The people back at the base were speechless. What the hell, now they'd suddenly become the ones no one trusted?
Of course, the captains outside didn't mean it like that. The truth was, danger existed both outside and inside. At least out there, no matter how bad it got, they still had a chance to run. But if they stayed inside, they'd be like turtles in a jar with nowhere to escape. So really, it wasn't that they didn't want to come back, it was that the situation left them no choice.
The base nearly laughed in anger when they heard that excuse. Still, they trusted their team's strength enough. If they didn't want to return, fine, no one would force them.
But then came the warning: "If you're not coming back, you'd better make damn sure the kids stay safe. If all the enemies get wiped out but not a single child survives, none of you can afford that kind of consequence."
Naturally, the reply came quick: "Don't worry, we'll guard the kids properly."
That was how Lan Jin and three other strong ability users got assigned to protect the children.
When Lan Jin received the news and was already on site, she looked completely dumbfounded. "Seriously? We don't need to do anything else? Just stay here and guard the kids?"
"Yes," the captains answered. "We've discussed it. You four are the strongest, so just focus on the kids. Don't worry about anything else. Besides, Nana's your dog, and it only listens to you. With you stationed here, everyone can relax."
Lan Jin exchanged a look with Nana. Neither gave an opinion, so the matter was settled.
…
The happiest person about this arrangement was none other than Lan Qiaoqiao.
The moment she saw Lan Jin, she shouted in excitement, "Mama, Mama, why are you here?"
"I'll be in charge of your safety for a while, so I'll stay here with you."
Qiao Qiao didn't really understand the whole "safety" part, but she did understand that Mama would be here for a long time. How to describe it? Even if Mama's presence meant she might have more rules to follow, having her close was still the happiest thing ever.
"That's awesome, Mama! Does that mean I get to see you every single day?"
Ling Jiang chuckled. "What are you saying? You already see your mama every day."
Qiao Qiao wasn't like most of the kids in kindergarten. Many of them had lost their parents in accidents on the road, but she still had it. Whenever Lan Jin's shift ended, she'd take her daughter back to her side.
Captain Zhang even teased her for not being afraid of the trouble, since it was only a few tents away anyway.
But children were insecure by nature, and Lan Jin worried what her daughter might do when she wasn't under her watch. Better to have her nearby, so she could whisper reminders when needed.
Of course, Qiao Qiao didn't understand any of those worries. All she knew was that every day, she got to leave under the envious stares of the other kids. Besides, she was strong enough that she never had to worry about jealous bullying. Her life had stayed basically the same.
Seeing Qiao Qiao so excited, Lan Jin couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, go back to class. Mama still has work to do."
Qiao Qiao and the other kids obediently went inside.
Even in the apocalypse, even when they couldn't return to the base yet, the children were still healthy. That meant kindergarten lessons couldn't be skipped. Day or night didn't matter, they had a strict schedule. Study when it was time to study, sleep when it was time to sleep. No exceptions.
Because of that, aside from the team members on duty, the busiest people here were the kids.
…
As for the base captains' investigations, Lan Jin and the other non-core members couldn't get involved, and honestly, they never planned to anyway.
Day by day, the residents' illnesses grew worse. People were dying every single day, yet no medicine had been developed.
When the daily death toll reached ten thousand, the higher-ups finally gave the research team an ultimatum: if you can't create a cure, then go to the site and study it directly.
Whether they'd get infected themselves after going there, no one could say.
The order was harsh, but the higher-ups were thinking only of humanity's survival. So even if the researchers were unhappy, no one dared treat it as a joke. But no matter how urgent things got, progress just wouldn't speed up. Since the earlier research had been flawed, all the previous data was useless. They had to start from scratch, which dragged everything out.
The base provided no useful breakthroughs. Instead, it was Xi Yu, who'd stayed with the squad, that found a lead. He pursued it on his own and finally created something that could temporarily suppress the illness—
A vaccine.
Yes, a vaccine again.
Lan Jin had to admit Xi Yu was talented. To develop something in such a short time was incredible. But why did it have to be another vaccine?
She wasn't doubting vaccines in theory. It was just that so many problems had already come from them. She couldn't bring herself to trust them anymore.
Xi Yu explained, "It works fast and it's easy to develop. If I had even a slim chance to make pills, I would, but the conditions just aren't there."
Even the vials and needles for the shots were being sterilized and reused. That showed just how scarce supplies had become.
But hearing that only made Lan Jin feel less safe. "Are those needles really okay to share?"
Captain Zhang reassured her. "Don't worry. They've been disinfected enough to be reused safely. Otherwise, if we ended up spreading something new through vaccinations, that would be worse than the illness itself."
With that said, she had no response.
The vaccine was here. Next came testing.
Mutant creatures attacked from time to time, so there was no shortage of them. But medicines rarely worked on mutants, which meant the only reliable trials had to be done on people.
Everyone fell silent.
Finally, Captain Zhou made the call. "Test it. If it works, we might save lives. We can't just watch everyone die in front of us."