His words left Xu An speechless.
Even Xu An knew how weak his own argument was.
The source of all human fear stemmed from the unknown. Because of the unknown, humanity's powerful imagination would lead them to worry about potential dangers even in times of peace, to create imaginary enemies, and to automatically treat those "not of our kind" as outsiders.
The conversation had drifted, so Xu An steered it back. "Then can you find out where those laboratories are?"
Ze Yuan smoothly transitioned back, answering Xu An's question. "They are not in the bunker, but there are traces of that agent within the bunker."
Just as Xu An was about to ask further, Ze Yuan uttered, "Someone's coming," and then fell silent.
The arrival was Yu Qin, whom Xu An had not seen all night.
Yu Qin appeared to have calmed down. Her face no longer showed the terror she had displayed yesterday when facing the colossal zombie monster. She seemed to have reverted to her role as the darling of the team.
"Is the captain here?"
Seeing Yu Qin's seemingly reconciled demeanor, Xu An gestured with his chin towards the bed behind him.
"Still sleeping."
"Could you open the door for me? I need to talk to the captain."
Given the other person's gentle attitude, Xu An had no reason to keep her waiting outside.
The only benefit of this capsule was the decorative cabin door at the entrance, which could still provide some separation between the interior and exterior.
Xu An pushed open the slightly ajar door, letting Yu Qin in. The already small space became even more cramped.
She had to turn her body sideways to allow Yu Qin to pass her and wake Lin Zhuoran.
By the time Yu Qin reached the bed, Lin Zhuoran had also woken up. Upon seeing Yu Qin, she rubbed her eyes as if to confirm the person before her was real.
"An An, I'm awake. You should lie down for a bit too."
Xu An acknowledged with a "got it," switched places with Lin Zhuoran, and then lay down on the bed to sleep.
To leave as early as possible, the three of them had woken up at five in the morning, only to find themselves back here after a morning of fruitless effort.
Xu An quickly took out some dry biscuits from his backpack, and the three of them shared them with hot water.
After eating, they discussed taking turns to rest.
If Xu An could have slept soundly with the other two yesterday, after what happened this morning, he could no longer fall asleep with a clear conscience.
Lying on the bed, Xu An heard Yu Qin talking to Lin Zhuoran as they walked, her eyes constantly drifting towards him. He decisively closed his eyes and mentally summoned Ze Yuan.
"Help me keep an eye on that Yu Qin."
As soon as the words fell, Xu An truly fell into a deep sleep. It would be a waste not to use such an excellent portable surveillance device. Operating under the principle of not wasting the value of any life form, Xu An decided that future stakeouts should be delegated to Ze Yuan.
Ze Yuan, who had been unceremoniously woken from his slumber to act as a spy: "Are you polite?"
......
"Yu Qin, what did you need?"
The other person originally wanted to pull her outside to talk, but with the bunker being small and crowded, going outside would mean being jostled by people everywhere. It was better to talk here.
Although Xu An and Zhou Haimei, two outsiders, were present, the red-haired woman was clearly sleeping like a log.
As for Xu An on the other side, Yu Qin figured that if she spoke quietly, it wouldn't be a big issue.
"Sister Zhuoran, Dr. Zhang Bo came to see me just now. He hopes we can protect him to collect an important experimental sample."
Lin Zhuoran furrowed her brows. "An experimental sample? What kind of experimental sample?"
When the bunker first accepted Zhang Bo, they only knew him as an intellectual, a scientist. Just as people began to hope he could bring about some change in their difficult lives, Zhang Bo's expression dimmed amidst their hopeful gazes. He said, "I'm sorry, I cannot bring you high-tech agricultural solutions to solve your food shortage."
But just as people were denouncing him as a liar and a madman, he stepped forward and resolved some of their troubles, thus establishing himself here.
Although she had some doubts about Yu Qin's words, her reservations were halved upon seeing Dr. Zhang Bo's personal letter.
"But this place is so dangerous. Our team only has five people. Can we do it?"
Yu Qin's expression suggested she had anticipated Lin Zhuoran's question. "Don't worry, Sister Zhuoran. Aren't your two friends quite skilled? I've already spoken to Dr. Zhang Bo about this, and he agreed. He's bringing a few assistants himself, so we'll have over a dozen people. You can rest assured now."
Listening to Yu Qin's words, Lin Zhuoran completely forgot the unpleasantness of yesterday. She felt that the person before her had truly transformed from a young girl into a mature adult, capable of handling matters independently.
A sense of comfort welled up in her heart. After all, they were people who had shared life and death together, and Lin Zhuoran genuinely did not want to create a rift in her relationship with Yu Qin.
"Alright, Xiao Qin. You go back first. When they wake up, I'll discuss it with them and then give you a reply."
"Didn't Sister An An sleep well last night? Why is she still sleeping?"
Lin Zhuoran would not tell her that they had gone out early in the morning and fought a fierce battle with zombies, leaving them utterly exhausted.
She simply said that the bed was too small for three people to sleep comfortably, so they were taking turns.
Seeing that Lin Zhuoran seemed unwilling to discuss the matter further, Yu Qin fell silent.
Yu Qin's expression shifted slightly when Lin Zhuoran did not immediately agree, but she said no more, nodded, and left Lin Zhuoran's dwelling.
"Then I'll be going now. Sister Zhuoran, please think it over carefully."
With that, Yu Qin turned and left Lin Zhuoran's residence. Lin Zhuoran stared blankly at Yu Qin's retreating back and the slightly crumpled paper she clutched.
She knew Xu An didn't like others making decisions for her, so she hadn't given a definitive answer right away.
"What are you thinking about?"
A voice came from behind her. Lin Zhuoran turned to see Xu An.
"You're not sleeping?"
"Just dozing. I'm a light sleeper."
Lin Zhuoran apologized with a guilty look. "Did we disturb you? You should go back to sleep now. I won't talk anymore."
Xu An waved her hand and also woke up Zhou Haimei, who was still fast asleep.
"Get up, let's get something to eat. We haven't really eaten properly all day."
After waking Zhou Haimei, he looked at Lin Zhuoran, his gaze fixed on the handwritten letter she held.
"And let's talk about that thing in your hand."