The firelight made tonight, which wasn’t particularly dark, seem exceptionally black, and the group of people standing with their mouths open, shouting at them, looked as if they were standing on a burning altar, as if they were about to summon a spirit the next second.
This scene was more terrifying than any story Qiu Shi had ever collected in the storybooks since childhood.
Especially since these people were shouting Xing Bi’s name.
“Damn your ancestors!” Qiu Shi didn’t hesitate for a moment and fired at them.
“Ah—” Hu Xiaoling, who had already been scared stiff, was jolted awake by the gunshots. He grabbed the machine gun from his car and started spraying bullets wildly.
The infected, with their mouths wide open, were torn apart by the bullets, scattering in pieces amidst the fire.
Xing Bi pressed down on Qiu Shi’s hand that was holding the gun and took it from him.
It was only then that Qiu Shi came back to his senses, realizing his chest hurt from the shock.
After Hu Xiaoling stopped firing, the only sound left was the occasional cracking of the wooden boat in the fire.
“Are they dead?” Qiu Shi asked.
“They’re dead. You could take out a whole army five hundred meters away with your firepower,” Xing Bi said.
“What the hell are these things?” Hu Xiaoling stared with wide eyes. “When I saw Brother Shi clearing out the infected, they didn’t act like this!”
“They didn’t, originally,” Qiu Shi said. “When the symbiont appears, they turn like this.”
“Get in the car,” Xing Bi said.
“Let’s go quickly,” Hu Xiaoling said, “I’m scared.”
Not just Hu Xiaoling, Qiu Shi also felt scared. This was the first time he had personally felt the control of a host, and the host behind this one even knew Xing Bi.
He glanced at Xing Bi, who was driving. “Do you know who the host is?”
“I don’t know,” Xing Bi said. “There are many bioroids who know me.”
“Do you think they’re an enemy or a friend?” Qiu Shi asked.
“I honestly can’t remember,” Xing Bi said, “but my feeling is… an enemy.”
“Drive faster,” Qiu Shi only felt that the wound on his chest not only hurt but also felt cold. He pulled out some painkillers from his pocket and swallowed them.
“Sleep for a while,” Xing Bi said.
“I need to watch the map,” Qiu Shi stared at the map in front of him, even though it looked peaceful.
“There won’t be any problems,” Xing Bi said. “Their attention is still likely on Yun City and Donglin. They won’t divert their forces for us.”
“But there are still those random vagrants, wild bioroids…” Qiu Shi sighed. “It seems like there are no friendly people left in this world.”
“Random vagrants, wild bioroids, I can clear all of them,” Xing Bi said. “Sleep. If we don’t stop, we’ll be back in Yun City soon, and there won’t be time to rest then.”
“Will they lock you back up?” Qiu Shi frowned. “That hibernation pod?”
“For a short time, for checks and adjustments,” Xing Bi said, “to lift that 28-day restriction.”
“And then they’ll let you out again?” Qiu Shi said. “I don’t trust those people.”
“They will,” Xing Bi said. “Yun City needs as many bioroids as it can get right now.”
Qiu Shi didn’t say anything. If it weren’t for the ongoing crisis, Xing Bi would have been left in that dark pod, fully conscious, experiencing the slow passage of time.
He didn’t ask Xing Bi if he had any regrets. Those bioroids who ultimately chose to betray humanity at least appeared free. Time, to them, had color.
Qiu Shi hadn’t planned to sleep, but after the painkillers kicked in, he dozed off.
When he woke up, the car was parked. His seat had been reclined, and there was a piece of clothing covering him. He picked it up and looked at it, about to feel touched, when he realized it was his own jacket from his bag. He couldn’t help but laugh.
“I can still feel cold too,” Xing Bi’s voice suddenly came from outside, through a crack in the window. “I can’t take mine off to give to you.”
“Damn,” Qiu Shi sat up slowly. “Why did we stop?”
“Hu Xiaoling is an injured, highly stressed ordinary human,” Xing Bi said. “He needs some sleep. He’s in the back.”
Qiu Shi glanced back and saw Hu Xiaoling curled up between the luggage and supplies in the back, sleeping soundly.
“I need to take a piss,” Qiu Shi said as he opened the car door to get out.
The cold wind rushing in through the door instantly sobered him up, like chewing on a piece of mint.
“Put on your jacket,” Xing Bi pointed at the clothes that had been covering him. “It’s snowing.”
“What?” Qiu Shi froze.
“It’s snowing,” Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi put on the jacket, hunched his shoulders, and got out of the car. Sure enough, there were snowflakes swirling in the wind, and a thin layer of white had already covered the ground.
“Have you seen snow before?” Qiu Shi crossed his arms, looking up at the snowflakes that kept drifting toward his face.
“I used to not interact with regular people,” Xing Bi said. “But I could still experience normal weather.”
Qiu Shi tilted his head back and laughed.
“That Lin Sheng,” he asked, “was he as… close to being human as you?”
“Different personality,” Xing Bi said. “All second-generation bioroids had their own teachers. We’re probably closer to our teachers’ personalities, as they were the first humans we encountered.”
“What was your teacher like?” Qiu Shi turned to look at him.
“A kind old man,” Xing Bi said.
“You’re not kind at all,” Qiu Shi said.
Xing Bi chuckled.
“An old man, huh,” Qiu Shi thought for a moment. “So… he’s dead now?”
“Yeah,” Xing Bi said. “If it were a child, they’d be dead by now too.”
Qiu Shi clicked his tongue. “Yeah, when I die in a few decades, you’ll still be the same, huh?”
“I don’t know,” Xing Bi said.
“What’s there to not know?” Qiu Shi said. “Your previous partner died too, didn’t they?”
“Yeah,” Xing Bi responded.
“And you’re still like this,” Qiu Shi said.
“Yeah,” Xing Bi responded again.
“Are you short-circuiting?” Qiu Shi asked.
Xing Bi smiled. “Humans love thinking about death too much.”
“Because humans die, we’re afraid of dying,” Qiu Shi said. “Aren’t you scared too? Bioroids die too.”
“I’m just afraid of no longer existing,” Xing Bi said.
“What’s the difference?” Qiu Shi said.
“There is one,” Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi didn’t say anything. If he thought about it carefully, maybe there was a difference. But what it was, he couldn’t think through right now—his chest was so cold it hurt, and it was affecting his thoughts.
“I need to get back in the car. It’s too cold,” he turned to head back inside.
“Aren’t you going to pee?” Xing Bi asked. “Did it freeze?”
Qiu Shi leaned against the car door, laughing for a good while. “Would your pee freeze?”
“If it’s cold enough, the moment it comes out, it’ll freeze,” Xing Bi said. “It’s not like I piss hot water.”
“Damn,” Qiu Shi laughed as he walked to the back of the car. “I’d really like to meet your teacher.”
“You will,” Xing Bi said.
“Yeah,” Qiu Shi nodded. “When I die in a few decades, I’ll go down and chat with him.”
Hu Xiaoling was probably exhausted from being frightened and hurt, driving and stressed out. He was sleeping so deeply he seemed like he’d died, completely unable to wake up.
And his precious car had no roof, only a frame, so driving at night was too cold. Qiu Shi simply gave up on rushing through the night and decided to sleep until dawn.
However, this night, due to the ghost-like infected they’d encountered, Qiu Shi didn’t sleep well. He kept dreaming of getting stabbed in the chest by the infected, waking up in pain.
But each time he woke up, the first thing he saw was Xing Bi sitting quietly in the driver’s seat, staring ahead in a daze.
The last time he woke up, daylight had broken outside, with a warm, soft golden hue, and Xing Bi was bathed entirely in this golden light.
“Eat something before we head off,” Xing Bi reached out and touched his face.
“Huh?” Qiu Shi was momentarily stunned.
“You don’t have a fever,” Xing Bi said. “That wound of yours hasn’t had proper time to heal.”
“…Hu Xiaoling doesn’t have a fever, does he?” Qiu Shi asked.
“No,” came Hu Xiaoling’s voice from the back. “It just hurts, nothing else.”
“There are painkillers in the first aid kit. Take two,” Qiu Shi said.
“Oh,” Hu Xiaoling sighed. “I had nightmares all night, woke up crying several times, and even dreamed that Zhao Lü was dead.”
“If Zhao Lü knew, he’d beat you until you had nightmares for a month,” Qiu Shi said.
Hu Xiaoling chuckled twice and handed a can to Qiu Shi: “Want to eat? You haven’t eaten anything all this time.”
“I’ll eat one,” Qiu Shi took it, “I’m hungry.”
“What about you, Xing Bi?” Hu Xiaoling asked, “Do you eat gasoline?”
“Yeah,” Xing Bi looked at him, “I dip it in screws.”
“Damn.” Hu Xiaoling laughed.
After casually eating something, they set off again. Xing Bi initially wanted to drive Hu Xiaoling’s car and let Hu Xiaoling drive the bigger one, at least it would be warmer.
But Hu Xiaoling didn’t want to. Since his father had taken him to Yun City when he was a child, he had always lived outside the city. Although life as a corpse collector was better than that of many refugees, no one had much in the way of possessions.
Qiu Shi had promised him that if they could take this car back, it would be his, so he wasn’t willing to be separated from his “property” for even a second.
“Put on all your clothes,” Qiu Shi sighed, “Don’t freeze to death halfway.”
“If I freeze to death, remember to burn this car with me,” Hu Xiaoling jumped out of the vehicle.
“That’s impossible,” Qiu Shi said, “I’ll definitely keep it so Zhao Lü and I can drive it. You’d better not die, or we’ll drive around your grave every day.”
“Alright.” Hu Xiaoling ran over, jumped into the car, wrapped his head in a scarf, made a gesture, and drove off.
Although Yun City had temporarily resolved the crisis within the inner city, the surrounding area was still likely encircled by symbionts. On the return journey, Qiu Shi didn’t encounter any vagrants, refugees, or wandering bioroids.
Those who normally lived along the river must have noticed something unusual. Either they fled, hid, or were killed.
It was as if the whole world had emptied out.
Even the car they had left in the swamp had disappeared without a trace.
To avoid anyone tracking them and discovering the tunnel through the mountains, as well as to shorten their walking time, and to preserve the car Hu Xiaoling wanted, they took a slightly longer route, crossing the mountains from a more eastern point and entering the outskirts of Yun City.
However, the closer they got to Yun City, the more Qiu Shi’s mood sank.
It wasn’t just because of the crisis, which was unclear, with no visible outcome, and no end in sight. It was also because once they returned to Yun City, he didn’t know what kind of situation he and Xing Bi would face.
Although the time he had spent with Xing Bi wasn’t long, the things they had gone through together amounted to more than all the events of his previous twenty-five years combined.
Returning to Yun City meant separation. Even if it was just for inspection and repair, he suddenly felt a bit empty.
He didn’t want to be used as a tool by Yun City’s corrupt officials, but he also found it hard to imagine going back to the peaceful life of a corpse collector outside the city.
Everything had changed.
His brothers’ lives were also destined not to be as peaceful as they once were.
“Contact Li Feng,” Xing Bi said, “We’re getting close to Yun City’s perimeter, about two hours away.”
“That fast?” Qiu Shi asked.
“The road’s been smooth,” Xing Bi said. “We didn’t have to get out and walk, so of course it’s fast.”
“Hmm,” Qiu Shi looked ahead, “Will we pass the nest soon?”
“Yes, we came in through the area near Nest Three,” Xing Bi said. “We’ll pass by all three nests.”
Qiu Shi touched his arm, and a small light on the back of his hand lit up. After a moment, he heard Li Feng’s voice in his earpiece: “You’re back?”
“Almost there, currently in the eastern forest,” Qiu Shi said, “We should reach the outer city in about two hours.”
“Did you encounter anything on the way?” Li Feng asked, his voice hoarse and nasal.
“Strangely, no,” Qiu Shi said. “After crossing the river, there was nothing. We’ve been driving all the way here without issue.”
“The patrols near the nest have lost contact today,” Li Feng said, “Can you avoid it?”
“How could we?” Qiu Shi said, “There’s no road, we’d have to take the old waterway.”
“I’ll send out another team,” Li Feng said.
“For what?” Qiu Shi asked, “To send them to their deaths?”
“To mark the location.” Li Feng said.
“You’re really ruthless,” Qiu Shi said. “Why don’t you go yourself? You sound like you’re about to die anyway. Why not go mark it yourself?”
“No need to mark it,” Xing Bi said, “I can sense it in advance.”
“How’s Zhao Lü and the others?” Qiu Shi asked.
“I didn’t tell them you’d be back today. I didn’t want them to be upset if you didn’t make it,” Li Feng said. “When you get back, you can head to the shelter first.”
“Got it,” Qiu Shi replied.
Once they entered the forest, driving became difficult, but for safety reasons, they had to continue, and they even had to switch drivers. Xing Bi went to drive the all-terrain vehicle, while Hu Xiaoling drove the large truck they were in now.
“I can manage,” Hu Xiaoling said, “That vehicle’s stable.”
“That vehicle’s just a frame. I’m worried someone will chop you down,” Qiu Shi said.
“You underestimate me.” Hu Xiaoling laughed. As they neared Yun City, his mood lightened.
“I just spoke to Li Feng,” Qiu Shi said. “Zhao Lü and the others are doing fine, but they don’t know we’re coming back today. We can give them a surprise.”
“Didn’t bring anything for them though,” Hu Xiaoling frowned.
“Donglin canned food,” Qiu Shi said.
“That works,” Hu Xiaoling laughed. “It’s pretty good. I think it’s fresher than the Yun City canned food.”
“Get Li Feng to bring some good liquor tonight,” Qiu Shi said.
“Can you join us tonight?” Hu Xiaoling asked. “Will they make you go to the inner city to report?”
“I’m not going,” Qiu Shi said. “I’m going to drink first.”
“What about Xing Bi?” Hu Xiaoling asked again.
Qiu Shi was silent for a moment: “He has to return to the pod for repairs.”
Hu Xiaoling was silent too, and after a long pause, he sighed: “I’m having a hard time adjusting. He’s practically human, just a more capable person than us. All this talk about returning to the pod for repairs sounds really awkward.”
Qiu Shi smiled but said nothing more.
Even though Li Feng had said the forest might be dangerous, perhaps because the scenery, terrain, and even the smell of the air were familiar to Qiu Shi, he wasn’t too nervous.
Still, he kept the map open, watching the shifting patterns on the interface, checking for hidden spots where symbionts might be lurking. The map couldn’t always display them.
For now, only three small lights were visible.
“Is the forest completely dark now?” Hu Xiaoling was shocked when he saw the edge of Nest Three. “The whole area…”
The car ahead, driven by Xing Bi, suddenly slowed down. Hu Xiaoling quickly slowed down as well. “What’s going on, Brother Shi? Ask him what’s happening?”
“Can you see anything on the map?” Xing Bi’s voice came through the earpiece.
“No,” Qiu Shi said, “Did you sense something? Symbionts?”
“Yes,” Xing Bi said, “Both the main body and symbionts are present.”
“On the map…” Before Qiu Shi could finish, a cluster of small lights suddenly appeared on the edge of the map. “We’re surrounded.”
“You drive through,” Xing Bi’s vehicle suddenly swerved left, clearing the path.
“What?” Qiu Shi was momentarily stunned, but he didn’t hesitate, motioning for Hu Xiaoling to keep driving.
Their car sped past Xing Bi’s vehicle.
“What’s happening?” Hu Xiaoling shouted.
“Don’t stop,” Xing Bi said, “They’re trying to trap us here.”
“Go,” Qiu Shi ordered. He and Hu Xiaoling were both injured, and in this situation, they wouldn’t be much help and would only distract Xing Bi.
Looking out the window, Qiu Shi could already see the infected rushing toBut it was difficult to hit them.
These infected weren’t standing; they were all crawling on the ground, using all fours to swiftly move toward them under the cover of rocks.
The scene was no less eerie than what happened on the boat last night.
Qiu Shi gritted his teeth, leaned out of the window, and threw a grenade forward, but the effect wasn’t great either. The enemies were able to dodge, and once again, because of the rugged terrain, not many infected were hit by the blast.
“Brother Shi!” Hu Xiaoling shouted, “Get back inside! Close the window!”
Qiu Shi got back in the car and saw that the infected had already swarmed the driver’s side of the vehicle, covering the window.
He quickly closed the window and turned to look at Xing Bi’s side.
“Xing Bi!” he called, “What are you doing?”
Xing Bi stood by the car without moving.
The infected had surrounded him, and what made Qiu Shi feel a chill down his spine were the few symbiotic organisms that had jumped down from the trees.
Judging by their movements and posture, they were symbionts.
And Xing Bi had mentioned before that this type of paired symbiotic form was resistant to being controlled by other main organisms.
“Xing Bi! You bastard!” Qiu Shi yelled in panic, “Run!”
“The main organism is here,” Xing Bi said.
The main organism was present, and Xing Bi intended to kill it.
“Run!” Qiu Shi shouted.
Their car was already covered in infected creatures, and Hu Xiaoling could barely see the road ahead, driving forward purely by instinct.
Qiu Shi could barely make out Xing Bi’s situation through the infected clinging to the car’s rear window, but he had already been surrounded by the infected and the symbionts jumping from the trees. His condition was unclear.
“I won’t die,” Xing Bi’s voice came through the earpiece, distorted with interference.
“Damn you!” Qiu Shi reached to open the car door.
But the door made a clicking sound and locked.
Qiu Shi quickly turned his head and stared at Hu Xiaoling.
“Brother Shi,” Hu Xiaoling said, “Stay calm. You’ve always trusted him, and he’s never been wrong.”
“I…” Before Qiu Shi could finish speaking, a massive explosion erupted from behind.
Qiu Shi’s heart sank.
When he turned his head, all he could see through the gaps between the infected was smoke, flames, and scattered debris.
The earpiece was silent, and due to the interference from the symbionts, the map in front of him also disappeared.
“Xing Bi.” Qiu Shi called softly, but there was no response. He raised his voice, “Xing Bi!”
Still, no reply came.
The earpiece had lost connection.
Qiu Shi closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Xing Bi was a capable person. After going through so many battles together, he had never made a mistake. He was a perfect Level 1 Hidden Guard, a badass hidden guard who even got recognized by fans when crossing a river in the wild.
He wasn’t the type to sacrifice his life unnecessarily.
He wouldn’t die.
…
“Brother Shi,” Hu Xiaoling’s voice brought him back to reality, “Do you know the way?”
The sound of infected frantically clawing at the car became clearer.
“I don’t,” Qiu Shi steadied his gun, ready to clear the infected off the vehicle, “Just keep driving.”
As soon as he spoke, the car fell into a pit, then bounced up with a jolt.
Qiu Shi braced himself, cracked open the window slightly, and stuck the gun out, but hitting the infected in the head, which was necessary to kill them, was impossible from this angle.
“Damn you!” he cursed, pulling out another grenade, intending to throw it directly onto the hood. The car was bulletproof, so theoretically, it should be able to withstand an explosion.
Suddenly, there was a loud “thunk” from the front of the vehicle, and the whole car shook.
“There’s someone,” Qiu Shi said.
Just as he was about to tell Hu Xiaoling to speed up and shake the person off, a long knife slashed across the necks of the infected clinging to the hood.
Black liquid sprayed out.
Then the infected were kicked off the car.
“Holy…” Hu Xiaoling glanced outside and was stunned.
Qiu Shi also froze when he saw the person standing on the hood with a knife: “Deng Yeye?”
Deng Yeye pointed to the right front and then jumped onto the roof of the car.
“Go that way,” Qiu Shi said.
“Got it!” Hu Xiaoling responded, “It’s her! She told me to pass a message to you, then knocked me out. I ended up in Donglin!”
Qiu Shi had no idea what connection Deng Yeye had with Donglin or why she was here.
But the infected outside were quickly cleared away by her.
Qiu Shi turned back to check on Xing Bi’s situation, but the place where the explosion had occurred was now lost in the dense forest, completely out of sight, with only drifting smoke visible.
The earpiece remained silent.
“Should we follow her?” Hu Xiaoling asked.
“Yes, for now,” Qiu Shi said, lowering the window and leaning out to speak to Deng Yeye, who was crouching on the hood. “Thanks.”
“Follow me,” Deng Yeye jumped off the car, ran a few steps, and quickly retrieved a motorcycle from behind a rock. She returned to the side of their car. “This area is full of their people. We’ll go around the back of the city.”
This detour around the back of the city wasn’t easy either. Hu Xiaoling’s driving skills were limited, and Qiu Shi felt like his wounds, which had been healing, were being torn open again, as if he had just been stabbed.
Fortunately, the journey wasn’t too long. Deng Yeye, who was leading the way, stopped in a gravel clearing that had been artificially cleared.
Qiu Shi didn’t get out of the car, but he could smell a strong stench of rot.
Deng Yeye turned back. “This is it. I’m leaving. The Yun City guards will spot me soon.”
“Where is this?” Qiu Shi was unfamiliar with the area.
Deng Yeye pointed ahead, then turned her bike and sped back into the forest, leaving behind a single sentence.
“Yun City’s fertilizer pit.”
“Fertilizer pit?” Hu Xiaoling sounded puzzled.
At that moment, Qiu Shi suddenly realized what the stench in the air was.ward them from all sides. He lowered the window, stuck his gun out, and fired a few shots at the oncoming infected.
