Chapter 3 – “Did you smell that?”

When passing by, Ying Xize noticed that many colleagues were subconsciously glancing in the direction where the record was being taken.

The rumored captain of the Seventh Squad was a rare sight, so it was only natural to take a closer look at such a legendary figure.

Only Ying Xize, after entering with the Research Department personnel, walked straight into the nearby area without looking to the side.

He always kept in mind that his only reason for coming here was to collect samples.

The scene, recently devastated by intense battles, was in total disarray.

Looking around, the number of bodies was overwhelming; a rough estimate indicated that the entire community’s population was already there.

Infected organisms often pick up subconscious suggestions from the subject.

These people had clearly obeyed the call, instinctively gathering here and silently surrendering their lives.

The mutation process corroded some of them while they were still alive. Others had already been swallowed by the alien’s main body, but thanks to Su Fengzhou’s fierce fighting just now, they had been peeled off and fallen out of a bulging part of the alien’s body.

Their bodies were still encased in a viscous green liquid, wet and deformed by the strong corrosive effects, nearly losing all resemblance to humanity.

The members of the Research Department on this mission were largely experienced.

Aside from the intern, Wen Ren, who rushed out looking pale and a bit queasy, and Yu Qingyi, who went after him to offer some comfort, the others mostly avoided those human-like figures and made a beeline for their sampling targets.

Even though most ordinary civilians who died at the ‘incident’ site had also undergone alienation, past experiments showed that these incomplete transformations were clearly not suitable for testing. The samples they needed had to come from the bodies of fully alien organisms.

The scattered limbs around were clearly the best choice.

Logistic Department personnel were buzzing around the scene, doing their best to stay away from the Research Department members’ activity area.

Standing nearby were the watchful members of the Investigation Department.

They stood by with their guns, keeping a watchful eye on everything happening at the scene. Even though they didn’t move, everyone knew exactly why they were there.

No one wanted to see the members of the Investigation Department have to carry out their duties here.

Though no one spoke, the sound of footsteps echoed in the ears of the Sentinels, amplified by their heightened sensitivity, causing a growing sense of frustration within them.

When Su Fengzhou opened his eyes again, all traces of emotion had faded, leaving only his calm expression.

He extinguished the cigarette in his hand and was about to turn to leave when his gaze inadvertently landed on something, causing him to pause for a moment.

From this angle, the young man’s silhouette appeared tall and slender.

As the dim twilight descended, the mottled starlight from afar cast faint contours around him. With his back turned, his exact appearance remained unclear; only a vague pallor lingered in the tranquil background.

Shen Wenyan noticed Su Fengzhou’s gaze and chuckled softly. “This is Ying Xize, the famous iceberg beauty of the Research Department’s Team E. I’m not saying it, boss, but this person is really hard to pursue! Who knows how many people have attempted to reach Ying Xize in the past and failed? If you’re interested, I can have someone find out more.”

Su Fengzhou raised an eyebrow and replied nonchalantly, “Oh, from the Research Department.”

He did not continue his sentence.

However, that simple sentence was enough to make Shen Wenyan promptly shut his mouth.

Although the members of the Investigation Department and the Research Department often appeared together at ‘incident’ scenes, the two departments fundamentally followed entirely different paths.

Since neither trusted the other, they naturally could not get along.

Especially at the leadership level, there had been several near-physical confrontations during collective meetings concerning future plans in the current crisis situation.

Su Fengzhou said nothing further.

While everyone appreciates beauty, he wasn’t in a frame of mind to let personal aesthetics guide his preferences, given his current level of spiritual  power.

However, that accidental glance earlier stirred up a fleeting and subtle feeling within him.

For a moment, he got distracted, and his footsteps briefly slowed down.

At this instant, the first gunshot sounded from the scene of the ‘incident’.

Su Fengzhou didn’t look back; instead, he continued walking forward.

Everything else was no longer his concern.

That gunshot acted as a highly dangerous signal, shattering the previously calm atmosphere of the incident scene.

Immediately after, a second shot was fired, followed by a third…

Five shots rang out in quick succession.

When others turned to look in that direction, they saw only a few figures slumped on the ground and the indifferent movements of the Investigation Department personnel as they withdrew their firearms.

The people shot dead at the scene were all wearing protective uniforms from the Logistics Department. Fear of impending death caused their eyes to widen in terror, a haunting expression frozen on their faces.

Some limbs had abruptly torn through their flesh, sprouting densely from within. However, with the host’s death, their lives quickly dwindled, leaving them to struggle helplessly for only a moment before falling completely still.

The onset of the alien infection was even more sudden than anticipated, adding an overwhelming sense of pressure to the entire scene.

Several researchers from the Research Department, positioned relatively close, reacted quickly and decisively. They donned extra sets of protective suits and carefully placed the few still-writhing legs beside the corpses into isolation boxes.

The sudden change in environment caused the limbs to instinctively thrash about, attacking the sides of the container and creating sharp, jarring noises.

However, the containers made of special materials effectively prevented the limbs from easily escaping.

This sight of the thrashing limbs piqued the excitement of several researchers.

No one expected that these limbs from the alien body still held vitality. Clearly, they represented an important source of infection responsible for the mutation in the logistics personnel. Once brought back to the Research Department, they would serve as a highly valuable experimental sample.

Someone couldn’t help but say softly, “At last, we’ve managed to get a live sample this time…”

Such remarks were clearly inappropriate at that moment, especially given that the other logistics personnel were looking on with suppressed dissatisfaction.

Standing among the Research Department personnel, Ying Xize naturally faced their evident resentment.

His demeanor stayed calm and unaffected.

Sometimes, there were reasons why researchers from different departments were not very well-liked.

Even though the Research Department’s achievements had gradually become the most vital defense weapons for humanity in the fight against aliens, the ‘cold-blooded’ label would never be erased from them, no matter the era.

Of course, these researchers didn’t seem to care about others’ opinions at all.

Team leader Chen Sining clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention and said, “There may still be other active remains on site, so everyone, please make sure to take protective measures and be careful.”

As he spoke, other logistics personnel had already quietly dragged the slain aliens aside.

They were piled together with the bodies of the deceased residents from the community.

Once everything was taken care of, the bodies at the scene would be collected and disposed of uniformly.

When Yu Qingyi returned after comforting the intern on the team, she happened to witness this scene, and her mood was evidently not good.

She neatly tied back her long, wavy hair that spilled over her shoulders and sighed softly. “Honestly, there’s an accident every time.”

Indeed, at ‘incident’ scenes around the world, no one could guarantee that unexpected occurrences wouldn’t happen.

Furthermore, compared to far more tragic areas, what they faced today didn’t even qualify as an accident.

Casualties had become almost routine for those frequently entering ‘incident’ scenes.

When stepping in here, everyone was nearly prepared to lie among the corpses at any moment.

As Ying Xize’s assistant, Xiang Jiayan promptly brought over a new protective suit.

Wearing this over the current basic protective suit could offer added safety.

Xiang Jiayan handed over the accessories to Ying Xize. Hearing Yu Qingyi’s complaints, he chuckled quietly and said, “When did our Beauty Yu start feeling sympathy for the world?”

Yu Qingyi shot him a glare. “Do you really think I’m cold-blooded? I’m just expressing my feelings.”

Xiang Jiayan remained noncommittal. “Feelings like that shouldn’t exist in us.”

Ying Xize listened to their banter and furrowed his brows a bit as he looked at the protective suit that Xiang Jiayan had handed to him.

He meant to say he didn’t need them, but when he raised his head, his vision caught a glimpse of something beyond Yu Qingyi.

“Be careful.”

Yu Qingyi didn’t have time to react before Ying Xize pulled her forward.

Stumbling nearly made her fall, and when she turned back in shock, she saw something suddenly dart over from not far away from where she had been standing.

As Ying Xize skillfully sidestepped, it narrowly brushed against his arm.

It then dropped heavily to the ground.

Recognizing what it was, Yu Qingyi’s face went pale.

She stared intently at the writhing object on the ground, noting that the limb still partially attached to the flesh did not move again.

After a series of convulsions, it suddenly seemed to lose all its strength, curling into a very strange shape.

In the blink of an eye, it rapidly shriveled down at a remarkably fast pace.

It was as if the earlier ambush had been just a fleeting spark of life; within seconds, it lay utterly lifeless on the ground.

All the flesh and blood completely dissolved into a green sludge, deflating like a balloon and collapsing onto the ground.

Xiang Jiayan’s heart skipped a beat at the sudden change, and he rushed forward, asking, “Are you okay?”

Ying Xize’s gaze swept over the rapidly withering limb, and he calmly shook his head. “I’m fine.”

Just as she sighed in relief at their exchange, Yu Qingyi suddenly tensed again, catching sight of something. “Researcher Ying, you… are bleeding?”

At the same time, Su Fengzhou, having descended several floors due to the malfunctioning elevator, instantly came to a halt.

Shen Wenyan, who was following closely behind, nearly bumped into him and stumbled, asking in confusion, “Boss, what’s wrong?”

Su Fengzhou: “Do you smell that?”

Shen Wenyan looked even more perplexed. “?”

Seeing the confused look on the other’s face, Su Fengzhou didn’t ask any more questions.

He looked thoughtfully at the winding staircase, and after a moment, he suddenly turned and walked back.

He was sure he caught a faint smell of blood.

Along with it was a strong scent of a Guide essence.

It was a scent he longed for.

On the other side, when everyone saw the deep cut that appeared on Ying Xize’s pale hand, their expressions turned grim.

Especially the members of the Investigation Department in charge of this area quickly put their hands on the guns at their waists, ready to act.

According to current research findings, all alien infections in humans were irreversible.

The Investigation Department’s standard procedure had always been to take immediate action at the first sign of alienation to prevent past tragedies.

No matter the identity.

The tense atmosphere made Xiang Jiayan frown. “Why the tension if there’s been no alienation?”

However, it was clear that the members of the Investigation Department did not accept his lone objection.

Under all the gathered gazes, Ying Xize took the emergency tissue from Xiang Jiayan’s hand and calmly wiped the blood from his wrist, quietly concealing the shallow cut back under his sleeve.

He then looked up at everyone present, gently wiping the broken glass with the other tissue in his hand. “I accidentally bumped into it here.”

Everyone glanced at the tissue in Ying Xize’s hand and saw the blotches of blood from the glass.

The researchers present, all letting out a small sigh of relief.

Yu Qingyi also patted her chest in relief. “Thank goodness, thank goodness… you scared us to death.”

The members of the Investigation Department remained highly vigilant. “Regardless, put the detection device on first.”

Ying Xize nodded and willingly accepted the detection device for detecting mutation levels from the other person, fastening it securely to his wrist.

The entire process of putting it on went smoothly and cooperatively.

Finally, he looked up and asked, “Is it okay now?”

Under his gaze, the usually businesslike member of the Investigation Department unexpectedly stammered, “Y-yes.”

This attitude caused the nearby Yu Qingyi and the others to burst into laughter.

The faces of the members of the Investigation Department suddenly turned a bit unsightly.

Just then, a sudden commotion erupted nearby.

Hearing someone shouting from a distance, “I really haven’t been infected,” and exchanging quick glances, the squad captain promptly sent a few members to investigate the situation.

The others quickly wiped away their laughter, and the mood shifted back to serious.

It was clear that others had run into similar attacks from alien remains in different places, but they might not have been as lucky as Ying Xize and Yu Qingyi.

A few more gunshots quickly confirmed their suspicions.

“Luckily, that thing only struggled a little and didn’t do more; otherwise, it would have been truly scary,” Yu Qingyi recalled the dangerous moment, still feeling a little shaken.

Ying Xize didn’t say anything and casually found a corner to sit down and rest.

The rest of the Investigation Department stayed alert, watching Ying Xize closely to keep track of his condition.

Current research showed that the incubation period for alien infections in humans was very short, meaning the mutation cycle happened quickly.

As long as the detection device didn’t go off within the next ten minutes, the alert for his potential threat could be removed.

The noise of footsteps coming closer caught everyone’s attention.

When they saw who was approaching, the members of the Investigation Department straightened up and saluted instinctively. “Captain Su!”

Su Fengzhou responded with a nod and scanned the room before finally focusing his gaze on the mutation detection device in Ying Xize’s hand.

After a brief pause, he looked up and asked pointedly, “Did someone get injured just now?”

Ying Xize met his gaze.

He clearly didn’t understand why this unfamiliar captain of the Seventh Squad was specifically asking about him among so many people.

However, he ultimately gave a slight nod. “Mhm.”

His graceful fingers casually pointed toward the area where the commotion had taken place, indicating, “If you’re looking for the injured, you can check over there.”