Chapter Ninety-Five: A Soldier’s Honor

Rebuilding Civilization

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"Damn it..." Xie Han cursed furiously, calling out Zhou Ruomeng in his mind. "Didn’t you say the chance of an R3 evolving was one in ten million? Then how is this happening now? Why are there eight of them?"

Indeed, three R3s were already enough to cripple the situation and throw the entire evacuation force into panic and heavy losses. Everyone had thought things might finally calm down, but who could have imagined that five more would suddenly appear? This had completely overturned the evolutionary data Zhou Ruomeng had given him.

Zhou Ruomeng remained as calm and graceful as ever, and that only made Xie Han feel like exploding. He roared at her, "There are more than a hundred thousand humans out there, and they’re facing slaughter, yet you’re still this calm? Damn it, and you still have the mood to drink coffee?"

If Xie Han’s frenzied shouting had not been happening only in his mind, Chen Miaoyuan and the others at his side would probably have been terrified out of their wits.

Holding her coffee, Zhou Ruomeng really was sipping it leisurely. In the face of Xie Han’s outburst, she said lightly, "What does that have to do with me?"

Xie Han froze.

Yes, what did it have to do with her? She was not human; she was only an intelligent program. Why should it matter to her?

"But... but if I’m finished, won’t you be finished too?" That flimsy excuse seemed to become the very reason he gave for his embarrassment.

Zhou Ruomeng laughed and said, "Even if that counts as a reason, remember this: even if you die, at worst I’ll just be recalled by the main body. Perhaps before long I’ll be altered again in appearance and personality, and appear anew on another master’s wrist. Then he will begin a fresh and wondrous journey all over again."

Xie Han opened his mouth, feeling as if all the strength had drained from his body. In a somewhat discomposed voice, he said, "Then... damn it, does that mean your appearance on my wrist is utterly useless?"

Zhou Ruomeng gave a soft laugh and replied mysteriously, "Useless? Of course not. There are many uses for me, so long as you have enough authority. Now then, my junior schoolmate, what you should be thinking about is how to avoid these five R3s. In fact, with your current ability, even dealing with one is already pushing it. So my suggestion is that you leave here immediately."

Xie Han gave a bitter smile. "Do you think I don’t want to? But many things aren’t as simple as wanting them."

Zhou Ruomeng lifted one shoulder and said, "The right to advise is in my hands, but the right to act is in yours. Still, I can give you a few reminders beyond the limits of your authority. The origin of the XR virus was a meteorite fragment, and what clung to that fragment was X-rays. It was this X-ray source that mutated after entering Earth, causing the outbreak of the XR virus. Generally speaking, the place where a meteorite fragment lands is where the power of the X-rays is greatest. By now, you should understand what I mean, shouldn’t you?"

"You mean..." Xie Han finally understood. "You mean near Wangtian City, there’s a meteorite fragment? In other words, the closer a place is to that source of X-rays, the greater the chance of mutation, or evolution?"

Zhou Ruomeng nodded. "Completely correct. No reward, though!"

By now, the situation in the field had become even more chaotic. More than a dozen rocket launchers had finished reloading automatically and were locking onto the R3s charging toward them. But this time, the R3s suddenly split apart, scattering in five directions and mixing into the crowd. They were simply slaughtering anyone who blocked their advance as they hurled themselves toward the rocket launchers.

Because the launchers could not achieve uniform coverage, they began to divide their fire, three launchers locking onto one R3 each. In the next second, the rockets spat out great tongues of flame and shot toward the monsters. The density of the crowd meant that every rocket blast would kill many people. This time was no exception. After the shots were dispersed, Xie Han felt that the casualties were absolutely several times greater than before.

A thunderous explosion erupted. Everyone within the blast radius of the rockets was torn to shreds, with flying flesh and blood splashing more than a hundred meters away.

Yet this time, contrary to everyone’s expectations, the extraordinarily nimble R3s did not stand still and let themselves be bombarded. Moving with impossible speed, this volley only reduced their number from five to four. Those four still raised bloody winds and storms as they charged toward the launchers.

Such terrifying R3s filled everyone with even greater panic. Under Yang Xingjun’s orders, the convoy began slowly withdrawing back to the base. And the terrified people split into groups: some stood helplessly where they were, as if they had lost the courage to survive; some followed the convoy back to the base like Yang Xingjun; and others broke through the R3 slaughter and ran through the vast mountains and wilderness. In an instant, the whole scene descended into utter chaos.

Xie Han looked at the three groups and shook his head with a bitter smile. To retreat to the base was, once the zombie horde arrived, nothing but a dead end. Those left standing there in confusion, if the R3s’ purpose now was to drive the convoy back, had likely already become prey for its slaughter. Only those who were still breaking through the R3 line now had any real chance of survival, so long as they did not have the misfortune of running into the zombie horde as well.

It was all very simple and obvious, but most people caught within it, in their panic, found it hard to think clearly.

In Xie Han’s view, Chen Liu was certainly a clever man, and he believed Chen Liu would never be the same as those confused people. Rather, when the base announced the evacuation, he would already have occupied some corner of the base and be waiting there for the chance to leave. So Xie Han was certain that this sudden chaos had not spread to Chen Liu, and naturally there would be no talk of losses.

Knowing full well that returning to the base now would be extremely dangerous, Xie Han still had to do it. It was not only for Chen Liu and the others, but also for the gifted talents in the XR virus research institute. Xie Han was sure that, with Yang Xingjun withdrawing in such haste, there would not have been time to pack up and take the research center away. So he was now racing against Yang Xingjun and the others, hoping to take the people from the research center away before they recovered their wits.

"Everyone, I’m sure you can see clearly what the situation below is like. If any of you want to leave now, you have to do it before the zombies close in. I believe that, given the base’s current condition, no one will blame you."

This trip was exceedingly perilous, and Xie Han truly did not want these fifteen people to return to the base with him. It was not only out of pity for their abilities, but also so they would not restrain the full use of his own strength.

What Xie Han said was the truth, but Chen Miaoyuan shook his head and said, "Captain, maybe you’ll say we’re foolish. But even in this apocalypse, where humanity has lost its heart, there are still people who cling to their principles. We are soldiers. Sometimes it is not the times that choose us, but we who choose the times. Even if we die, so what? At the very least, we will have defended the honor of being soldiers."

With Chen Miaoyuan’s words, the others all remained silent, yet every one of them stepped forward in unison, using action to express their resolve.

"Good..." Xie Han was deeply moved. "Seeing you all, I finally understand why China, even within a federal system, can still stand at the pinnacle of this world and look down on most other nations."