Sixteen Years

Advertisement

As soon as Shao Qiu finished speaking, everyone in the car fell into an eerie silence for two seconds.

Liu Ruosong, who hadn’t spent much time with them, found it difficult to speak his mind openly. He Tang and Yao Tu both held lower ranks and positions than Shao Qiu, so they didn’t usually joke around with him. However, in the end, He Feng casually pushed Yao Tu aside and gave Shao Qiu a teasing look.

“Your tone sounds just like that of an abandoned lover,” He Feng said. “Is that your old flame?”

Shao Qiu: “…”

He Tang and Liu Ruosong both glanced at Shao Qiu through the rearview mirror, and even Yao Tu’s gaze roamed up and down, indicating that everyone in the car shared the same thought as He Feng.

Shao Qiu was taken aback by He Feng’s words, and his expression momentarily became blank. He seemed instinctively inclined to refute the statement but couldn’t find a way to do it. In the one or two seconds of hesitation, He Feng’s expression became quite subtle.

He Feng said in disbelief. “Is he really an old lover?”

“Not at all!” Shao Qiu finally realized that he could deny it directly. Annoyed, he made a dismissive sound and pushed away He Feng’s hand that was reaching out.

“We were just childhood acquaintances,” Shao Qiu said.

“Oh, childhood sweethearts,” He Feng said knowingly.

Shao Qiu: “…”

“I misspoke,” He Feng insincerely corrected himself. “Childhood friends, childhood friends. What’s there to be embarrassed about? Young guys growing up together, sparks flying, it’s perfectly normal.”

Advertisement

Shao Qiu hadn’t spoken yet, but Liu Ruosong found himself reevaluating the implications of this “childhood friend” conversation, feeling a bit awkward.

“No,” Shao Qiu furrowed his brow and said, “We were just together during childhood for a few years… not that close, and we haven’t seen each other in years.”

He Feng was somewhat carefree, but he had a sense of propriety. Seeing that Shao Qiu was getting flustered, he dropped the topic naturally.

“Then don’t badmouth him behind his back; it’s not nice,” He Feng said.

“Shao Xuefan is not a good person. He can do anything for his own interests,” Shao Qiu seemed reluctant to talk about his biological father. He leaned back against his seat, closed his eyes, and continued, “Back then, he abandoned his wife and child without a second thought. Two years ago, when he returned to the country, he tried to deceive me in my mother’s name, wanting to extract my DNA profile.”

He Feng: “…”

The Special Operations Team members were all experts in combat, but they got headaches when it came to scientific lectures. However, even so, they could tell that what Shao Xuefan did was clearly not morally right.

Liu Ruosong spoke up, “Illegally extracting someone’s DNA profile is a violation of professional ethics and regulations. It’s a crime similar to fraudulently obtaining significant private property.”

Advertisement

“He doesn’t care,” Shao Qiu said. “All he cares about is his research. As for whether his research methods are legal, do you think he cares about that?”

He Tang cleared her throat and mumbled, “Well, what’s the use of this… unless he’s got kidney problems and wants you to donate one for him.”

“Who knows?” Shao Qiu chuckled sarcastically. “Maybe he wants to clone an obedient son.”

“DNA profiles and organ compatibility are two different things,” Liu Ruosong remarked. “Personal genetic information can be replicated or altered. Most research in the field focuses on genetic recombination and the encoding of genetic diseases. Which one was Professor Shao working on?”

“Neither,” Shao Qiu didn’t pay much attention to how he knew so much about these matters. He replied vaguely, “Who knows what he was up to? It seemed like some kind of repair work… But I ran away back then, and he didn’t get a sample of my blood.”

Shao Qiu sneered, “With those crooked associates of his, he really thought he could control me?”

“Colonel Shao,” He Feng said gently, “Let’s stick to discussing the issue at hand and not bring in personal matters.”

“He’s done many such things,” Shao Qiu said. “As for Fang Sining, he knew what kind of person Shao Xuefan was, yet he chose to be his student. Besides ‘birds of a feather,’ I can’t think of any other reason.”

He Feng understood what Shao Qiu was implying. It seemed like a displaced anger, but not entirely.

Since leaving the military district, every time Shao Xuefan’s name came up, Shao Qiu’s attitude had been unusually sharp. He seemed to have reverted to his rebellious teenage years in an instant, forgetting all his experiences and maturity, full of prickliness, easily angered, and instinctively protective of himself.

Advertisement

The deep-seated enmity between Shao Xuefan and Shao Qiu remained a mystery to everyone except Shao Qiu, but it was evident to everyone in the car that there was more to it than what Shao Qiu had disclosed.

Even Fang Sining, who was supposedly Shao Qiu’s “childhood friend,” had chosen to be Shao Xuefan’s student despite knowing the strained relationship between father and son. In Shao Qiu’s eyes at that time, this could be seen as a form of “betrayal.”

He Feng and Liu Ruosong exchanged a meaningful glance, and then simultaneously diverted their attention from this topic. However, Liu Ruosong was reminded of something else.

Inside Shao Xuefan’s small building, he had taken out several research materials belonging to Shao Xuefan. Those research materials had already been handed over to Xiao Ming to take back to the base, but Liu Ruosong still remembered their contents.

In those project proposals, there were numerous references to a biological cell with the code name “[B-92],” which served as the basis for a certain drug. Shao Xuefan had invested a lot of effort into this biological cell, which was linked to a particular drug.

Moss and glaciers, two unrelated factors, had given rise to substances on the same biological chain. This alone puzzled Liu Ruosong. Now, hearing Shao Qiu’s admission of past DNA theft, he couldn’t help but wonder: What kind of drug was Shao Xuefan working on? What did he want to “repair”?

As Liu Ruosong pondered this, a few wandering zombies suddenly appeared on the highway. Without waiting for He Tang to give the signal, He Feng, who was faster, reached for the gun from Yao Tu’s hand, lowered the car window, leaned out, and quickly fired a few shots, blowing up the zombies’ heads.

He Tang swerved in place to avoid the wobbling zombies, but the road was narrow, and some of the zombie brain matter still splattered onto Liu Ruosong’s side.

Liu Ruosong, who had been lost in thought, suddenly had a realization when he saw the zombie brain matter splatter.

—Could the current situation outside be related to Shao Xuefan?

This thought was absurd because, from any angle, no scientific researcher should be insane enough to intentionally create an uncontrollable disaster.

But Liu Ruosong couldn’t convince himself and kept thinking about it.

People outside had been transformed into something neither human nor zombie, and Shao Xuefan, a biologist, had first been murdered in the small building and then discovered to be researching some unknown drug in secret. Even if it was far-fetched, Liu Ruosong found it hard not to connect these events.

He even wondered if Fu Yan had also discovered this, which was why he stubbornly wanted to protect Fang Sining and find Shao Xuefan’s core files.

—If that’s the case, is Fu Yan safe at all?

Advertisement

Because Shao Qiu was in the car, Liu Ruosong couldn’t and wouldn’t voice this baseless speculation. He just subconsciously glanced at the computer in his lap, where the blue preset convergence point was still blinking, and it was still a long way from the coordinates marked by Fu Yan earlier.

Fu Yan’s green driving route was also following the guessed route continuously, without any deviations. Seeing this, Liu Ruosong felt somewhat relieved, thinking that as long as they converged ahead of time, there shouldn’t be any major issues.

Moreover, the situation outside had just started to get chaotic, and things might not be as dire as he imagined. The local military district couldn’t turn a blind eye to this situation and would definitely organize rescue and evacuation operations. It was just that the situation was severe right now, and it was unclear how far they could progress.

The Special Operations Team’s advance speed was obviously much faster than that of private cars. They were well-equipped with supplies, and their firearms and ammunition were abundant. Unlike Fu Yan, who had to enter the city to find supplies, they tried to take less-traveled and deserted roads as much as possible, with hardly any stops along the way.

He Tang, He Feng, and Shao Qiu took turns driving, changing every four hours, which was highly efficient.

Liu Ruosong diligently monitored their location from the co-driver’s seat. A whole day had passed, and the blue convergence point on the screen had moved a bit closer, getting closer to their current location.

“Hmm?” He Tang, who had woken up from a nap in the back seat, came over and looked at the screen, yawning. “Look at this convergence point; we’ll be able to meet up with the captain a bit earlier.”

“How long will it take approximately?” Liu Ruosong asked.

“Considering the time we’ll need for breaks, about thirty-six hours,” He Tang blinked and playfully nudged Liu Ruosong’s arm with her elbow. “Liu-ge, if you’re feeling like time is dragging on, you can take a few more naps. When you wake up, you’ll see Fu Yan.”

Liu Ruosong: “…”

Due to reduced visibility at night and to avoid any accidents, He Tang decided they should rest on the spot and continue their journey at dawn.

They chose a remote wilderness to make camp. Before settling in, He Feng and Shao Qiu scouted the area and confirmed the safety within a radius of about one kilometer. Only then did they return to make a fire and prepare dinner.

They placed the compressed military rations in hot water, and in less than thirty seconds, the heating was complete. Liu Ruosong held a box of tomato beef stew that had been prepared using a high-concentration soup base, and for once, he experienced the treatment of a top-tier individual soldier.

“It’s no big deal,” Shao Qiu, not mentioning Shao Xuefan, appeared as a normal young talent. He waved his hand with a smile and teased, “Just consider it as taking the captain’s share; after all, his portion is yours, too. Joint property of a married couple.”

Liu Ruosong chuckled and was about to respond when suddenly, a ringing sound came from the open car door—It was the signal box for their internal communication.

Liu Ruosong initially thought it might be Fu Yan calling. He instinctively put down what he was holding and leaned forward to get up. However, Yao Tu picked up the call before him, listened for a moment, and made a calming gesture toward Liu Ruosong.

“It’s Xiao Ming,” Yao Tu said. “He has safely arrived.”