Chapter 32: The Savior’s Substitute in the Apocalypse (9)

What was particularly baffling was that, upon investigation, nearly all the zombies in the hospital were evolved types; ordinary zombies were scarce. This significantly increased the difficulty of their mission. It also made Mu Yin recall something: from the task information she’d received, it seemed this world had not yet developed a vaccine. Yet, according to Wan Yuanheng, if they could secure a sample of the plague virus, there was a seventy or eighty percent chance a vaccine could be developed. Did this mean that in the original course of events, this mission had also existed, but failed?

Mu Yin wasn’t certain. The hints she’d been given were minimal—little more than a brief outline: the reborn woman caused the protagonist’s death, her selfishness ultimately led to humanity’s failure to eradicate the zombies, and the revival of spiritual energy brought about mankind’s extinction. Beyond that, there was nothing.

But if it were only a matter of refusing to hand over the space and thus failing to break it, causing spiritual energy to leak and dooming humanity before the revival of spiritual energy could even occur, that seemed impossible. Looking at it now, it must have been that during this mission, the crucial item—the plague virus sample—had been destroyed.

There were also some people Mu Yin suspected. She glanced at the group of soldiers currently planning their method of entering the hospital laboratory. Most of these people would surely die as well. They were all formidable, and in the original timeline, they might have been the protagonist’s allies.

With this in mind, Mu Yin began preparing a few things, though she kept it secret from the others. Finally, on the third night, the party from Congxia Base joined them. As expected, Mu Yin sensed a familiar aura among some of these newcomers—the stench of those parasites.

Not all of them carried it, but a few did. One of them seemed especially close to the reborn woman—their manner was intimate, suggesting he was the male lead of the reborn, counterattack heroine’s story.

Yet, the aura on these people was faint. If Mu Yin hadn’t already been suspicious and paying close attention, she might not have noticed at all. Clearly, she could no longer rely solely on this method to identify them; she needed another way.

While the two groups discussed how to enter the laboratory, Mu Yin appeared to be daydreaming absentmindedly, but her thoughts were elsewhere. Suddenly, someone sat down beside her and greeted her. “Hello, my name is Peng Hao.”

“Hello, I’m Mu Yin,” she replied, turning to find that the newcomer was one of the individuals carrying that parasitic aura. She arched an eyebrow and responded coolly, curious about his intentions.

“Mu Yin, that’s a nice name. Are you from Shanghang City?” Peng Hao was a handsome man, and as he smiled at her, there was a certain charm about him.

“No, I’m from Longchang,” Mu Yin shook her head, feeling slightly odd—was this parasite trying to flirt with her?

“Oh, Longchang. I’ve always heard there are beauties from Longchang, and it seems the rumors are true,” Peng Hao said, as if suddenly realizing something.

“You flatter me. If we’re talking about beauty, I’m nowhere near as lovely as Ms. Yu Xinling.” Mu Yin felt uneasy, but for her own reasons, she didn’t distance herself from him. She wanted to understand his motives and get closer to them for her own plans.

“Xinling is indeed beautiful, but she’s already my brother’s girlfriend,” Peng Hao didn’t attempt to win favor by belittling Yu Xinling, but made her status clear.

“Oh? Did your brother know her before the apocalypse?” Mu Yin asked, feigning curiosity.

“Yes, they were a couple before the world ended,” Peng Hao replied straightforwardly; it was no secret.

“That’s wonderful—to have loved ones by your side even after the world has fallen apart.” Mu Yin wore an expression of envy.

“There’s no need to envy her. You could find someone, too,” Peng Hao quickly tried to seize the opportunity.

“No, I think I’m fine on my own.” Shaking her head, Mu Yin let the topic drop and instead asked about their journey here. Peng Hao didn’t push the matter further and began recounting their experiences—in a carefully edited version, of course.

By nightfall, their plan for entering the laboratory was finalized. Some would draw the zombies away, while the others would infiltrate the lab to retrieve the mission objective. Those chosen to distract the zombies were all swift, defensive experts, supplemented by a few with powerful offensive skills to ensure their safety. The majority would serve as the decoy, while only a select few entered the laboratory—Yu Xinling among them, along with several others carrying that tainted aura.

Among those entering from the Shanghang side were the team captain, Wan Yuanheng, and a few soldiers. Mu Yin, however, was assigned to the group tasked with drawing the zombies’ attention. She knew this was unwise, but there was nothing she could do; her words carried little weight. Even if she voiced her suspicions, who would believe her? They’d only think she was being alarmist.

Still, on the night before the operation, Mu Yin sought out Wan Yuanheng in private. “You may not believe me,” she said, “but I want to warn you—after you enter the laboratory, be careful of the people from Congxia Base. Don’t let them touch the virus sample. If possible, store it in two separate places without letting them notice, and be wary of them.”

“Do you know something?” Wan Yuanheng trusted Mu Yin’s character.

“Even if I told you, you wouldn’t believe me. Just be careful around them, that’s all,” Mu Yin couldn’t very well say she knew the future or that she was the savior’s substitute, while the real savior had been killed by those people. She could only say this much.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Wan Yuanheng replied. Though he trusted her character, he wouldn’t believe everything blindly. He would weigh the matter himself.

“Take this. If they act suspiciously, use it to protect yourselves. Share it with everyone.” Mu Yin handed him a talisman she’d prepared. On it were the words “Golden Bell Shield, Iron Cloth,” already infused with energy—enough to safeguard them in a moment of crisis.

“Thank you.” Wan Yuanheng glanced at it and tucked it into his inner pocket.

Upon returning, Wan Yuanheng didn’t share this with anyone else, not even the team captain. He quietly distributed the talismans to each person. Even the two girls who harbored some animosity towards Mu Yin knew better than to make a fuss—they’d witnessed her abilities on this journey and understood the stakes.

The next day, they split into two groups. Mu Yin and those assigned to attract the enemy’s attention advanced toward the hospital first, boldly attacking the scattered zombies nearby. Zombies, for reasons still unknown, didn’t die from lack of feeding; it seemed they could absorb energy from the air by some means.

This world might lack spiritual energy, but that didn’t mean there was no energy in the air—otherwise, the world itself would be dead, like those that had lost their core essence and faded into nothingness. The energy here was simply more primitive than spiritual energy, akin to solar, wind, or hydro power.