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Chapter 1198: I Want to Make You Stay (76)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The other female crewmembers began shifting their gazes onto him as well.

“If you keep looking at me, I’m going to gouge your eyes out. You know I hate it when people keep staring at me,” he warned Xiao Yue.

“Fine, fine, I’ll stop staring at you,” said Xiao Yue, who then cocked her head sideways. However, she could not help but turn back around to look at him before looking away again.

Fang Erlan snapped out of her character when Director Gao cued for them to stop.

“Look who’s there,” said Yu Caiwei, who discovered that Xiao Chenyang had shown up.

Fang Erlan looked in the direction that Yu Caiwei was staring at and caught sight of him.

She immediately scurried toward him while Yu Caiwei squinted with her arms folded.

Fang Erlan ran toward Xiao Chenyang and said while panting heavily, “You’re here.”

Xiao Yue was dumbfounded.

That was because Fang Erlan’s voice was tender and gentle when she spoke to Xiao Chenyang, a stark contrast from the way she used to speak to him.

Xiao Chenyang stood up and placed his mobile phone inside his pocket. “What would you like to eat?”

“I’ll eat anything...”

“I know of a specialty restaurant that serves delicious food. I’ll take you guys there.”

“Okay...” Fang Erlan answered softly, not daring to look at him.

——

The zombie outbreak resulted in the loss of a massive number of innocent lives. Wang Jinsheng was initially supposed to be stripped of his position. However, the higher authorities decided not to punish him on account that he had worked hard in the archeological team for over three decades.

Meanwhile, Pan Zhenghui was reprimanded and castigated for his mistakes. He was told to kill the corpse right away before reporting, should such an incident arise again.

Such measures were implemented so as to prevent history from repeating itself.

Pan Zhenghui nodded profusely and adhered to every instruction given by his superiors, as if he was fresh blood going through training.

Pan Zhenghui had broken out into a cold sweat after being berated.

He whipped out his handkerchief to wipe the sweat off his forehead. He then said to Team Leader Zhang sternly, “This time, we really had a close shave with death. We almost lost our jobs. Let’s go.”

“Bureau Chief, do we head back to the police station straight?”

“What for? Let’s return to the archeological research center,” Pan Zhenghui snapped before storming off to get inside the car.

Noticing how gloomy he looked, Team Leader Zhang dared not utter another word and, instead, got inside the car as well.

Wang Jinsheng happened to be in the midst of a meeting with the archeologists from his team when they arrived at the archeological research center.

At the sight of Pan Zhenghui, Wang Jinsheng thought to himself that the former must have come to give him a lecture. He handed Pan Zhenghui a carton of cigarettes that were meant for entertaining guests and said while smiling, “You’re here, Bureau Chief.”

Pan Zhenghui stared at the premium cigarettes, which cost 100 dollars per pack. Given how many packs there were in a carton, he knew that the carton must have cost a bomb.

He pretended to decline and said courteously, “Captain Wang, you may keep them for yourself. I have my own cigarettes.”

Wang Jinsheng insisted, “Take it, Bureau Chief. I still have these cigarettes at home. I bought them with my own money. Rest assured and take them for him, Team Leader Zhang.”

Team Leader Zhang had no choice but to hold it for Pan Zhenghui. Just as Pan Zhenghui was about to speak, a red Ferrari sped through the entrance. He could recognize that it was An Xiaoning’s car. He then shoved the carton of cigarettes back to Wang Jinsheng and said, “How can I accept your cigarettes? Take it back.”

Being wise and quick-witted, Wang Jinsheng immediately brought the cigarettes back to the room.

When he came out again, An Xiaoning was already standing in front of him.

“I saw from afar that Bureau Chief Pan was handing a carton of cigarettes to Captain Wang. Who do those cigarettes belong to?”

“Well, Captain Wang felt bad for causing us to be implicated because of this zombie issue. He bought those cigarettes with his own money and gave them to me. How can I accept them? Thus, I returned them to him,” Pan Zhenghui explained.

“Yes, yes, it’s just a personal token from me,” Wang Jinsheng said with a wry smile.

An Xiaoning clapped her hands sarcastically and said, “A personal token? We may believe that you really bought them with your own money, but if others hear about it, will they believe you too? It’s better not to take such risks.”

Pan Zhenghui rubbed his hands together and chuckled. “Yes, Xiaoning, you’re right. Xiaoning, what brings you here?”

“Nothing, I just wanted to find out more about the situation. Why are you here?”

“I dropped by to have a look. We’re leaving now,” said Pan Zhenghui, gesturing for his subordinates to leave.

“Goodbye, Bureau Chief Pan,” said Wang Jinsheng, who walked them out.

An Xiaoning said, “I came to ask you some questions.”

“Please come in, Ms. An.”

“Alright,” she said as she followed Wang Jinsheng inside.

She entered Wang Jinsheng’s office to see that it boasted of an archeological vibe, which matched his profession.

An Xiaoning placed her hand on the chair and asked, “Captain Wang, under what conditions do corpses mutate?”

Not expecting her to ask such a question, Wang Jinsheng answered, “This is a long story, but a more scientific explanation will be that it has to do with the way that the corpse is stored and preserved. An imbalance in pH levels of the soil around the corpse will lead to an increase in bacteria and parasite growth, which will allow the muscle tissues and hair of the corpse to remain intact, even after centuries. Some research reports have shown that the hair and nails of some corpses do continue to grow due to the muscular contractions that occur after death, causing the hair and nails to be exposed. This can be classified under the category of damp corpses, the state in between a normal corpse and a mutated one. If the conditions are not altered after the buffer period, the corpse will quickly mutate into zombies.”

“What else?”

“There are some bits of information that haven’t been clarified. There are rumors spreading around, claiming that individuals who have practiced witchcraft all their lives will become zombies centuries after their deaths. There’s also another theory that states that corpses will mutate once they’re possessed by evil beings.”

An Xiaoning said, “I know that when one is on the brink of death, their spirit and soul are going to leave their body and turn into evil zombies. However, I only know that based on hearsay. It hasn’t been verified yet. However, since you’ve said that the mutation was the result of the pH conditions of the burial ground, does that mean there might be other corpses buried near that coffin that have...”

Wang Jinsheng stared at her with his mouth gaping and asked, “You... you mean...”

“Isn’t it obvious what I mean? That’s what I’m worried about. So, you’d better send your subordinates to carry out screening as soon as possible.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” said Wang Jinsheng, who frantically did as instructed.

When he returned, he said, “I’ll inform you and keep you posted regardless of whether there are any results or not.”

“Okay. By the way, Wen Lele is getting married tomorrow. Has she sent you guys her wedding invitation?”

Shaking his head, Wang Jinsheng answered, “Did she send you an invite too? She’s already left the team so long ago. Who would want to attend her wedding and give her money? She doesn’t quite get along with everyone anyway.”

“...”

“I’ll be taking my leave now, then,” said An Xiaoning, who decided not to stay any longer since she had already completed her agenda.

“Alright, goodbye, Ms. An.”

“Yes.”