Three days passed after Captain Zhang finished arranging everything. When he called Lan Jin and the other three out, he asked, "How big is the stuff you're moving? Will this truck be enough?"
Lao Gao sized up the truck and quickly nodded. "It's big enough, just right to fit everything."
After that, the four of them climbed in. Once the truck pulled away from the base, Lan Jin sent out a thought, and the amusement facilities instantly vanished into the cargo hold. She gave the others a quick look.
Lao Gao picked it up smoothly. "Alright, it's loaded in the back. Should we take a spin outside before going back, or head straight home?"
"There's no way we're heading back so soon. Let's circle around first. Besides, I brought you all out because I've got something else to explain." Captain Zhang's tone grew serious. "I know you don't want to get dragged into complicated stuff, but keeping you in the dark would make not just me, but the higher-ups, uneasy."
While driving, he told them about the shady people exposed inside the base and the questionable things they'd done.
The apocalypse was a natural disaster, not man-made. That much was obvious. But with the technology they had before the fall, they weren't completely unprepared. High-ranking insiders knew more than most.
Some used the disaster to push their ambitions.
Soon after, alien-like things started appearing on Blue Star—lush forests, green light, mutated beasts, even humanoid mutants. Every bizarre mutation they'd seen came from that person's work. That person's goal wasn't to make the world descend into chaos for its own sake. He wanted to fulfill his own ambition. But he didn't expect his research to spiral out of control.
For example, humans awakening abilities. He'd never anticipated that.
Or his own death.
Yes, do you remember those three professors who came from the Capital city base? The oldest among them was the initiator of this whole mess. Later, the group grew larger and infiltrated nearly every field inside the base.
Lan Jin remembered well what happened in the Capital city base, because that was the first time those freakish tentacles appeared.
As for those three researchers…
She couldn't even recall their names anymore. She never imagined that the instigator would get swallowed up by his own creation without leaving even a name behind. Honestly, that was a pretty pathetic ending.
But after all that, what was their true purpose?
Huang Jinghe asked, "So what's the point? Even if he's dead, the whole thing hasn't stopped."
Captain Zhang's voice stayed firm. "They want to alter human genes through a drug, extending life. From what we've gathered, the average human lifespan now is 100 years. If their research succeeds, people could live up to 300. The vaccine was designed to be injected at adulthood, at 18. Once inside, it would prolong youth, middle age, and old age alike.
Before the apocalypse, they'd already tested it on animals. Back then, the vaccine was in its early form, not very effective. Animals grew larger after injection, but there weren't other noticeable changes. They refused to give up. They partnered with an organization and began human testing.
The first batch of human injections caused no mutations at all. Everyone thought it was a success, until one old man who took it died not long after. That's when they realized the vaccine had failed. They weren't satisfied. They remembered how the animals grew after injection. Maybe the vaccine wasn't useless, just the dosage…"
And so they kept tweaking it, kept testing on humans and animals, until the world completely unraveled.
After laying it all out, Captain Zhang summed it up. "So while the base has been busy resettling survivors, we've also been quietly investigating the conspiracy behind it all."
Lan Jin asked, "So why call us out here? What's the real job?"
"It's for the children," Captain Zhang said. "Most people in the base have already been affected physically, but the kids are still healthy. The base has to survive, and so does Blue Star. While we're handling the larger mess, we want you to guard the school district and keep the kids safe."
Ling Jiang frowned. "All four of us? Isn't that too obvious? Anyone would see there's something off. Isn't that just stirring the grass and startling the snake?"
"It won't," Captain Zhang said. "Everyone knows how important the kids are. With your strong abilities, it'll look perfectly normal for you to be assigned there. Don't worry, I'll be there too. I'm a spiritual-type, so if anything happens, I'll sense it immediately."
Lao Gao asked, "So you're trying to catch everyone in one sweep? How long do we have to stay there?"
"There are quite a few people, but it won't take long."
After saying what needed to be said, Captain Zhang turned the truck back toward the base.
He looked visibly relieved, but the weight on the other four only grew heavier.
As they neared the base, Lan Jin couldn't help asking, "Captain Zhang, tell me honestly, are there insiders in the school too?"
He opened his mouth but didn't know how to answer. There were indeed people planted inside. Leaving them there was dangerous, but pulling them out suddenly would raise even more suspicion.
"Alright, we get it," Huang Jinghe said right away. "I'll definitely protect the kids."
"Don't act like you just chugged chicken blood," Lao Gao complained. "That makes us look unmotivated, you know?"
Ling Jiang quickly chimed in, "Exactly. You make it seem like we're not serious, but we are."
Lan Jin asked, "So when do we go? Do we pose as security guards?"
"No," Captain Zhang said, his tone faltering. "No."