Gu Lin was only out for a short while, and he didn’t expect Li Shu to wake up during this time. He placed the porridge on the nearby table and brought over the warm water that had been prepared earlier. “Drink some water first.”
Li Shu’s voice was hoarse, a lingering consequence from what happened yesterday. It wasn’t just his voice; his entire body ached terribly. The culprit for his current state was now standing before him.
Not wanting to make things difficult for himself, Li Shu took the water Gu Lin offered, drank two sips to soothe his throat, and only then did he ask in a raspy voice, “How long did I sleep?”
Seeing that Li Shu was about to get up, Gu Lin grabbed a pillow, placed it behind him, and helped him sit up. “It’s already afternoon. How do you feel?”
Honestly, not very well. In this world, Li Shu was just an ordinary person. Even though he could tap into some of his original strength, his physical condition wasn’t much better than before. Gu Lin, on the other hand, was a fifth-level evolver, and his physical abilities were far beyond Li Shu’s. Given Gu Lin’s lack of restraint last night, it was already fortunate that Li Shu wasn’t injured.
Li Shu was never someone to wrong himself, nor would he pretend in a moment like this. After drinking the water, he answered truthfully, “Not great.”
“Are you still feeling uncomfortable? Let me massage you.” Gu Lin reached under the blanket, found the right spot, and started massaging skillfully.
Li Shu had already been changed into clean clothes, without any sticky feeling left behind. Gu Lin must have cleaned him up earlier. The discomfort lessened, and his anger when he had just woken up subsided a little.
After spending another day inside the room, Li Shu finally stepped outside. By then, Gu Lin had already arranged their next course of action. Two days later, the entire group left.
Not long after they departed, two other groups arrived at the hospital. Unfortunately for them, the place was already deserted, and they had no choice but to leave empty-handed.
Gu Lin knew those people wouldn’t let him go easily. They feared his return, and feared that he would come back to take revenge. They wanted to ensure that he could never return to the capital. If he remained “missing,” that “friend” of his could take control of the power he once held more easily.
As expected, someone in the capital was already throwing a fit over the news brought back by his subordinates.
He didn’t expect that, even after having Gu Lin’s abilities taken away and handing him over to that mad scientist, Gu Lin would still manage to escape. Not only did he escape, but he also regained his abilities.
In an empty office, the man smashed everything on his desk furiously, his voice seething with malice. “I’ve been planning for so long, Gu Lin. I won’t let you return safely!”
He picked up a communicator and dialed a familiar number.
After three rings, the call connected, and a low voice answered on the other end, “General Ye.”
“I didn’t give him to you so you could let him escape, Professor Fang,” Ye Chengran said coldly.
“I also regret losing such a perfect specimen. Speaking of which, General Ye, is there something about Gu Lin that you haven’t told me?”
Professor Fang calmly removed his white gloves, placed a gleaming scalpel back onto the tray, and slightly raised his chin. The assistant holding the tray respectfully stepped back.
“I’ve told you everything I know,” Ye Chengran said impatiently as he paced the room. “Professor Fang, we’re in this together. I wouldn’t lie to you, especially since his escape is a huge problem for both of us.”
After working with Gu Lin for so long, Ye Chengran knew better than anyone that Gu Lin wasn’t the kind of person he appeared to be. When he devised this plan, he was already prepared for a life-or-death struggle with Gu Lin. There were only two possible outcomes for this game: either boundless success or complete ruin.
Comparing the two results, of course he’d choose the former. Gu Lin, along with the entire Gu family, would never be given the chance to rise.
From the moment they entered the military academy, Ye Chengran had always been overshadowed by Gu Lin. With Gu Lin’s brilliance constantly in the forefront, Ye Chengran’s light had been entirely eclipsed. As long as Gu Lin existed, he would never shine.
What did it matter if they had once been trusted comrades? When Gu Lin advanced ahead of him to become an evolver, and when Gu Lin was injured by an infected during a mission, he knew his opportunity had come.
If it weren’t for the unexpected involvement of Professor Fang, Ye Chengran had originally planned for Gu Lin to “accidentally” die at the hands of the infected. Though the process had changed, the outcome was still as he intended: Gu Lin “disappeared” while completing the mission, and he returned with all the credit and planned to slowly devour Gu Lin’s power and influence.
Everything had gone according to plan until Professor Fang’s message arrived: Gu Lin had escaped.
The situation began spiraling out of control. As much as he hated to admit it, he was terrified of Gu Lin. He feared the man’s return, his revenge, and everything that might follow.
Thus, he had allied himself with Professor Fang. One wanted Gu Lin to disappear forever, and the other wanted the perfect test subject. Their partnership was a natural fit, each harboring their own hidden motives as they started hunting him down.
“I understand, General Ye. We have the same goal. Now, we must think about how to capture him before he returns to the capital.”
Professor Fang’s voice was slow and steady, almost mechanical, much like the cold, inhuman feeling he gave off. He didn’t seem like a real person at all, more like a heartless machine.
Suppressing his unease and anger, Ye Chengran sat down and asked, “Does Professor Fang have a plan?”
“My first batch of results is already out, so it’s a good opportunity to test them.”
This was also the reason why Ye Chengran collaborated with Professor Fang. Professor Fang was undoubtedly a mad scientist who would stop at nothing to achieve research results. Human experimentation had become commonplace in that secret base.
Although his methods were somewhat inhumane, the results were promising. Professor Fang had developed a drug to control the infected, a drug that could enhance the abilities of evolvers, and even a drug that could turn ordinary people into evolvers. The success rate of the latter was very low, but the mere possibility had already drawn countless ordinary people to it like moths to a flame.
In the apocalypse, everyone knew what being an evolver represented, and everyone wanted to become one. However, the chance of becoming an evolver was entirely random. Now, with a shortcut available, how could people not go crazy for it?
Especially those ordinary people who are in high positions. They held power, but power was never enough to satisfy anyone. Once they had a taste of it, they would want more. Power alone wasn’t enough; they wanted strength too…
Gu Lin and his team were already very close to the capital. Wave after wave of assassins attacked them tirelessly. Without exception, all of these attackers were evolvers, and they were all above the third level, with many even reaching the fourth level.
If Gu Lin weren’t a fifth-level evolver, their journey wouldn’t have been as smooth.
As Gu Lin had promised, he didn’t let Li Shu suffer the slightest bit on this journey. If it weren’t for the external environment, Li Shu would have hardly felt like he was living in the apocalypse. Knowing Li Shu disliked the infected, Gu Lin never allowed them to get close. Anything that could endanger Li Shu was never given a chance to approach.
Ever since the two of them had confirmed their relationship, Gu Lin’s care for Li Shu had become even more meticulous. Along the way, their team had grown significantly, and no matter where they were, they had become a force to be reckoned with.
This time, they returned to the capital much earlier than in the original plot. Because of Gu Lin’s strength, the various forces had focused more attention on them. Thanks to Old Master Gu holding the fort, the Gu family in the capital hadn’t suffered any real damage yet. After Gu Lin secretly got in touch with them, they went into hiding, waiting for the right moment.
On the surface, the capital appeared to be divided into three dominant forces. The once mighty Gu family had declined after Gu Lin went missing, and under Ye Chengran’s leadership, the Ye family had become the most powerful of the three factions.
Gu Lin’s expression remained unchanged as he listened to Xu Yanqiu’s report. Li Shu sat beside him, playing the role of a beautiful “vase”.
Gu Lin held his hand, feeling the softness of his palm while listening to Xu Yanqiu and the others discuss their plans. Their goal was clear: return to the capital and settle all the grudges that needed settling. It was time to repay the relentless pursuit and assassination attempts they had faced along the way.
“Today is their last chance. Everyone, be prepared. After today, we’ll return every debt owed to us.”
As with previous meetings, Xu Yanqiu handled most of the details while Gu Lin made the final decisions. Xu Yanqiu took care of the smaller matters.
After the meeting ended, Gu Lin took Li Shu with him. Xu Yanqiu, who was used to this, pulled Doctor Bai along with him. “Let’s go, it’s finally coming to an end.”
As expected, that night, they encountered the most intense wave of attacks yet.
They had taken shelter in a small town near the capital. The locals had mostly evacuated, leaving only a few scattered infected around. They quickly cleared them out and found a relatively clean courtyard to rest for the night.
That evening, as Gu Lin held Li Shu and spoke softly about the capital, his voice suddenly paused. At the same time, 1314 alerted Li Shu in his mind— someone was coming.
The intruders were silent, their presence well-concealed. It wasn’t until Gu Lin triggered an alarm that the others realized they were under attack.
This time, there weren’t many assailants. They avoided engaging with the people outside, they rushed straight for Gu Lin with a clear goal and were not even discovered by anyone until they got close and were discovered by Gu Lin.
Five attackers moved like ghosts, silent and deadly, aiming straight for the kill.
Gu Lin held Li Shu in his arms and dodged a wave of attacks, his brows slightly furrowed. Something felt off about these people.
The longer the fight dragged on, the clearer this feeling became. Even evolvers could feel pain, but these attackers seemed completely impervious to pain or exhaustion, like machines following a predetermined program.
Each strike was aimed to kill, with no regard for the injuries they sustained, and their strength was formidable.
These attackers knew that Li Shu was Gu Lin’s weakness. As some of them kept Gu Lin occupied, others took the opportunity to attack Li Shu.
Noticing this, Gu Lin increased his efforts to protect Li Shu. For a time, neither side could gain the upper hand.
When Xu Yanqiu and the others arrived to share the burden of the attack, Gu Lin’s movements became more relaxed. The people behind the scenes didn’t know Gu Lin’s strength was close to reaching the sixth level and had underestimated him. Thus, the attackers they had sent failed to achieve their goal.
When Li Shu saw the symbols on the attackers’ left arms, he instantly recalled who they were. These were the “secret weapons” developed by the professor who had wanted to use Gu Lin for his experiments.
He narrowed his eyes, and as Gu Lin faced them, he moved his fingers slightly, sending a small invisible thread of energy through Gu Lin’s movements and into the bodies of the attackers.
Let’s send that professor a little gift first.