TVHCM 13

Chapter 13 — Proof

Xie Jinyuan.

The teacher of the group of students she had rescued not long ago.

Back then, the name had sounded vaguely familiar to Mo Chu, but since she couldn’t remember where she had heard it, she eventually let it go.

But now, watching the soldier run over with an excited expression, shouting that Xie Jinyuan had been found, she suddenly remembered exactly who he was.

Xie Jinyuan—the renowned biomedical scientist from before the apocalypse. His specialty had been human brain and neural research, and after the end of the world, he had devoted himself entirely to developing a cure for the zombie virus.

Ordinarily, that alone wouldn’t have been enough for Mo Chu to remember him.

After all, in the apocalypse, nearly every surviving scholar had shifted their research toward virus antidotes, all hoping to eradicate the infection at its source.

There had been countless research projects, countless experts and professors. As someone who spent her life fighting on the edge of death, Mo Chu had never had the spare energy to care who any of those researchers were.

But Xie Jinyuan was different.

His reputation had simply been too great.

He was a researcher who had awakened an ability.

Even among scientists, he held a special status.

His power wasn’t combat-oriented, but for a scientist, it was priceless.

Super Cognition.

After the apocalypse, Professor Xie’s brain capacity had undergone terrifying development. His mind functioned almost like a supercomputer. No matter how complex the calculations, how enormous the data sets, how dense the variables, he could process them in an instant with inhuman efficiency.

A human computer.

And in an era where most laboratories had lost access to proper equipment—where some research centers couldn’t even find a functioning computer—his existence had been beyond invaluable.

But every gift came with a price.

Excessive brain development placed an unbearable strain on his body. As his ability evolved, his physical condition deteriorated until, eventually, he stopped absorbing crystal cores altogether and permanently kept his power at Tier Three.

Before Mo Chu died in her previous life, his laboratory had still been considered humanity’s best hope for developing a virus cure.

And now someone was telling her that the legendary Xie Jinyuan had once been in the same city as her.

Not only that—

By pure coincidence, she had actually saved him.

A memory surfaced in her mind.

In her previous life, rumors said Xie Jinyuan had spent years confined to a wheelchair. He also hadn’t had any students around him—only a single assistant. He had always kept to himself.

Mo Chu didn’t know how he had lost the use of his legs, nor where his students had gone.

But if she and Li Chen hadn’t appeared this morning while they were trapped by the zombie horde…

There had been no chance any of them would survive.

Which meant there was a very real possibility that this was the day he had lost both his students and his legs.

Mo Chu slowly let out a long breath.

If fate had truly given her another chance, then everything could still change.

She had saved Li Chen.

She had obtained a second-tier crystal core far earlier than before.

And without even realizing it, she had saved Xie Jinyuan as well.

A butterfly’s wings fluttered softly, and history itself began to shift.

So what else would she change?

While she was lost in thought, a squad of soldiers emerged behind the messenger who had rushed over with the good news. They surrounded a group of people tightly enough to show just how important they were.

Mo Chu looked carefully.

It was the students.

And the man protected in the center was Xie Jinyuan.

The girl named Ying Yi spotted her immediately. She waved excitedly while tugging frantically at the sleeve of the senior student beside her.

Mo Chu smiled faintly in response.

With how noisy Ying Yi was being, there was no way the others could miss it. After the platoon leader finished greeting the famous Professor Xie—the man their superiors had specifically ordered them to rescue—the professor’s gaze passed over him and landed directly on Mo Chu.

“Miss Mo,” he said warmly, “we meet again.”

Mo Chu smiled. “Professor Xie.”

The moment the greetings were over, Ying Yi could no longer restrain herself. She dashed over and threw her arms around Mo Chu’s arm.

“Big sis, I knew we’d see each other again!”

Mo Chu had spent more than six years alone. For a second, she actually wasn’t used to this kind of closeness between girls anymore.

She froze briefly before replying, “I didn’t expect we’d meet again this soon either.”

Nearby, the platoon leader glanced between Professor Xie and Mo Chu, then laughed.

“So you already knew each other?”

Professor Xie nodded. “Miss Mo and her friend saved our lives. Unfortunately, we parted in too much of a hurry last time, so I never properly thanked them. Who would’ve thought we’d run into each other again so soon?”

The male student beside him still looked shaken as he added, “Before you arrived this morning, we were this close to dying at the hands of the zombies. Luckily Miss Mo and her friend happened to pass by.”

Hearing that, even the platoon leader felt a chill run through him.

He understood very clearly that the only hope humanity had of stopping this disaster rested in the hands of people like these researchers. Losing even one of them meant losing another piece of hope.

Miss Mo had truly done something extraordinary.

His gaze drifted toward her.

Mo Chu was listening quietly while the female student chatted beside her. Every now and then she nodded patiently, gentle and attentive the entire time. Beside her, the man the platoon leader could never quite read kept his attention fixed solely on her.

The platoon leader sighed.

“What a coincidence. Miss Mo and Mr. Li helped us tremendously this time too.”

Maybe they had even helped save humanity itself.

While they were talking, Ying Yi noticed her senior giving her frantic looks and quickly stuck out her tongue before saying goodbye to Mo Chu and running back.

Professor Xie walked over under the watchful protection of his students.

“The last time you saved us, I never had the chance to properly thank you,” he said sincerely. “I didn’t expect we’d meet again so soon. Miss Mo, thank you.”

Mo Chu hurriedly waved her hands. “It was nothing.”

Professor Xie then turned toward Li Chen.

“And thank you as well, sir.”

Mo Chu instinctively looked at Li Chen.

She had assumed he would respond the same way he did before—cold, silent, indifferent.

But unexpectedly, Li Chen politely nodded to Professor Xie and quietly said, “You’re welcome.”

Now that Xie Jinyuan had been found, one of their mission objectives was complete.

The platoon leader arranged for Professor Xie and his students to rest in a quieter corner under military protection. After some thought, he placed Mo Chu and Li Chen nearby as well.

Then the overworked platoon leader hurried off again to manage the ever-growing number of survivors flooding the streets.

Ying Yi immediately seized the opportunity to chat with Mo Chu, while one of the male students stared eagerly at Xiao Jin, who was sprawled at Mo Chu’s feet, clearly dying to pet the dog.

Mo Chu had far more patience than most people her age.

Whether she was speaking or listening, she always carried a warmth that made people feel instinctively comfortable around her. Combined with the lazy golden retriever lying at her feet, she naturally drew others closer.

At first, only Ying Yi talked to her.

But before long, all the nearby students had gathered around as well.

With Mo Chu at the center, the atmosphere somehow never turned awkward or dull.

There always seemed to be people around her.

Even when she stood alone, she could effortlessly become the center of a crowd if she wanted to.

Standing outside the lively circle of students, Li Chen watched her silently.

It felt as though she and he had been born into entirely different worlds.

The girl surrounded by people suddenly glanced at him.

Immediately, Li Chen hid the gloom in his expression and smiled faintly at her.

Mo Chu suddenly turned and said something to the others around her. A moment later, she bent over awkwardly with Xiao Jin in her arms and squeezed out through the crowd.

Then she ran straight toward him.

Panting slightly, sweat clinging to her forehead, she sighed dramatically, “Students these days are way too enthusiastic.”

For a moment, Li Chen felt like he was dreaming.

When she came close, his mind actually went blank. He didn’t know what to say.

After a long pause, he finally managed, “It’s because you’re very likable. They all… really like you.”

Mo Chu’s eyes curved into crescents as she grinned.

“I think so too.”

Since waking up, this was the first time he had seen her this happy.

Without realizing it, the corners of his lips lifted as well. The smile was small, but far more genuine than the polite expression he had forced earlier.

Not far away, Ying Yi had been secretly watching the entire interaction between Mo Chu and the tall, handsome man beside her.

The instant she saw Li Chen smile, she slapped her gloomy senior brother—who was still depressed over not getting to pet the dog—and whispered excitedly:

“He smiled! He totally smiled! I swear that guy is absolutely interested in Sister Mo Chu!”

Her senior blinked blankly.

“Interested how?”

Ying Yi stared at his towering frame in disgust.

For the first time in her life, she truly understood the phrase: all muscle, no brain.

Their side remained lively and harmonious.

But over where the platoon leader was stationed, trouble had broken out.

As more and more survivors were rescued, the medics responsible for checking everyone for fever and wounds were becoming overwhelmed. Worse still, some survivors refused to cooperate entirely.

The platoon leader repeatedly emphasized that they had to confirm nobody was infected before leaving. If even one infected person slipped into the convoy, everyone’s lives would be at risk.

Anyone suspected of infection would simply be isolated separately—not abandoned.

This was about protecting everyone.

But when it came time for their own inspections, people still resisted.

One medic quickly grabbed a man whose arm had been pulled back suspiciously and pointed at a wound over ten centimeters long.

“What’s this?”

The man avoided her eyes. “I cut myself cooking at home.”

As if a medic couldn’t tell the difference between a knife wound and something else.

This was obviously not a knife wound.

The medic’s expression changed instantly. She signaled the nearby soldiers to isolate him immediately.

The surrounding crowd hurried backward in panic, terrified of getting close.

As the soldiers stepped forward to escort the man into quarantine, his father immediately exploded.

“I told you already—it’s a knife wound! A knife wound! Do you people even have any sense?”

The medic snapped back, “We can judge for ourselves whether it’s a knife wound. But if your son turns into a zombie in the middle of the crowd, can you take responsibility for everyone who dies?”

The father continued arguing stubbornly.

“It wasn’t caused by a zombie! It’s a knife wound! If you say otherwise, where’s your proof?!”

The medic felt utterly exhausted.

The same scene had already happened several times in a row.

Just as she was about to order the soldiers to use force, a female voice suddenly rang out nearby.

“Proof?” the voice said lightly. “I actually do have some.”