Xie Jinyuan.
The teacher of the group of students she had rescued not long ago.
At the time, the name had only sounded vaguely familiar to her.
But since she couldn’t remember where she’d heard it, she’d let it go.
Now, though, watching the soldier rush over with excitement written all over his face as he shouted that Xie Jinyuan had been found, Mo Chu suddenly remembered exactly who he was.
Xie Jinyuan—the renowned biomedical scientist from before the apocalypse. His specialty had been neurological research on the human brain, and after the end of the world, he had devoted himself entirely to researching a cure for the zombie virus.
Ordinarily, that alone wouldn’t have been enough for Mo Chu to remember him. In the apocalypse, almost every surviving scholar had shifted their research toward developing an antidote. Everyone wanted to eradicate the virus at its source.
Back then, there were countless research projects focused on zombie cures, and even more experts and scientists involved. Mo Chu, an ability user who spent her days fighting with her life on the line, had never cared enough to keep track of who was who.
But she knew Xie Jinyuan.
Because his reputation had simply been too great.
He was a researcher who had awakened an ability of his own, which gave him a unique status even among scientists.
His ability wasn’t combat-oriented.
But for a scientist, it was invaluable.
Super Cognition.
After the apocalypse, his brain capacity had undergone unprecedented development. Alone, he was practically comparable to a supercomputer. His thought processes were terrifyingly powerful—no matter how complicated the calculations, how massive the data, or how dense the variables, once they passed through his mind, he could process them with machine-like speed.
A human computer in the apocalypse.
At a time when most laboratories had lost the majority of their equipment, when some couldn’t even find a functioning computer, Xie Jinyuan’s value was beyond imagination.
But every advantage came with a price.
Excessive brain development was never entirely a good thing. As his ability level rose, his body gradually became unable to withstand the burden placed on his brain. In the end, he chose to keep his ability fixed at Tier Three and stopped absorbing crystal cores altogether.
Before Mo Chu died in her previous life, his laboratory had still been considered humanity’s best hope for developing a cure.
And now, someone was suddenly telling her that the Xie Jinyuan who had once shaken the scientific world had actually been living in the same city as her all along—and this time, by pure coincidence, she had even saved him.
Another memory surfaced.
In her previous life, rumor had it that Xie Jinyuan had spent years confined to a wheelchair. He also supposedly had no students by his side, only a single assistant, always working alone.
Mo Chu didn’t know how he had lost the use of his legs, nor what had happened to his students.
But if she and Li Chen hadn’t appeared when they did that morning, there was no way those people would have escaped the zombie horde alive.
Which meant… it was very possible that in her previous life, that had been the day he lost both his students and his legs.
Thinking of that, Mo Chu slowly let out a long breath.
This time, things would be different.
She had saved Li Chen. She had obtained a second-tier crystal core far earlier than before. And without even realizing it, she had also saved Xie Jinyuan.
A butterfly only needed to flap its wings lightly to change the course of history.
So what else would she change?
She was still lost in thought when a squad of soldiers emerged from behind the excited messenger, escorting a group of people. The soldiers surrounded them tightly, clearly showing how important they were.
Mo Chu looked closely.
It was the students from before.
And standing at the center of them all was Xie Jinyuan.
The girl named Ying Yi spotted her immediately. Her eyes lit up as she waved enthusiastically while tugging frantically at the sleeve of the senior student beside her.
Mo Chu smiled faintly in response.
With Ying Yi making such a commotion, there was no way Xie Jinyuan and the others could miss it. So after the platoon leader finished exchanging greetings with Professor Xie—the man higher-ups had specifically ordered them to bring out safely—the famous professor’s gaze shifted past him and landed on Mo Chu.
“Miss Mo,” he said warmly, “we meet again.”
Mo Chu smiled back. “Professor Xie.”
The moment greetings were exchanged, Ying Yi could no longer hold herself back. She rushed over and wrapped herself around Mo Chu’s arm.
“I knew we’d see each other again, Sister Mo!”
Mo Chu had spent more than six years alone. She found herself strangely unaccustomed to this kind of closeness between girls from before the apocalypse. She froze for a second before replying, “I didn’t expect we’d meet again so soon either.”
Nearby, the platoon leader looked between Professor Xie and Mo Chu before breaking into a grin.
“So you already know each other?”
Professor Xie nodded. “Miss Mo and her friend saved our lives. Unfortunately, things were too rushed last time, and we never properly thanked them. Who would’ve thought we’d run into each other again so quickly?”
The male student beside him still looked shaken as he added, “Right before you arrived this morning, we almost died at the hands of those zombies. Luckily Miss Mo and her friend happened to pass by.”
Hearing that, even the platoon leader felt a chill run down his spine.
He understood the situation all too clearly. In the face of this strange virus sweeping across the world, humanity’s only real hope rested on these scientists. Losing even one of them meant losing another piece of hope.
Miss Mo really had done them an enormous favor.
His gaze drifted toward Mo Chu.
She stood there quietly listening to the girl beside her chatter away, occasionally nodding with endless patience and gentleness. Meanwhile, the man standing next to her—the one the platoon leader still couldn’t quite see through—never took his eyes off her for even a moment.
The platoon leader sighed.
“What a coincidence. Miss Mo and Mr. Li here helped us out tremendously this time too.”
Maybe they’d even helped all of humanity.
While the adults were talking, Ying Yi caught the meaningful looks her senior brother kept throwing her and stuck out her tongue sheepishly. She quickly said goodbye to Mo Chu and scampered back.
Professor Xie, surrounded by his students, stepped forward again.
“Miss Mo, you saved us last time, and I never properly thanked you. I didn’t expect we’d meet again under these circumstances. Truly… thank you.”
Mo Chu hurriedly waved her hands. “It was nothing.”
Professor Xie then turned toward Li Chen.
“And this gentleman as well. Thank you.”
Mo Chu instinctively looked at Li Chen.
She’d assumed he would stay as cold and silent as before, but unexpectedly, he nodded politely at Professor Xie and replied with a quiet, “No need to thank me.”
Now that Xie Jinyuan had been found, one of their missions was officially complete.
The platoon leader arranged for Professor Xie and his students to rest in a quieter corner with soldiers guarding them. After some thought, he placed Mo Chu and Li Chen there as well.
Then, burdened with responsibilities that were far from easy, he hurried off again to deal with the growing number of survivors gathering in the streets.
The moment she got the chance, Ying Yi latched onto Mo Chu to chat. Nearby, her senior brother stared eagerly at the golden retriever sprawled lazily at Mo Chu’s feet, clearly itching to pet the dog.
Mo Chu had far more patience than most people. Whether she was speaking or simply listening, she gave others the feeling of a warm spring breeze—gentle, calm, comforting. Combined with the lazy golden retriever beside her, she naturally drew people in.
At first it was only Ying Yi talking to her, but before long, the other students had gathered around too.
With Mo Chu at the center, the conversation somehow never fell silent.
It was as though she could never lack company.
Even alone, if she wanted to, she could effortlessly gather people around her.
Li Chen stood outside the crowd, silently watching the lively circle surrounding Mo Chu.
She and he…
It felt as though they had been born into completely different worlds.
The girl in the middle of the crowd suddenly glanced at him.
Li Chen immediately hid the gloom in his eyes and smiled faintly back at her.
Mo Chu turned to say something to the students around her. A moment later, she bent down, scooped up the golden retriever, and awkwardly squeezed her way out of the crowd. Carrying the dog, she jogged over to him.
By the time she reached him, she was slightly out of breath.
“Students these days are way too enthusiastic,” she complained dramatically, sweat dampening her forehead.
For a moment, Li Chen felt like he was dreaming.
When Mo Chu approached him, he found himself at a complete loss for words. After a long pause, he finally managed to say softly, “It’s because you’re… very likable. They all really like you.”
Mo Chu’s eyes curved into bright crescents. “I think so too.”
Since waking up, this was the first time he had seen her this happy.
Without realizing it, the corners of his lips lifted as well. It was only the slightest smile, but it was far more genuine than the deliberate one from before.
Back in the crowd, Ying Yi had been secretly watching Mo Chu and the tall, handsome man beside her the entire time. The instant she saw Li Chen smile, she grabbed her dejected senior brother—who was still mourning the loss of his chance to pet the dog—and whispered excitedly:
“He smiled! He totally smiled! I swear that guy absolutely has ulterior motives toward Sister Mo!”
Her senior brother looked up blankly. “What ulterior motives?”
Ying Yi stared at his broad frame in disgust, suddenly understanding what people meant by all muscle, no brains.
Their side was harmonious and lively.
The platoon leader’s side, however, had run into trouble.
As more and more survivors were rescued, the medics responsible for checking everyone for fevers and wounds were coming under increasing pressure. Worse still, some survivors refused to cooperate, giving everyone a splitting headache.
The platoon leader repeatedly emphasized that nobody could leave until they confirmed everyone was uninfected. If even one infected person slipped through, everyone’s lives would be at risk. Suspected cases would only be isolated separately—they would not be abandoned.
It was respect for everyone’s lives.
But when the inspection reached certain people, they still resisted.
A medic quickly grabbed the arm of a man trying to pull away and pointed at a wound more than ten centimeters long on it.
“What’s this?”
The man avoided his gaze. “I cut myself while cooking.”
As if a trained medic couldn’t tell the difference between a knife wound and something else.
And this was very obviously not a knife wound.
The medic instantly went on alert and signaled for nearby soldiers to take the man away for isolation.
The surrounding crowd scattered in panic, terrified of getting close to him.
As soldiers stepped forward to escort the man to a separate vehicle, his father immediately exploded, shielding his son while shouting fiercely, “I already told you, it’s a knife wound! Are you people even reasonable?!”
The medic snapped back, exhausted both physically and mentally, “Whether it’s a knife wound or not, we can judge for ourselves. But if your son turns into a zombie in the middle of the crowd, whose life are you going to take responsibility for?”
The father continued arguing stubbornly. “It wasn’t caused by a zombie! It’s a knife wound! If you say otherwise, where’s your proof?!”
The medic felt a pounding headache coming on.
This same scene had already played out several times in a very short span of time.
Just as she was about to order the soldiers to use force, a female voice suddenly rang out nearby.
“Proof?” the voice said lazily. “I actually do have some.”
