Chapter 218

Chapter 218

At around 4 a.m., the deafening engine roar jolted everyone awake.

Two military transport planes arrived at Guanshan Prison, along with a medical team.

Aside from checking Cheng Jing's stable vital signs, the doctors also conducted basic examinations on the pregnant women and children, giving them nutrient packs to adjust their condition for the flight.

After deliberating, the team decided that Yang Kai would take Gao Xuyang and the 28 survivors on one plane, while Jiang Nian and the rest of the squad would transport the unconscious Cheng Jing on the other.

As for Chu Yi and Tang Ji, they would lead the troop convoy to drive the trucks, ferrying Second Brother Qi's crew back slowly while stopping at several marked points along the way to collect salvageable metal components they had previously noted.

After an hour of preparations, the planes took off again, leaving Guanshan Prison behind.

During the return journey, Cheng Jing's body temperature gradually returned to normal, but he sank into deeper unconsciousness, not even twitching.

Jiang Nian, who had been calm earlier, felt his calm slipping, his mind spiraling with worries:

Since his rebirth, he had changed many things, and the further time progressed, the more variables the butterfly effect would bring.

Every silver lining had its cloud—this was what he feared the most.

Brother Jing's breakthrough in dual-aspect superpower was exponentially riskier than that of ordinary Superpowered individuals. What if his brain was damaged, causing memory loss or a drastic personality change upon waking...?

"Jiang Nian, trust him. He'll be fine."

Huang Qian's voice snapped him out of his dark thoughts at just the right moment.

Jiang Nian slapped his cheeks lightly and met his teammates' encouraging gazes before nodding, shaking it off.

"Yeah."

That's right—he should trust Brother Jing.

...

By mid-morning, the group returned to the Southern City Base, where the planes landed in the central district.

The other survivors were turned over to processing teams for relocation, while Cheng Jing and Gao Xuyang were taken directly to Laboratory Building No. 3, each placed in a quarantine observation room.

"Teacher Gao, rest here for now. After we handle Cheng Jing's situation, I'll take you to meet the professors. Don’t worry about anyone disturbing you—I’ll lock the door from the outside."

As he spoke, Yang Kai drew the curtains shut in the ward and disabled the surveillance feed.

"Okay."

Gao Xuyang nodded, walking around the room before removing his helmet and jacket. He climbed onto the hospital cot, crossing his hands over his abdomen and saying to Yang Kai,

"Go... do your work... I'm fine."

Yang Kai couldn’t help but chuckle.

"You don’t actually have to lie down—just stay inside. If you get hungry, have some energy crystals. I’ll come back as soon as I can."

With that, he gave Gao Xuyang's hand a reassuring squeeze before leaving.

"..."

After a full battery of tests, the laboratory professors briefed Jiang Nian's team:

Cheng Jing was fine, but after experiencing a Superpower breakthrough, he had plunged into nightmares, leading to coma-like sleep due to immense mental exhaustion. All his vitals were stable, and he just needed to sleep until he woke up naturally, which would likely take a few days.

Jiang Nian and his teammates finally let their guard down, and Department Head Wang, who had rushed over, also visibly relaxed.

Coincidentally, Cheng Lei was working his shift at Lab 3 and immediately called/texted their parents to ease their worries.

Since Cheng Jing only needed a few more days of sleep, Jiang Nian decided to take him back to their dorm to care for him.

After all, he still disliked places like laboratories.

Department Head Wang and the professors didn't object.

In the afternoon, as Jiang Nian and his teammates brought Cheng Jing back to the dorm, Yang Kai also took Gao Xuyang to meet with Department Head Wang, as well as the professors and researchers from the "Special Phenomena Management Experimental Research Base."

...

With Jiang Nian taking care of Cheng Jing, his parents were reassured. The weather was too hot, so Jiang Nian discouraged them from delivering or preparing meals, and the elderly couple stayed home, mostly calling to check in.

Teammates and Cheng Lei visited daily like clockwork, just to take a quick look.

Members of the Li family and Department Head Wang also made time to visit, with Li Shuhui bringing Xiao Qi along.

Despite the blazing heat, the little furball remained as energetic as ever.

Since the arrival of the professors from the "Special Experimental Base," not only had the human antidote serum reached the final testing stage, but research on animals infected with the zombie virus had also achieved a major breakthrough.

After extensive testing, the professors confirmed that Xiao Qi had been infected with the zombie virus and recovered—more than once—likely due to its owner, such as being accidentally harmed during an uncontrolled outburst.

As a result, its constitution was stronger than that of a normal dog, and it was hyper-sensitive to zombies.

In short, having survived multiple infections from the virus, Xiao Qi's body had evolved.

Additionally, studies found that the antidote extracted from the blood of Xiao Qi and other animals that had recovered from zombie virus infection was ineffective for humans but worked on other animals of the same species.

The Southern City Base had published the findings. Authorities planned to distribute non-human food like treated kibble and feed soaked in the antidote in areas where reconnaissance teams had spotted animal activity.

The hope was to give some relief to the animals struggling to survive in the apocalypse, reducing the probability of species extinction—which would, in turn, help humanity itself.

Moreover, the special antibodies previously mentioned in some animals were actually purification energy, though compared to Jiang Nian's Purification Superpower, they were barely detectable and unstable, as animals lacked a Superpower Core.

In other words, Jiang Nian's superpower could not only save infected humans but also infected animals.

After reaching the highest tier of Purify, it was almost like a miracle cure—anything that could be infected could nearly always be purified.

...

Three days passed like this.

Chu Yi and Tang Ji also returned to the base with their troops, bringing in three semis worth of metal supplies. Cheng Jing slept soundly, showing no signs of waking.

Gao Xuyang had been processed and needed to remain in Experimental Building No. 3 temporarily, giving regular blood draws to assist in developing another type of "antidote serum." Additionally, until fully recovered, he had to wear a monitoring collar.

The situation and outcome were largely as Yang Kai had hoped. Once Gao Xuyang could leave Experimental Building No. 3 and join them in the field, Jiang Nian would begin purifying him.

Yang Kai visited Cheng Jing and filled them in that the cause of the special base incident was indeed related to Gao Xuyang.