Apocalypse Survival Guide for a Beta [GB] - Chapter 23

When Peter learned that Lin Bai was going with Lou Tiannan’s team to the fallen Eastern District One, he became restless. He hadn’t forgotten about the X112 alkali compound inside his body. If Lin Bai left, what would happen to him? Was he supposed to stay in the New City Safe Zone and wait for his organs to fail and die?!

No way! Absolutely not!

Taking advantage of the quiet night when no one was paying attention, he gritted his teeth and knocked on Lin Bai’s door.

Lin Bai wasn’t surprised to see him.

Peter studied her expression and cautiously asked, “I heard you’re leaving for Eastern District One tomorrow…”

“You want to come too?”

“No, no, not at all…” Peter wasn’t stupid. He had finally made it to a safe zone. Why would he throw that away? After spending the past two days with Lin Bai, he had somewhat figured out her personality. With sincere desperation, he said, “I was wrong before, I swear I won’t mess up again. You’re leaving tomorrow, so about the antidote for the thing inside me…”

“Oh, that?” Lin Bai responded casually. She pulled a vial from her pocket.

The blue-and-white striped pattern was instantly recognizable to Peter. Wasn’t that the X112 alkali compound?!

Why was she taking that out again? Peter was filled with suspicion.

Lin Bai tossed the vial in her hand a couple of times before casually throwing it to him.

Peter instinctively caught it, though his hands trembled with nerves, palms sweaty. “What is this…?”

Lin Bai nodded toward it, signaling him to check for himself.

Peter lowered his head and examined the vial in his hands. The blue-and-white stripes and the label clearly read ‘X112 Alkali Compound.’ What was she trying to show him?

Just as he was about to ask, he noticed something odd. His palm was stained blue and white. He froze. Did the vial’s color rub off? His hand moved before his mind caught up, rubbing the surface with his thumb. The color smeared away, revealing the hidden words beneath—Hallucinogen.

His head snapped up in shock. “What you gave me… wasn’t the X112 alkali compound?!”

Lin Bai replied lazily, “That stuff isn’t so easy to get.”

The anger from being deceived flared for just a brief moment before it was completely drowned out by overwhelming relief and joy. Peter was so ecstatic that he almost lunged to hug Lin Bai but, catching her expression, he clutched the vial tightly and settled for hugging himself instead. He paced back and forth, grinning from ear to ear. “Lin Bai, you scared me to death!”

If he had never actually taken the X112 alkali compound, then his organs wouldn’t fail!

“This is amazing! I knew you wouldn’t be that cruel!” Peter said with heartfelt gratitude. “You’re such a good person!”

On the side, even though Xi Ya didn’t fully understand what had happened before, she pieced things together from Peter’s reaction. Seeing his gratitude toward Lin Bai, her admiration for Lin Bai deepened even further. ‘Mom is so smart!’

***

Since they were leaving early the next morning, the Military Defense Department wrapped up their meal and dispersed with some going to stand guard, others to rest.

As Lou Tiannan walked onto the second-floor corridor, his gaze swept past Lin Bai’s tightly shut door. He instinctively paused, looking at her door. With a slight smirk, he lifted his foot to leave, but just as he was about to look away, he saw Lin Bai’s door open.

He stopped again.

A few seconds later, a man walked out of Lin Bai’s room.

Peter.

She let an Alpha into her room so late into the night?

Lou Tiannan’s eyes darkened slightly.

Peter didn’t notice Lou Tiannan. He walked down the stairs on the other side, looking quite pleased.

Thinking about the relationship between Lin Bai and Peter, Lou Tiannan withdrew his gaze coldly and returned to his room.

The night in the safe zone passed quickly.

At the break of dawn, the off-road vehicles of the Third Squad drove out of the safe zone.

Lou Tiannan was driving, Zhu Liang sat in the passenger seat reading the map, Song Yan was on the car roof scouting the surroundings, while Zhou Yu and Lu Jia sat in the back seat. Lin Bai, Xi Ya, and Wen Xiaxia occupied the last row. Wen Xiaxia wanted to ask Lin Bai about surgical techniques, but unfortunately, Lin Bai seemed to specialize in one particular field.

The area near the New City Safe Zone was still relatively secure. Although the landscape was desolate, they hadn’t encountered any zombies or looters.

After driving for four hours, as they neared the border of the New City Safe Zone, the surroundings noticeably changed. Severed limbs, skeletal remains, and bloodstains littered the streets. The farther they drove, the more corpses they saw, of both zombies and humans.

Even the sky over the city ahead darkened ominously, as if matching the eerie atmosphere. The steel jungle of empty, towering buildings stood eerily silent, devoid of any signs of life.

It was hard to imagine that the place had once been one of the thriving cities before the apocalypse, Xihai City.

Song Yan glanced at the map, then jumped back into the vehicle and said to Lou Tiannan, “Captain Lou, Xihai City is just ahead. Once we pass through it, we’ll reach Tongtian Port.”

Tongtian Port was a dangerous port overrun with zombies, specifically mentioned by Xiang Cheng as a hazardous zone. It wasn’t far from Xihai City.

“We’ll stop at the factory ahead to restock supplies. After assessing the situation in Xihai City, we’ll move out,” Lou Tiannan said.

That was the safest approach.

The vehicle drove into a large industrial factory outside Xihai City. Some areas inside were littered with corpses and human bones, evidence of past brutal battles. Huge steel beams and metal plates, stained with dried blood and flesh, were scattered everywhere.

The eight of them set up a temporary supply point behind a pile of gravel.

It was a blind spot and one of the cleaner areas in the factory.

They spread out a map in the center while eating compressed biscuits and discussing the next route. Only after finalizing their plan did they finally take a bite of their biscuits.

The Third Squad often ate together and even with Lin Bai and Xi Ya joining them this time, it didn’t feel out of place. Although Lu Jia didn’t like Lin Bai, he still remembered the mission.

Biting into his biscuit, Lu Jia looked up and noticed Zhou Yu’s tired expression.

“Brother Yu, why do you still look like that?!”

Zhou Yu irritably scratched his head, his eyes heavy with worry. “You wouldn’t understand…”

Lu Jia was puzzled. “Are you really that affected by Elena defecting from the Federation?”

Song Yan took a sip of water and said, “Well, he did once consider transferring to the Law Enforcement Department for her.”

At those words, everyone’s gaze turned to Zhou Yu, including Lou Tiannan.

Zhou Yu shuddered and quickly said to Lou Tiannan, “Song Yan, don’t talk nonsense! Captain Lou, my loyalty to Military Defense’s Third Squad is as clear as the heavens!”

Someone nearby interjected, “Wait, who defected?”

“Elena Herbert, captain of Law Enforcement’s First Squad. You should know her,” Song Yan replied.

Lin Bai’s expression had always remained neutral, her demeanor consistently calm and indifferent. It was probably the first time anyone had seen such a clear look of surprise on her face.

“She betrayed the Federation?”

Seeing Lin Bai’s reaction, Zhou Yu felt as if he had found an ally. He immediately plopped down beside her.

“Incredible, right? I still can’t believe it. How could someone as righteous as her possibly defect? She ranked among the top in the Security Bureau for arrests! I can’t think of any reason that would make her betray the Federation. It’s impossible!”

Lin Bai suppressed the emotions surging within her. When she looked up again, her face had returned to its usual composed state. She calmly said, “I can’t think of one either.”

Hearing that, Zhou Yu considered Lin Bai his kindred spirit even more, almost wanting to throw himself onto her and wail.

Lou Tiannan’s gaze swept over Lin Bai’s face, now serene once more. Her reaction… did she know Elena?

His mind quickly ran through Elena’s connections.

The records of the 621 Biopharmaceutical Research Institute’s researchers were classified, but he had seen Elena’s file.

After cross-checking, he found that most of Elena’s known associates were within the Security Bureau. Lin Bai clearly wasn’t among them.

But Elena was a workaholic and she spent all seven days of the week at the Law Enforcement Department.

Could it be that Lin Bai knew Elena, but Elena didn’t know her?

***

While the Third Squad was stationed at the industrial factory, in the Blood Bone stronghold near the Central-Southern border, someone was simultaneously reporting to Qiu Tu.

“Boss Qiu Tu, we’ve got intel. Lou Tiannan’s group has already left the New City Safe Zone. Our scouts didn’t dare follow too closely, but from a distance, it looks like they’re heading in our direction.”

“They’re coming our way?”

Qiu Tu was gnawing on a pale, slender arm when he heard the report. His scarred face twisted for a moment and a cold, murderous glint flashed through his narrow, single-lidded eyes. “If they want to die, let’s grant them their wish.”

He took a vicious bite of the meat and said sinisterly, “Gather some men. Make sure Tongtian Port becomes their grave. Don’t be like those idiots, Tyke and Hu Dingguo. They couldn’t kill anyone and ended up losing their own lives.”

“Yes! We’ll make sure they stay there for good!”

Satisfied, Qiu Tu was about to take another bite when he suddenly remembered something.

“That person… the one named Bai. Any intel on her?”

“It’s not easy to dig up information these days…” His subordinate hesitated.

Qiu Tu’s face darkened with anger, prompting the man to quickly continue, “We managed to find a little. She’s from Western District Seven. Rumor has it she’s a relative of a 621 Biopharmaceutical Research Institute’s researcher.”

“The 621 Biopharmaceutical Research Institute’s researcher?” Qiu Tu narrowed his eyes. Of course, he knew about the 621 Biopharmaceutical Research Institute. It was rumored that before its downfall, the institute had developed a cure for the zombie virus, though he wasn’t sure if that was true. He frowned and asked, “She’s traveling with Lou Tiannan’s team?”

“Yes, she is.”

Qiu Tu flexed his thick fingers rapidly and said, “Capture that woman alive and bring her to me!”

“Understood!” His subordinate nodded in response. However, even after receiving his orders, he didn’t leave.

Qiu Tu, who had little patience, snapped, “If you have something to say, say it now. If you don’t need your mouth, I’ll cut it off for you.”

Terrified, the subordinate trembled and dared not hesitate any longer. “Boss Qiu Tu, there’s indeed one more thing.”

“Speak!”

“Chang Qi and the others went back to the previous battle site. They found that the bodies of Tyke, Hu Dingguo, and Lisa were missing.”

“Their bodies are gone? Only theirs?”

“Yes, all the other corpses are still there, but the three of them are missing.”

“They were probably eaten by zombies.” Qiu Tu wasn’t too concerned about what happened to dead bodies.

It was a pity that Tyke and Hu Dingguo had died, but their loss wasn’t a major blow to Blood Bone. What truly annoyed him was Lisa’s death. Special abilities were already rare in the apocalypse and Lisa had been an exceptional wind-based ability user.

Still, his frustration was fleeting. It didn’t matter. Blood Bone never lacked ability users.

As long as they killed enough zombies, their own abilities would eventually grow stronger.

With that thought, he dismissed his men, then propped his leg up on the sofa. He casually grabbed a handful of zombie crystal cores from beside him and tossed them into his mouth like peanuts.

As the energy from the cores surged through his body, his abilities flared. With a flick of his wrist, deep crimson flames ignited in his palm.

He scoffed. “Hmph, what’s so special about black flame?”

***

In a brightly lit observation chamber, an enormous white cocoon stood motionless in the center.

A handsome blond young man gazed at the cocoon through a glass wall, his eyes filled with longing. He held a thin red sensor wire in his hand, with the other end attached to the cocoon’s surface. Through that slender wire, he could clearly sense the heartbeat inside.

Slow, steady, rhythmic—like the most beautiful melody in the world.

Listening to it, his eyes grew slightly misty. “I really hope you wake up soon.”

A robed priest cautiously entered the room, waiting beside him. Only when the blond youth reluctantly removed the sensor wire did the priest softly say, “Bishop, the cooperation agreement from the Federation has arrived. Lou Tiannan from the Military Defense’s Third Squad is leading a team to Eastern District One in an attempt to reclaim it.”

The blond youth seemed indifferent. “Let them try. Someone will stop them eventually.”