Qiu Shi turned around and looked at Xing Bi, who was leaning against the tree trunk.
“What did you say?” he asked.
“I was born for humans, a friend who will never betray,” Xing Bi said in a very low voice.
The intense sense of oppression disappeared, and so did the indifference.
Now, Xing Bi was completely shrouded in sadness. Even though his ability to move was controlled, Qiu Shi could still see the endless sorrow in his eyes.
And despair.
It was different from the despair of refugees struggling in the apocalypse. Xing Bi’s despair was painful, confused, and lost.
Qiu Shi had already recovered from the shock. What Xing Bi was referring to was the battle in Yun City years ago.
Humans expelled all the bioroids and chopped off the head of the bioroid
inside the founder’s statue, and erased all traces of their existence in Yun City.
Since then, Yun City had become a safe haven, a utopia belonging only to humans.
And the truth behind all of this might never be fully known.
When Xing Bi said, “I, as their friend, killed them all,” he was likely referring to a part of the buried truth from that time.
Yun City used bioroids, drove them away, and cleaned them up. The direct participants had their memories locked away, were confined in hibernation pods, and began a seemingly endless journey into darkness.
Qiu Shi didn’t go to get the car. Instead, he walked back to Xing Bi, slowly squatting down beside him.
“Xing Bi?” He put an arm around Xing Bi’s shoulder, letting him lean on him, and hugged him tightly.
Xing Bi remained silent.
“I’ll sing you a song,” Qiu Shi said.
Xing Bi still didn’t respond.
Qiu Shi cleared his throat. This was probably the first time in his 25 years of life that he had sung, and it happened to be a song he had only heard once.
Fortunately, the song was quite simple, and for some reason, he remembered it clearly.
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you,” Qiu Shi tried to recall the tune, getting it approximately right, “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…”
Xing Bi closed his eyes.
“How was it?” Qiu Shi lowered his head. “Did I sing it right?”
“Is this the only song you can sing?” Xing Bi asked, his voice still low.
“Yes,” Qiu Shi said, “How did I do?”
“You were off-key,” Xing Bi said.
“No problem,” Qiu Shi said, “Let me think, I might be able to remember it better.”
He closed his eyes, recalling that night, that swamp, that battle, that fire, and Xing Bi, who had sung to him.
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…” Qiu Shi started singing again.
There was a faint static noise in his earpiece, followed by Li Feng’s voice: “Qiu Shi…”
Since Xing Bi was now controlled, the signal jamming caused by him had been lifted.
“Happy birthday to you…” Qiu Shi didn’t respond and kept singing.
“Whose birthday? Why are you singing?” Li Feng sounded bewildered.
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…”
“Have you found Xing Bi?” Li Feng asked.
“Happy birthday to you…”
Li Feng didn’t say anything else, seemingly listening.
After Qiu Shi had sung several times, he finally responded to Li Feng: “Xing Bi is under control. I’ll bring him back shortly.”
“The car is ready. We can pick him up anytime,” Li Feng said, not asking any further about the singing.
“I’ll come along too,” Qiu Shi said.
“I thought you were heading back to the bunker,” Li Feng replied.
“I’ll report first, then return,” Qiu Shi said.
“Alright,” Li Feng said, “Just finish up quickly and don’t take too long. We need to handle this before informing Colonel Xu, and time is tight.”
“Understood,” Qiu Shi answered.
On the other end, Li Feng fell silent.
Qiu Shi cleared his throat and took a deep breath. Just as he was about to start singing again, Xing Bi finally spoke: “It’s already a completely different song.”
Qiu Shi was stunned for a moment and then started laughing.
Xing Bi didn’t laugh, nor did he say anything else. He continued to keep his eyes closed, remaining quiet.
“I’ll go get the car,” Qiu Shi said. “Director Li said we’re short on time.”
Xing Bi didn’t reply.
Qiu Shi laid him gently on the ground, quickly got up, and ran to bring the car over to where Xing Bi was.
Although the wound on his chest didn’t hurt, it was still there, and lifting Xing Bi wasn’t easy. Adding to that, Xing Bi was heavier than a human of the same height, and Qiu Shi felt his wound stretch as he struggled to get Xing Bi into the car.
He then gritted his teeth and dragged the bioroids that Xing Bi had killed to the back of the car, tying it to the rear with a rope.
“I was actually thinking of releasing you,” Qiu Shi said as he let Xing Bi lie in the back seat and secured him with the seatbelt. “But… right now you’ve got that 28-day restriction, and it looks like the only people who can save you are Li Feng and Curator Wu, so you’ll need to cooperate.”
Xing Bi looked at him.
“Alright,” Qiu Shi gave him a gentle pat on the face, then jumped into the driver’s seat. After checking the map to ensure the area was safe, he started the car. “Now, let’s drive.”
The car maneuvered around the overturned patrol vehicle and the bodies on the ground, all with their chests pierced through by a single punch, heading in the direction of Exit 1.
Qiu Shi thought about the memories Xing Bi had mentioned. After the signal with Li Feng was restored, Xing Bi didn’t bring it up again. Qiu Shi didn’t know if Xing Bi’s originally locked memories had been unlocked or if something had been triggered during the process of killing the bioroids. In any case, if Xing Bi didn’t talk about it, he wouldn’t let Li Feng know.
And Qiu Shi didn’t want to ask any more questions.
“Sometimes, I don’t want to know everything.”
He remembered the words Xing Bi had once said. At the time, Qiu Shi didn’t understand what he meant.
Now that he thought about it, if those locked memories contained things like this, perhaps Xing Bi truly didn’t want to remember them.
There was already a display car parked at Exit 1. As soon as Qiu Shi parked, he jumped out of the car and quickly went to check the back.
“No transfer container,” Li Feng said, waving his hand.
A few people in lab coats ran over, lifted Xing Bi onto a stretcher, and placed him into the display car. The bioroids they brought back was still the same and was packed into a sealed box to be taken to the lab as well.
“Get in the car,” Li Feng nodded towards Qiu Shi. “My car will follow behind.”
Qiu Shi climbed into the display car and sat beside Xing Bi’s stretcher.
The lab technicians had already begun scanning Xing Bi’s body carefully with their instruments. The display screen beside them continuously updated with dense streams of data.
“Where’s Curator Wu?” Qiu Shi asked.
“In the lab preparing,” one of the lab staff responded.
“How’s Xing Bi’s condition?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Looks mostly normal for now; lots of shrapnel wounds, but nothing too serious,” the person glanced at him, “Do you need your wound taken care of? Is it opening up?”
Qiu Shi lowered his head and looked at his chest, realizing his clothes were soaked with blood.
“I’ll deal with it when we get there,” he said.
Heading toward the exhibition hall, they passed a few roads that Qiu Shi was familiar with. As he glanced out through the window cracks, he realized the atmosphere in the inner city had completely changed.
The previous sense of peace and superior tranquility had vanished.
Besides the areas that had been bombed, exposing parts of the mountain underneath, there were hardly any pedestrians on the streets. At a glance, the only people in sight were wearing uniforms from either the Security Bureau or the City Defense Department.
It was clear that some of the damage wasn’t caused by the symbiont attack, but rather resembled the style of looting that was common in the outer city, likely by refugees.
“Have refugees entered the inner city?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Yes,” one of the lab staff nodded, “A lot of clashes occurred, many people died.”
Qiu Shi didn’t respond. Upon hearing “many people died,” his first thought was of the pit full of minced flesh and bone shards in the fertilizer pool, making him feel nauseous.
He turned his head away and dry-heaved a couple of times, even tearing up from the effort.
“Did you hit your head?” a medical assistant asked.
“No,” Qiu Shi replied, “It’s just… maybe I’m hungry.”
The medical assistant handed him a can.
Qiu Shi hesitated for a moment, his stomach churning, but he had no choice but to accept it.
To be honest, he was grateful it wasn’t a can of meat. A vegetable can was at least a little less repulsive to him.
Though he didn’t really want to eat the vegetable can either, he didn’t want to make it too obvious, so he quickly opened it and shoved a few bites of the vegetables into his mouth, gulping down the broth in two swallows.
“Thanks.” He tossed the empty can into the trash bag nearby and wiped his hands on Xing Bi’s clothes.
The medical assistant froze mid-motion while handing him a tissue.
“Sorry.” Qiu Shi took the tissue, wiped his hands, and then wiped Xing Bi’s clothes.
Xing Bi had kept his eyes closed the whole time, from the moment they got in the vehicle until now. He hadn’t opened his eyes once, and he looked peaceful, almost as if he were asleep.
Qiu Shi wondered if Xing Bi had been in a similar state—peaceful and lonely—while in that transfer case or stasis pod.
As if detached from the world.
Underground in the exhibition hall, in the lab.
Besides the Security Bureau’s warehouse, this lab was probably the place Qiu Shi was most familiar with in the inner city.
This enormous room, filled with all sorts of equipment, led to corridors on either side, each lined with small rooms housing stasis pods.
And that transparent glass dome.
Now Xing Bi was back inside that dome, sitting there quietly.
“The 28 days,” Qiu Shi said.
“Remove the time limit,” Curator Wu ordered.
One of the lab staff entered the glass dome and jabbed something unknown into the back of Xing Bi’s neck. Someone else operated a machine nearby, canceling Xing Bi’s countdown.
“Remove the control,” Curator Wu said.
The lab staff released Qiu Shi’s control over Xing Bi.
Sitting with his head lowered, Xing Bi slowly lifted it, his gaze sweeping across the faces in the room, eventually stopping at Qiu Shi.
“Xing Bi,” Curator Wu picked up the microphone, “Welcome back. How do you feel?”
“Not much,” Xing Bi replied.
“Now, I’m going to give you a comprehensive check-up,” Curator Wu said, “At the same time, you and Qiu Shi will need to report the situation from Donglin to Director Li. He’ll also ask you some questions. Only the four of us will stay in the lab.”
Although on the surface, Xing Bi seemed to have returned to his previous state, and in the lab, he was typically cold and rarely spoke, Qiu Shi still felt that something was off about him.
It wasn’t about being under control or not, but more about his emotions.
Qiu Shi glanced at Li Feng, who was a very perceptive person. Most of the time, Qiu Shi had no idea what Li Feng was thinking. Now, he also didn’t know what this version of Xing Bi meant to Li Feng.
“Let’s start with Donglin,” Li Feng sat back in his chair, looking relaxed, “It’s now a place where humans and bioroids coexist, along with some symbionts, correct?”
“Yes,” Qiu Shi replied.
“Do you know the origin of the bioroids? Did you recognize any of them, Xing Bi?” Li Feng asked, glancing at him.
“No,” Xing Bi replied, his voice steady and formal, “But they knew me.”
“Do you know their names?” Li Feng asked.
“Chen Dang,” Xing Bi said.
“Is the mayor still the original Mayor Luo?” Li Feng continued to ask.
“Yes,” Qiu Shi replied, “But many of the human residents have changed. Most of the old residents were either killed or driven out. Those who remain… say nothing.”
Li Feng nodded.
He quickly organized the information from Qiu Shi and Xing Bi’s brief descriptions in his mind.
The situation in Donglin Town was more complicated than Li Feng had expected. The mayor had chosen to accept both bioroids and symbionts, but it seemed his methods weren’t gentle. The original human residents had mostly been replaced.
Donglin Town was now a well-equipped town, no less armed than Yun City, and it had both bioroids and symbionts. Even the remaining humans were not all ordinary. This was something Li Feng didn’t want anyone to know at the moment. He wasn’t sure what this meant for the higher-ups in Yun City, but the secret wouldn’t stay hidden for long. Mayor Luo had hinted at seeking collaboration with Yun City again.
Once communication was restored, Donglin wouldn’t contact Li Feng but would reach out directly to the general or Mr. Long.
Li Feng quickly tapped his fingers on his temple. He needed to meet Mr. Long privately soon.
“What about the Symbiont army?” Curator Wu asked, looking at Xing Bi, “Can you accurately answer that in your current state?”
“Yes,” Xing Bi replied, “Their numbers are unclear, but they appear in small squads, with most of the members being Level One. Squad members include both Level One and Level Two, and they can block control signals from outside the squad.”
“So, you mean,” Curator Wu said, “when they act as a squad, for example, you cannot forcibly control them?”
“Yes,” Xing Bi confirmed.
“Could you do that?” Li Feng asked, “If I gave you a few symbionts, could you control them like that?”
“I haven’t tried,” Xing Bi replied.
“No worries,” Li Feng said, “We can try later.”
“What about symbionts that don’t act in squads?” Curator Wu asked, “Individual symbionts—can you control them?”
“I can, but if they’re experienced enough, they can actively defend against being controlled,” Xing Bi explained.
“It all depends on the strength of the controlling party and the symbiont being controlled,” Li Feng said, “Did you learn about Donglin’s jamming system?”
“It can block all communication signals,” Qiu Shi replied, “and can also block the biological signals of symbionts.”
Li Feng glanced at Curator Wu: “We should have sent you there to study it.”
“We can achieve that too,” Curator Wu said, “but not with just me alone, even with your help.”
Li Feng chuckled, “As long as it can be done.”
After learning about Donglin and the Symbionts, Li Feng summarized the information. There weren’t any major issues, and it could be reported directly to Colonel Xu.
The next part, however, wouldn’t be so easy to handle.
“Lao Wu,” Li Feng turned to Curator Wu.
“When you call me that, there’s never any good news,” Curator Wu frowned.
Li Feng pulled out a gun and pointed it at Curator Wu: “You’re being coerced to turn off all recording and surveillance equipment. Everything you hear must be kept confidential.”
“I can leave,” Curator Wu said as he turned off the equipment and stood up.
“You can’t leave. Sit down,” Li Feng waved the gun slightly, “There’s a technical issue. I need you here.”
Curator Wu sighed and sat back down in his chair.
Qiu Shi looked at Li Feng. In the past, when Li Feng held a gun, Qiu Shi didn’t think much of it.
Li Feng was indeed a corrupt official, but on the surface, he didn’t seem so malicious. In fact, he was refined and slightly frail-looking, not someone with strong combat abilities.
But now, when Li Feng held the gun again, Qiu Shi’s mind flashed to the moment when Li Feng shot the squad leader, decisive and without hesitation, and with impeccable aim.
“If Curator Wu doesn’t cooperate, and Li Feng has no other way to resolve the issue, Qiu Shi feels that Li Feng will pull the trigger.”
“Xing Bi,” Li Feng stood up, walked to the glass enclosure, and looked at Xing Bi, “Can you describe the situation today when you killed that symbiont squad?”
“Normal cleanup,” Xing Bi replied.
“The process,” Li Feng placed his hand on the glass enclosure, leaning in closer to look at Xing Bi, “I know you only trust Qiu Shi among the people here, but only if I understand the situation can I help you and the bioroids and symbionts that will soon be activated.”
Xing Bi didn’t speak; his gaze swept past Li Feng’s face and fell behind him.
Li Feng moved aside so that Xing Bi could see Qiu Shi.
After about ten seconds of silence, Xing Bi spoke, his voice carrying the usual hoarseness, calm without any emotion: “The primary host simultaneously controlled five symbionts and seventy-six infected individuals, attacking our two vehicles separately.”
“Hmm.” Li Feng nodded.
“There were too many of them, no way to clear them one by one,” Xing Bi continued, looking at Qiu Shi, “Qiu Shi’s vehicle attracted some of the infected, and the rest I used the terrain to kill with explosives.”
“Were the symbionts also killed by the explosion?” Li Feng asked.
“No,” Xing Bi replied, still looking at Qiu Shi, “I killed them individually, then tracked the primary host.”
“How did you find the primary host?” Li Feng asked.
This question seemed somewhat sensitive, as Xing Bi withdrew his gaze from Qiu Shi’s face, briefly glancing at Li Feng’s face: “Through the symbiont’s brain.”
Li Feng frowned, “How exactly…”
“With my hand,” Xing Bi answered.
“…Got it,” Li Feng nodded, “And then you found the primary host?”
“Yes, normal cleanup,” Xing Bi said.
Li Feng looked at him.
“But the primary host self-destructed,” Xing Bi said.
“The primary host self-destructed?” Li Feng was stunned for a moment and turned to glance at Curator Wu, “Has anyone examined the primary host we brought back?”
“They’re examining it now,” Curator Wu said, “There will be results in half an hour.”
“And then?” Li Feng continued to ask.
Xing Bi didn’t immediately respond; a flash of pain quickly passed over his face, and his eyes were no longer calm.
“Xing Bi.” Qiu Shi stood up, walked to the glass enclosure, and placed his hand on the glass.
Xing Bi looked at him and slowly raised his hand. Qiu Shi thought he was going to place his hand against his, but Xing Bi didn’t. Instead, he placed his hand beside Qiu Shi’s.
A deep wound ran right down the middle of Xing Bi’s palm.
“Was that inflicted by the primary host?” Li Feng quickly asked.
“Yes, before it self-destructed,” Xing Bi said, “And then I saw, or rather… remembered.”
“Remembered what?” Li Feng pressed.
“I remembered how,” Xing Bi slightly tilted his head, squinting his eyes a little, “I wiped out the bioroids in Yun City back then.”
This was probably not the answer Li Feng had expected, nor something he fully understood from history, and he froze.
“Only a portion of the first-class hidden guards managed to escape,” Xing Bi said, “The rest were destroyed. In cooperation with our partners… four hundred and thirty-seven bioroids were destroyed and sealed.”
When Xing Bi said the word “partners,” Qiu Shi suddenly found it hard to breathe.
The so-called cooperation was more about control and coercion.
“Born for humanity, never betraying them,” Xing Bi said, “We are humanity’s… friends.”
“Back then, your partners,” Li Feng said with some difficulty, “They were all soldiers, right?”
“Yes.” Xing Bi answered.
“So you killed the patrol squad because of anger and hatred,” Li Feng said, “Because they were wearing the same uniforms as those people back then.”
Xing Bi didn’t say anything, his gaze once again shifting to Qiu Shi.
Qiu Shi looked back at him, also staying silent.
“Curator Wu,” Li Feng’s voice came from behind, “What are you…”
“Curator Wu, you didn’t know either, did you? These things,” Li Feng turned and sat back in his chair, letting out a long sigh.
“How could I know about this?” Curator Wu said, “Even Mr. Long and the General might not fully understand.”
“Xing Bi,” Li Feng composed himself and asked again, “Who was your partner during those missions back then?”
“Lin Sheng,” Xing Bi answered.
“This is going to be a problem.” Curator Wu’s voice trembled a little.
“Problem my ass,” Li Feng glanced at him and lowered his voice, “Lin Sheng’s memories haven’t even been unlocked.”
“Lock my memories again,” Xing Bi spoke up.
Li Feng turned to look at Curator Wu.
“This might…” Curator Wu, who was very knowledgeable about bioroids, frowned, “Your memories haven’t been unlocked; what you’re seeing and feeling are the other person’s memories. These memories trigger your data overflow, autonomously…”
“So what you’re saying is, his memories are still locked, and the things he’s recalling were locked to begin with,” Li Feng interrupted Curator Wu, “So there’s nothing to lock now, is that it?”
“Yes,” Curator Wu confirmed.
“Damn it,” Qiu Shi cursed.
He hadn’t experienced that kind of pain himself, but anyone with half a brain could imagine how excruciating it must have been. Qiu Shi would feel despair just looking at those refugees struggling to enter Yun City before death overtook them, let alone actually carrying out the purge.
No matter how close to humans they were, those bioroids were still Xing Bi’s kind—thinking, feeling beings, just like him.
The hatred born from such pain had allowed Xing Bi, at the moment those memories resurfaced, to flip over the patrol car and kill an entire squad.
And now, this pain he had once chosen to bury might stay with him forever…
Qiu Shi felt cold all over.
Xing Bi, however, showed no strong reaction, merely looking at him.
“Xing Bi,” Qiu Shi lightly tapped the glass enclosure, looking at Xing Bi, his voice low, “Do you hate me?”
