Zombie Apocalypse: Reborn With A Farming Space Chapter 875 875: The Herders ( 8 )

While the other team members gathered folders full of experimental data, Li Sikai worked on breaching the system.

Feng Yun swept his gaze across the room, spotting rows of large glass tubes filled with blue liquid. As he approached, he saw humans inside, hooked up with tubes to their mouths and noses.

They barely looked human anymore, displaying mostly animal-like traits. He lingered before one tube, then questioned, "Is this a chimera?"

Cheng Rui nodded at his remark and responded, "These are probably the failed experiments. This spot seems more dilapidated than the facility in the Land of Snow. They couldn't even bother discarding these rejects."

As soon as those words left his mouth, everyone turned to stare at him. Meeting their eyes, Cheng Rui challenged, "What? Did I say anything off?"

"Cheng Rui, don't you feel any sympathy for these poor souls?" Pei Yixie demanded.

"Why should I?" he countered.

Stunned by his blunt reply, Pei Yixie jabbed a finger at him and stammered, "You… you're too much."

Dismissing her comment lightly, Cheng Rui explained, "This might break your heart and spark your rage, but it's the world I grew up in."

He tapped a nearby tube and went on, "My brother and I were trapped in tubes like these for 8 years. Once we got out, they shipped us to the training grounds. For 7 more years, we dodged death over and over and took countless lives."

"If you want sympathy from me for others, sorry to let you down. I only learned how to kill—no one taught me anything else. To survive, I can't afford weakness."

His words left the team frozen in shock. None had imagined Cheng Rui and Cheng Yue as test subjects from the Facility.

Before learning his past, they saw him as heartless and brutal. Now, knowing the reality, pity washed over them.

Surviving that infernal upbringing was nothing short of miraculous for him and his brother.

Sensing the heavy quiet, Cheng Rui grinned and said, "Save your pity. I never thought my life sucked. Those killing skills I picked up saved my brother and me time and again."

Li Sikai eyed him briefly before stating, "Let's wrap this up and head back to report."

The team jolted back to focus and agreed with nods.

By their return, the sun dipped low. Noticing their somber faces, Xiao Qi wondered aloud, "Brother Sikai, what's up?"

Li Sikai brushed it off with a wave and went straight to brief the Captain on their findings. The others headed off for baths and meals.

Post-dinner, the group convened for a meeting, forming a circle as they awaited updates.

Jin Xuyan settled next to his fiancée and announced, "Today, Sikai and the team scouted the group that arrived earlier."

He unfolded the map onto the low table ahead and indicated marked spots, "Their probe revealed these as survivor capture sites. This mountain houses the herders."

"We're still in the dark about why they're snatching so many folks. But the factory zone hid an underground lab storing chimeras. The docs they nabbed confirm it's the Facility's secret base."

"Captain, heading to the mountain tomorrow?" Lin Fei inquired.

Jin Xuyan affirmed with a nod, adding, "Ah Zhi and Beiye uncovered intel too. They scouted the mountain and spotted Borislav Morozov."

"Clues point to him and his organization fueling the Thirteen Colonies crisis. Our prime goal is retrieving Wen Hanyu, yet we can't ignore this threat."

"Old Yuan, Junjie, Jian Huan, Jian Ziqin, and Beiye—you five handle the Wen Hanyu search. Everyone else, stick with me to the mountain for a full check."

"Captain, those folks?" Zhang Yuan pressed.

Jin Xuyan pondered briefly, then decided, "They're suspicious, but intel's thin. Friend or foe? Unknown. For now, they trail Beiye's squad."

Scanning the group, he instructed, "Hit the sack early tonight. Dawn departure tomorrow."

In chorus, the team acknowledged, "Understood."

Meeting wrapped quickly, then Jiao Lizhi drew her sister aside, loading her up with ample supplies and Sthanam crystals. "This ought to sustain 5,000 people for 2 months."

Du Beiye nodded with a smile. "Sis, no worries. Supplies low? We'll forage en route. With Junjie and the crew, we're solid."

Jiao Lizhi understood yet fretted anyway. Seeing her sister's easy demeanor, she sighed, "Trouble hits, contact me at once."

"Okay," Du Beiye agreed with a nod.

Once she packed her sister's inventory bag to the brim, she handed out supplies, pond water, crystal cores, and Sthanam crystals to the rest.

The sight of such lavish provisions and a hefty crystal haul stunned the members. Even Lunar Base runs hadn't been this loaded. Questions swirled, but they took the goods gratefully.

Night fell deep, and Jiao Lizhi tossed sleeplessly in bed. Abruptly, the mattress dipped beside her, drawing her into a cozy hold.

"Ah Zhi, what's on your mind?" Jin Xuyan murmured.

"It's nothing."

"Worried about tomorrow's mission?" he probed further.