Louis squinted his eyes, and the weight on his heart finally lifted.
"Good," he thought to himself. "The door opened just like in the original work. It seems the grenade I prepared won't be needed."
To him, the CDC was a crucial part of the plan.
This was the closest place with complete testing equipment so far.
If they missed this place, heaven knows where the next place capable of this level of testing would be, or if it would even be reliable.
He couldn't place his life on the benevolence of others.
Next, Rick and the others held their guns at the ready and slowly walked into that blinding light.
A man wearing a gray T-shirt, holding a rifle and looking alert, appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Why come here? What do you want?" Dr. Jenner's voice was raspy and cautious.
Rick faced the other's muzzle, stopped walking, and said sincerely, "For a chance."
Hearing this, Dr. Jenner laughed self-deprecatingly. The laughter sounded incredibly desolate in the empty hall. "In this day and age, a chance is a luxury."
"I know," Rick's voice was equally unwavering.
Dr. Jenner's gaze moved past Rick to the terrified women and children behind him. He fell silent for a moment before finally lowering his gun.
"Everyone must undergo a blood test. You can only come in after the testing is done."
"No problem," Rick agreed without hesitation.
"Then you'd better move your luggage in quickly." Jenner stepped aside, clearing the path.
"Once this door closes, it stays closed."
Hearing this, everyone immediately scrambled to move their backpacks and supplies from the vehicles, entering one after another.
The joy of surviving the ordeal overwhelmed everything; no one pondered the meaning of the doctor's words.
The moment the last person stepped into the CDC, Dr. Jenner immediately gave a command to the ceiling: "Vi, seal the main entrance."
"Understood," an electronic female voice responded.
The shutter door slowly lowered behind them, accompanied by a heavy locking sound, completely cutting off that desperate world outside.
Hearing the sound from behind, Louis's heart stirred slightly.
The words the doctor just said were very important, but no one cared at this moment.
In the original work, it was precisely because of this "unopenable" door that Rick's group was nearly trapped inside when they finally learned the place was about to self-destruct.
But Louis believed there should be a hidden prerequisite.
If this door truly "couldn't be opened once closed," then the previous CDC staff wouldn't have been able to leave, and Jenner couldn't have opened the door for them so easily just now.
The only explanation was that this door would only lock completely after entering "emergency mode" due to an energy shortage.
So right now, this doctor... likely already has a death wish. When he said "stays closed," he probably never intended to open it again.
However, Louis knew that this doctor didn't intend to kill them on purpose; rather, he truly believed there was no hope left in the outside world.
Instead of struggling to survive in the cruel apocalypse, it would be better to welcome the final "decontamination" here without pain. For everyone, this might be the best release.
Under Dr. Jenner's guidance, the group passed through several heavy isolation doors.
The place was brightly lit, the air circulation system was still running quietly, the medical facilities looked intact, and there was even an artificial intelligence that could talk to people guiding them.
This scene formed a sharp contrast with the collapsed world outside, as if it had brought them back to the time before the apocalypse in an instant. Even Louis couldn't help but feel a bit dazed.
Everyone lined up for blood tests. When it was the children's turn, they all seemed a bit listless, leaning against their parents and feeling drowsy.
"They're just exhausted." Lori held Carl close, feeling pained. "Maybe everyone needs to rest for a while."
Dr. Jenner sighed upon hearing this.
"You're right." He didn't insist on seeing the results first. "Follow me."
He led the group through several heavy security doors. When the last door slid open, everyone stopped in their tracks.
A wave of warmth hit their faces.
What appeared before them was a brightly lit communal living area.
On the long table in the center of the area, clean tableware and several bottles of red wine were already set out.
This sight made everyone almost stop breathing.
"My god..." Carol subconsciously covered her mouth, her eyes instantly reddening.
Jenner didn't seem to notice their shock; he walked straight through the living area to a kitchen on one side.
He pulled open a massive freezer door, and white cold air surged out. Behind the door was a mountain of intact food reserves.
"The cold storage and pantry are still operational."
Jenner explained plainly, as if it were the most normal thing. "Sit down. I think before we talk about the end of the world, you have the right to have a real lunch first."
This lunch was so feast-like it felt like returning to the peaceful era before the apocalypse.
Warm food, mellow red wine, clean tableware. The long-suppressed survivors completely relaxed, and the dining table was filled with long-lost laughter, as if they had temporarily forgotten the cruelty of the apocalypse.
With Rick's permission, Carl even curiously took a small sip of red wine, only to be immediately choked by the sour and astringent taste, making him frown.
He leaned over to Louis and complained in a low voice, "This is way worse than the 'Potion' you make..."
Louis: "..."
Morales, Glenn, and the others nearby couldn't help but burst into laughter upon hearing this.
Everyone was enjoying themselves, but Rick noticed that the doctor seemed a bit out of it, sitting alone in a corner with a lonely expression.
Rick was about to say something when Morales was the first to raise his wine glass.
"It seems we haven't thanked our host for entertaining us yet? Come! A toast... a toast to our host!"
Everyone raised their glasses to thank Dr. Jenner.
After a few glasses of wine, Shane put down his glass.
He glanced at his relaxed companions, then at Jenner drinking alone, wiped his mouth, and broke the joyful atmosphere:
"Doctor, when do you plan to tell us what exactly happened here?"
"Why is it that in such a big place, you're the only one left?"
The laughter stopped abruptly, and the atmosphere instantly became somewhat awkward.
"Hey, man," Morales saw this and immediately tried to smooth things over. "We just escaped death; can't we enjoy this damn Merlot first? There's always time for questions."
"It's fine." Dr. Jenner shook his head indifferently, his voice low.
"After the disaster struck, many people left," the doctor said. "They went to find their families."
"Later, the environment worsened, military defenses were overrun, and everyone else fled."
"Everyone?" Shane pressed.
"No." Dr. Jenner looked at the ground absently. "Many people... couldn't face the world outside. They had no choice."
Everyone seemed to understand something, and their expressions darkened.
"Many committed suicide."
Andrea's hand tightened around her wine glass, and she asked softly, "You didn't leave. Why?"
"I chose to stay," Dr. Jenner's voice carried a sense of exhaustion. "I just wanted to do something useful, to continue my research."
His words were plain, yet they carried a bone-chilling sorrow. The atmosphere at the table became incredibly heavy; no one knew how to respond.
But just then, Jim, who had been silent, suddenly raised his glass.
He looked at Dr. Jenner as if he were a bit drunk, speaking in a tone that was almost like a murmur:
"Never give up."
Dr. Jenner was stunned for a moment and looked at him.
Jim's eyes were slightly out of focus, as if looking through him, or perhaps looking through something else:
"The more desperate the situation, the more the future can be seen."