The blurry picture finally froze clearly on the face of a person standing on the rooftop.
The scene of the old man being killed and this face are the clearest images in the entire memory, probably because this is the pain and hatred that Xing Bi has engraved in his mind.
"It's him." Qiu Shi said softly.
"You have seen this person, right?" Li Feng asked.
"He was the one who stabbed me while controlling the infected in Xima Town," said Qiu Shi.
"His name is Zheng Ting." Li Feng switched the screen to text. "He, Xing Bi, and Lin Sheng were all from the same batch of first-level submersible guards. They were the strongest submersible guards at the time. After the war, Xing Bi decided to follow humans to Yuncheng with a group of biochemical bodies. They were considered to have betrayed their kind."
"Who is the one with the beheaded head among those stone statues on the hill at the city gate?" Qiu Shi asked.
"The captain of the submerged guard at that time was a master of his generation," said Li Feng.
"Who killed him?" Qiu Shi asked again.
"Xing Bi." Li Feng said.
The teaching quality in the outer city was worrying. Qiu Shi had some difficulty reading the text. He could barely recognize the words, but he was not familiar with them. He had only seen a few words in the past 25 years. When he went to the outer town to pick up magazines, he would pick those with more pictures.
The impact of Li Feng's oral narration was much greater than those words he was not familiar with.
He suddenly felt a little weak.
Leaned back in the chair.
"Xing Bi chose humans, and then he was forced by humans to kill the biochemical creatures he brought with him, including his captain, right?" Qiu Shi said.
"You can say that." Li Feng said.
"Then how dare the company hire him now?" Qiu Shi turned and looked at him. "If you had seen this file at the beginning, would you still hire him?"
Li Feng was silent for a while, then smiled and said, "I never look back and make assumptions."
"I want to be alone for a while." said Qiu Shi.
"Do you want to see more of these?" Li Feng said, "You can stay here and I'll come back in ten minutes."
"No need," Qiu Shi said, "I have a headache when I read words. Let's improve the teaching quality of the refugee school in the outer city."
"Huh?" Li Feng was stunned.
"If one day you can replace Mr. Long." Qiu Shi said.
"Improve the teaching quality, right? I can do that now." Li Feng stood up and put away the pet. "We will set off early tomorrow morning. I will prepare things for you tonight. The veterans of the second team will set off with you tomorrow, as well as Lin Sheng and Liu Wu. If they can help, let them help. If they don't need it, they can just take a ride and go to Xima Town to assist in the defense."
"Yeah." Qiu Shi nodded.
Xima already has regular troops stationed there, and sending the second team and Lin Sheng and others over to assist in the defense was probably just to prevent them from staying in Yuncheng.
These people were all eyewitnesses of the melee in Xima Town. If they had not been called a heroic team, they would have been killed long ago.
"Anything else you want to ask?" Li Feng said, "My head is about to explode now. I need to go to sleep for an hour."
"Sleep a little longer," Qiu Shi said, "If you die, I will be left without a support."
"Backer?" Li Feng looked at him.
"I don't have a choice anyway, right?" Qiu Shi said, "At least I've known you for a longer time."
Li Feng smiled, turned on the surveillance again, turned around and walked out of the experimental cabin.
Qiu Shi couldn't sleep. He could feel that there was nothing wrong with his body, but his mind still had an inertial thinking about such a serious injury, and he felt that he had not fully recovered.
He has been lying in the hospital bed, and Director Wu would come in from time to time to check on his condition.
In the middle of the night, Zhao Lu was quietly brought in and met him.
Although Li Feng did not tell Zhao Lu about his current situation, anyone who saw him now would have the same guess.
"What did they do to you?" Zhao Lu lowered his voice, his eyes full of shock.
"We used some instruments and medicines that only Mr. Long's level could use." Qiu Shi also lowered his voice.
"The thing I put in your room before was already pretty good. It healed quickly enough," Zhao Lu carefully touched the wound on his body, "Can it heal so quickly?"
"Biochemical materials," Qiu Shi tried to control his emotions and answered easily, "It's used to repair biochemical bodies."
"Don't hide anything from me." Zhao Lu said.
"Why would I hide it from you?" Qiu Shi said, "I was just waiting for a chance to see you cry for me."
"Get lost!" Zhao Lu cursed, then remembered the reason why he came here today, "Are you leaving again tomorrow?"
"Yes," Qiu Shi responded, "We have to go find Xing Bi."
"Can it be found?" Zhao Lu frowned.
"We must get it back." said Qiu Shi.
"I won't try to persuade you. Anyway, this matter is probably not something you can decide," Zhao Lu thought about it and added, "If you can decide, you will decide this way."
Qiu Shi smiled.
"Don't get hurt again," Zhao Lu said, "Really, don't get hurt again."
"Yeah." Qiu Shi nodded, stretched out his hand and rubbed Zhao Lu's head twice, "Don't worry."
It was still dark when they set out. The coldness in the air was enough to penetrate into their lungs, so Qiu Shi pulled up his scarf to cover half of his face.
The team members were already waiting by the car. When they saw Qiu Shi, Zhao Yi came over and hugged him. No one asked why he recovered so quickly. Everyone was silent.
"Let's take a group photo." Someone behind me said.
Qiu Shi turned around and saw a small pet hanging in the air, the large size one used for professional videography.
"What?" Qiu Shi asked Li Feng who was standing with his arms folded.
Li Feng didn't say anything. Minister Liu next to him smiled and replied, "We were supposed to go around the inner city a few times to let everyone see the heroic team, but considering Captain Qiu's safety, this trip is confidential, so we will just record a sentence and use it for publicity later."
Qiu Shi was stunned.
What the hell is this rumor
Another fucking word
"Let's talk," Zhao Yi said from behind him, "just stand in the middle."
Qiu Shi didn't want to waste time, so he didn't say anything more and stood next to the car.
The members of Team Two stood around him, weapons raised.
"No need to laugh. It will be more effective if you appear more dignified," said Minister Liu.
Qiu Shi frowned and looked at the cameraman over there.
"start."
The members of Team 2 raised their guns and shouted, "For Yuncheng!"
"Okay! That's it." said Minister Liu.
"Let's go," Li Feng yawned at the beginning, and rubbed his face when he turned back. "This mission does not require any combat or exploration. The only thing we have to do is to reach Xima Town safely. There are no heroes, only team members who must survive."
When the car drove out of the tunnel, there were still two subtle flashes in the direction of the distant shelter.
This time, Long Hao didn't wait for Qiu Shi to speak, and flashed the light twice in that direction.
The snow started falling again.
The car kicked up a cloud of fine snow and drove south out of Yuncheng's defense range.
The people in the car were still in the same positions as last time. The newly joined Lin Sheng and Liu Wu were at the front. There was no one next to Qiu Shi. The seat that originally belonged to Xing Bi was empty, with only Qiu Shi's scarf on it.
He didn't know why he put the scarf there, as if it was reserving a seat.
"The valley where the landslide occurred last time has been cleared," Zhao Yi told Long Hao, "Let's follow the original route."
"Okay." Long Hao nodded.
Qiu Shi turned his head and looked out from the shooting hole.
After the strengthening, he did not feel any obvious physical improvement. When he was tested in the experimental cabin, he knew that his speed and strength had improved a lot, and even his hearing had become much better. However, when he was once again in the wilderness, he did not feel much more secure.
Many times, his sense of security came from Xing Bi, even when Xing Bi was out of control.
He touched the back of his neck but felt nothing. The wound from the implant had healed.
It was as if nothing had happened.
The road to Xima Town had been cleared by the troops stationed in Yuncheng. Theoretically, there would be no danger along the way, but Qiu Shi still opened the map.
If Zheng Ting had not been killed by Xing Bi, then the target might still be him, although Zheng Ting might not be sure whether the man who was stabbed seventeen times was still alive.
It's always better to be cautious.
Moreover, Qiu Shi also wanted to see what the little bright spot on the map would be identified as.
But the identification mark is no different, he is still shown as the captain of the second team, Qiu Shi, and the map does not judge his attributes.
The most obvious change after the strengthening is probably physical strength and energy. In order to reach Xima Town in the shortest time, the car did not stop all the way, and the team members in the car took turns to rest. Only he and several biochemical bodies were awake all the time.
After the car passed the valley, Qiu Shi opened a separate call channel with Xing Bi.
There was silence in the headphones, no sound at all.
He didn't know whether Xing Bi had thrown away the mission headphones, and if he hadn't thrown them away, would he continue to wear them
But he always had a feeling that Xing Bi was not far away from him.
Maybe it's stuck on the edge of the map.
This illusion made him feel at ease.
When passing by the "Single Stone" scenic spot, Qiu Shi looked over there and found that he could clearly see the part of the stone that Xing Bi had touched.
It seems that my eyesight is much better than before.
He stared at the stone, his head turning with it, until he could no longer see the stone. Then he turned back and sighed softly.
Afterwards they passed the big pit where they parked the car to avoid the wind and snow, but the location was not in the straight line of travel of the car, so they could only glance at it from a distance.
It's hard to describe the complex emotions.
"Did you feel anything?" Liu Wu, who was sitting in the front, turned around and asked Lin Sheng.
"No." Lin Sheng replied.
"Do you feel anything?" Liu Wu turned around and asked Sang Fan.
Sang Fan looked at him and didn't answer.
Liu Wu frowned and looked at Qiu Shi, who turned his head away.
"If you find anything, you must report it to me immediately. Don't hide it." Liu Wu looked at Lin Sheng again. "Xing Bi is now in a very dangerous and out-of-control state..."
"I have the final say on whether he has lost control or not," said Qiu Shi.
Liu Wu stood up and looked at him: "Captain Qiu, we are now in a cooperative relationship. I hope..."
"Wrong," Qiu Shi leaned back in his chair, "You are now the second team's freeloaders. I can ask for your assistance if necessary. If nothing happens, you can go to Xima to assist."
"It's okay if you insist on saying that," Liu Wu nodded, "Then I just hope you can respect me and not transfer your emotions to me."
"Just shut up," Qiu said. "I don't have any emotions."
"You!" Liu Wu suddenly became emotional.
After all, he was chosen by Colonel Xu himself and had never suffered such humiliation, especially since the other party was a corpse collector who rarely entered the outer city of Lianyun City.
He glared and rushed to the back of the car.
Just as he was halfway through the walk, Sang Fan, Xiao Zuo and Xiao You, who were sitting in front of Qiu Shi, stood up at the same time and blocked his way. "Captain Liu," Qiu Shi tilted his head and looked at Liu Wu through the gap between Sang Fan and Xiao Zuo, "There is only one thing, don't judge my partner casually. I have the final say on whether Xing Bi is out of control or not, and I have the final say on whether he is missing or not."
Liu Wu looked back at Lin Sheng, as if he wanted to say something.
"I don't know how Colonel Xu trained you," Qiu Shi said, "I just want you to understand one thing. The reason your partner cooperates with you and listens to your command is because of the mission setting and their oath. If there is no order, he would crush you to death in less than a second."
"Qiu Shi, I'm not here to argue with you," Liu Wu said, "nor am I here to listen to your comments about Colonel Xu. You don't need to tell me how my partner and I should cooperate."
"That's good to know. Then just sit still and shut up. If you don't force my partner," Qiu Shi said, "I won't even look at you."
"Okay." Liu Wu nodded, turned around and sat back in his seat.
"Thank you." said Qiu Shi.
Liu Wu was quite cooperative and didn't speak a word during the whole journey. He didn't even speak when other team members were talking in the car.
Silence seemed to speed up the car, and the car arrived at Xiniu Village in silence.
At the edge of Xiniu Village, one can already see the big black vehicles and sentry towers of the garrison troops, and the roads have been smoothed a lot.
There were many small bright spots on the map in front of him. In addition to the soldiers from Yuncheng, there were also many ordinary humans.
Smoke was rising between the half-collapsed houses in Xiniu Village in the snow.
When the car was stopped for inspection, Qiu Shi asked, "Are those refugees?"
"Yes, Captain Qiu," the soldier who was inspecting said, "There are refugees in the village to the south. After our inspection, we will allow them to stay outside Xima Town and give them some daily necessities."
"Yeah." Qiu Shi responded.
Yuncheng would not be so kind. The refugees outside the city who were unable to enter the city until they froze to death have already said it all. The refugees who are allowed to stay outside Xima Town will be nothing more than coolies in the town in the future and the first alarm in case of an attack.
Li Feng believed that Xing Bi would stay near Xima Town because the old man was still here.
Qiu Shi’s judgment was similar to Li Feng’s, so after entering the town, he kept paying attention to the map and listening to the sounds in the headphones.
Even when no one noticed him, he whispered in the channel between him and Xing Bi: "Xing Bi, are you there?"
But no response was received.
The garrison soldiers led the way, and their vehicles followed slowly behind.
These people acted quite quickly. Xima Town had changed a lot and was no longer the town that Qiu Shi was familiar with. The houses and shops on both sides of the street had been cleared out and each had a new function. Soldiers with guns were walking on the streets.
The row of small buildings next to the turret were converted into dormitories. The supermarket at the top was reserved for the people of Team 2. The first and second floors were their dormitories.
Qiu Shi didn’t know whether this was to commemorate this “heroic team” or because no one wanted to live here.
After all, on the ground where the snow had just been swept, you could still see his blood all over the ground. It was no longer bright red, but dark.
"Can't we clean this piece of land?" Zhao said as he got off the car, "Who are we going to irritate by keeping it here?"
"There are too many things to do, and we haven't been able to take care of it yet," said a soldier, "We have limited manpower, and the snow was just cleared to welcome you, so we couldn't see it before."
"It's okay." Qiu Shi got out of the car and stood on his own blood. "Pack your things."
Everyone got off the car and started moving weapons and supplies into the dormitory, and the garrison personnel also sent some supplies over.
Qiu Shi stood there without moving.
He could hear many sounds, far away, near, the sound of footsteps, the sound of talking, the sound of wheels rolling over the snow, and he could smell all kinds of smells, of people, of things...
The world has suddenly become very complicated.
After packing up, the car drove away. Before Zhao Yi entered the dormitory, he said, "Captain, let's go inside first. Call us if you need anything."
"Yeah." Qiu Shi responded.
When there was no one around, he slowly walked a few steps towards the turret.
From this angle you can see the small hill south of the town, the direction where the infected people first appeared that night.
There was still no sign of Xing Bi on the map, and there was silence in the headphones.
"Xing Bi," he whispered, "You can hear it, right?"
No sound.
"You must be nearby, stuck on the edge of the map," Qiu Shi pulled up his scarf and walked slowly, "so you must be within my control. I'll give you two choices. One is that you come to my room to find me before dark. The other is that if you don't come before dark, I'll control you. No matter where you are, you just fall down and I'll go out and slowly look for you. There's no option for you to run away. I know you won't run away."
After saying this, Qiu Shi turned around and prepared to go back to the dormitory to rest.
A small dot on the map lit up for a moment, then disappeared in an instant.
The actual distance from him was probably only a hundred meters, in the southeast direction of the town, a little beyond the open space behind the turret. There were no houses there, and it was the former market of Xima Town.
Qiu Shi didn't hesitate and ran over there.
Although this small bright spot only appeared for a brief moment, he could still be sure that it was Xing Bi. This time he was not relying on pure intuition, but he could really feel it.
He ran much faster. When he ran past the patrolling garrison soldiers, he didn't even have time to see what they looked like. He could only shout, "It's okay, I'm exercising!"
Beyond the market is an orchard. It is very dense, but no one has taken care of it for many years and it has become a mess. Now there is thick snow on the branches, and you can't see clearly what's inside.
A bright spot appeared over there in the orchard and began to approach this side.
This is not Xing Bi.
"Don't come over here," Xing Bi's voice suddenly came from the headset, "There's a symbiote here."
"Fuck you." Qiu Shi was stunned for a moment, and said this almost with gritted teeth, but at the same time he did not forget to tell Xing Bi the coordinates of the bright spot.
"Don't use the gun." Xing Bi said.
His little dot on the map finally lit up completely and rushed towards the symbiote.
But then two bright spots appeared on the map, behind Xing Bi, and one of them came straight towards Qiu Shi.
"There are two more." Qiu reported the coordinates and rushed into the woods. He could hear the footsteps of the symbiote coming towards him.
Xing Bi was about to encounter the first symbiote and might not have time to turn around. Qiu Shi pulled out the knife from his leg and knelt on one knee. He could already see the pair of swaying legs in the snowy forest.
At this time, it can be seen on the map that Xing Bi suddenly turned back and rushed towards him at an astonishing speed.
The symbiote behind him was chasing him relentlessly, and another one passed by Xing Bi from the front, and it seemed that they were going to attack him from both sides.
"Don't worry about this! I can handle it." Qiu Shi lowered his voice and found the gap.
Just as he was about to throw the knife in his hand towards the man's leg, the bright spot of the symbiote blocking Xing Bi's way had disappeared, and Qiu Shi heard the sound of his neck breaking.
Then the symbiote that was running towards him suddenly knelt on the ground. Xing Bi's figure appeared behind him, and before he could get up, he stepped on the back of his neck, and there was another cracking sound.
Xing Bi raised his eyes and looked towards him.
The moment their eyes met, Qiu Shi suddenly threw the knife in his hand away.
The knife almost brushed past Xing Bi's face and pierced the neck of the symbiote behind him.
Xing Bi turned around, pulled out Qiu Shi's knife, and crushed the man's neck.
The surroundings became quiet.
Only the sounds of the garrison soldiers could be heard in the distance, as the patrol team was changing shifts.
Xing Bi stood there and looked at Qiu Shi.
Branches and snow covered half of his face.
Qiu Shi opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but the teaching quality of the refugee school was not very good, so he couldn't say anything.
He walked towards Xing Bi, a little anxious and a little angry, and broke off several branches that blocked his way.
Xing Bi didn't move, just stood there, looking at him.
But he didn't dare to look into Xing Bi's eyes. He knew that Xing Bi had already sensed his changes, and he was afraid to see any pain and guilt in Xing Bi's eyes.
But the account still needs to be settled.
He rushed to Xing Bi, grabbed Xing Bi's collar, and pulled him towards him with force, with their noses almost touching.
"Fuck you, your ancestor Xing Bi," he said hoarsely, "Are you still running?"
"I won't run anymore." Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi let go of his hand and said nothing more. The teaching quality of refugee schools is worrying...
Xing Bi moved, slowly walked behind him, and gently pulled open his scarf with his fingers.
When his fingertips gently touched the back of his neck, Qiu Shi discovered that Xing Bi's hands, which were always warm, were now cold.
"What did they do to you?" Xing Bi asked in a low voice, with a slight tremor in his voice.
"I strengthened it a bit," Qiu Shi said, "otherwise... I might not survive."
Xing Bi didn't say anything. After a moment of silence, he hugged him from behind and lowered his head to the back of his neck.
Qiu Shi didn't move, and Xing Bi's face was warm.
Xing Bi just held him like that, motionless, for a long time.
When the falling snowflakes began to become denser, Qiu Shi felt a tiny amount of warm liquid slowly sliding down the side of his neck.
He was stunned for a moment, then reached back to touch Xing Bi's face and touched his wet eyes.
"I'm sorry," Xing Bi said, "Qiu Shi, I'm sorry."
The author has something to say:
To be continued tomorrow⊙▽⊙.