The truck drove into the city, and Qin Feng immediately felt somewhat disenchanted.

With only three hours left until the infection outbreak, the roadside epidemic prevention stalls were still open, distributing Antidote Powder to passersby.

Some people drank it on the spot, only to vomit black blood moments later, collapsing to the ground in convulsions, scaring the surrounding crowd into retreat.

This was when staff in isolation suits would step forward and put the person directly into a body bag.

Terrifying, isn't it?

It was truly horrifying.

Yet no one in the queue for Antidote Powder flinched.

Obviously, by this point, everyone realized what was about to happen in the Buffer Zone.

But no one dared to speak out; without official information to confirm their suspicions, no one dared to break the silence.

"Huh?"

As the truck passed a street corner, Qin Feng suddenly froze, staring out the window, and couldn't help but exclaim.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just saw someone I know."

Not far away, on the outskirts of a building with a Celestial Essence Mall sign, he saw a familiar figure.

What's this guy doing here at this time?

Qin Feng took out his Defense Communication, tapped it twice, and shook his head.

Four thousand people lived in that building, it was now a powder keg, and the probability of infection was almost infinite.

"Should I remind him?"

Thinking it over, Qin Feng edited a message but ended up revising it repeatedly before sending it.

The original reminder of more than three hundred words, including how to deal with Starfish infections and how to escape when facing a Fusion Body, was eventually reduced to just four words.

"Come home early!"

"What person is worth a reminder from you, Researcher Qin?"

Lv Jian leaned over, saw the text, and found it intriguing.

Though Qin Feng was only a Level 2 Researcher, everyone in the institute knew that if it wasn't for his conflicting research philosophy with the Technology Faction, his professional skills would have already earned him a Level 3 Researcher title.

It was quite a contradiction.

The Infection Source Research Institute was the heart of the Technology Faction, yet it had a researcher whose philosophy clashed with it.

To deal with him, Qin Feng's professional competence was undeniable, targeting him would only cause unrest.

If left alone, he's a thorn in the side of the institute, an eyesore for the Technology Faction from top to bottom.

So they made a compromise and dispatched him out.

Out of sight, out of mind, Qin Feng was comfortable at the inspection station branch, enjoying his freedom.

"An Inspector, hmm... Intern."

"Is an intern really worth your reminder? There's a good chance he'll die in there this time."

Lv Jian clicked his tongue, then slapped his head, "Could it be Cheng Long's son?"

"Yes."

"Tsk tsk, then I won't ask anymore. No one in the Cheng Family is a coward; Cheng Wu isn't, Cheng Long even less so, Happiness City almost needed a new City Lord."

"He's different."

Qin Feng hesitated, "Cheng Wu is a staunch member of the Initial Heart Faction, yet he rigidly adhered to parts of the Technology Faction's philosophy. He wanted to turn the Buffer Zone into isolated island prisons according to his ideas, but ended up alienated, even his most trusted people wouldn't implement his ideas."

"Cheng Long... he became fanatical about the Extraordinary, dared to target the City Lord, and deserved his end. Luckily, Ding Yishan acted quickly; otherwise, the inspection station would be under pressure from three factions, and even with Director Liu supporting them, the police department would have to restore structure and divide power."

"But this Cheng Ye..."

"Cheng Ye? Not a bad name; is Cheng Long intending to pass his idea to his son?"

"No, he's the only member I met in the inspection station during my three years of service who's from the Initial Heart Faction."

"Initial Heart Faction?"

Lv Jian chuckled; now, who doesn't know the situation inside the inspection station?

An intern inspector being from the Initial Heart Faction was almost a joke.

"He still holds onto some fantasies, doesn't he? Like his grandfather, saying he grants people enough human rights but actually wants to strip away everyone's rights and control them like puppets?"

"I don't know, but he hasn't given up... struggling."

Remembering the interactions over the past few days, Qin Feng smiled, "Anyway, he's quite pure. Compared to dealing with those old foxes, I prefer talking to him, yeah, talking more."

"Of course, Researcher Qin is our institute's representative of the Initial Heart Faction. 'Strong' people always admire each other."

Jeremy Paul, the previously silent researcher, suddenly spoke up, his tone somewhat sarcastic.

However, neither Qin Feng nor Lv Jian bothered to respond, and no one followed up the comment.

The truck moved forward, arriving at Giant Wall Station.

As the most densely populated area in the Buffer Zone, Lv Jian and Paul both tensed up almost simultaneously.

With less than three hours until the infection outbreak, if there was any safe place in the Buffer Zone, it was the vicinity of the Giant Wall.

The strongest Happiness Corps was stationed here, and even during a Disaster Level infection outbreak, as long as there weren't any Extraordinary Earth-bound Spirits mixed in, an infection surge couldn't possibly breach the Giant Wall's defenses.

The flip side, however, was that this was currently the most dangerous place in the Buffer Zone.

The dense population meant that Infected Bodies were clustering together; the thick flow of people could instantaneously become a hotbed for Stand-In Starfish spread, with unimaginable chain reactions.

The truck crept forward through the throng.

The soldiers hanging on the truck fired shots into the air occasionally to push back the advancing crowd, making a narrow path.

Lucky though.

Until the truck reached the Gate of Happiness, no one dared to attack it.

Lv Jian patted his chest in lingering fear:

"Thirteen years ago, nearly fifty thousand people charged the Giant Wall. This time... it's truly changed."

Paul chimed in, cursing, "Finally, they've learned to fear. These bastards have eyes like Ant Wolves, always looking to get something for nothing, to reach the top in one step."

Has it changed?

Or are they just afraid?

Qin Feng pursed his lips, staring at the coldly gleaming alloy gates ahead, looking at the dazzling world inside, suddenly feeling a bit dazed.

The more time spent outside, the more one feels the disconnection between the two places separated by a wall.

Which is real?

Outside the Giant Wall is a stormy Buffer Zone, with Infected Bodies lurking in every corner, where rules teeter on the brink of survival instincts.

Inside the Giant Wall is the "Happiness City" built with steel and order, where power struggles and ideological conflicts hide under the neon lights. There are no blades or shadows, yet it's more deadly.

Suddenly, he's unclear whether the bloody cruelty outside the wall is more real or the rule-painted "stability" inside the wall is merely a dream.

"Comrade Qin Feng, please get off the vehicle for inspection and disinfection."

The soldier stationed at the Gate of Happiness approached, knocking on the truck door, snapping Qin Feng out of his reverie.

"Alright."

The door opened, and under the dense gaze of gun muzzles, Qin Feng took a step through the Gate of Happiness.

In the Buffer Zone residents' fantasies, crossing this boundary meant entering a new world.

But it's quite the opposite.

Beyond this door, he still had to undergo isolation and disinfection workstations built into the walls.

There were a total of sixteen stages; failing any stage would result in being sent back to the Buffer Zone.

"Stand-In Starfish infection test passed..."

"Comprehensive detection of 4,107 infection sources passed..."

"Bodily life reaction qualified..."

"Respiratory cycle toxin filtration qualified..."

"Blood analysis data qualified..."

"Immune system response awakening successful..."

"..."

The sound of passing inspection indicators echoed.

Cold mechanical broadcasting resonated.

Qin Feng paid it no mind, simply raising his head to fix his gaze on the fiery red ivy clinging to the disinfection workstation's ceiling.

Entwined with metal pipes, the red leaves scanned humans uniquely, and the disinfection station staff compiled and reported the data through leaf reactions.

By human Old Era technology standards, this was practically a fantasy.

However, in the New Era just ravaged by Extraordinary plants, it appeared commonplace.

Now every Super Shelter City mainly utilized special Extraordinary plants as gatekeepers, able to fend off 99% of threats through unique physiological reactions, even against unrecorded new infection sources in the database.

Of course, compared to those Extraordinary plants that once caused catastrophes, the plant before him—bearing the "Extraordinary" name—had long lost the ability to elevate humanity to an Extraordinary state after the symbiosis.

A fiery red leaf fell.

Qin Feng caught it with his hand, and instantly, two black-red streams of nosebleed shot out, landing on the leaf.

A faint golden-red glow flickered, the leaf veins clearly visible, gradually forming two Chinese characters.

Qin, Feng!

"Biological genetic authentication, passed!"

...

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