Hakein took Su Lei on a tour around the base.
"Are you okay? You don't look good…"
Hakein keenly noted the sweat spilling out of Su Lei's forehead.
"I'm okay. I just felt tired from continuous fighting." Su Lei tightly covered his infected arm and followed behind Hakein.
"Uhhhh!!!"
Various zombies were being held individually in each room along the corridor. Not only were there ordinary infected zombies, but there were also some mutated level-2 infected bodies. They were held in a cage and kept struggling, frantically banging against the glass walls upon seeing humans outside, with no avail.
"You sure are doing these experiments, Professor Hakein."
Su Lei looked at the zombies who were locked up like mice and wondered why there was a strange fear.
"I just want to work on a vaccine that can handle these viruses. But you already know that. Don't you, Major Su Lei?"
Just like the antidote against snake venom needs to be extracted from snakes. There must be a way to destroy these viruses in these zombies as well.
They walked through several rooms. The zombies howling intensified. In Su Lei's sight, a large number of zombies were being cut and torn by some steel instruments to study their bodies. The zombies were the archenemy of humanity, they're not worthy of mercy. But… ain't I shifting towards the zombies' side now? Su Lei felt his arm begin to ache again. How long could he resist it? And what would happen when he finally turned into one of those monsters?
But the next room gave Su Lei the answer.
"I'm not infected!!! Help me! Help me! I'm not infected!"
"Restrain that man, and be careful not to have blood contact with him!"
On a hospital bed, a man struggled, his whole body restrained, surrounded by doctors in white coats, holding scalpels. And without anesthesia, slicing through the man's body in a fully conscious state.
"Arghhhhhh!!!!"
The man's cry of pain hit Su Lei's consciousness hard.
"Hakein! What on earth are you doing?" Su Lei reached out and grabbed Hakein's collar.
"He's infected, Major Su Lei!" Hakein looked at Su Lei, indifferently.
"He's…infected? But…"
"Uhhh!"
A zombie-like frenzied scream came over the man who had been restrained and suddenly began to struggle wildly. The bandages on the hospital bed eventually snapped and tore apart.
"Shit! Hurry up and get out of this lab!" The doctors in lab coats panicked.
"Shit! There's an accident!" Hakein tossed Su Lei away from his collar and called into the radio in his ear. "First squad, come to Lab 31! Quick! There's an accident here, save them first! Hurry!"
Eventually, one of the scientists was caught by the zombie. Then, a zombie that had once been a human bit into the scientist's neck, splattering blood all over the glass wall.
"Help me…" the scientist looked out at Su Lei and Hakein and reached his hands in desperation, but the zombie's mouth completely snapped the human's neck. The Black Watch then rashly arrived into the lab to kill the zombie along with the dead scientist!
"…."
Su Lei stared blankly at the scene. His whole body stiffened.
"That is the sadness of the infected."
Heckin's round-rimmed glasses reflected the light.
"Ordinary human turns into a zombie within seconds of infection. When he turns into a zombie, he is truly dead. No longer the human, you know. In other words, he was already doomed to death the moment they were infected, it was just a matter of time. The subject in front of us had been infected for two full days before turning into a zombie. Showing that some humans have antibodies to the virus. "
"You understand that when infected by the virus, they are no longer human and no longer have the qualifications to be human. Because they had become monsters who only know how to devour humans. So, Major Su Lei, please show no mercy to these monsters!"
Hakein turned to look at Su Lei.
These…monsters…Su Lei's grip over his arm increased a little tighter.
"Our population is the key to destroy the virus. We're looking for humans who could resist long enough after being exposed to the virus.."
"What if we find it?" Su Lei asked subconsciously.
"Of course, we will research them." There was a vivid glow in Hakein's eyes. "A zombie's ability is stronger than a human. And if there was someone who could delay their time into turning into a zombie, that means he can adapt to the virus. That's the reason for the establishment of this base. To find such people and…"
Kill without mercy, slice, and dice them!
"But he was human just now, wasn't he? Didn't you hear that man's cry of pain just now?!" Su Lei grabbed Hakein's collar again.
"A human who becomes a zombie has no value for research! People who are infected by the virus are already dead! Feared and hunted by humans, becoming a monster called a zombie! They are no longer qualified as a human! Do you understand, Major Su Lei?!"
Su Lei loosened his grip on Hakein's collar.
"Do what you like." Hakein straightened his collar, "Major, if you meet such a human while on a mission, don't hesitate to contact us. After all, it's for the future of our country. So far, this man had the longest record for two days. That was also for the sake of protecting the New Federation as well."
"…"
If Su Lei remembered correctly, the virus had been dormant in his arm for four whole days, ever since the strange raven had scratched his arm. What should I do? Tell Hakein the truth? And then…like the man, he would be strapped to a hospital bed and dissected like a monster. That's the fate of the previously infected person.
"Well, let's take you to the civilians, none of them are hurt."
Eventually, Hakein took Su Lei to meet those civilians.
"Is that Major Su Lei?!"
"Major Su Lei, who rescued us from the city…"
Apparently, most of the civilians knew Su Lei and gathered around him once they saw his arrival. Upon seeing these people, Su Lei felt that what he was doing now was worth it.
"Will we be taken to a safe place?"
"I don't want to be hunted by those zombies anymore! Those people infected by the virus are monsters!"
"….."
People infected by the virus…are monsters…
Suddenly, there's a pain in his head.
"Can you find me a room to rest?" Su Lei immediately realized something was wrong with his body.
"Of course…" Hakein silently observed Su Lei's figure.
"37, you take Major Su Lei to the reserve room for a rest, and report any requests Major Su Lei has immediately."
"Yes, sir!"
Lucius, who had been watching from the side, finally had a heartfelt order. It sounded like Lucius was going to help Su Lei, but it was just surveillance in reality. And so, Lucius brought Su Lei to a tiny room equipped with bedding and food and such. Lucius guarded the door outside, executing the Black Watch style of observing Su Lei without saying a word. There was no audio bugging or monitoring device in this room.
Su Lei walked into the room and squeezed his arm with his other hand, clenched his teeth. Fine sweats slipped from his forehead. He didn't dare to do anything, let alone dealing with the one on his arm for one particular reason…
'The infected people are monsters… '
From the moment they were infected with the virus, they're no longer qualified to be human. Su Lei never wanted to harm the human, let alone be sliced by those malicious scientists. But… crap!
Su Lei covered his head, feeling his consciousness drifted away. I can't pass out now! Su Lei looked at the Black Watch soldier standing in the doorway. If he lost consciousness, it would be over. They would know that he had been infected by the virus!
Damn it! Su Lei bit his lips but found it's no use at all. Finally, his head sank down on the bed.
"Ah… he finally passed out."
Lucius looked at Su Lei, the virus had reached Su Lei's bone marrow. The so-called powerful, A-ranked Esper.
What to do now? Lucius looked around the room, there was no monitoring or listening device…
"Pfft…" A mocking laugh came from Lucius, pulling the gas mask off his face and looking at Su Lei, who had collapsed on the bed.
Finally, it's time to get down to business.