Chapter 53

Flesh and severed limbs rained down from the sky like a shower of gore. This cross-species confrontation ultimately ended with the Hornet Swarm changing direction and disappearing over the horizon. But at the very least, this was the first successful human counterattack against the Heterogeneous Species that Su Xing had witnessed with her own eyes.

After the battle ended, the car Su Xing and her companions had parked under the sparse tree trunks was quickly discovered.

“You two, get out of the car!”

Three suits of Powered Armor stopped in front of the vehicle. Staring down the dark muzzles of their cannons, Wen Ruyao and Su Xing slowly got out as instructed.

“Is it just the two of you in the car?”

The facial metal shield of the armor in the middle opened, revealing the face of the operator inside—a young man. He carefully scrutinized the armored vehicle’s open doors and asked again.

Su Xing glanced back at the empty armored car, paused, and said, “Yes, just the two of us.”

Shan Mingxin had left long before the slaughter outside had even ended. She had slipped away silently. Su Xing hadn’t even noticed when she had gone.

“Stand still.” The man released his weapon with his left hand and aimed one of the armor’s arms at the two women. A beam of purple light instantly enveloped them.

“Beginning Contamination Index detection… Contamination Index 100%, severe over-limit. Alert, severe over-limit—”

The mechanical electronic voice rang out abruptly. The man’s face changed, and he suddenly raised the cannon barrel towards the unarmed Su Xing and her companion.

“Hey, wait. They’re just a couple of Mutants, and it looks like the early stage at that. Maybe we can take them back for the Doctor,” the companion beside him said, pressing down on his arm.

The man hesitated for a few seconds, but still raised his weapon, his tone firm. “Dr. Xu’s quota for capturing test subjects has already been met today. Have you forgotten the orders from above?! Any Mutant variant must be—”

“Bang!”

A few drops of blood splattered onto Su Xing’s fair face. Her body stiffened, her eyes filled with sheer shock.

Of the three suits of Powered Armor standing before them, the man in the middle who had aimed his weapon at them and was about to act—his head had exploded into a pulp of blood. Bright red blood continuously streamed down the hard, silvery-white metal casing of his machine.

The humanoid armor on the right lowered its arm, revealing a dark, thin face.

“Y-You, why did you kill him here?” the remaining man asked nervously.

“What’s the big deal? It was a perfect opportunity. If we go back and make up some excuse later, no one will be suspicious. This machine can just get a new pilot.”

“…Fine. Then what do we do with these two?”

Hearing their words, Su Xing snapped back from her shock. It wasn’t her fault; what had just happened was far too sudden. These men were supposed to be military personnel stationed at this temporary airport, weren’t they? But why were their actions so abnormal?

“Name.” The dark-skinned man said, looking at them.

“Wen Ruyao? Are you sure that’s your real name?” After hearing Wen Ruyao state her name, both men’s expressions changed. They exchanged a look.

“…” Noticing their strange reaction, Wen Ruyao’s brow furrowed slightly, and she discreetly stepped back half a pace.

“Forget it. Take them back first. After all, this is something Colonel Qin personally ordered. The first person with that same name we’ve found in all these days.”

Colonel Qin? Surname Qin, military personnel… Could it be?

Su Xing glanced sideways at Wen Ruyao. It was something even she had realized, and as expected, the other woman had also sensed it. The five fingers hidden beneath Wen Ruyao’s sleeve, tense just moments before, relaxed slightly.

“But you’re already infected. So let me make some things clear upfront. According to the consensus reached by all known Human Bases, a Mutant human does not possess the right to enjoy the shelter of the base while alive, unless they serve as a test subject contributing to research.”

“If you want to stay alive, you must hide your true nature once you’re inside. You can’t breathe a word of what you just saw to anyone. Otherwise, it’s death.”

“So, you were supposed to kill us just now? What’s your purpose for not doing so?”

Wen Ruyao stared intently at the two men before her. One of them hadn’t opened his faceplate and was completely encased in an impenetrable metal protective shell. Even the sharpest fangs of a Variant would find it hard to penetrate. This was exactly why humanity chose to use Powered Armor as a weapon after the apocalypse. It allowed humans, whose bodies were inherently fragile, to become stronger, more powerful, and to stand on equal footing before monsters with far more powerful physiques.

“Purpose?” The dark-skinned man looked at her cold, pointed questions with some amusement. Although they had witnessed the abilities of some mutated humans, while encased in their armor, they didn’t seem to be maintaining much vigilance against the two women ahead.

“You should count yourself lucky. There’s a big shot looking for someone with the same name as you. If that person is you…” The man looked at Wen Ruyao, a bitter twitch pulling at the corner of his mouth. “Congratulations. Before the world goes completely to hell, you’ve gotten yourself a bed where you can sleep soundly.”

“…”

A thought-provoking statement.

As she pondered this, a sudden release of pressure around her heart made Su Xing belatedly aware of her own racing heartbeat. She hadn’t fully adapted to her mutated body yet. Ever since waking up, she always felt a strange, indescribable perception of her surroundings. For instance, Wen Ruyao, who had been standing right beside her, exuded an attraction that felt exceptionally peculiar to Su Xing. She could resonate with fleeting pulses of the other woman’s spirit fluctuations—just a second ago, Wen Ruyao’s taut emotions, which had even carried a hint of killing intent, had clearly subsided.

“It’s almost dark. We have other matters to deal with. Don’t waste time on them,” the dark man’s companion reminded him. “But they’re still Mutants after all. Won’t there be trouble if we smuggle them in like this?”

“Relax. Let’s first confirm whether she’s the person the Colonel is looking for.” The dark-skinned man turned around. His gaze swept over the sturdy, intact Light Armored Vehicle, and he showed a hint of surprise. “Military issue? Today’s haul is indeed bountiful. Start it up and follow us.”

The situation was far more complex than anticipated. On the way, Su Xing thought of several ways they might escape. While these armors seemed indestructible, after carefully observing the mechanical design, she wondered: if she used the tenacious mycelium within her body to tangle the joints connecting their limbs, could she stall these cold machines? And with Wen Ruyao’s powerful psychic power, strong enough to command the retreat of the mosquito swarm… although she didn’t know if Wen Ruyao could interfere with the armor’s electromagnetic signals. If she could—

But even if they did manage to break free, where could they go? Where else was there to go? Right now, the last and only remaining powerful organization of human civilization was right here. Although the other side had unilaterally stripped them of their “human status” and held a hostile attitude, Su Xing and her companion ultimately still possessed human reason. Subconsciously, they didn’t accept the conclusion that “infected human Mutants will all eventually lose their reason and completely mutate.”

To survive. To live on, like a normal person, just as before. That was the most normal and fundamental desire and goal in this End Times.

As twilight fell, in the distance, Su Xing saw several towering lighthouses suspended in the dark night. Their faint glimmers of light flickered precariously in the boundless cold night like candle flames about to be swallowed by the darkness.

The Temporary Airport wasn’t originally an airport. It was just a vast, open plot of flatland in the suburbs of S City, surrounded by a high iron fence. There seemed to be a few metal gun emplacements on the outer perimeter as well, but the light was too dim for Su Xing to see clearly.

The checkpoint at the entrance was jammed with a long line of vehicles. But most of them didn’t look like ordinary civilian private cars; they seemed more like special military vehicles. The queue was mostly orderly, but because of the dangers of nighttime, there was some pushing, shoving, and clamoring among the crowd.

“I’m from T30 Squad, responsible for important resource collection at University City. I’ve brought back a renowned mathematics professor. Let us get tested first.”

“Is your Security Team’s operational efficiency too slow? It’s already dark and you’re still keeping us blocked outside! You want us all to die?!”

“Why isn’t the special passage open today? We’re the Special Investigation Team directly under Dr. Xu…”

Bypassing the congested main gate, Su Xing and Wen Ruyao drove behind the armor and entered the underground through a special elevator at a side entrance.

She hadn’t expected that beneath the Temporary Airport, announced on the broadcast as a place for transferring survivors, there was actually a hidden, secretive base. Or perhaps, the Underground Base was the true core of this Temporary Airport.

“Get in line over there for testing.”

Since it was a dedicated armor passage, the first place they reached after entering was the armor docking bay. After getting out of the car, the dark-skinned man, now detached from his mech, led them down a narrow corridor. At the end of the corridor stood a woman holding a gun.

“These two are…” The woman’s gaze locked onto Wen Ruyao’s and Su Xing’s faces. She frowned and asked.

“Survivors rescued outside today. I brought them,” the dark-skinned man said, stepping forward. As he spoke the second half of his sentence, he gave the woman a meaningful look.

Receiving his signal, the woman didn’t ask further. She naturally stepped aside, revealing the door behind her. “Take off your clothes after you go in.”

Su Xing, ahead of Wen Ruyao, walked past the woman and went in first.

The door was sensor-activated. It automatically closed after she entered. Inside was a small, sealed chamber. The white overhead lights were intense, and the four walls were silvery-white.

“Full body scan will commence in three seconds. Please do not wear any clothing.”

The cold, stiff mechanical voice suddenly rang out from above. Su Xing froze for a moment, then heard the cold, impersonal electronic countdown: “Three… Two…”

She took a sharp breath and quickly stripped off her clothes.

After taking her clothes off, apart from the overhead lights flickering once, nothing unusual happened in the room. A few seconds later, just as Su Xing began looking around with suspicious eyes, the mechanical voice finally sounded again: “Scan passed. Please change into the indoor sterile suit.”

That… passed? Just like that?

A horizontal metal panel suddenly slid out automatically from the smooth metal wall beside her. A set of white clothes lay on top of it. Su Xing hesitated for half a second, then picked it up and slipped it on.

After she exited from the other end of the room, Wen Ruyao also emerged safely not long after. The two of them, Mutants with a 100% Contamination Index, had successfully passed this Underground Base’s security check just like that.

Immediately after, someone led them further inside.

“Name, gender, age, and occupation.”

They were brought to a spacious hall. There were noticeably many more people here, divided into orderly lines. Opposite them, behind long tables, sat several people in white uniforms. Devices resembling computers were placed in front of them.

“Bai Miao, female, 34 years old, mathematics professor at H University…”

The person in line ahead of Su Xing was a woman with long hair. After she finished her self-introduction, the staff member opposite her verified the information and handed her a small golden badge.

“May I ask what this is?”

The staff member smiled and said, “This is a Survival Value Assessment granted based on your estimated contribution points, Professor Bai. You’ll understand later and find it useful. Please keep it safe.”

“Next.”

Su Xing took the previous person’s place and sat down on the chair. She was asked the same questions as the person before her.