Shen Jie’s voice was short and powerful.
The fact that the head nurse could still move and didn’t seem completely dead yet made it seem unwise to not continue attacking, but rather open the exit of the space.
Jian Mingze was somewhat puzzled, but faced with the boy’s cold and unquestionable eyes, he instinctively opened the “door” of the threshold space.
As Shen Jie stepped out of the threshold space, his eyes met with Chen Shushu’s.
Chen Shushu was holding a large hammer formed by the number “9”, swinging his arms, looking like he was about to strike.
Shen Jie: “?”
Chen Shushu seemed very anxious.
Previously, Zong Lian went to investigate the situation himself and told him not to rush to save people. He listened, but in the blink of an eye, Zong Lian disappeared in front of him.
Zong Lian encountered danger!
Chen Shushu’s worry skyrocketed instantly. He rushed over and hammered the wall with a bang, but couldn’t figure out why Zong Lian disappeared.
With no other option, he tried the dumbest way: smashing the wall.
As a result, the wall didn’t break, but Zong Lian came out from it.
Accompanying Zong Lian was a very handsome man—
This man even has his hand on Zong Lian’s shoulder!
Jian Mingze narrowed his eyes slightly.
The white-haired youth suddenly said he wanted to come back. He was afraid of any changes in the infusion hall, so he also chose to follow along.
As soon as he arrived, he ran into a hedgehog-headed young man, who was still holding a very strange hammer with a bizarre number on it, and it looked like it was about to smash down.
Did he had a grudge against the young man?
Jian Mingze frowned, placed his hand on Shen Jie’s shoulder, and directly added a layer of spatial protection film to him.
The pale blue spatial force circulated, forming a thin layer of fluorescent outer garment on Shen Jie’s body.
His appearance was already unique, with white hair and red eyes, and his expression was usually emotionless. Wrapped in the blue film, he looked like a delicate figurine in a showcase, motionless and unshedding tears.
Chen Shushu felt that Zong Lian had been taken hostage by an ability user and flames ignited in his eyes.
As their gazes met, sparks flew with crackling lightning.
Jian Mingze said in a deep voice, “Who are you? Why are you holding a hammer?”
Chen Shushu retorted, “Who are you? Get your claws off Zong Lian!”
Caught in the middle, Shen Jie exclaimed, “?”
He had no idea how this misunderstanding between the two men arose.
But there was no time to deal with it now.
Shen Jie was scanning the entire infusion hall at lightning speed.
If one were to deduce logically, the most likely place for the “Incomplete Soul Box” to be placed, apart from next to the head nurse, would be inside the medicine dispensing room where it often stayed.
However, the most easily guessed place might not necessarily be the chosen one.
Where in the entire infusion hall would be more suitable to hide a box that would vibrate at special times without being discovered?
If it were up to him to choose.
Shen Jie thought.
Undoubtedly, it would be these densely packed humans in front of him.
Hundreds of people controlled by the tentacles, unable to escape, wearing different clothes, having different faces, different breathing patterns, and different heartbeats.
If the “Incomplete Soul Box” were hidden and vibrating within these bodies, who could discern such a small anomaly?
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.
Even if someone could discern it, who could be ruthless and decisive enough to harm their own kind?
Pc atf gfmbgvr ifoa yftlcv ys atf ofk jylilas erfgr ktb frmjqfv, atfs vfajlifv atf mtjgjmafglralmr bo atf “Zjifnbifca Jbgqrf” jcv atf rbiealbc ab “vfragbslcu atf Pcmbwqifaf Vbei Dbz,” yea atfs mbcrqlmeberis vlv cba rqfmlos atf fzjma ibmjalbc bo atf “Pcmbwqifaf Vbei Dbz,” bcis njuefis wfcalbclcu la yflcu klatlc atf lcoerlbc tjii.
Not providing specific details was, of course, to avoid trouble.
Shen Jie had already figured out how they destroyed the “Incomplete Soul Box.”
There was no need to search; all they had to do was destroy all the suspicious items, the simplest and quickest solution.
By doing so, not only their group but also the thousands of survivors still hiding upstairs would be immediately saved.
The only ones who would need to be sacrificed were the hundreds of people in front of them.
Moreover, these people had been injected with the infection, so even if they were rescued, they might not survive.
For the people of this city, what choice to make was probably a very simple matter.
In order to integrate into society, he spent seven years learning about human knowledge in this world. The questions on psychological tests no longer posed a challenge for him; now, he could easily ace any exam handed to him.
Now, there were standard answers to the questions before him.
Shen Jie’s knife lifted slightly.
However, as his gaze swept past a woman wearing a red coat with crow’s feet at the corners of her eyes, his eyes paused for a moment.
He pondered.
Everyone told him that to become human, he should learn to think and act as a human did.
But what exactly constituted the correct way of thinking as a human?
He remembered when Lin Ze, before his corruption, chuckled reassuringly over the phone upon learning that Shen Jie had aced his machine-scored exam.
“Mr. Shen, your score has improved a lot compared to before,” Lin Ze remarked, followed by a soft sigh. “But even a perfect score doesn’t necessarily mean it’s correct.”
Shen Jie inquired, “What then is considered correct?”
Lin Ze remained silent for a long time before responding, “No one can define what is correct.”
—-
Inside the research institute’s dormitory, among the pile of psychological test exercises dragged out from under the bed, someone had written a line of bold text beside the correctly answered questions, using a handwriting that, despite its disorder, still conveyed clarity.
“It’s always been this way, does that make it right?”
—-
In a distant memory, someone once said to him:
“Xiao Jie, you’ve grown up, it’s time to think for yourself more.”
“The reason humans are humans is because they have the ability to think about right and wrong, to discern between good and bad.”
“If everyone only exists for the sake of survival, then humans become nothing more than machines that reproduce.”
“But humans are not machines.”
“Humans are humans.”
—-//
Shen Jie’s thoughts only flickered for a moment.
As Chen Shushu uttered “Zong Lian,” it startled Jian Mingze, realizing he had probably misunderstood Chen Shushu’s stance.
However, the boy’s surname did seem to be “Zong”…
Before he could shake his head and laugh it off, Jian Mingze suddenly changed his expression.
As the creator of the threshold apace, he could still monitor the situation in the space.
The recent movement by the head nurse wasn’t a final act of defiance; those scattered tentacles had already begun slowly wriggling again—Why, when the brain and heart had already been shattered?
“Zong… little brother,” Jian Mingze said, “The head nurse is regaining its mobility. If it fully revives, the two members inside won’t be able to hold it back. We need to go back and deal with the head nurse again. But—”
[“Malevolent Corpse” estimated revival time remaining: 20s.]
The system also chimed in with a reminder.
Shen Jie gripped the long knife in his hand.
Since the rational choice might not always be the right one, what choice should he make?
Throughout his life, he excelled at observing, learning, and impersonating, but he rarely had to make choices proactively.
The only time he chose to actively approach Zong Lin.
Apart from that, he deliberately avoided anything that could cause him to lose control, living in this world like a bystander.
It’s as if he’s become a human.
Yet, it also feels like he hasn’t.
Suddenly, Shen Jie couldn’t help but wonder, if it were Zong Lin here right now, what would he do?
—-
The real world.
Rain fell incessantly, and streaks of silver lightning slashed through the night.
Once again, a collision sound shook the eardrums.
A long spear pierced through the rain, penetrating the chest of the undead creature.
Suddenly, Zong Lin’s movement subtly hesitated.
He heard the voice of Shi Chen by his ear.
The appearance of the voice doesn’t surprise him.
Shi Chen was an A-level superpower user specialized in communication, even in the wilderness, he could communicate with anyone at any time.
“Zong Lin, you now have two choices.”
Shi Chen’s voice was always cold, like an inorganic robot.
“One, continue to entangle with the undead creature until it infects all the people in the Psychological Treatment Center, including your partner. Then wait for the infection to spread, endangering the city. Eventually, you will see the figure of your partner among the hordes of aliens, and you’ll have to raise your gun against them.”
“Two, unleash all your power. Completely eradicate the domain space of the undead creature, completely eliminating any future troubles.”
“Wrong,” Zong Lin said, “I don’t choose either option.”
His blood-red pupils stared at Lin Ze’s chest, which was still slowly regenerating, pausing for a moment at the faint spatial crack.
Just a little more. He thought.
In his earpiece, Shi Chen’s voice paused, then continued, “Seven years ago, in order to appease your out-of-control infection value, the research institute implemented a partner selection plan.”
“You probably don’t know that your current partner, Shen Jie, was also part of the plan. He didn’t approach you out of affection, but because he signed a contract with the research institute and was obliged to fulfill the mission.”
Zong Lin closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again, speaking calmly, “I know.”
He knows?
Shi Chen squinted his eyes.
“Now that you know, you understand what an ordinary person and an ability user need to endure and the price they have to pay to become partners. Over the years, he has never complained, even though he has been hospitalized multiple times because of you.”
“I’m saying this to make you understand that he also wants to protect this city with all his heart, just like you. So now, do you want all his efforts to go to waste?”
Zong Lin remained unmoved, “You’re not him, so why do you arrogantly assume his thoughts?”
Shi Chen fell silent.
He realized that Zong Lin had indeed changed a lot.
The human weapon cultivated by the research institute, once the strongest, was no longer the young man who would only silently obey orders and complete missions.
“It should have been injected with SCB-03 seven years ago,” a researcher next to him said. “Now he’s out of control, too dangerous.”
Shi Chen remained silent.
He remembered yesterday’s incident when the suppressor malfunctioned, and they brought Zong Lin back to the Gene Therapy Center in District Two.
SCB-03 was ready to be administered.
Zong Lin woke up early from his slumber and heard the researchers’ suggestion. Despite usually having no objections to the laboratory, he directly crushed the vial of medication and left the laboratory.
The laboratory’s cage could only ever hold the bird that wanted to be imprisoned.
Moreover, Zong Lin has never been someone to be trifled with. “Wait another ten minutes,” Shi Chen said, “After ten minutes, have Q prepare for bombing.”
—-
Infusion hall.
Jian Mingze frowned, “My threshold space has a limited duration, at most I can support it for another three minutes.”
With the huge size of the head nurse after berserk, if they returned to the infusion hall, these people who cannot be moved will inevitably be affected by the calamity and unable to survive.
[“Malevolent Corpse” remaining resurrection time, 12s.]
[Host, have you noticed anything?]
Shen Jie: “The Incomplete Soul Box is likely hidden within these people’s bodies.”
[What?] The system was surprised, [How did you come to that conclusion… Can you discern exactly which person it’s inside?]
Shen Jie pursed his lips. “No.”
Perhaps there was a so-called quick solution, but he didn’t think it was right.
And the system, which usually talked about the survival of humanity, didn’t mention that method either, but rather rambled on:
[Let me think… Let me think…]
[Right! If that’s the case,] the system said, [Zhu Ping’an is a Rank Five superpower user of “Fate”. Although he’s one level below the head nurse, if we can define a specific observation range and obtain specific information about the person being observed, there might be a chance to speculate the exact location of the Incomplete Soul Box.]
Jian Mingze behind him seemed to have noticed his hesitation.
“Are you anxious to return to the infusion hall because of preventing the nurse leader’s resurrection?”
He looked at the youth’s tense expression and spoke gently.
“You’re just like Captain Zong Lin, always preferring to handle things alone. But don’t forget, you have companions.”
Shen Jie was taken aback.
Companionship was something he had never experienced in his long memory.
Perhaps there had been some before, but he had lost them, couldn’t find them again, and had forgotten.
[“Malevolent Corpse” remaining resurrection time, 3s.]
Shen Jie said, “Chen Shushu, you go to the pharmacy, find the head nurse’s personal information, and come back to tell us.”
Chen Shushu hesitated for a moment, “No problem!”
“We’re going back.” Shen Jie turned to Jian Mingze, “Let’s deal with the head nurse first.”
Three minutes, enough to deal with the resurrected head nurse again. In the time between its death and resurrection, let Chen Shushu find the information and give it to Zhu Ping’an to predict the location of the “Incomplete Soul Box.”
Even if the prediction may not yield results, even if these people may not survive even if rescued.
But he did want to do something.
He thought, if Zong Lin were here, he would probably say to him.
“It doesn’t matter what choice you make.”
“Do whatever you want to do, become whoever you want to be, that’s enough.”
“I’ll always have your back.”
Good! It’s becoming so good!! The anxiety!!! Omg trying to gauge Shen’s mind and drive a line between him and Zong?! You’re out of your mind!
Thanks for the chapter!!
God, it’s so clear despite all the secrets and complications that Zong Lin and Shen Jie love each other deep,y and sincerely T^T there’s so much room for unnecessary misunderstanding, but the plot and their relationship continues to be interesting and engaging because the author’s just that good. And both characters just seem all the more complex and interesting for it. Not to mention, the translation is fantastic! It’s not enough to just know both English and chinese, it also takes skill to convey the original author’s intent this well
I know right? Its really good!
Ah! Ah! Ah! who is this dog dude trying to separate my babies???? I’ll tell you before hand don’t keep trying they’re a match made in heaven!! If u do try Xiao Shen will crush you to dust himself 😭🤧
I feel like Shen Jie is the one who’s way less in trouble rn???? Im more worried for Zong Lin 😭😭😭
I can’t believe these people actually compare Zong Lin to a bird in a cage, they want him in their control at all times and keep this “pretty bird” locked up in this prison that they control so that they can sacrifice him anytime… truly disgusting 🤮
+1
the way they love and trust each other so much ;A;
I’m just waiting to see what happens when our dear ML finds out secondhand that he has a grown up son hahahahahaha