On the morning they returned to Yun City, Qiu Shi watched the sunrise and picked up two unknown shells from between the rocks on the beach, bringing them back to the vehicle.
“What are you taking those back for?” Xing Bi asked.
“To hang on the wall as decorations,” Qiu Shi replied.
“Which wall?” Xing Bi asked.
“The wall of my shelter,” Qiu Shi looked at him. “Damn, don’t tell me they tore it down? Expansion again—once the shelter is included, it becomes part of the outer city. They better not have demolished my shelter!”
“No way. Zhang Sihai and Xiao Lei are overseeing the construction,” Xing Bi said. “Zhao Lü and the others are there too. No one would dare touch your shelter.”
“I still plan to live there,” Qiu Shi said. “I’m used to it.”
“Mm.” Xing Bi nodded. “But Li Feng will definitely arrange a place for you to stay in the inner city.”
“Honestly, I can’t get used to those dorms in the inner city. You open the door and see someone, close it and someone else is passing by,” Qiu Shi leaned against the car door. “It’s much quieter in the shelter. Everyone’s got space.”
“Then we’ll stay in the shelter,” Xing Bi said.
“The room behind mine is empty. You can take it,” Qiu Shi said. “They’re close together. I didn’t let anyone stay there before, but if it’s you, then it’s perfect.”
“Mm.” Xing Bi nodded with a smile.
Qiu Shi looked at him. “What the hell are you smiling about? Don’t think I don’t know what you’re imagining.”
“What am I imagining?” Xing Bi asked.
“If we want to live together, then we live together,” Qiu Shi said. “But we still need our own rooms. What if one of us just wants some alone time? At the base, everyone had their own room too.”
“Mm.” Xing Bi chuckled. “Didn’t expect you to think things through like that.”
“I’m not so dense I can’t even think of this. That’s not just being uneducated—that’s being dead and needing to be reborn,” Qiu Shi said.
“Hey.” Xing Bi flicked his finger against Qiu Shi’s face.
“Peh, peh, peh.” Qiu Shi said.
Everyone got in the vehicles. With no difficult mission ahead, there wasn’t that usual heavy silence when the convoy started.
As Qiu Shi boarded, he noticed two cars in the distance hadn’t rejoined the convoy. He glanced over. “What’s up with those two?”
“They’re not returning,” Xing Bi said. “Liu Chen stayed behind with a squad.”
“Didn’t they say Yun City can’t stretch itself that thin?” Qiu Shi asked in a low voice as he sat down.
“Li Feng has a plan—he calls it the ‘Pathway Project.’” Xing Bi said.
“Pathway Project? Was that mentioned during the debriefing?”
“Yeah,” Xing Bi smiled. “I was going to tell you after you changed, but you ran off the car.”
“Tell me now.” Qiu Shi stretched and leaned back in his seat.
“Yun City can’t control such a vast area, but it needs safe and fast routes to reach all regions,” Xing Bi said. “So Yun City is selecting suitable routes, like the one we just cleared during this mission, and setting up outposts and relay stations along the way…”
“Damn,” Qiu Shi paused, suddenly understanding. “So even though Yun City can’t claim all the land, it controls the roads… But they don’t have enough soldiers, right?”
“They’ll use nomads and refugees,” Xing Bi said. “They want to test this on the route from Xingchuan to Benquan, then to Yuzhou, then the base, and finally the research center. The idea is to connect highways, roads, tunnels—build outposts or relay stations at intervals. It’s a huge project, but if they succeed, Mr. Long’s legacy will be etched into Yun City’s history.”
“Mr. Long?” Qiu Shi looked at him. “Isn’t Li Feng the one doing all this?”
“Li Feng has no intention of replacing Mr. Long for now. Everything he does—except for what we know—is officially credited to Mr. Long’s leadership,” Xing Bi said.
“Why?” Qiu Shi asked. “He’s killing himself with work, taking all the risk, and in the end, the credit goes to Mr. Long? All he does is sit in his office and daydream—and he gets written into the history books?”
“That’s not what Li Feng wants,” Xing Bi looked out the window. The convoy had started moving again, the sea slowly fading behind them. “Just like how you don’t want to be some heroic captain.”
“When you put it that way…” Qiu Shi tilted his head and let out a soft sigh. “I guess I can understand.”
The convoy retraced their original route. As they left the coastline and entered the city, Qiu Shi saw a huge lit-up sign on top of a distant building.
Though they’d seen remnants of human civilization all along the way, advertising signs—hell, even basic lights—were rare. This sign stood tall, a glowing beacon that made him feel like he’d traveled through time.
The sign was simple—unlike the flashy ones in the inner city with messy graphics and cramped text. This one had a clean silver-white glow and just three bold, bright characters:
Yun City Station.
“This is one of the outposts?” Qiu Shi asked, staring at the sign.
“Yeah,” Xing Bi looked too. “Pretty impressive.”
As they passed the building, they could see the signature large black vehicles of the Yun City military.
“But this isn’t Yun City. Why call it Yun City Station?” Qiu Shi asked.
“It’s a symbol. When people see those words, they know they’re safe. And that safety comes from Yun City,” Xing Bi said.
“They’re moving fast,” Qiu Shi noted. “People are already stationed.”
“Building the station will still take time,” Xing Bi said. “Sending people is just the first step.”
“Suddenly hit me,” Qiu Shi said, tilting his head and clicking his tongue, “this whole vacation we went on—was it just to scout roads for Li Feng?”
Xing Bi chuckled but didn’t answer.
“That bastard would pull something like this,” Qiu Shi said. “As long as he thinks you’re useful, he won’t stop squeezing you dry.”
“Not really,” Xing Bi turned to look at him. “Some people—while cursing him—still help him anyway.”
“What kind of idiot does that?” Qiu Shi said.
After a pause, he turned to Xing Bi. “Your ancestor.”
Xing Bi burst out laughing. “Isn’t that the truth? He came to you because he knew you’d help.”
“Shit.” Qiu Shi frowned, then sighed after a moment. “Honestly… sometimes, what he’s doing is just too hard to say no to.”
“Let’s try this time,” Xing Bi held his hand. “This trip—we don’t work for the bastard.”
“Mm.” Qiu Shi nodded.
“Why do you sound so unsure?” Xing Bi asked.
Qiu Shi smiled but didn’t answer.
And truthfully, he was unsure—especially after seeing all those “Yun City Station” signs along the way.
From the coast inland, in almost every major city, there was a sign like that by the roadside. And near every sign, a large black vehicle from Yun City.
In the past, these black vehicles meant nothing to Qiu Shi. For someone living outside the city, they symbolized a distant, unattainable form of protection.
But now that he sat inside one, fought alongside the people in them, everything about Yun City had changed. Seeing those signs, seeing those vehicles—they now carried a different meaning. A sense of reassurance.
Li Feng wanted roads like these. One, two, many more.
And if he really did want Qiu Shi to help scout them…
Qiu Shi had a feeling it would be hard to say no.
Suddenly, the convoy came to a halt. Qiu Shi’s nerves tensed.
“Warning ahead,” came Feng Zhi’s voice through the headset. He was in the lead vehicle.
“What is it?” Qiu Shi’s hand moved to the gun at his leg.
“Detected jungle incursion—two kilometers out,” Feng Zhi said.
“Range and strength?” Xing Bi asked.
“Not strong. Forecast map sent,” Feng Zhi said. “The tail end might reach us. Do we shelter in place or push through?”
“Push through,” Xing Bi said as he looked at the projection. “Looks like it’s almost over.”
“All vehicles seal up, activate lightning protection, inject suppressants,” Ji Sui’s voice came through next. “We move in one minute.”
A minute later, the convoy rolled forward.
In the distance, low black clouds pressed down on the horizon. Faint bluish lightning flashed within.
Though still a ways off, dust and debris already whipped past the windows. Even through the headset, the wind howled.
This familiar yet unsettling sight—Qiu Shi had seen it countless times from atop the shelter outside the city.
But that time in Xima Town—he would never forget it.
The convoy sped up. As the first streak of blue lightning split the ground to their right, Qiu Shi saw on a narrow side road a few refugees covering their heads with cloth, rushing into a relatively solid building—though it had no doors or windows.
They were lucky. They’d run in the right direction—east—reaching the jungle’s edge. If fortune stayed with them, they might live.
And going any further back, it would’ve been hard to find anyone else so lucky.
Everyone knew they should head either east or west, but no one could determine where they actually were, nor could anyone calculate the size of each jungle.
It had been a while since they last encountered a jungle. Watching the blue lightning constantly striking from all directions, the black particles dancing in the air with each flash, and the few refugees huddled tightly together on the roadside…
He clearly felt the world had changed—his life, his friends—none of it was the same anymore. And yet, somehow, everything also felt like it hadn’t changed at all.
Only now did Qiu Shi slowly come to his senses and understand what Xing Bi meant: this was just the beginning.
A new order and a new world would have to begin, step by step, in this broken and dangerous place.
Standing in front of the monitoring instrument, Li Feng watched the animated map of the moving cloud layers. “Looks like it won’t pass through Yun City.”
“Two consecutive jungles in the past few days, and neither passed through Yun City,” Director Wu sighed, somewhat disappointed. “We’ll just have to wait for the next one.”
“Let’s continue the experiments on a smaller scale in the infected forest,” Li Feng said. “The convoy is about to enter the city—if a jungle were to hit right now, just imagine the chaos.”
“Aren’t you going to the city gate?” Director Wu glanced at him. “They should be arriving any moment now.”
“I’ll go once everyone is in place,” Li Feng replied. “I’m just a commissioner—no need for me to get in the way. It’s Mr. Long and the ministers who will be on stage to greet them.”
The ministers whose warehouses Li Feng had just raided with two squads of guards weren’t exactly eager to see him.
“By the way, how are Wang Hong and the other one doing these past couple of days?” Li Feng asked as he walked out.
“They’re both locked in hibernation pods—what kind of state could they be in?” Director Wu looked at him. “Are you being sarcastic?”
“Just making sure there’s zero chance of an accident before the general passes,” said Li Feng.
“There isn’t. Impossible,” Director Wu said firmly. “I’m not some idiot without personnel—I’ve got eyes on them around the clock.”
As Li Feng’s car exited the outer city tunnel, he was taken aback by the welcome ceremony arranged by Minister Liu.
This ceremony was different from the usual. Along with Yun City’s own people, there were also representatives of the drifters and the immunes, even scattered bioroids from the outside world—all members of the broader world Yun City now had to face.
Li Feng had said they needed to express Yun City’s sincerity and also demonstrate its strength.
Minister Liu clearly took that to heart.
“This setup… Minister Liu really knows how to put on a show,” he said, looking out at the large stage with its bright lights, flags lining both sides of the road, welcome banners, and a band already standing in formation.
“Yun City has a band?” Chen Dang was equally shocked.
“There’s one. The Security Department gave them instruments,” said Li Feng. “They perform five minutes during city festivals. Sound like shit—worse than those black-blood cultists chanting soul-calling verses.”
Chen Dang laughed.
“Let’s go,” Li Feng said. “Still have to wait by the stage. I’m afraid Qiu Shi will start cursing in front of Mr. Long when he sees all this.”
“His ancestors!” Qiu Shi looked at the people welcoming them on both sides of the road through the car window. “Who the hell set this up?!”
“Probably Minister Liu and his team,” Xing Bi replied. “The meaning behind this return is different—so they went big… a bit too big, but understandable.”
“Was it like this when Lin Sheng and his group came back?” Qiu Shi pressed his face to the window, trying to get a better look. The moment he did, cheers erupted outside, and people started waving their little flags.
“Shit!” He jerked back against his seat in alarm.
“Lin Sheng’s group were all severely wounded. Of course, there was no ceremony—they had to be rushed to the med-pods,” Xing Bi said. “We…”
“We’re both pretty banged up,” Qiu Shi said in a low voice. “My ribs are all messed up. You—your gut got stabbed through.”
“It didn’t go through,” Xing Bi said.
“It did,” Qiu Shi insisted.
“It just got pierced. And now we both have to hold my pieces together and go up on stage,” Xing Bi said, giving him a light hug. “No worries—just a handshake with Mr. Long.”
“Hey!” Qiu Shi quickly pushed him away, glancing out the window. “Don’t be shameless.”
“No one can see,” said Xing Bi.
“I definitely can’t,” came Song Heng’s voice from the back seat.
“You hear that?! You hear that?!” Qiu Shi said.
“Didn’t hear anything,” Song Heng replied.
“…I was asking Xing Bi,” Qiu Shi said.
“Hear what?” Xing Bi said. “He said he didn’t hear anything.”
“I…” Qiu Shi didn’t finish before someone yanked the car door open.
“Welcome back to Yun City!” shouted Minister Liu from outside.
“You’re actually here opening the door?” Qiu Shi was surprised.
“It was supposed to be Mr. Long,” Minister Liu said. “But his legs haven’t been doing well lately—he’s waiting for you on the stage.”
Qiu Shi looked outside. As someone who had never experienced anything this grand before, he suddenly felt stage fright. When he got out of the car, he nearly tripped over his own feet.
“Straight to the stage, shake hands,” came Li Feng’s voice from nearby. “I’ll be waiting over there.”
“Shit…” Qiu Shi suddenly felt reassured and glanced back.
“Watch your language, Captain Qiu,” Li Feng reminded him.
“You shut the—” Qiu Shi began, then stopped. “Alright.”
“Go.” Xing Bi gave him a light poke in the back. “Two minutes, we’re done.”
“Mm.” Qiu Shi smiled.
A line of people stood on the stage—ministers and high-ranking officials, most of whom Qiu Shi didn’t recognize or had never even heard of. The only familiar faces were Mr. Long and Colonel Yu.
Amid the applause, he extended his hand one by one.
“Thank you for your hard work,” Mr. Long said, shaking his hand. “I will always remember what you’ve done.”
Qiu Shi glanced at him. For some reason, Mr. Long’s words felt very sincere. But he didn’t know if that “you” included Li Feng.
“Get some rest,” Mr. Long added.
“Mm.” Qiu Shi nodded and continued shaking hands without looking at their faces, head down.
By the time he shook the last pair of hands, he was already off the stage.
“Getting distant, huh?” Li Feng’s voice came from in front of him.
Qiu Shi looked up and smiled.
Li Feng opened his arms and hugged him. “You’ve worked hard.”
“As long as you know,” Qiu Shi said.
Li Feng looked at Xing Bi, who sighed and opened his arms for a hug as well.
“Xing Bi, straight to the lab,” Li Feng said. “Old Wu is waiting. As for Qiu Shi… Zhao Lü and the others are at the shelter waiting for you. You want a check-up first or…”
“He’s going to the shelter first,” Xing Bi answered.
The area outside the city had changed dramatically. It wasn’t until Qiu Shi left the ceremony stage that he realized the shelter was still several hundred meters away.
That whole section had now been enveloped by the new expansions of Yun City.
Surrounding it were newly constructed temporary houses. Not as nice as the old ancestral homes outside, but they looked sturdy enough.
Qiu Shi walked to the base of the shelter slope. That part hadn’t been touched—the entire rocky slope remained as it had been. He had stared at these rocks for nearly twenty years. That familiar sight made his previously calm emotions suddenly surge.
He couldn’t hold back the tears—they filled his eyes until he could barely see straight.
Zhao Lü led a group out of the shelter. After a few steps down, he stopped and shouted, “Brother Shi!”
Then the group burst down the slope, yelling all the way.
Qiu Shi ran up a few steps and stood with one foot in front of the other, arms raised to guard his chest.
“Brother Shi!”
And then he was swallowed by the crowd—shouting, laughing, crying. Somewhere in the chaos, Hu Xiaoling was openly sobbing.
“He’s injured!” Zhao Lü pushed his way next to him. “Brother Shi’s hurt—can’t you idiots tell? You’ve all fought before. Can’t you see that?!”
“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Qiu Shi said. “Hug me to death if you want.”
“Lin Sheng and Bai Zhan have both been checked, nothing serious,” Li Feng said from inside the car. “Once your group finishes their checkups, we’ll have a meeting after the welcome. There are concrete matters to discuss.”
“Can Lin Sheng even attend a meeting?” Xing Bi asked.
“He can. They all need to be there,” Li Feng glanced at him. “Why?”
“I’m not attending,” Xing Bi said. “What comes next is for Lin Sheng and the others to handle.”
Li Feng was silent for a moment. “Alright.”
“You have doubts, Commissioner Li?” Xing Bi asked.
“No. Lin Sheng and the others are more than capable,” Li Feng replied. “I’m just… reluctant. A little sentimental.”
“We’re not dead,” Xing Bi said.
Li Feng laughed. “You’re starting to sound like Qiu Shi.”
“I didn’t see the General’s video feed during the welcome,” Xing Bi said. “Has something changed?”
“You noticed that?” Li Feng asked.
“Is that hard to notice?” Xing Bi replied.
“The General is preparing to pass,” Li Feng said. “It’ll be addressed in the meeting. You’ll need to be there. You all understand the details—nothing in the destruction process can be overlooked.”
“For some people, this will be a huge loss,” Xing Bi said. “Maybe for hundreds of years to come, no one else will be able to achieve immortality.”
“I’ll be waiting for them to curse me out,” Li Feng said.
Xing Bi gave a small smile.
The lab still looked the same, but the staff seemed busier than ever. All the bioroids returning with the convoy needed inspections, system adjustments, and minor repairs.
Director Wu came over at a jog.
“Come,” he waved, “everything’s ready. Won’t take long.”
“We’re not in a rush,” Xing Bi followed him.
“Before, you guys said I was too slow. Now I speed up and suddenly there’s no rush?”
“How’s Zheng Ting?” Xing Bi asked as they passed his containment chamber. The lights were off—only a soft glow from inside illuminated the glass.
“Occasional consciousness, but doesn’t speak,” Director Wu said. “We’ll talk details later. Let’s do your scan first.”
“Alright.” Xing Bi lay down on the medical bed. As the instrument descended for the scan, he turned his head toward Director Wu.
“Director Wu.”
“What is it?” Wu asked.
“With our current technology… can we determine a biotic’s life expectancy?” Xing Bi asked.
Wu paused, seeming to consider the reason behind the question. After a moment, he asked, “You mean… before or after?”
“After. How long I can live from now.” Xing Bi said.
