16: Chapter 16 Beware

Early the next morning, Wang Jie set out.

He was alone, driving an ordinary off-road vehicle—not an infantry vehicle, nor a tank, but just a normal car salvaged from the ruins.

There were no weapons on the vehicle, only a single handgun hidden beneath the seat.

Lin Waner stood at the entrance, watching the car grow smaller and smaller until it vanished at the end of the street.

She stood there for a long time, motionless.

Chen Xue walked over and gently patted her on the shoulder.

“Don't worry,” she said. “He can do it.”

Lin Waner nodded, but didn't speak.

It wasn't that she didn't believe in Wang Jie.

She was simply afraid.

Afraid that he would be like the others—gone and never to return.

Wang Jie drove for half an hour before reaching the Industrial Park.

It was a vast area, filled with abandoned factories and warehouses. Some had been bombed into rubble, while others were still emitting black smoke.

He parked the car at the entrance of Factory Building 12, got out, and walked inside.

The interior was cavernous, covered in dust and cobwebs. Sunlight streamed through broken windows, casting mottled shadows on the floor.

A person was standing in the center of the factory floor.

It was a woman.

She was in her forties, wearing a white lab coat and glasses, with her hair meticulously pinned back. She didn't look like a survivor struggling for life in the apocalypse; she looked more like—a scholar.

“Hello,” she spoke. “My name is Zhao Min, Deputy Director of the Academy of Sciences.”

Wang Jie looked at her: “I'm Wang Jie, from the Alliance.”

Zhao Min nodded: “I know. I read your reply. What is your role in the Alliance?”

“Collaborator,” Wang Jie said. “Not a subordinate.”

Zhao Min sized him up, a hint of interest in her eyes.

“Interesting,” she said. “The Alliance actually has collaborators.”

Wang Jie didn't follow up, asking directly: “What exactly does your Academy of Sciences do?”

Zhao Min was silent for a few seconds.

Then she sighed.

“It's a long story,” she said. “Before the apocalypse, we were a secret national research institution studying—human evolution.”

Wang Jie frowned: “Human evolution?”

Zhao Min nodded: “Specifically, how to allow humans to break through existing physiological limits to gain greater strength, faster speed, and longer lifespans.”

Wang Jie's heart stirred.

Mutants.

Could those things be—

“You're right,” Zhao Min said, as if seeing through his thoughts. “Those mutants are the products of our experiments.”

Wang Jie's pupils contracted.

“You created those monsters?”

Zhao Min shook her head: “We didn't create them. They—went out of control.”

She continued: “When the apocalyptic virus broke out, we were researching a serum that could enhance human genes. But the virus leaked and infected our test subjects. Those subjects turned into zombies, and then mutated further, becoming the monsters you see now.”

Wang Jie fell silent.

Zhao Min looked at him: “I know what you're thinking—that we ruined the world. But I'm telling you, it wasn't intentional. Moreover, we have a way to fix it.”

Wang Jie looked up: “What way?”

Zhao Min took a deep breath: “An antidote.”

Wang Jie was stunned.

“We have an antidote,” Zhao Min said. “At least, the theoretical formula for one. But the formula isn't here; it's in someone else's hands.”

“Whose?”

“Our chief scientist, Chen Jianguo,” Zhao Min said. “On the day the apocalypse broke out, he was out collecting samples. Later, I heard he went to a survivor camp in the east, and then we lost contact.”

Wang Jie's heart skipped a beat: “A survivor camp in the east? Which one?”

Zhao Min shook her head: “I don't know. I only know the leader of that camp is called—Jingang.”

Jingang.

Jingang again.

Wang Jie suddenly understood.

Jingang hadn't occupied the Academy of Sciences' territory to steal equipment and data.

He was looking for that scientist.

Looking for the antidote.

“So,” Wang Jie said, “you want me to help you find Chen Jianguo?”

Zhao Min nodded: “Yes. Help us find him and get the antidote formula. Then we can manufacture the antidote and end this apocalypse.”

Wang Jie looked at her, silent for a long time.

He was judging whether this woman was telling the truth.

But the system suddenly chimed:

[Detecting truthfulness of target's statement]

[Analyzing...]

[Truthfulness: 87%]

Wang Jie was momentarily stunned.

The system could even detect lies?

He believed her.

“Fine,” he said. “I'll help you find Chen Jianguo. But you have to do something for me first.”

Zhao Min looked at him: “What is it?”

“Help me fight Jingang.”

Zhao Min smiled.

That smile seemed somewhat eerie in the dim factory.

“Deal,” she said.