Chapter 54: Decision
Translator: Letty / Editor: DarkGem / IceTea
“You’re an EM?” The captain frowned as Qing Shui confessed; his eyes clearly revealed a look of disbelief.
“Yes, an EM in the cognitive category. I can calculate that your breath frequency is 17.5 per minutes and your heartbeat is 85 per minute, just based on your last breath. And from how you’re standing and talking now, I know that your pulse is a little bit slower than your heartbeat, because you have light cardiac dysrhythmia.” Qing Shui stood with his hands behind his back. “This is something I learned from your physical condition; it’s easy to prove whether I’m lying or not just by having your body checked.”
As he spoke, Qing Shui raised his hands up high indicating that he wouldn"t revolt against the military. At first, the captain was stunned, but then he ordered two soldiers to detain Qing Shui from the room.
The other two soldiers loosened their guard as the captain left the room; as long as there was no organization or personnel that could stand against the military, the control of the military was immovable.
Therefore, those two soldiers removed their concealment and acted eagerly as they greedily stared at the barrels behind Chang’s back. Their Adam’s apples bobbed up and down and their faces were twisted with hunger.
“Hey bro, it seems like you’re quite capable to get this much meat,” The two soldiers implied.
“But it’s a pity that the meat isn’t valuable to us anymore, I don"t even know where I’ll be soon.” Chang understood their implication, so he removed two pieces of frog meat from the barrel and handed it to the soldiers and said, “It must not be easy for you these days; I heard that you guys only have one meal a day. Make yourselves comfortable, I probably won’t be able to bring these with me anyways.”
“Thanks mate!” Their fingers were trembling when they received food from Chang’s hands. “Although we have fixed meals every day, that small piece of biscuit isn’t enough at all! We felt like fainting all the time. You’re really generous, mate!”
“You’re welcome; my friend will be safe with the captain, won’t he?”
“He…. he will be fine!” As if they were afraid of being discovered by the captain, they devoured the piece as soon as it was handed to them. Of course, they didn’t forget about divulging the information that they traded with.
“Let me tell you, if that man is an EM, he will be treated like a treasure. We just got in touch with the military division in the capital city, and we only received three priority orders from above. The first is to maintain the stability in the base, the second is to attempt to grow mutated crops, and last but not least, is about EMs. They really care about these people and I heard from one of my folks from the provincial research inst.i.tute that an EM has power equal to that of a military base. Man, I don"t know if this information is a rumor or not, but your friend will definitely be safe,” The soldiers explained as they tucked into the frog meat hungrily.
“Good to hear that,” Chang relieved with a long sigh. He pulled Jing over from the doorway and glanced at the doctor who reported them; they all stood quietly in the room to wait for the judgment of their fates.
Time pa.s.sed in silence, and after Chang waited for three or four hours, Qing Shui returned. But this time, not only did the captain and two soldiers accompanied him, but also a middle-age man who appeared to have higher rank than any of the others. Chang squinted to count the stars on the man’s epaulet, and he soon learned that this man was a colonel.
Kaifeng was such a small city that a colonel was the highest commander in this military base.
The colonel was skin-headed and his hair showed traces of gray. His face was tanned and expressionless. He had a small belly, but overall he seemed healthy and energetic.
“Are they your companions that you told me about?” The colonel pointed at Chang and others.
“Yes,” Qing Shui nodded.
“Alright, I can fulfill your request, but you need to go to the provincial research inst.i.tute in Zhengzhou with our soldiers as soon as possible, and this is mandatory. I hope you can understand.” The colonel turned to Qing Shui “Of course, there is no doubt that the journey will be dangerous and difficult; we can’t drive cars to send you as we are running out of resources. The wild field is much more dangerous than in the city, therefore I will send troops to protect you on the way to Zhengzhou. This is all I have to say; I’ll be waiting outside of the room. You can discuss your decision with your friends, but give me an answer as soon as you can.”
The colonel closed the door and brought the captain and soldiers with him. They left the room to Qing Shui and others.
“What were you guys talking about?” Chang asked.
“They asked me to join the research group in the provincial research inst.i.tute in Zhengzhou. It seems like they were interested in the red fog since 2 years ago, and recently they have become particularly interested in EMs. They want to built an elite team there to conduct research on the red fog and human genes.” As Qing Shui spoke, he threw his hands in the air, “However, it’s not promising, and I don"t know whether they will invite me to the team or dissect me as a research subject after we get there.”
“Then what should we do?” Pang Zi and Lin seemed to be distressed.
“We don"t have much of a choice… unless Chang is 10 times stronger than he is now. Only then can he can ensure our safety when living outside of the base. For now, we can only obey their orders…” Qing Shui laughed, “But the possibility of them dissecting me is low. I have my own plans as well, so don"t worry.”
“And what did the Colonel say?” Chang asked a critical question.
“He didn’t say a lot, but he meant to force me to go to that inst.i.tute. And you guys… he said that if I obey the order, they will still let you live in the base freely. However, you can also choose to leave with me; the choice of bringing companions was my only request to the Colonel.” Qing Shui grinned reluctantly and glanced at the doctor who appeared to be anxious. He continued to say, “I never thought that this time would come so soon… I was planning to leave this place when I prepared sufficiently or when Chang became stronger and more powerful…But now I must leave, and I didn’t plan for this. How about you guys, do you want to stay here or leave with me?”
“I…” Pang Zi was going to shout out his decision, but Qing Shui interrupted him.
“You don"t need to make a quick and careless decision as the Colonel said. The wild fields are extremely dangerous. Even in the world now, the urban areas are still dominated by humans as the asphalt pavement and all sorts of architecture have slowed down the growth of plants and animals. But when we get into the wild fields, such as a forest or gra.s.slands, the danger will increase exponentially since there will no longer be those barriers.”
“Therefore, I believe it’d be lucky if half of us ever get to Zhengzhou. So think carefully whether you’re leaving or staying.”
“I’m going with you.” Pang Zi shouted out even before Qing Shui finished his sentence. “My mom is dead anyways, and I don"t have other relatives here. I just want to be with you guys. Even though this path is unpredictable and dangerous, I still want to stay with you. I will probably die somewhere in this f*cking world, but dying beside you is less sad and lonely.”
“Okay, so you’re coming; what about you, Lin?” Qing Shui turned to Lin, “Don"t let other people affect your decision. We won’t blame you for your decision.”
“I…” Lin looked into Qing Shui’s eyes, and then she looked away. She glanced at everyone in the room and lowered her head as she said, “I…I am afraid…”
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Ming Yi Shen - Ming Yi is his first name that typed separately. It is a kind of names that often a.s.sociated with the political environment when he was borned. It fits his background if you recall that he was borned and raised in a small village, which is usually isolated from big cities like Beijing, Shanghai. The impact of Mao, the 1st Chairman of PRC isn’t completely vanished in this small town and newborn babies are usually named patriotically. Therefore, Ming usually means bright, honesty, integrity and Yi can mean “be the number one” or just simply because he is the first kid in the family.