Cooperation

"Ah, I didn't mean it like that."

Wu Ya was so angry she wanted to punch someone.

"Just kidding." Lu Bai's smile faded slightly. "I know what you want to ask. He's the same as me. If you see him, try to stay away."

Tian Wang, who had sidled closer, heard the latter half of the sentence and couldn't help but glance back in the direction Agu had left, a shiver running down his spine.

Ke Jiangni walked over to Wu Ya and whispered, "Then why do you two seem quite... harmonious? Didn't they say you'd kill each other?"

"It's not a good thing to do that in broad daylight."

Lu Bai stood up. "Let's go, it's almost time for lunch. You guys can try District 7's food too."

Hearing about food, Tian Wang's spirits lifted. "Sure, sure. After we eat, you can take us for a walk around here."

If he had to say, Lu Bai's understanding of District 7 was actually similar to Tian Wang's. During his time in District 7, he had only figured out which direction had weaker security.

Fortunately, they were all densely packed military tents, so he could walk in any direction if he wanted to stretch his legs.

No one would mistake a tent for a tourist attraction anyway.

Lu Bai accompanied the three of them to the "canteen" and ate until they were full. Then, he prepared to go for a walk.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he stepped out from under the sunshade, he was stopped by a fully armed soldier.

"Company Commander Zhou wants to see you."

The Administrative Building where the Command Headquarters was located.

Second floor, NCO office.

Zhou Zongming sat in front of a desk. "What did you do this morning?"

"I moved a small stool and sat outside chatting with everyone. I ate too much at mealtime and was planning to go somewhere with fewer people to practice my breathing, but your men called me over," Lu Bai said, tilting his head.

Zhou Zongming scrutinized him from head to toe, then pointed his index finger downwards and made a circling motion. "Turn around."

Lu Bai didn't comply. He calmly sat down on the guest sofa beside them. "If you like watching men spin around, I can recommend a bar called Big Bird Spin Spin Spin."

"I just wanted to confirm if you were carrying any weapons."

Zhou Zongming maintained his outwardly stern demeanor and didn't insist on his previous request. "After all, your suspicion hasn't been cleared yet. Don't cause trouble, and behave yourself."

Lu Bai nodded. "You said that last night. Hmm, then I'll say thank you again."

He wasn't being sarcastic at all.

In fact, according to wartime control regulations, someone like Lu Bai, who was highly suspected, should have been detained even without evidence.

But Zhou Zongming did not do so, perhaps out of self-blame for not discovering Cui Qing, the murderer, earlier, or perhaps because Lu Bai was still a student.

In any case, the company commander still maximally preserved Lu Bai's freedom of movement.

"You're really grateful."

Zhou Zongming waved his hand somewhat uncomfortably.

Lu Bai looked around and suddenly seemed to think of something, pointing out the window and asking, "Is that the Research Center over there?"

"Yeah, what are you asking about that for?" Zhou Zongming responded subconsciously, then quickly reacted.

"I saw that they wouldn't even let people in, so I was just curious. Just think of me as a child who doesn't know any better and is asking for fun."

Lu Bai casually replied.

He recalled the fleeting glimpse he had before entering.

There were only two soldiers guarding the entrance of that building, so it was hard to say how strong the security was.

Let alone Deathmatch Participants with supernatural abilities, even a few brave civilians might be able to sneak in.

As for whether there was any hidden security force inside the Research Center?

It was not entirely impossible, but the possibility was indeed not high.

Because the current Research Center was originally called the Research Building, and it used to house military laboratories.

But after the outbreak of the Zombie Virus, most of the military experiments were temporarily suspended, and the security forces would naturally be withdrawn.

Coupled with the large number of medical personnel and medical equipment rescued from the city, which were all moved into that building, it was directly renamed the Virus Research Center, mainly responsible for vaccine research and development.

After leaving the Administrative Building, Lu Bai keenly sensed several gazes falling on him.

He stretched lazily and looked around as if nothing had happened.

Although he was not yet sure how many Deathmatch Participants were secretly observing nearby, he was not too worried about exposing his identity as a Deathmatch Participant.

With [Super Regeneration] as a safety net, his margin for error was higher than that of an ordinary Deathmatch Participant.

Without lingering too long in front of the Administrative Building, Lu Bai returned directly to the tent where he lived.

Standing at the entrance of the tent, he intentionally or unintentionally looked at a piece of chewing gum on the ground.

Then, he gave a thumbs-up to the piece of chewing gum.

A few minutes later, Agu, wearing a white shirt, slowly walked out from behind a tent.

"It seems you've agreed to cooperate."

"Aren't you going to explain?" Lu Bai glanced at the chewing gum at his feet.

"That's one of my abilities, [Detective's Chewing Gum]. It can be used for eavesdropping and monitoring for a certain period."

Agu smiled, "I didn't deliberately hide this, and it's also a sign of my sincerity."

Hearing this, Lu Bai also smiled.

However, unlike Agu's obviously perfunctory smile, his smile seemed to be genuine joy.

"Since it's cooperation, the most basic thing is information sharing, right?"

"Of course."

Agu said softly, "Let me first tell you what I know. The vaccine research has made great progress, and it should enter the clinical stage within a day or two. You can probably sense it too, the atmosphere in this temporary shelter is gradually becoming tense."

Lu Bai looked around, "Is it?"

Agu seemed to be momentarily choked, and then nodded silently, "The calm before the storm, although it sounds a bit mystical, it does exist."

Lu Bai sat down on the small bench at the entrance of the tent and gestured for Agu to sit down and talk.

"Actually, I still have a question. There should only be one of these so-called 'nodes', right?"

"Yes."

"Then, after we get it, who gets it?"

This wasn't like a shared Power Bank, where you could plug in two phones at once.

"I can't keep it."

Agu didn't mind showing his weakness, "My current ability set doesn't have much combat power, so you can keep the vaccine. I only have one condition: for the final settlement, I need to be in the top ten."

Final settlement?

Lu Bai was slightly surprised, but he hid it with his harmless smile.

He understood deathmatches to be like PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, where you eliminate other Deathmatch Participants and the last one standing wins.

How did a "final settlement" suddenly appear?

Judging by Agu's tone, this was common knowledge.

"Top ten, no problem."

Lu Bai, keeping his doubts to himself, agreed immediately without asking.

Agu didn't suspect anything, "Very good. Then, let's discuss how to safely bring the vaccine out of the Research Center..."