Chapter 214: Mutation (Part XII)
In truth, Bai Yinnian was not a man of many words. He wasn’t particularly curious about other people’s private affairs and rarely asked questions. Faced with someone even more talkative than himself, he usually became exceptionally silent.
Furthermore, with his title as the Captain of 【Divine Wings】 and the sanctuary’s top-tier combatant, he carried a natural air of arrogance. Aside from his close teammates in 【Divine Wings】, most people found him cold and unapproachable. Yet, for some reason, whenever he dealt with Xiao Ji, he found himself becoming uncharacteristically talkative.
Xiao Ji, naturally, wouldn’t ignore him. Hearing the question, he replied casually:
“I couldn’t do it before. I had to hire someone to help me use the toilet, and I had to lie on my stomach to wash my body. Since I never went out, I didn’t bother with washing up or grooming.”
“It’s different now. Ever since I mutated, I can support myself with my tentacles. Do you know what tentacles are?”
Bai Yinnian thought for a moment. “Like an octopus’s tentacles, or the kind insects have?”
Xiao Ji replied, “A hybrid type.”
Hearing this, Bai Yinnian’s gaze instinctively dropped to the space between Xiao Ji’s legs. “So…”
Xiao Ji nodded. “I can extend them indefinitely. It doesn’t affect anything.”
Bai Yinnian was shocked. “For real?”
Xiao Ji spared him a glance:
“What do you think?”
Bai Yinnian fell silent, realizing Xiao Ji was likely pulling his leg. However, the fact that Xiao Ji was talking such nonsense indicated he probably didn’t want to reveal his true physical condition. Since he wasn’t talking, Bai Yinnian didn’t press the matter.
Once they finished their meal, Bai Yinnian pushed Xiao Ji toward a hemispherical building at the center of the base. After passing through three separate security checkpoints, Bai Yinnian used his iris scan to activate the building’s elevator.
The elevator descended, weaving left and right through countless turns before finally coming to a halt. When the doors opened again, it was pitch black outside.
Bai Yinnian pushed Xiao Ji out of the elevator. Only then did a few dim lights flicker on along the sides of an seemingly endless corridor. The walls were all made of cold, hard concrete. After walking nearly a hundred meters, reinforced glass walls began to appear on both sides. Each pane of glass was roughly two meters square.
Xiao Ji raised a hand, signaling Bai Yinnian to stop. He pushed his own wheelchair to the glass wall and looked inside.
It was a massive deep pit. Down at the bottom, about twenty meters below in the corner, a naked girl lay curled in a ball, motionless. It was impossible to tell if she was dead or alive.
Xiao Ji stared at the girl in silence.
Bai Yinnian stepped up beside him, glanced down, and said softly:
“She’s a test subject. The base has been trying to develop a reagent that can resist 【Heaven’s Punishment】.”
Xiao Ji’s gaze fell on the blackened liquid sprayed across the walls. He asked Bai Yinnian:
“Where do these test subjects come from?”
Bai Yinnian replied, “Some are Pollutants captured from outside. Others are people from the base who signed agreements—consenting to be used for experimentation if they ever became contaminated.”
Xiao Ji looked thoughtful. “…Is that so?”
Bai Yinnian gave a grunt of affirmation. “In fact, some members of 【Divine Wings】 came out of here as well.”
Pollutants who could retain their special abilities and regain their sanity after being treated with antibody reagents could, after passing numerous tests, join 【Divine Wings】.
“Let’s keep going,” Xiao Ji said, continuing to push his own wheelchair.
Along the way, they passed countless glass walls. Occasionally, they saw a pit filled with raging flames.
“That was a failure. The aggression was too high, and the antibodies didn’t work. They have to be completely destroyed,” Bai Yinnian explained.
After a long silence, Xiao Ji asked Bai Yinnian:
“Are you certain every test subject here was already an infected Pollutant? Is it possible they’ve also snatched unpolluted living humans for these experiments?”
Bai Yinnian froze for a moment, then shook his head:
“The higher-ups aren’t that insane.”
Xiao Ji suddenly let out a cold sneer. “Not that insane? Then where did 【Heaven’s Punishment】 come from in the first place?”
Bai Yinnian had grown up in the military; his food, clothing, and livelihood all came from this place. His only duty was to follow orders and carry out missions. He had never considered such things before.
However, that didn’t mean Bai Yinnian followed blindly without his own thoughts. Hearing Xiao Ji’s words, he didn’t immediately deny them to defend the base, nor did he directly agree. He simply fell into a deep, silent contemplation.
Soon, the two reached the end of the corridor. A heavy alloy door slid open as they approached. Inside was a spacious, bright office where a group of people in business suits were holding a meeting.
Seeing Bai Yinnian push Xiao Ji inside, the man sitting at the head of the table checked the time and spoke:
“We’ll stop here for now. We’ll discuss the rest tomorrow.”
The others stood up, gathered their things, and filed out of the office.
Bai Yinnian saluted the man at the head of the table:
“General Zhao, I’ve brought the person I told you about.”
Zhao Yi nodded, scrutinizing Xiao Ji carefully. He glanced at the man’s legs and clicked his tongue. “What a pity.”
Xiao Ji sat in his wheelchair with a blank expression, offering no response.
Zhao Yi stood up and said simply, “Follow me.”
He walked out toward the corridor and stopped in front of a glass window. He used his palm print to unlock a hidden door on the side. With a click, the hidden door opened. Zhao Yi glanced at Bai Yinnian and said:
“Send him down.”
Bai Yinnian looked at the number on the hidden door, and his expression soured. He gripped the handles of the wheelchair tightly:
“General Zhao, this is a High-risk Pollutant.”
Zhao Yi nodded. “I know. I’ve read his file and studied the data, but I need to see it with my own eyes to determine if he’s qualified to join 【Divine Wings】.”
Bai Yinnian didn’t let go. “I said before I brought him here that he would only assist me in scouting and search operations. He isn’t a combatant. We never agreed that he had to go through this test.”
Zhao Yi’s expression remained indifferent. “We didn’t say he had to, but we didn’t say he didn’t, either. Captain Bai, you’re a veteran of Divine Wings. This is a process every member must go through. Didn’t you take this same step back then?”
Xiao Ji’s legs were inconvenient. If something went wrong down there, he wouldn’t even be able to run.
Bai Yinnian refused to allow it. Just as he was about to argue further, Xiao Ji raised a hand and pressed it against his wrist:
“It’s fine. Send me down.”
Bai Yinnian’s pupils constricted. “I’m going down with him.”
Zhao Yi replied, “That’s against the regulations.”
Bai Yinnian remained resolute:
“I won’t intervene unless it’s an emergency, but I must ensure his safety.”
“If you don’t allow it, I can take him out of the base right now. He doesn’t have to join Divine Wings.”
Aside from nuclear weapons, Bai Yinnian was the combat core of the entire base. He was one of the sanctuary’s most unique assets. Zhao Yi could be impartial with others, but when it came to Bai Yinnian, he had his reservations.
Seeing Bai Yinnian’s determination, he took a step back:
“Very well. But I hope that unless it’s a matter of life and death, you won’t intervene, Captain Bai. Give the newcomer a chance to show what he can do. What do you think?”
Bai Yinnian said nothing more, but he was clearly displeased. He nodded, pushed Xiao Ji through the hidden door, and as it closed behind them, he leaned down and whispered in Xiao Ji’s ear:
“Don’t be afraid. No matter what happens, I will keep you safe. Trust me.”
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I get that not being truly disabled in an apocalypse is best but I kinda did want to see yinnian pampering XJ more ehe