Zhou Ze felt the tremors of blood surging through his veins. Adrenaline flooded his body, sharpening his senses to an extraordinary degree.
Old Yang's voice echoed in his mind like a devil's whisper.
[Have you ever wondered what makes your heart beat?]
[Is it fear? Or is it... excitement?]
Zhou Ze was dazed for an instant, then realized goosebumps had risen all over his body.
Approaching footsteps pulled him back to reality.
A burly man walked toward him, followed by two guards.
Zhou Ze's gaze sharpened. He remembered this man-the guard captain who had told him to stay calm before the previous experiment.
But he shouldn't have had that memory.
At a few barked orders, all the Class-D Personnel present except Zhou Ze clasped their hands over their heads and crouched along the walls with practiced ease, like rows of lambs awaiting slaughter.
Zhou Ze's gaze swept over the three corpses at his feet.
Not long ago, these arrogant brutes had clashed with him. Ridiculously enough, even though Zhou Ze had struck first, none of them had chosen to fight back.
Class-D Personnel might have been treated as expendable, but they still shouldn't have been objects that could be executed on a whim.
Yet they had been inexplicably shot dead all the same.
Clearly, this guard captain who had once shown Zhou Ze kindness had come for him.
But why...
Unprovoked kindness warranted far more thought than unprovoked malice.
Thoughts swirled through his head, but he couldn't reach a single plausible conclusion.
The burly, middle-aged man stopped in front of Zhou Ze, his deep-set eyes looking him up and down.
The two stared at each other in silence.
A long moment passed.
"D-87465, come with me."
The burly man's voice was low and calm, betraying little emotion.
As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and strode toward the exit, seemingly unconcerned with Zhou Ze's reaction.
Zhou Ze hesitated, but obediently followed him, constantly rehearsing possible conversations in his head.
Just as they were about to leave the room, a lean man with an eagle-sharp gaze blocked their path. This security captain's uniform was immaculate, and the badge on his chest gleamed with authority beneath the cold white lights.
His gaze moved between the burly man and Zhou Ze before finally settling on Zhou Ze.
The security captain frowned. "Major Lu Fei, although it's been a long time since you worked at the Site, I'm sure you still understand that there are strict procedures for handling Class-D Personnel outside emergencies. Especially during this... sensitive period, any breach of protocol could cause unnecessary trouble. This isn't quite in keeping with the rules, is it?"
Lu Fei's expression remained unchanged, his voice low and hard.
"These orders came directly from Dr. Dai Yong'an. If you have any doubts or objections, I suggest you submit a report through the proper channels. Now, please step aside."
Before he had even finished speaking, Lu Fei had already stepped around the security captain and strode ahead.
At a loss, Zhou Ze could only hurry after him. He could feel that sharp gaze still boring into his back.
Only after they left the recreation area and entered a dimly lit corridor did the burly man turn to the two security officers beside him.
"Go attend to your own duties."
"Yes, Captain!" The two security officers left at his command.
Zhou Ze had thought the man would say something, but he simply continued onward, his footsteps echoing through the empty corridor.
Growing more bewildered by the moment, Zhou Ze held back for a while before giving a light cough and venturing a question.
"Where... where are we going?"
"To eat." The burly man didn't turn around. His answer was brief and to the point.
"?"
Long dining tables stood in neat rows inside the spacious cafeteria, the clinking of metal utensils against ceramic plates rising and falling throughout the room.
A few unremarkable landscape paintings hung on the walls. The mingled aromas of food filled the air, along with a faint trace of disinfectant.
At a table in the corner, Zhou Ze picked halfheartedly at the food on his tray. With so many questions weighing on him, he had little appetite.
The burly man's tray was piled high with food, and he was wolfing it down with gusto across from him.
Zhou Ze could clearly feel the barely concealed stares coming from all around him, leaving him prickling with discomfort.
This burly man was truly strange. If he had come to give Zhou Ze trouble, why had he brought him to the staff cafeteria for a meal? This clearly wasn't somewhere Class-D Personnel could enter freely.
But if the man wanted to help him out of his predicament, Zhou Ze couldn't think of a reason.
Several times he wanted to ask, but he had no idea where to begin.
Since he couldn't reveal that he still remembered their previous encounter, their relationship could only be that of a Class-D and a security guard who had just met by chance.
How were a Class-D and a security guard supposed to get along?
This was like putting a fucking mouse and a cat in the same cage.
Was he really supposed to expect them to share a piece of cheese like good friends?!
"What's wrong? No appetite?" The burly man swallowed his food and looked up at Zhou Ze.
Something about both his tone and his gaze inexplicably made Zhou Ze feel as though he were facing an elder concerned about a younger member of the family.
"Uh... a little." Zhou Ze stopped eating and gave an awkward chuckle.
Wasn't that obvious...
How unflappable would someone have to be to enjoy a meal at a time like this...
Did he really think I was some kind of eating machine?
The man frowned at his answer. "Is it because someone just died in front of you?"
"Not... really." Zhou Ze kept chuckling awkwardly.
Wow, I'd almost forgotten until you brought it up...
Looks like killing three people really worked up your appetite...
And what's with that faintly disappointed tone...
"So the food isn't to your taste?" The man's tone softened considerably, but he still tapped his tray with his chopsticks, looking earnest and concerned.
"It's not good to be picky. Right now, I can only bring you to the Area A cafeteria. Most of the staff here work in logistics or cleaning. Their benefits aren't particularly good."
To be fair, compared with the food served to Class-D Personnel, every meal in the Area A cafeteria could have passed for a lavish last meal.
But was how lavish the food was really the issue here?
For a moment, Zhou Ze wondered whether this seemingly upright man was a little dense.
"No... sir." Zhou Ze set down his chopsticks and scratched his head, unsure whether to laugh or cry. "So, did you come for me because you have something planned? What am I supposed to do now?"
"Yes. Eat." The man tipped up his chin and resumed eating.
Zhou Ze's expression froze.
"Oh, right, Zhou Ze." The man looked at him again. "Don't call me sir. I'm not your superior. Just call me Lu Fei."
You finally remembered...
"All right, sir... Lu Fei." Zhou Ze hesitated before asking tentatively, "Do you know me?"
Lu Fei studied Zhou Ze for a moment. Those deep, pool-like eyes seemed to be conveying something, but in the end, he lowered his head and continued eating as if he hadn't heard.
Zhou Ze paused, then slowly began to understand.
Did that mean they might be under surveillance at all times, so he couldn't speak openly...
"Meow..."
Just then, a soft meow came from beside his feet.
Zhou Ze loved cats, and even in his distracted state, he instinctively looked down and reached out to pet it.
But his outstretched right hand immediately froze in midair.
Beside his feet was a small, gray-striped house cat... no, "half" of one.
It was only half a cat because this adorable little creature had just the front half of her body. From her chest onward, the rear half seemed to have vanished into thin air.
Miraculously, however, the little gray-striped cat seemed perfectly fine, moving around just like an ordinary cat using only her front paws.
Zhou Ze looked at the cut-off surface of her body. It was pitch-black, as though it absorbed all light, and didn't expose her insides as he had imagined it would.
Noticing Zhou Ze's movement, Lu Fei glanced down.
"Her name is Zhu Qian, Number-529. She's one of the few entities allowed to roam freely around the Site," he explained matter-of-factly, as though the sight were perfectly ordinary.
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