"I have something very important to discuss with Xie Chiyuan, it's highly confidential! If we delay, the consequences will be severe!"
Yu An made up a story on the spot. In order to find Xie Chiyuan, he deliberately made the secret sound very serious.
"You kid, you're not lying, are you?"
"I'm not lying! If I were lying, wouldn't I be exposed when I meet Xie Chiyuan? He would punish me then." Yu An tried his best to argue.
Even the person who was holding him was unsure.
"I don't think anyone would dare to lie to Xie Chiyuan, right?"
"Since we're going there anyway, why not bring him along? We're in logistics, so it's relatively safe. Bringing him along won't be a problem."
Yu An's resolute refusal to get off the bus eventually led the passengers to tacitly agree to let him stay.
The logistics vehicle wasn't going as fast as the military vehicle in front. The driver had a cigarette he'd rolled himself dangling from his mouth, but he hadn't lit it; he was just chewing on it for fun.
"Once Commander Xie is done, we logistics staff will be able to see him as soon as possible. Kid, you can look for him then."
Yu An didn't say anything in rebuttal.
He's not stupid; he's already in the car, so of course he'll get to his destination first.
The arrival time was neither long nor short.
Yu An looked at this somewhat remote place, feeling uneasy. Given Xie Chiyuan's status, what mission would he be carrying out here?
"Alright, just wait here."
The people on the bus got off and set up a cordon on a hillside: "No one is allowed to approach inside the cordon."
At the location where the warning tape was set up, Yu An noticed a mark drawn with colored pen. This mark indicated the exact location where the logistics team had set up the warning tape.
"Has Xie Chiyuan gone inside?"
Looking at the unknown scenery before him, Yu An asked the logistics officer uneasily.
The logistics officer nodded and said with a smile, "Don't worry, I heard this mission is quite easy. Commander Xie won't get hurt."
Yu Ancai wasn't worried about whether Xie Chiyuan would get hurt.
A nascent guess formed in his mind: "The mutants are different from zombies. Is Xie Chiyuan sure he can handle them?"
Upon hearing this, the smiling logistics worker's expression suddenly changed. Not only him, but everyone else who had been relaxed also immediately reached for their guns in their pockets.
"Who are you? Dealing with mutants... Who told you that Commander Xie is dealing with mutants?"
The mission details assigned by Xie Chi are all kept secret. Even those in the logistics department only learn the mission location and details before departure.
Upon seeing their reaction, Yu An instantly made up his mind—
Xie Chiyuan is dealing with aberrations.
And the area inside the warning line must be where the aberration exists.
“Before I came to the base, I was with Pei Si and the others. We saw mutated trees on the road, and later, when we were with other people, we heard about some mutants.”
What Yu An said was the truth.
After telling the truth, he began to slip in his own agenda: "And the reason I came to see Xie Chiyuan is related to his mission. I'm going in to help him now."
Before he spoke, he was quietly approaching the cordon.
After he uttered his last words, the logistics guy couldn't stop him even if he tried. Several men stared wide-eyed as he crawled to the other side.
"Come back! It's dangerous inside!"
"I'm not afraid."
Yu An stood behind, her fair and well-behaved face revealing fearlessness: "I'm going in to find Xie Chiyuan. Thank you for bringing me here."
Inside the cordon, there was a forbidden zone they dared not cross.
The logistics team was at their wits' end and could only stamp their feet in regret. They should have kept an eye on the people earlier!
After crossing the line, Yu An walked forward without looking back.
The place is very big.
There are trees, grass, and ditches. In the distance, you can vaguely see self-built houses typical of rural areas; the environment feels like a rural resort.
Yu An walked step by step, occasionally stepping on a few wild mushrooms.
The soil was moist after the rain, which spurred the growth of many brightly colored mushrooms, including some that were fluorescent green.
Yu An couldn't resist and bent down to touch the small green umbrella mushroom.
"You are very beautiful."
Green, it's the same color as his little Jiu.
Xiao Jiu was the most fragile and timid of all his cubs. The mutant that Xie Chiyuan was attracted to couldn't possibly be Xiao Jiu.
Yu An was still touching the little umbrella mushroom. On the other side, the doctor standing next to Xie Chiyuan was distributing new masks to everyone so they could put them on again.
"The air here is polluted, so we have to change our masks every hour."
Xie Chiyuan brought his own mask, so he didn't need to use it.
He strolled leisurely, looking more like he was there to relax than to deal with the A09 aberration.
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Author's Note:
Little Nine: Big brother, I'm here! (σ≧?▽?≦?)σ.
Chapter 8
Xie Chiyuan was still strolling around, while Yu An remained squatting on the ground watching the little umbrella mushroom.
The little green umbrella-shaped mushrooms were so pretty, but the tips were a bit sticky. He just touched them, and his fingers were stained green.
After being captivated by the little umbrella mushroom for a while, Yu An reluctantly got up to go find someone.
He went to find the person who cut off his baby.
Once you enter this place, it's easy to lose your bearings, especially since Yu An is a hopelessly directionally challenged zombie. As he walked, his eyes filled with confusion.
How do I find it?
He muttered to himself, "Am I supposed to just sit here and wait for Xie Chiyuan to come over on his own?"
Waiting for a rabbit to run into a tree stump sounds unreliable. Yu An shook his head, feeling a little dizzy, perhaps from using his brain too much.
As Yu An struggled to find her way, she didn't notice that the stain on her fingers was gradually disappearing, as if being absorbed by her skin...
"Aww—"
Several zombie howls echoed from not far away. In the past, Yu An would probably have turned and run in the opposite direction. But now, his eyes lit up, and he jogged towards the direction of the zombie howls.
Just as Yu An was running, Xie Chiyuan was reminded again by a doctor in a white coat: "Brother Xie, we need to go out for a bit."
"The gas released by the mutant contains hallucinogenic substances that can dissolve in the air, so wearing a mask alone cannot completely protect against them."
The longer they stay in this kind of air, the more severe the effects may be.
The doctor held a miniature instrument for detecting components. He looked around warily, and after much deliberation, decided he should go out first.
Aberration A09 belongs to the fungi family and can cause infection directly through contact. Currently, its mode of transmission is clearly not only through contact but also through airborne transmission.
Xie Chiyuan listened to the doctor's report and said casually, "Take them out, I'll stay."
"Brother Xie, the support vehicle is outside. My suggestion is that we go out together." The doctor didn't intend to leave Xie Chiyuan alone here.
After all, it is an aberration of the A sequence, so we cannot take it lightly.
The subordinate standing next to the doctor was a bit more diplomatic. He chuckled and said to Xie Chiyuan, "Brother Xie, could you give us a ride? You can come back after you've seen us off."
Xie Chiyuan glanced at the doctor: "Have Tang Xin take you."
Tang Xin was the doctor in charge of Xie Chiyuan. He raised an eyebrow and deliberately specified that Xie Chiyuan should deliver the package.
Half an hour later.
The group stopped. Tang Xin frowned, looking ahead with a serious expression: "Brother Xie, are we trapped?"
Xie Chiyuan was not particularly surprised by the result.
He said calmly, "Let's go back, kill the mutant, and then we can get out."
Tang Xin sighed. Xie Chiyuan always dealt with aberrations in a simple and brutal way. Several high-ranking officers in the military had recently begun to have opinions about his methods.
Xie Chiyuan turned around and walked towards the place where the abnormal aura was the strongest. He didn't have a dog's nose, and he couldn't accurately smell the location of the mutant just by relying on his sense of smell.
He also relied on a bit of intuition to deal with the mutants.
Time passed little by little.
In the bushes on the other side, a furtive young boy crouched. His beautiful amber eyes were fixed on the howling zombie squad directly ahead.
The howls of the zombie squad were quite jarring at first glance.
Yu An's legs were numb from squatting for so long before the zombies finally dragged themselves together and walked in one direction.
They didn't walk by themselves; they were dragging someone with them.
The person being dragged had a bulging bag on their back, clearly an unlucky fellow who had come out to escape but encountered zombies.
What puzzled Yu An was that these zombies didn't seem to bite and devour the human.
They dragged the person ahead, while Yu An crouched down and secretly followed behind.
As the last rays of the setting sun faded, tiny green umbrella-shaped mushrooms slowly began to appear on the ground. Their sheer number was terrifying.
Every time Yu An glanced at the small umbrella lamp, she felt her head spin a little more.
He pinched his leg hard, and the pain he hadn't lost instantly brought tears to Yu An's eyes.
It hurts so much!
While pinching his legs to stay awake, Yu An kept reminding himself of what he needed to do: "Find Xie Chiyuan, find Zai Zai's whereabouts."
That's right.