If it weren’t for the fact that Qiu Shi had previously seen the infiltrating hidden guard in Li Datou’s video and knew that he had connections with some radicals from the outer city who claimed to want to “expose the truth,” Qiu Shi would have thought that this person appearing here was just two idle people from the inner city trying to shoot some exotic scenes of the outer city.
But now, encountering this skinny shrimp again, and at the mission time and place…
It’s quite subtle.
Xing Bi reached out, preparing to grab Li Datou’s clothes and flip him over. Qiu Shi, faster than him, lifted both Li Datou and the skinny shrimp by their collars and stood up.
“Two civilians, no abnormalities, probably stayed here by accident. Put them by the roadside,” Qiu Shi dragged the two to the roadside, making sure they, especially Li Datou, kept their faces down. “Can the City Defense Bureau come and pick them up?”
“Alright,” Li Feng responded.
“Mission continues.” Qiu Shi clapped his hands and glanced at Xing Bi. “No target found within 300 meters ahead.”
“Okay,” Xing Bi responded, his mouth curving up slightly.
Qiu Shi was originally unsure if Xing Bi, a level-one hidden guard who was almost indistinguishable from humans, understood his intentions, but that smile proved he did.
It’s certain that not only Li Feng’s team was monitoring this; people from the company and the military must be as well. The real-time footage would probably be transmitted back too. This was all he could do.
Even though he didn’t know who Li Datou really was or what he was useful for, the fact that Li Datou could still move freely indicated that Li Feng must have a reason for not wanting him to be exposed. For someone like that, Li Feng definitely wouldn’t mind having a little more leverage.
As for what Qiu Shi could get in return for these actions, he wasn’t sure. Maybe nothing; maybe he would be exposed by the still completely unfamiliar Xing Bi. But in any case, he was leaving himself a way out. Even if he messed up, it wouldn’t cost him his life. He knew that right now, he was the only one who could partner with Xing Bi.
Qiu Shi was pondering a lot of things in his mind, but his eyes were still fixed on the terrain map in front of him. Because he wasn’t yet used to navigating by looking at a bunch of maps, he was stumbling a bit on the rocky road filled with sharp stones.
The mission had only one target, and for Xing Bi, a level-two biotic entity wasn’t a problem. But since this wasn’t training, Qiu Shi was a bit nervous and kicked the sharp stones twice, causing pain that made him jump even through his boots.
“What a damn crappy road,” he cursed.
“Bring a box next time,” Xing Bi suggested.
Just as Qiu Shi was about to curse again, a bright spot appeared at the top of the map in front of him, heading straight towards them.
There was no need to report the coordinates. He quickly moved to the side of the road. “Straight ahead, coming at us fast.”
As Xing Bi moved forward, Qiu Shi pulled out the dagger from his boot, a specially authorized weapon.
This time, neither of them were allowed to carry weapons, a ridiculous rule likely made to make the pairing with hidden guards seem less unfairly biased.
A turn in the mountain path blocked his view. Once Xing Bi turned the corner, he was out of sight. But since he hadn’t gone out of range, he wasn’t visible on the terrain map either, forcing Qiu Shi to quickly run after him.
As soon as he turned the corner, he saw a dark figure rushing straight at Xing Bi.
Xing Bi seemed to be getting a running start. After a few steps, he leaped up, similar to the move he used to kill that level-three biotic entity during training. He jumped, kicked, and delivered a fatal blow upon landing.
But to Qiu Shi’s surprise, the opponent used the exact same posture.
Both leapt simultaneously, colliding mid-air with a dull thud. When they landed, both were pushed back two meters, with Xing Bi’s boots leaving long marks on the rocky ground.
If it were two humans, their ribs would have broken instantly.
As Xing Bi stood up, the biotic entity across from him didn’t attack again but reached for his waist.
The opponent had a weapon!
That was Qiu Shi’s first reaction.
This was f*cked up.
At this distance, even a water gun could hit Xing Bi before he got close.
But the opponent didn’t manage to grab anything.
The next second, Xing Bi raised his hand, holding a gun.
The opponent turned and dashed towards the cliff beside them. Before he could jump off, Xing Bi fired, hitting the opponent in the neck.
Qiu Shi saw a splash of black liquid.
The bright spot representing the biotic entity disappeared.
It took Qiu Shi a few seconds to realize that in the moment of the mid-air collision, Xing Bi had taken the gun from the opponent’s waist.
“Mission accomplished,” he said. “If there’s no weapon next time, I’m taking Xing Bi to jump off a cliff. This kind of mission without any weapons is like suicide!”
“Check,” Director Zhang ordered. “Qiu Shi, retrieve the weapon.”
Qiu Shi walked over to the biotic entity’s corpse, with Xing Bi squatting beside him the whole time.
“Anything unusual?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Symbiont,” Xing Bi replied.
“Shit.” Qiu Shi immediately stopped in his tracks. “I’ll assist with the inspection from here.”
“You have innate talents,” Xing Bi said. “Come over.”
“Whoever said it should come over,” Qiu Shi retorted.
“Dual inspection is the rule,” Li Feng’s voice came through. “Qiu Shi, you won’t get infected. This contact is far less than your usual cleaning of infected individuals.”
“Shut up,” Qiu Shi snapped, but he still walked over to stand next to Xing Bi.
“Retrieve the weapon,” Director Zhang emphasized again.
“Symbiont, level-two hidden guard, confirmed,” Xing Bi said, handing the gun to Qiu Shi. “However…”
“What is it?” Director Zhang pressed.
“He tried to escape,” Xing Bi said. “Contrary to the principles of a level-two hidden guard.”
“Bring it back,” Curator Wu instructed. “Be careful to prevent contamination.”
Xing Bi half-lifted the level-two hidden guard off the ground, tore off his clothes, and wrapped them around his neck to stop the black liquid from flowing out.
“Mark the contaminated area,” Xing Bi said.
“…How to mark it?” Qiu Shi was puzzled.
“Why not ask Li Feng for a pen to draw a circle?” Xing Bi suggested.
“Is he out of control?” Qiu Shi asked. “Can I signal him to shut up?”
“Look at the interface,” Xing Bi reminded him.
Only then did Qiu Shi notice that the terrain map in front of him had several black spots. Curator Wu’s voice came through, “Just circle the contaminated area with your hand.”
Qiu Shi tried waving his hand in front of him and found he could control the lines next to the black spots. He drew a few lines and circled all the areas with black spots.
The technology of the inner city once again made Qiu Shi feel the stark difference between the two worlds. People in the outer city found following pets a novelty, and his brothers were ecstatic just to get a few boxes of weapons…
On the way back, Qiu Shi noticed that Li Datou and the skinny shrimp were no longer lying by the roadside, and the butterfly pets at the stone nest were also gone, handled quickly.
Bringing the “corpse” of the level-two hidden guard back to the car and watching it being placed in a sealed box, he felt a bit emotional.
Qiu Shi, you’re no longer the old corpse collector.
Indeed, you’re not.
You’re now collecting the corpses of biotic entities.
Several people from the City Defense Bureau got off the car, took the gun from Qiu Shi, and sprayed some unknown mist on him and Xing Bi, presumably for disinfection.
Finally sitting in the car, Qiu Shi leaned back in his seat, tilted his head, and let out a long breath.
The mission was over. As he relaxed, he realized how exhausted he was, his ribs hurting as if they had been hit by Xing Bi.
What was more frustrating was that his partner, the excellent level-one hidden guard, was sitting across from him, looking calm and composed, unable to understand his fatigue.
“You might feel…” Qiu Shi looked at him.
“No,” Xing Bi said.
“F*ck you, Xing Bi,” Qiu Shi was speechless. “You can stop dreaming about being infinitely close to humans. No normal human would talk like this! Do you need to check if you had a quality certificate when you left the factory? I suspect you’re missing parts of your brain.”
Xing Bi smiled, “Are you done talking?”
“Get lost.” Qiu Shi closed his eyes.
Maybe he was really tired, his chest hurting badly, or maybe after all this mess, not only his body but his brain hadn’t had a second to rest, and he just wanted to say something to distract himself.
With his eyes still closed, he asked again, “Do you ever feel tired? Or emotionally exhausted?”
“Yes,” Xing Bi answered.
“Bullshit,” Qiu Shi said.
After this mission, Xing Bi still went back into that pod for inspection, while Qiu Shi was taken into a room for an interview.
But this time, it was only Li Feng interviewing him.
“How do you feel?” Li Feng asked.
“My ribs aren’t set right,” Qiu Shi said. “They hurt.”
“I’ll send you back to the shelter in a bit,” Li Feng said. “Rest for a day, but you must keep everything in the inner city strictly confidential.”
“A day?” Qiu Shi glared at him. “I won’t recover in ten days or half a month. Be a human, will you? Even biotic entities are more human than you.”
“A day,” Li Feng said, stepping back slowly. “After one day, you’ll have to enter the nest. There’s one more thing I need to clarify in advance.”
“Don’t dodge,” Qiu Shi said. “No one is stopping me here. I guarantee you’ll die without any pain.”
“The company and the general have agreed,” Li Feng said, covering his nose. “When you enter the nest, besides you and Xing Bi, there will be three level-two hidden guards, a total of four hidden guards.”
“Shepherding?” Qiu Shi found it hard to accept. “It’s already hard enough for me to provide information to Xing Bi alone; my eyes are almost blind, and you want me to assist four? I remember that I’m pretty valuable. Am I the only one who can clean infected people with just some vitamins?”
“Those three don’t need assistance. They have set tasks,” Li Feng said.
“What tasks?” Qiu Shi immediately asked. He knew these missions were no joke. He had to extract all relevant information from this dog official’s mouth.
“To assist in cleaning biotic entities and, if necessary, to attract fire,” Li Feng said.
“A suicide squad, huh?” Qiu Shi thought of what Xing Bi had said before, that level-two hidden guards were not supposed to exhibit escape behavior in principle.
“That’s one way to understand it,” Li Feng said.
“What do you mean, ‘one way’? Don’t make it sound so smooth,” Qiu Shi said. “It’s sending them to die. You’re comfortable doing it but embarrassed to say it.”
“I should get a control system installed,” Li Feng said. “So I can shut you up at critical moments.”
“There’s such a thing?” Qiu Shi was instantly alert.
“No,” Li Feng said. “If there were, this world would belong to the biotic entities.”
“Maybe that would be better,” Qiu Shi said.
Li Feng glanced at him. “Qiu Shi, be careful what you say here.”
“Got it. I’ll be careful when I talk to you from now on,” Qiu Shi said, looking around the room. “Is it just you interviewing me after the formal mission?”
“They’re too busy with Xing Bi. I’ll talk to you in detail when I get the chance.” Li Feng waved his hand. “I’ll take you back to rest. Be safe.”
Sitting in Li Feng’s car, they left the inner city gate. Qiu Shi asked, “Is there nothing more you want to tell me about Li Datou?”
Li Feng sighed. “Li Datou’s surname is Zhang. His name is Zhang Sihai.”
Qiu Shi was silent for a while, then turned and smiled. “I wondered why the City Defense Bureau chief didn’t say anything when I had him taken away today.”
“You won’t see him for a while,” Li Feng said. “If you meet the girl who was with him again, don’t mention this. Your mission is highly confidential.”
“Got it,” Qiu Shi responded.
The outer city was still as crowded and dilapidated as ever, filled with both hope and despair. Some people looked indifferent, while others were full of smiles. To Qiu Shi, this place felt more lively and real than the inner city.
Ahead was the tunnel. Beyond it was his world.
Passing by the Dayan Tavern, he glanced outside. Everything was as usual, with the words “Dayan” still there, but it had a new owner, new staff, and both new and old customers still filled the tavern.
“The new owner is a friend of the old one. You should have seen him,” Li Feng said. “That bearded guy.”
“I remember,” Qiu Shi said.
“Everything will pass,” Li Feng said.
Qiu Shi didn’t respond.
“In another ten years, no one will know what happened here. First, it becomes hearsay, then it turns into legend, and finally, it all disappears,” Li Feng said. “That’s how humans are.”
Li Feng’s car stopped as soon as they exited the tunnel. Qiu Shi got out.
Before his feet even touched the ground, he heard Hu Xiaoling’s loud shout, “Brother Shi!”
A group of people jumped out from behind the rocks at the tunnel entrance. Li Feng’s car quickly turned around and drove away.
“Good thing you ran fast!” Hu Xiaoling pointed at the car’s back. “Or we would have flipped your car today!”
“Are you crazy?” Qiu Shi looked at Zhao Lü standing in front of him.
Zhao Lü didn’t say anything; he just opened his arms.
“Get lost,” Qiu Shi said.
“Hurry up!” Zhao Lü said. “Everyone thought you were dead.”
“Stop talking nonsense.” Qiu Shi still went over and hugged Zhao Lv. “It’s only been a day. You weren’t waiting here all this time, were you?”
“Not that loyal,” Zhao Lü said. “Li Feng informed us.”
“When we heard you’d be back so soon, we thought they’d killed you and sent your body back. What else could be done so quickly? You must be dead!” Hu Xiaoling said.
“…Quite thoughtful,” Qiu Shi said.
Getting into the corpse collection car, as they drove down the slope, his instincts told him something was different about the surroundings, but upon closer inspection, nothing seemed out of place.
“Just an hour ago,” Zhao Lü leaned in close to his ear, “four big black cars took people out. Xiao Ling quietly followed them. They’ve set up defenses around the perimeter, and their people are all around the shelter.”
“Is that so?” Qiu Shi recalled Li Feng’s warning to be careful.
“Is something going on?” Zhao Lü asked. “Rumors in the outer city say that biotic entities have entered the inner city.”
“That’s not quite right,” Qiu Shi said.
Zhao Lv’s reaction was quick at critical moments. He looked at Qiu Shi for a while, then nodded and said, “Got it. No wonder they suddenly increased the troops on the perimeter.”
“Be careful,” Qiu Shi said.
“Okay,” Zhao Lü nodded.
Qiu Shi took out two bottles of medicine from his pocket and gave them to him, “Strong stuff.”
“Now it’s those soldiers doing the infected cleanup,” Zhao Lü said, accepting the medicine.
“Stay alert,” Qiu Shi said.
“Will do,” Zhao Lü put away the medicine.
Qiu Shi felt terrible inside. The crisis was right there, and all he could do for these brothers was this little bit.
Everything inside the shelter was the same as usual, even Xiao Lei waiting at his door hadn’t changed.
“What are you doing here?” Qiu Shi felt a bit helpless seeing him. He bypassed him and entered the shelter. Wasn’t Li Feng going to get rid of this guy?
“I need to talk to you about work,” Xiao Lei followed him in.
“Get out,” Qiu Shi said.
“Seeing you’re okay, I’m relieved. Everyone was very worried about you.” Xiao Lei put a form on the table next to him, “These are some things that happened while you were gone. I recorded everything by the minute.”
“What the hell?” Qiu Shi squinted in shock, picked up the form, and scanned it. The recorded times were precise to the minute, and the content was detailed to “a soldier passed by the shelter twice and looked inside.”
“Can’t read?” Xiao Lei asked.
“Are you genuinely asking or insulting me?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Just asking,” Xiao Lei said.
“I can read,” Qiu Shi said. “Thanks, Captain Xiao.”
After Xiao Lei left the shelter, no one else came in. Everyone knew that when Qiu Shi needed to be alone, they shouldn’t come in unless they wanted a beating.
But Qiu Shi didn’t stay alone for long. He only had one day. The next mission was to the nest, and he wasn’t sure if he could come back.
He walked out of the shelter and saw Zhao Lü squatting under a cluster of withered shrubs at the entrance.
“Come on,” he said, tilting his head towards Zhao Lv. “Let’s go to the corpse cave. Is the old man’s stuff still there?”
“Yes.” Zhao Lü stood up and followed him.
“Anyone else around there?” Qiu Shi asked.
“No, the patrols don’t like going near it,” Zhao Lü said. “There are who knows how many corpses inside. Bad luck.”
By the corpse cave, there was a big pile of ash. Qiu Shi paused his steps.
“The owner of Dayan,” Zhao Lü said. “We promised him.”
“Burned pretty clean, huh?” Qiu Shi looked; there was only ash.
“No way,” Zhao Lü said. “The remaining bones were all thrown into the cave. His wife is still in there, so they reunited.”
“…Alright then.” Qiu Shi laughed.
The old man’s suitcase was well hidden. This was their hiding place, a camouflaged underground hole that people wouldn’t find even if they rolled over it.
Zhao Lü pulled out the suitcase and opened it.
“This suitcase is pretty nice,” he said. “I’ve never seen any of the refugees bring a suitcase.”
Inside the suitcase, at first glance, was all junk. A pile of bottle caps, a few metal boxes that were empty inside, some glass beads, and some old picture cards Qiu Shi had collected for him.
Qiu Shi took out a small black box. He knew this thing; it was something he used to play games on that old phone, able to randomly connect to some ancient, elusive signals.
Below that was a bag. When he emptied it, there was a pile of papers and a box. He had seen this box before; the old man used it to store map fragments.
He opened the box first. Inside was a map almost half assembled—the railway map the old man had talked about—with no place names, no road names, just black dots.
One dot in the upper left corner was circled, with a piece missing below it.
“What’s this?” Zhao Lü asked.
“No idea,” Qiu Shi said, looking at the map, completely clueless.
“Other cities?” Zhao Lü said.
“Maybe.” Qiu Shi saw a railway line marked with a black pen, seemingly leading to the circled spot, but the starting point was missing, and there were gaps in between.
“A treasure map?” Zhao Lü took the map, looking at it right side up and upside down, then flipped it over and said, “Hey?”
On the back of the map were more circles, each with a question mark next to it, but next to one of the question marks was a small “Qiu” character.
For every Ko-fi received for a perticular novel, I will release a new chapter!
