While Lin Xuan and McMullen were engaged in a conversation deep underground that could alter the world's landscape, another crisis was quietly brewing on the sunlit surface.
Dr. Karen Parker stood at the entrance of the repurposed chemical plant in Qingyun Town, taking a deep breath of the air mixed with the scents of chemicals and disinfectant. She pulled off her sterile white gloves, a weary but satisfied smile appearing on her face. After several days of continuous effort by her and her team, the plant had finally successfully calibrated its first "blood toxin" production line.
From today onwards, this red medicinal agent capable of killing the virus would flow incessantly from here like tap water.
"Doctor, everything is on track. We can depart now," a fully armed Marine Corps soldier said respectfully as he walked up to her.
Parker nodded and climbed into a modified military off-road vehicle. Her next objective was the "Hope City Base." According to intelligence, there was a large pharmaceutical factory there that could be utilized, and she needed to get the second production line running as soon as possible.
The off-road vehicle's engine roared to life, and it sped away from Qingyun Town, heading toward Hope City.
Inside the vehicle, the atmosphere was relatively relaxed. Protecting Dr. Parker was a five-man Marine Corps squad; compared to the taciturn and strictly disciplined Black Watch, these soldiers were clearly much more lively.
"Honestly, Doctor, choosing us to protect you was truly a wise move!" a soldier grinning while wiping his gun barrel said. "If you'd let those stuffy jars from Black Watch come, the silence on this trip would've bored us to death!"
Hearing this, Dr. Parker only responded with a polite and gentle smile, nodding without saying much. She leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes to rest while her mind continued to draft the next experimental plan.
"Hey, brothers, let me tell you a secret!" another soldier lowered his voice mysteriously. "I'm telling you, in 'that world,' in my previous life, I was personally hacked to death by Alex Mercer! At the time, I'd run out of bullets and went head-to-head with him, dying a heroic death!"
"You're just full of it, Jack!" the captain in the passenger seat scoffed.
"I remember it clearly. You were ambushed by a walker that fell from the sky, and it split your head open with one claw. What Mercer? You didn't even see his face!"
"Exactly! This kid only knows how to brag; we just didn't want to expose him!"
"Right, right, right. In the end, it was us brothers who rushed up and blew that walker to bits with a rocket launcher to avenge you!"
The cabin was filled with a cheerful atmosphere as the soldiers teased and exposed each other's tall tales, using this method to dispel the boredom of the journey and the oppression of the apocalypse.
Just then, an inconspicuous mosquito flew silently into the driver's cabin and landed on the neck of the driver, who was focused on the road. The mosquito's proboscis gently pierced the skin; the driver only scratched it subconsciously, not paying it any mind.
A soldier suddenly shifted the topic, looking at Dr. Parker with a gossiping tone.
"Speaking of which, Doctor... you and that Mercer... what exactly happened back then?"
As soon as this question was asked, the cabin instantly fell silent. Everyone knew that this was the deepest scar in Dr. Parker's heart.
Dr. Parker's body stiffened slightly. She slowly opened her eyes, a complex and indefinable emotion flashing through her beautiful green eyes—there was nostalgia, pain, but more of a sense of relieved sorrow. She shook her head and turned toward the window, watching the desolate scenery flash by as she whispered:
"'It' is no longer 'him.' Alex Mercer... died a long time ago."
The convoy traveled across the wilderness for nearly an hour.
"Huh?! I say, brothers, is this Hope Base too far? Why aren't we there yet?" Jack, the soldier who had been bragging earlier, couldn't help but complain.
The captain in the passenger seat also frowned. He picked up his tactical tablet and took a look, his expression instantly changing. On the screen, the blue dot representing their position was flashing in a blank area; all satellite and communication signals had been jammed!
"Hey, hey, hey! Driver, stop! Stop immediately!" The captain suddenly realized something was wrong and shouted sternly.
However, instead of stopping, the driver's mouth split into an extremely eerie, inhuman smile.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The captain reacted extremely quickly. Without a moment's hesitation, he drew the pistol from his waist and fired three consecutive shots into the back of the driver's head!
The off-road vehicle let out a piercing screech of friction, swerving off the road and crashing into a withered tree before coming to a halt.
The four Marine Corps members reacted the moment the shots rang out. They kicked open the doors and quickly exited the vehicle, forming a 360-degree defensive perimeter around the off-road vehicle, their muzzles pointing alertly in all directions.
"Reporting, Captain, no signal! We've lost contact with the base!"
"Where are we?" The captain looked at the surrounding environment, an ominous premonition rising in his heart. They had deviated from the planned route and stumbled into a large village that wasn't marked on the map. The village was deathly still, with all the houses' doors and windows tightly shut, exuding an indescribable eeriness.
Inside the car, Karen Parker had already ducked down the moment the shots were fired, hiding her delicate body tightly under the seat, her face filled with worry and fear.
Suddenly, all the doors of the houses in the village creaked open simultaneously.
Countless figures rushed out from the shadows!
They weren't zombies, but they were more terrifying than zombies! They were humans, but their eyes held only madness and bloodthirsty desire. They had eerie Crimson Crosses painted on their bodies and faces, and they brandished kitchen knives, machetes, and even sharp blades ground directly from bone. They let out unintelligible roars and filthy insults, rushing toward the off-road vehicle like a tide!
The captain understood instantly—they had fallen into a meticulously designed trap! That driver had been infected or controlled long ago!
"Rat-tat-tat-tat—!"
The four Marine Corps members didn't panic in the slightest. With their backs to the off-road vehicle, the assault rifles in their hands spat out lethal tongues of fire, mowing down the madmen in the front. But these madmen were unafraid of death, continuing to charge over the corpses of their companions; there were simply too many of them!
"Shit! There's too many of them! Changing magazines!"
"Hold the line! Protect the Doctor!"
...
Meanwhile, in the underground laboratory of the F University Command Center.
Lin Xuan was engaged in an in-depth discussion with Dr. McMullen regarding the "Intron Lock" of the virus. McMullen's knowledge and insights gave him a completely new understanding of the nature of the virus in this world.
Just then, a sharp and urgent alarm rang out frantically in his mind!
[Warning! Warning! Key special character "Karen Parker" is encountering fatal danger! Vital signs are dropping rapidly! Estimated death within 10 minutes! Once a special character dies, they cannot be recalled by any means!]
The smile on Lin Xuan's face instantly froze.
Dr. Parker is in danger?
"System, where is Dr. Parker now?" Lin Xuan asked the system anxiously in his mind.
He didn't want to lose a special and important talent.
[Reporting to host, Dr. Karen Parker has entered an unknown signal-jammed area; precise positioning is impossible.]
"Then can you unblock the jamming?!"
The system was silent for a moment, seemingly performing ultra-high-speed calculations, before providing a solution that Lin Xuan hadn't expected.
[Host, the system has automatically screened the optimal solution for the current situation. However, executing this solution requires the immediate recycling of the special character Dr. "Raymond MacMillan" as an energy guide.]
As if sensing Lin Xuan's hesitation, the system immediately added:
[Host does not need to worry. Dr. McMullen's character card can still be summoned later. However, if Karen Parker dies, it will be a permanent loss.]
Lin Xuan's breath hitched.
He turned his head and looked at Dr. McMullen, who was gazing at him with concern.
"What's wrong, Commander? What happened?" McMullen asked, noticing the drastic change in Lin Xuan's expression.
Lin Xuan didn't answer. His complex gaze lingered on Dr. McMullen's face for several seconds.
There were less than ten minutes left.