070 Beating the Wolf with a Hemp Stalk - 2

Seeing his subordinates look puzzled, Boss Tian couldn't help but shake his head and explain in detail, "The zombies outside have no brains; they don't know the difference between hot and cold. Once the temperature drops, aside from those sheltered inside buildings, the zombies out in the open will be frozen stiff or frozen solid without exception. Therefore, the further north we go, the safer the road will be. I’ve studied the government’s residential information released over the past two days, and there are vast urban areas and towns to the north with no government presence. My plan is to move toward Shandong, find a spot by the sea, and gather a group of civilians to sustain us. It would be best to secure a boat as a backup. If the government ever comes to clear us out, we can immediately head out to sea for South Korea or Japan, and spend time with some foreign beauties!"

These hardened criminals held an innate psychological inferiority toward government agencies. Had it not been for the instigation of the late Qingpi Hu, they would have preferred to follow Boss Tian’s suggestion to retreat. Besides, "a bed of comfort is the grave of heroes"—these men weren't heroes, but they were certainly brutal thugs. Having grown accustomed to enslaving civilians, their bones had begun to soften; how could they possibly be expected to risk their lives in a fight? Moreover, some of their companions had seen with their own eyes that the 08 Team were monsters who could slaughter hundreds of zombies by hand and treat sniping like a child's game. Why bother poking a hornet's nest? Thus, Boss Tian’s suggestion was unanimously agreed upon, though someone still raised a question.

"If we don't provoke the 08 Team, what if those monsters come after us?"

"Come after us?" Boss Tian sneered. "They would have to find us first. Do you think I picked this place at random? Do you think the asbestos tiles on the roof are just for show? Don't forget, we still have an ace in the hole. Tian the Swindler is currently living comfortably at their base. With him feeding us information, what is there to worry about?"

"But..."

"Worried he’ll defect? Once it gets dark, we’ll contact him, explain the evacuation plan, and make it clear: as long as none of us are captured by the 08 Team, his identity will never be exposed. Do you think Tian the Swindler would jump out to expose us for merit, hoping for a chance at survival from that bunch of ruthless killers, or would he rather play it safe and feed us information so we can get away early?"

To jump out and say to someone who had slaughtered hundreds of zombies, "I am the mole, I am turning myself in, please don't kill me"? Unless Tian Maocai had been lobotomized by a zombie, he wouldn't do it.

Quickly and efficiently, Boss Tian reassured his men and solidified their loyalty. He also issued a strict order: even with a mole, they couldn't let their guard down. The civilians must never know about the government settlement or the vaccine distribution scheduled for the coming months. Since they needed to prepare for the long journey, they shouldn't oppress the civilians too harshly—but the required supply quotas must be met! As for how a group of hardened criminals would get their hands on zombie vaccines? They’d cross that bridge when they came to it.

Boss Tian had misjudged the combat capability of the 08 Team. He assumed everyone in that special task force could shoot with the precision of Ren Wanrong, or that they all possessed the physique of Wang Chen, capable of engaging in hand-to-hand combat with hundreds of zombies in the woods. He never imagined that this group of "special forces," who relied on their armored vehicle for shock value, had such lopsided skills, and that they happened to be led by the only two truly dangerous individuals in the bunch. Consequently, he felt compelled to lie low and scramble to prepare for his escape.

The 08 Team, however, was unaware that Boss Tian had lost his nerve. Even among the civilians, having watched the zombie swarm nearly overrun the base, it would be a lie to say they weren't terrified. An atmosphere of panic and tension hovered over the camp. Children as young as Hu Qianqian were shouldering handguns, lying in makeshift foxholes, and guarding the levee against a potential counterattack from Boss Tian. This state of alert lasted until noon, finally easing when Fang Qiang returned to the base with three trucks full of weapons and equipment.

The sight of the armored vehicle pulling up to the bridgehead with its heavy machine gun mounted did more to soothe the people's hearts than anything else.

Fang Qiang had been on edge the entire trip. After stepping out of the vehicle, he didn't even stop to debrief with Ren Wanrong, but rushed to the room where Wang Chen was resting to check on him. He had already heard about Wang Chen’s "feat" on the way back, a feat that had some connection to him. Seeing Sheng Qingru constantly reaching for her gun on the return journey had made Fang Qiang break out in a cold sweat. Like Ma Tian, he understood clearly that after being subjected to extreme trauma, this girl had been unintentionally warmed by Wang Chen. She was now throwing herself at him regardless of his dangerously unstable state. To put it crudely, it was like a dog on the verge of death being saved by a compassionate human—the result was lifelong devotion, a bond of life and death where, if the master died, the dog would surely seek revenge before following them into the grave.

If Wang Chen had actually died in the woods, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

Thus, now that Wang Chen had miraculously survived, Fang Qiang felt like he had been granted a second chance at life; coming over to express his stance was the only right thing to do.

Due to extreme fatigue, Wang Chen was receiving a full-body massage from two civilians who had once worked in professional spas. When Fang Qiang entered, Wang Chen didn't need to get up, but he dismissed the masseurs, put on his clothes, and kept Sheng Qingru, Fang Qiang, and Ma Tian in the room. Before Fang Qiang could offer an apology, Wang Chen spoke first: "I agreed to the second transport run, so Brother Fang, you bear no responsibility."

"But..."

"There are no 'buts.' Qingru, I guessed you would be angry while I was resting. The moment you walked in, your expression confirmed it. Let me say something from the bottom of my heart: Ma Tian, Brother Fang, and I share a bond forged in life-and-death. You know we haven't known each other long, but we survived together on that desolate island. Without them, I might have died in that shack long ago, or been turned into a sieve the moment I met Pablo. Oh? I’m not saying you should go settle scores with Pablo! I mean, it’s a possibility!" Seeing Sheng Qingru make a move to stand, Wang Chen quickly soothed her. "What I’m saying is, I know your feelings for me. I’ll be greedy and state my position in front of these two brothers: regardless of whether Han Li can accept you and me after she wakes up, or whether she is willing to accept you, I, Wang Chen, will never let you be sad in this life. I promise. And one more thing, remember this: if I, Wang Chen, ever die at the hands of these two brothers, for whatever reason, you are not to trouble them. Whatever the reason!"

"Wang Chen, that’s too heavy! I can’t bear such words! Really!" Fang Qiang quickly tried to smooth things over. He never expected Wang Chen to say such things; even as worldly and sophisticated as he was, his eyes turned red at that moment.

Ma Tian, who had remained silent throughout, was at a loss for words. Decades ago, this would have been a blood oath sealed with the blood of a chicken and a yellow paper.

Sheng Qingru was indeed furious, but after hearing Wang Chen profess his love in front of others, whatever followed didn't matter anymore. As a woman, no matter how much she pretended not to care, the trauma of her past wouldn't simply vanish. In the dead of night, wouldn't she still worry that Wang Chen despised her? After all, thousands of years of Eastern culture were steeped in everyone's hearts. Even if modern people were more indifferent to the concept of chastity, it was impossible to be completely unbothered by such a defilement.

As for Wang Chen, he was using his near-death experience today to lay his heart bare. His internal burden was no lighter than Sheng Qingru's. The words "ten years of life" took only two seconds to say, but they had always been a massive stone in his heart, occasionally making it hard to breathe. This had nothing to do with regret; it was purely a sense of urgency.

Therefore, Wang Chen didn't want to let his limited time be marred by resentment and misunderstandings that would eventually spiral out of control. It was better to just lay everything out in the open.