Chapter 158: Your Doom Has Been Delivered (41)

Mu Chen went back and discussed the matter with Base Leader Wang.

The base they had mentioned was actually information from a long time ago, and they had no idea what the current situation was like.

The geographical environment of City C was quite good, and the city itself had not suffered extensive damage.

If all the zombies were cleared out, it would indeed be a very suitable location for a base.

Coupled with the vaccine Ling Qiong mentioned, Base Leader Wang was somewhat tempted.

...

The next day, Mu Chen used the radio Ling Qiong had given him to contact them, and they agreed.

However, Ling Qiong brought up another condition on her end: she wanted gold.

Mu Chen: "..."

Was she messing with him?

"You can move in first, though. I trust Mr. Mu won't default on the debt. Just bring it back for me whenever you go out to scavenge for supplies."

"..."

Mu Chen took a deep breath.

Mu Chen agreed to Ling Qiong's condition and raised his own concern: "Didn't you say that having too many people entering the city would attract zombies? We have a lot of people; will it be a problem entering the city?"

"Not at all. I'll make the arrangements and contact you."

Ling Qiong ended the call right there.

They had to wait until evening before someone finally drove out from the city to lead the way.

Entering the city at night made Mu Chen a little uneasy.

Yet, the person who came to pick them up said that nighttime was actually safer.

"..."

With so many people making such a commotion, how could nighttime possibly be safe?

Mu Chen was on pins and needles all the way in, but no accidents occurred along the path, and not a single zombie was seen.

Mu Chen only learned later that there were several 'queen ants' inside the laboratory, which were allegedly captured by Ling Qiong using various methods.

Whenever they needed to lure zombies away, they would take the 'queen ants' out.

The zombies would follow the scent and run after them.

When they were no longer needed, tossing the 'queen ants' into a sealed box would cause the zombies to disperse on their own.

Mu Chen: "..."

Could zombies really be utilized like that?

...

The men Mu Chen brought were put to work, and the zombies were quickly cleared out.

After all, it didn't require too much effort—they just needed to lure the zombies into the newly built walls, close the gates, and wipe them out.

The clearance was carried out in batches and phases.

"Once the vaccine is developed, is there any possibility they might turn back?"

Mu Chen watched the zombies crashing blindly inside the walls and posed a question.

"Who knows? But if you don't eliminate them now, you'll have to become one of them." Ling Qiong reclined in a nearby chair. "If you want to be buried with them, I certainly don't."

Mu Chen: "..."

Mu Chen understood this logic.

Before the vaccine appeared, if they didn't eliminate the zombies, they could only wait for the zombies to eliminate them.

"There's something I want to ask you."

Ling Qiong signaled for him to go ahead.

"Why don't zombies ever return to places that have already been cleared?"

Ling Qiong: "You want to know?"

Mu Chen: "Mhm."

Ling Qiong smiled with curved eyes: "I'm not telling you."

"..."

That was a mixed serum Jiang Xunchu had created by combining the 'virus inhibitor' and the 'zombie virus' extracted from his own body.

The zombie virus intensely detested this mixed serum and would actively steer clear of it.

However, this mixed serum could not destroy the virus; it merely made the zombie virus despise it.

...

Tall walls gradually rose around the perimeter of City C, and occasionally survivors arrived to become part of City C.

Later on, survivors outside heard the news and deliberately hurried over.

Base Leader Wang had plenty of experience, so Ling Qiong left the management of City C to him.

However, Ling Qiong retained a veto power; if she disagreed with any decision, it could not be implemented.

Roughly a year later, a survivor came in, bringing news from the outside world.

Base S was gone.

The rumor was that a virus had broken out from within Base S.

Most people managed to escape, and survivors kept trickling into City C one after another.

Piecing together the truth from the accounts of various individuals:

Base S had never abandoned their research, but lacking the crucial virus inhibitor, they naturally had made little progress.

Even so, during their research, they had managed to produce a 'vaccine'.

This 'vaccine' had shown some effect when tested on zombies, though it was still only a preliminary conclusion.

Due to improper operation by someone in the laboratory, the person was bitten by a test zombie.

Out of fear, that person injected themselves with the vaccine.

He indeed showed no symptoms of the disease, leading him to believe the vaccine worked and that he had cheated death.

Who could have guessed that twenty-four hours later, he mutated.

That vaccine was an illusion and completely useless; worse still, it enhanced the transmission rate of the virus and accelerated the mutation speed of anyone who was bitten.

Almost anyone who was bitten mutated instantly, with only a rare few lasting a few minutes.

When that person mutated, it happened to coincide with mealtime, and the consequences could be imagined.

The base originally had the capability to handle it.

However, after Base Leader Wang left, the base management deteriorated and suffered from numerous issues.

Eventually, the base ceased to exist.

Ling Qiong sighed emotionally, "This is retribution, letting them bully my little bun."

"Miss Xu, why do you call Mr. Jiang 'little bun'?" Fang Sanqian asked a question he had wanted to ask for a long time.

He had heard her say it many times.

At first, he hadn't reacted in time to figure out who her 'little bun' was...

Ling Qiong smiled slightly, "Romantic affection."

"..."

Your brand of romantic affection is certainly unique.

Other people call their partners 'darling' or 'husband'... and you call him 'little bun'?

The people gossiping gradually dispersed, and Ling Qiong sat alone in her seat, poking at the vegetables in her bowl with a fork.

"Not to your liking?"

"Big Brother." The girl's voice was bright and pleasant. She raised her head, her eyes sparkling like crystal-clear gems.

Jiang Xunchu set down his meal tray and rubbed the top of her head, "What are you thinking about?"

"Thinking about you."

"..." He really shouldn't have asked her.

Jiang Xunchu changed the subject, "Is the food not to your taste?"

"It's alright." Ling Qiong said it was alright, but her hand had already laid the fork down.

Jiang Xunchu pushed his own meal tray toward her, "Anything you don't want to eat, give it to me."

Ling Qiong picked up her fork again, transferred the food she didn't want from her bowl to Jiang Xunchu's, and fished a few meatballs from his plate over to hers. p

Jiang Xunchu shook his head, "Quite a few people have been arriving at the base lately, haven't they?"

"Mhm." Ling Qiong popped a meatball into her mouth.

"My progress has been good this time; I should have results very soon," Jiang Xunchu suddenly stated.

The previous attempts had all failed, but the outcomes this time had been very promising. Once it passed the final testing phase, they could move on to human trials.

"That's wonderful." Ling Qiong was genuinely happy.

Jiang Xunchu couldn't help but smile along with her, but the smile quickly froze at the corners of his mouth.

He heard her say, "Once it's over, Big Brother will belong entirely to me."

"..."

Jiang Xunchu shook his head and sighed.

He really shouldn't expect her to ever say anything sensible.

"Mu Chen!"

Ling Qiong called out to stop Mu Chen as he hurried past.

Mu Chen paused, told his companions to go ahead first, and turned to walk over to her.

"Something the matter?" Mu Chen looked even colder than before, pushing the "strangers keep out, acquaintances do not disturb" vibe to its absolute limit.

Ling Qiong held out her hand.

Mu Chen took off the backpack he was wearing, unzipped it, and pulled out a black cloth pouch from inside.

"This is all there is this time."

It felt quite heavy in the hand—not a small amount.

Still, compared to before, it was definitely less.

Mu Chen left as soon as he set it down; he still had matters to attend to.

"Why do you want so much gold?" Jiang Xunchu asked with a puzzled expression. "What do you even do with all that gold?"