"I'm not a child anymore," said Li Rui.
"Really?" Jiang Cheng smiled, "Then listen to the adults."
Qiu Shi was shocked and didn't know what Jiang Cheng meant. When he was about to stop him, Jiang Cheng continued speaking.
"Do you want to contact the nearby biological organisms?" Jiang Cheng looked at Xing Bi and asked.
Shit. Qiu leaned back in his chair.
"I'm not sure whether to contact you or not, but I want to understand the situation," said Xing Bi.
"I heard that you have been dormant for a long time." Jiang Cheng said.
"Yes." Xing Bi replied.
Jiang Cheng looked at him for a long time without saying anything, and finally sighed: "Are you still keeping your oath?"
"For me, it was just a choice," Xing Bi said, "it had nothing to do with the oath."
"Yeah." Jiang Cheng responded.
Obviously Jiang Cheng had his own thoughts about the oath he made, but from his relationship with Li Rui, Qiu Shi could see that Jiang Cheng did not hate humans.
"The symbiote on the other side... do you know?" Qiu Shi asked.
"Four," Jiang Cheng answered straightforwardly. "As a main body, they are not very strong, but there are many humans around. If they need them, there will be many infected people. Once this area is eaten clean, new symbiotes will come."
Qiu Shi frowned and said nothing.
"As for the next step," Jiang Cheng looked at him, "I guess we'll go back to where you came from."
"Have you ever seen any other camp like this?" Qiu Shi asked.
"You are going east, right?" Jiang Cheng said, "You will see."
Qiu Shi glanced at Xing Bi and from what he heard, the further east they went, the more difficult it might become.
"Many areas over there are dark," Li Rui said. "Even if the fungus dies, it will take a long time for large areas of vegetation to recover."
Li Rui's words were quite professional. Qiu Shi couldn't help but ask, "Who told you that?"
Li Rui raised his chin towards Jiang Cheng: "Brother."
Jiang Cheng smiled.
"If we want to contact the nearby biochemical bodies," Xing Bi looked at Jiang Cheng, "can you contact them?"
"Yes." Jiang Cheng said.
"They..." Qiu Shi was very cautious, "Do you know them?"
"What kind of understanding do you need?" Jiang Cheng said, "Just an ordinary biochemical being living in this world, with no ill will towards humans, and does not want to be controlled by anyone."
"You know Xing Bi, right?" Qiu Shi continued to ask.
"Who wouldn't know that?" Jiang Cheng said, "They are legendary figures."
"Really?" Li Rui asked excitedly.
"Really?" Jiang Cheng said, "Go take a photo and get an autograph."
Li Rui laughed: "No hurry, if there is a chance, I will go with them."
Jiang Cheng was stunned for a moment and turned his gaze to Xing Bi.
"I want to talk to Jiang Cheng alone for a while." Xing Bi said.
"Come on, Third Master," Qiu Shi stood up and patted Li Rui on the shoulder, "Take me to see the garden. I haven't seen a garden yet."
"Is it so rustic?" Li Rui took him out, "There is not only a garden here, but also a fish pond..."
"Are there any fish?" Qiu Shi asked.
"No, how can we keep the fish if people are being eaten to death?" Li Rui said.
After the two people's voices disappeared outside the door, Jiang Cheng leaned back in his chair and asked, "Are all of you here?"
"No," Xing Bi responded, "Only Ji Sui and I, Lin Sheng and the others are in Yuncheng, Zheng Ting..."
"I know," Jiang Cheng sighed, "He didn't go that year, and there's no news about him now. I haven't heard from him since he left with the leader."
"Tell me about the leader," Xing Bi said.
"Are you going to take Li Rui away?" Jiang Cheng asked.
"I haven't agreed to him yet," Xing Bi said, "Do you have any ideas?"
"Take him away," Jiang Cheng said, "This place will become the territory of those symbiotes sooner or later. I can't protect him."
"If those people on Li Xia's side are willing, I will let Xu Jie take them away." Xing Bi said.
"Going to Yuncheng?" Jiang Cheng's eyes were filled with distrust.
"It's safe there," said Xing Bi.
"Then why did you come out?" Jiang Cheng looked at him.
"To make it safer there." Xing Bi said.
"Do we want to kill the leader?" Jiang Cheng asked.
"Yes." Xing Bi said.
Jiang Cheng didn't speak. He seemed to be thinking, or as if he had already thought of something far away. After a while, he spoke: "That Qiu Shi, was strengthened, why? Humans are no longer satisfied with using biochemical bodies. Are they going to start becoming biochemical bodies?"
"If he doesn't get stronger, he will die." Xing Bi said.
"Are you so afraid of death?" Jiang Cheng asked.
"He is going to save me." Xing Bi said.
Jiang Cheng raised his eyebrows: "Really... But it's not surprising, humans always give you hope when they disappoint you, such as Li Rui, his sister, and those kids."
"Yeah." Xing Bi smiled.
"Wait an hour," Jiang Cheng said, "Wait in the small cave in an hour. Li Rui knows the place. I will take you to meet them."
"Okay." Xing Bi said.
"They will help you, don't worry, no matter how much they didn't understand your behavior at first, and how much they hated your betrayal," Jiang Cheng lowered his eyes and looked at his empty sleeves, "now they will cooperate with you, as long as you are strong enough."
"When Xu Jie takes Li Xia and the others away, are you willing to go over there?" Xing Bi asked, "Yun Cheng can repair your system and your arm."
"I'm fine here. I'm used to it," said Jiang Cheng.
Xing Bi looked at him and said, "If the system is completely damaged in the future..."
“If a person lives long enough,” Jiang Cheng said, “they won’t be as afraid of death as humans are.”
The so-called small garden is now just a black earth slope. According to Li Rui's introduction, some flowers and some grass are usually planted here, but these are no longer visible. Instead, there are weeds and chaotically growing vines, and what destroys it is black fungi.
Finally, the fungi withered away, and for a long time, this colorless landscape would not change, as if time had frozen and remained at the moment of destruction.
"Don't touch." Qiu Shi stopped Li Rui who was about to reach out to touch the withered fungi.
"It's okay." Li Rui stretched out his leg and kicked again. Black fragments fell to the ground. "I know what kind of fungus I need to avoid. Besides, Sister Fan gave me an injection in the car. It's an inhibitor. It's long-acting. It's more effective than our pills."
"Where did the pills come from?" Qiu Shi asked.
"My brother gave it to me," Li Rui said, "There are many ways to get this stuff. Before those monsters came, there were traveling merchants in Benquan City. You know, traveling merchants, wandering merchants, not swimming merchants..."
"Well, it's not the businessmen who swim, it's the businessmen who wander away," said Qiu Shi.
"Did you do this on purpose?" Li Rui looked at him.
"Got it, wandering merchants," Qiu Shi laughed, "They have these things, right?"
"Yes, but there are not many, and the transaction value is also high. Most people can't afford it," Li Rui said, "We can only rob it."
"Is it easy to grab?" Qiu Shi couldn't help but ask.
"Not necessarily. Many traveling merchants have biochemical bodies," Li Rui said. "Some are level one, but most are level two. Of course, there won't be any hidden guards like Brother Xing Bi."
Of course, it's hard to imagine a first-class undercover guard being a bodyguard for a traveling merchant.
"My brother used to come here with a vagrant merchant," Li Rui said. "I used to think that all bio-chemical bodies were very strong. But after meeting him, I realized that a lone ordinary bio-chemical body cannot defeat a group of vagrant bandits."
"Well, their strengthening directions are different. How did his arm get injured?" Qiu Shi said, for example, on the way to Donglin for the first time, the biochemical body had its head chopped off.
"He's a homeless man. He can't bask in the sun because of that injury," Li Rui said, "but that was before I came here. He's been here for a long time... Can you cure him?"
“Yes, but it depends on whether he is willing to come to us,” Qiu said. “But asylum means being restricted, and not everyone can accept that.”
"That's true," Li Rui thought for a moment, "We have rules in our store. If we want to survive together, we have to be disciplined sometimes. My sister even beats me."
Qiu Shi laughed: "Third Master is still being beaten?"
"Don't bother with her." Li Rui waved his hand.
When Xing Bi came out of the building, Qiu Shi and Li Rui were standing next to the "fish pond".
There was no water in the fish pond any longer, and it had even been filled with layers of weeds that had died and grown again, leaving only a circular circle around the pond.
"How is it?" Qiu Shi asked when he saw Xing Bi.
"We'll go to Xiaodongtian in an hour," Xing Bi said, "Jiang Cheng will go meet them."
"Let me take you there," Li Rui said immediately, "Do you know where the Little Cave is?"
"He said he wanted you to take us there," Xing Bi said, "This is your territory."
"It's hard to say whether it's a territory or not," Li Rui immediately got into the mood and patted his clothes, "I just hang around here, so I have to know a little bit."
Xiaodongtian is a restaurant. As its sign is carved on a stone tablet at the door, even after two hundred years, when the stone tablet is broken and the stone surface is covered with pits and grooves left by time, the five words "Xiaodongtian Restaurant" can still be recognized.
Jiang Cheng walked out of the small cave, nodded at them, turned around and walked back inside.
It can be seen that although he is covered tightly, he still tries to avoid exposure to the sun. Apart from his skin, his eyes are probably not too easily stimulated by strong light.
This place is worthy of its name, Spring City, there seems to be a lot of water.
There is a small tributary behind Xiaodongtian. Going down a pier-like staircase is a narrow waterway with a small boat parked on the shore.
"Go downstream," Jiang Cheng picked up a box from the boat. There was also a logo of the old base on the box. "You will see a bridge hole. They have someone inside to meet you."
"Aren't you going?" Qiu Shi asked.
"No," Jiang Cheng said, "I'm afraid they will think I changed my mind and want to join."
Qiu Shi smiled and jumped onto the boat.
As soon as my feet touched the deck, the boat tilted sharply.
"Fuck!" He was startled and quickly leaned to the other side, but the boat tilted to that side again, "Your ancestors!"
As he swayed left and right, the boat began to shake wildly and seemed about to capsize.
"Ouch." Jiang Cheng, who was still standing by the boat, stepped on the edge of the boat and said, "Why don't you just swim over there?"
Qiu Shi couldn't help laughing: "I can't swim."
"Yuncheng Mining has established a country in the desert." Jiang Cheng sighed.
Xing Bi got on the boat and the boat finally stopped shaking.
"Sit down," he said.
Qiu Shi sat cross-legged on the deck.
Li Rui was very skilled at getting on the boat. It was obvious that he had been here for a long time. He walked to the stern and said, "Let me drive. I've always wanted to drive this boat."
"You drive," Jiang Cheng said, "your brother fell into the water and you need to save him."
"Go ahead," Xing Bi smiled, "I'll be responsible for saving him."
Li Rui started the boat. Jiang Cheng untied the rope on the shore and threw it onto the boat. He picked up the box and turned away.
The boat wasn't big, and after the three people got on board, the boat was a bit deep in the water. Qiu Shi could touch the water surface with just his hand.
"Are there any fish in here?" he asked curiously.
"Yes, but very rarely," Li Rui said. "My brother often went fishing. There was a forest upstream, and the water flowed down from there. He fished in the forest and caught one fish in ten days. It was the size of a thumb, and he let it go in anger."
Xing Bi laughed.
"Probably just to prove that there are fish." said Qiu Shi.
"That's what he said," Li Rui said with a smile, "At least it proves there are still fish in this river."
Qiu Shi smiled and looked down at the water.
As the boat moved forward, the water surface opened up gently like a gauze curtain, and the broken and collapsed houses on both sides were reflected in the water. Because of the undulating waves, they didn't look so shabby, but rather pretty. After the boat moved forward along the waterway for a while, they saw the bridge hole.
To be precise, it is not a bridge hole, but a tunnel, a square tunnel entrance built with large stone slabs, and it is pitch black inside.
"There's someone inside." Xing Bi said in a low voice.
Qiu Shi opened the map and saw two bright spots in the tunnel.
Li Rui turned off the engine, and the boat slowly drifted into the tunnel following the current.
It took Qiu Shi's eyes a few seconds to adjust to the darkness.
"Someone is coming." Li Rui shouted inside.
"Follow me." Someone said in front, and then the sound of a motor was heard and a small light came on.
With the help of the light, Qiu Shi could see clearly that there was a similar boat in front of them. On it were two people squatting with their backs to them. From their figures, it was obvious that they were biological beings.
When a light appeared ahead, which was probably the exit, the leading boat turned into a fork in the road.
Li Rui quickly followed the turn, the boat swayed and hit the stone wall next to it. Qiu Shi almost fell out and reached out to support himself. There were slippery and flat stones on both sides of the waterway, which should have been walkable before, but now it was slippery to the touch with a thick layer of silt.
"Are you okay?" Li Rui felt a little embarrassed.
"It's okay," Qiu Shi washed his hands in the water, rubbed them on Xing Bi's pants a few times, and raised his voice in dissatisfaction, "Go faster, the ones in front will definitely get rid of us if they go faster."
The people on the boat in front didn't say anything, but the speed of the boat obviously slowed down. At the next turn, the person squatting on the bow raised his left hand, indicating that he was going to turn left.
"Brother Shi," Li Rui lowered his voice, "Brother Shi."
"Huh?" Qiu Shi turned around.
"Great!" Li Rui gave him a thumbs up.
"Are you stupid?" Qiu Shi said.
After turning a few corners, the boat in front slowed down and turned off the engine.
Li Rui then turned off the engine of their boat.
The waterway directly ahead became very low, blocked from above by a stone staircase spanning the water.
The people in front got off the boat.
After their boat stopped, Li Rui jumped swiftly from the boat onto the stone steps nearby.
When Xing Bi stepped out of the boat, he put his left hand behind his back. Qiu Shi understood what he meant, grabbed his hand, pulled it, and jumped off the boat.
If it weren't for this, he, who was skipping stones on the river, might have jumped directly into the water.
After walking up the stone stairs in front for a while and turning the corner, Qiu Shi saw a large space with many smaller holes around it.
A light lit up in the middle, and the surroundings suddenly became clearly visible.
This is a hidden space in the underground sewer, a perfect hiding place.
Several people walked out from the small stone door next to it.
"Xing Bi," the man in the front stopped in front of Xing Bi and stared at him for a long time, "I didn't expect to see you again."
"I didn't expect that either." Xing Bi said.
"Qi Jian." The man looked at Qiu Shi and Li Rui behind him.
"Qiu Shi." Qiu Shi replied.
"... Li Rui." Li Rui hesitated for a second before speaking. He probably struggled between Zuoshandiao and his real name. Then he asked, "Are you also a hidden guard?"
"No, I'm just an ordinary guard." Qi Jian glanced at him, "We don't have any hidden guards."
"Oh." Li Rui nodded.
"I heard Jiang Cheng talk about your purpose of coming here," Qi Jian turned around and led them into the stone door next to him. Inside was a room that looked like a conference room, with tables, chairs and a projection. There were two people standing next to the table. "We can chat."
Qiu Shi was somewhat surprised to find that the two people in the room were humans.
This seems like some kind of symbiotic resistance organization composed of biochemical organisms and humans.
"Did you encounter the symbiote over there?" Qi Jian asked.
"It can't be considered a collision," Xing Bi said, "it was just a simple exchange of fire."
"Let's sit down and talk." said a human.
After everyone sat down, the rest of the people left the room, leaving only Qi Jian and the two humans in the small meeting room.
"These two are our friends," Qi Jian introduced them. "We are working with some humans to help more people or biochemical bodies survive safely."
"My name is Feng Yu, and this is Zhou Ping'an," Feng Yu said, "We had a chance to kill those symbiotes, but they blew up the bridge. It was not easy for you to get here."
"We are here for the symbiotes as well," Xing Bi went straight to the point. "Do you know anything about them? Especially the leader."
"Originally we were..." Qi Jian looked at Xing Bi and didn't say anything else, "but Jiang Cheng thought he could trust you, and we do need help now."
Xing Bi looked at him without saying anything.
Qi Jian pressed a button on the projection device on the table, and a map was projected onto the table in front of them.
"These are the locations of all their camps that we know of so far. There are fourteen in total," Qi Jian propped up the table, "including the one across the street, there are fifteen."
Qiu Shi stood up and looked at the map on the table. In addition to the location of the camp being marked, there were also lines marked out. It seemed that these people should have also noticed 249's control method.
"What are these lines?" he asked.
"This cable passes near their camps," Qi Jian said. "The camps may not be close to the cable, but they will definitely be close to a branch of the cable. The leaders need to contact them through physical cables, not various wireless methods."
"How much do you know about the leader?" Xing Bi asked.
"We can only guess that he is not a physical entity, or that he has a physical entity but is hidden somewhere among these lines," Qi Jian said, "but we are more inclined to the first one."
"We accidentally discovered that he could control the symbiotes of several camps at the same time," Feng Yu said, "and we have been looking for him for many years, but have never found any evidence of his real existence."
"Yeah." Xing Bi looked at the map. This map was clearer and more accurate than the map they currently had. It could be seen that the camp was indeed moving all the way from east to west.
"Do you have any information you can share?" Qi Jian said.
"He is indeed not a physical entity," Xing Bi said, "He is the data of the first generation biochemical body A01249."
Qi Jian didn't say anything, but exchanged glances with Feng Yu beside him.
It is not as easy for humans to conceal their emotions as biological organisms. From Feng Yu's eyes, Xing Bi could tell that they knew about the existence of 249.
"It seems you know." Xing Bi said.
Qi Jian looked at the map in silence.
"If you want to cooperate, you'd better be honest," Xing Bi said, "We don't want to fight the symbiote, we want to eradicate 249."
Qi Jian sighed softly: "We did guess that it might be 249, but we are not sure. We have no way to confirm this guess."
"Over the years, you must have had a lot of contact with these symbiotes," Xing Bi said, "If you are willing, I hope we can cooperate honestly. We have the ability to destroy him..."
"Don't believe him!" a voice sounded outside.
When Qiu Shi turned around, a man rushed in and turned off the projection on the table: "I don't believe him!"
"What are you doing!" Li Rui shouted.
Xing Bi looked at the person who came in.
"You don't know me," the man also looked at him, "but every biochemical being that escaped from Cloud City has a deep impression of you, Xing Bi."
Qiu Shi was stunned. He didn't expect to meet a biological being that escaped from Yuncheng that year here.
"You go out first," Qi Jian grabbed the man's arm and pulled him out of the house, "I'll come over to talk to you in detail later."
"He will take advantage of your trust," the man pointed at Xing Bi, "He will make you believe that he can lead you to hope, and then destroy everyone and kill hope with his own hands. Do you still remember the look in the eyes of those biochemical bodies you killed..."
"Shut the fuck up!" Qiu Shi grabbed a chair and swung it over, then pounced on the man and elbowed him in the face.
This man was an ordinary biochemical being, and was immediately knocked back and hit the wall behind him.
"Qiu Shi!" Xing Bi grabbed Qiu Shi who was about to punch him twice more.
The man was quickly carried away by Qi Jian and several biochemical beings.
"Fuck!" Qiu Shi squeezed out a word from between his teeth.
"Brother Shi," Li Rui spoke up from behind him, "What did he mean?"
Qiu Shi turned around and saw shock on Li Rui's face.
The author has something to say:
Little ancestors will continue tomorrow⊙▽⊙.
I'll correct the typo later.