Time rewinds to yesterday, Star Calendar Year 336, Flame Season Day 67. When Xie Yuan woke again, it was already 23:15 at night.
He slowly opened his swollen eyes to complete darkness.
What followed was the thick scent of blood.
As an Advanced Gene Warrior, even severely injured with drastically reduced combat capability and physical condition, his night vision remained superior to ordinary humans.
After adapting slightly to the darkness, he tried to turn his head to survey his surroundings, but a sharp pain from his spine left him immobilized.
His previously muddled mind gradually cleared—
Right. Before getting injured, he had been carrying out an eradication mission in Wasteland City 505.
Just after slaying a third-stage Xeno-beast, he was suddenly ambushed by a comrade’s cold shot!
A specialized bullet designed for Berserker Gene Warriors struck him directly in the abdomen!
Who was it?
That was his only thought in that instant!
Who would be so audacious, disregarding Base laws to attack an Advanced Gene Warrior, and through such despicable means!
The custom neurotoxin in the bullet quickly entered Xie Yuan’s body, spreading and being absorbed rapidly.
Within mere seconds, he distinctly felt his body growing increasingly sluggish.
Pain instantly swept through his entire being, his mind began to fog, and his whole body felt as if it were about to shatter.
Truly a neurotoxin specifically designed to dissolve gene warriors’ mental strength…
Xie Yuan sighed inwardly, sensing he would completely lose consciousness in less than ten seconds.
But if this mission was a long-planned trap…
Relying on his formidable willpower, he struggled to maintain his last shred of clarity.
As his body collapsed, he simultaneously destroyed the Quantum Computer Transmitter on his right wrist. Then, with great effort, he twisted his wrist and drove a blade through the third-stage Xeno-beast’s skull before finally tumbling down from the rubble pile together with the creature.
By now, Xie Yuan’s mind was no longer clear.
Purely acting on instinct, he subconsciously dug out the Nuclear Crystal from the shattered Xeno-beast skull, habitually clutching it tightly in his hand before closing his heavy eyelids and completely losing consciousness.
Simultaneously, the Nuclear Crystal in his hand emitted a faint green light. In the blink of an eye, a green energy seeped from the crystal, rapidly traveling through his palm to spread throughout his body.
The Nuclear Crystal wasn’t large to begin with and was soon completely absorbed.
Following this, the crystal vanished entirely.
Everything happened too fast—from Xie Yuan’s collapse to the Nuclear Crystal’s disappearance, it took merely 1-2 seconds.
Fatefully, Xie Yuan felt a warm current gradually infiltrating his entire body, devouring the neurotoxin within. Gradually, he actually regained some sensation.
Just as he twitched his fingers, attempting to reclaim control of his body, sudden footsteps approached from afar.
Then the gunshot wound in his abdomen suffered a violent impact.
The newcomer meant harm!
Holding his breath and barely keeping his eyes shut, he endured without a single moan as the approaching figure kicked and beat him.
A familiar voice rang in his ears:
“Damn! This Xeno-beast has no Nuclear Crystal!
Captain Xie, oh Captain Xie, never thought you’d see this day, did you? Hahaha!”
But this really isn’t my fault. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being too prominent and blocking others’ path…
Hahahahaha…”
…
After the person had completely walked away, Xie Yuan’s senses gradually began to recover. Gritting his teeth and mustering his last ounce of strength, he grabbed the two Scavenger “corpses” beside him and rushed toward the landing area.
Under the cover of the “corpses,” he successfully bypassed the Guard Fleet Warship and stumbled onto the Scavengers’ aircraft.
Then he casually tore off a large piece of cloth from one of the corpses’ coats to wrap around himself, concealing his combat uniform.
With great effort, he crawled to a corner of the aircraft, burying himself completely among the numerous Scavenger corpses.
Finally, he could hold on no longer and completely lost consciousness.
…
Xie Yuan lay in the darkness. Due to the invasion of the neurotoxin, his neck was immobilized, forcing him to use his peripheral vision to survey his surroundings.
A massive room, neatly arranged corpses.
Alright, he must be in the 9th District now.
His Optical Brain had been destroyed, so the Guard Fleet shouldn’t be able to locate him for the time being.
Plus, with that traitor around, the process of reporting him as missing would undoubtedly be accelerated until his death was officially confirmed.
Heh… What a well-calculated plan…
But without his Optical Brain, he had no idea what time it was.
Cremations in the 9th District usually had their last shift at 7 p.m. It was so dark now; it must be well past that time.
So the nearest cremation time should be 9 a.m. tomorrow morning.
Alright, he was safe for tonight at least…
Just as Xie Yuan was meticulously analyzing the current situation and planning his next move, the “corpse” to his left suddenly let out a sharp, hissing intake of breath.
The short, sharp sound carried a ragged, tearing quality.
Damn! Was the person lying next to him an Infected?!
And already mutated?!
Xie Yuan’s alarm bells rang loudly.
He struggled to sit up and assume a defensive posture, but the neurotoxin he’d been hit with was exceptionally vicious.
Even though he’d had incredibly good luck and managed to obtain an extremely rare healing-type Nuclear Crystal just before death, it had only barely pulled him back from the brink, temporarily halting the toxin’s further spread.
So, he still couldn’t move!
Damn it!
Just as he was about to plan his next steps, a “time bomb” had to appear right beside him!
Xie Yuan felt a wave of despair.
Was it because he was afraid of death?
No. After so many life-and-death battles, he had long since cast aside any fear of dying.
From the moment he was conscripted into the Base Guard at 13, he had been prepared to sacrifice himself at any time.
But this incident was clearly a premeditated ambush, and its target was likely the entire Dawn Guard!
As the captain, he had the responsibility and duty to protect every member of the Guard.
So before he died, he had to find a way to send a message to his teammates, to ensure the traitor was brought to justice.
While Xie Yuan, physically disabled but mentally resolute, was anxiously racking his brains for a solution, Xu San San, who had just woken up, was in excruciating pain and utterly bewildered, trying to digest the fact that she had just traveled through time.
Finally, a faint rustling sound broke the silence.
Damn!
Xie Yuan suddenly realized that the “corpse” to his left was slowly sitting up!
Already capable of movement right after waking up—was this… the evolution of the Infected?!
Xie Yuan was shocked once again!
It seemed his chances of survival this time were truly slim…
He only hoped the members of the Dawn Guard could take good care of themselves…
Xie Yuan uncontrollably penned his final blessings for the guard team in his heart, as if facing death.
But just then, a glimmer of light seeped through the door crack, followed by intermittent conversation.
Great, someone’s here!
It must be the guard team responsible for patrolling Refugee Camp 9th District.
While the “Infected” hadn’t fully awakened yet, as long as he seized the right moment and made some noise appropriately, they would likely notice this place… and then he could…
Xie Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and habitually began making judgments and planning his next steps.
But immediately after, he noticed the “Infected” beside him starting to move again.
Awakening so soon?!
He watched as “it” rustled and twisted its body, seemingly rummaging for something by its side…
At this moment, Xie Yuan felt somewhat fractured. His severely injured body, combined with these repeated twists and turns, made him sense a trace of creepiness from an “Infected.” How did that happen?
In his confused state, he clearly caught, from the corner of his eye, the “Infected” pulling out a syringe from who-knows-where and skillfully injecting itself.
Then, “its” Optical Brain suddenly emitted a faint glow again…
…
After that, “it” actually sat still, barely moving anymore…
…