Hao Cheng had always followed Uncle Liu's plans, and though the unassuming old man before him had a past grievance with him, they were now in the same boat. If Hao Cheng capsized, he wouldn't have a good life either.
"Speak quickly, what's your plan?"
"Doesn't Lin Zhuoran have a team? Let's assign them to a mission and then find someone to discreetly eliminate them!" Uncle Liu's eyes glinted with chilling coldness, as if casually stating they were killing a chicken today.
"They know about the zombies, how could they still believe us and obediently go out on missions?"
"Who said we have to be the ones to do it?"
Hao Cheng's face was etched with urgency, as if he wanted to pry Uncle Liu's brain open to see what schemes and tricks were inside. "Then hurry up and tell me, don't dally and keep me in suspense."
"Don't we have a professor in our base?"
"You mean that ungrateful old man Zhang Bo? Why mention him? What can that useless old fossil do besides research? He's just a freeloader."
Hao Cheng had disagreed with keeping Zhang Bo in the bunker back then. A useless person who only consumed and didn't produce, what right did he have to stay here as a waste? It was Uncle Liu who had strongly persuaded him, saying Zhang Bo was useful. As a scientist and old professor from before the apocalypse, Hao Cheng had hoped this person could research something like a culture medium or a suitable planting environment. But he never expected this old professor to say he was researching human gene chains and not agriculture, which infuriated Hao Cheng.
"Someone reported that a willow tree with self-awareness and aggressive behavior towards humans was discovered. Zhang Bo has been clamoring to investigate. We can subtly hint to Zhang Bo to find Lin Zhuoran's group. Then, we can make some moves behind the scenes. You dislike Zhang Bo, so this way we can deal with him too."
Hao Cheng's eyes sparkled with excitement. "We can get rid of Zhang Bo too? Damn it, hahahaha, good! You're indeed something!" He had considered getting rid of Zhang Bo before; the man not only opposed him in every way but also accumulated considerable goodwill in the bunker through his acts of charity. Whenever Zhang Bo was in danger, people would rush to his defense. This had been a headache for Hao Cheng, so hearing that he could get rid of this eyesore of an old man brought him immense pleasure.
"Then go quickly! I'll contact Liu Chen myself. We'll deal with these women as soon as possible so we can rest easy."
Uncle Liu appeared respectful, but in his heart, he deeply hated Hao Cheng. He nodded and withdrew from Hao Cheng's luxurious and lavishly spacious room, bending slightly. Turning, he walked towards a dim and damp room located next to the bunker's drainage system. Foul odors wafted intermittently from the rusted pipes. Fortunately, it was a private room, saving Uncle Liu from sharing a dormitory.
Meanwhile, Xu An, watching Lin Zhuoran and Zhou Haimei sleeping soundly, silently contemplated the spatial tree.
"What did you mean last time when you said this bunker was strange?"
"Have you thought of my new name?"
Xu An: "..." She had almost forgotten about it.
"How about Zheyuan? You were originally a tree, so the character 'Ze' meaning marsh or abyss, and as a carrier of world consciousness, 'Yuan' meaning abyss. What do you think?"
Zheyuan hadn't expected Xu An to come up with such an evocative name, and was immediately delighted. "This is nice, this is nice!" Hearing the delighted spatial tree, Xu An inwardly thought that since they were asking for a favor, she might as well name them properly. The forgotten Gou Dan... the world where only Gou Dan was hurt had been achieved.
"So, what about the issue with this bunker you mentioned earlier?"
"It's similar to your conjecture," Zheyuan was still immersed in the joy of their new name, their voice carrying a hint of lightness.
"My conjecture?" Xu An's tone was filled with confusion.
"Yes, didn't you previously infer that those zombies weren't fully zombie bodies?"
"Your guess is not wrong. Strictly speaking, they aren't zombies at all, but a group of half-humans in a state of conscious chaos. It's that someone experimented on their bodies, injecting the corpse virus into them. This way, the body's own protective mechanisms would fight against the corpse virus, turning humans into that chaotic zombie state."
Xu An looked perplexed. "But I saw that those people had rotten flesh on their bodies and faces. Even if their pupils didn't change, the rotten flesh couldn't be faked. How could they still be human?"
"Well, if you put a piece of fresh beef out in the sun to dry for a day and then bring it back, it will also rot and smell. What's so strange about that? Your brain is like the switch for a freezer. When that switch breaks, it's normal for the body to start rotting, isn't it?"
"However, if you insist on calling them zombies, that's fine too. After all, in their current state, with Blue Star's current technology, there's no way to save them. They will eventually turn into zombies anyway, so your statement isn't entirely baseless."
Xu An seemed hesitant but couldn't help but ask, "Are those people beyond saving?"
"No, don't even think about it. The corpse virus isn't a natural product of this world, and it can be considered a punishment for humanity. However, I must say, you humans are sometimes quite interesting."
Xu An raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"There's a road to heaven you don't take, yet you come to hell's gate without invitation. You truly find new ways to court death every day."
Faced with Zheyuan's teasing, Xu An surprisingly didn't retort but rather nodded in agreement, tacitly accepting. When it came to courting death, humanity was indeed quite capable.
Under Xu An's repeated questioning, Zheyuan explained the formation process of those not yet fully mutated zombies. "You mean, someone was researching the corpse virus, wanting to mutate humans, but failed, and those incomplete zombie bodies are the failed test subjects?"
Zheyuan gave Xu An an affirmative answer. "I also smelled the scent of small mushrooms. The mother organism they used to extract the venom should be a zombie that had already started mutating."
Xu An then changed the subject, asking about another matter. "Can zombies truly evolve intelligence?"
This time, it was Zheyuan's turn to ask Xu An. "Why not? Is it possible that on the entire Blue Star, only humans can evolve intelligence?"
"Xu An, intelligence is not an exclusive possession of your human race. Compared to beings of higher intelligence than you, you are no different from ants."
"From beginning to end, it's only humans who have viewed themselves as too superior, arrogantly labeling themselves as high-dimensional intelligent beings."