After Zhang Qifeng left, the laboratory returned to silence. The only sounds that could be heard were the low hum of various devices and the occasional quick footsteps.
Liu Wu died along with the people from Team 3.
Qiu Shi still remembers Liu Wu's eyes and his silent turn when he informed Liu Wu that he was no longer a partner with Lin Sheng and had returned to Team 3.
He suddenly felt a little sad. It was his habit to remember all kinds of faces, familiar and unfamiliar, liked and hated, alive and dead...
In troubled times, many faces just flashed by. Faces like Liu Wu, with whom Qiu Shi had had interactions and emotions, could be considered familiar to him.
Now Liu Wu and his teammates died in this predictable way.
He knew that if they did set out they would die, and even he knew that no one could stop them.
This indescribable discomfort was completely different from the times he had faced desperate refugees, harsh climates, and the wasteland where life and death were uncertain in the outer city.
The deeper we get into this new war that has already begun, the stronger this feeling becomes.
"Qiu Shi," Xing Bi called him, "Hey, human."
"Hmm?" Qiu Shi turned his head. "What's the matter, biochemical body?"
"What are you thinking about?" Xing Bi said, "I called you several times but you didn't hear me."
"Is there?" Qiu Shi was stunned.
"Don't question the memory of the biochemical body." Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi laughed: "The memory of a fucking human can't be this bad."
"I want to get out of bed and take a walk." Xing Bi said.
"How long has it been since the surgery?" Qiu Shi asked, "You're already going for a walk?"
"Exercising a little," Xing Bi said, "will help with recovery."
"I have to ask Director Wu," Qiu Shi stood up, "You have a hole. There is a hole through your stomach. It's not an ordinary wound."
Xing Bi smiled and said nothing.
Qiu Shi walked out of the experimental cabin and saw no one outside, so he went to Director Wu's office again.
Director Wu had just changed into casual clothes and came out of the office. His originally calm expression immediately turned alert when he saw him: "What's the matter?"
"How long will it take Xing Bi to get out of bed?" Qiu Shi asked.
"After the operation, he can get out of bed whenever he wants," said Director Wu. "Biochemical bodies have no sense of pain. As long as the biochemical functions are normal, they can move when they are needed. They were originally designed to have stronger bodies than humans and a shorter or even zero recovery period after injury."
Qiu Shi couldn't help but frowned: "Won't the wound be torn?"
“No,” said Director Wu. “The materials and adhesives used for repair are different from those used by humans, and their body materials are much stronger than humans.”
"I understand." said Qiu Shi.
"You don't have to stay here," said Director Wu.
Qiu Shi looked at him.
"Director Li means that as long as you don't leave the inner city, you can walk around and see what the inner city is like," Director Wu said, "You can use the emergency dormitory of the Security Bureau. He left the door card."
"Oh." Qiu Shi felt that Director Wu was eager for them to leave the laboratory as soon as possible.
"Go ahead," Director Wu turned around and called to the room next to his office, "Xiao Chen, take the card Director Li left to Qiu Shi."
"Wait a moment." The person inside replied.
"Where are the biochemical bodies we brought, Sang Fan, Xiao Zuo and Xiao You?" Qiu Shi said.
"Xiao Zuo and Xiao You?" Director Wu was stunned for a moment. "Are you talking about the two Level 2s? Sang Fan is doing some training after the inspection. She is a newly activated biochemical body and still has some things to learn. Xiao... Zuo... You has returned to the cabin."
"They don't need to study, right?" Qiu Shi asked again.
Director Wu obviously didn't want to talk to him any more, but since it came to his professional field, he seemed unable to resist and answered all the questions: "Secondary biochemical bodies don't have self-awareness. They are more like robots that you usually understand. They only receive and execute commands."
"Yeah." Qiu Shi responded.
Xiao Chen took the door card left by Li Feng, and Director Wu took the card and handed it to him: "I will mark the dormitory address on the map for you later."
"Thank you." Qiu Shi nodded.
The laboratory prepared clothes for the two of them. Qiu Shi felt a little awkward after putting them on, probably because they were too new. He felt a little restrained and rigid.
Xing Bi looked much more comfortable in his outfit than him. After all, he used to wear suits. But in today's world, if you want to find a suit, you probably have to go to the ruins of distant human cities.
"Let's go." Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi took his scarf and found that although the color was the same, this scarf was new. The original scarf had a lot of stains and blood on it. He guessed that Li Feng had someone bring him another one.
He put on a scarf and looked at Xing Bi: "Does it hurt?"
"It doesn't have to hurt." Xing Bi said.
"Slow down, please." Qiu Shi frowned. "Director Wu means that it's okay for you to fight now."
"That's true." Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi sighed.
Director Wu marked the location of the dormitory on the map. It was on a hill not far from the Security Bureau, on the third floor of a mine, and it seemed to be a place with windows.
Since many houses in the inner city are built into the mountains, above or below tunnels, not all of them have windows. Only people with a certain status in the inner city can live in houses with windows.
The Security Bureau, which manages the production and living materials of the inner city, seems to be much more low-key than the company's management departments or the City Defense Bureau that are responsible for security, but in fact it has great invisible power.
Li Feng, the junior director, has more power than many ministers.
"Should we go directly there or take a detour?" Qiu Shi asked Xing Bi.
"Take a walk," Xing Bi said, "Have you never been to the inner city?"
"I haven't been to the outer city many times. I usually go to the section from the tavern to the refugee market," Qiu Shi said. "I don't have the right to walk around the inner city. There is a fixed route from the checkpoint to the security bureau warehouse."
"I'll take you for a walk." Xing Bi said.
"You look very familiar with him." Qiu Shi glanced at him.
"Yeah." Xing Bi smiled, "Let's go, I'll take you on a day trip to Yuncheng."
"Okay." Qiu Shi nodded.
The first stop is the exhibition hall.
"Can it be that easy?" Qiu Shi was speechless and looked back at the place where they had just walked out.
"This is where the archives of Yuncheng's historical events are stored," Xing Bi introduced seriously. "There are some pictures and videos inside, which show some major events from the beginning of Yuncheng's establishment to... the present."
"Really?" Qiu Shi said.
"Humans only." Xing Bi said.
"This attraction is boring," Qiu Shi said, "Next one."
"Please follow me, tourists," Xing Bi raised his arm and walked forward, "We are going to Yuncheng's newest..."
"Fuck," Qiu Shi hurried over and pressed down his arm, "What are you doing?"
There were a few passers-by nearby, looking over here.
Fortunately, both of them covered their faces with scarves.
"That's what tour guides are like," said Xing Bi.
"What tour guide?" Qiu Shi asked.
"He's the one who took you on the tour," Xing Bi said. "You were also my tour guide when you took me to Dushi before."
“The lives of the old folks are quite rich,” Qiu said, “and there are many types of jobs.”
"Yes," Xing Bi nodded, "but it stopped working not long after I left the factory. Many cities have lost contact with each other."
Qiu Shi didn't say anything and followed Xing Bi slowly forward.
The population density in the inner city is lower than that in the outer city, but there are still many people. It’s just that there is more space for living and it is not as chaotic as the outer city.
Most of the roads are very narrow, with mountain walls on both sides. If you look up, you can see all kinds of signs and light boxes extending all the way to the top of the mountain. If you don't look up, you will feel a little lonely. When you look up, you will find that this city built on the mountains and mines is clearly different from the prosperity of the outer city.
"In front is the Valley Square," Xing Bi said, "the hospital used to be here, and the largest shopping mall was also here."
"It's here now," Qiu Shi said, "Is it the next attraction?"
"Although our next attraction is in the Valley Square, it will be more interesting to watch from a distance," Xing Bi led him to the trail leading up the mountain. "Tourists, please follow me."
"Did the old-fashioned tour guides in the past talk so much?" Qiu Shi asked.
"This is called a commentary," Xing Bi said, "The End of the World."
"Fuck." Qiu Shi was stunned for a moment, then laughed, "What you learned before is a mess, I really want to meet your teacher..."
When he said this, he suddenly panicked and quickly closed his mouth, but he couldn't stop him from saying even one more word.
Xing Bi's emotions didn't seem to fluctuate much because of the word "teacher". He just paused for a moment, then said softly, "I want to, too."
Qiu Shi didn't say anything.
"It's okay," Xing Bi said, "It's painful when you think about it suddenly, but it won't be so painful if you keep remembering it."
"Yeah." Qiu Shi responded.
After walking up the zigzag road on the mountain wall for a while, they arrived directly opposite the valley square.
"Look." Xing Bi pointed to the opposite side, "This is the latest hero monument in Yuncheng."
"What..." Qiu Shi turned his head and looked over.
When I saw that it was a huge electronic advertising screen, I heard a familiar sentence.
"For Cloud City!"
"Fuck your ancestors." He looked at the billboard in shock.
The above is the short footage that Minister Liu asked someone to take before departure that day. He was standing in front of the car with a stern face like a fool, and next to him was a group of people from the second team, all holding guns and shouting.
"For Cloud City!"
Because this video is a bit short and keeps looping.
"For Cloud City!"
After shouting about seven or eight times, the screen switched to show the Cloud City army lined up in an orderly manner, and a voice said excitedly: "Salute to the heroes who defend Cloud City!"
"Fuck." Qiu Shi had no other words to say.
"The car passed by here on its way back yesterday," Xing Bi said, "and I heard it."
"You have good hearing." Qiu Shi said.
"It is indeed a level that cannot be reached even if you strengthen yourself." Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi glanced at him.
Xing Bi smiled and looked at him: "How about this attraction?"
"Who the hell put this up?" Qiu Shi turned around and looked at it for a while. Although he could see that people coming and going on the opposite square didn't pay much attention to the sign, after all, it had been there for a while, he still felt extremely embarrassed. "I thought it was just a recording as a souvenir, in case we die..."
"Yuncheng needs heroes," Xing Bi said. "They have lived in peace for too long. These people have never left the inner city in their lives. They know that the outside world is dangerous, but they don't know how dangerous it is. Once a crisis comes, the panic from these people will put no less pressure on Yuncheng than the danger outside."
"So we need to tell them that there are heroes protecting them," Qiu Shi sighed, "It's just to comfort the kids."
"Even Colonel Xu doesn't have enough knowledge about the outside world, let alone these people. They will definitely believe it because they are afraid." Xing Bi said.
"Colonel Xu..." Qiu Shi didn't continue.
"They will be afraid, too. Not everyone will be able to accept the real situation outside," Xing Bi said. "Humanity is the strongest. Humanity must be the strongest. Humanity must be able to overcome those dangers. If we don't believe this, we will have to face the reality that humanity may be destroyed."
Qiu Shi suddenly felt very heavy. He had lived outside the city for so many years, and had never thought about so much as he did now.
Although life in the bunker with a group of brothers was hard, at least we didn’t have to worry about life or death.
Looking back now, my previous life is still in front of me, but I can never go back.
Yuncheng worked very hard on creating heroes. In addition to billboards that could be seen everywhere, there were also many propaganda posters projected in a row in the air. Fortunately, there was no sound, otherwise the stimulation to Qiu Shi would be no less than those infected people who were shouting at Xing Bi together.
He and Xing Bi were standing at the bus waiting point. He had never taken a public transportation bus before, and the door card given by Li Feng happened to be usable when taking a bus, so Xing Bi planned to take him for a ride.
"The antique transportation vehicle should be the same as this, right?" Qiu Shi asked.
"Yeah, but there are a lot more people riding in the car," Xing Bi said.
"It's quite interesting," Qiu Shi said, "There are fewer people in the inner city, but more in the outer city. But it's very chaotic. Humans will never have the real prosperity like before, right?"
"Being alive is the prosperity of life," said Xing Bi.
"Fuck." Qiu Shi glanced at him.
"Get in the car." Xing Bi pointed to the shuttle bus that was already driving over.
Qiu Shi was about to walk over to get on the bus when he saw a large picture of them holding guns on the bus. The driver of the bus was wearing a Security Bureau uniform, with Qiu Shi's cold-faced picture printed on the front. "… I won't get on the bus," Qiu Shi said, "I can't stand it."
Xing Bi laughed: "Hero, be brave."
The car door opened and several people got out of the car. The first few people just left. The last one to get out was a man who looked to be in his thirties. He was holding a cloth bag in his hand, and Qiu Shi's face was printed on the bag.
Before Qiu Shi could turn around and walk away, the man suddenly pointed at him and said, "Captain Qiu!"
Qiu Shi was stunned, and subconsciously pulled the scarf that was originally covering the tip of his nose up to the bridge of his nose.
"Right! Hero Team Two! Hero Captain Qiu Shi!" The man's voice was a little loud.
Several passers-by who got off the bus and walked away also turned their heads.
"I... am not." Qiu Shi took two steps back, not caring whether Xing Bi had caught up with him or not, and turned and left.
"It's Captain Qiu!" someone shouted from behind.
"That's him! The captain is back!"
"For Cloud City!"
"For Cloud City!"
"For Yuncheng!" Xing Bi shouted as he walked, raising his arm.
"Xing Bi, fuck you, shut up!" Qiu Shi looked at him in shock.
Xing Bi curled the corners of his mouth.
"Let's not go shopping anymore," Qiu Shi jogged along the way, opened the map, and confirmed the route, "Let's take a shortcut to the Security Bureau dormitory."
"Are you sorry?" Xing Bi asked behind him.
"I don't know," Qiu Shi said, "I'm not used to it anyway."
He was really not used to it. It was not that he was not used to so many people knowing him, nor was it that he was not used to so many people watching him together. After all, when the corpse collectors went around the outer city, everyone knew them, would watch them, and some who were not afraid of death would even scold them.
What he wasn't used to was everyone surrounding him and calling him a hero.
There were expectations of him that he had never imagined.
The hero who saved Cloud City.
This was Li Feng's plan. Qiu Shi believed that he wanted to create this hero in order to protect him and Xing Bigai.
But he would never suspect that there was a deeper conspiracy behind Li Feng. He had been placed in a high position by Li Feng, and he had to do something for Yuncheng and these people.
Dog official.
The sinister official has never changed.
The dormitories of the Security Bureau are definitely the most comfortable among the nearby residences. They are all on the outside, with windows and balconies carved out of the mountain. The one they use is on the top floor, with a view of the woods in the distance.
Qiu Shi stood on the balcony and said, "This is higher than the peak outside the city that I always go to."
"Not panicking anymore?" Xing Bi stood beside him.
"I'm not panicking at all," Qiu Shi said. "I just came to the dormitory to rest normally."
"You must have forgotten my injury while running all the way." Xing Bi said.
"Fuck, I really forgot..." Qiu Shi was stunned, and suddenly panicked. He hurriedly lifted Xing Bi's clothes, "Let me see... The main thing is that you don't look like a wounded soldier. I didn't just forget it, I forgot it a long time ago..."
Halfway through, a gust of wind blew over, and he quickly pushed Xing Bi into the house: "Come in, come in, the wind is too strong."
"It's okay," Xing Bi said, "I was just kidding."
Qiu Shi didn't say anything, but insisted on lifting up his clothes and pulling off a corner of the bandage. He only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw a circle of small round metal nails and a tight and smooth wound on his left abdomen.
"Really..." He arranged the bandages and reached behind Xing Bi's waist to touch the bandages there, "The recovery speed of the biochemical body."
"Yeah." Xing Bi looked at him.
Qiu Shi didn't say anything. He withdrew his hand from his lower back, but didn't withdraw it completely. Instead, he stopped at Xing Bi's waist.
Thin and tight waist.
Qiu Shi pinched it.
Xing Bi didn't move, but just curled the corners of his mouth slightly.
Suspension bridge effect.
Qiu Shi began to understand what this feeling was. They had just experienced a thrilling battle in which they almost died. This was just one of many more battles they would face in the future, and they had no other choice.
They seemed to be strolling in this peaceful inner city, seeing prosperity everywhere, laughing and making noises, but Li Feng's words not to leave the inner city also clearly told them that everything was short-lived, and perhaps in the next second, Li Feng would push the door open and ask them to kill Mr. Long.
Chaos, fear, death, despair, when you experience all the thrilling emotions, this person is by your side.
"This is not a suspension bridge," he looked at Xing Bi, "It's almost broken and has fallen into the water."
Xing Bi didn't say anything, but suddenly slowly moved closer and gently touched the corner of his mouth with his lips.
Just as he was about to leave, Qiu Shi grabbed his collar, pulled him back in front of him, and kissed him hard on the lips.
Xing Bi also came over and put his hand on the back of his neck.
Qiu Shi grabbed his collar and didn't let go, both of them seemed to be trying to prevent the other from escaping.
My feet feel very light, and I can't find any comparable feeling.
If he had to make a comparison, the only thing Qiu Shi could think of was the feeling he had before he almost died and fainted.
It was very light, and I lost my sense of direction. It felt like I was spinning or flying.
Time also becomes blurred.
One second, two seconds, or one minute, two minutes.
Or a long time, from the past to the future.
The door rang and was opened.
A man walked quickly into the room.
When Qiu Shi and Xing Bi separated, they had already raised their guns and pointed them at the people coming in.
"I'll come in a minute." Li Feng stepped out again and closed the door.
"I..." Qiu Shi raised his gun, "Fuck..."
Xing Bi didn't say anything, just smiled.
Qiu Shi put the gun back.
After another fucking minute, knowing that Li Feng was standing at the door, there was no way they could continue the conversation.
But Qiu Shi didn't move, and Xing Bi didn't say anything. The two of them leaned against the window together, looking at the door.
A minute later Li Feng reopened the door and walked in.
"Very accurate." Xing Bi said.
"Are you checking the watch?" Qiu Shi said.
"Let's go," Li Feng tilted his head towards them, "The car is waiting downstairs."
"Where are you going?" Qiu Shi asked.
"Eighteen levels of hell," Li Feng said, "Xing must help me choose someone."
"Who do you want to choose?" Xing Bi asked.
"You think it's reliable." Li Feng said.
This trip should be the "help" that Li Feng mentioned before. Normally, Li Feng would not drive his own car when doing these things, but what was waiting for them today was the special car of Li Feng, the Director of the Security Bureau, who everyone could recognize at a glance.
There was no one else in the car, so Li Feng drove himself and went straight to the exhibition hall.
They had not even stayed in the Security Bureau dormitory for half an hour before they were taken back to the first stop of their journey.
There were already two cars parked in the underground parking lot, both black. One of them had the Yuncheng Mining logo printed on it, which was the company's car, and the other two were large black military cars.
After they got off the car, the people in the other two cars also got off. The person who got off the company's car was Minister Liu, and Qiu Shi did not recognize the person who got off the big black car, but at the same time, more than a dozen fully armed soldiers also got off.
Everyone was silent as they followed Li Feng into the exhibition hall and entered the laboratory from the vehicle transport cabin.
Director Wu and several experimental assistants stood in the center of the laboratory, with two soldiers beside them.
"Let's go, Old Wu." Li Feng said.
Director Wu sighed softly, turned around and walked inside.
Another transport cabin, moving continuously downwards.
No one in the cabin spoke. It was so quiet that even the sound of breathing could not be heard. The only sound that could be heard was the humming of the machinery outside the transport cabin.
When the door opened again, they came to an underground cave and could see two huge metal doors.
The soldiers stayed outside the door, and the others followed Director Wu into the metal door.
This is a warehouse with rows of shelves and glass covers. Busy working robotic arms constantly adjust the position of each cover.
Inside each hood is a biological being, sleeping in the darkness.
"Welcome to biochemical hell." Li Feng said.
The author has something to say:
To be continued tomorrow⊙▽⊙.
I'm going out with my relatives tomorrow, so the update may be late, but it will definitely be updated.