TL: Moonlit
After eliminating the undercover zombie, Wen Qingling was no longer lazy. He carefully searched Ling City again but did not find any suspicious zombies, which put his mind at ease.
While waiting for Xiao Hen and the others to return, Wen Qingling accelerated the maturation of a batch of blood anemones, intending to sell the slices to the decayed zombies and strengthen the ranks of civilized zombies. The civilized city had already begun to take shape, and more residents were needed.
Wen Qingling set a time limit for Xiao Hen and the others. Xiao Hen and his team hurried back without stopping. Finally, on the morning of the fifth day, they arrived in Ling City with two cars instead of one, as they had brought a living person. Xiao Hen asked Ji Rong and the others to wait outside the city while he drove in alone.
In just four days, the planning and construction of the core city and inner city had been mostly completed. Some civilized zombies had already moved in, although the majority of them still resided in the civilization base.
Xiao Hen drove directly to the clinic and indeed found Wen Qingling there. He was idly twirling a pen, lost in thought.
As soon as Xiao Hen got out of the car, he smelled a strong bloody scent. He glanced at the office where he could hear the voices of Jiang Lan and Wen Zheng, who were cutting the large blood anemones.
Wen Qingling looked at him as if he could see into his heart.
Xiao Hen raised an eyebrow. “Can you see something?”
Wen Qingling didn’t answer his teasing remark. “Where is the medical equipment?”
Xiao Hen looked at the clinic space. “You want me to put the equipment here?”
Wen Qingling stood up. “I’ll take you to see the research institute in the base. Put the equipment there.”
Xiao Hen said, “Wait, there’s one more thing.”
He turned around and went back to the car, bringing out a zombie. The zombie was heavily decayed, with tattered clothes and a stiff body. It was clearly in a dormant state.
Xiao Hen placed the zombie on the ground. “Can this one still be saved?”
Wen Qingling looked at him strangely. “Is it your relative?”
Xiao Hen said, “No, it’s a gift for you.”
Wen Qingling asked, “Do you think our Ling City lacks such gifts?”
Xiao Hen said, “His name is Zhu Baizhang, the top virus research expert in the country. He’s even more famous than Meng Lao.”
Wen Qingling’s eyes gradually lit up. “Are you sure you didn’t get the wrong zombie?”
Xiao Hen smiled as he finally saw a reaction from Wen Qingling. “I’m sure I didn’t get it wrong.”
They had originally planned to find these top talents together with Wen Qingling, but they happened to pass by the city where Zhu Baizhang resided when they were driving back. Xiao Hen didn’t have high hopes, as Wen Qingling had said that zombies wouldn’t wait for him to find them. However, when they arrived at Zhu Baizhang’s residence, he had already been bitten. During the early days of the apocalypse, which were the most chaotic, even though he was an expert in virus research, he couldn’t develop a vaccine in a short period of time. He knew his time was running out, so he refused Xiao Hen’s help and asked them to leave.
Xiao Hen felt lucky, so he made a detour to Zhu Baizhang’s home. Unlike other houses where the doors were wide open, Zhu Baizhang’s home was tightly shut, which made Xiao Hen realize something. They broke in through a window and found Zhu Baizhang in the master bedroom. Two wardrobes blocked the bedroom window, and Zhu Baizhang was lying between the gap.
Since the beginning of the apocalypse, all wandering zombies had been stained with blood to some extent, whether human or animal blood. As long as they had fed, they wouldn’t enter a dormant state. Xiao Hen had never seen a zombie in this state before, and he knew that even if a zombie entered a dormant state, it didn’t mean it was dead. It should be possible to awaken it as long as there was fresh blood.
After the previous incident, Xiao Hen didn’t dare to use his own blood without authorization, especially since no one knew what would happen if someone drank his blood. So, he brought the zombie back and let Wen Qingling make the final decision.
Wen Qingling turned and went to the office, and the smell of blood became stronger when the door opened. He took a slice of blood anemone and a large bag of blood anemone fluid and came back. Jiang Lan and Wen Zheng followed him out. The two of them looked like butchers who had just finished slaughtering.
Jiang Lan saw Xiao Hen and greeted him, but her attitude had changed greatly compared to before. It couldn’t be described as cold, but it definitely wasn’t warm either. In the eyes of parents, their child was the most important thing in the world, and nothing and no one was more important than their child, especially when it came to emotions. If Xiao Hen couldn’t be on the same page as Wen Qingling and still looked at things from a human perspective, not to mention whether Wen Qingling would be willing or not, Jiang Lan, as a mother, would advise him to consider it carefully.
Xiao Hen noticed the change in Jiang Lan’s attitude, and he understood where the problem lay.
Wen Qingling hesitated as he held a slice of blood anemone in one hand and a bag of blood anemone fluid in the other, looking at the dormant zombie. “We don’t force good zombies. In this situation, if we directly turn it into a civilized zombie, wouldn’t it seem like we’re very democratic and free?”
Jiang Lan nodded in agreement. “For freedom and enlightenment, this choice should be left to it. Although I don’t think any zombie would refuse to live a dignified life, who knows if there are any non-mainstream zombies that won’t follow the usual path?”
Wen Qingling nodded. “Makes sense.”
Wen Zheng poked his head out. “Who is this? Are all dormant zombies like this? Why does it look like a piece of rotten wood?”
It was indeed like a rotten piece of wood, hollowed out by worms, and it didn’t look appealing at all.
Wen Qingling glanced nervously at his mother, and sure enough, he saw a cold light in her eyes. Wen Qingling quickly tried to remedy the situation, “Not all dormant zombies are so ugly. It also depends on their age. Like my mother, even if she’s a dormant zombie, she’s the most beautiful zombie among dormant zombies.”
His survival instinct was truly strong.
Jiang Lan coldly snorted, “Do you feel superior compared to the ‘Withered Wood Segment’?”
Wen Qingling: “…”
Wen Qingling looked at his father, who kept his mouth shut and looked everywhere but at his own son.
He caused the trouble, so he had to solve it himself.
Wen Qingling then looked at Xiao Hen.
Xiao Hen received the distress signal and quickly changed the topic back, “Should we prepare a basin of mutant pig blood?”
Wen Qingling: “…”
Jiang Lan: “…”
Wen Zheng: “…”
They felt that the timing of bringing up mutant pig blood was a bit off.
Xiao Hen: “???”
Xiao Hen was a bit confused by the three pairs of eyes staring at him, wondering if he failed to change the topic.
Jiang Lan waved her hand, “Alright, I’ll go prepare the mutant pig blood.”
Jiang Lan left angrily, and both Wen Qingling and Wen Zheng breathed a sigh of relief.
Xiao Hen: “…”
While waiting, Xiao Hen clarified the boundaries with the Central Mega City and told Wen Qingling about bringing Shi Chong’s Uncle over.
Wen Qingling asked, “How does he look?”
Following the principle of ‘whoever bites gets married,’ if he looked ugly, no one would bite.
Xiao Hen understood his intention and helplessly said, “He doesn’t want to get married, and he doesn’t know about civilized zombies. We didn’t tell him. Shi Chong left Central Mega City, and we couldn’t leave him there. We had no choice but to bring him along.”
Wen Qingling said, “Then send him to Chang Boheng and Wen Chu.”
Xiao Hen was momentarily speechless. “Qingling, have you ever considered that there might still be living relatives of civilized zombies in the base? They are humans. If they know their relatives are still ‘alive,’ they will definitely come to find them. By then, would you let the people in the base leave or let the humans in?”
Wen Qingling furrowed his brows slightly, and Wen Zheng looked contemplative.
Xiao Hen continued, “To develop and strengthen a community, it’s not just about our own development. Isolating ourselves from the outside world won’t guarantee success. Even a powerful nation needs diplomacy, let alone a community that hasn’t fully developed yet.”
Wen Zheng asked, “What do you think, Xiao Hen?”
Xiao Hen looked at Wen Qingling, who remained silent and spoke gently, “I have always seen your pursuit of peace. I have seen everything you’ve done. Otherwise, I wouldn’t say this. I know you have no malice towards humans, nor do you have any hostility. When I say ‘peaceful coexistence,’ it means giving them an opportunity to get close to you, to Ling City.”
Wen Qingling fell into silence.
