My Soul card is a Reaper

Chapter 601: Zombie virus (part-3)

In the streets of Arland City, Shi Yejin and Eren were slowly walking together in silence.

Both of them wanted to talk something but neither of them could initiate any piece of conversation.

Shi Yejin glanced at him from time to time.

After 15 minutes of silence, she finally mustered up the courage to talk about the past, "Say Eren, why do you volunteer to escort me? I mean, we have this history and it is not like we are stuck in the midst of zombies."

Eren continued to look straight at their path as he replied, "I don't trust him."

"Eh?" The girl was taken aback by his reply. "But, he is the one who helped us to get here."

"I'm grateful for his help, but even so, he is still a stranger and a boy. The fact that he is rumored to be stronger than MMA fighters only indicates that he should have a very high ego and delinquent personality. What if he tries to take advantage of you and use force when you deny his advances?" Eren countered her statement without bothering to hide his animosity against Azzy.

Eren's words have logic but Shi Yejin understood it in a different way. "Are you worried about me?" Shi Yejin stopped walking and blinked her eyes twice.

"What… what if I was?" Eren stuttered a bit and made a face as if he was going to argue with her.

"Nothing, thanks I guess," She continued to walk while giggling in happiness.

Soon, the distance between them became closer and they were already seen chatting like good friends, laughing all the way.

However, such a pleasant atmosphere didn't last long as the soldiers suddenly nabbed Eren like a criminal on their way to the barracks.

Standing in the middle of the road, the panicked Shi Yejin immediately took out her smartphone and dialed a number.

After a couple of rings, the person from the other side picked up, "Yes, Ms. Shi?" The voice belonged to Azzy.

"Mr. Garcia, Eren... Eren was taken away by the military." The panic in her voice is clear and Azzy sensed the same.

He calmly asked, "What happened?"

"I don't know. We were just going to the barracks. All of a sudden, he was…" As Shi Yejin was explaining the situation, Azzy calmed her down, "Relax. Don't panic. I'll go there and find out what happened. There should have been some misunderstanding…"

"Please…"

Azzy disconnected the call with a smile on his face. He was sitting inside a control room with atleast twenty screens on the wall and people in military uniforms.

"Well, let's go and save the guy," Azzy spun the smartphone, purchased in this world using some of the reward money, with his thumb below it and middle finger above it for a while.

Meanwhile, at the Barracks, Eren was taken to a dim-lit interrogation room and let sit there for 5 minutes before an officer came in with the photograph and sat down before him.

"Why was I brought here? I'm no criminal. There must have been a misunderstanding…" Eren genuinely looked very scared.

"Answer a few questions of ours and you will be free to go," said the detective before placing the photograph on the table, "Let's start with this. What is your relation with this man?"

Eren looked at the photo and was taken aback, "He is Uncle Louis, a friend of my father. I only met him a few times." Eren put up the face of a confused guy as he asked, "Is he a criminal or something?"

"Let's just say that he was one of the suspects regarding the case related to the zombie virus," The Detective vaguely replied but it was enough for Eren to understand the seriousness of the problem.

"Zombie virus? He was indeed a researcher at Princeton Lab but doesn't the virus originate from this city's Star Labs?" Eren's confusion increased and he unknowingly defended Louis.

"Princeton lab, huh?" The Detective muttered under his breath and then nodded to himself before he replied in seriousness, "If what you said is true, then, someone could be framing him to divert the attention. In that case, we need your help to conclude whether he is innocent or a criminal. Tell us whatever you know about him without hiding anything.

I should warn you that any withheld information could make you an accomplice of a terrorist. You know what kind of state our world is in right now and the World Federation no longer cares about the human rights and minor laws and whatnot."

Eren nodded in understanding as he calmed down a bit.

10 minutes later, the detective left the interrogation room, leaving Eren there. He protested to go out but the steel door was firmly shut.

Eren collapsed on the chair with a bit of a mental breakdown and grabbed his head in frustration. He was busy cussing Louis under his breath, but not long after, the door was opened and an officer let him out, stating that they got a call from their superior to free him.

Then, he was told to wait there for half an hour until Azzy arrived and took him out, telling the military personnel that he would take responsibility for keeping an eye on Eren, henceforth.

Eren's last bit of ill feelings toward Azzy had gone when he got out and was hugged tightly by his worried ex-girlfriend.

Soon after, the three of them sat down on the bench near the grounds behind the Barracks where new soldiers were seen doing pushups.

Azzy took the opportunity and interrogate Eren in a sublime way, "So, is it really true that your uncle was innocent?"

"Hmm?" Shi Yejin and Eren looked at him.

Azzy continued, "Don't get me wrong. I merely want to catch the culprit, who created this virus so that we get the antidote and save the world from this mess."

In response, Eren let out a deep sigh, "I'm not sure actually. A part of me says that he cannot be the terrorist behind the zombie virus but another part of me says that he could be related after all."

"Huh? I thought you believed that he was innocent. Did what those army guys said change your opinion?" Azzy asked.

Eren shook his head, "No. Actually, this might sound silly, but a couple of years ago, I remember watching that Destiny 4213-AD TV series and joking about immortality. My dad said that he and Uncle Louis were working on a thesis on that very topic and they strongly believed immortality exists, or atleast a way for a human to live past even 200 or 300 years.

They talked about cellular senescence, manipulation of cells through the use of stem cells, genetic modifications, and some other complex stuff I didn't understand properly. I don't know whether Uncle Louis stole my father's research and created the virus or they were just innocent but I remember the name of their project, Zenith Evolution."

"Zenith Evolution?" Shi Yejin gasped in surprise. "The news says that the virus was named ZE-45. Could it be…"

"No, that was named as Zombie Elixir though," Azzy shook his head. "It was probably a sheer coincidence."

"Yeah, it could be," Eren mumbled while looking down at his feet. Azzy glanced at him from the corner of his eyes and thought, "Slowly, the pieces of the puzzle seemed to be connecting together but I still don't understand why Louis was here in the first place. There's no way a person like him with a strong sense of justice could do something like that.

I need to first investigate everything this guy has revealed so far. All the questions can be answered once I find Louis. But, what if he had already left? No, no, no, that cannot be possible. Be positive, Azzy. Fuu…"