The system had alerted him to the presence of Lin Qiang, but Lu Zixun hadn’t paid much attention.
Now, observing the way Lin Qiang looked at him, Lu Zixun was somewhat surprised. Did this person know him?
"Lin Siyin called me," Lin Qiang said, "and I told her you were sleeping, doing very well."
"Elder Zeng told me you had left on a mission. I thought about visiting you sometime. I didn’t expect that when we met again, you would have been parasitized by Abnormal Creatures."
He laughed at himself mockingly.
An indifferent expression appeared on Lin Qiang’s face, "But perhaps it’s for the best. My death will serve as a warning to Elder Zeng, prompting him to kill you. That way, I can avenge Da Ju."
Looking at the man in front of him, who had slimmed down drastically, Lu Zixun could hardly believe this was the same hefty Lin Qiang.
Glancing between Lu Zixun and Lin Qiang, and listening to Lin Qiang, Captain Xiong finally remembered who Lin Qiang was.
His eyes carried an incredible color, "Are you the fat guy who was sent to the Genetic Healing Hospital before?"
"Oh my turtle, what sort of inhuman treatment have you endured?"
Having jumped down from Captain Xiong’s shoulder, Lu Zixun circled around Lin Qiang, "You said Siyin called you. Is she going to take me home?"
Listening to the joy in Lu Zixun’s words, Lin Qiang looked at him in astonishment, "You... haven’t been parasitized?"
Patting Lin Qiang’s leg, Lu Zixun said irritably, "If I had been parasitized, you would have been dead by now."
Despite Lu Zixun’s assertion, doubt still shadowed Lin Qiang’s eyes.
Just as he was about to say something, Lu Zixun jumped up and slapped Lin Qiang on the head, "I just asked you, does Siyin miss me!"
"She misses you, she misses you."
Lin Qiang, clutching his head, quickly answered Lu Zixun’s question.
Hearing this somewhat familiar name, Captain Xiong looked at Lu Zixun quizzically.
Lu Zixun, who didn’t really like the concept of having an owner, thought for a moment and said, "The person I like!"
"Cats generally don’t like having an owner, do they?"
Raising an arm to stroke his chin, Captain Xiong shrugged indifferently, "Never mind. That Lin Qiang, how did this detector break?"
The man and cat in front of him seemed genuinely unparasitized.
Lin Qiang organized his thoughts and said, "The internal electronics were sabotaged deliberately. With the materials available at the temporary base, we can’t repair it."
"So it was indeed sabotage..."
Muttering to himself, Captain Xiong’s gaze settled on Lin Qiang, "What happened to the base after I left, and why were the outer defenses breached?"
"Captain Xiong, after you left, Abnormal Creatures initiated an attack on the base, and our defenses were overwhelmed by two high-level creatures."
"Elder Zeng, in an attempt to maintain the Barrier’s seal on zone q, didn’t appear immediately. We had to retreat within the base..."
Watching Lin Qiang now speaking confidently, a sense of relief, albeit from an unknown source, filled Lu Zixun.
Having roughly understood what had happened after his departure, Captain Xiong furrowed his brows and took a deep breath, "Where are the STO members now, and who is in charge of guarding the main gate?"
"Long Yixin and Li Fan are in charge."
After truthfully answering Captain Xiong’s question, something seemed to dawn on Lin Qiang, and he grabbed Captain Xiong’s arm, "Captain Xiong, have Abnormal Creatures infiltrated the base?"
"Ah! You seem to have become smarter now!"
Lu Zixun, lying on the ground, couldn’t help but praise Lin Qiang upon hearing his question.
"Can’t a fat guy be smart?"
Giving Lu Zixun an annoyed look, Lin Qiang found his earlier question answered there.
After pondering with his chin propped, Lin Qiang said somberly, "I’ve noticed something off about Xie Da lately, especially after Captain Xiong left the base. It’s as if he’s itching to do something. Captain Xiong, you think, could the one parasitized be..."
Expressing regret with a word, Lu Zixun yawned widely, climbed up from the ground, and said, "Don’t make wild guesses, Xiao Xie is a normal person."
Nodding slightly in agreement with Lu Zixun’s statement, Xiong Kang crossed his arms and looked at the detector, "What material is this thing lacking to be fixed?"
"I guess it can’t be fixed."
Lin Qiang shook his head and sighed, "The composite material needed can only be obtained at the headquarters, but now area Q is completely surrounded by abnormal creatures, so we can’t return to the headquarters."
"Are there so many abnormal creatures?"
Lu Zixun, squatting by Xiong Kang’s feet, asked in shock.
No matter what you say, area Q still constitutes one-fifth of Chunhua City’s total area.
To have area Q completely sealed off, so many abnormal creatures would be needed.
Xiong Kang sighed and explained, "The reproduction pattern of Blood Worms and Aliens just needs human flesh and blood to rapidly proliferate, like loathsome locusts that you can neither kill off nor drive away."
Thinking back to scenes he had seen on TV in a past life, densely crowded and covering the sky.
Lu Zixun couldn’t help but shiver, "So, you’re saying we’re entering a hopeless situation now?"
Looking deeply at Lu Zixun, Xiong Kang said, "I don’t know where you little devil got that thing from, once I break into A-level, I can activate the Barrier’s killing array with Elder Zeng, and none of these abnormal creatures will escape!"
Feeling somewhat guilty under Xiong Kang’s gaze, Lu Zixun pretended to itch and licked himself while speaking, "Then let’s hurry and find Elder Zeng and end this mission in area Q. I miss my little sister."
Shaking his head, Xiong Kang said, "The two activating the Barrier have no defenses around them, we need to deal with the abnormal creatures in the base first."
"Lin Qiang, are you there?"
Just then, an unfamiliar voice came from outside.
Lu Zixun and Xiong Kang exchanged a look and promptly found places to hide.
Watching the familiar yet unfamiliar face walk in, Lu Zixun’s tail unintentionally slapped Xiong Kang.
Xiong Kang glanced at Lu Zixun, only to hear Lu Zixun softly ask, "Who is this guy?"
After a careful look, Xiong Kang shook his head at Lu Zixun, indicating he didn’t know either.
Pretending to just discover Shi Chenghu, Lin Qiang raised his hand to wipe the non-existent sweat on his forehead and said with a smile.
"Nothing much, just came to check on things."
Patted Lin Qiang on the shoulder, his face filled with concern, "Do you think this detector can still be fixed? Everyone in the base is anxious."
Just as Lin Qiang was about to answer that it couldn’t be fixed, recalling what Lu Zixun had said, his eyes narrowed and he said, "It can be fixed, it will just take some time."
"Oh, that’s good then."
A dagger appeared in his hand, and Shi Chenghu chuckled sinisterly, "Sorry to hear that, buddy, you’re the only technician left in the base, huh."