90. Chapter 90: Breaking Through the Barrier

It was night, and the inner city blazed with light. Traffic on the main roads was sparse, everything in orderly calm.

This was Ling Zhe’s first time entering the city, and he could barely take it all in.

Though Ling Lan and the others had described the inner city to him in every way imaginable, nothing could compare with seeing it with his own eyes.

This was the end of the world.

And yet, separated only by a few layers of protective fencing and sealed gates, it felt as though he had crossed from one world into another.

There were no zombies here. The ugliest and filthiest things had all been left out on the outskirts. No wonder Zhu Youzheng, once he had settled here, no longer wanted to go out and face them.

People naturally sought safety and shunned danger. If the roles were reversed, he probably would not have done any better.

Bai Ge knew the roads like the back of her hand and took a shortcut, reaching the headquarters of Future Pharmaceutical Company in no time.

She had her documents checked at the guard room, claimed she was visiting a sick friend, and drove in without a hitch.

“Do I have to come along too?” Zhu Youzheng asked uneasily. By now, he was already starting to back out.

“Of course. Why else would you be here?”

“Heh heh, I’m just a fat guy who can’t do anything. Following you only drags you down, so maybe I should—”

“Should what? You think you were ever going to get any important task?” Ling Zhe cut him off. “Just stay in the rear and keep watch for us. Tell us if anyone’s coming.”

Zhu Youzheng was left speechless. The words he had been about to use to excuse himself never made it out.

Ling Zhe was devious enough to know exactly what he had been trying to say, and deliberately left him no opening. With one more person, they had one more pair of hands; there was no way he would let Zhu Youzheng turn back now.

Zhu Youzheng’s unease soon showed plainly on his face.

He had originally thought he could simply pass on the message to those old comrades of his and be done with it, then go home and rest. He had not expected things to become this troublesome, dragging him into the mess as well.

In the inner city there was no zombie threat, so the danger level was low. Even if they ran into an interception while trying to save someone, the opposition would still be human.

But Zhu Youzheng was thinking of something else as well. His situation was not the same as the others’.

Among this temporary group: Bai Ge had someone backing her, and could act however she pleased; Liang Bing was an infected, already someone who stood at the margins and drifted with the crowd; Ling Zhe, for his part, was a barefoot man with nothing to lose, especially since the one they were saving was his own sister.

And what of Zhu Youzheng himself? No background, no real ability, only a little luck. At last he had managed to land a stable, proper job, and life had become more or less bearable.

In the apocalypse, to live a quiet and ordinary life was no easy thing. If he followed them into danger, tried to save someone, and got caught; if he offended people from the corporation—wouldn’t everything he had worked for be ruined?

Seeing the look on his face, Bai Ge guessed at least seven or eight parts of his thoughts, and, with a touch of added cruelty, said, “Stop overthinking. The arrow is already on the string. There’s no taking it back now. Just before I brought you into the inner city, I said you were acquaintances of Zhou Zihao. If they make one phone call to verify it, they’ll know I lied. I’m not afraid. What are you afraid of?”

Zhu Youzheng looked as though he might cry. Sister, of course you’re not afraid—you’ve got someone to back you up…

Fine. Since there was no turning back now, he could only steel himself and go on. Sighing miserably, he got out of the car with the others.

The headquarters of Future Pharmaceutical Company was already sparsely staffed; at night it looked even more deserted.

The lower floors housed various offices, compounding rooms, and research labs. The higher floors were for inpatients, with some luxury suites among them.

Ordinary citizens of the inner city had no right to seek treatment, have prescriptions filled, or be hospitalized here; they had other hospitals meant for them. This place primarily served the employees of Future Group, so certain unspeakable truths could be kept hidden.

For example, Yi Chen’s two stays here for treatment were a secret.

Following the note left by Ling Lan, Bai Ge and the others took the emergency stairwell straight to the seventh floor.

“What are you doing here?” Two burly men, both with rough, brutish faces, eyed the group warily as they pushed open the stairwell door.

Bai Ge had come and gone from the headquarters several times before, but she had never been to the seventh floor. She had not expected to find a special service desk here as well.

The two men stood behind the desk. At a glance, they were clearly the brawny sort, yet they wore white doctor’s coats, making the whole thing look rather absurd.

“Oh, we’re looking for a friend’s ward,” Bai Ge said lightly. “Could you tell me where Room 602 is?”

“This is the seventh floor. You can go back downstairs,” one of the men said. Hearing that they had simply gone to the wrong floor, their expressions relaxed a little. They had seen such mistakes before.

“Then… if I need to get to 602 later, which way should I turn? Left or right? Could you gentlemen tell me?” Bai Ge asked, blinking innocently as she moved closer.

Before getting out of the car, she had removed her body armor and uniform to avoid drawing attention. Now she wore a cotton shirt and tight leather pants, her figure impossible to miss.

Seeing that it was a pretty young woman approaching, the two men exchanged a glance. Their eyes roamed brazenly over the slightly open collar of her shirt.

Night shifts were so dull. Why be so unkind?

“Come on, little sister, I can take you there…” one of them said with a disgusting grin, stepping out from behind the desk.

“Sure.” Bai Ge flashed a bright smile, then drove her elbow straight into his face.

“Argh!” The man screamed, blood gushing from his nose. Before he could even lift his head, a heavy knife-hand struck the back of his neck. He collapsed to the floor with a dull thud and lost consciousness.

“What a sham. A paper tiger. And here I thought I was hitting hard.” Bai Ge had not expected to drop one of the men so quickly.

The other reacted only after two seconds. He snatched up a stun baton from behind the desk and charged.

Bai Ge dodged sideways, nimbly circling behind him. With a low sweep, she kicked the back of his knee.

His balance faltered. As he lurched, Bai Ge was already on his back, an arm locking around his throat in a cross choke.

“Impressive!” Zhu Youzheng and Ling Zhe both burst into applause. Against two burly men, it had not even taken thirty seconds from the moment she moved to the moment they were down.

“It’s not that I’m impressive. They’re just too useless.” Bai Ge waved them on. “Get to work.”

The seventh floor had the same layout as the others: a long corridor with rooms on both sides.

To the left there were only four rooms, all unlocked. Inside were lockers and miscellaneous junk. Clearly, this was not the place they were looking for.

They had gone only a few steps to the right when they came upon another enclosed glass door. It looked as though entry required a card swipe.

Bai Ge stared at the door, lost in thought. She raised her pistol and fired a burst of shots, only to find the door standing completely unmoved.

Just as she had thought. Bulletproof glass.

Ling Zhe turned back to search the two unconscious guards for anything that might serve as a key or card. Liang Bing searched the service desk as well, but neither found anything.

“So only special people can go in and out, huh…” Bai Ge rested her chin in her hand, thinking.

Now that they were already here, there was no way they could go drag Ouyang Hong out after work and force him to open the door.

A Barrett, C4, an RPG-7—any weapon with long range, high precision, and great power could break bulletproof glass, but she had none of those on hand.

A nitrogen spray, followed by freezing and then smashing it with a hammer, might also work… There should be nitrogen at Future Pharmaceutical Company.

Seeing that everyone else was busy and he had nothing to do, Zhu Youzheng, bored out of his mind, simply walked toward the glass door.

“Don’t move!” Bai Ge shouted.

“Huh?” Zhu Youzheng was slow to react, and took two more steps before stopping.

At that instant, a sudden alarm blared through the entire building.