Female Officer
"Ouch, that really hurts." Carlos clutched his groin, then suddenly lost his balance and bumped his hand against the wall. The surveillance cameras seemed to notice the commotion and immediately switched to him.
Taking advantage of the fact that the surveillance camera could only view from one side, he hooked a paper figure out of his sleeve with the little finger of the hand he was holding onto the wall.
The paper figure floated down to the ground, landing in the shadows, then immediately got up and pressed itself against the wall, showing a strong sense of danger.
Carlos sighed, clutching his arm as he continued forward, his steps unsteady, drawing the attention of the surveillance cameras.
The paper figure he had secretly released returned to the same hall, peering through the crack in the door, seemingly enjoying the show.
Only a few people were being tested. Strangely, after him, the rest of the people who finished their tests all went directly to the normal rest room.
It was as if several extra seats had suddenly become available in the lounge.
Carlos sensed something was wrong and frowned.
Despite being under surveillance, he resolutely walked deeper into the corridor.
The corridor wasn't very deep. After several turns that made the most of the space, a brownish-red wooden door appeared in front of us.
Faint voices could be heard coming from behind the door. The tone was relatively peaceful. Xiao Yao was also inside, and her laughter could be heard through the door.
Carlos knocked politely on the door, his expression unreadable, then opened it and looked up.
There were thirteen people in the lounge, including himself.
He recognized some of them, having seen them in the entertainment hall and during his daily work; others were unfamiliar faces, perhaps newcomers or simply not good at socializing.
They sat in twos and threes on the sofas and chairs, enjoying the brief peace that followed the pain.
The first person to come in had a scabbed-over wound on his arm, so instead of carefully protecting it, he laughed loudly, "Serves you right for telling me jokes to make me laugh before. Now I'm going to tell you a joke, so you'd better be careful not to reopen your wounds."
Carlos's opening of the door abruptly ended the joke that hadn't even been told yet.
"A'Luo!" Xiao Yao stood up from the sofa, clutching her arm. "It's over. Does it still hurt?"
"Thankfully, I just endured that final stab and I'm fine." Carlos shook his head, indicating to Xiao Yao not to worry about him. Then he took a corner of the empty sofa and asked curiously, "Why aren't you leaving?"
There were thirteen people here, their wounds clotted at different stages, clearly indicating that they were the first to arrive and hadn't left.
"We can't leave even if we wanted to. That's why this lounge is a spare; we only open the other one when there's no more room." Someone shrugged. "This lounge is one-way; there's no way out. If we want to leave, we have to go back the way we came and cross the living room."
They clearly didn't dare to go back to the living room after being asked to leave, so what could they do but wait?
Carlos understood.
The people in this room are all quite laid-back; they're not in a hurry to be trapped here, and all they're thinking about is waiting for everyone to finish their testing before they all leave together.
He pretended to be asleep, using his mind to control the paper figure he had just released.
His field of vision was immediately extended, and his vision was revived in the paper figure's eyes.
He saw the last person also head to the rest room. The four people in charge of the testing stood up and reported the data to the recorder who was standing to the side, ready to record it.
The recorder adjusted his glasses, quickly scanned the recorded data, and gave a cold laugh.
The smile that flashed across that handsome face didn't look like that of a good person at all.
After confirming the results, the recorder reconnected their microphone to the speaker and calmly announced, "No one was infected this week. Thank you all for your cooperation."
The sound didn't just echo in the hall; it reverberated throughout the entire base complex.
Many of the anxious survivors immediately relaxed. Although it seemed to mean they had been stabbed for nothing, it was better than the base being infected on a large scale.
It would be great if there were no facts.
Carlos, however, thought differently.
He manipulated the little paper figure, hiding himself in the shadows, and listened intently to the conversation between the recorder and the examiner.
The next second, he heard a strange message.
The recorder turned off his microphone and whispered, "Keep an eye on those people. I'm going to report to my superior."
As he was speaking, he tried to turn around, but the metal door behind him opened first.
"What are the test results?" A detached female voice echoed in the lobby.
A young woman in a suit emerged from behind the metal door. Compared to the others, this woman was exceptionally refined. She had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, wore a women's blouse, and had a black suit jacket draped over her shoulders, exuding a powerful and commanding presence.
She wasn't wearing high heels, but rather a pair of leather shoes with ankle boots. Her trousers accentuated her long, straight legs. Her hair reached her waist, slightly curly, and she wore bright red lipstick, making her both beautiful and dangerous.
Three men in suits followed on each of the woman's left and right sides, trailing behind her one step behind, signifying their subservient attitude.
Carlos suddenly became interested.
He knew who this woman was; she was the current manager of Base 51, and everyone called her Commander.
Every new survivor joining the base had to see an officer first. He remembered the day he chose this line of the base. He arrived at the base in a patrol car, and after a quick wash and check, he was taken to this woman's office along with the other survivors from the same batch.
The woman looked at them, a slight smile playing on her lips, and said gently, "You've had a tough time. Surviving in the apocalypse must be difficult. The city is too dangerous. Welcome to the base. From now on, this is your home. Please get along well with each other."
The gentleness she displayed then was completely different from the way she appeared in the hall now; her face now showed only indifference and a hint of managerial authority.
The recorder approached the woman, bowed respectfully, and said, "Sir, we've identified thirteen infected individuals."
The little paper figure paused in the corner, surprised yet seemingly confirming a certain suspicion—a perfectly reasonable observation.
The thirteen infected people—doesn't that correspond exactly to the thirteen people who were called to another lounge alone?
He had already guessed this would happen when he discovered there was no way out of the lounge.
It wasn't because the normally open lounges were full, but because they themselves needed extra supervision.
The only thing that left him uncertain was why he had been diagnosed with the infection.
It's important to know that his abilities weren't related to ghosts, and Yu Xing even left before the test, feeling completely relieved when he left.
What exactly are the criteria for infection?
Carlos pondered, not in a hurry. He had always been quite composed, and now he just wanted to see what the female officer's attitude would be.
Upon hearing the recorder's report, the female officer waved her hand dismissively. "Alright, take her away and dispose of her."
"Sir, were the infected individuals with Water Ghost abilities also among them and dealt with?" the recorder asked.
"Heh, what are you thinking? Those thirteen good-for-nothings are just newly contaminated people. The real 'Water Ghost'... have already gone into hiding." The woman glanced around casually, then waved her hand dismissively. "You don't need to worry about this. I'll handle it. Let's wrap this up for today."
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