Chapter 20: So Good, Lingling p2
The little zombie thought for a long time but couldn’t figure it out. He could only obediently go back to eating his breakfast.
The breakfast was a bit cold, so he had to heat it up in the microwave.
And Shi Changyuan had returned from the kitchen to the study, as if he were contacting someone.
The little zombie’s ears immediately perked up, but unfortunately, he couldn’t hear anything.
Suspicious!
Very suspicious!
He must be up to some evil scheme now. I have to catch him in the act!
The little zombie stuffed his breakfast into his mouth in a few bites and ran to the study to stare at Shi Changyuan, trying to find some flaw by questioning him face to face.
Standing in front of Shi Changyuan’s desk, the little zombie wanted to say something, but the food in his mouth hadn’t been chewed and swallowed yet. He just looked very anxious.
Shi Changyuan looked up at him and understood what the young man wanted to ask. He said with a smile, “If we’re leaving the city, I need to go to the military to borrow some people.”
“Lingling can wait for me in the lab after finishing breakfast.”
Lin Ling: !!! See, there is a plan.
If this ordinary instruction were given on any other day, Lin Ling would have obediently complied. He had no desire to go to the military and interact with those dangerous humans. But today, he couldn’t help but be extra vigilant.
The little zombie was just about to find some way to go with him when he heard Shi Changyuan continue with a smile, “Or, does Lingling want to come with me?”
“With you?”
Lin Ling was a bit uncertain and very hesitant.
Something was fishy. It had been fishy two or three times today. The little zombie thought for a moment and decided he had to go along to see what was going on.
The military was some distance from the research institute and required a vehicle.
When the black off-road vehicle appeared in front of the little zombie, Lin Ling recognized it at a glance as the one that had taken him away.
Even the privacy glass on the windows was the same!!!
Lin Ling, “stirred by the scene,” excitedly ran over and, as if identifying the scene of the crime, recounted the “incident.”
“You were sitting right here!”
“I couldn’t see from the outside, so I got a little closer, and the door suddenly opened!”
“Before I lost consciousness, the last thing I saw was you, you evil man in a white coat!”
Hearing the nickname the young man had given him, Shi Changyuan was stunned for a moment, then smiled and argued sophistically, “How can you blame me for that?”
“I was just resting there, and then I saw a little zombie sneaking up.”
“Although Lingling is very cute, as an ordinary human, I would be scared too.”
“There was a zombie-repelling drug I left by the car. Lingling was naturally knocked out after staying there for half a minute.”
Shi Changyuan made himself sound so innocent, but the little zombie didn’t believe a word.
“You opened the car door before I fainted!”
“That was because I didn’t want Lingling to faint directly on the ground.”
The two held their own versions of the story, and neither could convince the other. Anyway, in the little zombie’s eyes, he had been kidnapped!
A human, in the territory of a zombie horde, had kidnapped the Zombie Emperor!
“At that time, I had developed some powder to repel zombies. I didn’t know how large its effective range was, so I went to City B to experiment, and then I ran into Lingling.”
“The experiment failed at that time.”
The most believable lies are half-truths. With this statement, although Lin Ling still felt something was wrong, it was logically sound.
Because the experiment failed, he had noticed the commotion, and in a situation where he didn’t know if he was friend or foe, he had been knocked out…
It sounded like there was no problem.
“Really?”
The little zombie glanced at Shi Changyuan, then at the off-road vehicle in front of him. He was still half-believing, but well, what happened in the past was in the past. There was no need to dwell on it.
“Let’s go, to the military!”
With that, the little zombie climbed into the passenger seat of the off-road vehicle.
This car had been modified. It was very spacious, converted from a seven-seater to a four-seater. The extra space was filled with many boxes and cases.
If there were also some test tubes and other bottles and jars, it would look like a small mobile laboratory.
The off-road vehicle left the research institute and drove towards the city for about an hour before another wall appeared in Lin Ling’s sight.
And in this area, the patrolling sentries were even more vigilant. All approaching vehicles had to stop for inspection. Vehicles were not allowed within five hundred meters; the people in them had to get out and walk.
Shi Changyuan’s license plate seemed to be special. After his identity was verified, he could drive straight through the main gate.
“The people in the military might be a bit intimidating. Lingling doesn’t have to pay them any mind.”
Before getting out of the car, Shi Changyuan made a point of reminding him.
How intimidating can they be?
The little zombie grumbled to himself. At first, he didn’t understand, but the moment he entered the military gate, he understood.
The explosives and cannons parked at the gate made Lin Ling gasp.
He couldn’t imagine how much it would hurt to be hit by those things.
“These aren’t for fighting zombies.”
Shi Changyuan ruffled Lin Ling’s hair and comforted him.
“I know.”
Lin Ling answered in a small voice.
“There’s no other way. Before the base was established, ordinary humans had to acquire some firearms to survive in this apocalypse.”
“But firearms aren’t just for dealing with zombies.”
As soon as order was slightly restored in many human bases, they began to regulate all kinds of firearms again.
Lin Ling looked at the strict order within the military.
He suddenly wondered, both humans and zombies fight among themselves for survival, survival of the fittest.
Then what is the difference between humans and zombies?
Before he could figure it out, a tall human walked towards them. It was impossible to tell if he was an ability user just from his build.
Seeing Shi Changyuan, the man laughed heartily and teased familiarly, “What wind blew Professor Shi here?”
So tall, like a giant.
Lin Ling half-hid behind Shi Changyuan. As the man approached, he had to tilt his head back to see his face clearly.
“Yo, and you brought a little guy with you.”
“When did you become so popular at the research institute?”
A thought flashed through Lin Ling’s mind. He had picked up a piece of information.
Shi Changyuan was unpopular at the research institute, but he seemed to be quite popular in the military.
“I’m leaving the city at the end of the month. I’m here to borrow a squad.”
“Sure.”
The man was very straightforward. “But Old Yang has already left the city. I’m afraid he won’t be back by the end of the month. I can only put together another team for you.”
“Mm, you can find someone.”
“You don’t trust the people I find? Are you taking this little guy with you too?”
“Mm.”
“You kid, you’re willing to take such a pretty little thing out to rough it? Can’t make it at the research institute anymore?”
The two exchanged a few brief words and settled the arrangements for the end of the month.
Lin Ling’s gaze shifted back and forth between Shi Changyuan and the tall man opposite him, his eyes full of inquiry and curiosity.
“Hey, little one, my surname is Wu, Wu Zhou. What’s your name?”
“My name is Lin Ling.”
“Alright, we’re brothers from now on.” Wu Zhou scratched his head and smiled at Lin Ling. “I know everyone who meets me for the first time is curious. If you have any questions, just ask Professor Shi. He knows a lot.”
“I’ll get back to work now.”
With that, the man turned and left in a hurry, shouting at others in a loud voice.
Hearing this, the little zombie immediately turned his head and looked at Shi Changyuan.
“He’s not an ability user.”
“He was one of the first volunteers for the zombie virus-suppressing serum and the ability-enhancing potion experiments.”
Wu Zhou used to be a boxer. After the apocalypse, he neither mutated nor awakened any abilities. He was just an ordinary person.
Without firearms, he relied on his previous strength and fighting skills to survive in the apocalypse. He was betrayed by a teammate on his way to a human base and was infected.
Just before his human life signs disappeared, he happened to run into Shi Changyuan, who was testing a semi-finished potion. His life was saved.
“His physical changes were caused by an ordinary person using the ability-enhancing potion.”
“Although it’s not considered a negative side effect, after the potion was successfully developed, due to the scarcity of the potion itself, they didn’t allow it to be wasted on enhancing the physique of ordinary people.”
The moment he finished speaking, the little zombie understood why Shi Changyuan was more popular with the people in the military.
Because these people faced zombies head-on when they left the city, and they had all, more or less, been saved by the potions Shi Changyuan developed. These life-saving favors made his personality and style of doing things seem trivial in comparison.
Many ability user squads had taken on missions to protect researchers. Some researchers always had a superior attitude, acting like saviors, yet they were incredibly afraid of death.
For someone of Shi Changyuan’s status to have such a fearless personality was extremely rare.
The little zombie nodded and summarized.
“It’s all thanks to the contrast with his peers.”
Hearing this conclusion, Shi Changyuan couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“He’s an ordinary person. Can he also join an ability user squad?” The little zombie looked at Wu Zhou’s departing back, still having other questions.
“He can.”
“His marksmanship is very accurate.”
“Zombies aren’t afraid of large-scale firearms, and biochemical weapons are completely ineffective. The only effective way is to attack a zombie’s weak point.”
At this point, Shi Changyuan, worried about scaring the little zombie beside him, deliberately paused and didn’t continue.
But he hadn’t expected that Lin Ling beside him would say it in one go.
“A headshot.”
“So Lingling knows.”
Shi Changyuan was genuinely surprised this time.
“You know too?”
The little zombie was also shocked.
That’s not right! Isn’t this a secret only combat personnel know? How does even an ordinary person like Shi Changyuan know?
“Of course I know. Studying the brain structure of zombies was the first project at the research institute.”
“You really do dissect zombies!”
“Wait.”
Lin Ling stared with his beautiful eyes, his mind in chaos, trying to find the most crucial and important piece of information in this pile.
“Then you still put this metal ring on my neck.”
“This isn’t a zombie’s weak point. It can’t pose any threat to me.”
Hearing the young man’s words, Shi Changyuan lowered his gaze to the metal ring on his neck, casually fiddled with it with his finger, and smiled.
“This is just an ordinary collar. It really can’t pose any threat.”
“It was just to scare Lingling.”
With that, Shi Changyuan retracted his finger, his tone unchanged, but his eyes darkened in an instant, carrying an unreadable emotion.
“However, what I’m more curious about is that Lingling clearly knows his weak point is his head.”
“Why did you still dare to deliver it into my hands on our first meeting?”
Following Shi Changyuan’s words, the little zombie instantly recalled the first night they met.
He had forced his way into Shi Changyuan’s apartment. After drying his hair, it was Shi Changyuan who had held his head, his fingertips brushing through his scalp, combing his hair, and tying it into a little braid.
And, the faint words from behind him.
“So good, Lingling.”
