Staring at the helicopter in the sky, Bai Ruo's eyes were practically boring holes through it.
She suspected that the people in the helicopter had taken all those items away!
As the aircraft gradually disappeared into the distance, Bai Ruo's expression grew increasingly grim.
The convoy sped through the streets, directly ramming through any zombies they encountered.
Soon after, the vehicles left the urban area and headed toward the suburbs.
After driving for some distance, the convoy arrived at an ancient city gate.
Heavy military forces guarded both the entrance and the city walls.
Upon seeing the convoy's flags, the guards automatically opened the gates.
The vehicles drove straight through without stopping.
Inside the ancient city, rows of streets were lined with traditional buildings, exuding classical charm.
If it weren't for the people wearing modern clothes, one might think they had traveled back in time.
The entire city was vast, comparable to a medium-sized town.
The convoy continued forward until it split up at an intersection.
Finally, only one car continued ahead.
The vehicle eventually stopped in front of a luxurious traditional courtyard house.
Bai Ruo got out of the car.
Two fully armed men followed behind her.
As they entered, the guards at the door all bowed to her, addressing her as 'Miss Bai.'
Here, she represented power, and she had every right to be proud.
Her father was the commander of the Northern Armed Forces, the leader of the entire Northern Base, and a formidable wielder of Lighting supernatural ability.
Her mother was the Deputy Director of the National Health Commission and a brilliant pharmaceutical researcher.
She could walk with her head held high in the base, and no one dared to speak ill of her.
However, the moment she stepped through the door, she seemed to transform into a different person.
Gone was the gloom in her eyes and her air of arrogance.
Instead, she became much more demure.
Inside the house, an elegant woman with her hair in a bun sat reading in a pavilion.
Her relaxed posture conveyed a sense of peaceful contentment.
"Mom."
She walked over and called out obediently.
Sheng Shuya slowly looked up, revealing a gentle and graceful face.
Though time had left some traces on her face, it hadn't diminished her beauty.
However, her face bore no resemblance to Bai Ruo's.
"Oh, it's Ruo Ruo, come sit here."
Sheng Shuya patted the seat beside her.
Bai Ruo obediently sat down and looked around curiously.
"Where's Dad?"
"He seems to have gone out for something."
"Oh."
"Did you need him for something?"
Bai Ruo lowered her head like a child who had done something wrong.
"I messed up the mission. Someone took all the items from the research institute before we got there."
"They were taken?"
Sheng Shuya put down her book and frowned slightly.
She knew about sending Bai Ruo's team to retrieve equipment from the research institute.
She had previously authorized the rescue mission there.
She knew that people suddenly turning into biting monsters must be due to the zombie virus within them.
To save humanity, they needed to develop a vaccine for the virus as quickly as possible.
That's why she had placed such importance on this matter.
"I'm sorry, Mom. It's all my fault. If only I had gone earlier, or if we had driven faster..."
She hung her head in disappointment.
Sheng Shuya patted her shoulder, "Don't blame yourself. This isn't your fault.
What's gone is gone. If they took these items, they probably have the same goal as us.
They must also want to develop a vaccine against the zombie virus.
I'll ask your father later to see if we can get some research equipment and medicines from elsewhere."
"Mm, okay."
Bai Ruo pressed her lips together.
"Well Mom, I'll go rest now."
"Alright, go ahead."
Only when Bai Ruo turned away did a flash of dissatisfaction cross her eyes.
It's always like this!
No matter what mistakes she made, her mom always acted so indifferent, never scolding her!
This wasn't how a normal mother treated her child.
Other mothers, while being gentle with their children, would still scold them when necessary, but her mom never did.
It was as if nothing she did mattered.
Well, of course - she wasn't their biological child after all.
She had known this since she was ten years old.
At that time, her mom was pregnant.
Once, while excitedly carrying a handcraft she had made to show her parents, she accidentally overheard their conversation in the room.
From that conversation, she learned that she wasn't their biological daughter!
She was the child of her father's fellow soldier.
Her biological father had died saving her current father during a mission.
Her biological mother, unable to bear the grief, had committed suicide by jumping from a building.
Her father was an orphan with no parents.
Her biological mother had married her biological father against her parents' wishes, so her grandparents refused to acknowledge or raise her.
That's why her father had brought her home and raised her himself.
When she learned all this, her entire world seemed to collapse.
The happy family she thought she had didn't actually belong to her!
Looking at the heavily pregnant Sheng Shuya, she had been extremely worried.
Although her father loved her, he was very busy and rarely home.
And her mother never scolded her, always choosing to support whatever she did.
While this was nice and gave her lots of freedom, she always felt there was something missing - that special closeness between mother and daughter.
She wondered if her mother would act the same way with her biological daughter.
Surely she would be like normal mothers then, praising good behavior and punishing mistakes.
The more she thought about it, the more jealous she became.
She feared that once her mother's baby was born, she would become the abandoned one.
No longer receiving her parents' love.
She absolutely couldn't let that happen!
So during that time, she was constantly in a bad mood and depressed.
Sheng Shuya noticed her unhappiness, and when one of her close friends was getting married, she took Bai Ruo to another province.
Partly to attend her friend's wedding, and partly to help Bai Ruo take her mind off things.
But an accident still occurred.
On their return journey, while heading to catch their flight,
Sheng Shuya's water suddenly broke, and she went into labor mid-journey.
They had to find the nearest small clinic.
At the time, besides one bodyguard, it was just her and her mom.
After the baby was born, the bodyguard had gone to buy food.
Her mom was unconscious.
Looking at the infant nestled in her mother's arms, her jealousy grew even stronger.
At that time, there was another woman in her mother's hospital room who had just given birth.
That woman had suffered heavy bleeding and was rushed back to surgery.
The nurse responsible for watching the babies had gone outside to get water.
The sleeping infant suddenly woke up and kept crying, irritating her immensely.
She walked over and covered the infant's face with a pillow.
Gradually, the crying stopped.
Only then did she remove the pillow.
But when she looked, she was terrified.
The infant had stopped breathing!
