Xing Bi had already been transferred onto the medical vehicle, where two doctors were performing emergency cleaning and disinfection on his wounds.
Qiu Shi entered the dormitory on the first floor of the supermarket and immediately saw Liu Wu, who was tied up and sitting against the wall. His left hand had been immobilized by Sang Fan using a metal shard as a makeshift splint, preventing any movement.
“Liu Wu,” Qiu Shi crouched down in front of him. “Squad Three is disbanded. All members except Lin Sheng will be integrated into Xima Town’s garrison, including you. Your partnership with Lin Sheng is also officially dissolved.”
Liu Wu glared at him.
“I’ll untie you in a moment. You’ll take the former Squad Three members and report to Captain Yang,” Qiu Shi continued. “If you have any objections, you’re free to escalate them—Li Feng, Colonel Xu, either one will do.”
Liu Wu remained silent.
“Let him go,” Qiu Shi stood up.
Zhao Yi stepped forward and untied Liu Wu. The man got up without a word—no curses, no resistance. He simply turned around and walked out of the dormitory in silence.
“Sang Fan and Zuo You will come with me to escort Xing Bi back to Yun City,” Qiu Shi said. Then he nodded at Zhao Yi, signaling him to step outside with him. “Lin Sheng is under Squad Two now. If anything comes up while I’m gone, you can consult with him. Also… keep an eye on Xima Town’s perimeter.”
“Mm.” Zhao Yi glanced toward the supermarket, where the sky was pitch black.
“Don’t worry,” Qiu Shi lowered his voice. “There are still… our people out there.”
“Who?” Zhao Yi asked immediately.
Qiu Shi didn’t answer.
“Got it,” Zhao Yi said. “You don’t need to worry about things here. Just focus on getting Xing Bi back safely.”
The medical vehicle was ready to depart. Qiu Shi climbed inside. Xing Bi was strapped to the medical bed, IV lines connected to his arm, and several monitors tracking his vitals.
“You should go to the front,” Qiu Shi said to the doctor standing nearby.
“But…” The doctor hesitated.
“It’s fine,” Qiu Shi assured him. “If anything happens, you can come back.”
“Alright.” The doctor moved to the front compartment.
Now, only Qiu Shi and Xing Bi remained in the medical cabin.
“Where did Ji Sui and Xu Jie go?” Qiu Shi asked.
“They’re outside,” Xing Bi replied. “Might head to Wei Yuan’s place.”
“Wei Yuan?” Qiu Shi was momentarily stunned.
“You don’t know the old man’s name?” Xing Bi asked.
“I only knew his surname was Wei. As a kid, I called him Lao Wei. Later, for convenience, I just called him ‘Old Man,’” Qiu Shi said. “In the outer city, he’s the only one old enough to be called that anyway.”
Xing Bi chuckled.
“How are you feeling now?” Qiu Shi asked. “You look awful.”
“If I were human, I’d be dead before reaching Yun City,” Xing Bi said. “Mainly due to blood loss—left rib, spleen…”
“Bioroids have all their internal organs intact?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Of course,” Xing Bi said. “Otherwise, it’d be pretty empty in there. If there was only a stomach, it’d rattle around.”
Qiu Shi laughed. It felt bitter, but he still couldn’t help himself.
After a while, he rubbed his face and sighed.
“Anything you want to say?” Xing Bi asked. “I might pass out soon.”
“Zheng Ting’s first strike wasn’t fatal, but he still had a chance to kill you. And you weren’t completely unable to kill him either,” Qiu Shi said. “Am I right?”
“Mm.” Xing Bi looked at him. “You’re getting sharp, partner.”
“Symbionts can always sense each other’s… emotions, can’t they?” Qiu Shi said.
Xing Bi smiled faintly.
“And they’re more susceptible to control,” Qiu Shi added. “That’s why you brought up that condition with Li Feng.”
“Yes,” Xing Bi admitted.
Qiu Shi didn’t say anything. Just as he was about to speak again, Xing Bi had already closed his eyes, as if he had lost consciousness.
Qiu Shi reached out, gently brushing Xing Bi’s face before gripping his hand—it was ice-cold.
The vehicle drove for a while. As they neared Dushi, the small indicator light on Qiu Shi’s wrist flashed.
He connected to Li Feng’s call.
“How far are you?” Li Feng asked.
“We’ll arrive before sunset,” Qiu Shi replied.
“Did you bring the Super-Symbiote?” Li Feng asked.
“Mm,” Qiu Shi confirmed. “Did Curator Wu respond? Is symbiosis reversible?”
“It’s not easy,” Li Feng said. “But the next batch of bioroid symbiosis experiments has been halted.”
“So it’s possible,” Qiu Shi said. “Curator Wu isn’t happy about it, is he?”
“We can suppress the fungus first, then see if it can be removed,” Li Feng said. “Even if Wu isn’t willing, I can force him. The question is whether he can actually do it.”
Qiu Shi could choose to trust Li Feng’s words, but he had no trust in Curator Wu.
Whether or not symbiosis was reversible was a future concern. Right now, what worried Qiu Shi was this surgery—because he knew Curator Wu had always regretted not being able to fully modify Xing Bi. That alone made him untrustworthy.
If he had already chosen not to trust him, then he would stick to that choice.
Upon arrival at the lab, Xing Bi was immediately prepped for surgery. Everything was ready; they were just waiting to take him into the operating room.
“The surgery might take a while,” Curator Wu, now dressed in surgical gear, said. “I’ll be assisting the doctors—”
Before he could finish, Qiu Shi suddenly grabbed him by the collar.
At the same time, his other hand shot up, holding a syringe-like device.
Before Curator Wu or Li Feng could react, Qiu Shi pressed the syringe against Wu’s neck and injected it.
“What are you doing?!” Curator Wu struggled to cover his neck and then saw blood on his hand. “What did you do?! Qiu Shi!”
“Qiu Shi?” Li Feng was also shocked.
Qiu Shi waved the object in his hand in front of them. “If I find anything wrong with Xing Bi, Curator Wu, you die.”
“What did you inject?! Where did it come from?!” Curator Wu roared.
“If Xing Bi is fine, you’ll be fine,” Qiu Shi said.
As a curator, Wu’s official position wasn’t very high, but as the chief scientific advisor of Yun City, his status was quite secure. Seeking stability and avoiding conflict was his principle, yet he still carried a sense of authority—especially in front of a corpse collector with no background whatsoever.
He raised his hand to pick up the phone, ready to call the security guards in.
“Lao Wu,” Li Feng pressed down on his hand. “Calm down. Now is not the time to argue about this. Getting Xing Bi repaired quickly and without complications is the key to solving the problem.”
Curator Wu still wanted to say something, but Li Feng didn’t give him the chance. “Let’s begin first. I’ll question him.”
Curator Wu stared at Qiu Shi.
“Thank you for your hard work, Curator Wu,” Qiu Shi said.
Li Feng pushed Curator Wu into the operating room, shut the door, and then turned to face Qiu Shi. “Let me see what that is.”
Qiu Shi took a syringe from his pocket and placed it in Li Feng’s hand.
It was a syringe used for subcutaneous injections of various control systems and long-acting drugs, already in a used state.
“Where did you get this?” Li Feng examined it and saw a laboratory’s logo on it.
“From the medical vehicle,” Qiu Shi said.
“Who used it?” Li Feng asked.
“Curator Wu, of course,” Qiu Shi replied, his eyes fixed on Xing Bi, who was lying on the hospital bed beyond the glass wall.
“He’s already inside. He won’t come out until the procedure is done,” Li Feng said. “If you used one that had been injected into Xing Bi, there could be fungi on it. If it’s not handled in time, Lao Wu could really be in trouble. At that point, whether symbiosis is reversible or not would be completely uncertain.”
Qiu Shi looked at him and clicked his tongue. “It was a fresh one. I jabbed it into the ground before I came in. He only got a small scratch.”
Li Feng chuckled. “You’ve learned how to play these tricks now.”
Qiu Shi said nothing and walked up to the glass wall.
“You can take a break,” Li Feng said. “The surgery will take at least a few hours.”
“I’m not tired right now,” Qiu Shi glanced at him. “If you want to sleep, go ahead. Are those dark circles painted on? You’ve had them ever since you became deputy team leader. Trying to show off your hard work?”
“One of these days, I’ll have Lao Wu modify me too and get rid of sleep altogether,” Li Feng said. “Right now, I can only sleep when fate allows.”
“Yeah, right,” Qiu Shi looked at the people working inside the operating room. “Humans are humans, bioforms are bioforms. Tweaking things back and forth is meaningless. No one knows what the consequences will be.”
“So far, it’s been beneficial,” Li Feng said. “That’s why I want to ask—why abandon a form that can enhance collective attack capabilities?”
“I don’t know what Xing Bi is thinking,” Qiu Shi said.
“Then what do you think?” Li Feng asked.
“The most effective way for symbiosis to function is for the host to have control. The symbiotic entities should act as a single unit, like an ant colony or a beehive,” Qiu Shi said.
“Hmm,” Li Feng looked at him. “They could move more efficiently and use the host’s abilities to enhance the entire group.”
“But first-tier bioforms are individuals. They can never truly be a single entity.” Qiu Shi frowned. “Humans originally needed them to have emotions and thoughts, to be as close to humans as possible. If in the end, they have to abandon those things… then what’s the point? Over time, who would even want to do this?”
“The education quality at the refugee schools isn’t bad either,” Li Feng said.
“If it comes down to the strongest host controlling everyone—including humans—then all it takes is infecting humans, and they’ll be under control too,” Qiu Shi said. “A god like that—if he doesn’t wipe you out first, you’ll have to wipe him out.”
“If we don’t use symbiotic entities now, how do we fight against those that do?” Li Feng asked.
“Are you f***ing testing me?” Qiu Shi snapped.
Li Feng was silent for a moment, then chuckled. “Qiu Shi, I’ve noticed—you’ve suddenly matured a lot.”
“That’s just because I’m in a bad mood right now,” Qiu Shi said. “If Curator Wu tries anything while treating Xing Bi, I’ll childishly kill both of you.”
“Don’t worry,” Li Feng said. “I still need you guys. I won’t let that happen.”
Li Feng truly did rely on fate when it came to sleeping.
He sat on a chair at the back, propped his legs up on the table, and had just closed his eyes when Colonel Xu called from the command center.
“The defense perimeter at Xima Town isn’t expanding any further?” Colonel Xu asked. “From what I’ve gathered, the stationed troops are not leaving the town’s boundaries at all. Did you give this order?”
“Yes,” Li Feng said. “I believe the outer perimeter is unsafe right now.”
“You believe?” Colonel Xu asked. “Has something new happened?”
“There’s an anomaly in the northwest,” Li Feng said, but he didn’t mention the nest. His report to Mr. Long was scheduled for this afternoon, and before that, he wasn’t going to tell Colonel Xu.
“What kind of anomaly?” Colonel Xu asked.
Li Feng remained silent.
“Deputy Director Li, withholding intelligence between us is unreasonable,” Colonel Xu said.
“To ensure there are no errors in command, I only share confirmed intelligence,” Li Feng replied.
“Alright.” Colonel Xu ended the call.
Li Feng didn’t go back to sleep; he just closed his eyes, waiting for Colonel Xu to take action.
Sure enough, in less than half an hour, communication from Xima Town was directly routed through by his secretary.
“They say it’s urgent,” the secretary said.
“Mm.” Li Feng responded.
“Team Leader Li,” came Captain Yang’s voice from the other end. “Special Task Force Team Three, which was assigned to Xima Town from Yun City, is now preparing to depart toward Zhuyuan.”
Li Feng raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t they under the command of the stationed forces?”
“The order came directly from Colonel Xu,” Captain Yang said. “Their main mission is to scout the safety of the route from Xima to Zhuyuan.”
“I understand,” Li Feng said.
In Colonel Xu’s view, if there was an anomaly in the northwest, it meant the enemy’s attention was drawn there. That would imply that Zhuyuan Town, to the east of Xima Town, and Shidi Town, further southeast, might be safe.
Moreover, there was currently no intelligence indicating any enemy symbiotic entities in those two towns.
“Should we…” Captain Yang hesitated.
“Colonel Xu is the highest commander,” Li Feng said.
“Understood,” Captain Yang replied.
Qiu Shi turned his head to look at him. “Team Three went to Zhuyuan?”
“Mm.” Li Feng nodded.
“Now?” Qiu Shi found it incomprehensible. “Are they walking into their deaths?”
Li Feng said nothing.
“The people under Zheng Ting are definitely watching Xima Town,” Qiu Shi lowered his voice. “Lin Sheng isn’t in Team Three anymore. Right now, that team is purely human. If they run into enemy forces, they’re all dead!”
“What is Team Two doing now?” Li Feng asked.
“They’re stationed in town, observing the surroundings,” Qiu Shi said. “The next steps require small-scale scouting, but Team Two has bioforms. If they run into a battle, they can hold their ground.”
“If we need to establish a corridor between Zhuyuan and Xima, what’s your plan?” Li Feng asked.
“The opponent is using symbiotic entities,” Qiu Shi said. “Forget about using a purely human team to pave the way with their lives. Deploy the bioforms we have. Find out where Zheng Ting’s bases near Xima Town are. There’s more than one nest—locate and destroy them first. If they’re relying on a mass infection attack, it means their numbers aren’t actually that high. They also don’t know how many bioroids Yun City has activated. A direct confrontation isn’t a sure win…”
“If I put you in command,” Li Feng asked, “would you be willing?”
“F*** off,” Qiu Shi didn’t even think before responding. “I’m not doing it.”
Li Feng laughed.
“Call Team Three back,” Qiu Shi said. “Symbiotic entities never act alone. They usually appear in groups of three to five. If Team Three runs into them, they’re dead.”
Li Feng remained silent.
“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” Qiu Shi moved closer and stared at him.
“I didn’t send them out,” Li Feng said. “Team Three is under military command. Colonel Xu is currently the highest-ranking officer deployed.”
“If you really wanted to stop them, you’d find a way,” Qiu Shi said. “You don’t want to stop them. You have another plan. Human lives can be very important to you… or completely unimportant.”
Li Feng smiled faintly.
Qiu Shi didn’t know what Li Feng’s plan was. Whatever it was, he had no way of stopping it. He still remembered how decisively Li Feng had shot that patrol captain.
This chaotic world needed people like Li Feng. But it also made people want to stay far away from him.
Qiu Shi said nothing more. He returned to the glass wall and looked at Xing Bi inside.
Xing Bi’s surgery didn’t require anesthesia, so once the basic life-support systems were running, he remained conscious.
To avoid disturbing the doctors and lab technicians inside, the glass wall was now one-way—people outside couldn’t see in. But Xing Bi occasionally glanced toward the glass.
Qiu Shi had to admit bioforms were impressive. Xing Bi seemed to be able to see through the one-way glass, pinpointing exactly where he was standing.
The surgery took a long time. Qiu Shi had originally thought he could stand through the entire procedure without a problem—though he didn’t even know why he insisted on standing. But when Li Feng pulled up a chair beside him, he still sat down.
After all, at his core, he was still human flesh and blood. Tsk.
When Xing Bi’s surgery finally ended, he was transferred to a nearby experiment pod.
The moment Curator Wu stepped out, Qiu Shi jumped up from his chair.
“How is he?” he asked.
“How else?” Curator Wu replied. “Routine repairs, replacing damaged organs. No issues. With injuries like these, he’ll need about two days for his body to complete its self-recovery.”
“Thanks.” Qiu Shi prepared to go in.
“Wait!” Curator Wu looked at him.
“It was just an empty syringe that scratched you,” Qiu Shi said as he pushed open the experiment pod’s door. “Just a little cut.”
“What did you do?” Xing Bi asked.
“How do you feel?” Qiu Shi walked up to the bed. Xing Bi looked completely normal. If not for the medical devices still attached to him, he would’ve seemed like he had just woken up from a nap.
“I don’t feel anything,” Xing Bi said. “I’ll be able to move normally in two days.”
Qiu Shi pulled over a chair and sat down. He took Xing Bi’s hand and checked his temperature—back to normal. “You—”
“Sorry,” Li Feng walked in. “Time is short. I have something to do later, so I need to talk to Xing Bi now.”
Qiu Shi was startled. He let go of Xing Bi’s hand and immediately stood up to leave.
“No need to avoid this. Stay,” Li Feng said. “Saves Xing Bi the trouble of relaying it to you later.”
Qiu Shi sat back down.
“What did you find in the northwest nest this time?” Li Feng asked. “Does the question of whether symbiotic entities are reversible have something to do with your injuries?”
Xing Bi glanced at him. “This super-symbiont can control first-tier symbiotic entities. Except for Qiu Shi, all four of us were controlled.”
Li Feng was clearly stunned. “That powerful?”
“The symbiotic form is indeed strong, but it also has a fatal weakness,” Xing Bi said. “Unless your host control is the strongest, you risk completely losing combat capability.”
Thank you for the chapter!