Free Web NovelChapter 109: Chapter 109: Coming
Yang Xiao was stunned for a moment. It was false to say he was not moved, but he was even more aware of how dangerous this matter was, "Thank you for the kind offer, but this is my own issue. I can’t involve all of you."
Feeling his words weren’t resolute enough, Yang Xiao added, "You don’t understand just how dangerous this is!"
"Can danger justify abandoning a teammate?" Beibei looked at Yang Xiao, "Yesterday, when we were entangled by ghosts, did you abandon us?"
"That’s different!" Yang Xiao insisted firmly.
"Captain, let’s all go together. To be honest, you have great talent, but you still lack experience. If something happens, we can give you some advice," Da Xiong said earnestly, "This time there’s no Xi Menxiu or Zhuge Zhijie, just Beibei and me."
"Captain Yang, the chief has already approved this, so please don’t reject our goodwill," Huang Qiang checked his watch and made a decisive comment, "The motorcade is being prepared, we will depart in 10 minutes." freewёbnoνel.com
It was Beibei driving again, with Da Xiong sitting in the passenger seat this time while Yang Xiao sat alone in the back. Following the navigation instructions, the car steadily left the urban area.
The road became more and more remote until they were stopped by a checkpoint. It was clear that the checkpoint was set up temporarily, with sandbags on both sides to prevent ramming.
A man with a buzz cut came forward to check their IDs and then waved them through with a gesture.
"The area nearby is already under martial law, and the people standing guard are all our own," Beibei explained to Yang Xiao after putting away the IDs.
Worried about a supernatural event breaking out in the downtown area, they had decided to move Su Tingting to a sparsely populated suburb. This made sense to Yang Xiao.
Passing the checkpoint by about a few hundred meters, one could see several lead-gray buildings in the distance, surrounded by a large perimeter wall topped with barbed wire.
"Is this... a military base?" Yang Xiao caught sight of a tower that resembled a watchtower.
"It used to be, but it was abandoned later. However, most of the facilities inside were kept intact. The power and communication systems are still quite functional. They’ve moved Su Tingting here," Beibei turned the steering wheel to the right and drove the car through the main gate of the base, where people were already waiting in an open area.
"Which one of you is Captain Yang?" A middle-aged man in a black trench coat inquired.
Yang Xiao stepped forward, "That’s me."
"Hello, Captain Yang, I’m the person in charge here. You can call me Professor Fang. Let’s keep this short. We’ve secured the girl; she’s currently in building number 3, watched over by Captain Yan and one of his subordinates. Additionally, there are a few medical staff members and a security team inside. Beyond that, no one is allowed to approach the building," Professor Fang was straightforward.
"Are there any unusual phenomena at the moment?" Yang Xiao didn’t beat around the bush and got straight to the point.
"Nothing unusual has been detected so far. The technical department has set up detection equipment around here; everything is normal, and no unidentified signals have been found. We’ve also arranged for professional medical personnel to constantly monitor the girl’s physiological parameters, and according to the data returned, there are no problems," Professor Fang spoke with an academic demeanor, methodically, while handing over a notebook to Yang Xiao, which contained some recorded data.
Not quite understanding these professional matters and with no time to peruse them, Yang Xiao asked, "Can I see her now? Is that possible?"
"Of course."
The group arrived in front of a large building within the base. From the outside, the building looked somewhat old and rugged, with a rough architectural style that had a kind of violent aesthetic charm to it, showing that sturdy materials had been used, as could be seen by the several concrete pillars over 1.5 meters in diameter in front of the main door.
"Captain Yang, I won’t go in. Captain Yan is temporarily in charge inside, he’ll discuss the details with you."
"One more thing, this mission is led by Captain Yan; you and your team are here to provide assistance, I hope you understand that," Professor Fang reminded at the end.
As the three of them entered the first floor of the building, several people were already waiting in the spacious lobby. Leading them was a young man who seemed not much older than Yang Xiao, dressed in patient garb. Besides him, there was also a young female patient and three men in security uniforms.
"Captain Yang?" The young man in patient garb took the initiative to greet him, "I’m Yan Junyang, this is my teammate, Le Zhengshan."
"Yang Xiao, Beibei, Da Xiong," Yang Xiao introduced them briefly and went straight to the matter at hand, "Where is Su Tingting? What’s her current condition?"
"The situation is like this; she’s been placed in a private room on the third floor, in a single room. Le Zhengshan and I are disguised as patients and staying in the room outside hers. The two rooms are connected, so to facilitate observation, we’ve removed the doors in advance."
"Su Tingting is very cooperative. After professional psychological counseling by the doctors, she’s much calmer now. We haven’t revealed Zhao Yuanpei’s situation to her, fearing that it would cause her to lose control emotionally."
"Right, we’ve moved her here under the pretext of treatment, and she still thinks this place is a hospital, with doctors all around."
After getting the gist of the situation, Yang Xiao asked, "What should my reason be for being here when we meet?"
"Just say you were invited by the hospital to assist with her treatment," Le Zhengshan said.
"Isn’t that excuse a bit too insincere?" Yang Xiao questioned.
With confidence, Le Zhengshan explained, "Don’t worry about that. According to our observation, Su Tingting is very trusting. My captain and I have been disguised at her side for a whole day and night, and she has not become suspicious. Also, since she has a good impression of you, her trust in you will only be higher."
"As for these two, just say they’re friends who came with you. During this time, you can stay with Su Tingting constantly."
After a moment of thought, Yang Xiao spoke again, "How much longer before something might happen, I mean, if there really is going to be a supernatural event."
"According to the technical department’s estimation, if something were to happen, it’s most likely within these 12 hours, definitely not more than 24 hours. After 48 hours, the alert can be lifted, and the task force can be dismissed, but the probability of a supernatural event occurring is extremely low."
"Captain Yang, you can go see her now. The rest of us won’t go over just yet, to let the two of you build some rapport," Yan Junyang said earnestly.
Yang Xiao: "...I think I get what you’re saying, but your choice of words feels a bit off."
Walking up the staircase to the third floor, as soon as he entered the room, Yang Xiao saw Su Tingting lying on the hospital bed. She was also wearing a blue-and-white striped patient gown, receiving an IV, with a doctor and a nurse by her side.
Although both were wearing masks, no matter how one looked, the nurse’s eyes seemed too sharp, more like those of a professional bodyguard.
Seeing Yang Xiao, Su Tingting excitedly sat up straight away, "Mr. Chu!"
"Don’t move around, be careful of the needle!"
It was too late for the nurse’s warning. The nurse had to pull out the needle and then re-insert it into the back of Su Tingting’s right hand.
The doctor approached Yang Xiao with decorum, holding a blue clipboard, "The hospital has already made an exception to let you see her, please be careful not to disturb the patient’s rest."
"Understood, thank you, doctor."
Once the doctor and nurse had left, only Su Tingting and Yang Xiao remained in the ward. Yang Xiao sat beside her, casually took an orange from a fruit plate on a small iron table, and began to peel it for Su Tingting, "How do you feel?"
Looking around to make sure no one was watching, Su Tingting whispered in a very low voice, "Not good, I’m being watched, these people are very suspicious."
"You mean the doctors?" Yang Xiao fed the orange segment to Su Tingting.
"Not just them, those two patients outside are also shady. I suspect they’re in cahoots," Su Tingting said with a sly look, "Oh, right, they’re not here now, but once they come back, I won’t dare to talk to you like this."
Yang Xiao feigned surprise, raising an eyebrow, "Really? Even the patients here are suspect?"
"Yeah, you wouldn’t know, those two patients are also very young, a man and a woman. The guy says he’s a programmer, and the girl says she’s a university student. I don’t believe it for a second. Since when do programmers not go bald? And that university girl, she doesn’t binge-watch shows but reads newspapers all day! And it’s all political news. Have you ever seen a female university student who reads the newspaper?"
Yang Xiao: "...These two idiots."
As she stared at Yang Xiao’s face, Su Tingting’s nervousness gradually subsided, "Mr. Chu, it’s so good to see you. But I suspect you’ve been tricked into coming here too. Listen to me, sit for a while and then leave quickly. No matter what these people say, don’t come back. I can’t leave for the time being, but I can’t let you get involved."
Yang Xiao sighed inwardly, without reply, just stuffed another orange segment into her mouth, "Then what do you think is going on?"
Chewing on the orange, Su Tingting mumbled, "I don’t know, but it must be related to that incident we experienced, that Nightmare World. My biggest worry now is that the hospital is treating us like lab rats. You don’t think... You don’t think they would dissect us, do you?"
"Don’t think too much, this is a society governed by law. I won’t leave for now, I’ll stay here with you." Yang Xiao reached for an apple and was about to take a bite when he noticed Su Tingting looking at him, feeling a bit awkward, he said, "Do you want an apple?"
"Yes, there’s a small knife over there. Just be careful when you peel it, don’t cut yourself," Su Tingting advised with care.
Yang Xiao turned around and put the apple back, "It seems you don’t really want to eat."
"By the way, Mr. Chu, have you seen Kuang Hongyi? I suspect they will go after him too," Su Tingting suddenly said.
"No."
The two of them chatted intermittently, and after a while, Da Xiong and Beibei also came in, claiming to be friends of Yang Xiao. Yan Junyang and Le Zhengshan, dressed in patient gowns, returned as well, with Yan Junyang still pretending, muttering complaints about the doctor’s improper treatment, making Yang Xiao feel awkward as well.
Yang Xiao thought about whether to give them a heads-up and tell them to stop acting, as they had already given themselves away. But he decided against it after thinking it over, as that would be even more awkward.
Time ticked away second by second, and the sky outside the window darkened gradually. Yan Junyang rested with his head on the pillow in the outer room, Le Zhengshan read the newspaper with her head down, Beibei played mobile games in the corner, and Da Xiong, quite dedicated, went on a patrol around the area every half-hour.
The old-fashioned clock on the wall ticked tocked with each swing, and everything seemed normal.
But gradually, the second hand appeared to encounter some obstruction, moving slower and slower until, with a "thud," it stopped completely.
A moment later, Yang Xiao felt an involuntary sense of panic. He didn’t know why, but he just felt like he couldn’t catch his breath.
He instinctively looked outside the window, where the sky had turned completely black, the dense darkness resembling stagnant water, devoid of any light.
"Where are those people outside!!??"
