Apocalypse Survival Guide for a Beta [GB] - Chapter 31

“Elena!” Zhou Yu’s voice carried excitement when he saw her. To them, facing Blood Bone meant certain death, but Elena’s arrival was like a beacon of hope.

One man’s joy was another man’s dread.

Suppressing his fear, Chang Qi lifted his chin slightly and said, “Elena, I heard you’ve abandoned the Federation and created your own safe zone. These people have nothing to do with you. As long as you don’t interfere, Blood Bone won’t touch your Eastern District Two.”

Hearing Chang Qi’s words, Zhu Liang, Zhou Yu, and the others froze. They had nearly forgotten the fact that Elena had betrayed the Federation.

For a moment, the air was heavy with tension.

“Pfft.” Elena let out a short laugh, her expression growing even softer. Her brown eyes studied Chang Qi. “Yes, I created my own safe zone, but that doesn’t mean I’d stoop to working with rats like you, does it?”

Her voice carried a sharp, icy edge as she emphasized the last three words. The moment she finished speaking, she waved her hand, sending a row of ice spikes hurtling toward Blood Bone.

Chang Qi and Chang Ping’s expressions changed instantly. They leaped backward, barely avoiding the attack. The other Blood Bone members weren’t as lucky and those struck by the ice spikes died on the spot.

“Chapter 7, Article 39 of the Federal Law: Capital punishment for major fugitives,” Elena’s voice was gentle, but her ability showed no mercy. “All fourteen of you are already on the execution list.”

Chang Qi hadn’t expected that even after betraying the Federation, Elena would still be settling old scores. Her ability level was clearly high, causing him and Chang Ping to barely be able to hold their ground together.

And now Zhou Yu and Lu Jia had joined the fight as well.

Realizing they couldn’t win, Chang Ping grabbed Chang Qi and they both jumped into the sea to buffer against the elemental attacks. The remaining Blood Bone members followed suit, but they weren’t as lucky and several were still wounded by the ice spikes.

Dark red blood spread through the seawater.

Watching the Blood Bone members flee like rats, Elena didn’t bother chasing them.

She turned back to the group beside her. “What are you doing here? Where is your captain, Lou Tiannan?”

Now that the danger had passed, Zhu Liang and the others looked at Elena with complicated expressions.

Zhou Yu spoke first, “Captain Elena, they said you betrayed the Federation. Do you have your reasons?”

“Now isn’t the time to talk about me,” Elena reminded them and then repeated her question, “Where is Lou Tiannan?”

After a brief hesitation, Zhu Liang decided to tell the truth. “Two days ago, we fought Blood Bone at Tongtian Port. Captain Lou fell into the sea and we’ve been searching for him.”

Elena’s gaze swept over the group before settling on Xi Ya. “Who is this girl?”

“She’s a survivor’s daughter.”

“And the survivor?” Elena immediately caught the key detail.

“Her mother fell into the sea along with Captain Lou.”

“What was her mother’s role?” Elena asked softly, but a sharp glint flashed in her eyes. The group was in combat uniforms and the little girl was wearing one too, so her mother must have had some special status to be traveling with them.

The team exchanged glances. Since Elena had defected from the Federation, they felt it wasn’t something they should share.

But even if they remained silent, Elena pieced things together from their expressions and their brief conversation.

“Tongtian Port… The area beyond it leads to the Central-Southern border. Aside from Xiang Cheng ordering you to attack Blood Bone’s base, the next major location would be Eastern District One. And two months ago, the entire Military Defense’s First Squad was wiped out in Eastern District One. At the time, I received intel that they were executing a mission at the 621 Biopharmaceutical Research Institute. The First Squad was lost, so now it’s the Third Squad’s turn to take over, isn’t it? That means your true objective is the 621 Biopharmaceutical Research Institute. That place is dangerous…”

Elena paused for a moment before speaking slowly. “You are carrying out a mission to the 621 Biopharmaceutical Research Institute, yet you have a mother and daughter with you… So, this girl’s mother, or rather, this pair, has some connection to the 621 Biopharmaceutical Research Institute?”

Even after witnessing Elena’s abilities firsthand, they couldn’t help but be shocked. She had nearly guessed everything correctly. In fact, their official mission was to reclaim lost ground in Eastern District One, but after hearing Elena’s words, everyone except Zhu Liang suddenly realized that their final destination might actually be the 621 Biopharmaceutical Research Institute.

Elena didn’t need to read anyone else’s expressions. She knew Zhu Liang well and from his reaction alone, she could tell she had guessed right.

“Lou Tiannan is in Eastern District Two?”

Zhu Liang remained silent.

“You don’t have to be like this. I may have defected from the Federation, but as long as our interests don’t conflict, I won’t harm you. In fact, for the sake of my former teammates, I might even be able to help you.” She looked at Zhu Liang calmly. “Vice Captain Zhu, I have no reason to deceive you, do I?”

Elena wasn’t just unfairly beautiful, even her voice carried an inexplicable sincerity. Every word she spoke made people instinctively believe her.

Besides, she was right. If she had wanted to harm them, she could have done so already. She certainly wouldn’t have saved them from Blood Bone.

Weighing the pros and cons, Zhu Liang ultimately decided to tell her the truth.

“We’re not sure if Captain Lou is here. We followed the direction indicated by the knife.”

“Knife?” Elena raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

Zhu Liang took out Xi Ya’s small knife.

When Elena got a clear look at it, her eyes flickered briefly.

He placed the knife on the ground and its tip shook slightly before pointing in a specific direction.

“Fascinating. Where did this knife come from?” Elena asked with interest.

“I made it,” Zhou Yu interjected, trying to reveal as little as possible about the survivor.

Elena seemed convinced and nodded. “Treat your wounds first. Then, I’ll go with you to look for your captain. If we find him, maybe we can even talk about a possible cooperation.”

***

“When we were being chased down by Blood Bone, Captain Elena appeared. She helped us and that’s how we managed to make it here. Otherwise, we would’ve been dead,” Zhou Yu sighed.

“Captain Elena, huh? She really is a good person,” Lin Bai commented.

“Thanks for the compliment,” a gentle female voice sounded from behind them.

Lin Bai froze for a second before turning to see Elena, who had been standing just behind the group.

The two locked eyes across the short distance, neither speaking.

Meanwhile, Wen Xiaxia had already applied an isolating patch and injected Lou Tiannan with a suppressant. She said, “Captain Lou isn’t in great condition. There are a lot of zombies in the area, so we should leave as soon as possible.”

Elena glanced at Lin Bai before turning to the others. “Follow me.”

On the way back, Zhu Liang was talking to Lin Bai, trying to understand what had happened over the past few days and why Captain Lou’s susceptibility period had arrived earlier than expected.

Zhou Yu assumed that, given Lin Bai’s usual personality, she would probably just say she didn’t know and tell him to stop bothering her.

To his surprise, Lin Bai answered patiently, explaining everything in detail on how they had fallen into the sea and been swept away by the undercurrents, how they had taken shelter in the ruins because Lou Tiannan was injured, how his susceptibility period had suddenly arrived when they had no suppressant, and how Lou Tiannan had forcibly restrained himself.

As she spoke, she was even holding Xi Ya, who was nibbling on a piece of candy with her little face buried in Lin Bai’s neck, creating a warm and harmonious mother-daughter scene.

Zhou Yu was stunned. How had Lin Bai changed so much in just four or five days?

He wasn’t the only one who thought so. Song Yan and Lu Jia, who had been on the receiving end of Lin Bai’s sharp tongue before, also felt that she was different. What had caused such a drastic change in her?

Elena led them into the safe zone of Eastern District Two. The situation there was similar to that of the New City Safe Zone with both ordinary people and ability users having their own secure living areas. If they hadn’t already known that Elena had defected, this place could easily be mistaken for a Federation-controlled safe zone.

Lou Tiannan was placed in a room where Wen Xiaxia was conducting a medical examination on him.

Song Yan and the others waited outside the door.

Elena glanced at Lin Bai, who was holding Xi Ya, and greeted her warmly, “Hello, I’m Elena. What’s your name?”

“I’m Lin Bai,” Lin Bai replied obediently.

“Lin Bai,” Elena repeated the name slowly, as if tasting it on her tongue. She searched her mental list of criminals, but Lin Bai’s face wasn’t among them.

The first moment Elena saw Lin Bai, she found her familiar. She didn’t have many social connections. Aside from her few friends, the only people she would recognize were criminals.

“Are you a permanent resident of the Western District?” Elena asked casually.

“Yes, Western District Seven,” Lin Bai answered.

Before the apocalypse, the Western District wasn’t under Elena’s jurisdiction. Aside from a few necessary arrest missions, she rarely went there.

“I heard from Vice Captain Zhu that you have a family member at the 621 Biopharmaceutical Research Institute,” Elena said. Zhu Liang and the others had never actually told her this. She had deduced it herself.

“Yes, I want to find her,” Lin Bai nodded.

While Elena and Lin Bai were chatting, Lou Tiannan, who had received the suppressant injection, woke up. When he heard Wen Xiaxia mention that Elena and Lin Bai were talking outside, he didn’t hesitate. Without thinking further, he pulled out the monitoring device and got up from the bed.

Elena had defected from the Federation. Lin Bai being with her was extremely dangerous.

Just as he stepped out of the room, he heard Elena speaking.

“There’s some very unfortunate news I have to tell you. According to the reports we received three months ago, the 621 Biopharmaceutical Research Institute has already… been completely overrun by zombies.”

Elena’s warm voice carried a deep sorrow and genuine regret.

Lou Tiannan stopped at the doorway and from his angle, he could clearly see Lin Bai’s expression.

At first, her eyes widened slightly in surprise. Then, she blinked quickly twice before lowering her head and murmuring, “It’s… it’s okay…”

Lin Bai paused for a long time before finally remembering to say, “Still, thank you for telling me this news.”

She kept her head down, her voice low and dejected. Even with only her chin and part of her side profile visible, the sorrow and grief she projected were unmistakable.

It was yet another side of Lin Bai that Lou Tiannan had never seen before.

She was heartbroken. For her partner.

Lou Tiannan pressed his lips together.

Elena appeared to be comforting Lin Bai, but in reality, she was carefully analyzing every detail of Lin Bai’s reaction from the corner of her eye.

There were no flaws and her response seemed completely genuine.

But Elena’s instincts told her something wasn’t right.

“What’s your partner’s name? Perhaps I knew her. I have some personal belongings left behind by the researchers. Maybe I have something of your partner’s,” Elena probed.

Lin Bai’s head snapped up at the mention of personal belongings but quickly lowered again as she restrained herself. She shook her head and said, “Thank you for your kindness, Commander. Just as the 621 Biopharmaceutical Research Institute worked hard to keep the identities of researchers’ families confidential, I must also keep her information a secret from everyone.”

There was nothing wrong with what she said. That was exactly how it should be.

Elena narrowed her eyes, studying the seemingly ordinary-looking Beta woman in front of her. Something felt off, but she couldn’t quite figure out what.