Chapter 36: Little Qiu¹

Fang Zihan’s current appearance wasn’t exactly a leopard’s body topped with a human head. Instead, his upper body remained human while his lower half was that of a leopard. Counting his two arms and four leopard legs, he now possessed six limbs.

He looked somewhat like a centaur from mythology, and surprisingly, he wasn’t too ugly. Otherwise, Xia Mi wouldn’t have entertained the thought of giving him a pat.

After being touched, Fang Zihan turned his head and looked at Xia Mi with a hint of grievance. “Why are you touching my waist? It’s ticklish.”

Xia Mi wanted to say she thought that part was his shoulder or back. Who wanted to touch your waist? She had just been trying to pet a kitty’s back.

However, remembering that Fang Zihan was still a person, she realized that even petting his back might be seen as disrespectful. Thus, Xia Mi adopted an expression of righteous solemnity and said, “I’m testing your physical strength. We’re comrades now, and I need to understand your strengths and weaknesses to better cooperate in battle. Is your waist a weak point? Then you must be careful to protect it in the future!”

Fang Zihan suspected Xia Mi was lying, but since he had never interacted with her before and didn’t know her personality, he couldn’t judge her true intentions. He could only believe whatever she said.

Thinking back on Xia Mi’s assessment of their current situation, Fang Zihan felt that she was a very wise person with strong judgment, divergent thinking, and the ability to see the big picture. He felt a bit ashamed for doubting her just now.

Fang Zihan said, “Then I’ll definitely make sure to protect this spot in the future.

“Xia Mi, you came from the outside. Did you get any intelligence? What’s the basis for your judgment that we are trapped in ‘history’?”

Xia Mi replied, “There’s a basis, of course, but it’s not something that can be explained in a sentence or two. I need to find your person in charge. We need to share information before we can make a correct judgment.”

Fang Zihan said, “We have two leaders here. One is our Second Team captain, Captain Qiu, and the other is the technical group leader, Group Leader Mi. One is responsible for dealing with the monsters, while the other is in charge of collecting data within the Pharmaceutical Factory to find the weaknesses of the Zhuo-contaminated monsters and ensure the safety of the team members.”

Qiu Hailan was the captain of the Second Team, female, twenty-four years old, and a Third-Class Police Sergeant. There were six people in the Second Team this time, and Qiu Hailan was the only woman, yet none of the other five members could defeat her in a fight.

Mi Xiangyan was also at the level of a section chief, but she held a civilian post. Currently, she only held the rank without the actual administrative authority of a section chief, it was a nominal title, and her salary was slightly lower than that of the frontline personnel.

In the Disposal Bureau, the post allowances and field subsidies for frontline personnel were much higher than those for civilian staff. Furthermore, one had to have frontline experience to hold a substantive leadership position. To become a director, one needed at least three years of frontline experience. Therefore, Mi Xiangyan was not eligible to compete for leadership roles.

The risks faced by frontline personnel were far higher than those of civilian staff, so the civilian employees naturally had no complaints about this disparity. After all, those benefits were earned by putting one’s life on the line.

This information had been told to Xia Mi by Xiao Liao.

While on the helicopter, Liao Tianhua had handed the files of the trapped personnel to Xia Mi. There were six members of the Second Team and Mi Xiangyan, plus an external “Eye,” totaling eight people. Now that the “Eye” had undergone Zhuo-contamination, only seven of them remained.

When Xia Mi was reviewing the files, she immediately noticed the difference in positions between Mi Xiangyan and Qiu Hailan and asked for details.

After receiving a detailed answer from Liao Tianhua, Xia Mi categorized the personnel.

The five team members were subordinates, the underlings.

Mi Xiangyan was in a technical position and held a doctorate, she deserved respect.

Qiu Hailan was another formidable rival for the future position of director. Xia Mi decided to treat her the same way she treated Xiao Liao: cooperate with her and compete peacefully. For now, she would just call her Little Qiu.

Xia Mi continued her questioning, “Is anyone injured?”

Fang Zihan sighed. “Three have minor injuries, fractures of the ribs, forearm, and lower leg, respectively. They’ve received emergency treatment. One person is unconscious, and we’re not sure if there’s a head injury. Captain Qiu’s right arm was bitten off by a Zhuo-contaminated monster. Only Group Leader Mi and I are uninjured.”

“What about Shield?” Xia Mi asked.

Fang Zihan looked confused. “Shield? Isn’t she in the safe house? We’ve already undergone Zhuo-contamination, and the Protective Suits only hinder our mobility, so we took them all off.”

The corner of Xia Mi’s eye twitched uncontrollably.

It seemed the Second Team didn’t know that Shield could remotely control the Protective Suits. However, Shield’s consciousness was indeed trapped within the Domain. Xia Mi couldn’t enter the Grey Domain while carrying Shield, she could only enter the Black Domain. This suggested that Shield’s consciousness might be in the Black Domain. If the Second Team hadn’t met up with Shield, where had she gone?

Xia Mi asked, “How long have you been trapped in the nest?”

Fang Zihan said, “About five or six hours.”

Xia Mi: “During this time, did anyone help you?”

She thought for a moment and added, “Zhuo-contaminated people or monsters count too.”

The look of admiration in Fang Zihan’s eyes grew even stronger. He nodded repeatedly and said, “You’re too amazing. It’s like you can see everything. There actually was an anatomical model that helped us.

“At the time, Group Leader Mi was undergoing Zhuo-contamination, but the extent was very small and extremely well-hidden. None of us noticed.

“It’s like this: when we first undergo Zhuo-contamination, we all feel more or less uncomfortable, but everyone else remained conscious and quickly adapted to and accepted their bodies. But at the start, Group Leader Mi acted as if she hadn’t been contaminated at all. She was laughing and talking with everyone, when suddenly, in an instant, she lunged to bite Captain Qiu’s neck.

“That’s when we realized Group Leader Mi’s eyes had turned red and her two canines had become incredibly sharp, like a vampire from Western stories.

“No one knew what would happen if they were bitten by Group Leader Mi, and Captain Qiu wasn’t on her guard against her. She was almost bitten.

“Right at that moment, an anatomical model in the lab suddenly thrust its head toward Captain Qiu’s neck, and Group Leader Mi bit its head instead.

“It clutched its head and ran away. We were busy injecting Group Leader Mi with sedatives, so we didn’t chase after it.

“We initially thought it was trying to attack Group Leader Mi and Captain Qiu, but when we reviewed the situation later, Group Leader Mi said it might have been trying to protect Captain Qiu. She told us not to attack if we encounter that model again and to try and see if we can communicate with it.”

Xia Mi wasn’t certain if the mannequin that had run off was “Shield” or not.

For now, she could only focus on Group Leader Mi. “Is Group Leader Mi’s mental state back to normal?”

Fang Zihan replied, “She’s stable now. Group Leader Mi said she felt an intense bloodlust at the time. Out of all of us, Captain Qiu is the only one who doesn’t drink. Since there was no smell of alcohol in her blood, Group Leader Mi thought Captain Qiu’s blood smelled particularly sweet and wanted a taste.

“After we injected her with a sedative, we gave her plenty of saline and glucose, and she’s feeling much better.

“She mentioned that the bloodlust only seems to hit when she’s hungry, once she’s full, it passes. We’ve left all the food with Group Leader Mi just to make sure she doesn’t get hungry.”

Having assessed everyone’s situation, Xia Mi decided to trust the Fang Zihan standing before her.

“Take me to see Group Leader Mi and Little Qiu,” she said. “I have some critical intelligence to share with them as well.”

“Little Qiu?” Fang Zihan looked at Xia Mi with a bizarre expression.

“Yes, Little Qiu,” Xia Mi said, sounding perfectly justified.

Liao Tianhua held the keys to her Bianzhi and her Second-Class Merit, so she was willing to show him some respect by calling him Captain Liao. But there was no professional benefit tied to Little Qiu. By calling her that, Xia Mi was establishing her dominance through address alone.

The ultimate leader of the Disposal Bureau had to be her, Xia Mi!

“Lead the way, Little Fang,” Xia Mi added.

Fang Zihan was also observing Xia Mi to see if she was trustworthy. He felt he shouldn’t trust someone he’d just met so quickly.

However, Xia Mi was far too composed and carried herself with such an air of authority. Fang Zihan figured that someone trying to suck up to you to gain your trust wouldn’t start by calling you “Little Fang.”

Fang Zihan decided to take a risk and trust Xia Mi this once.

He dragged his long tail behind him as he led Xia Mi toward their hiding spot. After only two steps, Xia Mi suddenly said, “Wait a second, I almost forgot something.”

With that, Xia Mi ran back to where they had been, hoisted Shield onto her shoulder again, and jogged back to catch up with Fang Zihan.

“Who is she?” Fang Zihan asked.

Xia Mi replied, “I’m not at liberty to disclose her identity. When she wakes up, let her tell you herself. With your current rank, you don’t have the clearance for her file.

“I can only tell you this: you’re trapped in a black Domain, and normally, no outsider could enter to rescue you. It’s only because of her existence that I was able to come for you.”

Fang Zihan questioned, “Weren’t you just trapped in Building 6 yourself? Even if Captain Liao decided to recruit you, you’re still just a trainee. How is your clearance higher than mine when I’ve been a formal member for a year?”

Xia Mi gave Fang Zihan a cryptic look and said proudly, “Because I am destined to be an elite warrior groomed by the organization!”

Fang Zihan: “…”

Xia Mi clearly had many secrets she refused to share, but her attitude was so blatant and unashamed that Fang Zihan found himself intimidated by her bluff again.

The two arrived at a room that looked like an archive. The door was shut. Fang Zihan stepped forward and knocked with a rhythmic pattern, like a code.

A young team member with his left arm in a splint opened the door. He currently had the head of a human and the body of a snake. His legs had turned into a serpent’s tail, and he moved with a slow, wriggling crawl.

Between his legs turning into an unfamiliar snake tail and his injured arm, his combat effectiveness was essentially zero, even if the injury wasn’t severe.

Xia Mi stared at his face for a moment, matching him to a member from the files named Dai Jing.

Dai Jing looked at Xia Mi warily and whispered to Fang Zihan, “Who is she?”

“Xia Mi. She’s the only ‘Qing’ from Building 6, the one who discovered the Illegal Laboratory in the Pharmaceutical Factory,” Fang Zihan introduced.

Dai Jing studied Xia Mi for a while until he matched her face to her photo. His expression brightened. “You escaped Building 6? Does that mean the ‘Zhuo’ in Building 6 has been eliminated? Are the residents safe?”

Xia Mi had already heard this once from Fang Zihan. She immediately cut him off. “Everything you said is correct. Ask Little Fang for the rest, I don’t want to explain it again. I’m here to rescue you. I need to see Little Qiu and Group Leader Mi.”

“Little Qiu?!!!” Dai Jing’s voice cracked.

A gruff voice boomed from inside the room: “What was that? What did you call me?”

Though the voice was deep and powerful, it was clearly female.

“I didn’t say it, she did!” Dai Jing quickly pulled Xia Mi into the archive room, waving his hands to deflect any blame.

A massive, dark silhouette loomed over Xia Mi like a mountain, its shadow completely enveloping her.

Only then did Xia Mi belatedly remember that according to the files, Qiu Hailan was 190cm tall and weighed 95kg. Despite being a woman, she possessed Herculean strength. Not a single frontline operative in the entire Disposal Bureau was her match, including the First Team’s Captain, Liao Tianhua.

And the shadow standing before Xia Mi now was a massive brown bear. Standing at least 2.5 meters tall, the fact that she was missing an arm did nothing to diminish her sheer intimidation.

Xia Mi: “…”

Was the “Qiu” in Little Qiu short for “Katyusha²“? How was she as tall as a Russian brown bear!

“You’re… Xia Mi?” The brown bear, Qiu Hailan, looked down at the 173cm tall Xia Mi. Xia Mi was an athlete who usually stood out even among men, but here she looked small. “You called me Little Qiu?”

Xia Mi looked up at the massive head covered in brown fur. Like a martyr facing execution, she nodded and said, “That’s right, Little Qiu. I’m here to save you.”

“You? Save us how?” Captain Qiu extended a heavy bear paw, intending to give Xia Mi’s small shoulder a gentle pat.

Captain Qiu wasn’t angry. In fact, she was curious. What kind of person would dare call her “Little Qiu” after seeing her in this state?

Either a face-saving fool or a powerhouse with the skills to back up such boldness.

Xia Mi suddenly shoved Shield toward Fang Zihan. “Catch!”

Fang Zihan scrambled to catch Shield. If his strength hadn’t increased after his Zhuo-transformation, he wouldn’t have been able to catch a full-grown person so easily!

Just how much strength did Xia Mi have to be able to toss a living person around with one hand?

After tossing Shield aside, Xia Mi dodged Captain Qiu’s approaching paw. With a sudden spring, she leaped onto Captain Qiu’s shoulder.

Captain Qiu’s shoulders were so broad that Xia Mi could stand on them with room to spare.

Captain Qiu was quite short, her bear head reaching only about fifty centimeters.

Moving like this carried the risk of hitting the ceiling, but fortunately, the Underground Laboratory’s ceilings were higher than those of a typical residence. This records room was roughly four and a half meters tall, giving Xia Mi plenty of space to stand upright.

Xia Mi lowered herself into a half-squat and gently patted Captain Qiu’s bear head. With a kind, gentle tone, she repeated her earlier words. “Yes, Little Qiu, I’m here to save you all.”

The team members and Mi Xiangyan, who had gathered around to watch the commotion, fell silent.

They crowded around Fang Zihan and simultaneously gave Xia Mi a silent thumbs-up.

A true warrior was one who dared to face the Zhuo-corrupted Captain Qiu head-on.

She even dared to pat the bear’s head!

Translator’s Notes