Chapter Five: Return

In the constant chase, the giant wolves' explosive power proved formidable. Despite the vehicle's high speed, the pack was never shaken off, keeping pace through repeated lunges.

During one such lunge at the bus, the alpha wolf, which had been trailing the pack, leaped into the air and shattered the vehicle's rear windshield with its claws.

Glass shards scattered instantly, and due to the force of the impact, several students in the back of the bus were cut by the debris.

Fortunately, the bus was stocked with first-aid supplies like medical alcohol, cotton, and gauze. After a brief moment of panic, all the injured students were disinfected and bandaged.

However, the scent of blood inevitably drifted outside.

Upon catching the scent, the pack's aggression was further ignited. The red glow already present in the eyes of many giant wolves intensified, their speed increased slightly, and they lunged more frequently than before.

Fortunately, the vehicle relied on fuel rather than physical stamina to move, and once the throttle was pushed to the limit, the bus maintained a steady speed.

Since the turnaround point was over sixty kilometers from Chuilong Base, the pack realized after chasing for more than twenty kilometers that the distance between them and the vehicle was steadily widening.

By this time, the stimulation from the scent of blood began to wane. Because the distance and duration of the high-speed pursuit had taken a heavy toll on the pack's stamina, the alpha finally signaled for the chase to end.

The alpha squinted at the direction in which the bus was retreating, let out a soft howl, and led the pack into the mountain forest beside the road.

Upon realizing the wolves were no longer pursuing, everyone on the bus breathed a sigh of relief, though the driver did not slow down.

Having survived this ordeal—which was not quite a catastrophe—the group temporarily abandoned their plans to leave the area.

Once out of danger, everyone began making phone calls to cry to their families. Lin Chenxing contacted Gao Zheng first, reporting the situation and informing him that the entire team would return to the base to rest for a while, waiting for the military to clear out the nearby animals before setting off again.

After returning to the base, Lin Chenxing and Jin Zhenwei went to Gao Zheng's office.

Gao Zheng hurried to greet them, and upon seeing that they were uninjured, he finally set his mind at ease.

Lin Chenxing and Jin Zhenwei sat on the sofa in Gao Zheng's office, still shaken, and recounted the information they had gathered and the events that had transpired along the way.

After listening, Gao Zheng crossed his arms, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and pondered with narrowed eyes. He slowly looked up and asked, "So, you're saying the wolves you encountered looked significantly different from normal ones, and that many of the animals reported in the news have also undergone varying degrees of change, correct?"

Lin Chenxing said with great certainty, "Exactly. We had all noticed earlier that our own physical fitness has increased to a certain extent. Things that only professional athletes could do before, we can all do now, and those of us who have had training can easily shatter previous records. So, I'm wondering if the same is true for those animals, and that after mutating, their aggression is also constantly growing."

Jin Zhenwei agreed, "Perhaps the common knowledge we held regarding the habits of those animals needs to be overturned and reorganized. This era might actually produce a spectacle akin to the Cambrian explosion. Those studying life sciences have certainly stumbled into a golden age."

However, Lin Chenxing offered an opinion that differed from his mentor, Jin Zhenwei.

"A golden age? That's not necessarily true. We know that it's easy for us to improve our physical fitness now; a little exercise leads to significant gains. But what about those animals that have undergone the same changes? They are essentially exercising every day, so their rate of growth must surely exceed ours. That makes them an even greater threat to us."

"Take the giant wolves we encountered, for example. It's clear their physical fitness far exceeds our own. Our speed just now reached 120 kilometers per hour, yet the pack was only slightly slower than us—likely over 100 kilometers per hour."

"The fastest among us can only run at about twenty meters per second, which translates to just over seventy kilometers per hour. This already shows that the coming era will be quite unfriendly to us humans."

After hearing Lin Chenxing's analysis, Jin Zhenwei shook his head and said, "These are not things we should be worrying about right now. No matter how strong these animals are, I believe a single bullet or shell can solve the problem. Since the higher-ups have already announced these conditions, they must have taken measures. We only need to wait for the military's cleanup."

Because Gao Zheng had spent more time with Lin Chenxing and trusted his foresight and ability, he asked, "Dean Jin, while the military will come to clear them out, we must still be prepared. What if those animals break into our base in the meantime? Wouldn't we be completely defenseless? For the sake of safety, we must take some measures. Chenxing, do you have any good ideas?"

Lin Chenxing thought for a moment and suggested, "Since the second phase of the project has just begun preparations and that land is being cleared, our construction teams are already here. We should take this opportunity to thicken and reinforce the perimeter walls of our base."

"We should also install more cameras around the base to ensure there are no blind spots in our surveillance."

"As for personnel, it would be best to notify everyone as soon as possible, inform them of the current emergency, and have all employees start mandatory morning exercises from tomorrow to boost everyone's physical fitness."

"One more thing: material reserves. We should have the logistics department purchase various daily necessities and food for storage as soon as possible."

"That is all I can think of for now."

After stating his thoughts in one breath, Lin Chenxing exhaled slowly and said, "It's best to get all departments moving immediately. If we don't hurry, I have a nagging feeling that something is going to happen."

Gao Zheng nodded and signaled to his secretary, Li Yueqi, who had been waiting on the side, to go and notify the various departments.

As Li Yueqi prepared to leave the office, Gao Zheng called him back and said, "By the way, tell all the directors, vice presidents, and department managers in the company to come to the second-floor conference room for a meeting in twenty minutes."

Li Yueqi acknowledged the order and immediately rushed to the office next door to start making calls and conveying the instructions from Gao Zheng and Lin Chenxing.

After Li Yueqi left, Gao Zheng asked Jin Zhenwei, "I wonder if Dean Jin would be willing to attend this meeting?"

Jin Zhenwei was still pondering what Lin Chenxing had said earlier. Hearing Gao Zheng's question, he paused for a moment and replied, "This is your internal meeting, so I won't participate."

"However, what Chenxing said does have some merit. Making some preparations is certainly the right thing to do."

"But in the process of preparing, we should exercise some restraint. Since the authorities have made an announcement, it means they must already have a strategy. They certainly wouldn't want to see panic buying or hoarding of supplies, as maintaining social stability is a crucial aspect of this."

"Furthermore, when building defensive measures, we should consider whether to leave room for future construction. I am not a professional in this field, so that will have to be handled by your expert team."

Gao Zheng looked at Jin Zhenwei with great delight. Since Jin Zhenwei had started thinking and offering some excellent suggestions, it meant that their future cooperation would be even closer.

Gao Zheng nodded in agreement and said, "I will bring up Dean Jin's suggestions at the meeting. Since you won't be attending, please feel free to do as you wish. Chenxing and I will head to the meeting now."