Retribution

It was a message from an unknown number.

【Tonight at 9 PM, open the door. There's something to discuss, no ill intentions.】

The message was signed Lin Na.

Jiang Chu was startled, looking at the current time, 6:45 PM. In other words, in two hours and fifteen minutes, Lin Na would arrive at her door.

What did Lin Na need to discuss with her?

"What's wrong? Who sent the message?" Chen Qing Qing leaned closer to peek.

Jiang Chu put down her phone and simply replied, "A base leader."

Chen Qing Qing saw that she didn't want to say much, so she picked up a piece of hot sliced lamb from the hotpot, dipped it in sauce, and ate, asking no further questions.

In the apocalypse, where food was scarce, they were enjoying a sumptuous hotpot meal.

Jiang Chu was sweating from the spiciness. She stirred her dipping sauce, thinking about the message's content.

Since the water source was poisoned, the entire base was plunged into a strange turmoil. Everyone understood what this meant.

In the blink of an eye, at least a thousand people had died. The base's cruel methods were equivalent to sticking a needle into every survivor.

Today, they could kill both zombies and people to suppress a riot, so there was no need to mention what they would do in the future.

The zombie army gathered at the base's entrance, trying every possible way to destroy the defenses, while inside the base, the water source was completely undrinkable. The base, which was also the safe zone, was facing its biggest crisis since its establishment.

Chaos from within and without, coupled with a crisis of faith.

The open ground was still a mess, not yet cleaned up. As a base leader, why would Lin Na specifically take the time to come find her at this moment?

After finishing the feast, Jiang Chu and Chen Qing Qing quickly cleaned up the aftermath. The room had an air purifier, and they opened all ventilation equipment. Before Lin Na arrived, they had completely cleared the lingering smell in the house.

At 9:05 PM, Lin Na visited.

She was no longer wearing her neat suit but a thick winter uniform, a cloth mask, and a wool hat. Only her eyes were visible, completely different from the image Jiang Chu had seen last time.

The corners of her eyes were frozen and slightly red, and her whole body trembled.

Jiang Chu closed the door. Lin Na saw another young girl in the room without hesitation, felt a bit hesitant, but finally sat down.

Lin Na sat down and went straight to the point: "You and Liang Tian Yong severely injured He Li Xuan. His injuries are very serious. After being rescued, he screamed for your lives. His father can be said to be one of the base leaders; you've gotten yourselves into big trouble."

"According to the base's defense plan, you and Liang Tian Yong are assigned to the foremost front line of the base. That position is very dangerous." Her eyes revealed a look of discomfort.

Jiang Chu frowned, her expression somewhat puzzled: "As far as I know, the number of ability users in the base has never exceeded two hands. Placing precious ability users in cannon fodder positions, wouldn't others have objections?"

Lin Na sighed and said, "Of course they would. After all, those at the highest positions all hope that ability users can protect them, but the base also needs people to volunteer to buy time, otherwise, no matter how many soldiers there are, they won't be able to hold out. Not only the survivors, but even the high-level officials and soldiers have become polarized; the base is currently a mess."

She looked seriously at Jiang Chu. The person before her was calm and steady, with a maturity and composure unsuited for her age. Such a person was also an ability user.

She was definitely not someone who would willingly accept such arrangements.

A subtle emotion arose in Lin Na's heart.

"But with the base under strict guard both inside and out, leaving is almost impossible. If you want to save your life, you need to prepare in advance. Tomorrow, someone will come to arrange for you and Liang Tian Yong to go on guard duty. That's all I have to say."

Jiang Chu looked at her strangely, not understanding which side Lin Na was on, "Why are you telling me all this?"

She and Lin Na had no relationship. Wasn't it strange for a base leader to come and tell her these things?

Lin Na saw her confusion, leaned close to Jiang Chu's ear, and whispered, "I can tell you that I have somewhere else to go; I don't belong to this base."

Jiang Chu immediately understood.

Lin Na was probably one of Qin Yan's deep-cover agents within the base.

Lin Na stood up, providing her with intelligence: "Your supplies will soon be delivered to your door. I'll go first; be careful. The base's defense plan includes clearing zombies in every room. Also, the base's communications are being monitored, but it won't last for many more days."

"Understood." Jiang Chu saw her out.

Lin Na arrived cautiously and left almost silently.

The roars of zombies from the room next to Shen Yin Qiu's continued to echo. Jiang Chu gently closed the door and turned to look at Chen Qing Qing, who was worried on the sofa.

"Don't worry." Going on guard duty with Liang Tian Yong wasn't bad at all; they could scout the base's terrain and choose the easiest escape route.

At midnight, soldiers delivered the reward and compensation supplies.

Early the next morning, several residential blocks were completely controlled by the military, with automatic rifles visible everywhere.

Jiang Chu was taken to a watchtower outside the base, the same location Zhao Jing Yao had inspected before. Many new watchtowers had been built on all sides. An officer stood beside her, handing her binoculars.

The officer looked at her with eyes full of sympathy, "This is the first line of defense, also the position directly facing the zombies."

Through the binoculars, Jiang Chu saw countless zombies covering the outside of the base, even starting to climb the city walls. The obstacles in front had been completely destroyed, and the newly built high city walls were in peril. The electric fence was being gnawed by countless zombies; one fell, and another group rushed forward.

There was no end in sight.

The watchtowers and surrounding high walls were packed with hundreds of snipers.

Snow mixed with blood, and there were even some scattered disabled human corpses.

Jiang Chu took a deep breath, fearing that half the zombies in the city had gathered here.

The officer said helplessly, "The base's defenses are effective, but they cannot withstand such destruction. The bodies of the dead and zombies from yesterday could not be kept in the base, so they could only be thrown outside, which is also a forced transformation into bait for the zombies, and the base is about to be breached."

He hesitated for a moment before continuing: "Your performance in yesterday's riot was praised by the high-level officials, so they intentionally placed you on this first line of defense. This defensive line is guarded by four thousand civilians, two thousand soldiers, and three ability users."

"The transfer station is the second line, and the road leading to the outer villages is the third line. In addition, there is a back door leading to the back mountain, which is the fourth line."

"The high-level officials have placed their hopes on you, which is why they issued such an order," he added.

Jiang Chu laughed after hearing this. Was this human speech?

It was clearly revenge for her actions against He Li Xuan, and at the same time, they wanted her to maximize her value to buy time for those high-level officials to escape.

She feared they had already begun preparing to retreat to the mountains, hadn't they?

Jiang Chu curved her lips into a slight smile. What made them think she would obediently sit and wait for death?