made up for his brothers were already on the vehicle.
Things like hand warmers, foot warmers, and fire stoves were there, not to mention that he randomly wrote down twenty heated vests, and they were actually found in a box.
He really didn’t expect the supply office to have such things.
The lifestyle of those inner-city corrupt officials really wasn’t bad.
“What is this thing?” He Jiang took out a vest.
“It can heat up,” Zhao Lü said, “Go ahead and distribute them. It’s perfect to wear now.”
“Brother Shi,” He Jiang didn’t leave with the vest; instead, he looked at Qiu Shi and asked, “How long will we be gone this time?”
“Still don’t know,” Qiu Shi said, “In the past, it took me about four days to ride that broken motorcycle there and back. This time, with a better vehicle, we’ll save some time on the road. Plus, we might stay there for a day or two. About a week.”
He Jiang sighed.
“Why ask so much?” Zhao Lü patted him, “Hurry up and grab your stuff. There’s so much, we’ve hit the jackpot.”
In the past, they would have been ecstatic just to grab new clothes off a corpse, let alone have Li Feng give them this much. But today, He Jiang’s mood was clearly down.
“We just got back,” he said. “Is it going to be like this from now on? Stay for a day or two, and then leave again?”
“No way,” Qiu Shi said, “This will pass. When it’s over, I won’t leave anymore.”
He Jiang silently carried the pile of vests and walked towards the shelter. After taking a few steps, he turned back and said, “You’re just fooling kids.”
Qiu Shi smiled.
“Brother Shi, you really remind me of my dad.” Hu Xiaoling, who had been organizing supplies in the vehicle, said.
“Your dad died when you were only five,” Zhao Lü said, “What could you possibly remember?”
“I remember he always told me, ‘Things will get better soon,’ and then later he died,” Hu Xiaoling said.
“You damn…” Qiu Shi said helplessly, “You just have to wish for my death every day, don’t you?”
Hu Xiaoling chuckled twice, dragged a box of supplies, and jumped off the vehicle. “You’re just like my dad.”
“Bullshit! I’m only twenty-five,” Qiu Shi said.
“When I was five, my dad was twenty-five or twenty-six too,” Hu Xiaoling said.
“Are you five now?!” Qiu Shi said.
The group moved all the supplies that Qiu Shi had asked for the scavengers. Watching the vehicle drive towards the tunnel entrance, Qiu Shi crouched on top of the shelter and suddenly felt uneasy.
He wasn’t sure if it was because of He Jiang’s influence, but he felt a bit reluctant.
In fact, everyone’s mood was low today. Last night when they drank, they were still excited. Today, only the older ones could maintain a calm demeanor. The younger ones, like Hu Xiaoling and He Jiang, might as well have written “unhappy” on their faces.
After all, it had been years since this group had slowly come together. People had come and gone, many had died, and finally, this group of a dozen or so had remained. There had been no changes for years.
They all followed the unspoken rules, advancing and retreating together. In chaotic times, people are isolated, and any kind of group is fragile. Yet these dozen people had always stuck together.
Qiu Shi thought of his unknown-to-be-alive great-grandmother and his dead younger brother. The concepts of “family” and “clan” they had mentioned had never really held any appeal for him, maybe because he had always had them.
“We’re not going to have a feast today,” Qiu Shi said, “Don’t want to make it too ceremonious, like we’re afraid they’ll forget I’m leaving again.”
“Let’s just keep it normal today,” Zhao Lü said.
“When I leave tomorrow,” Qiu Shi looked at Zhao Lü, “I’ll just slip away quietly.”
“Alright,” Zhao Lü replied, “What if they’re all up when you leave?”
“I’ll leave through the shelter tunnel,” Qiu Shi said.
“What about me?” Zhao Lü asked. “Should I say goodbye in advance?”
“We…” Qiu Shi thought for a moment, then sighed and hugged Zhao Lü. “Take care of them.”
“Don’t worry,” Zhao Lü said.
“I don’t really want to say this; it feels like a burden of responsibility,” Qiu Shi said, “But you really are the most reliable, and they listen to you.”
“By the time you come back, I’ll have taken over,” Zhao Lü said.
“All yours, Brother Lü,” Qiu Shi smiled.
He had been worried about sneaking off quietly, but what he didn’t expect was that the city defense office would come to pick him up in the middle of the night.
The only ones still awake were Zhao Lü and Xiao Lei.
“Not even letting people sleep properly?” Zhao Lü glared at the driver, clearly irritated.
“We’re just following orders,” the driver said, “Arrangements from above.”
“Let’s go,” Qiu Shi got into the vehicle, “You two, go back to sleep.”
Xing Bi followed him into the vehicle and sat next to him.
Before Zhao Lü and Xiao Lei could say anything, the soldiers inside closed the vehicle door, and the vehicle started moving.
They only heard Zhao Lü curse outside, “What’s the rush? Are they taking you to eat shit or something?”
Qiu Shi leaned against the seatback, closing his eyes, laughing for a long time.
“Are you tired?” Xing Bi asked near his ear.
“Not tired,” Qiu Shi said. “Strangely, I’m a little excited, maybe nervous.”
“Yeah, I’m nervous too,” Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi opened his eyes to look at him. “You’re nervous?”
“Yeah.” Xing Bi smiled.
Perhaps Xing Bi had always been so strong that Qiu Shi never thought he could feel something like nervousness.
But this time was indeed different. A ten-man action team was an unprecedented number, plus there were three symbionts to control, and there was Lin Sheng, his former teammate with whom he didn’t have a great relationship.
Luckily, they didn’t have to act as part of the same team.
Where they were being taken wasn’t the exhibition hall, nor the big command center by the woods. As Qiu Shi felt the road conditions in the vehicle, he estimated they were headed to the northwest corner of the inner city.
When they arrived at the place, it still had the usual style of Yun City. After circling down several times, the car finally stopped.
Upon getting out of the car, they found themselves in an underground parking lot, with several large black military vehicles parked nearby.
They had arrived at Colonel Xu’s territory.
Following the person who had come to pick them up, they passed through a small tunnel on the side and boarded a transport pod, descending at least two more levels before reaching their destination.
It was a massive underground cave that had been converted into several small halls. As they entered one of these halls, they found it already filled with quite a few people.
“Come,” Li Feng walked over and nodded toward the two of them, “Meet the team.”
There were ten human team members, including Qiu Shi. Among them were four city defense officers and five soldiers, one of whom was a familiar face.
“Zhao Yi?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Yes.” Zhao Yi nodded.
“You know each other?” Li Feng asked.
“We’ve met once.” Qiu Shi replied.
“Xing Bi will go with me in a bit,” Li Feng said. “The lab people are in that small room over there. Go get acquainted with the other symbiotes.”
“And the other two teams?” Qiu Shi asked.
“They’re next door,” Li Feng said. “The team leaders will meet briefly before departure and stay in contact afterward.”
Yun City still had some competent elites. Whether it was the few city defense guards or Zhao Yi’s soldiers, they all looked much sharper than the people they usually encountered.
Nobody said much because everyone understood that in the past, they might have encountered a few infected individuals, but now they were facing bioroids that could kill ordinary people in an instant.
Qiu Shi sat on a chair and quickly dozed off in the silence.
He was about to start dreaming when Li Feng woke him with a pat. The other team members looked at him with a hint of disbelief in their eyes.
“I heard you went to Donglin before?” Zhao Yi asked.
“Yeah.” Qiu Shi straightened up and glanced around, noticing that the other two teams had already joined them in the gathering hall.
However, Xing Bi, Lin Sheng, and the bioroids they were controlling hadn’t arrived yet.
“Captain, have you interacted with those symbionts before?” A city defense officer asked.
Captain? When did he become the captain?
“Yeah,” Qiu Shi responded. “In terms of combat ability, they’re not much different from regular bioroids, but when they work together as a team, their coordination is excellent.”
“My name is Long Hao, from the City Defense Guard.” He extended his hand.
Qiu Shi shook his hand.
A relative of Mr. Long, perhaps?
This operation to the southern town was supposed to be fully led by Li Feng. Colonel Xu did not show up at the team assembly, and the only people Qiu Shi recognized on-site were Li Feng, Zhang Qifeng, and Minister Liu.
Compared to Colonel Xu, Li Feng had a much simpler style. He didn’t repeat any of what he had privately discussed when gathering team members earlier. Now he just briefed them on the team compositions, mission routes, and communication methods.
Each team had ten humans and one primary, meaning Xing Bi and Lin Sheng. Among the three symbionts they were controlling, one was a Level 1 Hidden Guard, and the other two were Level 2.
It seemed that Yun City was still cautious about activating and deploying Level 1 Hidden Guards.
“The mission this time is to investigate the specific conditions of the target area, including facilities and personnel, and provide the command center with an accurate safety perimeter. Avoid all direct contact and conflict. In case of any emergencies, the captain must report to the command center promptly. If there are updates to the mission, you will be notified in real-time,” Li Feng paused for a moment, scanning the faces of all thirty people. “Thank you all. Stay safe, and I look forward to your return.”
Li Feng’s final words were simple, just a few, but his tone and expression were surprisingly sincere.
Qiu Shi looked at him and felt a bit emotional. Humans were indeed complex creatures.
The team leaders met briefly on-site, adjusted their earpieces, and confirmed there were no issues. After that, the first team stood up and left. This team was directly commanded by Colonel Xu. Qiu Shi initially thought that “personally commanded” meant she would go with them, but it turned out that she would be directing from the command room. Qiu Shi mentally considered those ten people as good as dead.
Then the bioroids that had completed the symbiosis control tests came out from a small room on the side.
When Xing Bi saw Qiu Shi, he gave a slight smirk and walked over with the three bioroids behind him—one female and two male.
“How’s it going?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Smoothly,” Xing Bi glanced behind him. “They’re currently in a non-controlled state.”
Qiu Shi could tell that the female was a Level 1, her demeanor much livelier than the other two.
“San Fan,” Xing Bi introduced her.
“Welcome.” Qiu Shi wasn’t quite sure what to say to a bioroid he was meeting for the first time, especially since his first meeting with Xing Bi had no real reference value.
The two Level 2 bioroids had no names and didn’t need introductions. Even though Qiu Shi had worked with Level 2s before and was quite familiar with them, he still gave them names in his mind.
Lefty and Righty.
From the other small room, Lin Sheng also walked out.
Qiu Shi glanced over. Lin Sheng was easy to recognize, not just because he was walking at the front, but because of the aura he shared with Xing Bi that set him apart from the other Level 1 Hidden Guards.
However, Lin Sheng appeared much colder than Xing Bi. As he passed by, he briefly exchanged glances with Xing Bi, but neither his face nor his eyes showed any change.
Xing Bi was the same.
It seemed that the relationship between these two former colleagues was indeed quite ordinary, or perhaps, for Hidden Guards who were created solely for killing, there was never much room for emotions.
“Second team leader, can you hear me?” Li Feng’s voice came through the earpiece.
“Loud and clear.” Qiu Shi answered.
“Proceed.” Li Feng said.
“Let’s go.” Qiu Shi walked toward the departure passage. “We’re heading out.”
The team followed him. As they passed by Li Feng, Qiu Shi glanced at him.
Li Feng looked at him but said nothing.
As they continued walking, Li Feng’s voice came through the earpiece again: “Our private communication channel is still active. Contact me immediately if there’s a problem.”
Qiu Shi didn’t respond and walked into the passage.
A camouflaged transport vehicle was parked there. The compartment was divided into two sections: the front was for seating, and the back stored various equipment and supplies. Each seat in the vehicle was a shooting position, with several shooting ports placed around the vehicle.
It looked a lot like the “hedgehog” vehicle from Donglin Town—fitting, considering they were allies.
Long Hao got into the driver’s seat, and Qiu Shi had Zhao Yi take the front passenger seat while he and Xing Bi sat at the back.
Even though he was the captain, he had never led a team on any mission before, so he let Zhao Yi, who was an actual captain, sit up front. Zhao Yi had previously led a team of twenty to thirty people during the defense of the shelter, making him much more experienced.
The vehicle drove through an underground tunnel connected to the parking lot. The tunnel was long, with some abandoned tracks underground, likely from an old mining operation.
Yun City had many underground tunnels like this, mostly for transport or abandoned water channels. However, this was the longest one Qiu Shi had ever traveled through.
When the vehicle exited the other end, they had reached the No. 3 checkpoint on the outer edge of the inner city. After rounding the foot of a mountain, they saw the outer city.
The outer city looked better in winter. The snow covered the shabby wooden huts clinging to the mountainsides, making everything appear much tidier.
But winter was also the hardest time for the outer city.
As they passed through the outer city tunnel, the rocky wasteland that Qiu Shi was most familiar with came into view—a barren expanse with jagged rock blades everywhere. The cold wind was biting, but Qiu Shi could still feel a bit of warmth.
He looked out from the lookout port toward the shelter and saw a tiny, almost imperceptible flash of light in the middle of the shelter. It blinked on and off in quick succession.
“Long Hao,” Qiu Shi called toward the front. “Flash the lights twice.”
“Hmm? Okay.” Long Hao flashed the lights twice. “Is that good?”
“When you flashed twice, I knew it was Captain Zhao. When the first team left, they must have signaled, too, just to check if I was in the vehicle and which one.”
“These pointless actions are exactly what we do for fun,” Qiu Shi said with a smile.
“Is it a farewell gesture?” Xing Bi asked softly.
“No,” Qiu Shi chuckled, “just them trying to figure out which car I’m in.”
Xing Bi smiled but didn’t say anything further.
“I told you,” Qiu Shi said, “we get pretty bored most of the time.”
“That sounds pretty amusing,” Xing Bi commented.
The car moved forward, approaching the refugee checkpoint, where temporary shelters were buried in snow, and two had already collapsed. The first team’s car had already passed through.
When the refugees spotted their vehicle, they rushed out of the shelters, shouting hoarsely, clearly agitated.
Even after the guards at the checkpoint fired two warning shots into the air, the crowd didn’t stop surging toward the car.
“Step on it,” Zhao Yi turned and instructed Long Hao. “If even one of them climbs on, it’ll be a problem.”
The car sped up abruptly, its wheels kicking up a cloud of snow as it roared out of the checkpoint, just before the crowd could break through the guards’ blockade.
Amid the swirling snow and the chaotic refugees, each face was different, but the expressions were almost the same—anger, confusion, and despair.
Qiu Shi let out a quiet sigh and turned his gaze forward, opening up the map.
This time, the map was more detailed, distinguishing between human team members and symbionts by color. Each little dot had a corresponding name next to it, except for the two secondary symbionts, who had no names.
Recalling how he had marked the contaminated areas on a map during the last mission, Qiu Shi fiddled with the map interface, found the place to leave notes for teammates, and labeled the two secondary symbionts as Xiao Zuo and Xiao You.
It wasn’t that Qiu Shi had any deep emotional attachment to symbionts—though, admittedly, he did with a few—but he thought it felt wrong to have two nameless tools in the team, even if they were just secondary symbionts.
“Are you naming them?” Xing Bi whispered.
“You caught that?” Qiu Shi smiled. “How did you figure it out?”
“You labeled them Left and Right,” Xing Bi replied. “It’s about on par with your A, B, and C naming scheme from last time.”
Qiu Shi chuckled.
The southern plain beyond Daxian Mountain stretched between forests and mountains, an expansive, barren land with no trees, hills, or water. You could see three peaks far in the distance.
This terrain was relatively safe, as neither side had many places to hide.
“Are those the Three Peaks up ahead?” one of the team members, Lu Yu, asked, looking at the map.
“I think so,” someone else responded, a man named Zheng Yu.
These two names, common over the last two decades, combined with “Li the Corrupt” and the names from the hundred-year-old symbionts, showed that not only was the education system for outer-city refugees poor, but even the inner-city schools didn’t seem much better.
“Not exactly,” Qiu Shi corrected. “They’re three small north-south ridges, with two eroded valleys in between. We’ll be taking the right valley to reach Xima Town.”
“It’s not as intuitive on the map,” Lu Yu turned around. “Captain, have you been there before?”
“Yeah,” Qiu Shi said, “a few times. But that was six months ago. I don’t know what it’s like now.”
“Hope it’s still the same,” Zheng Yu remarked.
“When you went by yourself before,” Xing Bi gazed out the window, “did you take this route?”
“No,” Qiu Shi leaned closer and pointed toward the low mountains visible from the lookout, “I went along the mountains from the shelter. It’s closer, but it wouldn’t be safe now, and this big vehicle can’t make it.”
“Got it,” Xing Bi said, looking that way.
“There used to be small animals there. Rare, but I saw some,” Qiu Shi recalled. “I saw a rabbit once.”
“Was it cute?” Xing Bi asked.
“I didn’t get a good look—it was gray,” Qiu Shi replied. “It startled me so much that I almost flipped the car. Didn’t have time to check if it was cute.”
Xing Bi laughed, then tilted his head to look at him. “Shall I teach you another nursery rhyme? No singing required, so you won’t go off-key.”
Qiu Shi clicked his tongue. “What’s that supposed to mean? I didn’t go off-key, I just couldn’t remember the tune.”
“Okay,” Xing Bi said, “I’ll teach you a new nursery rhyme, no tune needed.”
Qiu Shi laughed and sighed, “Alright.”
“Little white rabbit, white as snow…” Xing Bi began in a low voice.
“It was gray,” Qiu Shi interrupted.
“The old folks just assumed it was white,” Xing Bi smiled. “Little white rabbit, white as snow, with two ears standing tall, loves to eat carrots and greens, hopping around, so cute and small.”
Qiu Shi couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s silly.”
“It’s a children’s rhyme,” Xing Bi replied with a grin.
“…I haven’t met many children,” Qiu Shi murmured.
Xing Bi said nothing.
“Little white rabbit, white as snow, with two ears standing tall, loves to eat carrots and greens, hopping around, so cute and small,” Qiu Shi repeated. “Is that right?”
“Perfect. Better than your singing,” Xing Bi teased.
“Where did you learn that nursery rhyme?” Qiu Shi asked.
“I don’t remember. It’s something all the old-timers knew,” Xing Bi replied.
“Really?” Qiu Shi tapped the back of Sang Fan’s seat in front of him.
She turned around.
“Do you know it?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Yes,” Sang Fan replied.
“You could hear us?” Qiu Shi asked, surprised.
“Yes,” she said.
“…Oh,” Qiu Shi exchanged a glance with Xing Bi.
Xing Bi chuckled, not seeming to mind that his fellow symbiont had overheard him reciting a nursery rhyme.
The little white rabbit song was surprisingly catchy. For the next half hour, it kept hopping around Qiu Shi’s mind, almost as if it would burst through his skull.
Fortunately, they soon arrived at the valley, and the need for heightened alertness helped him shake off the persistent rhyme.
“There might be falling rocks. Stay safe,” Qiu Shi warned as he activated the team’s communication system.
“Roger that,” Long Hao replied.
“Keep an eye on both sides. There are lots of places in the mountains for people to hide. Let’s get through quickly,” Qiu Shi added.
“Got it,” Long Hao answered, and the car picked up speed.
The team members up front raised their weapons in preparation.
Qiu Shi kept his eyes fixed on the map. The valley wasn’t long, only about 800 meters, but it was an ideal place for an ambush. Fortunately, the steep, eroded cliffs made it hard to conceal large numbers of people or heavy weapons.
As the vehicle sped through the bumpy terrain, Qiu Shi’s eyes never left the map.
When he saw four bright dots appear on the right, he felt a surge of frustration.
They’d only been out for two hours!
“Four people on the right,” Qiu Shi and Xing Bi spoke simultaneously.
“Mountain’s occupied,” Xing Bi said.
They had to avoid conflict.
“Go, go, go,” Qiu Shi ordered.
Suddenly, the right side of the mountain shifted.
“Is it a landslide?” Qiu Shi wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him.
As he jumped up to check, the map showed a warning: a landslide was occurring on the right side ahead.
“Landslide,” Xing Bi confirmed. “It’s man-made.”
