Chapter 9
When Ye Xuan woke up, he was lying in a room filled with the smell of disinfectant. His neck was wrapped tightly, and even the slightest movement hurt like hell.
Before he had passed out, he, Xia Chenxi, and that group of unknown people had still been in the convenience store.
So where was he now? And what had Xia Chenxi meant when he said someone else had bitten him?
Too many mysteries filled his mind, making his head throb faintly.
“You’re awake.”
A person in a white coat walked in. Without the protective suit covering him, Ye Xuan recognized him as Xie Yan.
Xie Yan walked up to Ye Xuan, lifted his eyelid to take a look, then slid a detector over him to check his physical condition.
“How do you feel?”
“My throat is really dry.” Ye Xuan was telling the truth. Not only was his throat dry, his mouth was dry too, so dry that the moment he opened it, there was a rusty taste.
“…”
Xie Yan poured Ye Xuan a cup of water. “Aside from that, do you feel anything else?”
“My neck hurts a lot.”
“…”
“I’m asking about your physical sensations.” Xie Yan grabbed Ye Xuan by the collar. Why did this stupid kid not understand what he meant? “For example, do you have an urge to bite people, a feverish body, increased strength, or something like controlling objects with your mind?”
“Stop shaking me. My neck hurts.” Ye Xuan grabbed Xie Yan’s hand.
He did not have any of the things Xie Yan mentioned. And what the hell was controlling objects with his mind? Could the twenty-first century really turn into some fantasy cultivation world?
That was way too ridiculous.
“No.”
“Not even one? Then what about before?”
Before…
Ye Xuan remembered his several bizarre experiences of being reborn.
“Alright, kid, stop hiding it from me. Even if you don’t say anything, we’ll still conduct research on you. You might as well tell the truth so we can help you better.”
Xie Yan pressed a few times on the bracelet on his wrist and pulled up several pieces of footage. In the footage, someone clenched both hands in empty air, and a zombie was crushed flat by an invisible force. Someone waved a hand, and a burst of flame shot out, burning a zombie to death. Someone stood where they were and could control machinery to attack zombies.
“See that? The world now is no longer the world you imagined it to be. Ever since the zombie outbreak, everything has gone completely chaotic. The laws of nature no longer apply in this world.”
Xie Yan turned off the video. Seeing Ye Xuan’s dazed expression, he waved a hand in front of his face. “Kid, are you scared by your own mediocrity?”
Compared with the abilities of the people in the video, his ability was indeed very mediocre.
Ye Xuan opened his mouth, and that rusty taste seeped in from his lips again. Uncomfortably, he swallowed.
“I’ve been reborn many times.”
“What? Reborn?” Xie Yan dug at his ear. The three words “I don’t believe you” were clearly written in both his eyes. He had seen so many ability users, but he had never seen a single one whose ability was rebirth.
Was that even possible?
Would that not mean the kid in front of him was an immortal monster?
“Stop joking. Since you can be reborn, then you should be able to prepare countermeasures in advance. Even if you can’t save the people around you, you should at least be able to ensure your own safety. How could you and your roommate end up trapped in that convenience store?”
Sure enough, normal people would all think he was lying. Back at the convenience store, he had not mentioned this to Xia Chenxi because he felt Xia Chenxi would not believe it either.
“Believe it or not, it’s up to you. I’ve told you anyway.” Ye Xuan licked his lips. “Now it’s your turn to tell me where this place is.”
Xie Yan still remained suspicious of Ye Xuan. What this brat said sounded completely unreliable, but judging from his expression, he did not look like he was lying. Then where exactly was the problem?
“This is Revival Base, established to protect the remaining humans. And we hope to recruit more ability users to resist the zombies together with us, just like that friend of yours…”
“Roommate,” Ye Xuan could not help correcting him.
“Fine, whatever, friend or roommate. That person connected to you is a strength-type ability user. You must have noticed while spending time with him, right? His strength is so great it’s beyond human.”
Ye Xuan could not deny that. Xia Chenxi could even easily lift the large truck at the entrance of the convenience store.
“So?”
“So, you should understand that Revival Base doesn’t support idle people. If someone can’t contribute to the base, then they can only do hard labor. It can’t only be the ability users working hard.” Xie Yan continued, “Also, let me tell you this. Your parents are also in the base. If I’m guessing correctly, they should have been assigned by the base to mine ore.”
“What!”
Ignoring the pain in his neck, Ye Xuan sat up from the bed at once and grabbed Xie Yan by the collar, angrily questioning him. “Are you saying my parents are being treated like slaves in the base?”
“Grabbing me, or even beating me to death, won’t help. These are the base’s rules. Resources are limited, and ordinary people have difficulty fighting zombies. The base has to keep operating, shelter them, and provide them with food and lodging. It can only do this.” Xie Yan patted the hand Ye Xuan had on him. “Let go. The person in power at the base isn’t me. I’m just a miserable worker too.”
Ye Xuan lowered his head and slowly loosened his hand. Xia Chenxi had been right. Even if someone came to save them, that did not necessarily mean they were good people.
Seeing Ye Xuan’s low spirits, Xie Yan kindly patted his shoulder to comfort him. “At least your parents survived, didn’t they? And this doesn’t mean they’ll have to mine ore in the base for the rest of their lives. They still have you.”
“Me?” Ye Xuan looked up blankly, then smiled bitterly. “Looks like I’ll have to go mine ore with them too.”
Xie Yan really wanted to pry this stupid kid’s skull open and see what was inside. His thoughts were always on a completely different frequency.
“You’re so stupid you might as well die from it. If you’re an ability user, your parents will be allowed to live in the family quarters as relatives of an ability user. They won’t have to suffer anymore and will receive treatment second only to ability users. And you, as an ability user of the base, will be assigned ability-user housing. You won’t have to worry about food, clothing, or shelter. The more contributions you make to the base, the richer the rewards the base gives you.”
“So, am I an ability user?” Ye Xuan had listened to Xie Yan say so much, but all of it was based on the condition that he was an ability user. If he was not one, then would he not still have to go mine ore?
Xie Yan speechlessly covered his own face.
“You—You’re going to anger me to death. What I’m trying to do is get you to tell me everything that happened before from beginning to end. Don’t lie to me. Only then can I judge whether you’re an ability user or not.”
Ye Xuan looked at the frenzied Xie Yan. In the end, this doctor still did not trust him.
He turned his head and said coldly, “I already said it. What I said is the truth.”
The look Xie Yan gave Ye Xuan became complicated.
“Then tell me more details, kid. It’s not that I’m targeting you. The conditions for determining whether someone is an ability user are very strict. This isn’t only for the base’s sake, but also for the sake of the ability users. Once someone is confirmed as an ability user, they’ll have to go onto the battlefield with real guns and live ammunition.”
