442: Chapter 439 Prelude to a Horror Movie

On the other side, in the Training Area of the foreign base, Shen Mingyuan, Wei Ziqing, and Lu Jianchuan were each occupying a spot for their activities.

Shen Mingyuan was jogging on a treadmill, Wei Ziqing was practicing a slow set of fist techniques in a nearby open space, and Lu Jianchuan was lifting dumbbells with steady, rhythmic movements. Each of the three was focused on their own task, and no one spoke.

Ye Ouyang walked over from the end of the corridor and pushed open the door to the Training Area.

Wei Ziqing finished his fist routine and glanced at him.

"Hey, Ye Ouyang, how's it going? How's the research coming along?"

Ye Ouyang walked over, sat down on a nearby bench, and let out a breath.

"Not great." He shook his head. "Research isn't something that can be completed in an instant; it requires a long wait. The Researchers said that those special cells causing the zombies were clearly made in a rush, just thrown together haphazardly, leading to that irregular mutation pattern. And that's how it turned out."

He paused.

"In other words, because it wasn't done properly from the start due to time constraints, it's going to take a long time to study. For now, things here have come to a temporary halt; the Researchers haven't figured anything out yet."

Wei Ziqing nodded.

"I see. Well then, I've just about finished my workout anyway."

Ye Ouyang looked at him, then at the other two.

"So, what are we going to do now?"

Shen Mingyuan stepped off the treadmill and wiped away his sweat.

"I know. At a time like this, we should put on Detective outfits and go for a stroll around this city."

Lu Jianchuan put down the dumbbells and gave him a look.

"Let's not do that right now," he said. "Let's take this opportunity to enjoy a nice trip on the company's dime."

He walked over and sat down nearby.

"Mainly, we don't have any intelligence on Xiao Hui right now, so we don't know where he is for the time being. All we can do is walk around like this. If we wander through the city, we might stumble upon something strange or run into them."

Ye Ouyang thought about it.

"Alright then. But where should the four of us go?"

Wei Ziqing scratched his head.

"A stroll... I don't really like strolling. How about we go to an internet cafe? Does this place have internet cafes?"

Lu Jianchuan pondered for a moment.

"Let me think..." He paused. "Maybe we should just go get something to eat. Or go grab some snacks and check out the cathedrals or something. Those seem to be what's most famous abroad."

Ye Ouyang slapped his thigh.

"Then there's nothing more to say, let's head out immediately."

The group changed into casual clothes, left the base, and began wandering aimlessly through the streets. The streets of foreign cities were different from those back home; the characters on the signs were unintelligible, and the people passing by looked different too.

Ye Ouyang looked around, finding everything novel. Wei Ziqing followed behind with his hands in his pockets. Shen Mingyuan looked here and there as if searching for Materials for a Detective novel. Lu Jianchuan walked at the front, occasionally stopping to look at street signs.

As they wandered, a sudden commotion broke out ahead.

A figure rushed out of an alley, stumbling toward them while making beast-like gasps. He was running fast and knocked over a roadside trash can, spilling its contents everywhere. Several uniformed police officers followed closely behind, shouting something as they gave chase.

The man rushed straight toward the group.

Lu Jianchuan shifted his step, sidestepping to let him pass while simultaneously sticking out a leg to trip him.

Smack!

The man fell face-first. Before he could crawl back up, several police officers had already rushed over and pinned him down.

One of the officers stood up, panting, and nodded to Lu Jianchuan, saying a string of words in a foreign tongue. The earpiece provided a simultaneous translation: "Thanks, otherwise we really wouldn't have caught him if he kept running like that."

Lu Jianchuan waved his hand.

"You're welcome." He glanced at the man still struggling on the ground. "What's the matter with him?"

The officer looked down at the man and then looked back up.

"Caught him in the cathedral," he said, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness. "There have been a lot of these guys in the cathedral lately, all acting like they've inhaled something, totally crazy. We finally managed to pin one down and were about to take him back."

He called out to his colleagues, and several of them hauled the man off the ground and escorted him toward the police car.

"Thanks again, goodbye."

Lu Jianchuan nodded.

"Goodbye."

The police officers drove off with the man, and the crowd of onlookers slowly dispersed. Shen Mingyuan leaned in.

"What's the situation?"

Lu Jianchuan glanced at the receding police car.

"From what that officer said, it sounds like he inhaled something."

Ye Ouyang had already turned his head to the side, staring at a corner restaurant.

"I want to eat that." He pointed at the restaurant's sign. "Looks good."

Shen Mingyuan followed his finger with a glance.

"Alright, let's go then."

The four of them walked toward the restaurant.

The four sat down in the restaurant, and the waiter brought out several plates of pasta. Ye Ouyang picked up his fork, swirled a large mouthful, and stuffed it into his mouth, his cheeks bulging.

Wei Ziqing ate slowly and methodically, Shen Mingyuan browsed something on his phone while eating, and Lu Jianchuan sat by the window, twirling his fork a couple of times without rushing to start.

Outside the window, people were coming and going on the street. The police car had already left, and everything had returned to normal. He watched the pedestrians, his mind turning over other matters.

Cynthia will probably go to Antarctica. So where should I go?

Xiao Hui's clues are here, but it doesn't seem capable of causing much trouble. Or rather, as soon as it does anything, it will be noticed quickly. Should I also follow them to Antarctica for a trip?

As he was thinking, his phone vibrated.

Lu Jianchuan looked down at it; it was a message in the group chat from the base.

Shen Mingyuan received it as well, putting down his fork to check it. Wei Ziqing and Ye Ouyang pulled out their phones one after another.

The message was quite long. Each of them read it, occasionally looking up to make eye contact.

"Based on our monitoring, we've discovered that the police department has arrested a new batch of people," the message read. "They are currently being brought back. These people are not ordinary—to be precise, they are indeed ordinary people, but they are being controlled by something extraordinary."

"A sort of Hive Mind is affecting their essence. It's difficult for us to break the connection between them. We don't even know how they manage to communicate across distances. Special research is underway."

There was another paragraph after that.

"If you encounter similar situations outside, be sure to investigate. The infected usually exhibit certain characteristics:"

"They appear extremely kind and loving, always saying things like 'we are one' or 'we are a big family.' Most importantly, they have an indescribable rapport—they know what the other needs without speaking, or they provide help directly when the other needs it."

"Ordinary people can certainly have rapport, but the rapport of these people... is more obvious, more... abnormal."

Lu Jianchuan put his phone away and finally swirled a clump of noodles with his fork, putting it into his mouth.

Ye Ouyang stared at his phone screen for a moment, then looked up.

"So we need to look for a group of people with extraordinary rapport."

Shen Mingyuan swirled a forkful of noodles and put it in his mouth, speaking as he chewed.

"We might not necessarily encounter them. Maybe there's only that one batch in this city, or maybe there are more."

He put down his fork, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Control... Hive Mind... why does it remind me of that guy? The Fusion of consciousness."

Wei Ziqing looked up.

"It couldn't be him, could it?"

Shen Mingyuan glanced at him.

"No, definitely not. Didn't he say it himself? He's an individual consciousness; he wouldn't play that kind of house-playing game of pretending to be dead people."

Lu Jianchuan put down his fork and looked out the window.

"So it's another one. Another one similar to Xiao Hui."

Shen Mingyuan nodded.

"Both appearing in this city, how interesting."

Lu Jianchuan turned back, his gaze sweeping over the group.

"It seems we must find him. Only then can we know who this fellow really is."

Shen Mingyuan placed his fork onto his plate.

"In that case, let's split up and search."

Ye Ouyang was stunned for a moment.

"Senior Shen, this is usually the prelude to a horror movie," he said, his tone carrying a bit of banter. "Everyone splits up to search, then one by one things go wrong, and in the end, only one protagonist is left alive."

Shen Mingyuan looked at him, his lips twitching slightly.

"Have a little confidence in our own combat strength, okay?" he said. "Even if there's a problem, I'll notify you in the group chat immediately. Have some faith in yourself."

Ye Ouyang scratched his head.

"Fine, fine. Since that's the case, splitting up the four of us should make the search faster. Plus, with the The Authorities personnel and the people from the base also searching, it should be quicker."

Wei Ziqing finished his last bite of pasta and put down his fork.

"Alright then."

Lu Jianchuan stood up, pulled a few bills from his pocket, and placed them on the table.

"Then it's settled. If there's any news, say it in the group."

The four of them stood up and walked out of the restaurant. They split up at the door, each choosing a direction.