Chapter 156: Your Doom Has Arrived (39)

The people in the laboratory did not understand why Jiang Xunchu insisted on going to the isolation room, but they still escorted him there shortly after.

"Is he bitten?"
"No way... he looks completely normal."
"Then why is he going into the isolation room?"
"If he was bitten, going to the isolation room is the safest option."
"... "

Within the complex, Jiang Xunchu's presence as a mobile source was not very convenient because his signal would interfere with the zombies.
He didn't strictly need to enter the isolation room.
However, for safety's sake, it was better to go inside.
What if there happened to be some miraculously gifted, protagonist-type zombie out there?
Jiang Xunchu understood this logic and therefore complied with Ling Qiong's arrangements.

Fang Sanqian moved in the weapons they had scavenged along the way, and Ling Qiong picked out the ones that felt most comfortable in her hand.
An Changjing kept strapping weapons onto himself, almost wrapping his entire body in an arsenal.
"How about I go with you two?" Fang Sanqian suggested.
Ling Qiong: "No need. Stay here and keep an eye on them."
Fang Sanqian glanced at the people from the laboratory not far away and caught her meaning.
Seeing Jiang Xunchu approaching, Fang Sanqian wisely stepped aside.
Jiang Xunchu: "Be careful out there."
Ling Qiong raised her head. "Brother, a good-luck kiss."
Jiang Xunchu: "..."
Jiang Xunchu pulled her a few steps aside and lowered his head to kiss her.
Unlike the shy, fleeting brushes of the past, this kiss carried a lingering, tender sweetness, feeling just like a dream.

...

Ling Qiong walked away with a light, buoyant step, coming out from the shadows with her entire being seemingly radiating pink bubbles.
An Changjing had already finished preparing. Ling Qiong turned back to Jiang Xunchu and said, "Brother, wait for me to come back."
"Okay."
Ling Qiong and An Changjing set off.

After they left, someone asked in a low voice, "Are they brother and sister?"
"No, she's my girlfriend." Hearing this, Jiang Xunchu offered an explanation.
"... "
The crowd exchanged understanding looks.
Yet, standing together, the two of them looked quite a matched pair.
"Is she really going to be fine?" someone worried aloud, noting that the young girl looked rather delicate.
They also couldn't fathom why, with so many able-bodied men around, they would send a young girl to do such a thing...
"She'll be fine, don't worry everyone." It was Fang Sanqian who answered.
Since her own people weren't worried, it wasn't their place to say anything more.

Jiang Xunchu entered the isolation room to stay there, while the others remained with Fang Sanqian's crew, inquiring about the situation outside.
They couldn't see Ling Qiong's progress from their end, so they could only distract themselves this way.

...

An hour later, the lights flickered on one by one.
The sounds of various machines rebooting and running gradually filled the surroundings with noise.
After another hour, An Changjing dragged back two heavy boxes filled entirely with documents.
Exhausted to the bone, An Changjing slapped the boxes and said to Jiang Xunchu through the glass of the isolation room, "Miss Xu said these might be useful to you, so she brought them back."
Jiang Xunchu frowned: "Where is she?"
"Miss Xu said she'll be right back."
This "right back" took roughly half an hour.

Ling Qiong came back carrying a potted plant, looking rather displeased. She shoved the pot into Fang Sanqian's hands. "Hold this for me." Then she walked straight into a room.
"What's wrong with her?"
"Went to change clothes, probably," An Changjing said, speaking from ample experience. "A zombie grabbed her skirt just now. No need to panic."
The others were already accustomed to this.
This particular mistress could sometimes change her outfit three times a day.
Sure enough, when Ling Qiong emerged, she had changed into a fresh little dress.
The crowd: "... "

Having put on clean clothes, her mood was visibly much better. She took the flowerpot back from Fang Sanqian and walked into Jiang Xunchu's isolation room.
Without waiting for Ling Qiong to speak, Jiang Xunchu pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight.
Though he knew she would be fine, only by actually touching her and feeling her presence could Jiang Xunchu put his mind completely at ease.
"A gift for you." Waiting for Jiang Xunchu to release her, Ling Qiong handed over the flowerpot.
The plant in the pot was thriving, with one flower in full bloom and several buds hiding among the leaves.
The virus had polluted the water sources, and plants had suffered as well.
Many of them had already withered and died.
Yet this particular plant was growing remarkably well.

Jiang Xunchu stared at the pot for a long moment before asking, "Did you... specifically go get this for me?"
"Mhm, I saw in a dream that you had one of these in your room. Don't you like it?" The girl's voice grew a bit softer toward the end.
"It was a gift from my father," Jiang Xunchu took the flowerpot, "I don't actually care much for raising plants. But I really like this gift. Thank you."
Jiang Luyun had procured the variety from somewhere—it was extremely drought-resistant and could bloom beautifully with zero maintenance.
Ling Qiong swallowed back her rambling thoughts and flashed him an obedient, sweet smile.

...

Jiang Xunchu stayed in the isolation room reviewing the documents, while the rest of the group tidied up the laboratory.
Since Fang Sanqian, An Changjing, and the others didn't understand the complex work, they could only follow the lab technicians' instructions to handle simple tasks.
For instance, cleaning the laboratory, organizing rooms, and checking which indicator lights on the machines were lit.
Ling Qiong lay sprawled across a large table in the rest area, admiring her cards.

The flipped image on the card [Peeping] was quite stimulating.
Jiang Xunchu was completely submerged in water.
He wore only a single shirt, its hem slightly long, just enough to cover his lower half while revealing his straight, slender legs.
The shirt was soaked through and semi-transparent, faintly revealing the scenery beneath the fabric.
The garment was barely held together by two buttons, and the left collar had slipped down onto his arm, half-hidden and half-exposed, inviting endless imagination.
One of his hands clutched the fabric over his chest, while the other was raised and stretched forward, as if inviting someone to dance with him in the water.

Ling Qiong swallowed hard, flipped the card back over, and clutched her chest as she slowly exhaled.
Why is my darling so gorgeous?
Too alluring.
Ling Qiong glanced back toward the isolation room.
Jiang Xunchu was bent over his desk writing, his expression serious and earnest, completely different from the card.
Ling Qiong clicked her tongue and moved on to the next card.

[The Face and the Peach Blossoms Reflect Each Other in Radiance]
The flower was not a peach blossom.
And the person... was an absolute beauty.
The young man leaned against the window, his head slightly lowered, his fingertips teasing a brilliantly blooming flower.
This card looked quite normal and wasn't too excessive.
This very card was the reason she had gone to fetch that potted plant.
Still, it looked stunning...
Her darling possessed a beauty that was flawless across all three hundred and sixty degrees, without a single dead angle.

Because Jiang Xunchu had to focus on his research, he had no time to humor Ling Qiong.
Stuck in the laboratory, Ling Qiong was practically growing mushrooms.
Whenever she had nothing to do, she would run over to the outside of Jiang Xunchu's isolation room and squat there just to watch him.
At first, Jiang Xunchu was distracted by her antics, but eventually, he got used to it and simply ignored her.
Ling Qiong didn't mind either; admiring her darling's peerless beauty was more than enough.

"Big Sis, want to go out for a stroll?" An Changjing trotted over, imitated her squatting posture, and looked at her expectantly.
"No—" Ling Qiong's refusal stopped at her lips, but she changed her mind midway. "Let's go. Time to go watch some zombies."
She needed to go out and scavenge some gold.
Otherwise, she wouldn't even have funds for her next in-game purchase.
Raising a darling was entirely too wallet-draining.
An Changjing: "... "
What is there to watch about zombies?
An hour later.
An Changjing decided that watching zombies mindlessly stagger in circles was actually quite entertaining.