After stocking up at the maximum level, all the handsome men in the apocalypse are looking for suppo

Chapter 270 Combat
The footsteps suddenly faded into the distance. Xiao Ran breathed a sigh of relief, the tip of his knife leaving a mark on the wall: "Let's go."

The processing center's door is made of dark gray metal and has an iris scanner embedded in it.

Su Wanqing pressed the button on her earpiece: "Lu Zhao, grant me access."

"Unlocking it," Lu Zhao's voice was a little muffled. "There's an extra layer of protection, like a bio-lock."

The three men stared at the door lock. Ten seconds later, the lock clicked.

Xiao Ran pushed open the door, and the smell of disinfectant mixed with the smell of rust rushed out.

The central pool shimmered with a blue light, its surface resembling a layer of shattered glass. Standing beside the pool was a middle-aged man in a white lab coat, the blue line on the back of his neck three times thicker than the worker's, his eyes so bright they could reflect a person's image—it was Engineer Zhang, the water plant's chief engineer.

Lin Che took two steps forward, but pulled his hand back as soon as it touched the water: "There's something in there."

He stared at the silver device by the pool. "They're pouring genetic fluid into the water; it can transform people into hosts."

Zhang Gong suddenly turned around, his movements like those of an old movie cassette tape. He stared at Su Wanqing, then glanced at Lin Che: "We've been waiting for these five core members for a long time."

His voice was muffled, as if he had a piece of iron in his mouth, "In 36 hours, the city will become a perfect breeding ground."

He pointed at Lin Che, "You are especially suitable, as you already have our things inside you."

Lin Che took a half step back, blue markings creeping from the back of his hand to his neck: "I'm not."

"No?" Engineer Zhang laughed, his lips curling into a wide smile. "When you touched the water just now, the gene fluid was calling your name."

He raised his hand, and the blue light in the pool suddenly surged. "Now, it's shouting even louder."

Lin Che clutched his chest; the blue markings began to burn. He gritted his teeth, sweat beading on his forehead: "I won't."

A low moan escaped Lin Che's throat, and blue lines crept up his neck to the tips of his ears.

Zhang's laughter mingled with the pool water, like rusty iron scraping against glass: "The gene fluid is swirling in your veins, didn't you hear?"

He tapped the silver device by the pool with his knuckles. "It says that Mr. Lin's blood is ten times purer than the samples we cultivated."

"Bullshit." Xiao Ran pulled out his stun gloves, and blue light crackled and exploded in his palm.

He took two steps forward, the tip of his glove only half an inch from the back of Zhang's neck—Zhang suddenly turned his head, a data stream-like light flashing in his dark pupils, easily dodging the attack, and pressed the red button on the wall with his other hand.

The alarm blared, and all the lights in the water plant turned a blinding red.

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor. Through the glass wall, workers in overalls could be seen running towards the processing center, the blue wires on the back of their necks glowing as if electrified.

Su Wanqing took out the water pressure device and clipped it to her waist: "Xiao Ran, block the door; Lin Che, the pool; I'll handle Engineer Zhang."

She glanced at the wall clock. "Lu Zhao, lock the door."

"The gate control system has been manually overridden," Lu Zhao's voice squeezed out of the earpiece. "It'll only last three minutes at most."

Xiao Ran put the tactical knife in his mouth and grabbed the metal bracket next to him to prop it against the door.

When the first worker rushed in, he swept his stun glove across him with his backhand. The man shuddered and fell to the ground, the blue line on the back of his neck dimming for a moment and then brightening again.

Su Wanqing feinted to the left, and Zhang Gong's fist grazed her ear and slammed against the wall.

She took advantage of the momentum to roll to the edge of the pool, grabbed a wrench and smashed it against the pipe joint—the high-pressure water jet gushed out with a "whoosh," knocking Zhang Gong against the silver device.

“It’s no use.” Zhang wiped the water off his face, the blue line creeping down his chin to the corner of his mouth. “Our cells regenerate every 0.3 seconds.”

He staggered toward the device, a ghostly blue light emanating from his fingertips. "Wait until I activate the fourth stage."

"Lin Che!" Su Wanqing shouted.

Lin Che was gripping the railing by the pool, blue lines already creeping up his eyelids.

He gritted his teeth and plunged his entire hand into the pool. Suddenly, white waves surged up in the pool, and the blue water began to turn murky.

Sweat dripped from his forehead into the water, splashing up tiny beads of blood: "Hold on. Hold on a little longer."

"How touching."

The woman's voice, like a honey-soaked steel wire, pierced through the alarm and into the eardrums. A woman in a white dress crawled out of the ventilation duct, her dark eyes gleaming with a cold, moonlit light.

She opened her mouth, and her singing, accompanied by ripples of sound, spread over—Xiao Ran's movements were a beat slow, and the stand in his hand clattered to the ground.

"Mind control!" Xiao Ran shouted, but it was too late.

Su Wanqing felt as if someone had hit her temple with a hammer. She tried to raise her hand to touch her earplugs, but her arm felt as heavy as lead.

The woman tilted her head to look at them: "I am Melody, sent by the Time Watchers."

Her voice rang directly in my head, “You guys almost ruined things—especially you.”

She looked at Lin Che, "The half-human, half-weaver specimens are much more interesting than the ones we raise in our lab."

Su Wanqing reached into the pocket of her tactical uniform for earplugs, digging her fingernails into her palms until they ached before finally inserting the earplugs into her ears.

Her mind suddenly cleared a bit, and she tugged at her earphones, calling out, "Lu Zhao! Xiao Ling!"

“We’re outside the door.” Lu Zhao’s voice was breathless. “The jammer is ready.”

Two shadows flashed past outside the glass wall. Lu Zhao was carrying a square box on his back, and Xiao Ling was clutching a small knife.

Su Wanqing saw Xiaoling cut her fingertip, and a drop of blood dripped onto the interface of the jammer—silver light surged out of the machine, wrapping around the melody of the song like a living thing.

Melody's dark pupils narrowed to pinpoints: "Impossible!" She took two steps back, covering her ears with her hands. "This is..."

"Xiao Ran!" Su Wanqing rushed towards Engineer Zhang. The man was inputting commands into the device, the thick blue wire on the back of his neck resembling a snake.

She grabbed a wrench and smashed it against his wrist. The sound of metal clashing and bones cracking mingled as Zhang screamed and fell to the ground.

The pool suddenly made a "glug" sound. Lin Che let go of his hand, and the blue water became clear.

He staggered backward, as if his skin had been peeled off, and blue scales crawled from his collarbone to his fingertips.

“It’s over,” he said, his voice hoarse like sandpaper, “It’s neutralized.”

Before he could finish speaking, he collapsed to the ground.

Xiao Ran crouched down to help him up, but his hand froze in mid-air. The melody's singing was already so faint it was like a mosquito's buzz, while Lu Zhao's jammer was still humming.

Xiao Ling ran over, and the silver liquid crawled down her wrist into Lin Che's wound, causing the blue scales to slowly dim.

"Thanks," Xiao Ran suddenly said.

Xiaoling looked up: "What are you thanking me for?"

"When you were protecting Lin Che," Xiao Ran touched the back of his neck, "I—" He looked down at his hands, the scorch marks from the stun gloves still visible, "you weren't on a mission."

His voice was so soft it sounded like a sigh, "They're family."

Su Wanqing bent down and picked up Zhang Gong's work badge that he had dropped on the ground. The back of the metal badge was engraved with a line of small characters: "Number 07, Guide".

She looked up at the clock on the wall—2:50, seventeen seconds past the three minutes Lu Zhao had mentioned.

The footsteps in the corridor grew closer. Xiao Ran hoisted Lin Che onto his back: "Retreat?"

Su Wanqing nodded. She glanced one last time at the silver device; the progress bar on the screen was at 92%.

The words spoken before the melody faded suddenly echoed in my ears: "The seed has been sown."

She gripped the name tag tightly, the metal edge digging painfully into her palm. The name tag was digging painfully into Su Wanqing's palm. She stuffed the name tag into the inner pocket of her tactical uniform and turned to look at Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran carried Lin Che on his back. Blue stripes crawled from the back of Lin Che's neck into his collar, and the scales shimmered with a ghostly light at the collar.

Lu Zhao touched Lin Che's forehead, then withdrew his finger: "Body temperature 39.7 degrees Celsius, the mutation has accelerated."

He shook the portable EEG device. "But the EEG shows that human consciousness still accounts for 90%."

"Let's go." Su Wanqing pressed down her earphones. "Lu Zhao, keep an eye on the monitor; Xiao Ling, watch both sides."

The sky outside the water plant was just beginning to turn blue, and the streets at four in the morning seemed to have been muted.

They moved along the wall towards the parking spot, and Xiao Ran's back was chafed painfully by Lin Che's scales.

After turning the third corner, we arrived at the parking spot—all four tires of the SUV had been slashed open, the rubber slack hanging down, like a skinned frog.

Su Wanqing squatted down and felt the cut on the tire. The cut was clean, with scorch marks on the edges: "Laser knife."

She pulled up the map and pointed to the South District: "Abandoned subway station, Exit B, return to the fortress through the underground passage."

She looked up and said, "We'll go around for two kilometers, but avoid the military checkpoints."

Xiao Ran adjusted Lin Che's position: "So you can carry him."

Lin Che suddenly made a muffled sound, like he was chewing pebbles. Xiao Ling leaned closer to listen: "It sounds like... 'Do not trust the contract'?"

"The anchor point will break?" She pursed her lips. "Last time in the lab, Lu Zhao said the weavers used sound wave communication, which sounds similar."

Su Wanqing didn't reply; she stared at the streetlight at the corner. A new notice was posted on the lamppost: "All citizens, please register for evacuation at the Municipal Square immediately."

As I walked through the residential area, I heard a commotion of things being thrown in the hallway. A second-floor window was suddenly flung open, and a woman in pajamas leaned out, shouting, "Give me back my son!"

A military vehicle was parked downstairs, and a crying boy was huddled in the back. Soldiers were locking it.

The woman tried to jump, but her neighbor grabbed her, and she collapsed to the ground, pounding her fists.

A long queue stretched across the square, hundreds of people crammed inside the iron fence. A soldier, holding a scanner, scanned a middle-aged man's wrist—the red light came on.

Just as the man was about to explain, two soldiers grabbed him and pushed him aside.

A cordon had been set up over there, and a dozen or so people with pale faces were sitting there. One of the old men was gnawing on the back of his hand, and blood was dripping onto the cement ground.

"They're screening people." Su Wanqing handed the binoculars to Xiao Ran. "Red light. Enter the observation area."

A scream came from the line. A little girl in a floral dress tugged at her mother's coat: "Mommy, I'm cold."

The mother touched her forehead, and suddenly she started to tremble. The scanner pressed against the girl's wrist, and the red light flashed.

The soldier grabbed the girl's arm, and the mother lunged at him, biting the soldier's hand. The soldier then struck her with the butt of his rifle, causing the woman to fall. The girl was dragged into the observation area, her cries like thin steel wires, piercing the ears.

Xiao Ran shoved the binoculars back into Su Wanqing's hands, his Adam's apple bobbing as he said, "Let's go."

They walked around the perimeter of the square. A group of people surged towards them, dragging suitcases and bags, running breathlessly.

Xiao Ran grabbed the white-bearded old man: "What's wrong?"

The old man adjusted his reading glasses, the lenses dusty: "North District... near the North District water plant, someone has turned into a monster!"

He grabbed Xiao Ran's sleeve, "It's covered in black markings and bites anyone it sees! The army sealed off the northern district, so we escaped."

Su Wanqing patted the old man on the shoulder: "Go south, there's a temporary resettlement point after you cross the railway bridge."

The old man nodded and ran off with the crowd. Xiao Ran quickened his pace, Lin Che's scales rubbing against his neck and causing it to ache.

Most of the streetlights in the commercial street were broken, and shop windows were shattered all over the ground.

Xiao Ran kicked a deformed Coke can, the "clanging" sound echoing through the empty alley.

Lin Che suddenly convulsed, his blue eyes snapping open: "There's something nearby."

Before the words were finished, three dark figures crawled out of the convenience store ruins—their skin was cracked with black lines, their nails were long like hooks, and they made a sound like scraping metal.

Xiao Ran handed Lin Che to Lu Zhao and took out his stun gloves. The infected at the front lunged forward, and Xiao Ran swung his hand back at the back of its neck, causing a burst of blue light.

The infected person shuddered, and the black markings became even brighter. It opened its mouth and bit Xiao Ran's wrist.

"Take a detour!" Su Wanqing dragged Lu Zhao into the alley, while Xiao Ling brought up the rear, slashing the infected person's wrist with a knife.

Black blood splattered on the wall, hissing and emitting blue smoke. They turned three corners and ran into three soldiers.

The leader, gun raised, shouted: "Halt!"

Lu Zhao dragged Lin Che into the abandoned restaurant, where the kitchen was piled with moldy cardboard boxes.

The soldiers' footsteps drew closer. Lu Zhao used his tactical knife to pry open the floorboards, revealing a drainage channel underneath. A musty smell mixed with the smell of rust rushed up: "Jump!"

The drain was so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Xiaoling took out her glow stick and tucked it into her waistband.

Lin Che, being carried on Xiao Ran's back, suddenly said in a hoarse voice, "Turn left. Three steps, then turn right."

Xiao Ran turned as instructed and indeed found an iron ladder. Climbing up, he found himself at a dusty subway platform, the words "Yongming Road Station" on the station sign faded.

Lu Zhao placed Lin Che on the bench and took out a medical kit. He pricked Lin Che's fingertip to draw blood, and the testing device beeped: "DNA recombination rate 43%, but not pure Weaver characteristics."

He looked up and said, "Like a hybrid."

Xiaoling stared at her wrist, where silver liquid was creeping along her veins: "It looks like the silver liquid in my body, but the color is different."

Lin Che suddenly grabbed Su Wanqing's hand, his nails digging into her so hard they hurt.

His blue eyes glistened with tears: "The weaver and the observer signed an agreement."

He coughed, "Water is the trigger, and next... time will be messed up." Before he could finish speaking, he fainted again.

Su Wanqing's jade bracelet suddenly became hot. She lifted her sleeve, revealing red patterns on the jade: "System alarm."

She looked at Lu Zhao, "Energy fluctuations?"

Lu Zhao pulled up his terminal, his face darkening: "The number of anomalies across the city has surged, and the underground energy source's charging speed has doubled."

He closed the terminal. "I have to go."

Xiaoling crouched down and touched Lin Che's forehead. Silver liquid seeped from her fingertips and seeped into Lin Che's skin.

Lin Che's furrowed brows slowly relaxed, and the scales stopped shimmering. Lu Zhao's detector beeped again: "Mutant activity decreased by 27%."

Xiaoling stared at her hand, the silver liquid receding back into her veins: "I used to think I was a test subject."

She said softly, "Now I think... it might be the antidote."

Su Wanqing squatted down to be at Xiaoling's eye level: "It's no coincidence that the system chose us."

She patted Xiaoling's hand. "You are important."

Lu Zhao carried Lin Che on his back: "It's a two-hour journey from the subway station to the fortress."

He glanced at his watch. "5:17. I have to be there before 7:00."

Su Wanqing checked the weapons, twirling the tactical knife in her palm: "Let's go."