During the day, there were no pedestrians on the sidewalks, and many shops on the side of the road were locked. The whole city was deserted, so quiet that no human voice could be heard.
The trash cans next to the street had not been cleaned in a while, and a gust of wind sent paper and plastic flying through the air.
Yue Xingwen looked at his teammates and said seriously, “Not even a single pedestrian can be seen on the street. Could it be that the mutants have taken over the city?”
Everyone looked out the window.
The empty city raised a strong sense of uneasiness in everyone’s heart. Although the city was not going to collapse like the Faculty of Architecture, the modern, deserted city was reminiscent of the word ‘doomsday’.
Zhuo Feng and Lin Manluo, who were sitting in the back row, looked at each other. Lin Manluo whispered, “Have the residents of this city fled collectively, or are they hiding in their homes, afraid to come out?”
Zhuo Feng lowered his voice and said, “Ask Professor Tang, he might know something.”
Yue Xingwen looked back at Professor Tang.
The man with the gold-rimmed glasses sat upright in the second row in the back half of the bus, next to Yue Xingwen and Jiang Pingce, with a calm and collected expression. Liu Zhaoqing sat with him and asked him to sit inside, lest he suddenly escaped.
Yue Xingwen asked, “Professor Tang, all the shops on the street are closed, what happened in this city?”
Professor Tang smiled bitterly and shook his head. “I don’t know, I’ve been in the Research Institute in the past few days. The city was still normal last week, but things happened suddenly. I received the news from my superiors that the information was leaked. After someone studied and transformed people, I immediately disposed of the information on the computers, went into hiding, and met you guys.”
In other words, the change happened in just a few days. The other party should have done research in secret for a long time and prepared well before suddenly launching an attack on the city. Being able to occupy a city in just a few days shows how big and scary this organization was!
Thinking about the ‘mutants’ with tongues over 30 centimeters that he had met at the Research Institute, Yue Xingwen felt shivers run down his spine.
The city was empty, and there were a lot of blood stains on the streets. Obviously, there had been a fierce battle here. Where did the residents go after the battle? No one knew.
Yue Xingwen took a deep breath and calmed down. He looked at Professor Tang and said, “The chip you just gave me is fake, right?”
Professor Tang adjusted his glasses and said, “Sorry, watching you guys fly down from the roof, I thought you were mutants coming to get me, so I gave you a fake copy of the chip.”
No wonder Professor Tang’s expression was so calm when they flew down from the roof at that time. It turned out that Professor Tang had always regarded them as mutants, and had already taken precautions.
This Professor was really smart. Yue Xingwen did not mean to blame him, and continued to ask, “Have you received a notice from your superiors that someone will escort you to the Genetic Research Center in City F?”
Professor Tang nodded and said, “Yes, I received a notice to wait for rescue.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Professor Tang said calmly, “Not all mutants have fused with the snake’s genes.”
Liu Zhaoqing stretched out his hands and feet and said, “Then look, our posture of action does not look like other animals either ah?”
Senior brother Liu was trying to prove that he was a ‘normal human’.
Professor Tang ignored him and looked at Yue Xingwen, asking, “What’s your action code?”
“Action code?” Yue Xingwen and Jiang Pingce looked at each other.
The course description did not say they still have an action code?
Yue Xingwen thought about it carefully and said tentatively, “C-183 action team?”
Professor Tang nodded, “En, it looks like you guys aren’t mutants.”
Unexpectedly, it used Research Group’s number as the action code, the library was really something!
Professor Tang said, “I can trust you for the time being, I won’t resist and I won’t run away. However, I won’t give you the real data chip unless you take me to the Genetic Research Center to meet the rescuer.”
Liu Zhaoqing raised his eyebrows, “Aren’t you afraid that we will tie you up and search your body?”
Professor Tang was silent.
Yue Xingwen smiled and said, “I guess, this data chip involves the top secret of the Research Institute of Biological Science and Professor Tang must have set up a password protection and self-destruction program. Even if we get the chip and you don’t tell us the password, our forced deciphering will only lead to the destruction of the chip data, right?”
This paragraph was exactly what Yue Xingwen had just made up to say to the mutant before. Professor Tang gave him a look at that time, and Yue Xingwen guessed that he was probably right.
As expected, Professor Tang looked appreciatively at Yue Xingwen and said, “You guessed correctly. The password of the data chip is indeed only known by me, and the information has the mutant’s weakness. That’s why they desperately want to kill me and get this information.”
“How about, I’ll take another guess to where the real data chip is?” Yue Xingwen said seriously, “The first possibility is that you didn’t bring the data chip with you, but secretly hid it in a place that only you know. But this method is not secure, in case after you leave, the mutant turns the Research Institute upside down and finds the data chip you have hidden, it will be troublesome.”
“The second possibility is that as soon as you are caught by a mutant, the other party will definitely search you by force to grab your data chip, unless.” He looked at Professor Tang’s eyes, saying word by word, “The data chip was hidden inside your body.”
“……” Professor Tang’s originally calm expression changed slightly.
“For example, you seal the data chip with a material that can’t be digested by the gastrointestinal tract, and then eat it. In this way, no matter where you go, you can ensure that the data chip is with you and won’t be snatched away.” Yue Xingwen looked at him with a smile, “Did I guess correctly this time?”
Professor Tang was silent for a moment and said in a low voice, “What do you want?”
Yue Xingwen shrugged and said, “Rest assured, we won’t dissect you and take away the data chip in your body. Our task is to escort you and the data chip to the Genetic Research Center in City F.”
Yue Xingwen emphasized, “We have no malice towards you, I hope you don’t deliberately make trouble for us.”
Liu Zhaoqing’s sharp gaze swept over Professor Tang’s entire body, as if wanted to scan where the data chip was hidden. Professor Tang was horrified by him, and said stiffly, “Okay, I believe you guys.”
Liu Zhaoqing smiled and said, “Eating the data chip, you still can think of this method. Isn’t it uncomfortable in your stomach?”
Professor Tang exhaled softly and said, “The situation is urgent, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Seeing that his attitude was slightly relaxed, Yue Xingwen asked, “What happened to the Research Institute?”
Professor Tang frowned and said, “Our Research Institute obtained the entire sequence of the human gene. Originally, we wanted to solve some problems in genetic diseases, and this plan is absolutely confidential. However, no one expected that a traitor would appear in the Institute and secretly sneak the gene sequence to conduct secret experiments to create many mutants.”
He paused, and a trace of anger surfaced in his eyes as he said, “Mutants, also known as genetically modified people.”
Xu Yishen, who was driving, heard this and couldn’t help but interject, “Is it like many improved varieties of fruits and vegetables? They modified the genetic sequence to modify humans?”
Professor Tang nodded and said, “The direction of the transformation includes the flexibility of the limbs, the strength of the muscles, the rate of metabolism, etc. Those who are genetically modified are as strong as oxen and as flexible as snakes, and they can also consume low calories every day like some animals do when they hibernate. They won’t feel hungry without eating for a month straight.”
Yue Xingwen was shocked and could not help but say, “Wouldn’t a special operation force made up of such transformed people be invisible?”
Professor Tang was distressed and said, “Therefore, these transformation talents will become the most terrible biochemical weapons! They began mass-producing modified humans like an assembly line, even incorporating the best genes from various animals in a crazy way. The ones you’re seeing today are mutants mixed with snake genes.”
Ke Shaobin asked curiously, “Are there other animals mixed in? Such as lions, tigers, cheetahs, and the like?”
Professor Tang said, “I don’t know the specific situation, that group of lunatics can do everything! I only learned about all this when I received an urgent notice from my superiors. These days, they sent batches of mutants to the Research Institute to find me, and the other colleagues in the Research Institute were all captured by them. I hid on the rooftop and survived by luck.”
Yue Xingwen clenched his fist gently. It could be imagined that the appearance of ‘modified people’ would have an extremely serious impact on normal human society. Those ‘modified people’ were much stronger than normal human beings in terms of speed, strength, and physical ability. They could also save resources and not eat anything for up to a month…
In their eyes, humans were trash.
So, did they want to clean out the humans and be masters of the world themselves?
Yue Xingwen took a deep breath and asked, “Professor Tang, how far is it to City F from here?”
Professor Tang said, “It takes 2 and a half hours by plane.”
Yue Xingwen helplessly held his forehead, “None of us can fly a plane. Moreover, now that the whole city is empty, the airport and train station must have stopped operating as well. We can only go by land, how long would it take to drive there?”
Professor Tang said, “By driving, the whole journey will take at least three days on the highway, day and night. In case of disruption on the highway, it can take more than a week for a detour.”
Yue Xingwen turned around and asked his teammates, “Apart from senior brother Xu, is there anyone else who can drive?”
Jiang Pingce said, “I have a driver’s license, but I haven’t driven a bus.”
Zhuo Feng said, “I also took the driving test, just after the internship period. If you dare to sit, I dare to drive.”
Xu Yishen said, “I have never driven a bus. The principle is similar to that of a manual car, see the gear position clearly. It doesn’t involve reversing to park into a parking lot, S movement and other driving tests, so it’s not difficult to drive forward.”
Jiang Pingce nodded and said, “Then I’ll switch with senior brother Xu and senior brother Zhuo.”
Zhuo Feng said, “Yishen, you drive first. After getting on the highway, Pingce will drive for a while, and I’ll sit next to you to learn.”
One driver would not be able to hold out for many days, and it would be much better with three people driving in shifts.
Yue Xingwen thought for a moment and said, “In this way, let’s find a supermarket first and stock some supplies to put in the car. We’re not mutants, we haven’t been modified, so it’s impossible for us to not eat or drink for a day.”
Everyone nodded.
According to the rules of the library’s examination, it was impossible for them to have a smooth journey. There would definitely be many things on the way that would prevent them from reaching city F, and they would have to store enough food and water to have the strength to run to the finish line.
Ke Shaobin said, “Save more milk, biscuits and other things that are convenient to carry.” Although he was a foodie, he was now running for his life, and he could not carry a bunch of heavy, non-nutritious food.
Qin Miao calmly said, “Let’s make a list first, it’s best for each person to carry a bag for food. Don’t blame me for my crow mouth, in case we have to abandon the car on the way and it will be a problem if we can’t take the supplies with us.”
Lan Yarong laughed. “The mutants definitely won’t let us drive to City F smoothly, and all kinds of emergencies must be prepared in advance. I suggest a backpack for each person, filled with food, and a few boxes of mineral water to put in the car.”
Xu Yishen reminded them, “And the gasoline. It’s definitely not enough for a long run, so we’ll have to go to the gas station and stock up on extra barrels of gas.”
Yue Xingwen nodded, and his gaze quickly swept out the window. “Everyone quickly finds a supermarket or convenience store. We have to hurry up and make all preparations before being caught up by mutants.”
Mmm, I like this kind of road books
Thank you for your translation 🤍🤍🤍🤍
another episode of pingce being so scared for xingwen’s safety and the latter convincing him that he’s fine 🥹