After estimating the time, Yun Xiaoxiao and Lu Chen nodded at each other before opening the hospital room door.
As soon as they opened it, they met Ling Jing's eyes.
His beautiful blue eyes, now devoid of confusion and emptiness, gleamed with a mischievous light.
Yun Xiaoxiao and Lu Chen hesitated slightly, each feeling a hint of caution and wariness in their hearts.
"So it's you two. I almost lashed out just now," Ling Jing said with a wicked smile.
"By the way, where is this place?" he asked. "And little one, why are you looking at me like that? Don't you recognize me?"
Ling Jing tried to put his hands in his pockets but found them covered in grease.
He frowned in disgust. "Why are my hands so oily? And... is this blood?"
Yun Xiaoxiao: ...
Lu Chen: ...
Had he changed back again?
Should they tell him about eating raw meat?
After hesitating for two seconds, Yun Xiaoxiao chose to speak directly.
After she finished, Ling Jing fell silent.
After a while, he looked up.
"So I really did turn into a zombie?" he asked.
Yun Xiaoxiao shook her head. "Not entirely. You're not trying to bite us now, are you?"
She rolled up her sleeve, extending her soft white hand.
"See if you have an appetite. Do you want to eat it?"
She was doing it on purpose, wanting to see if Ling Jing would pounce on her like a zombie at the sight of flesh.
Ling Jing: ...
He stared at Yun Xiaoxiao's little arm, furrowing his brow.
For no apparent reason, an urge to pounce welled up inside him.
His Adam's apple bobbed as he forcefully suppressed the desire rising from deep within.
"Actually... it does look quite tasty," he said with a slight smirk.
Yun Xiaoxiao: !!
"But I can control myself not to bite you."
Yun Xiaoxiao glanced at him. "Should I thank you for your mercy then?"
"You can if you want to," Ling Jing said, pursing his lips.
Yun Xiaoxiao: Have some shame!
Given Ling Jing's words, it didn't seem appropriate to keep him tied up anymore.
Yun Xiaoxiao planned to give him meat at regular intervals and in fixed amounts. This way, he shouldn't want to eat people.
"Little one, is there a place to take a bath?" Ling Jing felt dirty.
"Come on, I'll take you to wash up," Yun Xiaoxiao said.
She figured Zhong Mingsheng and the others wouldn't have research results anytime soon.
She had stayed here mainly to keep an eye on Ling Jing. Now that he was awake, there was no need for her to stay any longer.
The three of them left the hospital room, intending to say goodbye to Zhong Mingsheng and the others before heading back to the mountain.
But when Ye Shuyuan opened the door, she froze.
She stood still for a full five seconds.
Then, regaining her composure, she looked at Yun Xiaoxiao.
"Xiaoxiao, what's going on?"
"Sister Shuyuan, Brother Ling Jing has woken up. I was just saying that if there's nothing else here, we'll head back to the mountain for a bit."
Ling Jing had already given blood samples, undergone brain scans, and other tests.
She felt there shouldn't be any problems for now.
Ye Shuyuan hesitated for half a second, slightly furrowing her brow.
"But..."
She wanted to ask if it was really okay to let Ling Jing go just like that.
But as the words reached her lips, she met Ling Jing's ambiguous smile.
She instantly recalled the suffocating feeling when he had gripped her neck.
The words she was about to say seemed to get stuck in her throat.
"Dr. Ye, don't worry. I'm not interested in your necks," Ling Jing said with a smirk.
Ye Shuyuan: ...
After the three left, she went to inform Dr. Zhong Mingsheng and his wife about this.
Ling Jing waking up, being able to communicate normally, and not biting people was crucial information for their research.
...
When they returned to the mountain, Yun Xiaoxiao drew a bath for Ling Jing.
Since Ling Jing had mentioned that drinking her water eased his restlessness, he must have noticed something special about the water. There was no need to keep hiding it.
When Ling Jing had changed clothes at the clothing store earlier, he had already collected some clothes.
When they moved Ling Jing to this room, his clothes were brought along as well.
While Yun Xiaoxiao and Lu Chen were sparring in the courtyard, Ling Jing came out.
Watching the two engaged in intense combat, he leaned lazily against the door, quietly appreciating the scene.
Suddenly, Yun Xiaoxiao made a gesture to stop the fight, frowning slightly as she halted.
[Ding! Strangers are approaching the base!]
Little Di's warning kept ringing in Yun Xiaoxiao's mind.
"Got it," Yun Xiaoxiao responded mentally, and the alert stopped.
"I need to go to the entrance for a bit," Yun Xiaoxiao told Lu Chen.
"Something wrong?" Lu Chen guessed.
"Not sure, we'll find out when we get there."
Yun Xiaoxiao then looked at Ling Jing standing to the side. "Come along."
It wasn't that she particularly wanted to bring Ling Jing; she was just worried he might suddenly change and bite someone.
"Sure," Ling Jing shrugged nonchalantly, putting his hands in his pockets.
...
"Look, the gate is over here!"
Several cars stopped at the main entrance of the base.
Village chief Liu Wanfu and others got out of the cars.
"My goodness, this gate is huge!" exclaimed Su Kailian, the wife of Liu Wanfu's brother Liu Wanshou, her eyes wide with excitement and shock.
Her son, Liu Chengxing, swaggered forward more brazenly, intending to push the gate open.
"Don't be rash, son! What if there are zombies inside?" Su Kailian hurried to pull him back.
"It's fine, there can't be zombies in this wilderness. We didn't see a single ghost on our way here," Liu Chengxing said, shaking off his mother's hand and heading straight for the gate.
Just as he got within a meter of the gate, a red light swept over him.
He froze in place, too scared to move.
After a few seconds, the red light faded.
Realizing he wasn't hurt, he grew bolder and walked right up to the gate to push it.
But the gate didn't budge an inch.
Since he hadn't seen Yun Xiaoxiao, his intimacy level with her couldn't be detected, so the base only prevented him from entering without directly attacking him.
"What a useless gate, can't even push it open!" he grumbled angrily, kicking the gate.
"Ouch!" The next second, he was thrown back by an invisible force, landing near the car before coming to a stop.
"Son, are you alright?" Su Kailian immediately ran over, worried.
Everyone was startled by this scene.
Watching Liu Chengxing cry out in pain, they all felt a tremor in their hearts.
Could this stone gate attack people?!
Indeed, it was Little Di's avatar that had issued the attack command just now.
Although Liu Chengxing hadn't seen Yun Xiaoxiao and his intimacy level with her couldn't be detected, if he had simply pushed the gate, the base certainly wouldn't have attacked him.
The problem was that this guy was asking for trouble, unnecessarily kicking the gate.
If someone kicks you and you don't retaliate, that's not Little Di's style.
Seeing her son in excruciating pain, Su Kailian became furious. She immediately stood up and pointed at the gate, cursing loudly.
"You people inside, are you sick or something? My son didn't offend you, why did you attack him?!"
She didn't believe the gate could attack people on its own; she thought there must be someone inside playing tricks.
"Let me tell you, I..."
Just as Su Kailian was about to continue her tirade, the gate slowly opened.
A small figure walked out.
