Captain Zhang said, "Calm down first. There's clearly something wrong with Professor Pei's body. Let's avoid touching him if possible."
That was easy to say, but moments ago, not only Pei Xin, but also Captain Zhang, Lao Shi, Huang Jinghe, and Zhou Zhiye had all already touched Professor Pei, even if unwillingly. If Professor Pei's corpse really carried something dangerous, then they had probably already been exposed.
At this point, Ling Jiang spoke up. "When you handled Professor Pei, none of you removed your insulated suits. Without direct skin contact, there shouldn't be a problem… I think. After all, these suits were developed by the base with advanced tech."
Right, there was that I think at the end. No one could say with certainty that they were safe.
Because of the sweltering heat, once they entered the dense forest, mosquitoes and insects swarmed them relentlessly. Even when they slept lightly, no one removed their insulated suits.
No one except Grandpa Pei.
The elderly man had trouble breathing with the suit on, fine while awake, but unbearable once he fell asleep. So after lying down, he had taken it off.
Everyone thought it was safe. They were indoors, surrounded by elite teammates. If danger approached, surely someone would notice ahead of time.
Thinking back, Professor Pei's reaction might have been because he took the suit off. Among everyone present, only Grandpa Pei had his insulated suit draped over him instead of wearing it.
Captain Zhang said, "Since we have that suspicion, no one should take their insulated suits off again. As for the four of us… we'll just monitor ourselves closely." He added, "Where are the sanitation tools? We should disinfect ourselves. It might help."
However—
There were no sanitation tools left. As their team members were taken away one by one, the sanitation equipment had gone with them. That meant, even if some unknown virus clung to their suits, they had no way to clean themselves now.
Captain Zhang sighed. "Then let's at least keep a safe distance from each other."
Lao Gao frowned. "Feels like you're splitting up our squad into smaller groups."
He didn't say it outright, but he was implying Captain Zhang was deliberately trying to separate them.
Hearing the suspicion in Lao Gao's tone only worsened Captain Zhang's headache. "No. This is a dangerous situation. Can't we trust each other a little? Besides, we won't be far apart. I'm thinking of everyone's safety here."
Lao Gao glanced at Lan Jin. Seeing that Lan Jin didn't object, he didn't push the issue further. Captain Zhang exhaled. "You all… Never mind. Let's just focus on completing the mission. This place is too dangerous. I can't do this without you. I've said this much already, so at least give me that little bit of trust."
The group didn't reply. Instead, everyone turned to Lan Jin. After all, she had been the only one openly at odds with Captain Zhang. Whether or not they trusted him, their stance would follow Lan Jin's lead.
Of course, trust was one thing, but each of them knew their lives were in their own hands.
Since Lan Jin didn't speak up, they silently decided to carry on as before.
By now, there were fourteen people left in the team.
Lan Jin, Lao Gao, Huang Jinghe, and Ling Jiang; Captain Zhang, Lao Shi, and Zhou Zhiye; the Shen siblings; Xi Yu; and Pei Xin—these were the eleven Lan Jin could name.
Of the other three, one was part of the professor's team, about thirty years old, quiet and reserved, but with a distinctive face that made him recognizable.
The last two were Captain Zhang's men, both with abilities, both around twenty-five.
But one thing stood out: most of those remaining were from the H City base.
What about the others? Setting aside whether they lived or died, apart from the Shen siblings, were all the other bases' members just here for a "day trip"?
Those other team members hadn't seemed weak at all.
Lan Jin sighed softly. "Let's go."
The group continued on quietly, walking for a long time without speaking. Then Lan Jin asked, "Captain Zhang, if I finish this mission, will it be too late for me to leave the base completely?"
Captain Zhang's lips twitched. "Aren't you supposed to head to the Capital City base next? Why quit now? Besides, we don't even know if the H City base will still be there when we return."
So what was there to quit from?
Lao Gao asked, "If the H City base is gone, are we really heading to the Capital City base? That's far, isn't it? Can we even get there?"
"Shouldn't we be worrying about whether we can even make it out alive right now?" Captain Zhang replied bluntly. "But yes, we're registered members of the military base. No matter what happens to the H City base, we can live in any other base. That's policy."
He added, "The outside world is nothing compared to life in the base. You just had bad luck this time. Missions aren't usually this dangerous. The base was built over a year ago, and this is the first time we've had such a major mission. If you don't believe me, ask the others."
By "others," he meant Lao Shi from the J City base, and the Shen siblings from the R City base.
Lan Jin glanced at their faces. Shen Zhiyan said, "That's true. Even before the base was fully built, we were already under its command. But in all this time, nothing has matched the difficulty of this mission."
So yes, they might never face another task like this again. Survival came first. Getting out alive was the only goal.
Captain Zhang's words were reasonable, but to anyone listening, he still sounded like a smooth talker.
They walked for over an hour. Even if they hadn't reached their destination, they should have made significant progress. Yet somehow, they found themselves right back where they started.
Before them stood the same small wooden cabin.
Almost everyone's expression darkened.
Captain Zhang frowned. "If I'm not mistaken, isn't this the cabin we just left?"
"No mistake," Lao Shi said, pointing to the corpse lying at the cabin's entrance. "There's Professor Pei. Same position as before."
No one dared touch Professor Pei's skeleton or his insulated suit, unsure of the exact cause of his horrifying state. So they'd left him lying there, exactly as he was.