Apocalyptic Island - Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Wen Yishu relied on her arm strength to wrap her legs around the bar.

Who would have thought that a few days ago she was a miserable worker who couldn’t carry anything on her shoulders or in her hands, and now she had become a special forces soldier like this?

She didn’t take out the string-of-pearls plant to secure herself. She was relying entirely on her own strength.

Unless they flew closer, no one would be able to see the person hiding under the black helicopter.

The huge noise of the spinning propellers exploded in her ears. She felt a hot airflow passing by her.

She turned her head and saw a cluster of flames spraying at the newly sprouted banyan tree.

The pungent smell of alcohol mixed with the smell of burning wood floated up from below. The unmoving trunk of the banyan tree was completely swallowed by the fire.

It stretched out its only remaining aerial root, pointing straight to the sky, as if to protest the unfairness of fate. No matter how powerful it was, it could only be slaughtered.

The huge aerial root fell down with a bang in the air and jumped into the burning flames, becoming one with the body it was leaning on.

Wen Yishu’s eyes were so smoked by the smoke below that she couldn’t open them. She turned her head back.

The cheering crowd below gradually turned into small dots. The helicopter flew into the city with Wen Yishu.

There was no resistance to entering. It was countless times faster than the people below.

Bai Mi, who was still at the city gate for inspection, looked up at the sky at the location on her quantum computer. She couldn’t help but clench her fists. She heard Ling Shuang’s exclamation in her ear: “Team leader, what’s wrong?”

She looked down and found that she had accidentally grabbed the hand of the guard who was reaching out to check her backpack. The guard’s face was distorted, and he was about to raise his gun. She let go: “It’s nothing. Let’s go.”

After circling in the air, the helicopter flew to the nearest hangar and began to land slowly.

Wen Yishu heard Aix’s situation report in her ear. After a simple check of the situation inside, Wen Yishu nimbly jumped and landed on the solid ground.

The huge wind did not make her body sway. She quickly crawled to the tail and waited for the people inside to come out.

Wen Yishu was stuck in the blind spot of the surveillance camera, waiting quietly, not forgetting to observe the surroundings.

The propeller blades slowly stopped turning, and two people got off the helicopter.

The voice of one of them was a little familiar: “Did you find the person?”

“Don’t worry, she’ll come. Didn’t you say she has accomplices? There are so many people, we’ll find them.”

You Zhi looked at the quantum computer in his hand. The light dots of the few people’s information had almost all disappeared, but he wasn’t worried.

Binhai City was only so big. People were animals that huddled together for warmth. It was fine to be outside for a short time, but after a while, they wouldn’t be able to survive.

Ji Shuyi no longer had the disheveled appearance she had in the quarantine zone. She silently sneered at You Zhi’s back and continued: “Then I’ll leave it to you, Director You. I’ll go back first.”

Wen Yishu looked at the backs of the few people walking away and knew who the two people who were talking just now were: You Zhi and Ji Shuyi.

They probably never would have dreamed that the person they wanted to catch was right under their noses, right?

An eye was revealed from the thick cabin door of the helicopter. The lights on the ceiling went out as people left.

The entire hangar went dark. Only a faint light came from the transparent canopy of the headlight.

After these people got off the helicopter, a special person would come to do a unified inspection. Wen Yishu listened to Aix’s directions in her headset, carried her bag in front of her chest, and nimbly darted through the large and small helicopters, running to a ventilation duct.

The ventilation duct was very high from the ground, at the height of the second floor of the escalator. If she went up from the front, she would be filmed by the surveillance camera.

Wen Yishu took out the string-of-pearls plant. It had become very plump and full. She tossed the string-of-pearls plant up. The soft front end of the plant firmly grabbed the railing of the handrail.

Wen Yishu lightly pulled the tail and quickly went up. She didn’t make a sound during the entire process.

She took out the universal screwdriver from Bai Mi’s toolbox from her pocket and laboriously started to unscrew the screws on the ventilation duct.

The string-of-pearls plant on her shoulder was also very helpful. The small leaves were very nimble. It unscrewed three screws in the time it took Wen Yishu to unscrew one.

Wen Yishu patted the string-of-pearls plant and quickly climbed onto the ventilation duct. After unscrewing all the screws, she climbed inside.

The inside of the duct was not very clean. It looked like it hadn’t been cleaned for a long time. The dust that was stirred up adhered to her. Wen Yishu glanced at her dusty hands and could only continue to move forward.

The sound of the warehouse door opening came from behind her. She looked back and saw through the hole that the indoor lights, which were just dark, were completely lit up. People were moving around inside. They were maintenance workers who had come to inspect.

Wen Yishu let out a long sigh and climbed the ventilation duct more carefully.

The hangar was on the edge of the high wall. Although it was close, it was already inside the city and was not quarantined.

All personnel entering the city had to be quarantined for at least 48 hours to ensure safety.

Wen Yishu stepped on a puddle. The continuous rain in the city had caused a lot of standing water on the road. She changed the position of the bag on her chest, looked at the flickering neon lights in front of her, and walked into the rain.

The place she came out of was next to an old residential building in the Sea Guard Zone. The original greenery here was good, but now all the plants had been completely cleared by the city’s plant extermination team.

The buildings were severely damaged and looked like old products from the last century that were about to be demolished.

The streets were full of construction waste and cardboard garbage. There was no green to be seen.

If someone could fly high enough to overlook the entire Binhai City, they would find that the area around the city’s high wall was completely covered with green plants. The central area had become a cold, industrial center of steel.

Most of the facilities in the city were still intact, except for those residential areas where the vegetation was particularly lush.

Wen Yishu used a utility pole to climb onto a still intact building, overlooking the scenery and the route below.

She listened to Aix’s directions in her headset and quickly traveled between the buildings.

…

“What do you mean by this? Is what Ji Shuyi said true, but what we said isn’t? There are more of us than her, right?”

Ling Shuang angrily patted the table in front of her.

The guards at the door confirmed their identities and did not show any abnormalities at first. It was only after they entered the quarantine zone that the group was separated and handcuffed.

Except for Huang Fei, who did not show up at first and left separately from them. She was taken directly to the quarantine zone as a civilian. The rest of them were arrested.

She was disgusted by You Zhi. He was unable to distinguish right from wrong and detained them indiscriminately, even under the name of a federal accomplice.

You Zhi sat opposite the metal interrogation table. His knuckles were holding a black tactical pen. The pen’s body was emitting a faint coldness under the cold white light. The tungsten steel at the end of the pen drew small arcs as he rotated his wrist.

Round after round, Ling Shuang’s heart also became a little cold.

He picked up the Pu’er tea next to the table and took a sip. The heat blurred his vision behind his glasses. The corner of You Zhi’s mouth curled into an approachable arc.

“Everything has to have evidence. I saw the video in the laboratory below. If you have any information about Wen Yishu, please tell me. Of course, the movement restriction is only temporary. We will let you go after we investigate clearly. Researcher Ling, think before you speak. You don’t want our relationship to be too stiff later, do you? There’s no need to offend the entire headquarters for a wanted criminal, is there?”

Ling Shuang’s face was very ugly. That pen started to spin again. The subtle sound of the tea and the metal friction wove a net in the sealed interrogation room, wanting to completely strangle her inside.

You Zhi looked straight into her eyes and said softly: “Think about it. If you’re the first one to speak, maybe the next time we meet, I’ll call you Team Leader Ling.”

This kind of oppression was something that a law-abiding citizen like her had never felt. Ling Shuang now wanted to spray the person in front of her to death. Xiao Wen was not a wanted criminal.

But she still endured it: “We’re not close. Is this why you’re holding me? Director You, don’t worry. When I get out, I will sue you in federal court. You also worked your way up from my position. Not everyone in Rhine is worse than you. This is a violation of human rights and a disregard for the law. If Wen Yishu is a traitor to order, then you are a lackey of the Federation, thinking you can do whatever you want just because you have a little power!”

She angrily threw the teacup next to her. She used all her strength. You Zhi turned his head to dodge. The teacup shattered loudly behind him. His gentle expression had completely turned cold.

He stood up and sneered. He walked around the broken porcelain on the ground and pushed the door of the interrogation room open: “You’re refusing a toast, so you’ll have to drink a forfeit. You will regret this.”

You Zhi interrogated the rest of the people in the same way. The reactions of the few people were similar, except for Bai Mi who completely ignored him.

You Zhi wiped the tea stains that had accidentally splashed on him. He looked at Ji Shuyi, who was standing on the side leisurely eating snacks, with a suspicious look.

He suddenly asked: “Assistant Ji, I’ve always been curious, how did you escape?”

Ji Shuyi didn’t look up. She took a sip of the hot tea on the table and turned to him with a standardized smile: “Director You, you don’t have the authority to know. Since you can’t get anything out of them, I suggest you use some methods, so people don’t laugh at you. I’m leaving now. Call me when you have news.”

You Zhi was repeatedly rebuffed, and his face was extremely ugly.

He looked at the flashing point of the prism in the one-way mirror, touched his black headset, and made a call.

The woman’s gentle voice came from the other end: “How did you handle it?”

You Zhi said in a low voice: “Sorry, they are not very cooperative.”

The woman paused. Her still gentle voice came from the headset: “Useless.”

…

The soft rain fell on Wen Yishu’s face, but it didn’t stay on her glasses. It all turned into smooth water droplets that rolled down the frame. The terrain of the Sea Guard Zone was complex, but it was full of industrial atmosphere and had very few plants.

So when the plants first started to riot, the residents here were barely harmed.

The nightlife here continued. The Changgang Port Night Market below was still lively.

People of all kinds were in a hurry, completely unaffected by this disaster.

There was basically no surveillance here. It was a rare no-man’s-land in the Sea Guard Zone.

Low-lying shops and scattered high-rise buildings were sometimes built on top of two storefronts. There were graffiti and swear words everywhere, sprayed with fluorescent paint on some of the mottled walls.

The trends here changed frequently. The layers of coverage looked very wild and beautiful.

Wen Yishu almost never came to this kind of place. She used to be a person who never wasted time on anything other than studying and working.

She had very little interest in this kind of street. Her part-time jobs were also through regular channels.

Right now, she was in Changgang Port, and her eyes were attracted by all the novel things in front of her. She couldn’t help but slow down her pace.

The dazzling array of goods on the various stalls made her dizzy.

She thought that the people on the internet who were complaining or surviving were the norm. She didn’t expect that in places she didn’t know about offline, people were living completely different lives.

Changgang Port was a combination of several long streets with no end in sight. Wen Yishu’s attire didn’t attract the attention of others at all.

There were not a few people who were fully armed like her.

This place could also be called the black market of Binhai City. She even saw the fur of protected animals on some stalls, which was enough to land someone in jail.

The fact that they dared to display them so openly made her wonder if some shady shops also sold flamethrowers.

She wondered if Bai Mi often visited these places to pick out goods.

The thought of an old-fashioned person like her not bargaining made her laugh.

Wen Yishu raised the corner of her mouth. She walked for a while with ease and finally arrived at the destination indicated by Aix, under the gaze of some ill-intentioned people.

A bookstore located in a bustling area.

The bookstore in front of her had a red door frame. The translucent glass only allowed her to see the warm yellow light and the general layout inside.

The huge, slanted sign above the door was like a big mouth that was about to fall and devour the people at the entrance.

A hanging store name was next to the door number—Curvature Library.

This name made people think of Warp Speed Life. Wen Yishu glanced at the few little tails following her, pressed the metal handle, and pushed the door open to walk in.

She stepped on a wooden floor that was completely different from the outside. The moment the door closed, all the chaotic sounds from outside disappeared.

Wen Yishu had never felt her ears so quiet before. It was as if the world had been put on mute.

The furnishings in the bookstore were very old and cozy, making her feel as if she had returned to the library she used to visit when she was a child, which was built in the last century and hadn’t closed down yet.

The wooden bookshelves were a little taller than a person, neatly arranged in rows behind the piles of books at the entrance.

Next to it was a cafe and a tea bar. The cashier was an old lady who was dozing on the low counter.

The warm yellow light dispelled some of the coldness on her body. She smelled the aroma of pastries in the air and suddenly felt a little hungry.

She walked to the front of the counter and gently knocked on the tabletop, trying to wake up the person who was sleeping.

A subtle current sound suddenly came from her ear. Wen Yishu saw the person in front of her suddenly look like a screen of a blocked projector. A piece was missing. Only half of her body was still lying on it. The picture looked creepy no matter how she looked at it.

She took two steps back. Only then did she realize that this person was just a realistic projection.

A soft sound of footsteps came from behind her. A girl wearing many layers of sweaters walked down the stairs. She stretched herself and asked Wen Yishu: “Hello, what do you need to buy?”

Wen Yishu took a step back on guard, confirming Aix’s marked point on the map again.

Warp Speed Life’s recruitment method was unique. Other than social recruitment, the most mentioned thing was this strange bookstore in Changgang Port.

But this place was very ordinary, even a little old.

Wen Yishu wondered if she had gone to the wrong place. Holographic projection was a common way for store clerks to be lazy now, but it seemed a little strange in this big company.

She felt a strange sense of absurdity, like discovering that the top federal financial families were just a bunch of makeshift crews.

Wen Yishu looked at the girl who was walking down with a difficult expression. She should be a native of Binhai City.

She wore sweaters on top of each other, but she didn’t have a thick coat.

The girl didn’t look very old. She had obviously just woken up from a nap and walked in front of her.

Wen Yishu opened her mouth and said the secret code she had found on the live feed: “The supernova that surpasses the speed of light, the master of the Federation’s future.”

Wen Yishu felt her cheeks flush. She clenched her toes, wondering which childish person came up with this secret code.

The girl, however, seemed to be used to it. She immediately understood what she meant. She pointed to the reading room in the back.

“Go that way. An interviewer will receive you.”

Wen Yishu quickly fled the spot. Her hand quickly turned the metal handle.

After opening the door to the reading room, she walked in.

The inside was a completely different cold tone. A blue cold light shone on her. The furnishings inside were completely different from the outside.

There were no cozy sofas or bookshelves, but a cold desk with a transparent globe on it.

Wen Yishu walked forward and saw that the arrow on it was pointing to the wall. She walked around the desk and saw a password door lock on the wall behind it.

Wen Yishu took out the door number she had just entered from her glasses and tried to type it in.

The red flashing lock screen turned blue. Wen Yishu couldn’t help but sigh: “What a makeshift crew. Can they even fight Rhine?”

It was so easy that it made her a little scared.

Wen Yishu stepped into the metal mirror corridor. The road under her feet was a little bumpy. What she didn’t know was that from the moment she entered the reading room, the cozy bookstore outside had completely changed its appearance.

The entire second floor was lowered from above, and the first floor sank into the ground.

Wen Yishu didn’t walk for long before she saw the interview room inside. She had the illusion that she was back in the Rhine Headquarters laboratory.

The opaque explosion-proof door and the white holographic conference table inside were basically identical to Rhine’s.

She knocked on the door. A holographic screen appeared at the door. A woman put her face close to the screen and looked at Wen Yishu who was standing outside.

“Put your backpack down and come in for the interview. Thank you.”

After she finished speaking, the screen went dark. Wen Yishu didn’t even have time to speak.

She neatly put down her backpack. The door lock clicked. She walked in. The room was very simply decorated.

There were not as many bottles and jars as in the laboratory. The woman’s light golden long hair was loosely tucked behind her ears. Her white lab coat was like a second skin on her body.

A small holographic name tag was pinned to her collar, flashing with blue data streams at the frequency of her breathing.

Half of her face seemed a little unnatural, like it was paralyzed and couldn’t move.

She looked down at the time on her quantum computer and clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction. She muttered and shook her head: “They’re just earning money, but not their lives. To come for an interview at this time, they must be crazy.”

The woman looked at the gloves that Wen Yishu had just taken off. Her knuckles were a little stiff from the cold. She angrily pushed a cup of warm tea towards Wen Yishu: “My name is Du Feijie. Interviewee, please introduce yourself briefly.”

She seemed to not be very interested in Wen Yishu and planned to just do a simple check and then dismiss her.

The interview points in the bookstore were a mix of people every day. Du Feijie hated wasting time and was too lazy to talk nonsense with everyone.

Wen Yishu nodded. She looked at the statement published by Warp Speed on her glasses one last time. Welcome Wen Yishu to join Warp Speed.

The netizens who were eating melons were shocked by this explosive news and were frantically refreshing the page. But at this moment, Wen Yishu didn’t have time to see what the content was about.

She took off her glasses and mask, tidied her hair, and said: “Hello, my name is Wen Yishu. I am a former junior researcher at Rhine Technology.”

The data recording pen in Du Feijie’s fingertips instantly stopped. She suddenly looked up.

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