Donglin Town was northeast of Yun City, so they did not leave through the tunnel exit at Dahei Mountain but instead headed out through the forest on the woodland side.
This meant going north past the previous black nest and then heading east.
“We haven’t even left the door, and we’re already getting beaten back,” Qiu Shi said.
“Avoid the nest,” came Li Feng’s voice through the headset.
“Thanks for stating the obvious,” Qiu Shi said, “Is there always someone listening in on this route?”
“Yes,” Li Feng said, “The technical team will record everything. Curator Wu and Director Zhang will be there. If you need me, I’ll be available too, but… Curator Wu estimates that your mission system will disconnect from us in about twenty hours. Only the newly implanted communication device will keep us connected.”
“Good to know,” Qiu Shi said.
“Get ready and head out,” Li Feng said.
Director Zhang had provided them with a very good car, which looked like a scaled-down version of the big black car. According to Li Feng, the car model was very old but performed well. Yun City’s army had many new models, but this model had been retained since the war era and never stopped production.
To Qiu Shi, this car had almost no electronic equipment. Compared to the car Li Feng usually rode, which had eight hundred screens, it was primitive and just seemed sturdier than their corpse collection vehicle.
“The frame and chassis are strong, it’s good for off-roading, bulletproof, and easy to repair,” Li Feng summarized its advantages.
“Who will repair it?” Qiu Shi threw his backpack into the back seat of the car. “Our corpse collection car is always repaired by Zhao Lü.”
“Xing Bi will,” Li Feng said.
Qiu Shi glanced at Xing Bi, “He used to wear suits, and he can fix cars too?”
“Basic skills,” Li Feng said.
“Alright,” Qiu Shi said, starting the car and listening to the engine. “It’s okay. We’re setting off now. Do we need to apply for departure, or will the city defense department chase after us?”
“This car has an electronic pass,” Li Feng said. “Go ahead, safe travels.”
The car drove out of the tunnel near the Nest One. There was no one around.
The part of the Nest One they could see had completely withered, like a severe disease in a dense forest, leaving a huge scar that might take a hundred years to fully heal.
Qiu Shi touched his forearm, and a map appeared in front of him, showing the route bypassing the nest to Donglin Town.
“This map will be out of range soon. You’ll need to navigate for me,” Qiu Shi said.
“I can do it now,” Xing Bi said.
“I’m afraid there might be an ambush nearby. I need to keep an eye on the map,” Qiu Shi said. “Maybe Deng Yeye is following us.”
“She’s not.” Xing Bi looked out the window.
“Are you sure?” Qiu Shi glanced at him.
“Ninety-nine point seven percent sure,” Xing Bi said.
“So there’s a zero point three percent chance Deng Yeye might be nearby,” Qiu Shi said.
Xing Bi didn’t respond, leaning against the car window and laughing, “Curator Wu said you went to school.”
“So what? There was a refugee school outside the city,” Qiu Shi said. “Is there a problem with my math?”
“Maybe one of Deng Yeye’s fingers is following us,” Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi laughed and swerved to avoid a rock ahead.
“There’s no sign of them near Yun City,” Li Feng’s voice came through. “We’ve investigated everyone related to Deng Yeye. Apart from a few who escaped, they’re all under surveillance. The surrounding area is safe.”
“How are they monitored?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Literally monitored,” Li Feng said. “We can’t arrest anyone at this point. I’ll ensure your safety as much as possible.”
“There’s a pit a hundred meters ahead,” Xing Bi said. “Keep left.”
“Did you see it or remember it?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Remembered,” Xing Bi said.
No more mocking Xing Bi’s memory. It was not surprising he could remember the terrain after so many years, but to remember the exact distance was impressive.
Checking the map, it was indeed a hundred meters, a sinkhole. It looked like both sides were passable, but after passing, it was clear that the right side had a stepped drop. The car could pass, but it would probably scrape the bottom.
This road through the forest was essentially an old riverbed. Yun City had diverted the upstream water into the inner city, leaving it dry.
Driving on this road was not easy, swaying left and right. Xing Bi had to hold the handle above him constantly.
“You could give me some tips,” Qiu Shi said. “Tell me where the rocks and pits are, so I can avoid them in advance.”
“I don’t remember that precisely,” Xing Bi said.
“Then your memory isn’t good enough,” Qiu Shi said.
“Five meters ahead, rock. Avoid to the right, there’s a pit. Avoid to the left, two meters, there’s a rock,” Xing Bi said.
“…What does that mean?” Qiu Shi frowned.
After a bout of crazy bumping, Xing Bi glanced at him and said, “It means you can’t avoid it no matter how you drive.”
“Thanks a lot,” Qiu Shi said.
“When passing the Nest Three, get close,” Director Zhang’s voice suddenly came through the headset.
“We’re not passing the Nest Three,” Qiu Shi said. “Nest Three is east. We need to go north.”
“Colonel Xu’s orders. Get close to the Nest Three. We lack data on it,” Director Zhang repeated. “Xing Bi is now a symbiont. Try it out.”
Qiu Shi frowned, very displeased, “We can’t determine how long it will take to reach Donglin and return. We can’t waste time on the road.”
“Don’t make me repeat myself a third time,” Director Zhang said. “The task has been adjusted. It doesn’t affect the mission.”
“Li Feng?” Qiu Shi gritted his teeth, frustrated that Li Feng wasn’t speaking up at this time.
“Colonel Xu has the authority to make temporary adjustments to the mission,” Li Feng said, sounding unhappy too.
“Is this a minor adjustment?” Qiu Shi said.
“Xing Bi,” Li Feng said. “Figure out a way… to get there.”
Qiu Shi glanced at Xing Bi, unsure why Li Feng directed this at him and spoke so vaguely.
“Understood,” Xing Bi replied, gesturing in the direction of the Nest Three.
“Damn,” Qiu Shi swore, hesitating for two seconds before steering that way.
Rationality prevented him from fully trusting Xing Bi, but at this moment, he didn’t have the time to hesitate or argue. Fighting was out of the question, controlling Xing Bi would leave him alone and unable to reach Donglin Town. Plus, his brothers were still under control. With the current monitored state, he couldn’t ask too many questions and had to make a quick decision.
The only thing that could be certain was that Xing Bi was not a level 2 or level 3 bioroid that strictly followed orders. He had his own judgment and had remained calm and stable since their encounter. Delaying time would benefit no one…
Nest Three was located further east, beyond Nest One and Nest Two. It was completely out of their way. If they made a special trip, it would take about two hours. If they encountered any bioroids on the way, even if Xing Bi could handle it, returning via a different route would take more than three hours.
Qiu Shi, suppressing a belly full of anger, ignored the road conditions and drove the car at breakneck speed on the rocky and forested road. The car bounced so much that their butts barely touched the seats.
Xing Bi kept looking out the window, not speaking, as if sensing something.
From time to time, Director Zhang’s voice would come through, confirming their real-time location. He was executing Colonel Xu’s orders with zeal. It was clear that Director Zhang didn’t care whether they reached Donglin or whether they could understand the other party’s situation and intentions. As for Hu Xiaoling, he was never even within his consideration.
In Zhang’s mind, Xing Bi’s controllability was always in question. For Qiu Shi, this corpse collector partner, like Colonel Xu, was full of disdain, only hoping to quickly advance the symbiont experiment.
Qiu Shi felt that, in their eyes, he was probably just medicine.
The car had been driving for about forty minutes, just bypassing Nest Two, still a considerable distance from Nest Three. A signal of a suspected bioroid appeared at the top of the map.
“Straight ahead,” Qiu Shi eased off the gas and reported the coordinates, “Suspected bior…”
Before he finished the sentence, Xing Bi suddenly extended his left hand, pressing his palm against the back of Qiu Shi’s neck. Qiu Shi was puzzled, not understanding what he was doing.
“Entity.” When he finished this word, he suddenly noticed static noise in their communication.
“What?” Director Zhang seemed not to hear clearly.
“Stop and check.” Xing Bi said as he removed his palm from the back of Qiu Shi’s neck, and the static disappeared.
Qiu Shi looked at him, and Xing Bi, after saying this, remained in the car without moving.
“…Seems like there’s…” Qiu Shi started to say, and when Xing Bi’s palm pressed against his neck again, the static returned, “interference…”
“Turn it off,” Xing Bi turned his face slightly, speaking in a low voice, almost mouthing the words.
Qiu Shi paused for a moment, touched his forearm, and turned off the communication map. The map in front of him disappeared, and the sound in his earphones was cut off as well.
“What about that bioroid ahead?” He pulled off his earphones.
“There’s a road to the left ahead,” Xing Bi retracted his hand, “It can’t catch up with the car.”
Qiu Shi floored the gas pedal, charging forward to the left. Sure enough, he saw a slightly wider rocky road, sloping downward, lined with many fallen dead trees, a path formed by a mudslide.
Following Xing Bi’s directions, they continued moving northward after descending.
After about twenty minutes of rough driving, Qiu Shi finally asked, “Did we lose it?”
“We lost it,” Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi stopped the car and turned to look at him, “Care to explain?”
“Which part?” Xing Bi asked.
“How did you create the interference?” Qiu Shi’s gaze swept over his left hand.
Xing Bi extended his left hand, opening his palm to reveal a faint blackness within.
“What the hell…” Qiu Shi was stunned.
“Just testing it out,” Xing Bi said, looking down at his own hand, “If the distance is close enough, it might cause interference.”
“Did Li Feng know? Did you tell him?” Qiu Shi asked.
“He doesn’t know,” Xing Bi said, “He was also taking a gamble, seeing if I could find a way to avoid it.”
“They can still contact me directly. I can’t turn off the master control system,” Qiu Shi said.
“It’s been twenty minutes, and there’s been no contact,” Xing Bi said. “This means he has handled it. If something happens, someone will contact you. If there’s a threat, someone will contact you.”
“Without the map, I’ll have to rely on you,” Qiu Shi leaned back in his seat and sighed lightly, looking at him, “Can I still trust you?”
“You can,” Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi was silent for a moment, “Alright.”
As they started driving forward again, Qiu Shi asked, “How do you decide to trust someone?”
“What about you?” Xing Bi countered.
“Instinct,” Qiu Shi said.
“Logic,” Xing Bi said.
“An analysis?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Yes, an analysis in my little square brain,” Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi didn’t respond, but after a while, he laughed, “What exactly is that little square?”
“A device that maintains biochemical reactions in the body,” Xing Bi said.
“Isn’t that just a battery?!” Qiu Shi said.
“Right, I’m actually a solar-powered robot,” Xing Bi said.
“Finally telling the truth,” Qiu Shi said. After bouncing over two more pits, they re-entered the dense forest, searching for a passable path. At this point, he had to admit that the car’s performance was indeed impressive.
After gradually getting used to this difficult driving style, Qiu Shi finally had some mental bandwidth to think.
He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and said, “Your hand.”
“Yes, it’s not always clear when it will turn black,” Xing Bi said, extending his hand again.
Qiu Shi saw that the palm of his left hand had returned to its normal skin color and sighed in relief but quickly frowned again, “If this thing spreads all over your body, won’t you…”
“Be black sometimes and white other times?” Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi found it somewhat amusing but couldn’t bring himself to laugh.
“It won’t happen,” Xing Bi said.
“How can you be so sure?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Except for the infection source in the Nest One,” Xing Bi said, “there haven’t been any other bioroids that showed significant changes after becoming symbionts.”
Qiu Shi was distracted, pondering that statement, and two water erosion pits appeared ahead simultaneously. He didn’t have time to see which one to avoid and drove straight into one of the pits. The wheel got stuck, and his face almost hit the steering wheel.
“Controllable?” He turned to look at Xing Bi and asked, “Is this thing controllable for a bioroid?”
“Let me drive,” Xing Bi opened the car door and got out.
“Is that what you mean?” Qiu Shi also got out of the car.
“Possibly,” Xing Bi said, “but I can’t do it yet.”
Qiu Shi didn’t say anything, moving to the passenger seat. Xing Bi skillfully backed the car out of the pit and continued driving.
Xing Bi didn’t speak again, just looking at the road ahead. He seemed to remember many details of the road. This road hadn’t changed much over the years, and the car drove much more steadily than when Qiu Shi had been driving.
Qiu Shi, following the car’s swaying, had been pondering and almost fell asleep when he finally asked, “Xing Bi, what’s your specific mission this time?”
Xing Bi smiled.
“What’s funny,” Qiu Shi said, “laughing because I finally remembered to ask this question?”
“Assist you to Donglin Town and ensure your safe return,” Xing Bi said.
“Not just that,” Qiu Shi said.
“Make contact with the other party’s symbiont and learn as much as possible about the symbiote’s characteristics,” Xing Bi said.
“Was this mission decided by the general?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Decided by Mr. Long,” Xing Bi said.
“Didn’t they say partners like us are useless?” Qiu Shi frowned, “Why does a mission like this need Mr. Long to decide?”
“We are useless, but the form of symbiont survival is important. This is the first contact in many years, and it’s also very important,” Xing Bi said.
“Damn,” Qiu Shi said, closing his eyes, “Do you know what my mission is?”
“Retrieve Hu Xiaoling,” Xing Bi said.
“Is that part of your mission too?” Qiu Shi turned to look at him.
“Yes,” Xing Bi said.
“Is it against the rules for you to tell me about the other tasks?” Qiu Shi asked again.
“No one said I couldn’t tell you,” Xing Bi answered.
“But if I didn’t ask, you wouldn’t have said anything,” Qiu Shi said.
“Yes,” Xing Bi responded.
Qiu Shi didn’t speak again, feeling a bit suffocated.
This feeling of being kept in the dark made him feel powerless, and there was a vague sense of despair. His anxiety, his obsession, and the things he cared about all seemed to exist only within his “personal” range.
Qiu Shi didn’t know when he fell asleep, but he woke up because the car suddenly stopped.
When he opened his eyes, the sight in front of the car shocked him, and he instinctively reached for the gun in his boot.
In the dim forest, seven or eight people stood in a line in front of their car, all holding weapons—some had wooden sticks, some had homemade spears, and there were even two long guns.
“Refugees?” Qiu Shi asked in a low voice.
“Yes,” Xing Bi replied.
Qiu Shi scanned their faces, opened the car door, and the people in front immediately became tense, aiming their guns at him.
But Qiu Shi didn’t pause and got out of the car directly.
The expressions on these people’s faces were all too familiar to him. No matter how fierce they looked, their eyes were filled with confusion, despair, and a bit of pleading.
What were they pleading for? Maybe even they didn’t know.
People like this, even if holding guns, had no lethal power. These two guns hadn’t killed anyone; they were for hunting. From the state of the guns, Qiu Shi was almost certain they had no bullets.
“Where are you from?” Qiu Shi held his gun but let his arm hang down, not raising it.
“Where are you from?” a middle-aged man holding a gun asked loudly in return.
“Going to Yun City?” Qiu Shi didn’t answer him.
The middle-aged man didn’t speak, but a woman next to him holding a stick answered softly, “Yes.”
It was too far, and this road was too difficult to walk. In this dense forest, without accurate navigation, they would definitely get lost and die in the woods.
That’s why, for so many years, refugees almost always entered the city from the Dahei Mountain Tunnel. Over there was a wasteland, relatively speaking, with a higher chance of reaching Yun City compared to coming from the north.
Qiu Shi looked at their faces, as if looking at a group of already dead people.
A beast’s noise came from the forest behind them, sounding like a wild boar.
Qiu Shi hesitated.
Xing Bi, who had been sitting in the car without moving, suddenly got out, looked at Qiu Shi through the window, and said, “I’ll go.”
Xing Bi disappeared into the forest behind them.
Qiu Shi stood facing the refugees. They didn’t know what they were going to do, and he didn’t want much interaction with these “dead people.”
The wild boar in the forest let out a short cry, then fell silent.
Xing Bi returned, dragging a huge wild boar.
Just based on the size of this wild boar, these few refugees, who were obviously hungry for a long time with two unloaded guns, wouldn’t have been able to kill this pig, let alone chase it down and eat it raw.
Xing Bi threw the wild boar into a nearby open space and got back in the car.
“Move aside,” Qiu Shi said and got back in the car.
The refugees slowly lowered their weapons and retreated in confusion.
As Xing Bi started the car and drove through them, they stood there watching them leave without saying anything, no thanks, no questions, not even asking how far it was to Yun City.
Maybe everyone knew the outcome.
“Isn’t it meaningless?” Qiu Shi leaned against the seat, watching the trees sway and pass by outside the window.
“What?” Xing Bi said.
“What do you mean you don’t understand? Aren’t you quick to answer? Haven’t you thought about this question?” Qiu Shi asked.
Xing Bi smiled.
“Meaningful or not?” Qiu Shi asked again.
“It depends,” Xing Bi said.
“Hmm?” Qiu Shi leaned his body towards him and looked at him.
“Just now it was meaningful,” Xing Bi said, “If it was just you, it wouldn’t be.”
“Why?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Because you need to be fast enough. It would take you longer to kill that wild boar,” Xing Bi said, “You might get injured…”
“Bullshit,” Qiu Shi refuted the latter part, “I have a gun.”
“Firing the gun might attract unnecessary trouble. Without firing the gun,” Xing Bi said, “You would need more time. While you’re not there, they might rob your car and the supplies in it, wasting your time.”
“Hmm,” Qiu Shi responded.
If he were alone, he wouldn’t have even stopped the car.
“Am I being hypocritical?” Qiu Shi asked.
“No,” Xing Bi said, “You’re just fragile.”
“F*ck your ancestors!” Qiu Shi cursed, “Don’t misuse words, it affects the partner’s mood!”
Two hours later, the road gradually became less bumpy, and the density of the surrounding forest decreased.
“Are we almost out?” Qiu Shi opened the car window and stuck his head out to look.
“Almost,” Xing Bi said.
“What’s ahead?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Mudflats,” Xing Bi said, “Some parts are swamps.”
“Will the car get stuck?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Not necessarily,” Xing Bi said, “The terrain here is always changing.”
“If the car gets stuck, we’ll have to walk,” Qiu Shi said, “I thought we could at least drive to the river.”
“After the mudflats, there’s the river. We should see the river by early tomorrow morning,” Xing Bi said.
“No wonder you were given twenty-eight days,” Qiu Shi was surprised, “The car can only run for a day.”
“More or less,” Xing Bi said.
“…I’m hungry,” Qiu Shi said, “I’ll get something to eat.”
Xing Bi stopped the car. Qiu Shi took his gun, got out, used the car door as a shield, scanned the surroundings, and then walked to the back, opened the car door, grabbed two cans and a bottle of water, and returned to the passenger seat.
Xing Bi didn’t start the car immediately, waiting for him to drink water.
“Xing Bi,” Qiu Shi took a sip of water, looked ahead, thought for a moment, and then spoke, “Can you already communicate, sense, or have some other kind of connection with other symbionts?”
Xing Bi didn’t speak; he just turned his head to look at him.
“In an unfamiliar environment, I got out of the car,” Qiu Shi also looked at him, “Without a map, you didn’t get out, no vigilance at all. Can you be sure there’s no danger around?”
“I can be sure there’s no danger,” Xing Bi said.
“How can you be sure?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Intuition,” Xing Bi said.
“My intuition tells me you’re lying,” Qiu Shi opened a can, pinched a piece of meat, and put it in his mouth, “But I have no evidence, and you won’t admit it.”
“Hmm,” Xing Bi responded.
“Would you kill me?” Qiu Shi asked.
“No,” Xing Bi said.
“Is it ‘won’t’ or ‘can’t’?” Qiu Shi pressed.
“I won’t,” Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi ate another piece of meat, wiped his hand on Xing Bi’s sleeve, took another gulp of water, and said, “Alright, I believe you.”
That habit of wiping his hands on other people’s clothes is so annoying 😂