A single sentence from Ming Yue silenced everyone, their gazes turning towards Bao Bao.
They suddenly remembered that most of the day's events were due to this little sparrow.
It was because of this bird that they had nearly been burned to death by She San, and Bao Bao still owed them an explanation.
"Dead bird, stop playing dead. Why did those men in black insist on taking you?"
Bu Zhi was the first to jump out. Although he defended Bao Bao fiercely in front of outsiders, they were still rivals behind closed doors. In fact, he hadn't noticed that he had unconsciously begun to consider Bao Bao as one of their own.
"I, I don't know anything!"
Seeing everyone staring at him, Bao Bao could no longer pretend to be dead. It covered its face with its wings.
Ming Yue yanked its wings away, and Bao Bao could only meekly say,
At the same time, its soybean-sized eyes blinked, hoping to get away with cuteness.
"Speak up! You don't know anything? Are you trying to fool a ghost?
If you don't talk, Ji Shiyou will add roasted sparrow to tonight's menu!"
Exposing Bao Bao directly, Ming Yue picked it up with two fingers and tossed it to Ji Shiyou.
"I'll talk, I'll talk."
Seeing that it couldn't escape, Bao Bao began to beg for mercy and spilled everything it knew.
However, it wasn't lying. It really didn't know much. After telling everything it knew, the result was that it was as good as saying nothing.
It had consciousness when it was still an egg. It felt energy passing through the eggshell into its body every day.
Later, it hatched. When it came out, it found itself in a cold world.
All it saw were rows of metallic instruments, countless transparent test tubes filled with nutrient solution, and cold operating tables.
It disliked that place because, in its memory, it was a bird that should live in a dense forest.
There were red flowers and green grass, sweet mountain springs to drink from when thirsty, and delicious wild fruits to eat when hungry.
And as a bird, it should soar in the azure sky, straight into the clouds.
But here, there was nothing from its memory. It couldn't fly and was confined in a cold room all day.
The surroundings were metal walls, and every day someone would bring it nasty pills.
And bitter potions, forcing it to swallow them. That person was She San.
After a long time, it learned that the place it was in was called a laboratory, and there were several others like She San.
She San wasn't his name but his number among these people. Each of them was responsible for one room.
Bao Bao observed that there were more than twenty rooms like its own.
The creatures in each room were different. Some were centaurs, others were werewolves.
The most numerous were zombies. There was one next door to it, and only it looked relatively normal.
It yearned for the world in its memory and disliked this place. So, when She San opened the door, it escaped.
Using its small size to its advantage, it squeezed into the laboratory's ventilation shaft, burned a hole with its flames, and escaped.
Although it escaped the laboratory, it didn't see the world from its memory, because outside was already the apocalypse.
The environmental changes had turned the entire world into rivers of red water, withered plants, and scorched earth, which greatly disappointed it.
So, it flew and flew, searching for the place from its memory.
Until it settled in a valley, it sensed danger because it discovered.
That zombie from the room next to its in the cold laboratory was tracking it.
It was that mutated maple tree that looked like a zombie. It immediately realized it was coming for it, to capture it and take it back.
So, it concealed its presence and hid under the eaves of a residential building. The rest, Ming Yue and the others already knew.
"No wonder Sister Ming Yue said that the valley and the zombie were not right that day. So, you've been using us since then!
Brother Ji, I can help you tonight. I'm very good at plucking sparrow feathers."
Bu Zhi gave Bao Bao a wicked smile and said indignantly.
"I'm sorry! I didn't do it on purpose. Why are you so petty?
Is it interesting to argue with a sparrow? No girl likes a narrow-minded man like you.
If you keep scolding me, don't blame me for telling Tian Shang what you said to her today."
Bao Bao was not to be outdone. Bu Zhi felt like he was going to die today, and he had confessed his feelings.
Tian Shang hadn't heard it, but Bao Bao had heard it clearly and promised to repeat it word for word.
Seeing Bu Zhi kicking it while it was down and wanting to pluck its feathers, Bao Bao immediately stopped pretending to be weak and opened its mouth to tell everyone about Bu Zhi's confession.
"Grandma, I was wrong, I'm a foul-mouthed fool, please, don't say it."
This move by Bao Bao hit Bu Zhi's sore spot, and he immediately apologized.
Bowing and kowtowing to Bao Bao, he was as subservient as a grandson, begging Bao Bao to spare him.
"Hmph, you're still too green to fight with me."
With one move, it defeated Bu Zhi and KO'd him. Bao Bao raised its head triumphantly and became arrogant.
"What are you so proud of? Your problem isn't fully explained. You were in the laboratory for so long, besides She San and the others, did you not see anyone else?"
Ming Yue caught the ostentatious sparrow from Ji Shiyou's hand and flicked its little head, asking further.
Based on Bao Bao's description, Ming Yue found the laboratory very suspicious.
In terms of time, this laboratory existed before the apocalypse.
Where did the mutated animals and zombies come from? What was the laboratory owner trying to do? So, she wanted to know more.
"No!"
Bao Bao shook its head, replying with certainty. It really hadn't seen anyone else.
"Where is that laboratory located? You should remember the area, right?"
Shi Henian suddenly spoke. Based on Bao Bao's description, the laboratory should be very large.
He was very familiar with laboratories across the country. As long as Bao Bao remembered the address, he might be able to deduce the identity of the laboratory owner.
"Big brother, I've never lived in the outside world.
Besides, I'm just a bird, how would I know the area or the address? You're making things too difficult for a bird.
Moreover, I had just escaped for my life, in a panic, and didn't pay attention to my surroundings at all.
By the time I calmed down, I had already flown thousands of miles away, so I don't remember anything.
Don't force me, okay? I've told you everything I know. Otherwise, you'll have roasted sparrow for dinner again!"
Cornered, Bao Bao acted like a dead bird that wasn't afraid of boiling water. It lay flat on the seat with a look of utter despair.
Seeing that Bao Bao wasn't lying and nothing more could be extracted, everyone stopped questioning.
They had also left Jin City and found a conspicuous spot outside the city to wait for Bu Ying and the others.
Half an hour later, Bu Ying led the esper team from Yun City and Qi Wu's Blazing Fire Squad, appearing in vehicles.
However, through the car window, Ming Yue saw Qing Ying with a dark expression, looking very unhappy.
She found it strange. Even when Qing Ying was forced to hand over the machinery earlier, she hadn't looked like this. What was the reason? Had something happened?
Qing Ying was indeed in a bad mood because just now, when she and Qi Wu returned to the Blazing Fire Squad's base, someone reported that Yin Qing was missing.