Heine's simple response of 'I know' burrows deep into Xiao's thoughts. This simple phrase creates a clear direction and his thoughts begin to orient along a very specific trajectory. Xiao Yan now understands his purpose in life for the very first time. He feels there is a clear meaning to his existence.
Although he is under tight supervision from the special task force, Xiao Yan no longer resents it or longs for life outside.
This new attitude makes Maya very sad.
For example, today the two are sharing a meal at the dining hall as Maya vividly and excitedly describes to him a new high end bar that has opened up in the city. "Oh Xiao you cannot even imagine this place. Its call the Crystal Bar. The bar is actually made of crystal. Crystal! Plus it rotates a full 360 degrees. They even have 12 bartenders performing together."
"Hm." Xiao Yan nodded, obviously not listening to anything Maya is saying.
A disgruntled Maya expressed his discontent by raising his voice, in an effort to coax some excitement from Xiao Yan.
"They also have aerial performers. You should see some of their moves. The level of difficulty is amazing, they pull off tricks that I don't think even our special forces can do. Just wait until your supervision ends. I'll take you out to play on the town. It is even fancier than the Blue Tulip."
"Hm." Xiao Yan lowered his head, he has been chewing the same bite of food continuously for about six solid minutes.
Maya couldn't resist moving Xiao's plate away from him. In his distracted state, he didn't notice at all. He went to take another bite of food and his fork slammed against the table.
It took him another ten seconds to realize something wasn't right. "Ah...where is my plate?"
He finally raised his head up to see Maya looking at him with a very dissatisfied expression.
"Ah...that..Maya...what were you saying?
"I said that Lily, your classmate, passed the exam to become the alternate Liaison officer to General Ervel."
"Oh, good for her!" Xiao Yan's face reveals a pleased expression.
"Just a congratulations? Is that all?" Maya's head lifted in surprise.
Xiao looked at him blankly. Other than congratulations, what else was he supposed to say?
Maya sighed deeply and lowered his head, muttering in exasperation. "Other than research, is there anything else in your head?"
Xiao Yan just smiled in response, right now his thoughts were constantly consumed with his research.
He has never been so eager to find an answer.
As Xiao was processing data in his lab, Gordon and another middle aged man looked over at him from the upper deck observation room.
"So you have been watching him. The first person to approve his initial research report was you." Gordon's hand rested comfortably in the pocket of his military pants. His eyes flicked to the side to glance over at the General.
"It seems your decision was solid to send him on that mission. He was indeed the best person to conduct the final field study." General Ervel's fingers lightly tap against the glass.
"It wasn't that you were wrong, you simply lack the courage to take a risk. That is why I have Heine Burton watching over him. So far Heine has missed nothing win regards to Xiao Yan's safety." As he talked about his favorite subordinate, the General's face broke into a proud smile.
"While Xiao Yan seems well equipped to research the comet virus, our ability to ensure his safety and keep his brain in his skull becomes increasingly difficult...we have no way of being certain we can continue do so."
General Gordon stepped in front of Ervel and placed his hand on the glass beside his head. He leaned forward, his body consuming the distance between him and Ervel. "Hey, worrying too much will cause you to lose sight of the goal. Don't underestimate my task force and do not underestimate Xiao Yan."
Ervel chuckled. "I will wait and see."
A few days later, Xiao Yan synthesized a new type of virus. He based it on his previous studies of the comet virus and applied a similar mechanism to his past attempts. He has conducted repeated experiments and system simulation on the new virus. If successful, this will be the longest lasting x-2. It can be used to administer to ordinary soldiers when dealing with small scale zombie attacks.
Xiao Yan's lips curl at the corners in a satisfied smirk. He has gone further than many of the most elite researchers. He loaded the injection gun and headed toward the door.
At that moment, the alarm sounded.
Xiao Yan had to immediately abandon his study and lock down his data. He enter the surveillance system and was shocked at the situation. There were countless zombies crowding the corridor. The two guards at his door were busy killing them, but the more they took down, the more seemed to pour into the hall.
"What was going on?"
Xiao Yan looked through the building's security. For training and research purposes, several zombies were stored in various rooms around the building. At the moment, all of these rooms seemed to be unlocked. The HQ is in chaos. All available Special Forces were busy clearing the halls.
Xiao Yan had reasoned that someone must have invaded the internal system of the building with the purpose of creating this chaos. Other than the Central Academy of Sciences, the terminal security here is unmatched. Whoever invaded seems to have complete control over the system. There is only one way for that to occur. They must be within the Headquarters, and their rank must be quite high to have the necessary security clearance to accomplish such a task.
But...what was their end game?
...Maybe to clear all obstacles between them and the brain of a certain researcher?
Xiao Yan's finger trembled and he looked at the display, surveying the situation. He discovered the release of zombies is coming from two training rooms on the same floor. The passage is a closed loop, so the zombies cannot go anywhere. All they can do is rush to the end of the hall.
This is where Xiao's lab is located.
They were herding the zombies toward his research room!
Suddenly the doors to his lab slid open and countless zombies rushed inside. The guards attempt to enter and protect Xiao Yan, but there are too many. The moment they clear a path, the door to the research room slides closed.
Xiao Yan frantically hit the button, but the door did not respond.
He curses his slow realization, this is not a coincidence. Their goal is him!
Without thinking, Xiao Yan raised the injection gun and unloaded the virus into his body.
The zombies rush menacingly toward him.
They are ready to tear the bones from his body and feast on his flesh.
The agent flows through his blood, sinking into every cell. His ability to visually distinguish the minutest of details increases exponentially. The movements of the zombies appear as though they play out in slow motion. He is able to determine where they are going to move before they finish the action.
He raises his hand and slams against one the zombies. The corpse's bones crush beneath the blow. He immediately lifts his leg and kicks out, the zombie smashed against the wall, black decay splatters out like mud.
He pictures Heine in his mind and imagines his movements during combat. His body followed the imagery and Xiao's elbow cracks the chest of another zombie, then he quickly snaps its necks.
There are three left. They move in close to Xiao Yan then blindly rush at him from all directions.
Xiao hunched low and then slammed an upper cut against the zombies chin. The bone cracked loudly and he kicked the corpse's knee and punched through the spine of the third.
The remaining two zombies begin to shakily lumber toward him again.
Xiao Yan snorted impatiently and knocked them against each other, instantly shattering their skulls.
The entire laboratory is quiet.
Outside the glass window of the lab, the special forces knock on the door gesturing for Xiao to come out.
Xiao Yan pressed the button but the door was still locked.
__________________________
General Gordon's face sank into a creased frown as he listen to the siren go off.
"Attention all, the i-level control system has failed, the j-level isolation system has failed. All zombies housed in these areas are released. All standby combat personnel are needed to contain the situation!"
The alarm repeats on a loop, and Heine who was standing next to Gordon suddenly rushed toward Gordon's door. The exit has been temporarily locked down and Heine commands the general.
"Open the door!"
"You're going to go clear the zombies?"
"Xiao's research room is on the i-floor!"
Gordon's shoulders suddenly tense. "Jessica immediately deploy our forces toward Xiao Yan's research lab."
Heine rushed out of the room before the door completely opens.
Gordon continues to deliver orders to the liaison officer. "Give me a report on the situation regarding Xiao Yan's research lab on the i-floor.
"A large number of zombies have converged on the lab, but all have been dispatched. The channels leading to Xiao Yan's research room are closed off. We are locked out of the system, and the door cannot be opened."
Gordon review the situation from the hologram display, two special forces are attempting to open the door to the lab. The room is a mess, and zombies litter the ground. Only Xiao Yan remains inside.
Except...he could not possibly kill so many zombies.
No ordinary person could have possibly taken out so many, even armed soldiers with extensive combat experience. Gordon assumes that Xiao has injected himself with the x-2. The level of progress in his research has clearly reached a point where the enemy would resort to such measures.
Gordon clenched his teeth and barked an order. "No matter what the price, you must ensure Xiao Yan's safety."
______________
Xiao Yan evaluated his situation. It was obvious that the Surge had invaded the headquarters main control system. They had locked the door, indicating that they had intended for him to be isolated in the lab. The lab contains lines of various aerosolized drug formulations. They could easily infiltrate the system and release a toxic agent. In this confined space, the poison would be lethal.
Even if outside the door he encounters zombies, the special forces are experts at clearing that problem. If he had happened to be with the special forces, their tactic would have been useless, Xiao Yan would be perfectly safe. Which means the zombie release was not their ultimate scheme.
Xiao Yan connected to his terminal and merged with the system. He prepares to open his research room door. Suddenly he is overwhelmed with a powerful force, it tore into his mind and rapidly devoured his thoughts. A blocker! This blocker was different than the ones that he had encountered before. The other's had aimed to destroy his mind, this one was actively pulling his thoughts away to steal his research data.
Xiao Yan is helpless to defend against himself. He cannot form a barrier to protect his thoughts, everything is laid out in front of the blocker; spread like a feast for them to heartily consume.
The penetrative force is burrowing and splitting through his neurons. All of his thoughts on his research project are being dragged out. Xiao goes to disconnect the terminal and break the connection, only to find out that he can't connect his mind to his limbs.
He is completely paralyzed!
Shit! This was bad. The blocker must have interrupted his brain's ability to transmit signals.
Xiao Yan panicked and scattering everything he knew about the x-2 virus to delay them from getting all the information.
Someone please...Hurry and find me!
Xiao heart tightens and his brain is racing. His thoughts race against the blocker like a centrifuge. The speed with which he chases down Xiao's thoughts is astonishing.
He knows he can't keep up. Xiao desperately sequesters his analysis of Heine Burton's blood samples and the comet virus studies. They cannot get away with this information!
Suddenly layers of security doors were opened as the Special Task Force began to regain control of the system. Heine rushed through the security gate and reached the front of the research room.
"Colonel! The door is locked!" The two special forces hurry to report the situation.
Heine sees Xiao wearing a terminal connecter and his pupils shake. He grabbed the gun at his waist.
"Colonel! What are you doing! You can't open the door with a gun!"
"Step aside!"
Heine fires a shot against the door. Although a deep dent forms between the door and the wall, the entryway is still sealed. Heine reached behind his back and unsheathed his blade, jamming it against the depression.
The special forces finally understand Heine's action. The door slides seamlessly into the wall, the shot created a perfect divot for Heine to use as a fulcrum point to lever his blade against.
Heine put one foot on the wall, to better exert his force, and pressed the handle, his whole body was engaged in the action. He ground his teeth as the blade began to bend under his strength; the door was pried open to a thumb width gap.
"Help!" Heine barked.
The two special forces rushed to engage their blades in the same action. When the door, slammed open Heine didn't hesitate to reach out.
Heine pushed himself into the small space, with a low voice he ground out, "Let go!"
The two commandos were horrified at his order, not daring to let go. Once they released the handle of their blades, the door would quickly revert to its closed position. If Heine was unable to make it through in time, he would be smashed between the heavy doors.
"Colonel!"
"There is no time!" Heine said.
Just as they pulled their blades out of the way, Heine squeezed through. The heavy door closed and the soldiers quickly glanced through the door to see Heine hurry toward Xiao Yan.
Heine stood in front of Xiao and touched his fingertips. He grabbed the other terminal connecter.
Xiao was currently hiding himself. Suddenly he felt a powerful force pour into his brain, it ripped through the hold on his thoughts and wrapped securely around him. Tendrils of this force extended outward, giving chase to the blocker. Under such a strong attack the blocker has no choice but to withdraw from Xiao's mind.
Xiao Yan was truly scared, his whole being is exhausted. He feels the terminal being removed from his head and takes a chaotic breath, his vision is blurred.
When he could finally make out Heine's cold face, he felt his heart fall back into his chest.
"Heine." He chokes out the sound.
"Hey... look at me and slow your breathing."
Heine's voice is calm and it begins to sooth Xiao's erratic thoughts, allowing them to realign.
His fingers run through Xiao's sweaty hair, and his eyes were stern but warm.
"I... my body can't move..."
"You can move. Picture your thoughts moving from your brain to flow down your arms, reaching into your wrists and entering your fingertips. "
Xiao Yan closed his eyes and imagined the flow of thoughts as Heine described.
"Now, move your fingertips."
Heine's voice was cold and sensible, but his tone was unexpectedly patient.
Xiao Yan's fingers begin to move. The slight action actuates his senses and he took control of his body. The first thing he did was grab onto Heine's wrist.
"Now stand up with me."
Xiao shakily gets up, as he moves his sense of balance gradually recovers.
He gasped and panted looking severely as Heine.
Comforting him, Heine rubbed his thumb over Xiao's forehead.
Outside the door, the zombies continued to rush up. A cold blade cut them to pieces. A stealthy figure leaped from the wall, and sliced through the remaining zombies.
"Colonel Wallace..." The special forces responsible for protecting Xiao Yan were shocked by his skill.
Jane's eyes slid over them and said indifferently, "How do you protect him?"
Jane entered Xiao's research room, and watched Xiao's sweat slicked face pressed against Heine Burton.
"You will need to let you brain recover. Tell me, you know that the Surge had invaded the main system, so why the hell did you connect to your terminal?"
"Jane..."Xiao stumbled on his speech as he called his name. The invasion was still affecting his brain's language centers.
"Colonel Burton, I don't think one person is enough to protect him now."
Janes eye's hold no temperature.
As Heine passed by Jane, he grabbed ahold of Heine and lowered his voice. "Ervel is talking with General Gordon about what happened here today."
"Even so Xiao Yan is not returning to the Institute."
Mark and Liv have reached the door, "Boss, Ervel is heading over. He wants to meet with Xiao Yan,"
"Ervel..."Xiao Yan looked over at Heine. He didn't expect as a new graduate to be able to meet with the head of the whole Academy.
Heine didn't look back. "Let's go."
Xiao Yan swiftly followed behind him, his heart was uneasy.
But no matter who he is facing, Xiao Yan has nothing to worry about. He closed his eyes and steeled his mind.
All passages are still being cleared of zombies.
A zombie with only half his sternum and one arm remaining refuses to give up on Xiao Yan. He reaches out hungrily.
Heine lowered his eyes, and then he swiftly kicks the zombie right into the collector.
They arrived in front of Gordon's office and the liaison officer was waiting at the door.
Heine turned into the office, his expression was calm and unruffled. When his long slender fingers reached for him, Xiao felt his heart stutter.
His fingers straightened Xiao's collar and smoothed the folds over his shoulders.
With Heine so close, Xiao can only see his eyelids with his head lowered to focus on his uniform.
"Go ahead."
"Yes, Colonel." Suddenly all his hesitation and self-consciousness disintegrated. No matter who stood in front of him in that room, Xiao Yan was ready to calmly face it.
The liaison officer opened the door and Xiao Yan stepped inside.
In front of him was a neat desk. Sitting at the large table was Gordon. His normally jovial face was serious, not even a shadow of a smile stretched across his features.
"General."
Xiao straightened his posture and assumed a military stance.
Gordon angled his head and Xiao Yan followed his eyes to see a gray haired man dressed in a military uniform.
"Hello Xiao Yan,"
His voice was drawn out and mellow, his lips seemed to curl with a hint of laughter. The lines at the corner of his eyes were mature and charismatic; his brown gaze liquid with deep wisdom.
"Sir!" Xiao turned toward him and repeated his salute.
This is General Ervel, he is responsible for the entire Central Academy of Sciences and leads the technological advances present in all of the Shire.
He is younger than Xiao imagined. His eyes were filled with a severe power but it didn't leave one squirming to escape it.
"You are Xiao Yan."
They were currently in Gordon's office, although Ervel out ranked Gordon, his is only a visitor.
Since Xiao had entered the office, Ervel sat quietly on the parlor sofa. At first, he seemed to suppress his presence, but the moment Xiao Yan turns to face him, the aura of the man revealed overwhelming power.
"Yes, sir!"
Ervel leaned back on the sofa and his face relaxed, "I have been paying attention to you since your research led to an antidote to the Surge's biochemical weapon. I heard that you have created an x-2 virus. The problem is, it is very rapidly metabolized."
"Sir I have not yet solved this problem. I have been able to extend its activity in the human body to 21 minutes and 24 seconds."
Ervel laughed.
"That is revolutionary progress. However its limited duration is not only due to the virus itself, but its interaction with the body's immune system." He propped his chin up in his hand and looked intently at Xiao Yan. His sharp probing eyes gave Xiao Yan a sense of unsteadiness, as though he were being pulled into those wise orbs. "The answer is not to compromise the body's immunity but to trick it into thinking the virus is not a foreign body. Then you can use the virus to permanently alter the genes, effecting a permanent change."
Romance was the driving force for the direction of Xiao's research.
Having the head of the Academy personally give him advice, knocked Xiao's soul sky high. He stood in awe at the wise General. He didn't come back to his senses until Gordon left his seat to stand between them.
"Alright Ervel we know that you are the smartest man on the planet, but what did you come here to say?"