"Your previous vehicle was intercepted. It carried twelve Miel spies, all of whom were eliminated. When they were encountered, they were broadcasting a rescue signal, attempting to lure local civilians into the vehicle. However, we were faster and they failed."
"We've contacted the military. This model of Miel spy is very old, with a metal plate on its scalp – a fifty-year-old version. It's highly likely these spies have been here for fifty years," Che Zhen reported. "We are conducting a grid search of the city, block by block. In the past hour, we've rescued 87 people, including two infants and a pregnant woman, and eliminated 18 spies without any friendly fire."
"Good. You continue your operation. I'll push directly into the city's depths and scout ahead for you," Jiang Ye said. "Ensure your safety!"
"Understood!" Che Zhen replied.
The rescue vehicle sped across grasslands and wasteland, circling to the city's flank before entering.
Jiang Ye slowed his vehicle and picked up the radio, switching to the external broadcast, and began to call out:
"Can anyone hear me? Can anyone hear me?"
"This is the rescue team. If there are any survivors, please get in the vehicle immediately. I will take you to a place with food and medical supplies!"
Before he finished the broadcast, a young girl appeared on the balcony of a residential building by the roadside, raising a rocket launcher at the rescue vehicle.
Jiang Ye slammed on the brakes. A stream of fire shot down from above, hitting the rear of the rescue vehicle with a boom!
The vehicle's roof wasn't penetrated, but the windows were all whitened by the blast, and countless cracks spread across the glass. Damage alerts immediately popped up on the screen. The rescue vehicle's air conditioning and rear wheel power supply systems were more than half damaged, and the rear tires had blown out.
Jiang Ye glanced at the damage, then got out of the car, raised his gun, and fired at the balcony, emptying half a magazine.
The girl with the rocket launcher fired another rocket.
His bullets simultaneously struck her arm, breaking it completely. She fell from the balcony.
"Boom!" The rocket hit the rear of the rescue vehicle. The blast wave and heat threw Jiang Ye to the ground.
He got up and charged into the building. The elevator was out, so he had to take the stairs.
The sound of rapid submachine-gun fire echoed, bullets flying down from the stair railing, sparks scattering. Jiang Ye fired blindly upwards, quickly emptying his magazine, discarding it, and replacing it with a fresh one.
He sprinted up to the seventh floor, where the girl was located.
Jiang Ye fired decisively, blasting open the door with a grenade launcher. Before the smoke cleared, he rushed inside.
A man lay in the living room, clearly blown in from the doorway. His right leg was missing, and instead of blood, metal parts, screws, springs, and relays were scattered across the floor.
A small, black submachine gun lay two meters away. The man tried to reach for it, extending his hand with difficulty.
Jiang Ye lunged forward, picked up the submachine gun from the floor, raised it, and fired a burst at the man, sending metal parts flying around the room. He then dropped the submachine gun and, carrying his assault rifle, rushed onto the balcony.
The beautiful girl lay on the balcony, one arm gone, revealing wires and optical fibers. Her other hand clutched the rocket launcher, but it was empty.
Jiang Ye pointed his gun at her. "How many spies like you are there? Where are they?"
The girl remained silent, then suddenly opened her mouth and bit the barrel of the gun.
Startled, Jiang Ye pulled the trigger, firing three shots. The girl's head exploded, revealing mechanical parts and a chip inside. Battery fluid slowly dripped out.
Silence descended.
Jiang Ye searched the room but found no other mechanical spies. The entire apartment was like a normal young couple's home, not luxuriously decorated, but filled with the warmth of daily life. A wedding photo hung on the wall, and there were leftover meals and milk and fruit in the refrigerator. The bookshelf held books on prenatal education and childcare, suggesting the couple might have been preparing for a child, but before they could conceive, their mechanical spy consciousness had awakened.
He left the apartment.
Jiang Ye fired a grenade launcher, blasting open the door of the opposite unit. He entered to search.
It was an unfinished apartment, with dusty concrete walls and floor, and no one living there.
He retreated, went downstairs, and blasted open the door of the east unit on the first floor.
This time, it wasn't an unfinished apartment. It was a normal residence, fully furnished.
Jiang Ye suddenly heard a faint sound.
Following the sound, he went to the bedroom.
A young man, wearing only shorts, lay sprawled on the floor, wearing VR glasses with a game controller discarded nearby. His body was twitching like a worm.
Jiang Ye removed his VR glasses and saw his eyeballs rolling wildly.
An infected.
He picked the man up, grunting as he carried him down the stairs and placed him in the rescue vehicle.
Jiang Ye activated the squad's broadcast and issued a voice command, "When you encounter residential buildings, break down the doors and check for residents who have fallen ill at home. I just rescued one. The patient was delirious and couldn't hear the rescue vehicle's broadcast at all."
"Received!" came a chorus of acknowledgments.
"What if we can't get through the security doors?" a team member asked.
"Force entry!" Jiang Ye replied.
"But..."
"No 'buts.' They're dying inside. What do you care about? Saving lives is the priority. Lives are at stake!" Jiang Ye said. "Smash down the doors of all residential buildings and search. Don't miss a single sick person. These people are too ill to care for themselves; they'll starve to death if they lie there any longer!"
"Yes!"
Jiang Ye turned and went back into the residential building, kicking down doors from the first floor.
The east unit on the first floor was empty.
The west unit on the first floor startled him. It was occupied by a large family. An old man lay dead in the bedroom, his body stiff and his heart still. A middle-aged couple lay collapsed in the kitchen, still alive but gasping for breath, twitching feebly like fish about to suffocate. Four children, all boys, were foaming at the mouth by the computer desk, kicking their legs.
Fearing they might suffocate on their own tongues, Jiang Ye first pried open their mouths to check, then carried them out and laid them flat on the rescue vehicle.
He went up to the second floor, shot the door lock, and entered.
The east unit was another large family, all Black, totaling eight people of all ages, male and female. All were alive but ill, their faces looking like zombies.
The west unit was occupied by a single, short-haired, beautiful young woman with an East Asian face. She was slumped by the bathtub, completely naked. There were a few bubbles in the water and some small yellow rubber ducks floating. It seemed she had fallen ill while bathing. She might have used her remaining consciousness to try and climb out of the tub, and although she didn't succeed, at least she hadn't drowned.
Jiang Ye went to her bedroom, opened the wardrobe, and found a set of thick pajamas. He pulled her out of the bathtub and wrapped her tightly in the pajamas, tying the belt. Throughout this, Jiang Ye kept his head turned away, practicing non-interference.
A circle of white light shone around the edge of the bathtub. It was an expensive heated bathtub, and the water was still warm. Otherwise, she would have frozen to death after soaking in it for a day or two.
Jiang Ye placed the beautiful young woman onto the rescue vehicle.
He got out, took a couple of breaths, and was about to go upstairs to rescue more people when a loud, clear sound echoed through the city – the air raid siren!