Chapter 7

Chapter 7

At such close range, even the worst shot couldn't miss, but Wu Yin didn't feel the anticipated pain. He saw Jie Lin Yuan swiftly pull him behind, drop to one knee, and use his left arm to accurately block the bullet aimed at his chest.

The high-speed bullet left a charred tear on Jie Lin Yuan's sleeve, and the skin coating beneath showed signs of scorching, but it was merely a minor injury for Jie Lin Yuan. After blocking the bullet, he lunged at the brute at the door, covering the gun barrel with his palm and then fiercely kicking the brute's jaw.

The bear-like brute was sent flying, bloodied and far away, with Jie Lin Yuan quickly following. More gunshots and the sound of physical confrontation followed, leaving Wu Yin hesitating whether to stay put or follow, until bullets piercing through the shattered windshield made up his mind, prompting him to leap out of the vehicle amidst terrified screams.

At 7 PM, even in the height of summer with extended daylight, the sunset had already dipped halfway behind the mountains, rapidly darkening Wu Yin's vision, a persistent issue regardless of the host body. Once the sun set completely, he would be nearly blind, relying only on the negligible light from the moon.

Jie Lin Yuan crouched on the ground, swiftly scavenging weapons and ammo from the enemies, simultaneously sending another request for decryption to his commander. Ten minutes had passed since his last request with no response. Only after a third unanswered request could he directly report to his highest authority to request emergency activation of core directives.

During this waiting period, his half-war god mechanical body was useless, reduced to scavenging leftovers from a band of monkeys.

Despite their fierce appearance, the bandits' equipment was pitiful. After thoroughly searching the bodies, Jie Lin Yuan found only a homemade shotgun, badly damaged and likely to misfire, with just one bullet left, which he used on a thug who regained consciousness and attempted a sneak attack.

Jie Linyuan discarded the gun and noticed Palmer quickly running to a fallen strong man nearby, taking a handgun from the ground. He then hurried back and breathlessly handed the gun to Jie Linyuan.

"..." The courage of this blond researcher was unexpectedly great, considering Jie Linyuan had seen many contaminated by fear to the point of leg weakness and incontinence, either crying and waiting for death or running around dragging everyone down.

"You keep it for self-defense," Jie Linyuan said.

"Ever seen a blind man use a gun for self-defense?" Wu Yin unhesitatingly stuffed the gun into Jie Linyuan's embrace. "You holding it is much more useful than me."

Jie Linyuan frowned, his peripheral vision catching sight of everyone fleeing the vehicle, Team Leader Zhao assisting a researcher shot in the leg. Behind him, the last member of Guard Team 6, clutching his bleeding abdomen, staggered a few steps before collapsing to the ground, pale-faced.

Team Leader Zhao, sweat-soaked and anxious, looked back several times, wanting to return for his teammate. During this brief hesitation, a bullet barely missed his scalp, embedding in the grass, blood instantly trickling from his forehead to his eye.

In this moment of helplessness, he instinctively thought to seek help from Z1932, this powerful test subject, to save his teammate. "Z!" Team Leader Zhao looked up, his vision blurred by blood, seeing that gentle, humble man who always played the protector, standing motionlessly not far away, his facial expression indecipherable.

“Z……”

"I don't have the unlocking authority, and with my current abilities, I can't save her."

Having said that, Z1932 turned and walked away without hesitation.

This extremely calm statement left Team Leader Zhao stunned. The tone carried no superfluous emotion, just rational analysis and conclusion, followed by immediate action. Soon, his gaze hardened, he gritted his teeth, abandoning the last bit of reluctance, and continued to flee forward, carrying the injured researcher.

Just as Jie Linyuan took a step forward, a heavy burden clung desperately to his arm and wouldn’t let go. He turned to see Palmer grasping at him, "My, my leg is sprained, I can't walk…"

The tone was pitiful and somewhat shrunken when facing him directly, but his grip was as tight as iron, almost as if threatening to break his arm if left behind.

"…" Without a word, Jie Linyuan walked in front of Palmer, crouched down, and immediately, a warm body lay on his back. Taking advantage of Jie Linyuan’s moment to lift the person, Team Leader Zhao, carrying the injured, passed by them and disappeared behind a hillock in a blink.

Jie Linyuan’s running speed was much faster than the limping duo ahead, but he intentionally stayed behind to cover their retreat, continuously carrying Palmer at the rear. Wu Yin, being carried, suddenly realized, in the current situation… wasn't he everyone's human shield?

Despite lacking the auto-aim feature of his left eye, Jie Lin Yuan's shooting was still exceptionally accurate, ensuring that every shot fired would result in an enemy, or an unfortunate Infected stumbling into the line of fire, falling down. The pursuing bandits were forced to slow down their chase speed and were quickly left far behind.

The good news is that after seizing the transport vehicle and its cargo, the enemies didn't pursue them relentlessly; the bad news is that only two members of the large research team survived: Palmer and a female researcher named Xin Rong.

However, upon learning Xin Rong's name, Zhao Team felt something was amiss. After a closer look at the woman, he realized she wasn't actually a researcher but one of Palmer's mistresses that he insisted on bringing back to the shelter.

"..." So much for their diligent protection efforts – both the protectors and the protected were nearly wiped out.

……

After shaking off their pursuers, the four of them hid in a dense cornfield to rest. Without human cultivation, the wild corn had large leaves but small, unpalatable fruits.

"Where are we?" While providing first aid to Xin Rong, Zhao Team wiped the blood on his forehead, only to smear it more, looking from afar like a serial killer passionately burying bodies in a cornfield.

Wu Yin shook his head; he couldn't see anything now and could only stand quietly, trying to minimize his presence.

With Xin Rong severely bleeding from a gunshot wound in her leg and sitting pale-faced on the ground, she couldn't possibly know their location.

When asked about their location, Jie Lin Yuan also shook his head, "After the key lock, my map and positioning functions were also disabled. Now only real-time monitoring, lighting..."

As he mentioned, he activated the lighting system, and his dim left eye lit up like a car's headlight.

"...and the emergency contact function to my direct superior are left."

Hearing about the emergency contact, Zhao Team perked up, but before he could urge him, Jie Lin Yuan, bloodied hands and all, looked up at him, "I've already sent two messages, no response."

Without needing further explanation, it was clear that the team dispatched by the bearded captain to the base station had encountered trouble. Zhao Team didn't ask further, drawing a small knife, "First, let's find a safe place. Z, carry the woman. Professor, follow... What the hell are you spacing out for? Hurry up!"

If his night vision were better, he would notice Palmer's eyes were lifeless, focusing on nothing in particular. Since Zhao Team and Xin Rong had previous interactions with the real Palmer, Wu Yin couldn't reuse the excuse of night blindness without raising suspicion, so he lied, "I've sprained my ankle, I can't walk."

"Damn it." Zhao Team wanted to rid himself of these burdens; he cursed as he roughly helped Palmer to walk.

Stumbling forward in the dark, Wu Yin nearly tripped. He was clearly dissatisfied with this treatment and frowned, "Can't you carry me instead?"

"What are you dreaming about…"

His words were cut off by a short, piercing scream. Both turned around, Wu Yin pricking up his ears, trying to discern what happened from the sound. Team Leader Zhao saw clearly: Xin Rong was sitting on the ground, scrambling away in terror, her face etched with horror, while Z1932, maintaining his crouched posture, had a distinctly cold expression.

"His, his..." Xin Rong’s voice broke into a cry, "His eyes…"

Jie Linyuan straightened up, turning his face towards Palmer and Zhao. His right eye was now completely engulfed in thick black ink, the crimson iris barely visible. The eye was so overwhelmed with massive black veins that it bulged outwards like those of a contaminant, with the optic nerve visible behind the eyeball, as if it might fall out any second.

The scene was so grotesquely terrifying that even Zhao gasped in shock.

Jie Linyuan took in their reactions, stood up straight, and considerately took a step back: "Perhaps it would be better if I split up from you."

Xin Rong was sobbing too hard to speak, crawling towards Zhao and Palmer. Zhao, relatively composed, asked hoarsely, "Are you about to lose control?"

"I can still endure it," Jie Linyuan said gently, yet with restraint, "I will only lose my sanity and attack when my face is also covered with these black veins."

Hearing that this horrifying figure might lose control and attack, Xin Rong cried even harder.

Zhao swallowed, trying to analyze rationally, "Then, let's not separate for now. I can't guarantee to take care of two patients… Xin Rong…"

"No, I don’t want him, I can walk on my own." Xin Rong, her hair wet with sweat and clinging to her muddy, blood-streaked face, stood up with a limp as soon as she realized Zhao intended to assign that 'monster' to her, vehemently shaking her head in refusal.

Wu Yin, who had remained silent, suddenly curled his lips into a smirk, seemingly pleased: "That's perfect, Zhao, you assist her. Jie Linyuan, come carry me."