Soon, the helicopter located the Signal Flare, hovered directly above the rooftop, and lowered a rope ladder.
"Fatty! You carry Zhang Ming first and go up!" Wang Zhi shouted loudly.
Fatty didn't hesitate; he let Zhang Ming cling tightly to his neck and began climbing the rope ladder toward the helicopter.
After Fatty ascended, Wang Zhi followed, climbing the rope ladder with Jia Liuli right behind him.
"Hurry up and climb!" Wang Zhi grabbed the rope ladder, looked back, and yelled at Old He and Su Muying.
After finishing the last few rounds in their magazines, the two quickly turned back, leaped up, grabbed the rope ladder, and the helicopter immediately ascended, leaving behind only the zombies jumping off buildings, following the chopper's trajectory.
Below the rope ladder, the two held on with one hand, swinging in the air. As the rope ladder was slowly retracted, they finally climbed aboard the helicopter.
"Did you find the item?" On the helicopter, Jie Xi looked down and asked expressionlessly.
"Yes! We found it!"
"Good. What's wrong with him?"
Jie Xi glanced at the injured Zhang Ming as she asked.
"He... his forearm was scratched by a Mutated Zombie. To prevent Infection, I amputated it. I'm sorry, Zhang Ming, I..." Wang Zhi said guiltily. If Zhang Ming hadn't been trying to save him, he wouldn't have been injured.
"It's... not your fault. Who told me... we all chose to keep moving forward, hehehe..." Zhang Ming finished speaking weakly, closing his eyes and chuckling foolishly.
"Mutated Zombie..." Jie Xi repeated the words, then turned to look out the window and fell silent.
Wang Zhi looked at Zhang Ming. He knew clearly that Zhang Ming's lost arm could never be recovered. No matter how much he trained later, the disability would prevent him from continuing to fight. His fate would be to leave the team and remain permanently inside the Dawn Tower. However, Wang Zhi thought this was perhaps for the best; Zhang Ming could live out the rest of his days peacefully. Wang Zhi resolved to allocate a portion of his monthly Survival Points to ensure Zhang Ming's sustenance within the Dawn Tower.
A little over ten minutes later, the helicopter landed at the Base. After everyone jumped out, they immediately took the elevator back up to the Dawn Tower.
Once inside, Wang Zhi rushed out of the elevator and arranged for Zhang Ming to go to the medical bay before proceeding to the decontamination room for inspection.
After emerging from the decontamination room, Wang Zhi first rushed to the medical bay to ask the nurse, "How is he? Has he been Infected?"
"There are no signs of Infection for now. He needs to be observed here for a week," the nurse replied, shaking her head.
"Good, good. Fatty, go buy some congee and rice to take to Zhang Ming," Wang Zhi instructed Fatty.
"You all go back first." After speaking, Wang Zhi turned and looked through the window outside the door at the sleeping Zhang Ming, choosing not to go in and disturb him.
A moment later, after seeing Fatty return carrying a bag of food, the two of them entered Zhang Ming's room.
The two sat by the hospital bed, unsure what to say. Seeing that Zhang Ming was still asleep, Wang Zhi placed the food aside. After waiting a while longer, the two got up to leave. Before departing, Wang Zhi specifically instructed the nurse to call him via Ling Lingyao when Zhang Ming woke up.
After leaving, Wang Zhi went to Wang Zhi's bag, took out the medicine Su Muying had brought back, and proceeded to the Mission Hall to hand over the mission items. Finally, it was confirmed that Wang Zhi and his team had brought back 150 grams of Neomycin, and fifteen thousand Survival Points were credited to their account simultaneously.
Looking at the extra Survival Points in his account, Wang Zhi couldn't feel happy. If he could do it all over again, Wang Zhi would rather not have these Survival Points; he would never have let them enter Z Hospital under any circumstances.
Wang Zhi put away his Magnetic Card and returned to the residence with Fatty.
The four who had returned earlier were already resting in their rooms. Having fought outside for two days, everyone was extremely exhausted. Wang Zhi came out of the bathroom, but instead of going to his own room, he lay down on the sofa in the living room, watching over Ling Lingyao until he finally drifted off to sleep.
....
The fifth floor, inside a certain room.
"Jie Xi, you have left the Tower without authorization twice. Do you truly not know what the consequences will be?"
The speaker was Tower Master Guang; Jie Xi stood before the Tower Master, bowing her head in silence.
"Alas! I know you mean well for the Dawn Tower, but have you ever considered that if those people discover we are still alive, do you think the Dawn Tower can continue to exist?" Seeing Jie Xi remain silent, the Tower Master sighed and spoke to her with earnest gravity.
"Reporting to the Tower Master, I understand."
"Mmm, you may return."
After Jie Xi departed, Tower Master Guang opened the video communication link.
"Doctor Chen, what is the progress on the Viral Antibody Vaccine?"
"Everything is proceeding smoothly so far; the integration rate has already been tested up to 95%."
"Good. Once development is complete, notify them according to team rank priority for free inoculation."
"Understood, Tower Master."
After Doctor Chen confirmed, the Tower Master closed the communication link.
...
The next morning, Wang Zhi awoke on the sofa. The Ling Lingyao was lit up with a message indicator. Wang Zhi opened it; it was a summons from the medical bay. He knew Zhang Ming had woken up.
Wang Zhi went to Fatty's room to wake everyone, only to find Fatty asleep, leaning over the desk with the reading lamp on. Beneath his arm was a portrait of a woman. Wang Zhi picked it up and took a look. Indeed, this Diaochan was quite well-drawn, although Wang Zhi had never seen what Diaochan looked like.
"Hey! Fatty, wake up! Zhang Ming is awake," Wang Zhi said, nudging Fatty.
"Ah! Ah?" Fatty sprang up from his chair, looking around in alarm. Realizing he was in his own room, he finally relaxed.
Then Wang Zhi woke the other three. The five of them headed to the medical room.
When they reached Zhang Ming's room, they found the bed made up neatly; Zhang Ming was gone.
A nurse approached from behind. Wang Zhi turned and saw her holding a tray that contained a white document, a Magnetic Card, and... Zhang Ming's Laxington pistol.
Wang Zhi sensed something was wrong and stepped forward, demanding, "Where is Zhang Ming? Where is the occupant?!"
"He... he's dead."
"D-dead? How?" A jolt went through Wang Zhi.
"He... he requested euthanasia. He personally signed the death waiver," the nurse whispered, keeping her head down.
"Who gave you permission to kill my teammate? Who?! Didn't I tell you all! To notify us the moment he woke up!" Wang Zhi snatched the pistol from the tray and aimed it at the nurse, roaring.
The nurse merely kept her head lowered, unafraid that Wang Zhi might shoot her, because she knew the gun was empty.
"Wang Zhi! Calm down!" Seeing Wang Zhi point the weapon at the nurse, Old He immediately grabbed his wrist and wrestled the gun away.
"Everyone has the right to decide their own life and death. This was Zhang Ming's choice; don't blame the staff here," Su Muying stated coolly from the side.
"I apologize." Wang Zhi realized he had gotten agitated and apologized to the nurse before taking the Magnetic Card and the piece of white paper off the plate.
Seeing that everything had been taken, the nurse quickly scurried away.