Chapter 54

"What are those two doing?" Guo Weixiang yelled over the deafening continuous fire of the vehicle-mounted machine gun.

Yan Hao knelt on one knee on the roof of the vehicle, firing his gun and roaring furiously, "Showing off their love! Stop talking! I'm about to turn to the dark side!"

Chuncao shifted gears, stepped on the clutch, and beautifully sent a circle of zombies flying, stopping the armored vehicle at the forefront of the zombie tide in the open space. She forcefully threw out a chain of Molotov cocktails.

In the distance, Zhou Rong and Si Nan fired almost simultaneously. The Molotov cocktails exploded with precision in the night sky, blooming into countless deadly fireworks.

Guo Weixiang: "Deputy Captain, listen to me! This isn't your fault! Although the captain has Alpha chauvinism, is a chauvinist, looks down on Omegas, and more importantly, isn't as handsome as you..."

Yan Hao: "Please, I'm begging you, stop talking..."

"But Si Nan HIM-SELF LIKES HIM!" Guo Weixiang shouted comfortingly at the top of his lungs. "So you didn't lose because of your sex appeal! It wasn't your fault you lost, no need to be sad!! The single dogs welcome you back to the pack!!"

The thread in Yan Hao's mind called 'reason' snapped. He turned the machine gun muzzle toward Guo Weixiang and said in grief and indignation, "I told you to stop talking—!"

Ding Shi frantically turned the steering wheel and sped away in a puff of smoke, the car carrying Guo Weixiang on the roof.

Countless homemade explosive packs were once again thrown from the top of the fortifications, falling toward the zombie horde under the dark sky. They were then hit by bullets, setting off a series of earth-shattering explosions.

Zhou Rong released the trigger. "27/27."

"36/36..." Si Nan glanced sideways through his scope and said softly, "Our guns are different types. I won't take advantage of you like that."

Zhou Rong was just about to tease him a little when another large batch of explosive packs suddenly fell ahead. The two of them raised their guns and fired at the same time.

The base's homemade explosives often had no reaction when thrown and were prone to being duds; sometimes they needed to be hit by a bullet to ignite. With their backs against the fortifications, shoulder to shoulder, Zhou Rong and Si Nan hit the mid-air khaki packages under the cover of the armored vehicle. The explosives fell on the zombies' heads, kicking up countless clashing air currents and flames!

The tide of the Living Dead was wiped out. Countless zombie limbs fell to the ground, as if a storm of putrid, bloody rain had just passed.

Scattered cheers rose from the crowd. As the area cleared by the bombs and the armored vehicle grew larger, the cheers gradually swelled into a thunderous, excited roar.

The 'rat-a-tat-tat' of the guns stopped. Zhou Rong smiled, "This won't do. Still one hundred percent. If this goes on..."

"Rong-ge!" Guo Weixiang threw something toward the zombie horde retreating down the hillside and roared, "Ultimate move! C4—!"

The C4 pack flew spinning toward the last group of zombies outside the base. Zhou Rong and Si Nan turned and raised their guns at the same time. Just then, Si Nan turned his head like lightning and kissed Zhou Rong on the cheek.

"...!"

The kiss was completely unexpected. Zhou Rong's index finger instantly loosened, while Si Nan pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Bang—

The C4 exploded.

The shockwave annihilated all the zombies at the bottom of the slope and at the same time sent the two of them flying backward. They fell heavily onto the grassy ground, covered in dead grass and sand from the hurricane-force wind.

"Si Xiaonan!" Zhou Rong roared, his face a little red. "You're cheating!"

Si Nan scrambled to his feet and winked smugly.

The large horde of Living Dead was finally cleared out completely. Only small groups of zombies remained, stumbling around amidst the corpses on the ground. They were run over by the charging armored vehicle, then immediately headshot and insta-killed by Yan Hao and Guo Weixiang.

At 4:30 in the morning, the zombie tide was completely cleared, and the life-or-death crisis at the base was finally resolved.

The fallen soldiers were saluted and carried away amidst tears of grief, while the machine gunners received a hero's triumphant welcome. Especially when the main gate slowly opened and the few special forces soldiers drove back inside the fortifications, the swarming survivors nearly dragged them right off the vehicle's roof.

Yan Hao: "Let's talk nicely, don't get physical..."

Guo Weixiang stretched his neck and roared, "Come on, try me!!"

Zhou Rong smilingly refused an excited girl who tried to grab his hand. He hooked an arm around Si Nan's neck and strode through the camp toward the back, smiling, "That doesn't count, you cheated..."

Si Nan, completely enfolded in Zhou Rong's arms thanks to his height, had one hand in his pocket and said decisively, "I didn't."

"My hand only shook because you kissed me."

"But my hand didn't shake."

"You kissed me, how come you're not the least bit excited?"

"Why should I be excited?"

Zhou Rong glanced sideways at him, and Si Nan returned his gaze calmly.

So Zhou Rong came up with an idea. "Then kiss me again," he said. "If you kiss me again, it'll count as your win, and it won't be cheating."

The eastern sky was already showing a faint fish-belly white. Under the pale light of dawn, people were bustling about with great zeal, moving bricks and stones to repair the fortifications. The surroundings were a hubbub of voices.

Si Nan's eyelashes fluttered rapidly. Zhou Rong knew this was his subtle sign of being shy—and sure enough, a moment later, Si Nan turned his head away, pretending to look elsewhere as if nothing had happened.

Zhou Rong laughed loudly. Cupping his cheek, he irresistibly turned his head back and pressed a lingering, passionate kiss to his lips.

"Your heart is beating faster." Zhou Rong pressed his forehead against his, his gloved index and middle fingers together, the pads of his fingers resting on Si Nan's carotid artery. He teased gently, "—'Why should I be excited?' Hm?"

At that moment, people were coming and going all around them, but only the two of them stood forehead to forehead, their breaths intertwining. Zhou Rong couldn't help but lean in for another kiss.

"..." Si Nan squeezed a single word through his tightly pressed lips: "Dishes..."

"Rong-ge will wash them, Rong-ge will wash them," Zhou Rong immediately coaxed. "Washing dishes is so much fun, Rong-ge loves washing dishes!"

Si Nan said coolly, "You say that as if our family can afford to buy dishes."

Zhou Rong: "..."

"Comrade Xiao Si!" In the bustling crowd, Zhou Rong followed closely behind Si Nan, saying tragically, "Even after my demotion, at least I'm still a Major! The country might not be paying salaries for now, but don't look down on people so much, okay!"

The injured were carried on stretchers through the camp to a temporary medical station set up in the office building. The few medical personnel at the base were incredibly busy. A doctor carrying a basin full of blood-stained bandages hurried down the stairs and bumped into Zhou Rong.

"Woah," Zhou Rong steadied him. "Careful! ...Doctor Zheng?"

They had only arrived at the base yesterday afternoon and hadn't had time to look for acquaintances among the survivors. He never expected Doctor Zheng to run right into him. Zhou Rong let go and was about to say something, but suddenly Doctor Zheng grabbed him back. While making vague sounds of acknowledgement, his expression was clearly off as he quickly glanced around.

Zhou Rong's ability to read the micro-expressions of others was practically second nature. He immediately sensed that the man had bumped into him on purpose and asked with a smile, "What's wrong? You didn't fall, did you?"

"Ah, ah, Captain Zhou, long time no see..."

In front of the camp, the crowd was noisy. The lightly injured limped past, leaning on the walls. No one noticed the movement at the stairwell entrance.

Doctor Zheng leaned in and said quickly in a low voice, "Please come to my dorm when you have a moment, Captain Zhou. I think I have something here..."

Zhou Rong's expression didn't change. "What is it?"

"I think I recognized someone." Doctor Zheng frowned. "A famous biochemist, I saw him during my advanced studies... Logically, he shouldn't be here. I just feel like something is not right with this base..."

"Old Zheng!"

Doctor Zheng nearly jumped out of his skin and hastily turned around.

Not far away at the temporary medical station, a slender man with a scholarly appearance and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose stood with one hand in his white coat pocket, waving at them with the other.

The man seemed not to have noticed Zhou Rong at all, only politely calling out to Doctor Zheng, "There's a machine gunner here who might have a fracture. Could you help take a look?"

—The person he had just been talking about behind his back had appeared right in front of him. In that instant, Doctor Zheng's entire face changed color, and a cold sweat trickled down from his temples.

Zhou Rong remained impassive and squeezed his elbow hard. The sharp pain made Doctor Zheng jolt. "Ah, co-coming!"

That man stood quietly amidst the groaning wounded. The early morning light passed through the railing, casting a grayish shadow on the corridor. Half of his body was hidden in the shadows, his face pale and his gaze sharp.

He seemed to exude a kind of invisible, chilling power that made Doctor Zheng not dare to look at Zhou Rong again. He quickly lowered his head and hurried toward the medical station.

Zhou Rong suddenly realized something.

—He was the driver who had come to pick up Chen Yajing.

Zhou Rong turned around, lost in thought. Not far away, someone gave a polite, soft cough.

Chen Yajing, pushed by a guard, had stopped a few steps away at some point.

"His name is Ning Yu. He's my assistant and a doctor at the base." Chen Yajing seemed completely unaware of anything unusual and took the initiative to break the awkwardness. "Does Captain Zhou want to see him? Were you injured just now? I'll immediately—"

"Ah, no, no," Zhou Rong laughed, his expression a little roguish, and he looked from side to side.

Si Nan had gotten a White Rabbit milk candy from some grateful, adoring young girl and was sitting leisurely on the railing, eating the candy and dangling his long, slender legs. Without a word, Zhou Rong pulled him down, pointed at his head, and said to Chen Yajing with a smile, "My humble wife was just kissed by me and now his heart is racing; he's breathing too fast; and he might pass out, so I asked Doctor Zheng to take a look..."

Chen Yajing: "..."

Si Nan asked blankly, "What's a 'humble wife'?"

"...'Humble wife'... your esteemed wife... in any case, it's good that he's alright." Chen Yajing almost bit her tongue and managed to find her voice again. "If there is anything wrong, please feel free to see Ning Yu. He is our most skilled doctor here. I came... I came to thank you, Captain Zhou. If you hadn't turned the tide in one fell swoop, we definitely wouldn't have repelled the zombies so quickly, and who knows how many machine gunners would have been sacrificed. Thank you so much."

Chen Yajing bowed slightly in her wheelchair.

"No need, no need," Zhou Rong waved his hand. "By the way, have you inquired about the reason why the zombies were able to bypass the patrol teams?"

Chen Yajing's delicate brows furrowed. "I know you're trying to say that the zombies have developed the intelligence for cooperative hunting like mammals, but I still stand by my opinion: that's just an isolated phenomenon. It can't be described as evolution; evolution is a group-wide phenomenon. As for the reason for the zombie siege, there could be many. The warming weather or being drawn by the scent of the living are both possibilities. Further investigation is needed."

Zhou Rong rubbed his chin, seemingly finding this very interesting. "Hmm, do you think it's possible for zombies to retain some of their conscious instincts, to spontaneously gather in places where they lived before they died?"

—His words were actually quite malicious, seeming to imply that many people in the base had once turned into zombies, but Chen Yajing's calm expression did not change in the slightest.

"I don't think so," she said flatly. "I am only responsible for keeping the base running. As for the changes and development of the zombie virus, Professor Ning can perhaps have a more in-depth discussion with you."

Zhou Rong immediately said earnestly, "Sorry, sorry, please don't overthink it, I didn't mean anything else."

The further explanation Chen Yajing wanted to give was stuck in her throat, and she could only give a helpless smile.

"There are large cruise ships and various speedboat companies along the coast. I will keep my promise and immediately send people to search for usable boats. I believe we will hear back in the next two days. Thank you again, you and your team members. As soon as there's news, I will come to inform you immediately."

Someone came running from the direction of the power supply room, whispering something to Chen Yajing for instructions, seemingly in a great hurry. Chen Yajing had no time to say more. She could only give another grateful bow to Zhou Rong, smile at Si Nan, and then the guard pushed her away toward the power supply room.

"Miss Chen!" Zhou Rong suddenly called out in a clear voice.

Chen Yajing immediately signaled her subordinate to stop and turned back to ask, "Captain Zhou?"

"What happened to your legs?"

To ask such a question so loudly in public was quite rude. But Chen Yajing only paused for a moment, her tone still gentle. "It was a medical accident. A neurological issue."

As if not seeing the indignant look on her subordinate's face, Zhou Rong said, "That's such a pity. What did you do before?"

The surroundings seemed to fall silent for a moment. Chen Yajing said slowly:

"...A ballet dancer."

She shook her head self-deprecatingly, said no more, and turned to be pushed away into the distance.