Chapter 234
Chapter 234: He Wanted to Kiss His Wife, Hold His Wife, Touch His Cub
Chong Ming’s eyes turned dangerously deep. He stared at Jiang Tea Tea and spoke through clenched teeth. “Thank you for your concern. I will take excellent care of myself.”
“I won’t ruin myself. I won’t ‘go soft,’ either.”
Jiang Tea Tea stared at him like his skull was thicker than her tree trunk. “We’ve known each other almost a year. Stop being stubborn. If you need a mate, get a mate. If you need medicine, take medicine. If you need injections, get injections…”
She paused, then brightened with a new idea. “Hey. If you refuse medicine and injections, I can tell Cheng Yuan. He’s a black-market doctor. He knows a ton of dark medical arts. He can come poke you with a couple needles, cool you down, get rid of the smell.”
Cheng Yuan had some real tricks. The kind of medicine that felt like it belonged to a crooked cultivation path.
Chong Ming’s gaze dropped, landing on her lower abdomen.
He changed the subject so abruptly Jiang Tea Tea almost missed it. “Your belly is bigger than usual.”
Jiang Tea Tea froze. Her hand snapped to cover her stomach. “I’m over eight months along. So what if I’ve got a belly? What are you staring at? Never seen one?”
Chong Ming nodded with a perfectly straight face. “No. First time.”
Jiang Tea Tea ground her teeth. “Even if it’s your first time, you still can’t touch it.”
“I will.”
Jiang Tea Tea blinked. “What do you mean, you will?”
“Nothing.” Chong Ming turned and started walking. “Come. Military Department lab.”
He moved with a chill rolling off him like winter.
Jiang Tea Tea clicked her tongue and followed.
On the way, they passed plenty of his subordinates and guards. Everyone saluted him, eyes full of awe.
Wherever he walked, people cleared the main path for him. Jiang Tea Tea walked beside him and enjoyed the feeling of being stared at again.
The only problem was his scent—too strong, too constant, like it was teasing her, tempting her.
If she weren’t a powerful demon with inhuman self-control, she might’ve actually been lured by it.
The lab wasn’t too close to the main building and not too far, either. By the time they approached, Jiang Tea Tea could already see Sui Xuan Chu and the other six waiting at the door, waving at her.
“Sister Tea! Over here! Over here! It’s been days! I missed you to death!”
“Sister Tea, if one of us gets rich, we share the wealth! Don’t ditch us! You’re our biggest thigh!”
“Roommate, you okay?”
Jiang Tea Tea waved back.
The moment she and Chong Ming got close, the seven of them snapped upright like soldiers and saluted, faces solemn. “Hello, Commander-in-Chief!”
Chong Ming nodded. “Hello. You’ve worked hard.”
The seven answered in unison, “Serving the nation is not hard!”
Jiang Tea Tea stared at them. The flattery was shameless.
Chong Ming glanced at them once. “Come. Inside.”
He went first. Jiang Tea Tea didn’t walk beside him this time—she walked with Sui Xuan Chu and the others behind him.
Sui Xuan Chu leaned in, daring enough to whisper. “Roommate… where did you go these last two days? Did you meet a new friend?”
Jiang Tea Tea blinked. “How did you know I met a new friend?”
Sui Xuan Chu pointed at his own eyes. “I have eyes. I read your post. I read the comments. I guessed.”
He lowered his voice more. “Is it that the lab pool connects to an underground river, and there’s something imprisoned down there?”
Jiang Tea Tea let out an impressed sound. “Did your uncle tell you something?”
She didn’t believe he’d guessed all that from a post and comment section.
Sui Xuan Chu stole a glance at his uncle. Chong Ming’s entire body radiated cold. Even with two people between them, Sui Xuan Chu felt like he was freezing.
He immediately denied it. “No. My uncle’s been so busy he hasn’t touched the ground. He doesn’t have time for me. I just guessed.”
“And I wasn’t the only one. We all guessed. Right, Cheng Xiao Ting? Huang Da Zhuang?”
The named boys nodded frantically. Yes, yes. They’d all guessed. Sister Tea saved someone and made a new friend.
Jiang Tea Tea sighed. “Fine. Later I’ll ask the Commander-in-Chief whether I can tell you about my mission and my new friend. If I can, I’ll tell you.”
The seven lit up. “Yes! Please!”
Chong Ming coughed once.
All seven voices cut off immediately.
Jiang Tea Tea looked up. He was already inside the elevator. They’d been huddled whispering instead of following.
The seven instantly reverted to obedient, slightly foolish young-soldier faces.
Jiang Tea Tea walked into the elevator first. Only then did they hurry in, pressing themselves against the back wall like they wanted to become wallpaper.
The elevator doors shut and descended.
Jiang Tea Tea watched the floor numbers jump while her hand rested on her belly. Maybe it was Chong Ming’s scent—maybe it was something else—but the cubs were unusually energetic, bumping her palm over and over.
Chong Ming’s eyes lowered slightly. His gaze fixed on her hand and her stomach. He could see it clearly: the cubs were too active, pushing against her.
Mate and cubs were right there—close enough to breathe the same air.
And he still couldn’t touch.
Couldn’t hold.
Couldn’t kiss.
Sui Xuan Chu and the others suddenly felt the air in the elevator drop ten degrees. None of them dared to take a deep breath.
Ding.
The doors opened.
Several researchers in white coats waited outside.
Chong Ming stepped out first. Jiang Tea Tea followed.
The researchers saluted and handed him paper documents as they walked. “Commander-in-Chief, the two living dead brought in two days ago—after two nights and one day of research, we’ve found their condition was caused by a viral infection.”
“We’re still analyzing which virus specifically. Here are the preliminary findings…”
Chong Ming took the papers and scanned them. “Jiang Tea Tea. Come here.”
Jiang Tea Tea took a long stride to walk beside him. “What?”
Chong Ming handed her the papers. “Preliminary results. Take a look.”
Jiang Tea Tea read fast—but even with the fake heiress’s memories, she didn’t understand half the technical virus names.
She handed the papers back. “I don’t understand. Let Cheng Lin Yue look?”
Chong Ming nodded. “Fine.”
Jiang Tea Tea passed the documents to Cheng Lin Yue. Cheng Lin Yue studied them carefully, then shook her head. “Commander-in-Chief, I’ve seen the curve patterns for a couple of these viruses on my uncle’s research card.”
“The rest… I’ve never encountered. I can’t help.”
Chong Ming tapped his lightbrain. “Secretary Wen. Go to the Imperial Palace. Bring Cheng Yuan to the Military Department lab.”
Secretary Wen responded instantly. “Yes, Commander-in-Chief.”
Chong Ming led them into the sealed lab holding the two living dead.
The living dead were naked, their bodies ulcerated and rotting. They were strapped to operating tables in an airtight room.
They thrashed, snarled, and made wet, choking sounds, while the lab staff around them worked in full protective gear.
Jiang Tea Tea stood beside Chong Ming, bent forward, and peered through the glass. In the bright lab light, the things looked… familiar.
“Chong Ming.”
She didn’t even use his title. She just waved a hand at him casually, still staring through the glass.
The nearby researchers flinched internally. As expected of the empire’s only mutant 3S healer—bold as hell.
Chong Ming leaned down to match her posture, looking through the glass. “What?”
Jiang Tea Tea frowned. “Those two living dead… I feel like I’ve seen something like this before, but I can’t remember where.”
Chong Ming’s gold eyes narrowed. “Near the lab where they were found, the army cleared the area and discovered more. Over a dozen.”
“Not inside the lab—outside in the mountains. Their eyes look dead, like they can’t see, but they move extremely fast. They hunt living creatures. They bite. They tear…”
Jiang Tea Tea straightened abruptly, eyes lighting up. “I remember what they are.”
Chong Ming turned his head. “What?”
Jiang Tea Tea answered decisively. “Living dead. In simpler terms… zombies.”
“Zombies,” she repeated, firming it. “Infected by a contaminating virus. They eat living people and animals. They keep infecting more and more creatures—animals, humans—turning them into the same thing.”
Chong Ming stood upright and looked at the researchers. “Activate the virus archive from two thousand years ago. Compare every entry.”
“Yes, Commander-in-Chief.”
Jiang Tea Tea’s brow furrowed. “You said ‘two thousand years ago.’ So your empire had a massive living dead outbreak two thousand years ago?”
Chong Ming shook his head. “Not Zhen Lin Empire. Da Xi Nation.”
“Two thousand years ago, Da Xi suffered an incident like this. Nearly five million were infected. Nearly eight million died. The losses were beyond counting.”
“Multiple nations—even Zhen Lin Empire—sent researchers and healers to try to treat it. We discovered there was no cure. The only solution was killing.”
He looked grim. “Five million infected at the start. And while hunting them down, another three million were infected and died. Eight million dead in total before it was finally suppressed.”
“Afterward, the researchers and healers who went to Da Xi brought virus samples back and sealed them in storage.”
Jiang Tea Tea made a small sound. “I see.”
Then she spoke slowly, choosing her words. “But usually, when you see an ant, the nest isn’t far.”
She looked at him. “So… is it possible that somewhere on Capital Planet—or somewhere in Zhen Lin Empire—there are already nests?”
Chong Ming nodded once. “It’s possible…”
He didn’t finish.
His lightbrain rang.
He glanced at the call. It was Zhong Li He.
Zhong Li He usually texted when he wanted to chat. A call meant trouble.
Chong Ming answered. Before he could speak, Zhong Li He’s urgent voice came through. “Chong Ming. Kong Que just got intel. The illegal lab that worked with Da Xi Nation and the Yellow Dragon Clan developed a living dead virus 2.0—an evolved version—and smuggled it into your Zhen Lin Empire!”