Moments later, an assistant brought the protein supplement. Ning Yu stirred in three bags of sugar before letting Si Nan drink it hot and fall asleep.
Si Nan lay back in the wide leather chair, covered with Zhou Rong’s military coat. He pulled the coat up, taking a deep breath filled with Zhou Rong’s familiar Alpha pheromones.
The noon was quiet. The laboratory was empty and cool, with only Ning Yu walking around in soft-soled shoes and the light clinking of glassware.
Si Nan closed his eyes, then muffled from within the coat: “Dr. Ning?”
Ning Yu from afar: “Hmm?”
“What did it feel like when you were doing live experiments in the survivor base?”
Ning Yu’s movements gradually stopped, standing in the shadow between the separator and incubator, after a while asking back: “Why suddenly want to know this?”
“Just want to know what psychological signs people have before doing something they know is wrong but must do.”
Ning Yu placed a test tube in the incubator, and after a long time, said flatly: “Forgotten. Who remembers so much.”
Si Nan silently nodded and closed his eyes.
“It’s okay,” Si Nan said hoarsely, nestling deeper into Zhou Rong’s embrace, and after a moment, almost inaudibly murmured: “I’m sorry.” Zhou Rong didn’t hear clearly: “What?” Si Nan closed his eyes: “Nothing.” They huddled together, their bare skin tightly pressed, the seamless warmth relaxing their nerves. Zhou Rong, who hadn’t slept for nearly forty hours, finally felt a hint of fatigue. ”Sleep.” Zhou Rong closed his eyes, then forced them open again: “I have a meeting at the General Staff Headquarters in two hours…” ”I’ll wake you up in two hours,” Si Nan curled up on his chest, softly saying: “When you wake up… you’ll find all problems have been resolved. Please trust me.” Zhou Rong fleetingly harbored a trace of doubt, but his consciousness quickly blurred. He kissed Si Nan’s hair, closed his eyes, and fell into a brief slumber within minutes. The bedside night light flickered in the darkness. Si Nan opened his eyes, his gaze calm and alert. He quietly waited in his rest.
☆、Chapter 77
22:00 PM. As the bathroom water stopped, Si Nan wiped his wet, exceptionally black short hair with a towel, quickly putting on a T-shirt, jacket, and black cargo pants, silently walking to the dormitory door and turning the handle.
His movements were very slight, but Zhou Rong still noticed, slightly stirring: “Hmm?” Si Nan stopped. ”…What time is it?” Zhou Rong asked drowsily: “Where are you going?” Si Nan softly said: “Nine o’clock. Going to find Ning Yu.” Zhou Rong mumbled in response, and Si Nan, like a gray shadow in the darkness, slipped out the door, instantly melting into the vast night. Moments later, Zhou Rong suddenly awoke, shirtless and bolting upright, checking the alarm clock. ”Si Nan?” He jumped out of bed, rushed out and opened the door: “Si Nan?!” The airport was brightly lit. The news had arrived that the elite reconnaissance battalion from the Inner Mongolia base had found nothing in the canyon, and the last batch of search and rescue personnel were about to be positioned, with supplies already transported to the airport. Vehicles shuttled back and forth at the airport, moving guns, ammunition, survival supplies, and parachute packs to the tarmac. Si Nan approached the fence outside the tarmac, and the sentry immediately spotted him, shouting loudly: “Stop! No entry to this military restricted area!” Si Nan glanced at him and turned to walk over. ”Go back! Hey, what are you doing… cough cough…” Si Nan swiftly grabbed the soldier’s neck, instantly knocking him unconscious and dragging him into the grass.
A few minutes later, he emerged from the grass, wearing the sentry’s coat, with a camouflage cap covering the upper half of his face, walking onto the tarmac.
“Final ammunition check, prepare for boxing!” A second lieutenant with a megaphone walked around, casually directing: “Hey, you there! Move those tactical packs!”
Si Nan stood at attention and saluted silently, shouldering a thirty-kilogram standard tactical backpack from the pile, and casually picking up a box of ammunition, passing through several soldiers busy packing, heading towards the cabin.
The second lieutenant didn’t pay attention, turning away, then suddenly turned back thoughtfully: “Wait…”
Si Nan walked towards the ladder against the wind. The second lieutenant studied the lean, taut back, hesitantly taking a few steps forward: “Hey! I told you to wait!”
Si Nan shrugged and lowered his head, quickly running to switch out a box of bullets that had been counted and sealed, then ran past the second lieutenant without daring to lift his head, staggering up the aircraft’s metal ladder.
“Rookie!” the second lieutenant said helplessly and angrily.
The second lieutenant irritably counted the bullet quantities, confirmed them, and personally sealed the bullet box with a label. Before he could stand up, he suddenly saw a soldier running against the wind from afar: “Company Commander! Company Commander!”
“What now?”
“An urgent call from the airport security office!”
The second lieutenant looked bewildered, walking towards the guard booth office by the tarmac.
The pilots were ready, and several soldiers were unloading equipment and ammunition. Si Nan threw the bullet box and tactical backpack onto the floor, kneeling and opening the backpack zipper.
“Hey,” an old soldier passed by, kicking it as a warning: “Don’t move.”
Si Nan looked terrified, standing up timidly.
The veteran soldiers ignored him, exiting through the cabin door and rushing down the metal ladder towards the runway to prepare for parachute transport.
Si Nan watched them leave, pulling out a mini submachine gun from the tactical backpack, chambering a round, then moving to the cabin door, gripping the metal ladder.
22:45 PM.
Lights flickered in the distant airport, people coming and going on the tarmac. This man-made sea island accommodating tens of thousands of military and civilians had undulating terrain, lush and verdant, with distant lights and stars reflecting each other.
In front of the plane was an open runway and an endless deep sea.
Si Nan deeply inhaled the fresh and slightly salty spring night sea breeze, about to push the metal ladder out of the cabin door, when suddenly his peripheral vision caught something.
The second lieutenant had just run out of the duty room, shouting something, soldiers stopping their work and gathering with slight confusion, then lining up and counting under the second lieutenant’s command.
“Hey! You!” The second lieutenant, with good eyesight, could see a person standing at the cabin door even from that distance, waving from afar: “Come down!”
Si Nan didn’t move.
“What’s wrong?” The second lieutenant frowned suspiciously, shouting: “Come down!”
Si Nan stared at him and raised his hand.
The metal ladder rolled away towards the runway exterior.
The second lieutenant was stunned, then reacted: “—It’s him!” The second lieutenant ran towards the plane: “Quick! Stop him!”
Si Nan smiled, pulling the cabin door closed. At that moment, looking past the runway, he saw a car’s headlights suddenly appear at the end of the road outside the tarmac’s wire fence, quickly brightening.
A jeep rushed over, suddenly braking at the airport entrance.
The left and right doors were slammed open, and Zhou Rong and General Zheng jumped out simultaneously. General Zheng was older and nearly twisted his ankle getting out.
Zhou Rong didn’t think twice, immediately shaking off Zheng’s hand.
“Then saw Zhou Rong brush past him without pausing, directly rushing into the tarmac.
General Zheng was furious, hurriedly chasing, but after two steps, he suddenly trembled: “Ouch, my foot…”
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