Chapter 349 - Leaving again

Chapter 349: Chapter 349 - Leaving again

By noon, the decision had been made.

They were going to the research base.

Qiu Yue had spent the morning making a list of everything he needed, and somehow that list had gone from one sheet of paper to three. Yunfeng had stopped trying to understand most of the equipment names after the first few lines. All he needed to know was what the machines looked like, which rooms they were likely to be stored in, and which items were important enough to drag back even if they had to leave everything else behind.

The research facility wasn’t too far from their base, but that didn’t make Yunfeng feel any better about the trip. Nobody knew what condition it was in. The roads could be blocked, the facility could already have been emptied, or worse, it could be crawling with zombies. If researchers and military personnel had been trapped inside during the outbreak, there was no telling how many infected were waiting for them.

That was why Yunfeng wanted the group small.

Get in, find the equipment, get out.

Simple.

At least, that was the plan.

Convincing everyone else of that had been surprisingly easy.

Convincing his mother was another matter entirely.

"No."

Yunfeng closed his eyes for a moment.

"Mom."

"No."

Jinju stood directly in front of him near the car, arms crossed tightly over her chest. She had listened to his explanation about the research facility, the equipment Qiu Yue needed, and the serum that could save someone after a bite. She had listened to every word without interrupting him.

Then she had simply refused to let him go.

Yunfeng tried again. "We’re not going far."

"You said that before."

He paused.

Jinju’s eyes were already red.

That immediately took the fight out of him.

Since returning, Yunfeng had begun noticing little things he hadn’t paid attention to before. The way his mother looked toward the door whenever someone left. How she counted people almost unconsciously when everyone gathered together. How her eyes lingered on him and Hana longer than they used to.

He understood why.

She had already spent too long not knowing whether her children were alive.

Now he had barely returned, and he was preparing to leave again.

Jinju looked at the weapons being loaded into the vehicle, then back at him. "You just came home."

Yunfeng swallowed.

"I know."

"You haven’t even recovered properly."

"My powers are almost back."

"That isn’t the point."

Her voice cracked slightly.

Yunfeng didn’t get another chance to answer before Jinju stepped forward and wrapped both arms around him.

He froze for a second, then immediately hugged her back.

She held him tightly.

Far tighter than he expected.

"You just came back to me," she whispered against his shoulder. "You and your sister both disappeared, and I didn’t know where either of you were. Every day I wondered whether you were hungry, whether you were hurt, whether you were even alive. Now you’re standing in front of me and telling me you’re leaving again."

Yunfeng’s throat tightened.

His hand moved slowly over her back.

For a moment, the research base didn’t matter. The cure didn’t matter. Nothing outside the small space between his mother’s arms mattered.

And that only made what he had to say harder.

"Mom..."

Jinju pulled back enough to look at him.

There were tears on her cheeks now.

Yunfeng hated seeing them.

He lifted his hands and wiped them away with his thumbs, but more immediately replaced them.

"I don’t want to leave either."

"Then don’t."

The answer came so quickly that Yunfeng almost smiled.

Instead, he gently held her face.

"We found something that can stop the infection."

Jinju’s expression trembled.

"You heard Qiu Yue. If someone gets bitten and we use that serum early enough, they could survive. Right now he can barely make a few doses because he doesn’t have the equipment he needs. What happens if ten people get bitten tomorrow?"

Jinju looked away.

"What happens if it’s Hana?" Yunfeng continued softly. "Or you? What happens if it’s a child?"

Her eyes closed.

"I can’t sit here knowing we have a way to save people but don’t have enough of it because we were too afraid to go get what Qiu Yue needs."

"I don’t care about other people more than I care about my son."

"I know."

Yunfeng pulled her into his arms again.

"I know, Mom."

Her fingers curled into the back of his shirt.

Yunfeng rested his chin lightly against her hair.

"But this could become something important. Maybe not today. Maybe what Qiu Yue made isn’t perfect yet, but it’s a start. If we can help him make enough of it, then people here won’t have to die just because a zombie managed to bite them."

His thoughts briefly returned to his future.

The cure he remembered hadn’t appeared this early.

But perhaps this was how it began.

Not with the final cure that eventually wiped the infection from a person’s body while leaving their powers intact, but with something imperfect. Something that could only stop the infection at a price.

He couldn’t know for certain.

That was becoming the problem with his memories of the future. He knew the large events. He knew how the world eventually recovered. But he didn’t know every person who had contributed to it or every failed attempt that had come before the final success.

Maybe Qiu Yue had always been part of that history.

Or maybe Yunfeng had changed something simply by keeping him alive.

Either way, he couldn’t ignore what was sitting in those little glass vials.

"This is hope for all of us," Yunfeng murmured. "I need to do this."

Jinju stayed in his arms for a long time.

When she finally pulled away, she wiped her face roughly and glared at him through reddened eyes.

"You come back."

Yunfeng nodded.

"Of course."

"No." She grabbed his shirt before he could move. "Don’t just say it to make me feel better. You come back."

The desperation behind those words hurt far more than Yunfeng expected.

He covered her hand with his.

"I’ll come back."

Only then did Jinju slowly release him.

A few meters away, Jai immediately looked somewhere else when Yunfeng glanced in his direction, pretending he hadn’t witnessed anything. Shao was checking the supplies in the back of the vehicle while Zei leaned against the passenger door with his gun strapped across his chest.

Those were the three Yunfeng had chosen to take.

Jai’s earth ability would be useful if roads were blocked or they needed another way into the facility. Shao was physically strong and could handle himself without depending entirely on a supernatural ability. Zei’s time manipulation was too useful to leave behind when they were heading somewhere completely unknown.

Yunfeng’s own electricity hadn’t fully returned yet, but the tingling beneath his skin had grown stronger throughout the morning. A few times, tiny blue sparks had even jumped between his fingertips. His hair was mostly white at the roots now.

He was recovering quickly.

That was enough for him.

Unfortunately, choosing the team had caused another argument.

Shinju and Kailun had both wanted to come.

Yunfeng had rejected both of them.

Shinju had not taken it particularly well.

"You’re taking my son but telling me to stay behind."

Yunfeng glanced at Jai.

Jai immediately raised both hands. "Don’t involve me."

"You volunteered," Yunfeng reminded him.

"Yes. Which is why I’m staying out of whatever this is."

Shinju’s expression darkened.

Yunfeng sighed and turned back to him. "You’re needed here."

"So are you."

"I have powers."

Shinju’s jaw tightened.

Yunfeng knew exactly how that sounded, especially after everything that had happened in this base between powered and non-powered soldiers. The last thing he wanted was to make it seem like having no ability made Shinju useless.

So he continued before the man could misunderstand him.

"That’s not an insult. It’s exactly why I’m saying no."

Shinju went quiet.

"We don’t know what’s inside that facility," Yunfeng explained. "We don’t know how many zombies are there or whether there are mutated ones. If something goes wrong, I need everyone with me to have the best possible chance of getting themselves out."

Shinju glanced at Jai.

The worry in his face was immediate.

Yunfeng understood it.

"You know what he can do," Yunfeng said. "Jai can move the ground under his feet if he has to. Zei can stop time. Shao can protect himself, and my power is returning. I’m not taking anyone I need to constantly worry about."

"I don’t need you to protect me."

"I know."

That was the truth.

Shinju had survived this long without an ability. He had military training, experience and more discipline than most powered people Yunfeng had met.

But bullets eventually ran out.

And Yunfeng had already seen what a single unusual zombie could do.

He wasn’t willing to gamble with Shinju’s life when the man could do far more good here.

"This base needs someone who can actually organize it," Yunfeng added. "People are coming out of hiding. There are bodies that still need to be cleared, food needs to be distributed, the perimeter needs to be checked and someone has to figure out which buildings are safe. You know this place better than I do."

That, at least, made Shinju hesitate.

Yunfeng looked toward Kailun next.

"And before you say anything, you’re staying too."

The old man gave him an offended look. "I haven’t said anything."

"You were about to."

"I was thinking."

"Think about staying here."

Kailun’s eyes narrowed.

Yunfeng almost smiled, but he didn’t back down. Kailun’s astral projection was useful for scouting, but physically, he was still an old man. Worse, his actual body became completely vulnerable whenever he projected.

They were heading into a facility whose condition was completely unknown.

Yunfeng wasn’t taking that risk.

"You can scout around this area while we’re gone," he told him. "If survivors are hiding nearby, find them. If zombies are moving toward the base, you’ll see them before anyone else."

Kailun grumbled something under his breath, but he didn’t argue further.

That left Muchen.

Strangely, he hadn’t argued about coming.

Yunfeng had expected a fight. He had actually prepared himself for one.

Instead, Muchen stood beside the car with one hand resting over his belly, watching the supplies being loaded.

That worried Yunfeng more.

He walked over.

"You’re being suspiciously quiet."

Muchen looked at him. "Would you prefer I scream?"

"No."

"Then enjoy it."

Yunfeng studied his face.

Muchen sighed.

"I know I can’t go."

The admission was reluctant, but there was no bitterness behind it. He glanced down at his stomach and rubbed it gently.

"My power has been unstable lately, and I get tired faster than I used to. If something happens in there, I don’t want you worrying about me instead of paying attention to what’s trying to kill you."

Yunfeng’s chest tightened.

Muchen looked back up at him.

"That doesn’t mean I like you going."

"I know."

"And if you do something stupid again, I’ll kill you myself."

Yunfeng smiled and stepped closer, wrapping his arms carefully around him. Muchen immediately leaned into the embrace despite his threat, forehead resting against Yunfeng’s shoulder.

For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.

Then Muchen quietly said, "You promised me."

Yunfeng knew exactly what he meant.

I’ll come back.

He tightened his arms around him.

"I remember."

Muchen’s hand curled into his shirt.

Yunfeng kissed his forehead before crouching slightly and placing a hand against his belly.

"And you behave while I’m gone."

Muchen looked down at him. "Are you talking to me or the baby?"

"The baby. You’re beyond saving."

Muchen smacked the back of his head.

Yunfeng laughed and stood before he could be hit again.

By the time everything was ready, Jai and Shao had already climbed into the vehicle. Zei took the front passenger seat, immediately claiming it before anyone else could. Yunfeng gave his mother one final hug, then glanced at Shinju and Kailun.

"Keep the gates closed until we come back."

Shinju nodded.

"If you aren’t back by tomorrow—"

"We’ll be back."

Shinju didn’t look convinced, but he stepped away from the vehicle.

Yunfeng opened the driver’s door, then paused.

His family stood behind him.

His mother was still wiping her eyes. Muchen had one arm around her shoulders while the other rested protectively over his belly. Kailun stood beside them with a deep frown, and Shinju was already speaking to one of the soldiers about the perimeter.

For the first time, leaving felt harder than it used to.

Before, Yunfeng had thought mostly about surviving whatever was ahead of him.

Now he had people waiting for him to return.

He climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine.

As the vehicle rolled slowly toward the gate, Yunfeng looked at the road ahead. Jai and Shao were behind him, Zei beside him, weapons and empty storage crates packed into the back.

Qiu Yue’s handwritten list sat folded in Yunfeng’s pocket.

The research facility was close enough that they should reach it within a few hours if the roads were clear.

The problem was that none of them knew what they were going to find when they got there.

And after the little girl in the pink dress, Yunfeng had stopped assuming zombies were the worst thing waiting for them.