Xu An estimated that the group of zombies would be busy devouring for a while longer, so she and the other two quietly slipped away from the side.
"Let's head back to the bunker base first. If the base and this group are indeed colluding, they'll panic when they see us return. We'll go test the waters."
Lin Zhuoran agreed with Xu An's suggestion. The three of them set off, trying their best not to alert the zombies who were busy tearing into each other.
Meanwhile, Liu Chen fled in a panic. While escaping, to prevent himself from being bitten by zombies, he pushed a subordinate who had followed him for a long time out to block the zombies for him.
Upon returning to the bunker, Xu An saw the man who had charged her an entry fee again. When he saw her enter, there was not much expression on his face.
Xu An's lips curved upwards. Looking at him, she figured he likely didn't know about what was happening within the base; he was just a gatekeeper.
Among them, Lin Zhuoran met up with a few friends she usually got along with.
"Zhuoran, out so early?"
The other person looked in Lin Zhuoran's direction, but as the words left their mouth, they realized something was off. They hesitated, "Did you just return?"
Lin Zhuoran offered no explanation, merely nodding.
It wasn't until they returned to their own living quarters that Lin Zhuoran's forced composure gradually relaxed.
"Do you usually see the owner of the bunker?" Xu An asked.
Lin Zhuoran shook her head. "Not really. Their living quarters are not on this level; they're on the very bottom floor. Their family occupies an entire level. But since the entire bunker belongs to them, no one really says anything about it."
After all, the bunker owner was willing to share two levels of space to accommodate survivors. Even if others were envious of them occupying an entire floor, no one could open the hatch that was supposedly made of aerospace materials, so they could only let it go.
"What do we do now?" Lin Zhuoran asked, looking worried.
"Wait."
"Wait?"
"Yes," Xu An explained. "If the people who mysteriously disappeared from this bunker are indeed in league with the bunker's owner and those outside, they will definitely realize we've returned."
"To prevent things from being exposed, they will definitely try to eliminate us."
"What if Hao Cheng isn't colluding with those outside?"
"Then that would be the best-case scenario, and everyone would be safe," Xu An replied.
Although she knew that was impossible.
The sheer number of coincidences indicated that this bunker was definitely not clean.
In her previous life, Xu An had encountered similar situations countless times.
It was common for people to use bases as a front, lure people in, and then turn them into their own reserve food.
What's more, now they were merely selling out a few insignificant people for their own gain.
Xu An knew the bunker owner would deal with them in one of two ways: either find a way to silence them, or find a way to ensure they could never speak again.
However, in her heart, she leaned towards the latter.
One couldn't always be on guard against a thief who attacked only when the opportunity arose.
Rather than waiting for these people to suddenly appear from behind and bite you, it was better to employ a strategy of 'luring the snake out of its hole' and expose these people for who they truly are!
Zhou Haimei looked at Xu An. She didn't mind how many days Xu An spent here, as long as she returned to the lighthouse on time. Missions were not that important to her.
After all, she didn't lack the trade coins awarded for missions.
To put it plainly, she agreed to participate in the competition purely to prove herself and because she was bored.
However, seeing Xu An about to tackle the mastermind behind everything, she couldn't help but feel a little worried.
She quietly leaned towards Xu An and whispered, "An'an... aren't we meddling a bit too much?"
Xu An glanced in Lin Zhuoran's direction. The latter had already lay down to rest, likely due to exhaustion. Only then did she quietly reply to Zhou Haimei.
"Those zombies have a problem."
Zhou Haimei already knew this. When they first met, Xu An had told her that there was something wrong with the zombies' pupils.
"I suspect it's related to the 'world consciousness' that Weng Quan mentioned at the lighthouse."
"You mean, these zombies aren't infected by a virus, but are a type of mutation?"
As soon as Zhou Haimei spoke, she covered her mouth in fright and quickly lowered her voice.
"Aren't zombies caused by viral infections?"
Even though to this day, no country worldwide had come forward to provide an explanation for the zombie incidents.
However, humanity had long since accepted the notion that zombies were caused by biochemical virus infections.
At that time, the behind-the-scenes manipulator from Country M, who put on a different face in private, undoubtedly played a role.
It was likely that only Country M on the entire Blue Star was eager to turn the world upside down, preferably by initiating a third World War.
This way, they could profit from the ensuing chaos.
"I don't think their research capabilities can reach that level. Don't be fooled by post-apocalyptic movies. Even if zombies are related to viruses, the origin of this virus cannot come from nothing."
"Have you forgotten that giant heart we saw in the small white building?"
"After seeing that thing, do you truly still believe that everything in this world can be explained by science?"
After speaking, Xu An shook her head, then said seriously, "What I'm saying might not be entirely accurate. Perhaps everything in this world can indeed be explained by science, but humanity currently lacks the ability to control such science."
"So, is the end of the world full of metaphysics?" Zhou Haimei murmured to herself.
"You could also understand it as the end of metaphysics being the means of scientific understanding."
"So, you suspect those zombies are related to the world consciousness and the heart that Weng Quan mentioned?"
Xu An nodded, her voice dropping even lower, as if afraid of waking Lin Zhuoran.
"Do you remember what Weng Quan said about mutated and bizarre species?"
"I remember. And what he said about humans having zombie bodies but a rabbit's head. At the time, if not for the giant heart right in front of me, I would have truly thought Weng Quan was crazy."
"He's not crazy," Xu An said, gazing intently at Zhou Haimei's eyes. "I've seen it myself."
"Ah!" Zhou Haimei quickly covered her mouth, preventing herself from making a sound.
Xu An didn't say much, omitting the details about Qin Chuan.
Zhou Haimei listened to Xu An's account with a look of astonishment. Judging by her expression, she clearly believed what she was hearing.
"But would those things really turn humans into zombies?"
"I don't know, but I feel that the first batch of zombies with black pupils seemed to retain a part of human consciousness, which is why they could follow orders."
"Now that you mention it, I also felt it. The later batch of zombies looked different from the previous ones."
Zhou Haimei had been listening intently to Xu An. After the two of them analyzed the situation carefully, Zhou Haimei was successfully persuaded by Xu An.
Most importantly, their objectives were aligned. Regardless of whether Xu An had a personal motive to investigate this matter due to Lin Zhuoran,
At least, knowing what exactly caused those mutated zombies made this trip worthwhile.