Chapter 34: Chapter 32: This Isn’t Scientific
Gu Xi and the others waited in the car for over three hours. It wasn’t until after 10 p.m. that they heard the roar of a helicopter fading into the distance.
The night breeze blew through the half-open car window, tousling her long hair. Gu Xi faced the wind and gazed outside, her calm eyes fixed on the receding red dot in the night sky, lost in thought.
’Today’s events were a little too coincidental.’
’If Shen Yue and the others hadn’t just reacted so naturally, she would have even suspected that Shen Yue already knew something. Had he deliberately sent her away today after learning in advance that people from the Abnormal Ability Research Institute were coming?’
’But the reactions of Shen Yue’s group just now couldn’t have been faked...’
’Maybe it really was all just a coincidence?’
Gu Xi lowered her gaze slightly.
Soon, someone came from up ahead to inform them that the lockdown was over. The danger had been eliminated, and they could go home.
Shen Yue glanced at Gu Xi through the rearview mirror without a change in expression, then stepped on the gas.
Amidst the bumpy ride, the two sisters from the Qin Family exchanged a look and breathed a small sigh of relief.
"It’s finally over." In the front passenger seat, a flash of cold mockery crossed Wei Heng’s eyes. ’Those people from the Abnormal Ability Research Institute... their pomp and circumstance are as grand as ever.’
He looked back at Gu Xi in the rear seat, his brow furrowing slightly.
’Gu Xiaoxi exerted a lot of energy today. He had originally planned to make her a special meal when they got back to help her recover.’
’He still had a little of the rice he’d personally milled that night. It definitely wasn’t enough to make clay pot braised rice, but it would be enough for some congee.’
’But who would have thought they’d run into this mess the moment they got back.’
’It’s too late to make congee now. They’ll just have to eat sweet potatoes when they get back. Good thing he’d habitually steamed an extra pot this morning...’
Qin Yi and her sister were also tired and hungry. There was food in the car, but what was that saying again? It’s easy to go from frugal to lavish, but hard to go from lavish to frugal.
After eating the food Gu Xi had grown, the dry, wild vegetable crackers had become hard to swallow.
After the car came to a steady stop, the group of four got out and went straight to Gu Xi’s house. Shen Yue, acting with complete familiarity, brought out a pot of sweet potatoes from the kitchen.
Wei Heng: "..."
After the other three had eaten and drunk their fill and left, Wei Heng started a fire and began washing the pot to boil water.
"Does the Special Service Team often work with the Abnormal Ability Research Institute on missions?" Gu Xi asked, crouching beside him.
Wei Heng added a handful of firewood to the earthen stove and thought for a moment. "Not that often... The Special Service Team has its own missions, but those people from the Abnormal Ability Research Institute, they have to stick their noses into everything..."
’That sarcastic tone... It was clear Wei Heng had no good impression of the Abnormal Ability Research Institute.’
Remembering that he was also a man with a story, Gu Xi didn’t press the issue and instead asked about the Special Service Team’s missions.
Wei Heng explained in a low voice while boiling the water.
The Superpower Special Team is an elite unit within the military. All its members are high-level ability users, and they are primarily responsible for handling sudden, extremely dangerous missions and special situations.
For example, the mutant plants with astonishing attack power that suddenly appeared six months ago after malignantly mutating;
Or, for another example, certain extremely dangerous mutated animals with ability levels of 8 or higher, which require an enormous price to kill, encountered by frontline combat units while clearing the wilderness and reclaiming lost territory...
And then there were their former compatriots who had lost their minds and turned into monsters after absorbing too much X Energy...
After hearing this, Gu Xi frowned slightly. "Those... I mean, the people who end up mutating because of X Energy, about how many are there each year?"
"Not many." Wei Heng’s hand paused as he added firewood, and he lowered his gaze. "But in recent years, the number has been increasing every year..."
Gu Xi was silent for a moment before asking again, "So... those mutated people, are there any signs before they lose their minds and turn into monsters?"
’They don’t just sprout wings and grow horns overnight, right?’
’It’s not scientific.’
Of course, the apocalypse has already happened, so anything strange is possible.
’Back then, didn’t over sixty percent of humanity suddenly get infected with the zombie virus and turn into zombies overnight?’
’This is the apocalypse—seemingly absurd, but in reality, cruel and real.’
Gu Xi lowered her gaze slightly.
Wei Heng was silent for a moment before he said, "...There are. Before they completely mutate, they experience cognitive confusion, neurological disorders, and even bouts of madness. The physical changes, on the other hand, take one to three days..."
’But some people, after discovering their own abnormalities, don’t report it. Instead, they subconsciously hide themselves...’