It’s a strange invasion, is it okay for me to fight back?

Chapter 583 Transition Zone

The volunteers' accommodations were located in the transitional zone, which is the inner half of Guangnan City. The dormitory was converted from a student dormitory of a local vocational college. The four-person dormitories were converted into single rooms with private bathrooms, and the home appliances and furniture were also purchased uniformly. There was a faint smell of latex paint in the corridor.

Ling Feiran received a room key, a work permit, a volunteer handbook, and two sets of short-sleeved T-shirts printed with slogans supporting the quarantine area.

She put her luggage away and rested for a while when she heard hurried footsteps in the corridor. From next door came Wang Xunmei's voice: "Pengpeng! Time to eat! The cafeteria opens at five!"

After a few seconds, Wang Xunmei came to her door again, knocked, and called out, "Feifei! Let's go to the cafeteria for lunch, it's ready!"

Ling Feiran had been fed too many local specialties on the bus and wasn't hungry yet, but it would be good to get familiar with the cafeteria environment.

She quickly tidied herself up and then went to the cafeteria with everyone.

On the way, Wang Xunmei held the volunteer handbook, reading it as she spoke: "The canteen is open from 5 pm to 7 pm, we go to the auditorium at 7:30 pm for the mobilization meeting, and then we will receive the work arrangements for tomorrow on our phones at 9 pm... The first week is the probationary period, and the position cannot be changed. We will officially start working from the second week, and we can apply for a transfer. We will receive a monthly allowance. Wow! We even have an allowance!"

Wang Xunmei was pleasantly surprised. She hadn't expected anything in return for choosing to come and support the quarantine area, so receiving the money was an unexpected bonus.

Lin Pengpeng was in a good mood, walking briskly, "I wonder what kind of work they'll assign us."

"Yeah, it would be great if we could all be grouped together," Zhang Lu said. The gray wolf was constantly searching for its alpha wolf.

Li Yu laughed and said, "Our cards are worlds apart, it would be strange if we were paired together!"

"What? You're such a spoilsport," Wang Xunmei pouted and glared at him. "You won't even let people have a chance to dream."

Ling Feiran smiled and said, "I don't think so. The first week is an internship, so they will probably only assign us some basic tasks and we may not need to use card abilities."

“But the reason we recruited volunteers is because we have cards, right? How come we can’t use the card abilities?” Zhang Lu asked.

“We were recruited because we won’t get infected,” Ling Feiran explained patiently. “Even the simplest and most basic job becomes high-risk in the quarantine area. Moreover, the manual says that you can apply for a job transfer after a week, which means that most volunteers will be dissatisfied with their first job. The rule of transferring jobs after a week can play a certain role in reassuring people.”

"You've thought this through so thoroughly!" Wang Xunmei looked at Ling Feiran in surprise. "I didn't realize there was so much logic behind this rule."

Ling Feiran smiled gently, "I was just guessing."

Zhang Lu was a little uneasy, "They're not going to assign us to sweep the streets, are they...?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yu scratched his head, "My card is the White Peacock, sweeping the streets is just too inappropriate."

"Alright, I think we all need to adjust our mindset as soon as possible!" Lin Pengpeng, the most enthusiastic of the group, said seriously, "No matter what job we do, we're all contributing to the quarantine zone. We'll go wherever we're needed. There's no need to be picky. I believe everything will be for the best!"

“Yes,” Ling Feiran nodded, “As long as there are no major problems with the overall coordination of the quarantine area, it will eventually allow every volunteer here to do their best and make the most of resources.”

The group walked and talked, and together with a large number of volunteers, they arrived at the canteen.

The cafeteria was unusually lively. Perhaps due to the building's structure, even normal-volume conversations sounded noisy and chaotic.

Most seats were occupied, and there weren't any five-person tables next to each other, so everyone spread out and found their own places to eat. Ling Feiran and Wang Xunmei sat down and ate for a while. As the people next to them finished eating and left, their seats became available, so they invited Lin Pengpeng and Zhang Lu to come and sit down.

"Where's Li Yu?" Wang Xunmei looked around but couldn't see him.

Lin Pengpeng said, "Never mind him, he'll probably leave after he finishes eating."

"Ah, you ate really fast. I was planning to take a walk around the neighborhood after dinner to get familiar with the area, since it's still early until 7:30." Wang Xunmei muttered a few words before continuing to eat in silence.

Zhang Lu said nonchalantly, "I'll give him a call after we finish eating."

The four continued their meal.

When they had almost finished eating, Zhang Lu took out his phone, about to call Li Yu, when Li Yu suddenly appeared with a tray of food!
Zhang Lu was startled, and seeing Li Yu's plate piled high with food, he asked in astonishment, "You weren't full, so you got another meal?"

Li Yu pulled up a chair and squeezed in to sit down, his expression excited. "I didn't even have time to eat. I just overheard someone talking about the pregnant woman who died suddenly. I went and inquired for a long time. My God, let me tell you, this is no simple matter!"

"How is it not simple?" Lin Pengpeng asked.

Li Yu looked around and lowered his voice, saying, "After a volunteer dies, cards are released from their body, right? But when the pregnant volunteer's body was found, there were no cards!"

Everyone looked at each other.

"What does this mean? It means the card was taken!" Li Yu lowered his voice even further. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is terrifying to think about! The incident happened to be in a blind spot of the surveillance cameras, so we can't find out who took the card. Although the report said the cause of death was fetal mutation, what if it was premeditated? Could it be that someone coveted her card and deliberately killed her?"

Lin Pengpeng frowned as she listened. "This is completely unfounded rumor. If it were really murder, the relevant officials would definitely investigate."

“Maybe they’re investigating in secret without letting us volunteers know,” Li Yu said, his eyes wide. “After all, if word gets out, it will definitely cause panic and is not good for unity in the quarantine area.”

Lin Pengpeng pursed her lips, "I still think it's impossible. Maybe someone passed by, saw the card on the corpse and got greedy for a moment, but to say that volunteers would kill each other to get the card, I don't believe it."

“I don’t believe it either,” Wang Xunmei echoed.

"Oh dear!" Li Yu said anxiously, "In any case, let's try to act together as much as possible from now on and not separate. It's always better to be careful!"

Ling Feiran thought for a moment and asked Li Yu, "What was the card of the pregnant volunteer who had the accident? Have you found out?"

Li Yu immediately nodded, "It's quite powerful. It's called the Hundred-Armed Giant, and it's a very rare high-level card."

Ling Feiran pondered, "The Hundred-Armed Giant... it sounds like it should have a second form of giants. If the fetus also carries the giant gene and suddenly grows to a gigantic size in the womb, it could indeed cause the mother to die suddenly. However, only volunteers who also possess high-level cards can digest such high-level cards. We also need to consider the compatibility of the cards... The quarantine zone has access to all the volunteers' card information. As long as we screen them out based on these conditions, it won't be difficult to find the suspect."

"Feifei, you're so amazing!" Wang Xunmei exclaimed, her eyes sparkling.

　Oops... I didn't write about Miaomiao, haha, I overestimated myself again (awkwardly rubbing his head).

　　(End of this chapter)