“Damn it!” Someone suddenly erupted from the back row, smashing down a tea mug: “That useless Tang Hao, give me back my soldiers! Incompetent trash who can only cause trouble!…”
“Captain Kong!” Zheng shouted.
Someone immediately rushed to restrain him. Tang Hao had taken nine of the paratrooper battalion’s top soldiers, and upon hearing the news of the Black Hawk team’s total annihilation, the battalion commander immediately lost control.
“Enough!” Zheng said sternly, “If everyone was sacrificed, Team Leader Tang would have died in battle too! Moreover, the mission was extremely difficult; casualties were inevitable. Who could predict the zombie tide’s movement?!”
“Every soldier in our battalion was personally brought out by me from the Chengdu Military Region, nine of them!” Captain Kong said with grief and indignation. “The youngest was only twenty, the only child left in his family, without even knowing who to write a farewell letter to!”
Zhou Rong interrupted him: “My youngest soldier just turned eighteen, and she’s a girl.”
Captain Kong’s roar stopped.
“Deputy Director Guo’s entire family are martyrs, and his only grandson was also among them,” Zhou Rong said slowly.
“
Too late, Colonel Zhou,” General Zheng erupted with anger, yet displayed an astonishing restraint, staring directly into Zhou Rong’s eyes and enunciating each word: “Your life has not belonged solely to you since the moment you were marked as an antibody carrier. Have you considered what would happen if you died in battle? What if he commits suicide? Or more simply, what if he tells us that he won’t cooperate with the experiment unless we send Zhou Rong away?”
Zhou Rong said impatiently: “Si Nan would never…”
“But what if he would?” General Zheng immediately countered: “In his heart, do you think your life is more important, or the lives of those four comrades?”
Zhou Rong suddenly opened his mouth but could not say anything.
At this moment, General Zheng spoke again, his voice carrying a cold tone: “You should have known this day would come, Colonel Zhou. You are a soldier, a soldier who often writes wills for high-risk missions. Did you completely forget this when you were marked as an Omega? Didn’t you notice that he was immune to the zombie virus? Did you really not suspect at all that he might be the target of Mission 118?!”
Si Nan breathed rapidly, covering his eyes, his ears buzzing. A few seconds later, he rushed through the corridor, did not return to the communication room, left directly downstairs.
“I don’t care what you say,” the old General Zheng blocked Zhou Rong, picked up documents from the table and took up his large tea mug again: “The decision has been made. You must stay and accompany the antibody carrier… that Si Nan.”
Zhou Rong’s eyes reddened: “Si Nan is not…”
The old general roared: “Unless you convince him to have the surgery today to wash off the mark! Find a new one! And it must be from the military! If you meet these three conditions, I will send you to the canyon. I mean it!”
Zhou Rong stood stiffly for a long time, making the old general feel a glimmer of hope before he shook his head and refused: “No… no.”
The old general deflated: “Then stop talking nonsense and get out.”
But Zhou Rong did not leave, staring down General Zheng: “Si Nan can join the rescue team and act together.”
“Are you crazy?!”
“No.” Zhou Rong spoke slowly and decisively: “Si Nan is not a burden. He has always been a member of 118.”
He went deep into the underground military area with us, rescued civilians along the way, and risked his life to protect his comrades countless times. Without him, we would have been wiped out several times. Si Nan has the ability. He was never a weak person to be protected in the rear, but a comrade who can fight side by side!
“No!” The old general almost roared: “Stop talking! We still need the ultimate antibody if something happens. I cannot allow the antibody carrier to be in any danger!”
Zhou Rong asked: “What else could go wrong?!”
“Plenty! What if the ultimate antibody is not in the valley? What if it never existed in the first place?!”
Zhou Rong stared at the old general in shock, as if looking at a monster.
General Zheng took a deep breath, barely recovering his composure: “No need to waste time, Colonel Zhou. The last batch of rescue teams will take off at 23:00 tonight. I wish your team members… no, I wish all the Black Hawk squad soldiers to survive.”
Still angry, General Zheng bypassed the stiff Zhou Rong, opened the door, and walked out of the conference room.
A moment later, the laboratory door clicked open.
Si Nan turned his face and saw Ning Yu removing his mask: “Why are you here? Why didn’t you knock? I only noticed you when I turned around.”
Si Nan said nothing, slowly turning around.
Ning Yu looked him up and down. “…What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing, move aside.”
Ning Yu blocked the laboratory door: “What exactly are you here for?”
“…” Si Nan finally said lazily: “Blood draw.”
“Today is not a blood draw day.”
“I just want to draw blood.”
Ning Yu looked suspicious, scrutinizing Si Nan from all angles, but the latter’s calm face showed no abnormality. After a full half minute, Ning Yu finally relaxed slightly, frowning and moving to the side: “How strange. Unsolicited kindness means either evil intentions or theft.”
Si Nan ignored him, sitting directly on the chair in the middle of the laboratory.
Ning Yu stepped forward two steps, suddenly stopping warily: “I won’t draw blood. You’re definitely trying to trick me.”
Si Nan countered: “What would I trick you for?”
“Who knows? Maybe you want to hit me?”
“Why would I hit you?”
“How would I know what you’re thinking?”
To Ning Yu’s surprise, Si Nan actually became visibly irritated: “Are you drawing blood or not?”
“…” Ning Yu’s eyebrows furrowed behind his glasses, finally asking: “What’s wrong with you today?”
Si Nan did not speak, and after a long while, said flatly: “Nothing.”
Ning Yu laughed and shook his head, turning to walk to the lab table, not looking back: “I don’t need a lot of serum right now. The current research has reached the stage of how to clone secondary antibodies and maximize the tolerance of ordinary people to antibodies. Of course, subsequent experiments will still require your cooperation, so blood drawing can wait.”
Si Nan did not respond, and it was silent behind him.
Ning Yu returned to the microscope, but just as he lowered his head, he suddenly realized something and turned around abruptly: “—— Si Nan!”
Si Nan bit tightly on the blood draw band, injecting himself with a needle. Crimson liquid was slowly flowing into the blood bag.
“Have you gone crazy today!” Ning Yu said in disbelief: “Are you okay? Have you been possessed?”
Si Nan did not respond. The blood bag grew fuller and heavier. His face, already pale from staying up late, was beaded with cold sweat. Ning Yu watched as the blood bag exceeded 400CC with no sign of stopping, and finally couldn’t help but shout: “Stop! That’s enough!”
Si Nan remained indifferent.
“What are you trying to do? Stop!”
Ning Yu strode forward, disregarding Si Nan’s attempts to dodge, and pulled out the needle, drawing a thin line of blood. By now the blood bag had exceeded 500CC. Si Nan’s face was whiter than paper, breathing slightly while reclining in the chair.
Ning Yu picked up the internal phone: “Bring me a high-protein supplement drink, with sugar.”
Si Nan opened his eyes slightly and sneered: “Are you still that heartless scientist who once drew 800CC of blood from me?”
Ning Yu hung up the phone and retorted: “Are you still the Si Nan who wanted to kick me off the helicopter to get Zhou Rong on board?”
Si Nan pondered for a moment: “Indeed I am.”
