The well-dressed young man sneered, shouting, “I’d rather throw myself to the zombies and die than work for you bloodsuckers!”

With that, he stormed off from the gate, his anger palpable.

His outburst stirred a wave of agitation among the crowd.

“I heard that if you contribute to building the base, they give you two buns a day?”

“Not anymore. That was yesterday’s news. Today, they’re saying it’s only one bun a day!”

“What? Just one? How are we supposed to survive on that? One isn’t nearly enough to eat!”

The crowd murmured in low voices, while the line slowly inched forward.

Before long, it was Renault’s group’s turn.

“Name?”

A man in camouflage, sitting behind a desk at the gate, glanced up at Renault and asked.

His name was Duan Hong, a former sergeant in the Xishan City military district, who had now landed a cushy job amidst the apocalypse.

“Renault.”

“Age?”

“21.”

“What’s your occupation?”

“Student.”

Duan Hong raised his head and asked, “Will you stay in the base to work, or are you going to leave, like that last guy?”

Renault chuckled, “So, no work means no food, huh? What if I don’t work today and just take a look around the base instead?”

Take a look around?

The crowd nearby almost had their eyes pop out. This guy acted like the base was some kind of tourist destination!

“Hahaha, of course, you’re welcome to look around. Just make sure to be back on time,” Duan Hong responded with a laugh, gesturing for Renault to pass through.

Renault nodded and added, “The ones behind me are my friends. We’ll all go in together.”

“Sure, you can all go in. Just make sure not to get separated.”

Duan Hong stroked his chin as he spoke, a brief flash of malice passing through his eyes.

The people lined up behind Renault’s group watched them pass without issue, and some began to think about following suit. However, Duan Hong’s cold smile returned as he beckoned to Zheng Dezhu.

In a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, Duan Hong ordered, “Send two men to watch them. If they make any sudden moves, execute them!”

Execute them!

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

A chill ran down the crowd’s spines, and those who had been about to imitate Renault’s group felt a surge of regret.

Seeing Duan Hong’s friendly facade hiding his ruthless nature, the line of refugees quickly fell back into order.

...

“Wow, is this really the inside of the military district? It’s my first time here.”

Little Alice marveled at the sights within the base, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

Renault glanced at Guo Haoyu, who seemed lost in thought, and asked, “Shall we head to the family housing area now?”

Although Renault hadn’t been here many times in his previous life, he was still the most familiar with the base among the group.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, let’s go check out the family housing area. They should be there.”

With that, Guo Haoyu began walking toward a distant part of the base.

Renault, holding Little Alice’s hand and accompanied by Fan Bing, followed.

Little did they know, two men were tailing them.

“Damn, why’d they assign us this boring job?”

The taller, lankier soldier grumbled, voicing his frustration with the base’s task assignments.

Most of their work involved standing guard or performing manual labor, which he had grown tired of.

“When are we going to kill zombies? All this pent-up energy is going to waste,” he lamented.

The slightly chubby soldier next to him, Pang Long, scoffed, “Give it up, He Liu. With your scrawny build, you wouldn’t even be enough to fill a zombie’s tooth gap.”

He Liu paused, scanning ahead cautiously, lowering his voice, “Look, Pang Long. They seem to be heading to the family housing area.”

Pang Long was puzzled and replied, “Could they be related to military personnel? Don’t they know that the family housing area has been turned into quarters for the base’s leadership?”

“They’ve got a little girl with them too, so they probably are. Who still believes in family ties in times like these?”

“Let’s just watch from here. If they make a move, the security at the gate will handle it.”

Pang Long chuckled, finding the task surprisingly easy.

Meanwhile, Renault’s group reached the gate to the family housing area.

“Halt!”

A soldier in camouflage, rifle raised, sternly commanded them to stop.

Guo Haoyu scratched his head and asked, “Is this the military’s family housing area? I was wondering if—”

“No, it’s not. The people living here are all base officers. What do you want?”

Officers?

Guo Haoyu blinked in surprise, but then his face lit up. He tried again, “Could you pass on a message? The son of the former Area 3 Deputy Chief of Staff is here.”

The soldier looked at him like he was an idiot, his lip twitching as he shouted, “Not that officer! The officers since the apocalypse! Your parents are probably working at the construction site. Now get lost!”

With that, the soldier raised his rifle in a clear warning.

If you try to push through, you’ll have to deal with me and my gun!

“How could this be?”

Guo Haoyu was stunned, unable to process that his elderly parents might be working in construction.

Renault stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder, reassuring him, “Don’t worry. We haven’t found them yet, so don’t jump to conclusions.”

“Yeah, exactly! Don’t believe everything this guy says. He might not even know what he’s talking about.”

Fan Bing chimed in, clearly doubting the soldier’s claim.

The soldier’s expression grew even tenser, his finger inching toward the trigger as he snarled, “I’m warning you, don’t cause any trouble. This area is off-limits!”

“Off-limits?”

Renault let out a cold laugh. This was the first he’d heard of such a thing.

This kind of closed-off approach was the most backward way of operating. It seemed the rulers of Xishan City Base weren’t the brightest.

“That’s right. If you try to barge in, I have the authority to shoot you. Don’t push me!”

The soldier’s rifle trembled slightly, but the murderous intent in his eyes was unmistakable.

“Boss, let’s go check out the construction site. If we don’t find them there, we can come back later.”

Guo Haoyu’s tone softened as he tugged on Renault’s arm.

Rather than waste time here, it would be better to check the construction site first.

Renault nodded, taking Little Alice’s hand as they turned to head toward the construction site.

Just then, a voice called out.

“Renault? Is that really you?”

Renault stopped, surprised, and turned to see a man in camouflage approaching with a broad grin.

“It’s me, Dong Liang. Do you remember me? I can’t believe you actually came here!”

“Captain Dong? What a coincidence. The situation is urgent. We’ll talk later.”

Renault noticed the insignia on Dong Liang’s uniform and smirked slightly.

Dong Liang seemed puzzled and quickly asked, “What’s going on? Tell me, maybe I can help.”