The special forces base of the 24th Division is located in the hills. The road is still a dirt road, and there’s no man’s land inside the hills. The overlapping high mountains were displayed on the map. If you don’t go deep into it, you won’t find an open basin in this place.
The mountain road is very rugged, and some sections are steep. If it weren’t for the high-quality armored off-road vehicle and Li Xuanyuan and Jiang Tao’s driving skills comparable to race drivers, it’s really difficult to reach their destination safely. They departed at 5 a.m, bumped all the way, and only reached their destination at 2 p.m.
What greeted their eyes was devastation.
The hidden base has been razed to the ground, and everyone can tell it is man-made. Several people clench their teeth and accelerate into the road until the SUV can no longer climb the half-person-tall section raised by reinforced concrete. Li Xuanyuan in the co-pilot jumped onto the roof, and Qiao Daye got out from the rear compartment and followed him.
The explosion was so thorough that no debris remained. However, the mountains around the basin were not affected by the powerful explosion. There’s only one possibility, that is, the base has activated the self-destructing device from the inside.
Li Xuanyuan, Liu Zhan, Qiao Daye, Jiang Tao, and Gongsun Jing stood upright and performed a military salute. The rest were infected by their solemn posture. They raised their hands to perform a military salute with the most serious and revered mentality in their lifetime. Li Xuanyuan and the others didn’t cry, so the emotional red-eyed Dongfang Bai held back his voice and didn’t dare to make a sound.
Finally, led by Li Xuanyuan, the team walked to the location of the base’s underground warehouse, located under the core building of the military base. After the bombing, the collapsed layer above is impenetrable. Without excavators and tools, it’s a big project to dig into the basement. However, this underground warehouse is the arsenal of the army base. Even if the self-destructing device is activated, it won’t impact it. Maybe they can’t find anything useful inside, but they just want to confirm one thing, a matter of great importance to them.
“Let’s start working! Xiaohai, go to the car and bring water and biscuits. We’ll leave the logistics to you.”
Even if Meng Hanghai is an ability user, Gongsun Jing didn’t have the heart to let a child work. Unexpectedly, Hou Ying laughed after she spoke. “Don’t worry, just let Xiaohe do these things. Come on, Xiaohai, let’s see the results of your recent training.”
Gongsun Jing then remembered the particularity of Meng Hanghai’s ability. She fell into a blind spot of thinking and subconsciously regarded the child as a vulnerable group.
Everyone tacitly moved away. Standing at the circle center that Li Xuanyuan drew enough for two people to pass through, Meng Hanghai began to cut this thick and massive reinforced concrete using his ability. From his feet as the center, one crack after another crawled away from the collapse. As the lines became denser, the sound of reinforced concrete cracking became more and more piercing and rapid, and then it became duller. The cutting went deeper and deeper into the ground.
“Okay, Xiaohai, it’s enough.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
After teaching Meng Hanghai for so long, Qiao Daye knew better than the kid himself about the duration and consumption state of his ability that he can endure. Seeing him stop, Li Xuanyuan pulled him out of the circle using his vines. Then the vines began to dig out the concrete that had been cut into small pieces.
Hou Ying is pleased, “It seems that Xiaohai can graduate from his training soon!”
Although some cutting lines exceed the delineated range and the size of the cut concrete varies, it’s completely different from the initial indiscriminate attack state! And after the initial adaptation period, his ability stabilized, cuts more and more evenly, and no longer goes beyond the circle.
Meng Hanghai was elated. While raising his head up to let Wang Hehe wipe his sweat and drinking water, the smile on his face never diminished. Because he thought he could now fight independently! He won’t burden his Uncle Lao Er anymore, having to accompany him by his side every time he fights.
Li Xuanyuan quickly cleared out the passage, which was 15 meters long. Some of the concrete and hard foundations below were cut by Meng Hanghai, enough to be dug manually. At this time, Dongfang Bai had finished making two simple iron rods from the steel bars and metal scraps on the ground.
Li Xuanyuan and Su Fenghe jumped into the cave, with the continuous sound of vines digging concrete blocks.
Qiao Daye saw how the two of them were doing well, and he couldn’t help but laugh, “It’s good, we have one more craftsmanship. When the world is peaceful in the future, and we’re old enough to stop fighting, we can still make a living on the construction site!”
“Stop daydreaming!”
Gongsun Jing irritably kicked his ass. With a cry, Qiao Daye dipped forward and held onto the other side of the hole, his body across it. When he’s about to play tricks, he heard Li Xuanyuan curse below, “Fuck! The dust is now all over! I will kill you!”
Qiao Daye hurriedly moved away and touched his nose.
After a while, Hou Ying shouted at the entrance of the cave, “Are you not tired Xuanyuan? Do you want to change to Brother Tao?”
Li Xuanyuan’s action stopped for a moment but didn’t look up at him. Hou Ying had a thick skin and calmly transferred his care, “Lao Su, how about you? Do you want to change?”
Su Fenghe raised his head and smiled honestly, “I’m still strong. Thank you, Brother Hou.” He seemed to forget that he’s a strength-ability user. The other party’s concern is so stiff.
Hou Ying smiled and went back to help prepare food.
Half an hour later, with the help of Meng Hanghai, Li Xuanyuan and Su Fenghe successfully pried open the wall of the arsenal and chiseled out a hole. Most parts of the arsenal collapsed, but the wall where the heavy weapons were stored in Li Xuanyuan’s memory was still supported. This is the key protection object of the army. Even if it self-destructs, it must ensure that the country can recover these hard-developed and costly heavy weapons.
At this time, it was empty.
Not only that but the remains of firearms and bombs could hardly be found elsewhere. Li Xuanyuan was greatly relieved. Jiang Tao and the others gathered around the entrance of the cave, and seeing him come up, they looked at him nervously. Li Xuanyuan nodded happily, expressing joy.
“Great!”
“Blessed by the Buddha! Great!”
“Fortunately, someone is alive. This is good!”
They were ecstatic. They hugged each other, with tears in their eyes, rejoicing. The arsenal is empty. It was emptied artificially. That is to say, their compatriots still have survivors, and they have successfully left here! Nothing excites them more than this news!
Along the way, how many times have they been worried about what to do if their comrade in arms didn’t survive, and what to do if they returned here and faced the zombified comrades in military uniforms? Rationally, they all understand that the zombies can no longer be called buddies, but emotionally, they are afraid of such a choice. And now, they don’t have to be in a dilemma.
The surviving comrades left successfully. They destroyed the base by themselves. They were forced to leave soon after the apocalypse and buried the zombie soldiers with the base.
For them, this is the last dignity and the best destination.
After the euphoria, Qiao Daye couldn’t stop himself and squatted on the ground to cry. Gongsun Jing hugged and comforted him, “It’s okay. There’s hope when you’re alive.” Even Li Xuanyuan couldn’t help wiping his tears and staring quietly at the razed place they are most familiar with. Here, his comrades will sleep forever, and they also have unlimited hope for the future. Maybe they can still meet again in their lifetime, but even if they’re far away, being alive is the best gift God gives them.
When they calmed down, they had lunch here. Before sunset, they packed up and left.
That night, the team held a small meeting.
Hou Ying said, “Originally, we were going to leave here with the help of a helicopter, but now we can only find another way. But before that, we should put our original plan on the agenda.”
Everyone’s eyes lit up when they heard his words.
Hou Ying’s plan is to cultivate high-level zombie crystal nuclei. He briefly explained to Dongfang Bai, who was still unclear about the situation, and then pointed to the map lying on the bed, “Here.” He pointed to a city, “Sencheng is currently the most populous city closest to us, with at least 3 to 4 million permanent residents. It’s located between the Yellow River Base and the Yangtze River Base, with the distance between them quite acceptable. Their ability users won’t come here in a short time, so I think it’s a good choice. Xuanyuan, Ah Zhan, what do you think?”
Li Xuanyuan is a living map and Liu Zhan’s research on zombies is the strongest in the team. If they both think it’s feasible, then such an arrangement will basically have no big problem.
Li Xuanyuan nodded, and Liu Zhan said, “I’ve inquired with He Daqing before. The people from the Yellow River Base went all the way south and passed through Sencheng. The survivors there have been searched and rescued, so the people from the Yangtze River Base won’t pay attention there. More importantly, Sencheng is surrounded by mountains and forests. Geographically, it’s relatively hidden. There are many scattered towns near it, which is beneficial to us.”
This is in agreement. Hou Ying looked at the others. Everyone had no objection, so he smiled and said, “Okay, let’s do some repair and maintenance here for one day, and then set off the day after tomorrow.”
Early the next morning, Li Xuanyuan told Hou Ying that he would go to the mountains to have a look. Hou Ying understood that it was because there were many hills and abundant vegetation. Maybe Li Xuanyuan could really discover wood crystals here, so he didn’t refuse. But he thought for a while then let Li Xuanyuan take Qiao Daye with him, so he could provide support to him. After all, plants have horribly mutated after the apocalypse happened. Even if Li Xuanyuan was the strongest person on the team, he couldn’t rest assured if he acted alone.
It’s a rest day so they didn’t train.
Wang Hehe and Meng Hanghai watched movies using their laptops, with Gongsun Jing also joining in the fun. Jiang Tao took Liu Zhan, Su Fenghe, and Ji Yao to take advantage of the sun to disassemble and reinstall the armored vehicle in the corresponding position of the heavy truck head, and properly place the rest of the materials. While studying various inventory data, Hou Ying conducted nuclei energy to Dongfang Bai—except for the allocated five-element crystals for cultivation, the rest was left tacitly to Dongfang Bai.
Thanks for the chapter ❤️
Atleast they have hope that some comrades are alive. I wonder if they could get new members soon.
Thanks for the chapter!
I’m honestly glad they weren’t able to meet anyone at the base. If they did, the leadership and group dynamics would completely change.
Thank you for the chapter!
+1 although it’s the apocalypse they are still soldiers who will still follow their superiors
Thanks for the chapter ❤️❤️