"The bodies of those ordinary people have been found. They were either killed by Zhu Ling's superpowers or attacked by zombies."
"Pei Si, Zhu Ling, and a little girl named Xiao Xiao who has special abilities, all three of them have disappeared."
To put it nicely, they're missing; to put it bluntly, they might have perished.
Since there are no survivors to provide clues, they are now at a loss as to how to find these people.
"Xie Chiyuan."
After listening to the entire report, Yu An felt a chill in his heart. He said, "Once we get to the base, Qiu Qiu and I will go find Pei Si. You go and drive the zombies away."
Xie Chiyuan remained silent for a moment before speaking, "We'll talk about it when we get there."
Along the way, no one chatted anymore.
The people who boarded the plane with Yu An and Xie Chiyuan also only just learned about Pei Si's situation. Everyone was in a bad mood, and even the initial joking around had vanished.
The plane flew for several hours.
While Yu An was still sitting on the plane, the kids on the island gradually realized that something was wrong.
Eight-Zai sat in the lab, acting as a taste tester for the nutritional paste. He ate until he let out a satisfied burp, his little tentacles swaying contentedly.
"The spicy snack flavored nutritional paste is the best!"
Bazai gave his tasting opinion and shamelessly reported, "I'm going to eat ten spicy snack-flavored nutritional pastes tomorrow."
Before Ruan Ke could answer, all the other kids rushed over: "Dr. Ruan, where's our big brother?!"
Dr. Ruan smiled gently and took on the responsibility of comforting the baby.
On the other side.
After a flight that lasted several hours, Yu An landed with Qiu Qiu in her arms.
The entrance to Base 5 was a mess, with a burnt smell in the air and some corpses lying on the ground that hadn't been cleaned up yet.
There were zombies and humans.
Base 5 is close to the East District, so the East District naturally knew about such a big commotion. However, Xie Chiyuan heard from his father that Zhai Man had been busy with personal matters lately and had rarely appeared in public.
"Thank you, Father!!!"
As soon as the group arrived at the base entrance, a roar that nearly shattered their eardrums came from upstairs.
Startled, Qiuqiu hurriedly grabbed Yu An's hand and asked him to cover her ears.
Yu An covered his ears and looked up.
Lu Chao was covered in dirt, and his previously resolute expression crumbled the moment he saw them. He strode downstairs and rushed over. When he reached Xie Chiyuan and Yu An, this tall man, over six feet tall, became like a child who had been beaten and found his adult, completely losing his composure.
"Brother Pei, we can't find Brother Pei."
With red eyes, Lu Chao kept saying to Xie Chiyuan, "Father Xie, what should we do? I've had people looking for him for days, but we really can't find Brother Pei."
Xie Chiyuan looked at him, his tone calm: "What's the panic?"
He said, "Here I am, aren't I?"
With Xie Chiyuan's words, Lu Chao sniffed and finally regained his composure. He nodded: "Yes, Father Xie, you'll definitely be able to find Brother Pei now that you're here."
Lu Chao calmed down quickly. After he calmed down, he led them into the base.
Yu An held Qiu Qiu and wrapped her in a small blanket, which completely covered Qiu Qiu's little wings.
Seeing the child in Yu An's arms, whose face he wouldn't even let anyone see, Lu Chao couldn't help but say, "Little lucky charm, have you and Xie's child grown up this much already?"
Yu An: "..."
Seeing that his eyes were still red, Yu An decided not to argue with him for the time being.
As Lu Chao spoke, he brought up the zombies again: "You came at the right time. Things have been quiet at the base entrance for a while now. Just an hour ago, a huge wave of zombies surged in."
"Uncle Xie, the zombies are evolving and getting stronger, and they even have consciousness. Do you know who's leading this time?"
"who?"
“We had a zombie with us before,” Lu Chao explained to them. “It’s about that story that’s been circulating for a while. There was a zombie looking for a human base, saying it was there to protect the humans.”
"The last zombie disappeared without a trace; I heard it was captured and used for research."
When Lu Chao mentioned this, Yu An immediately knew who it was.
He was the only zombie he knew, Sun Mo.
Yu An hadn't heard any news about Sun Mo for a long time.
He looked up at Lu Chao and asked, "Are you sure it's him? Didn't you say he was dead last time? Why would he attack our base?"
Lu Chao rubbed his face, shook his head, and sighed, "Who knows what zombies are thinking? Besides, we're just food in their eyes. They don't need any reason to attack us."
Back at the base, the interior didn't look very appealing either.
As Yu An passed by the plantation, he saw that half of it had been destroyed. He remembered the person who had given him the seeds, and the other people who had explained a lot about planting to him here last time.
He asked, "Are the people on the plantation still safe?"
Lu Chao paused for a few seconds, then replied, "A few died."
The people who gave Yu An the seeds and the book last time all died in this accident.
Yu An hugged Qiu Qiu tightly, and in an instant, her mood plummeted to rock bottom.
The group continued walking; they weren't there to wander around. Xie Chiyuan and Yu An both had things to do, and there were still living people in the base, including a group of newborns.
For those who are alive, there is no time to continue being sad.
Yu An carried Qiuqiu wherever he went. He told Xie Chiyuan that he was going to the place where Pei Si last went on a mission to see if he could get lucky and find some clues.
"I'll go with Chuchu."
Chiu Chiu was shy, so Yu An asked for a car and planned to go out with her without any other people.
Xie Chiyuan hesitated for a moment, feeling somewhat uneasy.
But Qiuqiu is still an A10, after all. He thought about it and decided that he should still show some respect to A10. While Yu An went to get the car, Xie Chiyuan unexpectedly picked Qiuqiu up from behind.
Chiu Chiu was stunned as she was carried away.
Xie Chiyuan told Yu An to drive, while he held Qiuqiu in his arms and began to instruct her: "You've recovered a bit these past few days, haven't you? Remember, protect my wife when you're out there."
Qiuqiu glanced at Yu An, who was rushing to get the car, and then at Xie Chiyuan in front of her.
He pulled a long face and refused to communicate.
Chapter 79
The vehicles in the base are all specially modified and very durable. Even if zombies try to stop you while you're out there, you can confidently ram them.
Yu An had a good grasp of his driving skills, so he didn't choose the best-looking one, but rather the one that was easiest to drive.
After choosing a car, he sat in it and tried it out.
"This is the one." He made the decision. "It's still early, I'll take my little chick out for a bit."
The person who accompanied him to choose a car knew he was going to find Pei Si and couldn't help but say to him, "Yu An, are you really sure you want to go out alone? It's dangerous outside."
Yu An emphasized: "I am not alone, I am with my dog, Qiuqiu."
The other person thought for a while before realizing that the "chicken" he mentioned was the child he had been holding.
“Yu An, aren’t you going to leave Qiu Qiu at the base? He’s still so young, it’s definitely not safe for you to take him with you! Commander Xie is at the base, it’s much safer than outside.”
Yu An shook her head firmly: "My little Qiuqiu will cry if he can't see me, so I'm going to take him with me."
Just as Yu An had chosen her car, Xie Chiyuan and Qiuqiu reached a heated stage.
Chiu Chiu sat on Xie Chiyuan's arm, reaching out and forcefully pushing Xie Chiyuan's face. His little expression was very serious, and he was visibly trying his best to endure Xie Chiyuan's actions.
Xie Chiyuan, being cheeky, insisted on coming closer to tease her: "Why aren't you crying now? I just pinched you a couple of times on the plane, and you started getting teary-eyed."
"Come on, either answer my instructions or give me a good cry."
Chirp: "!"
Chirp puffed out her cheeks, her little wings trembling slightly. This time, she wasn't trembling with fear, but rather so angry that she was about to use her powers.
Xie Chiyuan, with his sharp eyes, noticed the trembling tip of his wing and instantly yielded: "Little darling, don't be angry, I was just teasing you."
Chiu Chiu didn't want to play with him at all.
After waiting for what felt like an eternity, Chiu Chiu finally heard a voice as beautiful as heavenly music: "Chiu Chiu, Big Brother is back."
Xie Chiyuan heard Yu An's voice and was about to reply, but before he could, his eyes fell on Qiuqiu in his arms, and his eyelids twitched.
The aloof little bird that had been stubbornly refusing to speak to him in his arms changed its expression in an instant upon hearing Yu An's voice.
The cool and aloof little bird instantly transforms into a tearful, crybaby little bird.
The crybaby Xiao Qiu doesn't need to say anything; she just needs to bury her face in her older brother's arms and tremble a couple of times when Xie Chiyuan gets close, and that's enough to maximize the effect.
Yu An cautiously pulled back a small piece of the blanket to check Chirp's wings.
He'd forgotten that Xie Chiyuan had a history of pinching Xiao Qiu's wings on the plane. After checking, Yu An didn't forget to remind him, "I read in a book that you can't just play with Xiao Qiu's wings, or they'll shed feathers."
His dog, Chiu Chiu, naturally sheds during its molting season.
In the past, every time it was shedding season, Qiuqiu would be heartbroken for a long time.
Yu An drove the car over, put Qiu Qiu in the passenger seat, and fastened her seatbelt.
"Xie Chiyuan."
As Yu An was about to leave, she looked up at Xie Chiyuan and softened her tone, saying, "We're leaving now. I have my phone with me, so you can call me if you want to contact me."
Xie Chiyuan raised his hand and rubbed his head, then leaned down and snuggled closer to him in front of Qiuqiu.
"Be careful and come back soon."
"good."
As soon as Yu An finished answering, a kiss landed on his forehead.
After kissing his forehead, Xie Chiyuan couldn't resist giving him a light, fleeting kiss on the lips.