The halo of light flickered before my eyes, and the city was as peaceful as ever, silent in the orange sun. At the end of the road, it was still empty, but even so, the wind howling through the city seemed to still have the hustle and bustle of the past. I stared blankly at the dilapidated street scene in front of me, fluttering with urgent leaflets and missing person notices, the fences that were once used for isolation were piled up high, especially the improvised barricades made of oil drums and barbed wire, and the "city wall" in front of me surrounded by large discarded vehicles; In front of you, it is clear what was abandoned by the people who fled before, and what is the masterpiece that was made by the people who survived the disaster to save their lives.

I gazed at the huge mall building that was so close at hand, and soon I would have to walk in, and I would have to endure the contemptuous and disgusting gazes of others, but I had to convince the man who controlled the building to give my friend a hope of life. Thinking of this, my eyes involuntarily moved to Huang Weizheng, who had fallen into a semi-comatose state under Wei Hong's support.

Damn, I don't know how long this guy will last. Wei Hong can be regarded as bold enough, because Huang Weizheng, who is in this situation now, may turn into a mutant and bite Wei Hong's neck in the next second.

"Adventurer 450, the password 'Sunny Day 3358' is correct, welcome home." The walkie-talkie in Liao Zhuojun's hand suddenly rang, and several of us were stunned.

Liao Zhuojun hurriedly raised the walkie-talkie and thanked the person on the other end: "Hard work, watchman." It's really going to kill you to come out this time. ”

"I can feel it, come back and rest for a few days, the watcher is done." I didn't expect the person on the other end of the walkie-talkie to be in the mood to greet Liao Zhuojun. It seems that Zhang Xing did not blacklist several of us related to his plan to kill people with a knife.

The door was slowly opened, and two middle-aged men with rugged bodies and old submachine guns opened a crack for us. We glanced at each other, took a deep breath, and walked through the gates of Wanxiang City.

Before this, Xie Tao and the others had already settled in a commercial building directly opposite Wanxiang City, according to the plan we had discussed before, Wei Hong and I, Wu Fei and Liao Zhuojun entered Wanxiang City with the injured Huang Weizheng, but before parting, Chen Mochao shouted that he wanted to go with us, so she was added to do more.

Under Xie Tao's arrangement, the others chose the commercial building that was closest to Liwanxiang City and was conducive to supporting us. They hid the vehicle and waited for us in a restaurant on the 10th floor. If we needed help, we would signal them with a flashlight at the other end of Wanxiang City; Of course, if there is any big movement in Wanxiang City, then there is no need to say more, it must be us who have an accident. Anyway, when these two things happen, they will find a way to pick us up from outside.

It is worth mentioning that Zhang Xiaoying also wanted to follow us, but considering the "Mission Impossible" she played before, I still insisted on asking her to stay with Xie Tao. Not to mention that Zhang Xing may have noticed her, no matter what the reason for betraying us before, I have to be careful to watch out for her.

Zhang Xiaoying's betrayal this time was indeed beyond my expectations, and others were naturally no exception. However, according to Xie Tao, they were rescued this time thanks to her and Liao Shuzhen. In fact, since Zhang Xiaoying and I first met in Nanning, everything that happened between her and us was not a coincidence. Before reuniting with us, Zhang Xiaoying had been to Jiangshangren, and she had met her uncle on the boat. Her uncle was already seriously ill and needed to take medicine every day to sustain himself, but in this extraordinary time, not to mention special medicines, even ordinary antibiotics are extremely precious. Zhang Xiaoying impulsively told Tian Yang about it, and also told Wei Jiahui about the information I carried. So Wei Jiahui used this as a bargaining chip and asked Zhang Xiaoying to find a way to lead us to the fleet of the people on the river. I thought there was a way to get the information in my hands, but I didn't expect that we got off the boat in a hurry later, so we had to arrange for Zhang Xiaoying to be by our side to make an internal response for him, who didn't know that it came in handy this time. Thinking about it this way, Wei Jiahui still miscalculated.

But these things happened a little suddenly, I want to be Huang Weizheng, he may have a reason to forgive Zhang Xiaoying, but I can't, at least not now, I can't now after such a change.

The people behind the wall seemed to have focused their eyes on us who looked embarrassed, as if they had lost half of our souls. We all tried to keep our composure as much as possible, hoping to get through the square quickly. But maybe it's because of the "thief's heart", I always feel that everyone is paying attention to us, not only the special appearance of me, but also the companions behind me. What are these scavengers thinking? Could they have seen that Huang Weizheng's injury was different? Or did Zhang Xing actually deliberately let us in and then wipe us out? The questions in my mind were like a raging tide, rising wave after wave.

The glass gate to enter Wanxiang City is right in front of you! We only need to speed up our pace to get through this level, and at least we won't be shot and killed in the most heavily guarded part of Wanxiang City. I seem to be able to feel that Xie Tao and they are also looking at us with binoculars at the moment, and they must be sweating for us at the moment.

"Hey! Imps of the living dead! "Just as we were about to reach the glass door, a hoarse man called out from behind, and I looked back to see a middle-aged man of about forty or fifty years of age, with a sturdy build, and an old rifle in his hand; Being able to get this kind of lethal weapon means that he should have a bit of weight in his words, "I remember that you went out for several people, and you went to meet up with the mercenaries of the old wolf." How are you coming back now? ”

Not only me, but Chen Mo and the others were also speechless and stiffened in place at this time. I swallowed hard, restrained my nervousness, and pretended to be calm: "We were attacked, so we had to withdraw separately." ”

"Attacked? Who? The people of Aoyama? The man stared at me suspiciously, and found that Huang Weizheng, who was being supported by Wei Hong, turned pale, pointed at him with his chin, and asked, "How is he?" I don't think he has any knife wounds on his body, how did he become like this? ”

I couldn't find anything to deal with for a while, so Liao Zhuojun stepped forward. "He was scratched by mutated plants in the forest of the dead city, and now he has a high fever that does not go away, and he must be isolated immediately. If you delay any longer, I can't guarantee that the people here will not be infected. ”

As soon as they heard that they might be infected, everyone was afraid to spread back. The people of Wanxiang City still knew Liao Zhuojun's identity as a botanist, and they shy away from covering their mouths and noses, complaining in a broken way to get out of the way. The middle-aged man didn't ask any more questions, and waved his hand in annoyance to ask us to leave quickly.

As soon as we turned around, we saw Liu Yijing standing at the glass door with a few five big and three thick men, blocking us. "Liao Zhuojun, it's too hasty for you to bring a person with unknown circumstances into Wanxiang City with such a swagger."

Liao Zhuojun was instantly stunned when she saw the aggressive Liu Yijing, she pursed her lips unwillingly and retreated to our side. Liu Yijing obviously wouldn't let us go, she proudly circled us. I guess she must have known about Zhang Xing's original plan, so she deliberately made it difficult for us like this.

She squinted her eyes slightly closer to Huang Weizheng, and asked Liao Zhuojun like a questioner: "You just said that Huang Weizheng was scratched by a mutant plant and may be contagious, is it true?" If it's true, then it can't just be brought back to Wanxiang City. ”

"Liu Yijing, what do you want? Anyway, he's also from Wanxiang City......"

"It is precisely because of this that he should be aware of the rules of Wanxiang City." Liu Yijing interrupted me and glanced at me mockingly, "If you are scratched by zombies or have an uncertain condition, you can't return to Wanxiang City." Researcher Liao Zhuojun, you should be very aware of this rule, right? ”

Liao Zhuojun was asked so much that he had nothing to say, and the rest of us could only be at the mercy of Liu Yijing. She took a step back, stood among her subordinates, and said crookedly: "So, Liao Zhuojun, you have to make it clear now, will he be infectious?" ”

Liao Zhuojun can't answer Liu Yijing's question, all of us know that no matter what we answer, Liu Yijing will not let us go easily. After a moment of silence, Liu Yijing had a showdown, and she rolled her eyes and waved at us. Several scavengers standing behind her and around us were all gearing up to approach us.

In a hurry, I snatched the pistol from Chen Mo's hand, but it was not pointed at Liu Yijing, but against my chin. Everyone was stunned, my companions around me didn't need to say much, even Liu Yijing, who was arrogant just now, lost her bearings. "Du Yuheng! What do you want? ”

"Liu Yijing, Sister Liu, let me tell you the truth, Huang Weizheng was scratched by a mutant, and now he may become a zombie at any time. I know you have a vaccine, and now I want you to send someone to inject him right away! ”

"Ridiculous, do you think this can threaten me?" Liu Yijing's lips trembled and she forced a smile, "If you really dare to do it, shoot it." ”

"Hehe, if I die, you can say goodbye to the vaccine forever. Don't think I don't know, the progress you're making now is all because Dr. Lu made a breakthrough in my blood sample research. But I'm afraid the sample is limited, right? If I die, you will never want to get another sample, and the mass production of vaccines is all wishful thinking! "I deliberately raised the volume, and Liu Yijing was indeed undecided.

Chen Mo, who was standing beside me, added: "That's it, that's it!" I'm afraid that the vaccine you are making now is not guaranteed to be effective, right? If Du Yuheng dies, your research will be over. ”

"He's right." The glass door behind Liu Yijing suddenly pushed open, and Zhang Xing walked out accompanied by several guards. He motioned for Liu Yijing, who had lost control of the situation, to step back and stepped forward by himself, "Classmate Du Yuheng, I was worried that you wouldn't come back just now." ”

I responded to Zhang Xing, thinking that he would continue to taunt me, but his expression naturally ordered his subordinates: "Let them in and give them vaccines." ”

"Brother Xing, this is too dangerous."

"If you're willing to try the vaccine, I'll kill them right now." Zhang Xing roared angrily, which frightened Liu Yijing to shrink, not only Liu Yijing, but also other scavengers. Zhang Xing glanced at one of the guards beside him, and the two scavengers immediately prepared to take us to vaccinate Huang Weizheng.

I had already stepped into Wanxiang City, so I thought about it and turned around and asked Zhang Xingdao: "I know what you have done to us, but why do you still want to take the initiative to help us?" ”

"Since there are people who are willing to get vaccinated with experimental vaccines, and they are also infected with the virus. I think it's a great opportunity to experiment. Zhang Xing showed his incomprehensible smile again, "One thing you have to be clear, I can't guarantee that Huang Weizheng will have any accidents after getting vaccinated." He was the first person to try out the vaccine, dead or alive, you have no reason to blame me. ”

"I know." I turned to follow my companion, who had already walked some distance.

Zhang Xing's smile was so weird that it was like a deadly trap hidden in the flowers, and I felt that every second in the next few seconds could happen to an accident that he had arranged in advance. In fact, this series of changes is more or less related to this bastard. But now I don't have time to worry about it, so I have to hurry up and send Huang Weizheng to be injected, and don't care about Zhang Xing who is standing behind us watching us leave for the time being.

In order not to cause a commotion in Wanxiang City, the guards took us on a remote shortcut. Soon we were in front of the staircase that led to the basement level. The person who led the way didn't say much, but walked quickly to lead us to the third basement floor. Half of the area is divided into laboratories for the study of mutated plants, where Liao Cheuk-kwan works; The other half was made into a sealed isolation observation ward and a heavily guarded vaccine storage room.

When the people in the laboratory saw a few of us and Huang Weizheng, who was gradually having difficulty breathing, they understood at a glance what they were going to do. After the scavengers informed each other of the permissions, two people in white isolation suits took Huang Weizheng from us.

"What part of the injury did he have?" One of them asked me.

"Shoulders."

The man carefully observed Huang Weizheng's pupils, and together with his other companions, brought Huang Weizheng to the isolation ward. They first put Huang Weizheng flat on the hospital bed and cut his clothes with scissors; Antiseptic medicines such as iodine were handed and the wound was simply cleaned, but they did not intend to close the wound immediately. Someone took out a camera to take pictures of the wound, and someone was recording the words of a researcher who looked like a person in charge, as unhurried as a medical school teacher in class.

There was no lighting anywhere except for the isolation ward, and there was still some lighting in the botanical research area behind it, but our location was still shrouded in darkness. It's like the second basement floor where I once stayed, there is no extra light, no extra time, everything seems to be repeated for another 24 hours, and "hope" here is almost like a fantasy. If Huang Weizheng can really get through it, I don't know if he will be locked up here like me at the beginning and become their test subject.

Several researchers gathered around Huang Weizheng's hospital bed, interacting with each other for a while, and occasionally looking down to observe his wounds. Because of the sealed environment of the isolation cell, we could barely hear what the people inside were saying, and the only thing we could do was stand outside in a frenzy of anxiety and watch a group of strange researchers perform deadly experiments on my friend like guinea pigs in the excessively white bright light. But even if we do, we can only let them do it. Because this "big gamble" is Huang Weizheng's only chance to survive.

"He's not doing well, judging by the wound infection, he's almost in the mutation stage. I don't know if the vaccine will save him, and doing so may make his death more painful. One of the researchers pressed the call button in the isolation chamber and spoke into the microphone, "Are you sure you want to do this?" ”

The researcher looked up, and I saw his face, it was Lu Huaxiong. He frowned and stared at me intently, which made me sarcastic

I feel that he is deliberately putting the responsibility for the possible death of Huang Weizheng on me. Chen Mo unconsciously tightened my hand, and Wei Hong and Liao Zhuojun stood silently beside me, and they didn't say anything but wait.

I took a deep breath and glanced at Huang Weizheng; In fact, I couldn't see him anymore, because he was surrounded by the group of people in isolation suits. Although the hand I held Chen Mo was still calm, the other hand was already trembling involuntarily. The scavenger standing next to me handed me a microphone with a button, as if urging me to make up my mind.

"Well, please." I took the microphone and nodded through gritted teeth.

Lu Huaxiong immediately turned around and waved his hand to his assistant, and one person carefully handed the small bottle containing the light blue potion to Lu Huaxiong from the incubator as if he was holding a holy grail in his hand. Lu Huaxiong filled up the potion with the injection, skillfully prepared Huang Weizheng for injection, wiped the iodine wine, raised his hand elegantly, looked at the blood vessels, and then put the needle firmly into Huang Weizheng's arm, and the blue potion was injected into his body little by little. It's just a few simple actions, but it makes people bear the pressure of almost collapse.

After the vaccination, all the people around Huang Weizheng have not relaxed. They invariably took a step back, as if doing so would give a better view of Huang Weizheng's situation. Those of us standing outside the quarantine were silent, waiting for a happy ending as if we were watching a gripping pantomime.

It seems that two or three minutes have passed, and Huang Weizheng is still lying flat on the bed, his eyes closed tightly, but his chest can be seen rising and falling with his breathing. The researchers in the isolation room remained motionless until Lu Huaxiong was the first to move.

Lu Huaxiong pressed the call button again and explained to us: "This is a good phenomenon, I hope he can keep it up." ”

"Does this mean that the vaccine is working?" I'm actually stupid about this question, and I'm just hoping to hear something reassuring and deceiving myself.

"I can't jump to conclusions now, I'll have to wait and see for a while." Lu Huaxiong smiled weakly and said, "You'd better go and rest now." We'll do our best to take care of him. ”

Before Lu Huaxiong could finish his words, the researcher behind him began to tie Huang Weizheng's limbs with the belt on the hospital bed. Lu Huaxiong also noticed my eyes, he glanced back at his assistant, smiled awkwardly, and explained to us: "They did this just in case, I think you understand." ”

"Yu Heng, they can't do this." Chen Mo grabbed my hand, her eyes moistened.

"They have to." I looked at Chen Mo, her expression was even worse than mine, her eyes were blurry but not a single tear fell.

"Take good care of him." I raised my head and said solemnly to Lu Huaxiong.

"I'll do my best." Lu Huaxiong's answer was very rigorous, and he still did not give me a 100% promise.

The only thing we can do right now is wait. Estimating whether Huang Weizheng would have a situation for a while and a half, Liao Zhuojun, who was standing on the side, whispered to me: "Since the research room is next to it, I think it's best to go and get a few samples from this time." ”

"Well, let's go up first. If there is anything wrong with Huang Weizheng, I hope you can inform us as soon as possible. ”

"Don't worry." Liao Zhuojun smiled slightly, and couldn't help but glance at his laboratory again. I can't understand what scientists think, but I can still feel the feeling of being able to complete my research as soon as possible.

We said goodbye to Liao Zhuojun and left the basement accompanied by the scavenger guards. Liao Zhuojun encountered a lot of things when he came out with us this time, and he more or less knew the true face of Zhang Xing. I was originally worried that Zhang Xing would kill her, but thinking about her identity as a researcher, I am afraid that Zhang Xing will still turn a blind eye to her. As long as Liao Zhuojun no longer has anything to do with us, I'm afraid Zhang Xing won't do anything to her.

There are a lot of guards near the door of the basement, and in the maintenance room on the basement floor, all the scavengers are ready to go, they are gathered around the exit, as if waiting for the arrival of a big person, but maybe the people who come may not have a good relationship with Wanxiang City, at least from the fact that these people are constantly weighing the weapons in their hands and loading ammunition.

"What are they going to do?" Wu Fei behind me whispered a question to me.

I shook my head, just to tell her that I didn't know much more than she did. However, the guards who walked ahead of me heard Wu Fei's question. "They're greeting old friends."

"Old friends? I don't think it's going to be a warm welcome party. I sarcastically said.

"Not really." The guard's face darkened, and he pointed at Wei Hong with his chin, "Maybe I should say that I was welcoming your friend." ”