Chapter 263: The Cause of Mr. Ji’s Death
Liu Panpan felt like she was trapped in a long, inescapable nightmare—so real that she couldn’t wake up.
She heard Boss Su say that the murderer was her Yan Yan.
That he was a zombie.
That he had killed many people and had now come to Dongyang to kill her.
Yan Yan… kill her?
When Su Tao finished speaking, Liu Panpan stared blankly ahead, her eyes hollow, as if her very soul had been ripped away.
“Sister Pan?!” Su Tao called out, gripping her shoulders.
Liu Panpan’s vacant eyes slowly refocused. She looked at Su Tao in a daze and asked,
“If he turned into a zombie, does he still feel pain?”
Everyone in the room froze. No one had expected that to be her first question.
Do zombies feel pain?
No one could be sure.
But Su Tao firmly replied, “No. Only humans get sick and feel pain.”
Liu Panpan suddenly smiled. “Then that’s good… as long as it doesn’t hurt…”
As she smiled, she choked up.
Old Mei also felt his heart ache. At his age, he turned away to wipe his eyes.
A four-year-old child, barely in this world for a few years, had known nothing but the devastation of the apocalypse and endless suffering.
If turning into a zombie meant he wouldn’t feel pain anymore, perhaps that was a kind of release.
Liu Panpan turned to Shi Zijin and asked hoarsely, “You’re going to capture him, aren’t you?”
Shi Zijin answered with silence.
Liu Panpan lowered her gaze, her eyelids trembling. After a long pause, she looked up at him and said,
“I can help you…”
Shi Zijin looked at her in surprise.
“He shouldn’t have existed in the first place. It was my negligence that caused so much harm. Even if I paid with my life, it wouldn’t be enough.”
She let out a bitter laugh, already resigned to her fate.
Su Tao turned away, unable to watch.
With the truth finally revealed, Liu Panpan willingly became bait. That same day, Pei Dong led a team to take her away.
Pei Dong watched as Liu Panpan got into the vehicle. Only after the door closed did she shift his gaze to Shi Zijin and nod.
“Major, we will set up a trap in the uninhabited zone near Gate Five. When the target takes the bait, we’ll need you to arrive immediately—I’m afraid it might escape.”
Shi Zijin nodded. “Notify me the moment anything happens.”
Pei Dong felt slightly relieved. With bait, their chances of capturing Bone Wings had increased significantly.
Shi Zijin glanced at Su Tao, who was standing by the car window, talking to Liu Panpan. He added,
“Try to keep Liu Panpan alive.”
Su Tao didn’t hear this—her attention was completely on the car.
Liu Panpan gave a faint smile and said through the glass,
“I still owe Director Miao and Yang Yang an apology.”
“I’ll apologize for you. Oh, by the way, Mr. Mei wasn’t feeling well today, so Zheng Xing came to see you off instead.”
Liu Panpan knew that Old Mei didn’t want to send off a young person to their death.
Zheng Xing pressed his face against the glass, squishing it into a comical shape. “Aunt Pan, Aunt Pan…”
Though he hadn’t spent much time with Liu Panpan, she had always taken good care of him and his teacher.
To him, Aunt Pan was like half a mother.
Watching her go off to die like this… Zheng Xing felt awful.
As the car drove away, he stood there, unmoving.
*
On the fifth day after He Kang fell, the people from Changjing arrived and rescued Ji Caizhe and the others.
They also rescued Shen Wencheng’s research team, along with a large amount of data and equipment.
Changjing gave them a choice—stay or return to Changjing with them.
Ji Caizhe, covered in dirt, wanted nothing more than to cling to the rescue team’s legs and beg them to take him away.
If he had known Changjing would send people to save them, he never would have sent that distress message to Su Tao!
Taoyang was nowhere near as good as Changjing!
Shen Wencheng, with his cracked glasses, stepped on Ji Caizhe’s foot, stopping his outburst. He turned to the Changjing team and said,
“We want to stay.”
Ji Caizhe, despite the pain, jumped up and protested, “My dad was the base leader! Now that he’s gone, I get to decide. Who do you think you are, god?!”
Ignoring him, Shen Wencheng turned to his researchers and said, “If anyone wants to go to Changjing, step forward now and follow Young Master Ji. I won’t stop you.”
No one moved.
They had all worked under Shen Wencheng. Most of the research breakthroughs had been led by him.
He was a genius in zombie research, and they trusted him completely.
If going to Changjing meant they couldn’t work with him, they would rather follow him to Taoyang.
Besides, following this useless idiot Ji Caizhe? They’d have to be brain-dead to do that.
Ji Caizhe’s face turned red and pale with anger. Gritting his teeth, he spat,
“You’ll regret this! That Su Tao is not someone to mess with. Once you make some breakthroughs, she’ll kill you like a spent mule!”
Shen Wencheng had never thought much of him and didn’t even bother to respond.
Without hesitation, Ji Caizhe grabbed his things and joined the Changjing team.
The rescue leader from Changjing glanced at Shen Wencheng twice before nodding and signaling for the team to leave.
His orders had been to save as many people from He Kang as possible, especially the senior researcher Shen Wencheng.
He was the first to lead the team in providing a systematic explanation of the types and specific functions of crystal cores.
It was a significant contribution.
However, the leadership had also stated that the decision should be left to Shen Wencheng himself—they wouldn’t forcibly bring him back to Changjing.
After all, Changjing had no shortage of talented researchers like Shen Wencheng. There was no need to forcefully pick an unwilling fruit.
After the team left, Shen Wencheng turned to look at the He Kang base behind him.
Without Mr. Ji, even if someone took over and rebuilt it, He Kang would never be the same again.
He clenched the note in his hand—it was the contact information for Taoyang that Mr. Ji had left him.
When Su Tao received Shen Wencheng’s call, she was a little surprised.
Shen Wencheng spoke honestly:
“Mr. Ji said that if we go to Changjing, we’ll have to listen to others and won’t be valued. But if we go to Taoyang, you’re someone who cherishes talent—you’ll give us enough respect, freedom, and… good living conditions.”
Su Tao felt complicated emotions welling up. “It’s a pity about Mr. Ji.”
He was a wise man who saw things clearly—he just had the misfortune of having an unreliable son.
Thinking of how Mr. Ji had ultimately sacrificed himself in resistance, Shen Wencheng felt a tightness in his chest.
That coward Ji Caizhe had done nothing but hide in the back—and, in a moment of crisis, had even pushed Mr. Ji off the vehicle.
Shen Wencheng couldn’t help but say, “Boss Su, I have a request.”
“Go ahead.”
“Ji Caizhe left with the people from Changjing, but I doubt he’ll be able to survive there. Sooner or later, he’ll come begging you to take him in. I… I hope you’ll refuse him!”
Su Tao’s voice remained indifferent:
“You should know that Mr. Ji entrusted him to me. My payment was securing you and the research team.”
Shen Wencheng pursed his lips. “I’m not asking you to go back on your word, but if Mr. Ji had known his own son would push him off the vehicle to feed the zombies, he would never have entrusted him to you.”
Su Tao frowned. “Is that true?”
“As true as it gets. Mr. Ji was escorting us to the underground shelter when four Blood Scythe zombies attacked. That bastard Ji Caizhe, afraid of being caught, pushed his defenseless father off the vehicle.”
Ji Caizhe watched his own father die under the giant limbs of the Blood Scythes—completely indifferent, even relieved that he had acted fast enough to save himself.
Even as an outsider, Su Tao felt a sharp pang in her heart upon hearing this. Her voice turned cold:
“Alright, I promise you.”
If Ji Caizhe ever came to beg her, not only would she refuse, she would put a bullet in his head—send him underground to atone before Mr. Ji.
Shen Wencheng finally felt some relief and solemnly said,
“From today onward, I and the other 12 researchers are willing to work for Taoyang. Boss Su, please take us… home.”
Su Tao had originally planned to visit He Kang for an inspection after returning from Xindu.
Hearing his words, she sighed inwardly and said,
“Hold on for a few more days. I’ll hire a mercenary team to escort you to Taoyang.”
Shen Wencheng was momentarily stunned before quickly expressing his gratitude.
The researchers who overheard this were thrilled.
A mercenary team sent specifically to escort them? Boss Su truly valued them!
Mr. Ji was right—Taoyang would be much better than Changjing!
“Boss Su, please send a large vehicle. We have a lot of valuable equipment.”
Su Tao agreed, though she still didn’t fully grasp just how much of a research fortune Ji Boda had left her.
After hanging up, she immediately called Ma Dapao to arrange for a mercenary team.
If only Lei Xing and his squad were still around—hiring them would have been much more efficient.
After dealing with Leopard Path, Su Tao found herself unimpressed with other mercenary teams.
Ma Dapao scratched his head. “Boss, not every mercenary team can be like Lei’s squad—each member a powerful ability user with guts. The teams I picked are already quite good, more than capable of escorting Mr. Shen and the others. Besides, He Kang isn’t dangerous anymore. Hiring Lei’s team for this would be overkill.”
Su Tao reluctantly agreed.
“Alright, we’ll go with ‘Po Squad’ then—unstoppable like a bamboo spear. Let’s hope they handle the mission just as smoothly.”
