Chapter 8

"The T-virus has infiltrated the air conditioning system and spread uncontrollably. It has mutated from its original liquid form to a gas, now spreading through the bloodstream and adapting to the environment, making it almost impossible to eliminate."

In response to Matthew Addison's question, the Queen of Flames had no intention of hiding anything.

"My mission is to prevent it from spreading out of the Hive... so I took necessary measures."

The necessary measures meant killing everyone, which was indeed an effective method.

And with that, the explanation ended. Finally, she declared, "You must understand that you are also infected. I cannot let you leave."

"Oh! Shit! But we haven't been infected!" Ryan shouted at the Queen of Flames.

"Even a scratch could infect you, and you would become one of those mindless zombies..."

The color drained from Ryan's face when he realized his hand had been bitten. The mercenary who had lost a finger hurriedly checked his wound, which had somehow been contaminated with the zombie's blood.

Everyone looked at them, and Zhao Jianwei and Liu Yan took a step back, as if Ryan and the mercenary were about to turn into zombies at any moment, because they were both infected.

Qian Youliang glanced at Ryan and the mercenary, then at the tool bag in her hand, and made a decision. She said to the Queen of Flames, "Since this is a research virus, there should be a vaccine for treatment, right? The company's goal is profit, not the destruction of humanity. It's impossible to create a highly dangerous, military-grade virus without developing an antiviral serum."

Everyone was stunned, eagerly awaiting the Queen of Flames' response.

"Is what he said true? Right?"

Ryan looked at the Queen of Flames, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

The Queen of Flames was momentarily silent, and the mercenaries knew the answer.

"If you refuse to answer, we'll burn out your motherboard," Kaplan threatened, shaking the remote control in his hand.

Under the pressure of destruction, the Queen of Flames, with her own consciousness, finally yielded.

"The infection has been too long, and I cannot guarantee the effectiveness of the antiviral serum."

By saying this, the Queen of Flames implicitly confirmed the existence of the antiviral serum.

Learning that his team had a chance of survival, Matthew Addison anxiously asked, "Then tell us, where are they now?"

"The serum was originally in the virus lab, but it has been stolen."

"Stolen?" Alice looked at the Queen of Flames in confusion.

"Given the importance of the virus to the company, how could it be so easily stolen?" Matthew Addison frowned.

"Someone did steal it and broke a vial in the lab, causing the virus to spread."

Qian Youliang noticed a flash of panic in Ryan's eyes when the Queen of Flames mentioned the theft, confirming that Ryan's memory had returned.

Qian Youliang asked, "Who stole it?"

The Queen of Flames, expressionless, pointed at Ryan. "He took the virus."

Hearing that Ryan was the thief, the mercenaries all pointed their guns at him.

"Shit, where is the T-virus vaccine!" Ryan shouted, learning that the vaccine had been stolen by Ryan.

"It wasn't me, really, I couldn't have stolen anything from the company. Don't believe this computer; she wants us to turn on each other..." Ryan hurriedly tried to explain.

"Bang!"

Before Ryan could finish his explanation, Matthew Addison shot him.

"Chime! Guiding the plot character to kill Ryan, rewarded with 500 points."

Hearing the system's prompt, Qian Youliang confirmed that altering the plot would earn reward points, regardless of the scale of the change.

"Since he's here, the virus must not have been taken away. Tell me, where is the T-virus vaccine?" Matthew Addison asked the Queen of Flames.

"He stole the virus from the train platform."

"Bang!"

Hearing that the T-virus vaccine was at the platform, Ryan punched the wall.

"But he brought it here from the platform." The Queen of Flames pointed at Qian Youliang.

"Is that true, Qian Youliang?" Matthew Addison looked at Qian Youliang with a wary eye.

"She's probably talking about this tool bag. I don't know what it is. When I woke up, it was beside me. I thought it was mine," Qian Youliang innocently handed the tool bag to Matthew Addison.

Liu Yan, hearing the Queen of Flames say Qian Youliang had the vaccine, understood why she had been so concerned about the tool bag.

"Shit! What's the password for this tool bag! I shouldn't have killed him," Matthew Addison angrily stared at the password lock on the tool bag.

"I think I know the password," Alice looked at the ring on her finger.

"Quick, open it, please." Matthew Addison handed the tool bag to Alice.

Alice opened the tool bag in less than ten seconds, revealing two vials of liquid in a double-helix structure.

"This is the T-virus vaccine. The blue one is the virus, the green one is the vaccine. Use it on them," Alice handed a syringe and two vials of green liquid to Matthew Addison.

Without a word, Ryan took the vials and syringe and injected the T-virus vaccine into his vein.

"Chime! Helping the mercenaries clear the T-virus, rewarded with 1000 points."

"Thank you. If you hadn't accidentally brought the virus here, my men would have turned into those things outside," Matthew Addison said gratefully to Qian Youliang.

"It's nothing, it's just God's favor," Qian Youliang smiled.

"What's in those containers in B Restaurant?" Liu Yan, seeing the excitement in Qian Youliang's eyes after she guided the plot character to kill Ryan and gave the vaccine to the mercenaries, wanted to confirm her suspicions.

"Crawlers, the contents of those containers in B Restaurant, are one of the early Hive experiments. They are the ugly products of injecting the T-virus directly into living cell tissue, highly unstable, and will mutate into more aggressive and faster hunters upon ingesting new DNA."

"Chime! Guiding the plot character to learn of the danger in advance, rewarded with 500 points."

The system's prompt sounded in Liu Yan's ear, and she smiled slightly.

"Queen of Flames, how long can the cryogenic chambers last?" Alice asked hopefully.

"The main power was cut off by you, preventing reconnection. The backup power can last about forty-five minutes."

"Queen of Flames, are there any working elevators? How much time until the power goes out?" Alice continued.

"Twenty minutes until the power goes out. There is a sewer entrance, the path to it is..." the Queen of Flames answered.

"Alright, everyone, check your equipment. We leave in one minute," Matthew Addison ordered.

"We three will stay behind," Qian Youliang pointed to Zhao Jianwei and Liu Yan as the mercenaries checked their equipment.

"What do you mean? We don't have much time. I don't have time for jokes," Matthew Addison frowned when he heard Qian Youliang say they would stay behind.

Qian Youliang smiled. "I'm not joking. My point is that we three are just ordinary civilians in terms of physical ability. We've already used up most of our energy getting here, and the long escape ahead will likely cause us to fall behind. It's safer to stay here than to face such a high risk of failure."

Matthew Addison looked at Qian Youliang. "No, you saved our lives, and I can't just watch my team die! Remember, you are now my team. Understand? My order is to move out immediately. We're leaving here!"

Qian Youliang shook his head. "You know our physical condition. We can't keep up with you. It's better to wait for the rescue team here. I trust you."

Matthew Addison was silent for a long time, then he said, "I understand. Kaplan, activate the laser defense system. Stay in the Queen of Flames' main room; it's the safest place. Wait quietly. If we survive, we'll inform the company of your situation. Don't die."

Qian Youliang nodded at Matthew Addison with a smile.

After a minute, the mercenaries left through the sewer.

Pray for the people of Ya'an!!!!

Page AD starts

Page AD ends