ISWTDB Ch166

Chapter 166: The End of the World (31, 32)

Deng Wendong searched for Ying Zhao for three days. By the time Situ Ran was getting a bit impatient and wanted to take matters into his own hands, the other party finally got to the point.

Naturally, the other party couldn’t help but mention the issue concerning the antidote for the zombie virus.

Ying Zhao skillfully portrayed himself as a rigid researcher solely interested in the study.

He casually let slip that the antidote for the zombie virus was made by himself.

Then, he quickly pressed his lips together and furrowed his brow, clearly realizing he had said something wrong.

A hint of regret flashed across his face, and he used the excuse of wanting to return to tell Deng Wendong.

However, since Deng Wendong had finally heard such important information, how could he let Ying Zhao go?

After several inquiries, Deng Wendong finally confirmed that the antidote for the zombie virus was indeed created by the person in front of him.

But then he thought about it and felt it was only natural.

Even if that woman named Situ Shuyou was extraordinarily gifted, how could she compare to a true researcher who worked diligently every day at the research institute?

It was likely that the previous rumors were merely lies fabricated by the Situ family to consolidate their power.

This person in front of him was clearly very naive and had been exploited by them.

Once Deng Wendong realized this, he showed an indignant expression and said to Ying Zhao, “The Situ family is really going too far!”

“They actually stole your research results and claimed them as their own. They even made everyone believe that the real savior was Situ Shuyou!”

“Don’t worry! A-Heng, I will definitely seek justice for you!”

Upon hearing this, Ying Zhao appeared unconcerned and told Deng Wendong that he didn’t mind, as long as he could focus on his research.

However, Deng Wendong, listening to Ying Zhao’s words, had no intention of downplaying the matter.

He felt an inexplicable delight in his heart, believing he had grasped a significant piece of leverage.

Feigning anger, he berated the Situ family a few more times, trying to guide Ying Zhao’s thoughts.

He told him that the actions of the Situ family were extremely malicious, and he only stopped when Ying Zhao appeared somewhat shaken.

After that, Ying Zhao made the excuse that he was too busy with work to stay, and Deng Wendong had to leave reluctantly.

In the following days, Deng Wendong became increasingly attentive.

However, Ying Zhao had already disclosed the information he wanted the other party to know, so he no longer cooperated as he had before.

He kept saying he was very busy with research lately, so he wouldn’t be able to meet Deng Wendong often.

But now Deng Wendong was also busy paving the way for this matter, so he didn’t mind.

Soon, rumors began to spread throughout the northern base.

Especially among the ordinary people in the suburbs, it circulated that the antidote for the zombie virus was not developed by Situ Shuyou of the Situ family, but rather by the head of the research institute, Ying Heng.

It was said that the Situ family used despicable means to force Ying Heng to hand over the research results.

The ordinary people, who were already quite dissatisfied with the changes in their lives since the Situ family came to power, felt even more aggrieved upon hearing such news.

If that were the case, then the so-called light of the apocalypse was merely an empty name.

It turned out that the real creator of the antidote was someone else, so why were they still bound and controlled by the Situ family?

After all, their initial leader, Situ Ran, had been personally sent to the research institute by the Situ family.

The Situ family and Situ Ran were fundamentally not on the same side.

Even if they had to obey, it should be those from the mercenary team.

What were those people from the Situ family worth?

Moreover, ever since the control of the base fell into the hands of the Situ family, the resources distributed to ordinary people had become less and less.

As the weather grew colder, they lived in hunger and poverty, feeling increasingly enraged, with no outlet to vent their frustration.

Their hatred towards the rulers of the base deepened, and their dissatisfaction was about to reach a breaking point.

As for the spreaders of the rumors, they were naturally those from the southern base, instigated by Deng Wendong.

Over the past few days, Deng Wendong had deliberately approached Ying Zhao and noticed that he actually had no feelings for the Situ family.

The other party was merely a dull scholar devoted to his own research.

Whoever could provide him with better research conditions, he would serve.

He didn’t even care about the so-called reputation; he was purely a seeker of knowledge.

Deng Wendong felt that someone like Ying Zhao was the most innocent and easiest to manipulate.

Moreover, he was now convinced that Ying Zhao had a favorable impression of him.

He even thought that if he took control of the northern base, Ying Zhao would definitely stand by his side.

This led him to act even more unscrupulously.

Ying Zhao, on the other hand, couldn’t be bothered with Deng Wendong’s self-absorbed thoughts.

After all, in the past few days, the situation at the northern base was indeed developing according to his expectations.

Now, many ordinary people in the northern base had already been swayed by those from the southern base, believing that only by overthrowing the Situ family’s leadership could they welcome a better life.

Seeing how hard the people from the southern base were working, Ying Zhao couldn’t help but feel a sense of sorrow.

The external situation was becoming increasingly severe, and the zombies outside were constantly evolving.

Yet now, humanity was engaged in infighting, essentially accelerating their own demise.

Ying Zhao wasn’t genuinely concerned about power; his attention was more focused on the connection between Deng Wendong and the zombie king.

However, over the past few days, he wasn’t sure if it was because things were going too smoothly.

Even though he had Xiao Bai secretly monitor the situation all the time, he hadn’t captured the information he wanted, which made Ying Zhao somewhat dissatisfied.

Thus, he thought of his previous intuition.

Earlier, he had wanted to help his lover find materials to make an arm, but Xiao Bai had found nothing.

And in recent days, Deng Wendong had been trying to ingratiate himself with him, so it might be better to directly throw this problem at him to see if he could get the desired result.

So, Ying Zhao deliberately told Deng Wendong that his research on the antidote for the zombie virus had actually reached its final stage.

However, even though the raw materials had been gathered, there were limitations with the instruments.

Thus, he wanted to create his own instruments but lacked some materials, hoping Deng Wendong could help him think of a solution.

Sure enough, the other party took this matter very seriously, seemingly eager to help Ying Zhao find what he needed as soon as possible.

However, before any news came from Deng Wendong, it instead drew the attention of the Situ family.

After all, during this time, he had been searching for Ying Zhao, and even if he was discreet, it was hard to avoid being noticed by others.

Ying Zhao’s identity was already sensitive, so naturally, the Situ family could not completely relax.

After all, Situ Shuyao knew very well that she was completely clueless about drug research.

All the credit for this work came from Ying Zhao, and if he turned against the Southern Base, they would lose all their leverage.

Especially after noticing Deng Wendong’s movements, Situ Shuyao specifically went to find Ying Zhao and encountered him a few times, which made her even more anxious.

On one hand, she worried about Deng Wendong’s cunning methods.

On the other hand, in recent days, Ying Zhao had been very cold towards her.

The female protagonist could not figure out Ying Zhao’s thoughts, so she simply had a few discussions with him.

She also specifically warned Ying Zhao, saying that Deng Wendong was a deceitful person and hoped Ying Zhao would avoid too much contact with him.

However, Ying Zhao directly threw the burden of the materials onto her, saying that without the instrument materials, he couldn’t do anything.

After all, the people on the Northern Base also couldn’t find these materials.

Situ Shuyao felt frustrated that Ying Zhao had told this matter to the Southern Base.

But she was helpless because what Ying Zhao said was the truth.

Moreover, in her eyes, Ying Zhao was someone who prioritized research above all else.

Thus, Situ Shuyao could only intensify her orders to those below.

In this way, people from both the Southern and Northern Bases began to work hard to search for the materials mentioned by Ying Zhao.

Of course, Situ Ran also knew about this matter, and he did not stop it.

Everyone was doing these things for themselves, and he was very clear about that.

Moreover, leveraging these two opposing forces to do his work, Situ Ran felt no guilt in his heart and even felt quite pleased.

Furthermore, the results of the material search came out quickly.

As Ying Zhao expected, within a short time, Deng Wendong’s side found the possible location of the materials.

The fact that even Xiao Bai’s system repeatedly searched without finding anything while Deng Wendong managed to find it right away made Ying Zhao suspicious.

The location of the materials found by the Southern Base was very likely in an abandoned medical equipment factory.

However, they could not confirm it, as there were a wide variety of medical devices there, and they couldn’t haul them all back.

So the best solution was for Ying Zhao to go with them.

Ying Zhao naturally wouldn’t refuse their suggestion, but he did not tell Situ Ran about it.

On one hand, his lover might worry and try to stop him.

On the other hand, recalling that his lover had been calculated by the other party since the beginning of this life, Ying Zhao didn’t want him to get involved in this matter.

In other words, even though his lover’s spirit was above this world.

Once he reincarnated into this small world, he would still be influenced by the world’s rules.

Ying Zhao could not guarantee that Situ Ran would not run into any danger.

Thinking of this, he informed Pei Yuebin, asking him to find a way to keep Situ Ran occupied so that he wouldn’t realize that he had left the base.

Because they had to face the actions of the people from the Southern Base together these days, Ying Zhao would occasionally meet with Situ Ran and those mercenaries.

Over time, the mercenaries had all become familiar with Ying Zhao and trusted him very much.

Especially Pei Yuebin, who had become Ying Zhao’s number one fan.

Pei Yuebin believed that Ying Zhao would definitely not harm them, but he was also worried about Ying Zhao’s safety.

After all, the tasks assigned to him were anything but good.

Moreover, he was well aware that the youth across from them was essentially the lifeline of their boss.

If anything were to happen, their boss would surely go crazy.

Seeing Pei Yuebin hesitate, Ying Zhao understood his concerns.

So he straightforwardly told Pei Yuebin that he had a way to completely restore their boss’s arm.

But he needed to go out of the base to get materials, and he needed Pei Yuebin’s help to present it as a surprise for Situ Ran.

As expected, once Situ Ran was mentioned, Pei Yuebin became less resolute.

Considering the difficulties of survival in a post-apocalyptic world, if their boss’s arm was whole, perhaps he wouldn’t have been framed like this during the zombie tide.

After careful thought, he ultimately agreed to Ying Zhao’s request.

However, he told Ying Zhao that he could only help him keep it a secret for half a day because, after all, Ying Zhao and Situ Ran had never been apart for too long.

If he were to be gone too long, it would definitely attract the boss’s attention.

Ying Zhao clearly understood this principle. After nodding in agreement, he went to Deng Wendong’s team to prepare for departure.

However, at the base gate, they encountered Situ Shuyao and her group who had rushed over upon hearing the news.

As the female protagonist, Situ Shuyao naturally had her own aura of fortune.

Sensing that this matter was not simple, she insisted that the Northern Base team go along.

Deng Wendong did not stop her, thinking that regardless of what they ultimately obtained, any research achievements that Ying Zhao acquired would still belong to him, and he welcomed the extra help.

Thus, the two groups, each with their own agendas, brought Ying Zhao to the location of the abandoned medical equipment factory in the suburbs.

On the way, Ying Zhao did not forget to remind Xiao Bai to contact Heavenly Dao.

Although he was unclear about their means of communication and how Heavenly Dao would assist him.

He had great trust in Xiao Bai and believed that Heavenly Dao would certainly not let anything happen to Xiao Bai.

The closer they got to the warehouse, the more oppressive the atmosphere around Ying Zhao began to feel.

Xiao Bai in his sea of consciousness was also tense, constantly monitoring the surroundings.

However, when they reached the vicinity of the location, Ying Zhao discovered that there were no signs of zombies in this entire area.

Even though it was in the suburbs, it shouldn’t be this clean.

It now appeared more harmless, but the more harmless it seemed, the more dangerous it could actually be.

Ying Zhao knew very well that if someone wanted to harm his lover, they would certainly view him as a thorn in their side.

ust like this world, if he had not crossed over here, Situ Ran would have likely already encountered misfortune.

All along, he had been the greatest variable in this small world.

In the past, there was the Heavenly Dao that tried every means to contend with him; that thing could still covertly act to help the Heavenly Dao.

But now, the Heavenly Dao stood on his side.

Then, that thing could only act personally.

So, it was obvious that the bait for this material was thrown out to lure him in.

Once they truly entered the factory area, everyone’s nerves couldn’t help but relax.

Because along the way, they had repeatedly scouted and indeed hadn’t encountered any zombies, making it so smooth that it felt unbelievable.

What remained in sight was this open space and a large number of warehouses.

The signs on the warehouses were very clear, and Ying Zhao easily found the location of the materials he needed.

However, just when he got the materials and turned to leave,

suddenly, the other warehouses in this factory area opened automatically.

A large number of zombies poured out from those storage rooms, surging towards them from all directions.

The sight of zombies swarming out caused Situ Shuyao to let out a fearful scream.

However, what caught Ying Zhao’s attention was not these densely packed zombies, but rather the strong sense of pressure he felt.

That was a sense of dominance that only a Zombie King could produce; it was evident that the other party should be here, just intentionally hiding before.

He wondered if Deng Wendong was aware of this, and whether he was collaborating with the Zombie King to lure him here.

Ying Zhao turned his head and secretly observed Deng Wendong’s expression. After seeing his evident surprise, he felt that perhaps he really didn’t know anything.

In fact, with the abilities of the Flying Zombie himself, it would be easy for him to deal with these zombies.

But because of the restrictions of the world rules, he knew it was best not to overly display his abilities.

So he quietly followed behind the team, watching the two squads fight against the surrounding zombies.

By disguising himself as a researcher whose combat power was not very high, others would not suspect him.

Thus, the group fought and retreated, ultimately being cornered by this group of zombies in the lobby of the nearby office building.

At this moment, Situ Ran was entangled with Pei Yuebin, and watching the little brother in front of him chattering away made him feel increasingly astonished.

It was already evening; usually, at this time, he would have long gone to find Ying Zhao or gone home to cook.

However, this Pei Yuebin had been finding things for him to do all day.

For some reason, an ominous premonition rose faintly in his heart.

After getting up again and being stopped by Pei Yuebin for various reasons, Situ Ran finally realized something was wrong.

The man squinted his eyes at Pei Yuebin and said, “Pei Yuebin, what exactly happened? Hurry and tell me!”

Pei Yuebin looked at his boss, who truly couldn’t get angry, stammering and not knowing how to start.

Seeing the other party’s expression made Situ Ran increasingly anxious, realizing that his brother was hesitant to speak to him.

Such behavior was likely because of his partner.

Thinking of this, Situ Ran couldn’t help but stand up suddenly and rushed out.

First, he returned to his home, and after not finding Ying Zhao, he quickly went to the research institute, still not seeing his lover’s figure.

When he left the research institute and saw Pei Yuebin running over in a hurry, sweating profusely,

he immediately grabbed his collar and urgently asked, “Ah-Heng, where is A-Heng?”

Pei Yuebin was a bit confused upon hearing Situ Ran’s words. Although he had tried hard to buy some time for Situ Ran,

he didn’t expect that Ying Zhao really hadn’t returned so late.

At this point, he also realized the seriousness of the matter.

So he quickly told Situ Ran what Ying Zhao had entrusted him with, saying that he had gone out of the city with Deng Wendong’s team to obtain materials for repairing his arm.

Situ Ran knew that today, a team had left the northern base.

But at that time, he didn’t pay much attention, as it was quite normal for ability users’ teams to regularly go out to search for supplies.

However, now, upon hearing Pei Yuebin’s words, Situ Ran couldn’t help but feel a chill in his heart.

Seeing his boss’s ugly expression, Pei Yuebin hurriedly comforted him, saying that perhaps they would return soon.

But Situ Ran couldn’t calm down, thinking that when Ying Zhao returned, he would definitely grab him and give him a good beating, making sure he wouldn’t dare to do such dangerous things alone in the future.

After waiting for a long time, they finally received news that someone had returned from outside the city.

However, when Situ Ran and Pei Yuebin rushed over, they found only a disheveled ability user.

It was said that he had miraculously escaped and informed them that the team that had gone out today was already surrounded by zombies.

Upon hearing this, Situ Ran’s eyes widened in rage, and just thinking of his lover being in danger almost drove him mad.

Pei Yuebin felt regret upon hearing that person’s words.

He had just wanted to ask Situ Ran what to do when he realized that his boss’s figure had already disappeared.

He knew that Situ Ran must have rushed off to save people in a hurry, so he quickly dodged to find the mercenary team.

He planned to get everyone to act together to ensure that they would rescue his sister-in-law.

At this moment, Ying Zhao and the others were still trapped in the lobby of the office building, surrounded by zombies.

They had dealt with quite a number of low-level zombies, but the tricky ones were not them.

After fighting for a while, many high-level zombies suddenly appeared.

Some of them could even reach level six or seven. Ordinary ability users were completely no match for them.

Such a turn of events caught the ability user team off guard, and most of the personnel who had come together had been lost.

Situ Shuyao had never truly experienced any major storms.

At this moment, looking at the scene outside the door, despair surged in her heart, and she shrank into a corner, crying softly.

Deng Wendong was also very irritable, but he was much calmer than others.

It was obvious that he had also noticed something was off with this incident.

After all, he had previously been in contact with the Zombie King, and they had reached an agreement to help each other temporarily for mutual benefits.

The Southern Base had expanded so smoothly thanks to the Zombie King’s help.

The Zombie King deliberately sent zombies to attack those small bases and then let Deng Wendong rescue them, thus easily acquiring a lot of territory.

After Deng Wendong received many benefits from the Zombie King, this cooperation had spiraled out of control.

However, no matter what, he would never reveal the antidote for the zombie virus to the Zombie King.

He had always thought that this material was discovered by coincidence, but unexpectedly, he had encountered an ambush.

With so many high-level zombies appearing here, Deng Wendong absolutely didn’t believe it was without the Zombie King’s orders.

However, before he could think deeply, the sounds outside suddenly fell silent.

Ying Zhao looked at the crowd of zombies surrounding the tempered glass door.

He felt that the reason they hadn’t come in was not that they couldn’t, but because they were waiting for something.

Now that it had quieted down, it seemed something was about to appear.

Sure enough, the big door suddenly opened automatically.

A graceful figure appeared at the door, which turned out to be a woman with an enchanting and seductive appearance.

The woman wore a red long dress, exuding an indescribable charm.

But her crimson eyes and sharp black claws still indicated her inhuman identity.

From the woman, Ying Zhao sensed that familiar and uncomfortable aura and the strong sense of pressure.

He couldn’t help but be a bit surprised; could this be the so-called Zombie King?

Seeing that Deng Wendong beside him looked at her with a familiar expression, he confirmed his guess in his heart.