System, are you messing with me? - Chapter 45: Chapter 45

After the fight in the north of the Base ended with only minimal casualties, Shu Ning and Zhao Yang left to assist the fighters in the east and then in the west. The south was luckily spared from the approaching zombies as the people were already having trouble defending against the onslaught of undead as it was. It was only thanks to the two of them that the battle ended so favorably for humanity.
Once the last zombie was taken care off and the civilians settled back into their lives again the relief of the people became palpable. So did the hope and the determination that their race could survive the end of the world. Only Xu Dan's mood has obviously soured following the towns restabilisation.
Most of that was due to the fact that Shu Ning's and Zhao Yang's achievements during the fight was on everyone's lips. In no time the two of them were recognized as the strongest ability users the Base had to offer. Of corse Xu Dan wouldn't be happy to share the lime light with anyone let alone his useless step-brother.  Thanks to his own skills in healing he himself had just barely made the cut to stand in the same position as the other. Vexing how someons existence could completely throw his plans into the wind. This needed to be taken care off at the earliest convenience.
A happy giggle filled the quiet air of the town's market as Shu Ning chased after the fleeing Shi Yong. He was making an effort not to break out into laughter as well as he fake growled behind the child's back while jumping out of the way of gawking humans. In one swifft movement he hauled himself forward and grabbed on to the kids waist to lift him up. A high pitched squeek was the answer he got which quickly transformed into breathless laugher and delighted whines when he blew rasberrys all over Shi Yong's cheek and neck.
"Well. Dou you give up?"
"Y-Y-Yes. Y-Yes. I...give....up."
"Good."
With a smile Shu Ning put the child back onto the ground crouching down for a moment to smoothe out Shi Yong's crumpled shirt and messy hair. A dark shadow fell over them as Zhao Yang finally caught up to the two, an amused smile on his lips and a low rumbling laughter shaking his torso. For a moment the man just watched the child getting fussed over before bending down himself and ruffling a hand through Shi Yong's hair, making them stick up in all directions.
Shu Ning roled his eyes as the kid laughed and then leaned forward to do the same to Zhao Yang's hair. With a satisfied air about him Shi Yong settled back onto the heels of his feet to survey his work. The sight of it was really to funny making the two of them break out into loud giggles again.
"I was wondering what all the ruckus was about. Seems like the three of you are having fun."
Startled, Shu Ning turned around to where the voice had come from to see the chief leaning against the railing of the well in the center of the market. The other's posture looked relaxed despite the many onlookers standing around him and a glimmer of entertainment passed through his eyes. Zhao Yang nodded in the direction of his father and reluctantly got to his feet, puling Shu Ning up with him.
"Father. Is there something you needed?"
"There is, yes. I did not wish to interrupt this little moment though."
Shu Ning looked at his companion in confusion but Zhao Yang's eyes stubbornly stayed fixed onto his fathers own. A silent conversation passing between them that he was not privy to. Whatever was said though made the chief's features soften and smile approvingly at the three.
"I'm sorry to say this, but the two of you are needed. One of my scouts have found an underground laboratory a fair distance away from here. It's entrance has been covered by a heavy boulder so it remained undisturbed untill now. That means that the equipment is still there. Untouched."
"You wish for us to retrieve them then chief? Do I understand correctly?"
"Yes. The laboratory's equipment is of upmost importance to out continuous survival. I would not trust many with such a task. Of corse I would provide an exceptional team for you as well."
"Am I allowed to make a request, sir?"
"What is it?"
"I would like Hu Jin to accompany us for this mission."
The scientist, Hu Jin, had spend about twenty days in the confinement of seclusion before the soldiers dared to release him again. In this time the potion he had drunk waged a semingly endless battle inside of him, making the youth toss and turn in agony and scratch at his oversensitive skin. At the fifteenth day the pain and sleepless nights got too much for him and he fell into unconsiousness, only waking up again when one of the guards hesitantly prodded him in the side to check his condition. By then the zombie virus had already completely left Hu Jin's system and a surge of energy had settled into the depth of his bone.
"Reason?"
"You must know that he has awakened an ability not too long ago. Appraisal, to be exact. This, I believe, would be benefficial when sorting through unidentified equipment."
"Permission granted. I will inform your team of the details of this mission. You will all meet up at the missionboard next to the gate in three hours."
"Yes, sir."
Three hours later, Shu Ning and Zhao Yang found themselves seated inside of a landrover on the way towards their destination. Most of their teammates were following in a simmilar vehicle behind them, except for Hu Jin, who was invited to sit with them, and Xu Dan, who had invited himself. A thick and uncomfortable silence lay over their heads and Hu Jin awkwardly looked back and forth between the other occupants of the car before looking out of the window and watching the world blurr past.
Without taking any breaks they drowe the distance between the B-Base and Karol-city, where the underground laboratory was said to be. The town was chaotic just like everyothe place they visited since the appocalypse. Cars were strewn all over the pavement, collapsed houses dropped huge chucks onto the path and trash and blood filled the air with a pungeant smell.
As most of their group had already long gotten used to such sights, they just carefully walked through the mess and searched for a usable hideout. Only Xu Dan mercilessly kicked at some plastic bags at his feet and lowly mumbled isults at his team members.
Shu Ning threw him a light glance, though he seemed to be the only one who really payed attention to the guy. So with a shrug he devoted himself instead on unpacking their belongings, which was just mostly food and started on making a healthy dinner for everyone.
Once the fire was lit and the meal started cooking atop it, Zhao Yang and Hu Jin got drawn in by the delicious smell and settled themselves right next to Shu Ning to watch him work. Soon after the rest of the group (minus Xu Dan) also settled along the fire to receive their shared portion and everyone hungrily dugg into it. Once most of the food was eaten , Xu Dan also drew up to the fire and grabbed the entire pot to eat it's contents.
"Thanks for the food. It is delicious."
A huge smile grew on the protagonists face as he praised Shu Ning and the others readily piped in with their own compliments. Hu Jin, who interesstingly turned out a foody, the loudest of them all.
"Thanks guys. But it really wasn't much."
"All right guys. We have a lot to do tomorrow, so let's get some rest."
Nian Zhei clapped his hands to grab the groups attention and directed them all to their sleeping places, which only consisted of the hard ground and a tiny cotton blanket. Zhao Yang took Shu Ning's left arm and directed him to one of the places to settle down for sleep as Hu Jin scooted over his own cover to lie beside him as well. Pressed in between the two men, Shu Ning quickly fell into a deep and comfortable sleep.
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The next day, Shu Ning got woken up rather rudely by a pair of hands grabbing his shoulders and shaking him before they just as quickly got dislodged by an angry Zhao Yang and Hu Jin. Slowly he pried open his eyes and rubbed at them sleepily as he surveyed the scene materializing before him.
A crowd had formed around him sometime during the morning and none of them looked very pleased. They all held a straight posture with crossed arms as they stared down at him, their lips pressed into a thin line. Next to him the chief's son and Hu Jin glared back at the assembly while almost unnoticely moving infront of his body.
"Did something Happen while I was sleeping?"
Shu Ning was confused and helplessly looked at the two companions at his side who didn't seem to notice his plight. It was then that a body moved through the rows of people and stopped right infront of his feet to address the situation.
"There is water missing from the bag. The bag which was beside you the entire night. Do you understand where this is going?"
Xu Dan calmly watched Shu Ning for any outside reaction to his statement, but the other just tipped his head to the side and questionaly looked up at him. With a role of his eyes he continued.
"Stopp playing stupid. You are such a wolf in sheep clothing. Stealing water from our supplies for your own selfish purposes."
"And what selfish purposes are we talking about?"
"You couldn't bare being thirsty or didn't like having only so little to drink. Whatever the reason may be, you sabbotaged your own team. I never expected you to be so cruel and selfish."
With a sneer Xu Dan turned around to look at all the people standing around them.
"Isn't it true that we are all working hard for the good of humanity? And aren't we all in the same boat here? Then shouldn't it be important that we can trust our team members?"
A murmur of approval went through the crowd and their sharp gazes grew colder as they looked at Shu Ning still sitting on the ground. He didn't cower away from their stares though and instead rased his head to gaze at each one of them in turn.
"Do you really think me capable of that? He is correct, we are a team and I have never acted as anything but a good teammember. It is true that the bag of supplies was put into my care but I do trust all of you enough that I only thought to guard it from zombies and not from humans. That is the only mistake I have made and for that I appologize."
Shu Ning slowly lowered his eyes to the object in discussion that was held in Nian Zhei's hands, sighed and then looked at Zhao Yang who had not moved from his side.
"You were with me the entire night. You would have noticed if I suddenly got up to rumage through the bag, would you not?"
"Yes. I would have."
"What about you Hu Jin? Did you notice any suspicious movements of mine during the night?"
"No. I am a light sleeper and would have woken up from that. I did hear something though, coming from the direction of the bag. I did not pay it any attention then but I suppose someone did get to the bag while we were all a sleep."
"That does not proove his innocence. Just your words do not mean anything."
Xu Dan incredulously looked at the trio and was just about to say more when he got a good look at the peoples faces. The were frowning in contemplation as they hesitantly glanced at the chief's son in front of them. None of them looked so readily convinced of Shu Ning's crimes anymore and some even guiltily lowered their heads to escape Zhao Yangs glare.
"What? What's wrong with all of you? Just because of some words you are hesitating?"
"Well. It is Mister Zhao after all. He really would have noticed if Shi Wei moved away from his side."
Xu Dan growled in frustration as they all looked thoroughly chastised for blaming the first person they crossed and nothing he could say would weigh more that Zhao Yang's words.
"We are not saying that it is impossible. But before fixtating on him we should first gather proper evidence, right?"
Multiple pair of eyes fell on Zhao Yang who finally stood up from his crouch. Shu Ning followed suit, together with Hu Jin and the three of them walked over towards Nian Zhei who was still clutching their bag of supplies.
"If no one noticed anything concrete, there is not much we can find out. It could have been anyone with enough stealth skills not to be noticed by us. Now we just have to be more careful and split up the rest of the water. As it was my mistake that anything got stolen in the first place, I will give up half of my water to you guys."
"It was not your mistake alone. So I will give up half of mine as well."
Hu Jin smiled brightly at the astonished crowd and then turned smugly towards Zhao Yang whose eyebrows twitched in annoyance. Shu Ning chuckled at the two of them and then placatingly patted the bigger man's shoulder.
"You don't need to. Your strength is very important for the success of this mission."
"No. You should not need to. You keep your water and they can have all of mine."
"Deffinitely not. No water is not an option."
"Alright. Let's just calm down. No one needs to sacrifice something so important. There is still enough water to sustain all of us. Let's just forgett about this for now and make our plans for the Laboratory. Otherwise we'll never finish our mission."
Shu Ning nodded at Nian Zhei and then turned around to Zhao Yang with a smile.
"Let's do this then."