Chapter 19: Xiao Liao¹

Shield: [I don’t think we can count on Xiao Liao. Their efficiency over there is too low. You’ll have to find a way yourself.]

Xia Mi stared at the name “Xiao Liao” and asked in a respectful tone, “Sister Shield, is your rank higher than Captain Liao’s? Should I be calling you Director Shield?”

Shield: [No, I just simply enjoy speaking ill of the leadership.]

Xia Mi felt her vision go dark.

Shield was already a member of the Bianzhi. As long as she didn’t commit a disciplinary error and had no desire for promotion, she could point at Liao Tianhua’s nose and curse him without ever shaking her job security.

But Xia Mi still had to rely on Liao Tianhua to get her own spot in the Bianzhi. Furthermore, as a proactive and upright young woman, she naturally harbored ambitions of becoming Director Xia to benefit the masses. She was absolutely not the kind of person who would speak ill of her superiors!

Xia Mi really wanted to sternly criticize Shield’s behavior, but considering she still had to fight side-by-side with her, she couldn’t risk alienating a comrade. She could only say diplomatically, “It’s not good to talk behind people’s backs.”

Shield: [If Liao Tianhua dared to come see me, I’d say it to his face too.]

Xia Mi: “…”

Shield really was a straightforward young woman whose words and actions were perfectly aligned.

“Then promise me, don’t use my phone to scold him next time,” Xia Mi said.

Shield might have been tired of typing, as she only replied with a period. Xia Mi didn’t know if that counted as a promise, so she just took it as an agreement.

The matter of the mosquitoes was special; Xia Mi couldn’t just cast it aside and ignore it.

Even if Liao Tianhua couldn’t offer any advice, Xia Mi had to investigate on her own.

She asked Sister Li, “Sister Li, did you know there were so many large mosquitoes in your water meter box?”

Lin Xiaoli looked at the water meter box with a confused, puzzled expression. She tapped her head and said, “I think I remember, but then again, maybe I don’t.”

As she spoke, her hand unconsciously brushed against her neck.

“Why are you touching your neck?” Xia Mi asked sharply.

“Am I?” Lin Xiaoli didn’t even realize she had done it.

Earlier, Lin Xiaoli had been covered in hair from head to toe. Xia Mi hadn’t even been able to see what she was wearing, only her face.

Now that the hair was cut short, Xia Mi could see that Lin Xiaoli was wearing a hair salon uniform. It was a white shirt with every button fastened, even the very top one, concealing her neck.

Xia Mi grabbed Lin Xiaoli’s collar and tore off the top button, revealing a puncture mark where her neck met her shoulder.

It was exactly the same as the puncture mark on Xiao Mi when she first died in the game.

“When were you bitten by a mosquito?” Xia Mi asked.

“Was I bitten by a mosquito?” Lin Xiaoli asked back.

She remembered nothing.

The wound looked fresh, but when dealing with the Zhuo, common sense didn’t apply. It could have happened two months ago for all she knew.

In the game, Xiao Mi had died instantly after being bitten. Why hadn’t Lin Xiaoli died?

Could it be that the mosquito bite affected Lin Xiaoli differently than it did Xiao Mi?

The people in this building wouldn’t just let a toilet leak for two months without fixing it.

After Sister Li discovered the leak, she surely would have done exactly what Xia Mi had just tried to do: turn off the water valve to avoid wasting water until she had time to call a plumber.

A logical deduction was that Sister Li opened the water meter box and was bitten by the strange, giant mosquitoes that flew out. She lost the memory of being bitten and subsequently forgot about the leaking toilet.

The toilet tank was constantly filling with fresh water. Was Sister Li raising a Zhuo here too without knowing it?

Xia Mi was good at math. She immediately realized that if a toilet tank refilled non-stop for twenty-four hours, the daily water consumption would definitely exceed two tons.

She turned on the lighting equipment on her Protective Suit’s helmet and aimed it at the water meter. On the meter’s needle, she saw a mosquito. It was blocking the needle, constantly pushing back against it to make the meter run slower than normal.

While using over two tons of water a day was a lot, some families might reach that. But if a faucet was left running, water usage could exceed ten tons in a single night.

If Sister Li’s water consumption suddenly skyrocketed, the relevant departments would have noticed. Someone might have even come to the door to check.

Had this mosquito really hatched inside the water meter by accident?

Xia Mi messaged Liao Tianhua: [How high is the IQ of a Zhuo? Is it over 100?]

Liao Tianhua: [Based on past data, a Zhuo’s IQ is lower than a human’s. They can ambush, set traps, and are quite cunning, but these traits are animalistic. They can’t formulate overly complex plans. However, the situation you’re facing has already exceeded the data we have, so you can just ignore what I said.]

“Xiao Liao is spouting a bunch of nonsense again,” Xia Mi thought to herself.

She realized she was being influenced by Shield and had started badmouthing the leadership in her head. She wasn’t even as honorable as Shield; Shield dared to insult Liao Tianhua to his face, while she didn’t even dare do it behind his back, only complaining silently in her mind.

Xia Mi: [It’s almost 11:00 AM. Is there still no news from the Second Team? Captain Liao, aren’t you going to call them?]

Liao Tianhua: [They’ve lost their signal too. I suspect they’ve also fallen into a Zhuo’s nest.]

From Liao Tianhua’s calm text, Xia Mi could sense the dire situation outside.

Xiao Liao was a talkative person. Previously, he would send massive blocks of text, turning messages into speeches. Even if Xia Mi didn’t have time to read them, he would keep sending them.

But ever since the Second Team went to the pharmaceutical factory, Xiao Liao hadn’t sent Xia Mi a single message.

Xia Mi reasonably deduced that if Xiao Liao wasn’t chatting with her, he must be chatting with someone else.

This meant the situation over there was extremely urgent; the Second Team was likely hovering between life and death.

Xia Mi asked, “Sister Shield, is the Second Team not wearing Protective Suits?”

Her underlying question was whether Shield could see what was happening with the Second Team.

Shield: [They are, but I’m not looking. My perception can only focus on one place, I can’t divide my attention. I am currently deeply connected to your Protective Suit. Withdrawing my perception takes time, so I haven’t been paying attention to the Second Team’s situation.]

Xia Mi understood. It was like when she was playing video games and found it impossible to focus on her civil service exam prep at the same time; even though she knew she should be studying, she just couldn’t bring herself to turn off the game.

“Sister Shield,” Xia Mi said, seeking help. “Can you go check on the Second Team? I’m a little worried about them.”

Shield: [I will transfer my perception to the Second Team to assess the situation and then return to inform you. It will take at least an hour. During that time, I won’t be able to provide any assistance beyond shielding you from contamination.]

“Trust me,” Xia Mi said. “I can handle things on my own!”

Shield: [I know you can. But you aren’t planning on trying to help the Second Team yourself, are you?]

Xia Mi gave a dry laugh. “How could I? I can barely take care of myself over here.”

She thought for a moment and then added, “Hypothetically, I’m just saying ‘if,’ okay? If I were to save the residents of Building 6 and my colleagues in the Second Team one after another, could I be promoted straight to Captain right after starting the job?”

Shield: [I am not obsessed with rank, I do not know. You can ask Xiao Liao.]

Xia Mi wouldn’t dare ask Xiao Liao. Wouldn’t that be the same as telling her direct supervisor, “I’m eyeing your job”?

Shield: [I will be back soon. Take care of yourself.]

“You take care too,” Xia Mi replied.

Shield didn’t respond again, but Xia Mi felt as though her Protective Suit had suddenly lost its soul.

It was already 11:00 AM. She couldn’t count on the Second Team, Sister Shield had gone to support them, and Xiao Liao only ever talked nonsense. Xia Mi realized she was truly fighting this battle alone.

With the Zhuo hidden in the corridors, the missing residents from 1127 and 803, and the mystery of the mosquitoes, Xia Mi was surrounded by danger.

She knew her information was insufficient. She couldn’t afford to get bogged down by the mosquito problem; she had to set her questions aside for now and take action.

Xia Mi accelerated her pace in taking control of the building.

The seventh floor was proving to be a hassle, so she decided to skip it for the time being and move on to the other floors.

Lin Xiaoli insisted on trimming her hair until it looked perfect. Xia Mi couldn’t wait for her, so she let her go back to 710 to finish her haircut.

Instead, Xia Mi took Liu Yunxia with her to clear floors six through one.

This time, she encountered no further setbacks. She successfully recruited the residents of the lower floors just as smoothly as she had conquered floors eight through eleven.

The resident of 416, who had been using an unusual amount of water, was also gone. There wasn’t even a bottle left in his room. After searching the area, Xia Mi finally found shards of a bottle in the trash can.

The bottle from 416 hadn’t just cracked; it had shattered completely. There was no telling when it had happened.

As she secured floors six through one, Xia Mi suppressed her revulsion and had Silkworm devour all the Zhuo-contaminated parts, leaving only one small pouch of contaminated material as an ammunition reserve.

Thanks to Silkworm, Xia Mi managed to feel half-full.

Despite being busy for a day and a night, she wasn’t tired at all. In fact, she felt radiant and energized. Her physical condition was far better than before; she felt like she could carry a two-hundred-pound bag of rice up to the seventh floor without breaking a sweat.

By 1:00 PM, with nine hours left on the clock, Xia Mi had finally stabilized most of the residents in the building, securing the safety of the masses for the time being.

She gathered everyone in the corridor of the sixth floor under Liu Yunxia’s management. She even handed the fish-belly knife over to Liu Yunxia.

“You protect these people,” Xia Mi said. “If you run into danger, shout loudly. I’ll be on the seventh floor, I’ll definitely hear you.”

Xia Mi had already worked out a plan: if she heard Liu Yunxia’s cry for help, she would use her axe to smash through the floor of the seventh-floor corridor and jump straight down to the sixth to protect them.

Liu Yunxia gripped the fish-belly knife and gave a solemn nod.

There was a little water left in Liu Yunxia’s home. Xia Mi took it and headed to the seventh floor alone.

Starting from 730, she began kicking in doors, subduing the Zhuo-humans inside, hacking off the contaminated parts, spraying them, and ordering them to go to the sixth floor to meet Liu Yunxia. Her movements were fluid and efficient, taking no more than thirty seconds per unit.

Moving from door to door, Xia Mi quickly herded all the residents from 730 down to 705 toward the sixth floor. Sister Li was still seriously focused on cutting her hair; Xia Mi glanced at her, saw she was behaving herself, and didn’t call out to her.

Xia Mi arrived at 704. Just as the Mother from 704 had once knocked on her door, Xia Mi gave the door a gentle tap.

No one answered.

But that didn’t stop Xia Mi.

“Is anyone home? It’s Xiao Xia. I have some free time now and can give Xiao Pi some tutoring. I’m a college student, and my college entrance exam scores were pretty good,” Xia Mi emphasized. “It’s free. We’re neighbors, so I won’t charge anything.”

The moment she finished speaking, the door to 704 swung open.

After not seeing her for over ten hours, the Mother from 704’s massive belly had actually disappeared.

She looked like a normal person as she said warmly to Xia Mi, “That’s wonderful! Xiao Xia, you really are a good person. Quick, come in and sit!”

The moment Xia Mi stepped into 704, she felt a sudden sense of suffocation.

She had the fleeting illusion of being swallowed alive by a snake.

She looked around and saw that the walls of 704 were no longer white. They were the color of human skin.

It seemed the auntie’s Zhuo-contaminated part hadn’t disappeared; it had grown larger.

Room 704 was the auntie’s big belly.

In other words, Xia Mi had just walked right into the woman’s stomach.

Translator’s Notes