Chapter 101
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Chapter 101: Change of Strategy
Wang Xiao initially did not realize something was wrong, but when he took down the third motionless opponent, he began to sense that things were amiss.
However, this didn’t seem like a bad thing for him. Though he didn’t understand why all the opponents remained immobile, Wang Xiao seized the opportunity to continue beating down the fallen foes.
Just as the Carbon fiber staff was about to strike the nearest Infected, that Infected suddenly twitched its drooling mouth and, with a noticeably awkward voice, spoke as if it had just learned to talk.
“Powerful… individual…”
Wang Xiao swung the staff and knocked this talking Infected down.
But immediately after, the Infected behind it continued with similar halting speech:
“I… will… remember… you.”
Another swing, and this Infected also fell off the city wall.
Wang Xiao scoffed at this; what was so special about a talking anomaly? He had even seen talking flesh blobs before.
Wang Xiao was unaware that the powerful life force he possessed created a biological field that appeared to the Infected like a beacon in the dark night.
After his past experience with organ donation, Wang Xiao always approached such situations with extreme caution, fearing he might again fall into their trap, whether physically or verbally.
Just as he prepared to fight fiercely, another strange occurrence took place.
The Infected began to turn around and started retreating, just as they had arrived!
Their withdrawal made no sense and was executed with complete decisiveness.
The Infected below surged out of the camp once more, while those on the stairs pushed downward, some even leaping over the surrounding railings in their haste. Even those crawling on the ground moved toward the entrance of the camp.
Now, everyone was dumbfounded.
At that moment, the city defense officer picked up the communicator and began reporting to the General Command.
Everyone suddenly realized something—the military was the only force in Hope City capable of contending with the Infected on the battlefield, but now that the Infected had dispersed, what would happen to the residents inside the city?
Soon, the city defense officer received a reply from the General Command, which was neither fortunate nor unfortunate; only his section of the wall had encountered such a situation, while Infected elsewhere continued to launch relentless attacks against the garrison.
At the same time, the city defense officer at the south second gate of the inner city also had his communicator light up. The middle-aged man quickly connected, and the message he received made his legs go weak:
“Approximately eight thousand Infected are moving toward the south second gate. Please accelerate the evacuation of residents and prepare for defense.”
“Understood, understood!”
The city defense officer hung up the communicator, only to find beads of sweat forming densely on his forehead.
He wanted to call his deputy to find Zhuang Mian but felt the situation was too urgent, so he straightened up and ran toward the base of the city wall.
—-
Inner City, Research Institute.
No one noticed that one of the beakers on the table had suddenly gone missing.
A mottled cat was trying to blend in with the line of the corridor, constantly hiding its presence.
Suddenly, it sniffed the air as if it had caught a scent.
Then, a look of clear surprise appeared on the cat’s face.
A kitten suddenly leaped onto the windowsill and peered down, spotting a young man walking below, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings.
Fulan pushed off from the window, transforming into a familiar white coat as she floated gently downward in the gentle breeze.
“Master!!!”
The young man below appeared completely unaware, but as the white coat drifted above him, he extended his arms.
The coat slid smoothly over his shoulders.
Fulan began to quietly report her discoveries, while Lin Qingliu listened, searching for a breakthrough in the situation.
His blood could suppress the mycelium, or rather, his blood was a more potent contamination than the mycelium itself.
Like Fulan, who now carried Lin Qingliu’s blood in her body, allowing him to manipulate this seemingly not very clever kitten at any time and place.
However, Lin Qingliu had no interest in controlling everyone; his mental strength was not yet sufficient to sustain such a vast and chaotic endeavor.
Yet if the research institutes’ development progress stalled, thousands would perish in this incident.
To be fair, even if Hope City fell, Lin Qingliu’s current abilities would ensure he was the last living person.
But that was only applicable to him as an individual; for human civilization, it would mean complete destruction.
He wanted to resolve this incident, but wishing alone was not enough; more importantly, he needed a new ability to support him.
As a creator, Lin Qingliu understood the script he had written and could roughly guess what kind of person could obtain the abilities he bestowed through specific divine enlightenment.
He needed a mature and steady person, someone who could be under his control yet still make their own decisions.
Someone who could bring him significant benefits in various ways.
As Fulan narrated what she had seen and heard, a face he had never seen before appeared in his mind.
“Indeed, risks always come hand in hand with rewards.”
Lin Qingliu managed a bitter smile and resolved in his heart.
This time, the divine enlightenment location would no longer be the mental health clinic; he would personally approach and have a private chat with the individual who currently matched his needs best.
“Fulan, where is that person you just mentioned right now?”
“…Are you referring to ‘Holy Shield’? I saw him roll into the elevator in a wheelchair, but he wasn’t going down.”
Lin Qingliu glanced at the building ahead, a slight smile curling at the corners of his mouth:
“Let’s go meet him.”
—-
In a room on the top floor of the research institute, Holy Shield sat in his wheelchair by the window, gazing into the distance.
From the moment he was awakened in the middle of the night until now, things had not only remained unresolved but had also worsened.
He understood that continuing in this manner was not a solution, and he recognized that the essential reason for this incident lay in the misjudgments made by himself and the leadership above.
However, all information is often time-sensitive; even if time were to reverse, he would not feel that their previous decisions were flawed.
Such is often the case; everyone might not have done anything wrong, yet a crisis arises.
“Sigh.”
Holy Shield sighed heavily, unable to bear thinking about how many people in the outer city would die because of this incident.
But when he opened his eyes again, he suddenly found it difficult to see the scenery outside the window.
He rubbed his eyes and looked around, only to discover that a thin layer of mist had appeared in the room during the brief moments he had shut his eyes to sigh.
The grayish-white mist had no apparent source and gradually thickened in the confined space.
