"You didn't sleep all night?" Jiang Wanning stretched and pushed herself upright, something warm blooming in her chest. This person was too kind — they'd barely known each other a day, and she'd been looked after the entire night.
Yi Yi nodded honestly. "No. And I'm not tired. As long as you're awake, that's what matters. Let me check if your fever's gone."
She reached over and pressed her hand lightly to Jiang Wanning's forehead. The moment her skin made contact, her optical brain registered the temperature instantly.
"Just above 36 degrees — fever's gone. I have a change of clothes on my side. You can shower whenever you're ready." Yi Yi withdrew her hand with a smile.
"Okay." Jiang Wanning's ears were still faintly red. She found everything about Yi Yi agreeable — except for one small thing: Yi Yi had a habit of reaching out and touching her without any warning, which was extremely embarrassing.
Yi Yi, blissfully unaware of any of this, went to her room and came back with a full set of clothes, including undergarments, and set them down for Wanning. "You shower first. I'll go rinse off, too."
"Okay. See you in a bit." Jiang Wanning smiled at her. After a full night's rest and the IV drip, she was looking considerably better.
"See you." Yi Yi headed back to her own room.
The reason androids could pass so convincingly as human lay in their near-identical physiology. Aside from not needing to eat or excrete, they were functionally indistinguishable from humans in almost every other respect — especially in terms of their outer bodies, which could accumulate dust, develop oily hair, and respond with sensation and bodily fluid during physical activity, much like a human would. But beneath the surface, everything was different. An android's interior was composed entirely of machinery and intricate circuitry. Their skeletal structure — spine and all — was constructed from high-precision alloy steel, more flexible and more durable than the human equivalent. The neural pathways threading through their bodies were engineered to a degree of accuracy that was almost incomprehensible. This was precisely why reconstructing Yan Yan's body was so extraordinarily difficult.
Jiang Wanning looked down at the clothes Yi Yi had brought for her, lips curving into a quiet smile. Yi Yi seemed to be a beta — she hadn't sensed any pheromones from her at all. The moment she caught herself thinking along those lines, she shook her head firmly and, face warm, went into the bathroom.
Wanning had slept through the entire day and most of the night, so she was up unusually early. It was only after her shower that she realized she was hungry. She decided to venture out of her room. The hallway clock said just past six, and when she reached the living room, a female alpha she didn't recognize was sitting there drinking water.
Wanning walked over with a small smile. "Hello, are you one of my sister's friends as well?"
Qin Ke nodded. She hadn't expected Wanning to be up so early. "Yes. My name is Qin Ke. How are you feeling?"
"Much better, thank you for asking," Wanning replied politely. Qin Ke struck her as a little cool, and a quiet settled over the living room.
Chen Wan was also an early riser. She came downstairs freshly washed and, seeing people in the living room, smiled. "Morning."
"Morning." Qin Ke gave her a brief nod.
"Morning, Sister Chen Wan!" Wanning finally had a familiar face — she stood up with her eyes curving happily.
"Wanning's up — how are you feeling? Anything still bothering you? A nurse is supposed to come by later for another drip." Chen Wan relaxed slightly, seeing that Wanning seemed genuinely well. As long as Jiang Yanxin's family was alright, this whole detour to the base hadn't been for nothing.
"All better. I was a bit dizzy last night, but I feel fine today," Wanning said cheerfully.
Jiang Zhao Yuan and Ye Lan, being older and lighter sleepers, had heard the movement downstairs and came down as well.
Ye Lan saw her younger daughter sitting bright-eyed on the sofa, chatting with the others, and her eyes immediately went red. "Wanning, come here — let me look at you. You're really all right?"
"Completely fine. I'm sorry for making you and Dad worry." Wanning felt like she was dreaming. They were in Zone A. Her sister had come for her, the whole family was together again — it was almost too good to be real.
One by one, everyone drifted downstairs. Yi Yi and Jiang Yanxin came down with Yang Yang not long after. The little one sat contentedly swinging her short legs, a clear indicator of her excellent mood. Jiang Yanxin settled in beside Wanning, and the two sisters began catching up.
Chen Wan smiled around at everyone. "Let's all head to the cafeteria and get some food first. We don't know what today might bring — keeping our strength up is the most important thing right now."
The reminder of their situation dimmed the warmth in the room somewhat. The smiles faded into quiet worry. Ye Lan reached out and took hold of Chen Wan's hand. "What do we do now?"
"We eat breakfast first. Whatever's coming will come — and I'll be here when it does. Don't worry." Chen Wan patted her hand and smiled.
They opened the front door to head for the cafeteria — and found two members of First Squad waiting outside. Both were armed with rifles, weapons loaded and ready by the look of it.
Chen Wan's smile turned cold. Speak of the devil. They hadn't even had breakfast yet.
The man with the freckled face spoke first: "Which of you is Chen Wan and which is Qin Ke? Major General Yao's orders — both of you are to join First Squad on a mission. We leave now."
Chen Wan let out a quiet, humorless laugh. "So there really is no such thing as a free lunch. Fine. Let's go."
She glanced back at Jiang Yanxin to signal her not to worry, then sent a silent message to Yi Yi through their shared link — stay flexible, keep in contact, and make sure everyone gets fed. If something went wrong on an empty stomach, there'd be nothing to work with.
Chen Wan and Qin Ke followed the two soldiers to the First Squad's training ground. Xing Feng was already there, addressing the group. He had technically been stripped of his rank, but was still acting as squad leader in the interim. It was called a squad, but there were a full twenty members. Minus the two who'd been put out of commission the night before, eighteen remained.
Xing Feng fixed Chen Wan and Qin Ke with a cold stare. "The mission is about to launch, and you two stroll in like this? Get your gear."
Chen Wan met his gaze evenly. "We were only just notified. Who's to blame for the late notice?"
"You think I wouldn't dare deal with you? Major General Yao ordered you on this mission, and as far as I'm concerned, you're dead weight. Two more liabilities to drag us down."
Chen Wan gave a small, unmoved smile. "Those who know whether they're dead weight already know."
"You—" Xing Feng glanced at the surveillance cameras around the area and forced himself to swallow it. They'd be leaving the base soon enough. There would be plenty of opportunities to deal with these two, then. No need to rush.
A female alpha led Chen Wan and Qin Ke to the equipment room. They exchanged a glance, examined the gear carefully, and only came back out once they were satisfied nothing had been tampered with. The female alpha then handed each of them their weapons.
Chen Wan only needed a moment to detect the problem — more than one component was missing.
She smiled pleasantly. "I didn't realize your military ran such shoddy equipment. Weapons like these — I might just have to raise the issue with your Commander directly."
The female alpha looked visibly startled. She knew these two had met with the Commander the previous day, and quickly swapped out the faulty sidearms and rifles for proper ones.
Chen Wan watched her with an unreadable expression, accepted the replacement weapons without comment, checked the ammunition and knives, confirmed everything was in order, and walked out with Qin Ke.
The female alpha hurried over to Xing Feng and whispered something. Xing Feng shot a cold smirk in Chen Wan and Qin Ke's direction, then barked: "Fall in."
Chen Wan and Qin Ke joined the formation at an unhurried pace and boarded the armored transport truck along with the rest.
Xing Feng had arranged the defective weapons deliberately, but the plan had been seen through — nothing to do about it now. He took a seat at the far interior of the truck and began his briefing: "The base has assigned us a critical mission. To the west of Funan City, near the southern border of Linqi City, there is a large grain depot. That area is far enough from Funan that the zombie population has never been cleared. Expect a heavy presence. Stay alert and watch each other's backs."
His gaze settled on Chen Wan as he continued: "Particularly given that this mission has been burdened with extra passengers — people who've talked their way into a free ride. Everyone needs to give their absolute best and prove that fraud has no place in this base."
"Yes, sir!" Every soldier except Chen Wan and Qin Ke answered in unison. The squad was its own unit, its own small world — and the night before, Chen Wan and Qin Ke had put two of their own in the infirmary and somehow ended up in Zone A on top of it. The resentment ran deep.
"All talk, those two. I want to see what they've actually got." The man with the broken eyebrow snorted in contempt.
"Exactly. Talked their way into Zone A with nothing to show for it. If they've got real skills, pigs can fly." His short companion was quick to agree.
Xing Feng let them carry on for a while before cutting it off: "We are on a mission, not having a chat. Eyes sharp, all of you."
He savored the obedience. Even stripped of his rank, they still answered to him, didn't they?
He glanced over at Chen Wan and Qin Ke, who sat in their seats looking entirely unbothered, and felt his satisfaction curdle. Like throwing a hard punch at a pile of cotton.
The truck rumbled on. Zombies encountered along the route were dispatched by the soldiers on perimeter watch. Chen Wan spent the ride resting with deliberate calm — there was no telling what lay ahead, and she intended to be fully prepared.
The drive took roughly two hours. Zombies along the road were sparse — scattered ones and twos, easy enough for the soldiers to handle.
The truck eventually rolled into the courtyard enclosing the grain depot and came to a stop. Everyone dismounted to take stock of the surroundings. But something immediately felt wrong to Chen Wan. On the road, there had been a handful of zombies. Here in the courtyard — nothing. Not one. The silence was unnatural.
Xing Feng swept the area and caught it too. He leveled his weapon at Chen Wan and Qin Ke. "You two — go scout ahead. Report back immediately."
Chen Wan gave a cold laugh. "Quite the strategist, Squad Leader Xing — not wasting a single one of your own people. Only sending outsiders on the suicide run."
"Less talking. We're on a joint mission — that means following orders. Say another word, and I'll have you disciplined for insubordination." He raised his weapon as he said it.
Chen Wan tilted her head. "Fine. We'll go take a look. There's an old saying, isn't there — when you're living under someone else's roof, you learn to bow your head."
"You know it — so shut up and move." Xing Feng's brow furrowed as he glared at her.
Chen Wan and Qin Ke moved toward the grain depot with rifles raised, watching their backs the whole way. Xing Feng had his squad hold position by the vehicles — at the first sign of trouble, the plan was to leave Chen Wan and Qin Ke behind and drive off. That, at least, was what kept him from shooting at their backs for the moment.