Qiu Shi’s words made Bai Zhan pause for a moment, then he clicked his tongue.
Xing Bi didn’t say anything. Suddenly, he raised his hand and swung forward; the knife in his hand scraped past Bai Zhan’s ear and flew backward, passing through the neck of a symbiont about five meters away.
“Don’t get distracted,” Xing Bi said.
“Mm.” Bai Zhan responded, then clicked his tongue again and turned, rushing back into the battle formation where the fight was still ongoing.
When Xing Bi said that, Qiu Shi felt a slight strangeness—a natural yet rare state. Bai Zhan’s response was the same, a natural reflexive reply.
Xing Bi must have trained Bai Zhan before. For bioroids, this kind of hard-to-forget trait means that even after more than a hundred years without meeting, they still had an amazing tacit understanding.
Qiu Shi felt a bit emotional. Many times, the emotions displayed between bioroids were far stronger and deeper than those among humans.
“You’re risking your life!” Xing Bi looked back at Qiu Shi.
“Don’t get distracted.” Qiu Shi brushed off dirt and grass debris from his body—he got covered in it when the explosion just now hit him.
“…Follow the team.” Xing Bi turned and charged back into the fight.
In a battle between groups of hidden guards like this, as a human, Qiu Shi found it hard to mix in. His job was to clean up the leftovers and take sniper shots.
Behind a pile of exploded infected bodies, Qiu Shi set up his gun and watched through one eye.
“A lone one.” He reported the coordinates and fired a shot at a symbiont trying to flank the team. The flickering flashes of artillery fire and the thick smoke made aiming difficult, but the shot hit the symbiont’s leg, forcing it back into the range of Xing Bi and the others.
“Nice shot,” Bai Zhan said.
“Looks like you haven’t encountered many humans,” Qiu Shi replied.
“I was praising you, don’t you understand?” Bai Zhan said.
“I aimed for the neck but hit the leg. Who are you praising? Sounds like an insult,” Qiu Shi said. “Haven’t you ever seen humans with good aim?”
“Did it hurt your human pride?” Bai Zhan asked.
“What the hell?” Qiu Shi asked, then noticed the symbionts’ blips on the map starting to move. “Are they retreating?”
“Yes,” Xing Bi said, “Don’t pursue.”
“Drive them towards the drainage ditch,” Bai Zhan said. “That’s the nomads’ territory, full of traps.”
“Fire the cannons.” Qiu Shi stared at the map, relaying three coordinates in quick succession.
The rapid response from the rear fired three consecutive shots, cutting off the symbionts’ other escape routes.
Bai Zhan whistled, and whistles answered from afar.
“Nomads?” Xu Jie asked.
“Mm,” Bai Zhan replied. “Several nomad groups nearby.”
“Can they kill symbiont hidden guards?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Normally no,” Bai Zhan said. “But they don’t value their lives. The symbionts don’t know the terrain. That area is full of their traps and mechanisms. A useless life plus traps — we usually avoid going there…”
Qiu Shi said nothing. Bai Zhan’s description of the nomads was accurate, but hearing it from a stealth soldier’s mouth…
“They’re the most badass humans,” Bai Zhan said.
Hearing that suddenly sounded better.
“Let’s retreat,” Bai Zhan said. “Leave the rest of the infected to the nomads. If they find anything, we can trade it with the communication post for supplies.”
“Mm.” Xing Bi responded, “Retreat.”
It seemed Li Feng was really trading supplies for these nomads’ help in clearing symbiont camps. Li Feng, usually stingy, was unusually generous this time. Qiu Shi remembered how before, even getting a meal inside the inner city required bargaining.
The Yun City and Xing Chuan squads withdrew from the northeast battlefield near the base, returning to the defensive line by the entrance. The infected there would soon be cleared by the nomads.
After watching the video left by 249, Qiu Shi felt more sorrow when seeing infected. Those fungal infected who had painfully wandered back and forth in the lab always lingered in his mind.
He stepped over piles of fallen infected; each step pressed on the corpses.
These humans, originally failed attempts to achieve immortality, had become weapons of the bioroids. Death was the only real release for them.
Back at the convoy, soldiers needed to disinfect and receive medical treatment. Qiu Shi found an empty vehicle and waited for Xing Bi to come over to contact Li Feng.
Bai Zhan’s people seemed ready to leave. Xing Bi and the others were talking to him.
“Brother Shi.” Li Rui poked his head out from the car door.
“Hm?” Qiu Shi replied.
“Got the suppressant shot? I haven’t done disinfection yet.”
“Got it,” Li Rui said. “Really envy the immunes.”
“You just joined Xing Chuan’s squad, right?” Qiu Shi smiled.
“Mm,” Li Rui sat by the car door, patting the gun holster on his thigh. “The captain gave me and Big Bear two good guns — feels great. Too bad I didn’t hit a shot.”
Qiu Shi smiled silently.
“Pretty useless,” Li Rui said. “I used to think I was pretty good, but in battle, I’m just afraid of dragging people down.”
Though Yun City soldiers had little real combat experience, their training was thorough. As long as command was right, these soldiers were not bad fighters.
“Different paths,” Qiu Shi said. “Those soldiers are formally trained; you guys are nomad style. Can’t say who’s better.”
“Brother Shi,” Li Rui leaned closer. “If I went back with you guys… could I join?”
“Join what?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Regular army,” Li Rui said. “Big Bear and I — can we join Yun City’s army?”
“Yes,” Qiu Shi said, “But your sister has to agree.”
“She’ll agree? Why does she have to agree?” Li Rui was surprised. “She’d definitely agree!”
“She has to agree before you go, not after you go,” Qiu Shi said. “Don’t make her worry.”
Li Rui thought for a moment and nodded. “Got it.”
“Go rest a bit. Probably leaving early tomorrow,” Qiu Shi said.
“Mm, Brother Shi,” Li Rui stood up. “I always thought you weren’t very cultured, but hearing that, maybe you’re not so uneducated.”
“Damn your ancestors,” Qiu Shi said. “Get lost.”
When Xing Bi got in the car, Qiu Shi was already leaning back, half asleep, half awake.
“Finished chatting?” he heard a sound, propping his head up with his hand.
“Mm,” Xing Bi reached out and touched his face. “Why don’t you sleep a bit first?”
“No,” Qiu Shi rubbed his face. “Gotta report to Li Feng. If I wait till dawn, he’d be asleep by then.”
“Alright.” Xing Bi smiled. “What if he’s already asleep tonight?”
“Impossible,” Qiu Shi said. “We’re entering the base tonight. If he can sleep through this, he’d be way too chill. He can’t even sleep when nothing’s happening.”
Xing Bi smiled without saying anything.
“Is Bai Zhan leaving with his people?” Qiu Shi asked.
“He wants to,” Xing Bi said. “I don’t care. But Xu Jie and Ji Sui want him to stay. We need people. Bai Zhan and his guys are great hidden guards.”
“Looks pretty strong,” Qiu Shi said.
“He wanted to join when we were selecting people for our team,” Xing Bi said.
“Why didn’t he join? Did he lose to someone?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Didn’t lose to anyone. Our team didn’t require only five people,” Xing Bi said. “We just thought he wasn’t mature enough. He graduated a few years later than us, lacked experience, and…”
“Hm?” Qiu Shi looked at him.
“Assessment said his controllability was insufficient,” Xing Bi said.
“Damn.” Qiu Shi frowned. “He was Professor Song’s student.”
“Did you know,” Xing Bi smiled, “the teacher doesn’t fully agree with ‘controllability.’ His views are very controversial. Being ‘Song Lan’s student’ is actually a minus.”
Qiu Shi was stunned; he hadn’t thought of that.
“But he’s very respected, with many supporters,” Xing Bi said. “The military doesn’t accept his views, but opinions inside are not unanimous.”
So that’s why the teacher’s research has no contact with the military.
“What he taught you guys isn’t really about controllability, right?” Qiu Shi said.
“He taught us to think and judge, to understand humans, to feel emotions,” Xing Bi said. “He never wanted us to become humans, just to understand what humans are like.”
“He really was a good person,” Qiu Shi said softly.
“Mm.” Xing Bi nodded.
Li Feng sat at Curator Wu’s desk, carefully slicing a can of luncheon meat into small pieces and neatly arranging them on two plates.
Curator Wu sat opposite, propping his eyelids with his fingers and watching.
“Tastes really good,” Li Feng pushed one plate toward him. “Old Wu, try some.”
“It expired over a hundred years ago!” Curator Wu frowned.
“The canned food in Yun City has no production dates, you know why?” Li Feng said.
“Because your security bureau’s so-called ‘economic hardship’ means there’s no machine to print dates,” Curator Wu said. “Also, some Li-named director thinks it’s unnecessary to spend money on such things.”
“That’s an important reason,” Li Feng said.
“Any other reasons?” Curator Wu asked.
Li Feng smiled but didn’t answer.
“What reasons!” Curator Wu asked again.
“Yun City has lots of expired canned food,” Chen Dang said from the side. “The stuff we usually eat isn’t necessarily freshly produced.”
“Exactly.” Li Feng nodded and took a bite of luncheon meat. “When I was inventorying before, I found lots of old stock brought from there.”
Curator Wu looked at him with a face full of shock.
“Try a bite,” Li Feng said. “It’s really tasty. Chen Dang, you’ve probably tried it—tell him if it’s good.”
“Better than the canned food we have in Yun City now, and there’s plenty of meat,” Chen Dang said.
Curator Wu was still hesitant. Although Yun City had century-old canned food, Li Feng might not really be giving these cans to the “higher-ups” like them.
“Take a bite!” Li Feng slapped the table.
Curator Wu jumped slightly in his chair, hesitated for a moment, then finally bit down, picking up a small piece and putting it in his mouth.
“How is it?” Li Feng stared at him.
Curator Wu frowned, chewed a few times, his face showing some confusion, then it turned into surprise.
“Tasty, right?” Li Feng leaned back in his chair, very satisfied.
“If it’s not expired…” Curator Wu took another piece and put it in his mouth. “It should taste even better, right?”
“Not much difference,” Chen Dang said. “Maybe the texture would be softer.”
“Is the Food Department going to make this?” Curator Wu asked. “There’s so much going on now—do they even have the energy for this?”
“The Food Department doesn’t have to go fight,” Li Feng said. “They’ve been idle for so many years; shouldn’t they do something? There have to be changes that every resident of Yun City can feel. The current chaos is for a better, more comfortable life. The expanded areas, those houses—not everyone can truly experience them…”
Li Feng picked up a can and looked at it. “Don’t underestimate this small thing. This is something every person can eat.”
“Director Li has foresight,” Curator Wu said.
“You flatter me, Curator Wu,” Li Feng said.
Curator Wu’s secretary knocked and came in. “There’s a call for Director Li. Should I bring it to the office?”
“Bring it in,” Curator Wu said.
“Wasn’t a wasted night then.” Li Feng quickly ate the remaining canned meat, and when only two pieces were left, he glanced at Chen Dang. “Want a bite to savor the taste again?”
“Bioroids don’t forget,” Chen Dang said. “No need to savor.”
“Nice saying,” Li Feng said.
“There were only a few cans brought back,” Chen Dang said. “Rare chance to eat something good, don’t share.”
Li Feng laughed and finished the leftover canned meat.
The incoming call’s image was projected onto the wall. Qiu Shi immediately saw Li Feng eating. “What are you eating?”
“Canned meat.” Li Feng grabbed a tissue and wiped his mouth.
“…Where did it come from?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Sent from Xingchuan,” Li Feng said. “Li Rui’s sister gave it.”
“Damn,” Qiu Shi said. “I want some.”
“When you’re back, I’ll prepare a whole truck for you,” Li Feng said.
“Better hurry then—we’ll be at the seaside in a couple of days,” Qiu Shi said. “The base is basically cleared. Xing Bi will send you the list. Some equipment can be brought back to Yun City.”
“Who did you fight?” Li Feng asked. “You have an injury on your face.”
“The 249 people,” Qiu Shi said. “Do you even need to ask? …I have a wound?”
“Don’t you feel it yourself?” Li Feng sighed. “You’re human, not a bioroid.”
Qiu Shi turned to look at Xing Bi.
“Here.” Xing Bi gently pointed at a spot on his face.
Qiu Shi realized it was the exact spot Xing Bi touched when getting into the vehicle earlier.
“Damn,” Qiu Shi touched his face too. “Only just starting to hurt. Won’t it scar?”
“Even if it scars, you’ll still look handsome,” Li Feng said. “Don’t go off topic.”
“The main part of the base has been searched successfully,” Xing Bi said. “Many instruments and data are still well preserved. They can be directly transported back to Yun City.”
“You looked through everything?” Li Feng asked.
“Yes,” Xing Bi said. “The list mostly contains medical instruments related to humans. Some for bioroids were left in the base.”
“Hmm.” Li Feng nodded.
“But some can be used by humans too,” Xing Bi looked at Li Feng. “They can be shared.”
“Yun City’s equipment is the same,” Li Feng said. “The existing biochemical repair pods can all be arranged in the future.”
Though not explicitly stated, Qiu Shi could tell from Li Feng and Xing Bi’s conversation that Yun City and the base, as strongholds for humans and bioroids respectively, were relatively independent but shared facilities and cooperated—a kind of mutual dependence and need.
“We successfully entered the core area as well,” Xing Bi said.
Li Feng raised an eyebrow. “How is it?”
“That place was used by the 249 as a backup hideout and has been temporarily cut off,” Xing Bi said. “There’s a segment of footage taken before the 249 removed the data from their system. We watched it; it should auto-delete.”
Li Feng was silent for a long time. When he finally spoke, he didn’t ask about the footage but simply asked, “Who went in?”
“Me, Xu Jie, Ji Sui, Qiu Shi,” Xing Bi said.
Li Feng said nothing, seeming to be deep in thought.
“What’s inside?” Curator Wu couldn’t help but ask from the side.
“Not sure,” Xing Bi said. “We didn’t have time to check, but there were many books, a lot of them.”
“Besides books, did you see anything else?” Curator Wu asked. “Is there nothing else in the core area besides storage and books?”
Of course, there were. The instruments inside seemed mostly related to 249’s experiments back then.
Qiu Shi didn’t know if Xing Bi would answer or how, but before Xing Bi spoke, Li Feng interrupted Curator Wu’s further questions.
“If possible, bring the books out. The other things…” Li Feng paused for a few seconds, “seal them.”
“Director Li?” Curator Wu stood up, shocked and anxious. “Why? These are treasures, scientific treasures left by those before us. There might be—”
“Those damn things are time bombs,” Li Feng raised his voice. “Those things are the reason we ended up living the life we do now.”
“You’re wrong to think like that. Science—” Curator Wu was anxious, but Li Feng interrupted him again.
“We don’t need that science,” Li Feng said. “What we need now is peace, stability, food to eat, no wars, and to survive until a natural death. Old Wu, I just want these people to live out their lives peacefully—live well when it’s time to live, die when it’s time to die.”
Curator Wu was silent, his hands trembling slightly.
Qiu Shi could actually understand Curator Wu. As someone who controlled Yun City’s highest technology but couldn’t break through, facing the once glorious technology and only watching it be sealed forever, never to understand it in this life, even if he wasn’t a tech fanatic, the pain would be immense.
But he knew Li Feng’s choice was right—they couldn’t bear such treasures.
“We can refuse to go in anyway—we can’t enter anyway,” Curator Wu glanced at their side. “Xing Bi, it’s not that I don’t trust you, I mean—”
“I know,” Xing Bi said. “Once Qiu Shi dies, only bioroids can enter.”
“Right,” Curator Wu looked at Li Feng. “Only bioroids.”
“Which bioroids can enter?” Li Feng rubbed his forehead.
“The highest-level guard team back then,” Xing Bi said.
“You four plus Zheng Ting,” Li Feng thought for a moment. “Qiu Shi must have authorized you to enter, right?”
“Yes,” Xing Bi said.
“Then it’s safe now,” Li Feng said. “And this permission can be changed by the highest authority, right?”
“Yes,” Xing Bi answered.
“That solves a balancing issue,” Li Feng said. “Three people enter, at least one must be human, or some other method—can be discussed.”
“So basically, no entry, right?” Curator Wu imitated his tone.
“Correct, Curator Wu,” Li Feng said.
Curator Wu bit his lip, sat down, and after a moment of silence sighed. “Fine, I’ll listen to you. You must have a reason.”
“I have to. When words don’t work, I still have guns,” Li Feng said. “Listening to me is right.”
“I have one last stupid thing to say,” Curator Wu said. “Can I ask?”
“You’ve said enough stupid things,” Li Feng said. “Go ahead.”
“We’ve always suspected the fungi were released from the lab, so there’s reason to believe they have related technology, including symbiotic reversibility,” Curator Wu said. “What about those things we can’t solve yet but need to?”
“The materials found now might be involved,” Xing Bi said. “You can check first. Fungi research isn’t as highly classified as the rest of the core area.”
“Then what else is in the core area…” Curator Wu leaned back, sighed long and deep.
“Why don’t you dig your brain out before you die and put it with the General’s,” Li Feng said. “When it’s decrypted, they can tell you.”
“Shut up!” Curator Wu said.
“Thanks for your hard work,” Li Feng looked at Qiu Shi and Xing Bi. “Just give a simple report on other situations with the list, the new recruits we absorbed on the way, and some feedback from the rumors we spread outside.”
“Okay.” Xing Bi responded.
“Found any old stuff? Or anything interesting?” Li Feng asked.
“You revealed your true nature, petty official,” Qiu Shi said.
Li Feng laughed. “If you find something good, remember to come trade with me.”
“Does canned meat count?” Qiu Shi said. “This could trade for a lot.”
“No,” Li Feng said. “This isn’t for me personally.”
“Knew it,” Qiu Shi said.
“Rest for a bit. We have to set off again tomorrow,” Li Feng said. “I’m exhausted. Need to sleep a bit.”
“Should find some formula for stimulant drugs,” Chen Dang said.
“You’re right, that could be something to find,” Li Feng said. “I need it. If mass-produced, it’s a profitable business… the homeless would definitely need it…”
“Good night,” Qiu Shi said.
“Good night,” Li Feng said with a smile.
When the call ended and they got out of the car, the chaos of people coming and going was gone. Everyone had tidied up and was resting.
“I can’t sleep,” Qiu Shi said. “I was so tired before, but now not at all.”
“Go look at the moon?” Xing Bi looked up. “The moon is very big tonight.”
“Where to look…” Qiu Shi looked up, stunned when he saw the big, round moon in the sky. “Damn, I didn’t feel the moon just now.”
“The wind came up and blew away the clouds,” Xing Bi put his arm around his shoulder, leading him toward the main base building. “I’ll take you to a place to see the moon.”
“That building?” Qiu Shi followed slowly. “Not very tall. Going up isn’t much different from standing on the ground.”
“You don’t understand,” Xing Bi said. “That’s the place I wanted to visit most after I came back.”
“Alright then,” Qiu Shi nodded. “Let’s go.”
