I painted an aircraft carrier on the courtyard house for Dongda University.

He subconsciously looked at the little one in the woman's arms, finding it hard to connect the child, who was about one year old, with the woman's sister, who was eighteen or nineteen years old.

The woman nodded vigorously, her eyes full of earnestness, and explained earnestly, "Yes, she is my sister, my half-sister."

"And what about your mother?" Zhou Weiguo interrupted her, pressing for crucial information.

Upon hearing this question, the light in the woman's eyes dimmed slightly, and she replied in a low voice, "When I gave birth to my sister, my mother had a difficult childbirth and didn't survive."

Zhou Weiguo sighed softly, a trace of melancholy passing through his heart. His gaze sharpened, the oppressive aura around him suddenly dropping as he stared intently at the woman. He said in a deep voice, "Answer the last two questions honestly. First, why did those people call you 'Xiao Rizi'? Second, can you explain why you and your sister have so many viruses on your bodies?"

Upon hearing this, the woman shuddered again. The hope in her eyes was instantly replaced by intense fear. Her face turned ashen, her lips trembled, but she couldn't utter a single word. Clearly, these two questions had touched upon her most hidden and terrifying past.

The woman trembled, her eyes fixed on Zhou Weiguo, her voice barely audible, filled with trepidation and hope: "S-Sir, is what you're saying true? If I tell you everything, you'll cure me and my sister?"

She longed to get rid of this illness and wanted to give her sister a healthy future, even though the past was unbearable to recall, she was willing to take the gamble.

Zhou Weiguo nodded solemnly, his tone resolute: "I keep my word. As long as you tell me the truth, I will definitely help you two sisters get rid of your illnesses."

The woman gritted her teeth, her nails digging deep into her palms as if to encourage herself. Her whole body trembled uncontrollably. After a long silence, she finally spoke, each word laced with unspeakable pain: "My...my mother is from Xia Country. I...I don't know who that beast who abused my mother was. My mother and I used to live in the East, Northeast, in Harbin. I was there when I was little. Back then, it was all...all the little devils there. My mother said that the little devils called that place 'the Water Supply Department'..."

When she mentioned the words "Water Supply Department," the woman's voice suddenly choked up, cold sweat broke out on her forehead, her face turned as white as paper, and her eyes were filled with terror, as if she had returned to that dark and gloomy place and was facing those chilling memories again.

When Zhou Weiguo heard the words "Ministry of Water Supply," his eyes narrowed sharply, the air around him froze instantly, and his previous calm and indifference vanished without a trace, replaced by boundless anger. A bloodthirsty chill surged in his eyes, mixed with a deep pity.

How could he not know that place? It was a secret base set up by Xiao Rizi in Northeast China, where countless compatriots suffered inhuman torture. This woman was actually a survivor who escaped from there!

Zhou Weiguo's voice trembled slightly, filled with suppressed excitement and heaviness: "You...you're a survivor from that base?"

The woman bit her lower lip hard, tears streaming down her face. She slowly nodded, overwhelmed by the memories of her past suffering, which made it hard for her to breathe.

Zhou Weiguo exhaled a deep breath, lit a cigarette, and took a large drag. The nicotine stimulation slightly suppressed the turmoil in his heart.

Looking at the fragile yet resilient woman before him, his original plan subtly changed. He had initially wanted this woman to help deal with Yi Zhonghai and Xu Damao, but thinking of the hellish suffering she had endured, he slowly shook his head. It was unnecessary. In any case, he already had the virus injection, enough to make those two pay the price. Why let her get involved in these conflicts?

Zhou Weiguo composed himself, looked at the woman, and softened his tone considerably: "If you had a choice, how old would you want yourself to be? And how old would you want your sister to be?"

The woman froze, staring blankly at Zhou Weiguo, completely not understanding what he meant. She opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Seeing this, Zhou Weiguo waved his hand and changed to a more direct approach: "I mean, if you could simply live your life again, even just in a dream, and choose your age again, what age would you most want to be, and how many years younger would you want to be than your sister?"

The woman stared blankly at her sleeping younger sister in her arms for a moment, a hint of longing flashing in her eyes. She spoke softly, her tone filled with cautious anticipation: "If I could choose, I would want my sister to be eighteen and me to be twenty... so that I can always take care of her and protect her."

Zhou Weiguo nodded, then turned to look at Nannan and asked, "Is everything alright?"

Nannan jumped up and down with a smile, looking confident: "No problem, brother! Leave it to me! I'll also help fill in the gaps in your memories so that your past connects naturally."

Then she turned to the woman and asked gently, "Sister, do you want to delete those negative memories? You know, those bad, painful memories, we can help you delete them."

Although the woman did not fully understand the principles of cloning and memory filling, her eyes lit up instantly when she heard that she could erase those painful memories. As if grasping at a lifeline, she nodded vigorously, and tears streamed down her face again. This time, however, they were tears of relief and hope.

Zhou Weiguo looked at her, his eyes filled with relief, and instructed Nannan, "Alright, go and prepare. Make sure both sisters are in the best physical condition, especially the younger sister, she needs to be healthy. As for filling in their memories, add more happy moments to give them a peaceful past."

"Okay, brother!"

Nannan readily agreed, turned around and quickly ran to the control panel to get busy. The pale blue light shone again, enveloping the control panel, and began to prepare for the cloning.

The woman held her younger sister, looking at everything before her. Although she didn't understand what was going to happen, for some reason, a feeling called hope arose in her heart.

Zhou Weiguo's gaze fell on the busy Nannan, and he casually asked, "Nannan, how long does the whole cloning process take?"

Without looking up, Nannan fiddled with the control panel buttons and replied in a clear voice, "It won't take long, brother! Cell culture will take about five minutes, but we can activate a 100x speedup here at the barracks, so it'll only take a few minutes. It'll be done very quickly."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Weiguo became interested and decided to stay and see the wonders of the Red Alert cloning technology. So he simply stood still and did not leave.

Nannan quickly retrieved a sterile syringe and blood collection container, walked up to the woman, and said gently, "Sister, I need to draw a little blood from you and the little girl. It won't hurt much, just bear with it."

The woman held her younger sister in her arms. Although she was still a little uneasy, she nodded gently and reached out her arm when she saw the little girl's innocent appearance.

The girl worked quickly and soon collected the woman's blood sample.