Fu Yan, startled, released his hold on Jiang Xinghuai. Jiang Xinghuai froze as well. Everyone in the room turned their attention to Teacher Geng, who was slowly opening his eyes on the bed.
Teacher Geng’s eyes opened very slowly. He saw faint white light and several blurred faces. He couldn’t recognize who these people were, but he heard Jiang Xinghuai calling him a “damn fatty”.
Through the whole school, only Jiang Xinghuai dared call him that.
“Ah… ah ah…” Teacher Geng tried to call out to Jiang Xinghuai.
But he found his tongue stiff, completely immobile.
“Ah… ah…” Teacher Geng tried again.
“Old Geng!” Jiang Xinghuai finally realized, lunged forward, and hugged Teacher Geng tightly.
“Ah ah… ah ah…” This time, Teacher Geng wasn’t trying to speak. He was just struggling to get a breath out, almost unable to pull it in.
This damn kid is going to crush me.
“What’s wrong, Old Geng?” Jiang Xinghuai asked, hearing the abnormal sounds from Teacher Geng.
Fu Yan put on his gloves properly, checked him over, and replied simply: “The tongue muscles are stiff. Not just the tongue. The virus can cause all the muscles in the limbs, including the torso, to stiffen. It all takes time to recover.”
“Ah ah… ah…” Teacher Geng tried to call out a few more times.
Come on, damn kid, get up.
“What’s he saying?” Jiang Xinghuai tried to figure it out for a moment, but still couldn’t guess.
“What do you want to say to Teacher Geng?” Fu Yan asked with a soft laugh, turning the question back on him.
“Ah ah… ah…” Teacher Geng spoke again.
Get up!
Jiang Xinghuai stared at Old Geng, who looked like he had lost half his body weight. After a moment, he pouted, hugged him, and buried his head on his shoulder.
Jiang Xinghuai: “Old Geng…”
Teacher Geng struggled to breathe—
Come on, damn kid, get up!
“I… I missed you,” Jiang Xinghuai whispered.
Old Geng froze for a moment, then slowly lifted his stiff arms and wrapped them around him.
Two hours later, Teacher Geng was able to get out of bed on his own, though still unsteady. His body still needed time to readjust.
“Does this mean the antibodies worked?” Kang Cheng looked at Teacher Geng leaning on Jiang Xinghuai and practicing walking behind the glass wall, a hint of joy on his face. He then turned to Zheng Yi: “Can the ‘antibodies’ now be injected into others?”
“Let alone producing them in batches, the safety alone cannot be assessed. Personally, I think without proper experiments, extracting ‘antibodies’ this way is extremely risky,” Zheng Yi shook his head and took off his protective suit. “And we don’t have the experimental equipment or conditions here.”
Kang Cheng paused for a moment, then turned to look at Jiang Xinghuai, who was smiling and waving at them from the room, and said, “He must reach the main base safely.”
Zhu Gaofei frowned. “How do you plan to get there? Drive?”
“No. Our weapons are nearly depleted. Driving there would be far too dangerous. We can’t risk even the slightest consequence from encountering danger,” Kang Cheng said, frowning as he thought. “Right now, there’s only one way. We have to find a way to contact the main base. We have a device that can send messages. As long as there’s a signal, we can reach the main base.”
“The signal on our side went completely dead one day after the virus broke out. I had considered taking people to repair the signal tower, but due to the technical difficulty and the tower’s height, it never happened,” Zhu Gaofei said. “Besides, that area has gathered a lot of infected because of its location. I don’t think that’s a feasible option.”
“Where’s the signal tower?” Kang Cheng asked.
“I’ve been over there. It’s too dangerous,” Zhu Gaofei frowned. “Your chances of success are no higher than ten percent.”
“Where is it?” Kang Cheng asked again.
“The main base isn’t far from us. Helicopters consume a lot of fuel, but we—”
“Zhu Ge, I’ve already considered everything you’ve thought of. Right now, contacting the main base is the best way to protect the antibodies,” Kang Cheng said with a gentle smile, cutting him off. “This is my mission.”
Zhu Gaofei looked at him and, after a moment, spoke: “It’s near the city university, on the outskirts of the city.”
“Ten percent. What does that mean for us, special forces, Zhu Ge? Have you forgotten?” Kang Cheng patted Zhu Gaofei on the shoulder and said with a smile, “One percent for us is a hundred percent.”
Zhu Gaofei laughed and cursed under his breath.
“I’ll take the team tomorrow. Taozi, you stay behind,” Kang Cheng said.
“Captain—” Lei Pengtao immediately panicked.
“If we don’t come back, you’ll take my place,” Kang Cheng continued, looking at Lei Pengtao. “You must ensure the antibodies remain safe until contact is made with the main base. We can’t let them be lost again. We are soldiers. We must never become criminals.”
Lei Pengtao’s eyes welled with tears. He was the youngest in this squad. Kang Cheng had always cared for him, guiding him in everything.
He understood. This was both an order and Kang Cheng’s final care.
Even if Kang Cheng went and never returned, Lei Pengtao would not let the uniform he wore be stained with blood in vain.
He would complete the mission.
“Yes,” Lei Pengtao gritted his teeth and snapped to attention, saluting.
The next day, as the sun peeked from the morning mist, faint golden light spilled over the edges of this desolate city.
Drawn by the fierce wind, the infected stiffened, tilting their heads back to look at the helicopter flying off into the distance.
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