“I know your country is also conducting related research. Without a vaccine, the final result of all experiments will inevitably be virus leakage, dragging the entire earth into a zombie apocalypse.”
The old general stood up, taking deep breaths and lowering his voice cautiously: “What exactly are you trying to say?”
At that moment, Chong finally realized who this elderly man in the dream was and why he looked familiar—Guo Jinsong, the late grandfather of Guo Weixiang, deputy director of Country C’s National Security Department!
“I’m here to collaborate,” Chong said calmly.
“Three months from now, during special forces recruit selection, I can bring your agents into the laboratory. In exchange, I want your country to concentrate research efforts on studying, cultivating, and globally distributing the ultimate antibody…”
Chong paused for a long time, and the office fell into silence.
“To obtain the antibody, we’ll spare no cost,” Deputy Director Guo said solemnly. “Do you have any other requests?”
Chong’s gaze was slightly unfocused, seemingly seeing through the layers of clouds under Country C’s sky, glimpsing a secret, unknown memory from years ago.
After a while, he spoke under the other’s anxious gaze, saying calmly:
“That day, I saw someone I knew from many years ago here.”
The sky was overcast, with a raging storm.
Chong grabbed his briefcase, smashing the zombie-like passenger lunging from the front seat, splattering brain matter. He strode out of the business class and kicked open the cockpit door. The pilots rose unsteadily from their seats, releasing hungry, irritable roars. Chong broke their throats with one hand each, placed the briefcase by his feet, pressed seven or eight buttons on the control panel, and gripped the control stick with his teeth.
Boom!
The plane violently shook, red lights flashing on the instrument panel, luggage falling wildly in the cabin.
Chong’s hand pulling the control stick was covered in protruding blue veins, but to no avail. The engine erupted in flames in the sky, followed by billowing black smoke, with the sky continuously rotating and descending before the cockpit window.
“SHIT!
Sinan cursed out loud, bending down to pick up the freezer box. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his wrist as the not-yet-fully-dead pilot zombie bit him, immediately drawing blood!
Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang!! Hammering sounds came from outside the door as zombies were forcefully pounding on the cockpit’s safety door!
Sinan broke free from the pilot, looked around, and tried to force himself to stay calm. The violent descent continued to shake, and he steadied himself, searching everywhere before reaching up to the cockpit ceiling and swiftly pulling out a spare parachute pack.
The cockpit door was about to collapse under the zombies’ assault. Sinan strapped on the parachute pack and slammed the freezer box hard against the glass – Bang!
The double-layered glass cracked dramatically, and at the same time, the door thunderously burst open, finally pushed in by the zombie horde!
Zombies rushed in, and in the same moment, Sinan threw a fierce punch, shattering the windshield in a spray of blood!
“Roar—Roar—!” Blood-covered zombies reached out to grab Sinan from all directions. Sinan kicked out the zombies in front of him, not wasting even half a second before leaping forward!
The pressure difference instantly swept him away, throwing him far into the thirty-thousand-foot high sky.
The hurricane squeezed out the last bit of air from his lungs. Sinan clenched his teeth, unable to make a sound, his clothing and sleeves flapping in the descent. Suddenly, an earth-shattering explosion erupted overhead.
The passenger plane had disintegrated.
Countless burning parts rained down like a burning rainstorm. A terrifying hot air current pressed down, accelerating Sinan towards the ground.
He finally let out a silent scream of pain, using his last strength to violently pull open the parachute pack.
Minutes later, Sinan crashed into the treetops, tumbling to the ground with tremendous force, losing consciousness.
When he awoke, it was due to intense pain.
In his daze, Sinan thought it was a dog, but when he opened his eyes, the first thing that came into view was a half-decomposed face – a zombie was devouring his flesh, while another zombie knelt beside him, preparing to disembowel him with sharp claws.
“…Shit…” Sinan trembled, kicking away the zombie beside him. As it tumbled over ten meters, he simultaneously twisted the neck of its companion.
Sinan caught his breath and barely stood up, the dizziness from blood loss making it difficult to maintain his balance.
This was a cliff at the forest’s edge, with wild grass covering the open ground, stained with bloody, putrid marks. The zombie had already torn the muscle on Sinan’s shoulder and back, blood soaking his shirt, with glimpses of horrific tears and white bone through the torn fabric.
The surroundings were eerily quiet, birds silent, completely desolate.
Sinan exhaled exhaustedly, then suddenly remembered something, freezing as if electrocuted.
Where was the briefcase? Where was the antibody sample?!
Disregarding his numerous wounds, he staggered to search, but the silver-gleaming freezer box had vanished, with no trace in the surrounding grass, behind rocks, or under trees – as if it had disappeared into thin air.
Sinan’s blood ran cold. He leaned against a tree trunk, surveying the area.
Could the zombies have taken it? Impossible – zombies weren’t that intelligent.
But the freezer box’s ring-shaped handle wasn’t easy to release, and he clearly remembered still clutching the box when he fell from the tree.
So where was it?
Sinan coughed up blood, casting his gaze forward. At the cliff’s end was a deep mountain valley, with steep rock walls and sparse wild grass. The steep slope was only ten meters from where he had previously been unconscious.
Sinan almost forcibly dragged his wounded body over, lying down and searching inch by inch, not overlooking a single dry grass or stone fragment. Finally, at the cliff’s edge, he discovered the trace he least wanted to see – fresh white scratches from a sharp object on the rock’s surface, pointing directly towards the bottomless valley.
In that moment, Sinan could almost imagine the freezer box flying out, violently striking the rock, then falling off the cliff.
“…Is anyone there?” he sat down, asking hoarsely.
The cliff’s edge was silent, the sky vast and distant, utterly desolate.
“Is anyone there? Help me!
“
Only indistinct echoes responded from the valley.
Sinan exhaled, finally accepting the truth, and stood up to look down.
The cliff was extremely steep, with no protruding branches, only wild grass growing from rock crevices. Sinan tried a few steps but couldn’t descend, his weakness from injury making it difficult to even stand steady – any further movement would result in a fatal fall.
From birth until now, Sinan had never felt so unlucky. He knelt, breathing heavily, the bloody wound on his shoulder gradually drying and healing, bringing a dull pain when moving his arm.
He finally stood up, supporting himself on the rock, tying his blood-stained jacket to the nearest tree, and slowly walking north.
If he could find a nearby village, someone would surely help.
This was the longest journey of Sinan’s life. The sky gradually darkened, leaving mountain paths and forests behind. Moss repeatedly caused him to stumble, and when night finally fell completely, firelight and human voices appeared at the mountain’s base, with shouting and sporadic gunshots.
“This is B Military District’s 9th Rescue Squad…”
“Ordered to search and rescue uninfected individuals in this area…”
“Stop, or we’ll shoot!”
