49 3.8

The zombie's jaws snapped open and close like a rabid hound. He was restless after being immobilized and stretched out his claws to scratch at the restrainer.

He really was not afraid of choking.

But his claws were no joke and did manage to take a few swipes at Feng Mian's exposed flesh. She bled from the wound and the wisps of her blood suspended in the vacuum of water. The zombie grew even more agitated after smelling the scent of fresh blood.

With a close-up view, Feng Mian saw for herself how sharp those razor teeth were; each and every tooth transformed into a knife's tip.

She used her other hand to hold his lower jaw in place so he would no longer be able to keep it open. There was a sound of bones cracking as Feng Mian accidentally dislocated the jaw bone entirely.

System 555: "So strong ah!"

555 provided moral support from the sidelines and waved the Feng Mian's country flag upright. It cheered on, "Our Feng family is the best~ Your zombies can attest! This daddy's host is the boss with two breasts~ You all can undress! Go, Feng!"

Feng Mian refuses to comment on her system's garbage rhyming abilities.

She asserted more force in her hands. The sound underwater circulated much clearer and the crunching sounds of his facial bones rupturing echoed like crystal chimes.

Mahogany coloured blood trickled from his decomposed face made even more grotesque. Feng Mian could only shut her eyes and continue squeezing.

Once his lower face was completely broken into, she held the top and bottom half of his head with her two hands. Force was exerted in two opposite directions so that his head would hideously detach from its vertebrae.

Snap.

Even the ligaments were split cleanly off. His head hit the floor and rolled down several tiles.

Feng Mian wanted to gag.

She snagged the two identical necklaces from the part of his neck that was still intact with the rest of his body.

System 555: "Can you tell which one's the real one?"

Feng Mian swam upwards to catch a long breath. It seemed like the water flow had stopped momentarily during her fight with the zombie but had continued its momentum after they finished. This would be her last chance for air.

She traced the two key wards and knew that only one would be able to open the gate. The researchers weren't kidding.

System 555: "How to tell which is the real diamond?"

Feng Mian tried hard to utilise all her brain cells into remembering.

Feng Mian: "... Density."

System 555: "What?"

Feng Mian: "In chemistry class. At high school. The density of natural element."

The density of diamond, was it higher or lower than water?

She dropped both keys in what was now a swimming pool of turbid waters and watch them plunge. One of them sunk faster than the other.

System 555 flattered earnestly, "Good thinking, Feng Mian!"

Feng Mian dove to fetch the key that sunk nearly all the way to the bottom and swam to the closed front gate. There was an indented section in the wall, and in the middle was a keyhole that could barely be seen in the darkness of the water if not for her enhanced vision.

The key was inserted in and twisted charily.

Clank.

No piranhas.

At once, water drained from the chamber faster than it came in until only her ankles were left submerged in water.

The gate's gears shifted open.

As the gate slowly slid up, she saw the semblance of a person's shoes, then their belt, the gate further rose to reveal their chest, and finally his face.

Ye Junli.

His chest undulated as if he had run all the way here in a hurry. His tie that was always orderly in place, fastened by a gold clasp, was crooked.

Ye Junli had indeed run here whilst he was in the middle of fixing his tie when Assistant Meng sent an SOS signal. When he arrived, 119's cabin had already been flooded, and the lab's retained zombie kept in the upper flow was released.

He came across Bao Cheng in the anteroom and saw red.

One moment Bao Cheng was standing and the next thing he knew, he had been pressed to the ground. He wasn't given time to utter one sarcastic word before punch after punch landed on him. The bastard Ye Junli even aimed for the face!

"Open the goddamn gate." Ye Junli said between punches.

"F***! Get off me!" Bao Cheng was too bust protecting his face to land a punch back.

This time it was Ye Junli who Assistant Meng had to constrain. He tried to lift his boss away by grabbing hold of his upper body.

Ye Junli wasn't budging. Assistant Meng didn't know it was possible to set an iceberg on fire, but the iceberg is on fire.

"Boss Ye! We can't open the gate now! Containment 06 is in there!"

Ye Junli gave one last punch and threw Bao Cheng aside. He jumped to his feet to look inside the flooded cabin. Assistant Meng had never seen him with such a grave expression.

Bao Cheng who had been punched until his gum bled spat his blood mixed saliva. He wiped the traces from his mouth.

"You're batshit crazy Ye Junli! She's just an experiment! Barely a human!"

Ye Junli's fist clenched anxiously as he saw the zombie giving chase underwater. Luckily, 119 could swim even faster.

"You know how important this experiment is! If she can solve this, there's hope for the entire humanity! Get your head in the f***ing game Ye Junli!"

When Ye Junli turned to face him, Bao Cheng was startled at the sharp hostility in those dark orbs. A storm was brewing.

"You better hope nothing happens." His threat was left hanging but the message was clear. If something happened to 119 Bao Cheng wouldn't escape unscathed.

It was good for Bao Cheng's sake that Feng Mian did manage to eliminate Containment 06 and solve the puzzle in the end. Watching it happen live, Assistant Meng and Bao Cheng marvelled at how advanced 119's adaptability was.

"See, what's I tell you? Nothing to worry about. 119 is perfectly able to handle Containment 06. This means she could join the scout--"

Ye Junli would rather hear dogs barking than listen to Bao Chen running his mouth. Once the gate began to open, he rushed past the door to see his experiment.

Feng Mian was a drenched rat who just finished fighting a battle and was dubious about the gravity on land.

Before she could put the pieces together and steady herself, her body had already been engulfed in a warm embrace.

Her voice was timid and raucous. "I sure hope for your sake that it wasn't you who set the piranhas up."

Ye Junli was unconcerned about his own clothes absorbing the wetness. He turned to ask Bao Cheng coldly.

"Piranhas?"

"Huh? Oh, that. Of course not. That was just a bluff, there weren't any piranhas. If she didn't get the right key, we would still drain the water out."

Bao Cheng was unrepentant and spoke as if he was only playing a harmless joke.

The lights in the anteroom and cabin flickered wildly. Feng Mian's eyes changed hues from hazel to a golden yellow.

Her laughter sounded cynical.

"Oh? Then why don't I put you in a room with one of those ugly things and let you find a key to get yourself out?"

Feng Mian's tone made Bao Cheng's hair stand on end. There was also a feeling of being zapped with static shock. He wanted to immediately shut the gate.

But the warning in 119's eyes made him stay put. He rubbed the back of his head pensively. Never would he admit that there was something capable of making him nervous.

"Tch. You should thank me. We just tested your potential to adapt to the outside world. Now you're in the green. The laboratory has a reason to take you on-site and the higher-ups wouldn't have a reason to say no. What, are you going to say you don't want to go?"

Feng Mian snickered. "Don't turn black into white. I'll remember debts people owe me. You better watch your back-- what's his name?"

The question was directed to Ye Junli.

"Bao Cheng," he answered her.

"Right. You better watch your back stupid Bao!"

Bao Cheng humphed loudly but dare not dispute. He strode out of the room in anger and the door banged loudly after his leave.

Assistant Meng: 'These days their base leader has taken many hits. This pair of couple, one called him ugly, and the other called him stupid.'