The Third Rebirth (REBIRTH)
The car wasn't moving fast, and the cold wind blew in from all directions. Ling Chen pressed his lips against Ye Xiao's and asked breathlessly, "Are you cold?"
Ye Xiao's breathing was also a bit hurried, and his upper lip was bitten until it bled. "No, I'm hot."
Hearing this, Ling Chen laughed—apparently, he wasn't the only one feeling the heat.
The two of them stayed on the car roof for a while longer to let the wind blow over them before finally returning to the car.
Jiang Mu looked up when he heard the noise. "Chen Ge, take a look."
Ling Chen took the 3D map and flipped through it. "The last time we entered D Zone, and after we robbed Holy Judgement Team Five, you found out their destination. Besides the central area, there were three other locations. One of them was the Biological Research Institute we went into, right?"
Jiang Mu nodded. "Right. At the time, you told me to mark the other two locations. Just now, while going through the map, I noticed that one of them is right on our route." He asked, "Should we go?"
Ling Chen made the decision quickly. "Let's go."
Jiang Cancan clapped his hands together dramatically and exclaimed loudly, "Is there any Bodhisattva passing by? May Buddha have mercy! I hope this place we're going to doesn't have bugs, doesn't have bugs, doesn't have bugs!"
The last time at the Biological Research Institute had left him traumatized.
Perhaps there really was a deity passing by, because upon reaching their destination, Jiang Cancan was delighted to find that the target location was actually a small Pharmaceutical Research Institute.
The modern-style building stood tall on a desolate cliff with its appearance strikingly out of place.
Ling Chen surveyed the nearby terrain and ordered, "Cancan, Ye Xiao, and I will go up. Jian Lan and Xiao Mu will stay behind and be ready to provide backup."
As he spoke, he first found one of his own combat uniforms for Ye Xiao to wear. The sleeves were too long, so Ling Chen carefully folded them several times, making the creases neat.
"Does Little Fuzzball like wearing the Captain's clothes?"
Ye Xiao zipped up the jacket himself. "Yes."
"Why?"
Ye Xiao stood on his tiptoes and whispered into Ling Chen's ear, "Because the clothes smell like the Captain."
Damn, Ling Chen realized he had been thoroughly teased again, and the worst part was that the person teasing him didn't even realize it. His gloved right hand rested on Ye Xiao's lower back and giving it a couple of gentle pats. "Good boy, I'll let you wear them from now on."
After everyone had finished preparing, Ling Chen took out a silver Grappling Hook Gun from the box.
He pulled the trigger, and the Trilateral Arrowhead at the tip of the gun that was attached to a metal cable, firmly embedded itself into the cliff wall. Jiang Cancan took the hook line to fasten it to the metal buckle on his waist, and began ascending the cliff by pushing off the wall with his feet.
Ling Chen took out another Grappling Hook Gun, shot the Trilateral Arrowhead into the rock, and carefully connected the hook line to the metal buckle on Ye Xiao's waist. As he fastened the buckle, he instructed, "I'll be right below you. Don't be afraid. If you get scared, just look back at me."
Once everything was secure, Ling Chen equipped himself and began climbing up the cliff, with Ye Xiao following closely behind.
When they reached the top, Jiang Cancan was holding his gun and scouting the area. Seeing Ling Chen arrive, he frowned. "Chen Ge, someone got here before us." He pointed to the footprints on the entrance steps. "Size 45, probably around 180 cm tall and weighing about 75 kg. They haven't been here long. I don't know how many people there are."
He had been heavily influenced by Jian Lan's ghost stories lately. "In this remote wilderness, it couldn't be ghosts, could it?"
Ling Chen kicked his calf. "Where did your materialist spirit go?"
Jiang Cancan replied with a grin, "I completely forgot about it."
Ling Chen didn’t feel like engaging with him and quickly gave orders, "Can Can, take the lead. Ye Xiao, stay in the middle. I’ll cover the rear." After speaking, he turned on his Communicator and added, "Can Can found footprints at the entrance. There’s someone inside. Stay alert."
Jiang Mu responded, "Copy that."
The Pharmaceutical Research Institute was small in scale, consisting of two buildings connected at a right angle, each only three stories high.
The exterior walls were covered in blue and white tiles, which had turned a grayish-white after years of erosion from rain.
As they opened the door and stepped inside, a stifling smell of chemical agents hit them.
The three of them put on their Night Vision Goggles.
Jiang Cancan crouched down to pull out a thumb-sized Detector, and scanned the area. He reported in a low voice, "There are four different sets of footprints, all heading upstairs. Chen Ge, should we follow?"
"Follow." Ling Chen said because he always prefers to keep the initiative in his own hands. He tilted his chin slightly, "Let’s move."
The building was eerily quiet.
The three of them followed the footprints up to the second floor.
The corridor was lined with glass-partitioned laboratories with their various instruments covered in a thick layer of dust, clearly untouched for a long time.
Jiang Cancan didn’t dare make a sound and instead sent a message in the team channel, "Damn, this feels weird. I thought we’d be attacked by Experimental Animals as soon as we came up." He even typed out examples, "Like white mice or Mutated Rabbits or something."
Ling Chen, who had his own Communicator but didn’t bother to look at it, dramatically grabbed Ye Xiao’s wrist to glance at the team channel messages, and promptly muted Jiang Cancan.
Before Jiang Cancan could ask what he had done wrong to deserve such cruel treatment, a gunshot rang out that echo clearly through the building.
Ling Chen looked down the corridor, "Gunshot. Small-caliber pistol."
Jiang Cancan’s eyes widened, and he covered his mouth while mumbling, "No way, did the people who came in first actually run into Experimental Animals?"
The three of them continued forward until they reached a corner.
The sound of chaotic footsteps grew closer. Ling Chen made a hand signal as he stopped in place and raised his gun to steadily aim at the corner.
However, when the source of the footsteps appeared, both sides were momentarily stunned.
Ling Chen narrowed his eyes, "Ephemera?"
‘Damn, are they here to steal my people again?’
The members of Ephemera hadn’t expected to encounter others in the Pharmaceutical Research Institute. They raised their guns in caution, but after recognizing the group, A Jiu was the first to lower his weapon. His gaze locked onto Ye Xiao, "We mean no harm."
Ye Xiao nodded, "I believe you."
Jiang Cancan instinctively took a step back with the hairs on his arm standing on end— ‘Damn, Chen Ge’s aura is terrifying! The old man’s jealousy is off the charts!’
Then, Ye Xiao added the second half of his sentence, "The five of you combined still wouldn’t be a match for me."
The icy expression on Ling Chen’s face melted away. He looked at A Jiu and asked, "Is something chasing you from behind?"
A Jiu’s gaze shifted away from Ye Xiao, "No, the Experimental Devices here are old, and Chemical Gas is leaking. It’s going to blow soon."
Jiang Cancan caught the keyword, "Holy shit! Then let’s get out of here!"
They hadn’t run far when a deafening explosion shook the entire building.
A wave of heat mixed with a pungent smell surged toward them. Glass and ceiling tiles shattered and flew in all directions as the flames illuminated the surroundings.
Jian Lan's voice came through the Communicator, "The third floor has been blown up! Do you need backup?"
Ling Chen responded, "Not for now."
The group hurried along, only slowing down when they reached the second floor. The Ephemera members turned on their flashlights. A Jiu looked at Ye Xiao first with his somewhat complicated expression, "I didn't expect to meet you here."
Ye Xiao asked in confusion, "Last time, didn't you say you came in because you took on a small mission and would leave once it was completed?"
A Jiu's eyes were obscure, "Sorry, I didn't tell you the truth."
Ye Xiao's expression remained unchanged as he just scrutinized A Jiu, "Are you sick?"
Seeing that Ye Xiao wasn't upset, A Jiu breathed a sigh of relief, "Yes, I'm sick."
For a moment, the atmosphere fell silent. Ling Chen naturally took Ye Xiao's hand, "Shall we talk somewhere else?"
A Jiu's gaze lingered on their clasped hands for a moment before he agreed, "Alright."
After exiting the Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Ye Xiao followed A Jiu to the edge of the cliff.
In the natural light, A Jiu's sickly appearance was even more evident. He looked as if he hadn't rested well, with dark circles under his eyes and much thinner than before.
Ye Xiao asked him, "What illness do you have?"
A Jiu raised his hand, "Don't be startled." After saying that, he rolled up his sleeve.
Ye Xiao's eyelid twitches, and he exclaimed, "How could—"
On A Jiu's left forearm, a palm-sized patch of hard armor had grown, and the remaining areas with intact skin had veins that had turned an eerie bright red.
This situation wasn't unfamiliar to Ye Xiao.
He had seen so-called failed experiments at the Silver Blade Base before, where similar scale armor would emerge all over their bodies, or extra bones would pierce through their flesh.
Ye Xiao's palm felt cold, "You knew about this already? So last time we met, you said if I wanted to find you, I had to do it quickly, or you might die any day."
A Jiu nodded, "Yes." He smiled somewhat indifferently, "I've already had a rejection reaction, so I probably don't have much longer to live."
Ye Xiao clenched his teeth and after a while asked, "What about them?"
Knowing he was asking about the others who had escaped from Silver Blade, A Jiu looked down at the cliff until his gaze landed on an unknown spot, "Everyone's the same, that's why we're called Ephemera, born in the morning and dead by evening."
He withdrew his gaze, "Night Owl, it's strange, isn't it? Back at Silver Blade, you, me, and them were mortal enemies, but out here, we've become partners who can watch each other's backs."
"Yeah."
"Out of the fifty-six of us, forty-two had successful experiments. After Silver Blade was destroyed, thirty-six of us formed Ephemera. Three years have passed, and now there are only thirty left." His smile finally took on a hint of bitterness, "I was among the first to succeed, so I'll probably be the first to die."
He was only in his twenties, but he spoke of death as if it were the most ordinary thing.
Seeing Ye Xiao grip his scabbard tightly, A Jiu's eyes softened, "Our lives ended the moment we entered Silver Blade. The past few years have just been a struggle for survival. Everyone sees it lightly, no family, no friends, so death isn't a big deal. Fortunately, you're not like us."
Ye Xiao tightly held his scabbard while staring at him, "What's in this Pharmaceutical Research Institute?"
"According to the information we bought, there's a drug here that can treat rejection reactions."
"Is the information reliable?"
"It should be true, but the contents inside have already been moved."
The two fell silent again.
A Jiu glanced at Ling Chen, who was standing far away, and asked Ye Xiao, "Do you have someone you like?"
Ye Xiao nodded, "Yes, I have someone I like." He hesitated, "Actually, I'm not entirely sure what liking someone really means, but I know I want to be with him."
A Jiu's expression was complicated.
In Silver Blade, Night Owl was the youngest among them, yet also the strongest in combat. Even after their experiments succeeded, they still couldn't defeat him.
The name "Night Owl" was once a nightmare for everyone because rncountering him meant certain defeat.
A Jiu remembered clearly that back then, Night Owl wasn't tall, was very thin, extremely reclusive, always alone, and rarely spoke. He was highly guarded and didn't trust anyone.
In Silver Blade, A Jiu was the only one who could exchange a few words with Night Owl, though it was limited to trivial greetings like "Did you win?"
But now, Night Owl has almost completely changed.
A Jiu stared blankly into Ye Xiao's clear eyes with various words swirling in his mind, but in the end, all he asked was, "Is he good to you?"
A hint of a smile appeared in Ye Xiao's eyes, "He's very good to me. I didn't know how to use chopsticks before, but he taught me. I didn't know how to smile, but he taught me that too. He taught me to write my own name, to hold a gun, and to value my life."
A Jiu smiled, "That's good." He recalled the cold, lifeless boy who once carried a Long Blade, and closed his eyes, "Don't worry, even ants cling to life. We'll do our best to survive, to live a little longer."
"Yes, I'll also strive to live."
During his nine years in Silver Blade, he dreamed of candy, fantasizing about one day getting out and tasting the sweetness he remembered, and finally fought desperately to survive. During the three years he was imprisoned in Holy Judgement and every time he was on the verge of giving up, he would think of Ling Chen over and over again to remind himself that he had promised to find him.
A promise is a promise, even if the other person has already forgotten.
As he was leaving, Ye Xiao seemed to remember something. He drew his Long Blade and carved his name into a stone, "My name is Ye Xiao now. 'Ye' as in leaf, 'Xiao' as in the Lantern Festival. It's the name I had before I came to Silver Blade."
Sheathing the Long Blade, Ye Xiao said softly, "Goodbye."
A Jiu nodded, "Yes, goodbye."
Turning around, Ye Xiao walked towards Ling Chen. Seeing Ling Chen open his arms, Ye Xiao couldn't help but quicken his pace.
—It's not that I can't endure darkness and slaughter, if I had never met you.
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