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墨書 Inktalez
Twenty-six hours have passed since the end of the zombie war. At the M City Military Base, soldiers have been training for nearly three hours in the dark winter morning. The sky today is inexplicably gloomy, and the cold air makes it impossible for the soldiers to warm their gun grips. The soldiers, arranged in formation, march orderly on the training ground, occasionally a military vehicle can be seen driving along the main road. Sparrows crowd on the power lines, startled into flight when they catch a glimpse of shadows illuminated by lights behind curtains. Everything seems so ordinary, as if nothing has happened; life has not changed for anyone due to the zombie war.
Beside a hospital bed, An Xiaotian rests his hands on the railing, a dim desk lamp casting a faint light that half-illuminates his figure on the curtain. Although it is already past seven o'clock, the day has not fully brightened. An Xiaotian's face appears divided by light and shadow; one side facing indoors is slightly lit, while the side looking outside remains shrouded in darkness, obscuring his expression. He is the first among The Celestial Warriors to recover, as he only needs to regain his strength while the armor is being repaired by the research team led by Dr. Chen Hao.
From six in the morning until now, An Xiaotian has been trying to sort through his emotions. He feels he should be happy for their victory, but instead, he feels a deep sense of melancholy. People have no idea what happened and do not understand the significance of The Celestial Warriors Alliance winning this battle. No one recognizes them or cheers for them; it seems their victory was merely to pique curiosity rather than to protect people's future. An Xiaotian sighs; he feels like a clown on display for others. This thankless feeling weighs heavily on his heart, and he thinks he needs to seek answers from General Jiang Yan.
An Xiaotian's fingers intertwine as his eyes gaze from the base below towards the distant mountains, filled with mixed emotions.
“Xiaotian?”
That voice of inquiry is so familiar. An Xiaotian is taken aback; his feelings of frustration and melancholy are instantly cast aside as he turns around with an expectant smile and is pleasantly surprised to find Liu Xuan sitting up, rubbing his eyes with a sleepy demeanor like a child just waking from sleep.
“Oh my God, you’re finally awake!” An Xiaotian strides over to Liu Xuan's bedside and bends down to take his hand. However, Liu Xuan seems to snap out of a dream, suddenly pushing An Xiaotian's hand away and retreating to the other side of the bed. The moonlight color in his left pupil flashes as he quickly assembles a hand cannon aimed at An Xiaotian, shouting, “Don’t move! You’re not An Xiaotian! Where are we?”
“Hey, hey! Calm down, Nars! Calm down!” An Xiaotian quickly steps back and raises both hands to show he poses no threat. He knows that Nars and Liu Xuan have awakened simultaneously; Liu Xuan may not be as cautious, but Nars's memories are likely still stuck on the previous zombie battlefield. Given Nars's long experience in combat before coming to Earth, it’s understandable that he would react this way. An Xiaotian calmly looks at Nars's cannon and gestures for him to lower it, saying, “I am the An Xiaotian you know, okay? We won; we did it.”
“Won... did we?” Hearing this, Nars calms down and scrutinizes An Xiaotian for a moment before lowering his weapon and apologizing, “I’m sorry; I thought we were still on the battlefield.”
“Haha, it's fine; it's all over now.” An Xiaotian replies as he lowers his hands and sits beside them.
From one human eye and one moonlight-colored eye, it’s clear that Nars and Liu Xuan are both fully aware now. Seeing them looking around at the hospital room, An Xiaotian explains: “You both fainted while constructing Heavenly Track. Later, I collaborated with Aibo to send Hydrogen Bomb into Time Portal to resolve the crisis. The remaining Soulless Zombies were dealt with by Miao Chengmin. Everyone did their best.”
“What about everyone else? Were there any casualties?” Liu Xuan asks.
“There were no casualties in our alliance, but Miao Chengmin's team suffered heavy losses,” An Xiaotian responds honestly. “Only over a hundred of his brothers remain.”
“…”
Liu Xuan's gaze dims as he lowers his head in silence. So many have already died before facing true enemies; these souls from Divine Realm do not even know where they will go after death—he can only wish for their peace.
The two are at a loss for words. An Xiaotian stands up to get Liu Xuan a glass of water. As he sets it down, Liu Xuan says, “Tell me about everyone else.”
“Others…” An Xiaotian contemplates how to present things more optimistically. “Qin Weishan has several scratches; Sister Jiao An is fine; Lu Sha probably needs some rest after running too long with the vehicle earlier; her wrist was torn while saving you…”
“Ah?” Upon hearing this was for him, Liu Xuan panics. “Doesn’t she have self-healing abilities…?”
“Don’t worry; overall everyone is fine,” An Xiaotian reassures him. “Lu Sha has recovered but truthfully speaking, her wrist was severely injured—especially where her weapon connects with her wrist nerves; being torn like that must be very painful.”
“Oh dear…” Liu Xuan bites his lip. “Looks like I need to thank her properly.”
"Indeed, without her, you might have fallen from the sky and died," An Xiaotian said. "So once she has rested enough, we need to take her to a medical facility. We're considering whether to reduce Lu Sha's pain sensitivity and help her restore nerve connections. Although she can heal quickly, the sensation of her wounds being pulled apart must be uncomfortable, which could affect her performance in combat."
Liu Xuan nodded, remaining silent.
"Then, Dr. Xu safely arrived at the military shelter, while Aibo decided to return to the forest with Miao Chengmin and the Spirit Corps. And there's a girl—do you remember? She was sent to the hospital for treatment," An Xiaotian said. "That's it."
"Xiaotian, I've been thinking about a question," Liu Xuan said. "Should we tailor a set of Battle Armor for Dr. Xu?"
"Like the Fierce Eagle?" An Xiaotian asked. "How about we let him use the Blackhawk? But wait." He slapped his forehead. "The Blackhawk armor requires a neural connection just like the Fierce Eagle armor; whether Xu Yicheng can adapt to it is still a question."
"I don't really need that kind of armor either."
As An Xiaotian and Liu Xuan were talking, Liu Xuan's hospital room door was gently pushed open. Xu Yicheng stood at the doorway, holding a basket of snacks and fruits, hesitating to enter. He asked, "Um... can I come in?"
"Dr. Xu! You... how did you come back? Come in!" An Xiaotian exclaimed joyfully. He had no idea where Xu Yicheng had gone and was worried about whether he could return to M City Base; now Xu Yicheng appeared before him just a day later, which was quite a surprise.
"Hahaha, I just took a taxi," Xu Yicheng joked as he placed the basket on the bedside table. "So, Liu Xuan, how's your recovery going?"
"Very well," Liu Xuan replied with a smile as he spread his hands. "I was waiting for you to come back so you could ask General Jiang for leave so we could go out for a meal."
"Haha..." Xu Yicheng chuckled as he looked at An Xiaotian. "Captain, speaking of which, where has General Jiang gone?"
"I'm not sure," An Xiaotian shook his head. "Logically speaking, everyone from their command room should have returned by now, but there's been no news from General Jiang."
"That's strange," Nars suddenly spoke up. "Do you all remember that Hydrogen Bomb? If we rule out the possibility that General Jiang approved its launch, then it means that those high-ranking commanders did not consider General Jiang's opinion when they targeted our battlefield with the Hydrogen Bomb..."
"Are you saying that General Jiang might have been taken measures against because he opposed it?" An Xiaotian immediately understood Nars' implication.
"Very likely," Xu Yicheng analyzed further. "I remember that the Hydrogen Bomb was unlocked and dropped from a drone from far away; is it possible that General Jiang forcibly seized control of the Hydrogen Bomb to give us a chance to survive?"
In that moment, all four realized something—indeed, General Jiang must have encountered trouble.
"Damn it, a bunch of people who only know how to talk big," An Xiaotian said indignantly. "They have no idea what will happen when the Hydrogen Bomb is dropped! The Zombie Queen's shield doesn't fear that thing! Even if we get blown up, she'll still be alive—what a bunch of brainless fools."
"So now we need to worry about General Jiang," Liu Xuan said.
"No," Xu Yicheng replied. "It's not just him, Xiaotian; there's a reason I rushed back to M City Base at night because I wanted to bring you some news that might cause you extreme discomfort."
"What news?" An Xiaotian became curious as various possibilities began swirling in his mind.
"There’s someone here with me right now. He..." Xu Yicheng hesitated to say this person's name. "If it weren't for me, he'd be back in prison right now."
"Who is it? Just tell me," An Xiaotian said impatiently regarding Xu Yicheng's suspense.
"It's..." Xu Yicheng waved his hand and finally sighed before saying it out loud, "Liang Muqi; he escaped with me during the battle in U City."
"Who?!"
An Xiaotian instantly stood up, his face filled with shock and doubt.
"He..." Xu Yicheng looked at An Xiaotian's tense face, unsure whether to continue. He confirmed again, "Liang Muqi, he escaped with me."
An Xiaotian turned his head to look at the clock on the wall, then turned back and asked seriously, "Where is he now?"
"Just listen to me first," Xu Yicheng wanted to explain further. "When Jiao An and the others went to rescue the hostages, he was with them. And it was Liang Muqi who saved Ming Juan! What I mean is, don't rush to send him back to prison!"
"You don't understand at all, Dr. Xu!" An Xiaotian stepped forward aggressively, as if the name stirred very unpleasant memories within him. He pointed towards the wall and said, "That guy's name should never be heard by me again! You have no idea; I personally defeated this traitor and ended our feud before the country could judge him. I will not let him out for any reason, and he should have died long ago!"
"Calm down, An Xiaotian!" Xu Yicheng quickly advised, guessing that An Xiaotian would react this way. "This might not be a bad thing? Let me clarify: Liang Muqi was too anxious at that time; that's why he chose to cooperate with Viper..."
"He killed General Wang Yangchen!" An Xiaotian could no longer contain himself and shouted.
Xu Yicheng was startled and took a step back. Liu Xuan quickly got up and grabbed An Xiaotian.
"I'm sorry, Doctor." An Xiaotian covered his face, trying to calm down. "Let me make my position clear: I, An Xiaotian, will absolutely not allow my enemy to receive our protection, no conditions attached."
Hearing An Xiaotian's last words through the listening device, Liang Muqi silently closed his eyes in a small hotel several kilometers away and placed the listening device on the table beside him.
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