novelraw Chapter 270 - 259: The Man
Chapter 270 - 259: The Man
"A serial number? Does that mean you’re one of the infected too?" Qin Yi looked at the man in surprise, frowning slightly. "But you’re... different from the others."
"Yes," the man looked up at the group and admitted frankly. "I was one of the infected in those Hibernation Chambers."
He paused. "But I’m not like them. I pulled through."
Qin Yi didn’t understand. ’What does he mean, he pulled through?’
"I fought off the viral infection." The man lowered his head slightly, giving a wry smile. "So I became a traitor in their eyes."
A moment of silence fell over the campfire.
Gu Xi looked up at him, cutting straight to the point. "Besides the serial number, what else do you remember?"
held his bowl and thought for a moment. "Sorry, my head’s a bit of a mess. I don’t remember much. Other than the serial number, I just have some vague images..."
Everyone was silent. ’His story really covers all the bases, doesn’t it?’
"How did you get out of the Hibernation Chamber?" Qi Xiang asked curiously.
039’s heart tightened. This was undoubtedly a critical question, but fortunately, he had prepared for it. He shook his head and said seriously, "I don’t know. When I woke up, the Hibernation Chamber was already open..."
"Were you the first one to wake up?" Qi Xiang asked again.
"No." 039 looked down at the sweet potato porridge in his bowl, his expression growing unreadable. "...I was woken up by them."
Just then, Qin Shi suddenly spoke up. "You’re lying!"
Her logic was clear. "You said you’re a traitor in their eyes, so why would they let you go after waking you up?" ’In a situation like that, shouldn’t they have kicked him while he was down?’
"Actually, I escaped," the man said with a wry smile.
"But the wound on your lower back was caused by a tri-blade military dagger," Qin Shi said, staring at him intently. "Don’t rush to explain. I’ve examined your entire body. I know what wounds you have..."
And newly awakened infected only have their bodies as weapons.
Therefore, the man’s story was, up to this point, riddled with holes.
Now they just had to see how he’d talk his way out of this one.
The man, however, wasn’t flustered in the slightest. He stared down at the sweet potato porridge in his bowl, silent for a moment, before slowly speaking. "I did escape, but not from the infected..."
The others listened. ’Oh, so the plot thickens.’
"Then who did you escape from?" Qin Shi pressed, her gaze fixed on him.
The man continued, "You’ve probably noticed that aside from their slow reactions, the infected are mentally no different from normal people. After I was awakened, I quickly realized I was different..."
"Before I could act on my realization that something was wrong and leave, a mysterious person suddenly appeared with a group of researchers..."
"Researchers?" Qin Shi frowned, cutting him off. "What kind of researchers? And how did you know that’s what they were?"
The man thought, ’Shouldn’t the mysterious person be the focus right now?’
He took a subtle deep breath and slowly shook his head. "I don’t know where the researchers were from, but I heard one of the people chasing me call a man in a hazmat suit Mr. Chen..."
"Then who were the people chasing you?" Qin Shi immediately pressed, her voice turning sharp and wary.
She even drew her gun and pressed it to the man’s temple.
"The people the mysterious person brought with him. His subordinates, or maybe bodyguards?" the man said, pretending to think hard. He ignored the gun at his head and mentioned the mysterious person again, trying to steer the conversation back on track.
"Then how did you escape, and how did you get injured?" Qin Shi demanded, staring at him.
The man said, "They discovered I was different and wanted to take me away. I didn’t want to go with them, so I looked for a chance to escape..."
"Wait," Zhao Li interrupted. "We just checked that area. There were no signs of a fight."
The man sighed. "It didn’t happen there."
He pointed toward a dilapidated storefront in the distance. "They were taking me over there when I happened to see... I saw a picture of myself, and some vague memories suddenly flashed through my mind..."
The man paused deliberately, assuming Gu Xi and her group would ask about it. Then he could naturally bring up the poster and guide them to discover his identity on their own.
And after that... he could smoothly claim a connection to Gu Xi, and in turn, lead her to doubt her own past...
However, the plan was perfect, but reality was... he waited a full five seconds, and no one took the bait.
Well, that was awkward.
The man had no choice but to continue. "While I was escaping, I got injured. A Thunder Ability user trapped me in a Thunder Net..."
"Then how did you get away?" Qin Shi asked, her disbelief obvious.
The man was silent for a long time before finally speaking. "My apologies, I concealed a few things earlier. My ability is rather unique. I can use Water Escape."
"Water Escape?!" The group exchanged glances, wondering what new trick this was.
The man explained, "In an environment with water, I can use it to teleport short distances. There was a lot of standing water here last night..."
’So he even carefully worked last night’s downpour into his story.’
’You had to admit, the details were pretty thorough.’
The man continued, "After that, I managed to take them by surprise and escape using Water Escape, but I passed out not long after from blood loss..."
Qin Shi narrowed her eyes, about to ask another question, but then she saw Gu Xi hand her empty bowl to Wei Heng and look up. "I’m very interested in this Water Escape you mentioned. If it’s convenient, could you give us a demonstration?"
The man hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.
Soon, water began to spread across the ground around them. Seeing how slow it was, Lin Jin even gave him a helping hand.
Then, right before their eyes, the man vanished from his spot and reappeared in another part of the puddle.
"Doesn’t seem all that impressive," Qi Xiang muttered under her breath, glancing at the distance he had traveled.
The man’s face was pale as he teleported back to the fire. "This ability has major limitations. It’s nothing compared to a Space Element user’s teleportation..."
As he said this, he shot a subtle glance at Gu Xi.
Just then, "SQUEAK!" The Mutated Rat King, which had been lying by Gu Xi’s feet, suddenly reared up, baring its sharp fangs and snarling at the man.
Fortunately, Wei Heng was beside them and, with quick reflexes, pressed it back down.
’Can’t let this shifty-eyed little rat ruin our big plan.’
At the same time, Qin Shi reacted just as quickly, pressing her gun to the man’s head again.
’If you’re going to put on a show, you have to make it convincing, right?’
The man froze for a second, then his gaze slowly drifted down to the Mutated Rat King.
"This mutated rat..." The man hesitated, then frowned. "I feel like I’ve encountered its aura somewhere before."
"SQUEAK!" The Mutated Rat King grew even more agitated, baring its teeth at the man relentlessly.
"Didn’t you just wake up? Where could you have possibly seen it?" Qin Yi asked, looking from the man to the mutated rat with curiosity.
The man thought for a moment before answering seriously, "I sensed the same aura on that mysterious person."
"SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!" This time, the Mutated Rat King wasn’t having it. It struggled wildly under Wei Heng’s hand.
’Damn it!’ the rat thought. ’This bastard is obviously taking advantage of the fact that I can’t talk to turn the tables on me!’