Chapter 36: Searching for Samples
“No!”
I continued shaking my head and explained, “We're all going, but what about Old Wan? Don't forget, he got hurt trying to save you. You have to take care of him here, and absolutely nothing should go wrong!”
“You…” Glasses' eyes widened, and his face flushed. He seemed like he wanted to say something but didn't know how to begin. Actually, I knew he also really wanted to go with me to find the virus sample, but we all left—what about Old Wan lying on the ground?
There's another important point: Glasses is impressive in battle, but when it comes to navigating through an enemy force and coming out unscathed, as far as I know, only Old Wan can do that. Right now, he's poisoned and unconscious. Glasses is the most impulsive when taking action, which makes him unreliable, so I had to make some arrangements. Using the excuse of protecting Old Wan, I had him wait here for me.
How could I not want to act together? But now, with some dead and some injured, there really is no one left to go with me. I had no choice. Among the three of us, Old Wan is the most agile, Glasses has the strongest attack, and I think more; I seem like the weaker one.
There are no hands left to assign, so I have no choice but to give it a try! Looking at the white building in the night, I had already made up my mind. I don't know what dangers might be waiting outside, but no matter what, I have to try. If I find the virus sample in the game, I believe everything will be over, and we will be the last ones standing!
“Glasses, I'll leave Old Wan to you!”
Glasses was reluctant, looking at Old Wan lying on the ground, and sighed: “Alright, just be careful. I don't like waiting for people!”
Glasses opened a crack in the door for me: “On the way to the hospital, I'll keep an eye on the surroundings for you until you get in safely. But once you're inside, I won't be able to see you anymore, so be extra careful!”
“Mm, you too! I'm leaving Old Wan in your care. No matter what happens, you must protect him!”
We reminded each other to be careful, putting caution first.Actually, none of us are the nagging type, but at this moment, there's a sudden feeling of a life-or-death farewell, and I can't help but start to babble like an old lady.
After stepping out the door, gusts of bone-chilling wind came from the darkness, and I couldn't help but shiver. I made an OK gesture to the glasses-wearing person behind me and quietly walked down with my gun.
Before going out, I checked the Thompson submachine gun magazine in my hand and found that there were still 30 bullets left. Although I knew there couldn't be too many bullets, I still sighed in disappointment after seeing it, hoping not to encounter any bio-creatures on the way, otherwise I really wouldn't be able to handle it! ‘Thump!' I quietly walked down the stairs, hiding by the wall to peek at the outside situation. Good, the 13th district is completely silent now, not even a mosquito in sight.
However, the calmer it is, the more uneasy I feel. Who knows whether some ghostly claw might suddenly appear along the way, like that unlucky guard gunner who died inexplicably. I knew that the glasses-wearing person was stationed upstairs with the gun watching for me. I took a deep breath and stepped toward the hospital.
During the run, I anxiously looked around left and right. Seeing the hospital sign getting closer, I felt happy but also became even more alert to my surroundings.
We've arrived! After going upstairs, I pushed open the hospital door. Inside, there was quite a mess—white desks, chairs, files, computers, and such. Seeing these, I instinctively wandered around, picking up files from the floor to look at, opening drawers to check. After half a visit, rifling through the room like a thief, I couldn't help but sigh; I finally encountered the most headache-inducing issue: from Dr. Koro's last words, we only know that the virus sample is hidden in the hospital, but we don't know in which corner of the hospital. The hospital is so big, do I have to check every single place?
Damn it, why doesn't that old man just make it clear? Which corner is it in?!
After wandering around the first floor a few times, I had no choice but to head upstairs.
Here is the second floor; I didn't know if what I wanted was here. The second floor had the same things: desks, computers, files, plus some chairs and cabinets. Not much different from ordinary office buildings.Although there are several rooms, fortunately, none of them are large, and you can get a clear idea just by walking around. The second floor also didn't have anything worth paying attention to. I looked at the folders and threw them away casually. There was no record of Dr. Koro's virus samples on them. After searching carefully and finding nothing, I turned and headed for the third floor. The third floor looked more like a hospital ward, with many empty rooms and some white bed sheets. As soon as I entered one room and looked inside, I didn't want to go further. Why? The wards in this small hospital were nothing more than two beds and a bedside cabinet, plus some miscellaneous items like bed sheets and chairs. They were about the same size as a regular person's bedroom and frankly, not much to see. Just as I shook my head in disappointment, preparing to leave the room, a cold, tubular piece of metal pressed against the back of my head. 'Life really is full of unexpected encounters! Captain Yu, we meet again.' That voice—I feel like I've heard it somewhere before. The person behind me pushed me into the room and reached out to close the door. I staggered a few steps from the push, turned around, and my heart sank: 'How could it be you?' The person in front of me was none other than the defender we had been chasing and hitting earlier, the familiar face who bumped into my head before the game—the defender Xiao Rui. Xiao Rui looked at me expressionlessly, his white handgun pointed at me, saying nothing. I had no idea what he was thinking. Damn, previously we had driven the defender team away in a rout, it was so satisfying. But now the tables had turned, and in the blink of an eye, he had the upper hand. This is bad—he probably wants revenge! It's extremely frustrating! I forgot to check the almanac before leaving, and here I was running into an old rival—how unlucky, there's no solution! Looking at Xiao Rui across from me, silently, I suddenly saw a glimmer of hope. Could it be that he hasn't decided whether to shoot yet? Yes, I understand now! Up until now, he has appeared alone, and there hasn't been any sign of his defender teammates coming to help. Maybe he got separated from them and is hiding here by himself.Looking at his hesitant expression, I suddenly understood: he wanted to kill me to avenge the defenders, but he was also afraid that if I died, he would have a hard time surviving alone in this dangerous place. So, he was considering whether or not to kill me. Well, then I'll help him analyze the current situation carefully and, while I'm at it, brainwash him a bit, hehe, this is the art of persuasion!
“Hmm hmm!”
I cleared my throat with a bit of show-off flair and said, “Dear Comrade Xiao Rui, I know you are a very confident defender, and I also know you really want to take me out! But there is one thing you must remember, even if I die now, you won't last long either!”
Upon hearing my words, Xiao Rui suddenly lowered his gun, a playful smile appearing on his face: “Persuasion, keep persuading!”
Uh, this guy... “I think you've probably guessed. I came here to find the virus sample, but Dr. Luo is already dead. Even so, he didn't tell anyone where the virus sample was before he died. Now, my companions and I are searching through every corner of Zone 13. I'm currently looking in this small hospital. If you kill me, and my companions see that I haven't returned, do you think they'll come looking for us?” I said this part half-seriously, half-falsely, to see how he would react.
Who would have thought that after hearing this, he gave a strange smile: “Ah, so you even teamed up to try persuading me, huh?”
I was stunned! Is this guy a fan of Teacher Fan or something? Why does he always like to imitate the way he talks? Besides, if we really came as a team, would we even need to persuade him? We could just shoot him right away!
Xiao Rui smiled and said, “Don't waste your breath. I already know what you're thinking. Don't worry, I won't kill you!”
Ah? His words made my mind spin—could it be that he figured things out this quickly?
He continued, “Annoying person, and don't take others for fools! Forget about whether you have companions for now. Just seeing you risking danger alone, wandering around and looking everywhere, I can tell that you either got separated from your companions, or you only have one or two left. There wouldn't be many, otherwise, you wouldn't risk coming out alone to search for the sample.”
Uh! I swallowed hard secretly. Seems like this guy isn't easy to deal with...Then I heard him continue: 'Actually, my situation isn't good either. Not long ago, the ghost army attacked, and I got separated from everyone else. Being able to survive alone until now is already pretty good. I need a companion, so I decided to follow your idea—two people joining forces!'
Damn! Hearing this, I couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief. So this guy had planned all along! Why didn't you say so earlier, making me worry for nothing. Now I at least have a companion. Although not very reliable, at least we can support each other in dangerous situations, which is better than nothing.
(This chapter ends)