Night fell once more, shrouding the wasteland in a deep, impenetrable darkness.
Chen Shouzhou divided the last compressed biscuit into four pieces: one for Su Wan'er, one for himself, and the other two for Xiao Hei and the new little guy. He stared at the circled industrial park on the map, a determined glint in his eyes.
"Dr. Su," he finally said, "we can't wait any longer. We need to figure out the secret of Sky-Curtain Biotech as soon as possible."
Su Wan'er nodded, silently beginning to check her first-aid kit and the modified alcohol sprayer.
Chen Shouzhou then looked at the two dogs by the entrance. Xiao Hei lay there loyally, while the mysterious puppy he had rescued on a whim seemed restless. It frequently lifted its head, sniffing the air in the northwest direction and letting out soft, low whimpers.
"Looks like you're homesick too," Chen Shouzhou said, crouching down to pat its head.
He decided to take them both. Xiao Hei's combat experience and the mysterious puppy's exceptional sense of smell might prove useful at a critical moment.
Xiao Hei, little guy, we're going on a long trip tonight. He transmitted the simple thought through his [Beast Tongue] skill. Xiao Hei immediately stood up, wagging its tail excitedly. The mysterious puppy rubbed against his leg, seeming to understand the purpose of their journey.
That night, Chen Shouzhou and Su Wan'er, equipped with all their usable gear and supplies, set out. With Xiao Hei and the mysterious puppy leading the way, the party of two humans and two dogs silently left the safe house, heading for the abandoned industrial park marked on the map.
The journey by night was difficult, but with the two dogs guiding them, their progress was much faster than expected. Xiao Hei kept watch for zombies and mutants in their surroundings, while the mysterious puppy acted like a natural guide. It would frequently stop, sniffing the air carefully, and then confidently choose a direction. It was incredibly focused, as if tracking an invisible scent.
"It seems to know the way," Su Wan'er wrote in her notepad, her eyes filled with surprise. She added another sentence: "It might be 'Bai Bai's' companion, or even… its offspring."
Chen Shouzhou strongly agreed. The puppy had reacted to the scent on "Bai Bai's" dog tag, and now it seemed to be guided by some kind of bloodline connection. This was no coincidence.
After more than half an hour, they finally reached their destination.
Before them stood a massive complex of factory buildings. Towering smokestacks pointed to the sky like black swords, and the dilapidated workshops cast huge, menacing shadows in the moonlight, like lurking behemoths.
"Looks like we've stumbled into the big boss's lair," Chen Shouzhou whistled, using a joke to ease the tension.
They didn't go through the main gate. Instead, they circled to the side and slipped into a half-collapsed factory building. The air inside was thick with the reek of decay, mold, and the acrid smell of chemical reagents, a stench so foul it was almost nauseating.
Chen Shouzhou took a makeshift torch—a rag wrapped around a stick and soaked in grease—from his backpack and lit it with a match. The dim yellow light dispelled some of the darkness, illuminating the warning signs still visible on the walls.
"NO FLAMES!"
"HIGH-RISK BIOCHEMICAL LAB!"
"UNAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL PROHIBITED!"
The bright red warnings, like silent screams, spoke of the horrors that had once taken place here.
"Looks like we're in the right place," Chen Shouzhou said, tightening his grip on his wrench.
They passed through a corridor cluttered with debris and partially collapsed sections, finally entering a room that seemed relatively intact. It appeared to be a data analysis or monitoring room, with several monitors hanging on the wall and recording instruments on the desks.
Su Wan'er immediately went to work, her professional knowledge proving invaluable. She quickly checked the wiring and power interfaces of the instruments and was surprised to find that the backup power indicator on one of the recorders was still glowing with a faint green light.
She carefully took a spare battery from her backpack and connected it.
Zzzt…
The screen flickered a few times and then, incredibly, turned on. A blurry video appeared.
On the screen, several researchers in white lab coats were gathered around a group of dogs in cages. They were holding syringes, injecting some unknown liquid into the dogs. The animals soon began to convulse and mutate. Some became incredibly violent, while others simply melted into puddles of rotten flesh.
The footage was bloody and cruel, chilling to the bone.
At the end of the video, the camera slowly panned to a separate cage in the corner. On the nameplate at the front of the cage, a few words were clearly engraved—
"Test Subject: No. 07"
Inside the cage, a pure white Samoyed was staring in terror at the events unfolding outside, its eyes clear and innocent. It was "Bai Bai"!
"So… this is how it happened," Chen Shouzhou murmured to himself.
Just as they were still reeling from the shock, a blood-curdling growl echoed from outside the door.
Not one, but a group.
Chen Shouzhou's scalp tingled. He immediately perceived through [Beast Tongue] a pure, mindless hunger and a desire to kill.
He whipped his head around and saw several figures slowly emerge from the shadows at the doorway. They had human silhouettes, but their movements were unnaturally agile, crawling on all fours like beasts. Their eyes glowed with an eerie red light in the darkness, their skin was pale, and their muscles were knotted and bulging.
"Enhanced zombies!" The term instantly popped into Chen Shouzhou's mind. These things were far more dangerous than any ordinary zombie he had encountered outside.
"Go!" he made a split-second decision, grabbing Su Wan'er and running back the way they came.
He unhooked the last two "chili smoke bombs" and a homemade flashbang from his belt, detonated them without hesitation, and threw them at the pursuing enhanced zombies.
BOOM!
The bright flash and acrid smoke erupted, effectively blocking their pursuit.
"Xiao Hei! Xiao Qi! Hold them off!" Chen Shouzhou yelled.
The two dogs charged forward without a moment's hesitation. Xiao Hei was experienced, using its agility to harass and distract, avoiding direct confrontation. Xiao Qi, despite its small size, was incredibly fierce. It aimed for the enemies' lower bodies, nearly severing the Achilles tendon of an enhanced zombie several times.
With the two dogs fighting desperately to cover them, Chen Shouzhou and Su Wan'er finally bought precious time to retreat.
They sprinted out of the factory, back into the ruins, and finally ducked into a safe hiding spot, gasping for breath. Xiao Hei and Xiao Qi soon followed, both wounded but thankfully with no life-threatening injuries.
Once they were certain they were safe, Chen Shouzhou could feel his heart still pounding. He patted the puppy's head and said sincerely, "Xiao Qi, you were amazing."
As if it understood, Xiao Qi licked his hand, and a flash of something almost human—gratitude and reliance—shone in its bright eyes.
The system's prompt sounded at that moment.
[Main Quest progress updated: Discovered facility related to the test subject. Completion: 30%.]
[Reward: Minor physical enhancement, 'Safe House Reinforcement (Basic)' crafting unlocked.]
Chen Shouzhou looked at the system prompt, then at his companions. Though tonight's exploration had been fraught with danger, they were undoubtedly one step closer to the truth.
Su Wan'er took out her notepad and wrote: "We are one step closer to the truth."
Chen Shouzhou looked at her and grinned. "Yeah. And we also got our hands on their 'criminal evidence.'" He waved a memory card he had swiped from the lab, the one still containing the video recording.
"Now," he said, looking in the direction of the industrial park, his eyes growing sharp, "it's our turn to make a move."