Third Base.
A little past three in the morning, accompanied by the sound of the gate opening, Cheng Min walked in slowly from outside, carrying a knife on his back. Under the moonlight, his shadow stretched long.
He was tall and slender, his entire body wrapped in a black combat suit, with only a section of his pale neck exposed, drawing attention. His slim waist twisted slightly with his movements.
Following closely behind him were two young boys. Without the gate blocking the sound, the roars of zombies echoed continuously, piercing the silence and sending chills down one’s spine.
Noticing the two behind him had stopped, Cheng Min frowned, turned around, and slammed a button on the wall. Instantly, the gate closed, plunging the surroundings into a deathly silence.
To avoid scaring the two and causing unnecessary trouble, Cheng Min lifted his shirt to wipe the blood off his face. Once he felt it was okay, he looked at the two and said in the gentlest tone, “Don’t be afraid, it’s safe here. You’ll be living here from now on.”
After the apocalypse crisis broke out, it didn’t take long for a group of mutants to appear among humans. Initially, their symptoms were the same as those infected by zombie bites, such as fever and dizziness. They even lost their sanity and attacked people randomly.
But after a while, the mutants would return to normal, and their strength would increase significantly, possessing various powerful abilities. In this zombie-infested world, they had the ability to protect themselves.
Surviving humans called these mutants “异种人” (different species). Coincidentally, Cheng Min accidentally became one of them, gaining the ability of night vision, which was considered the least noticeable among all abilities. Besides enhancing night vision, it wasn’t very useful.
But now, Cheng Min found it very useful. He could easily see the reactions and even the small movements of the two in front of him. The two looked at each other, finally believing Cheng Min’s words, visibly relaxing, unaware that Cheng Min had seen it all.
“Follow me.” Cheng Min withdrew his gaze and turned to walk inside. “You both need to treat your wounds, or they’ll get infected.”
Soon, footsteps followed behind him. This base was originally an abandoned factory before the apocalypse. Later, Cheng Min and others came, cleared the surrounding zombies, and stayed here, using it as their headquarters.
Initially, there weren’t many people in the base. Now, there were about a hundred people, mostly rescued by Cheng Min and others from outside, with a few coming on their own after learning about the situation. Usually, everything was orderly, and everyone contributed their part diligently.
This time, Cheng Min took five people to Lin City to gather supplies but was ambushed by others. Not only were the supplies stolen, but they also alerted a zombie horde. The team suffered heavy casualties, leaving only Cheng Min. On his way back, he saved two boys being chased by zombies and brought them back to the base.
Hearing that Cheng Min brought back newcomers, the base’s doctor had been waiting for a long time. After handing the two over to him, Cheng Min turned and left.
The base had three floors, and Cheng Min’s bedroom was at the far end of the first floor. The corridor was pitch black, with only the dull sound of boots on the metal floor.
Back in his bedroom, Cheng Min took off all his clothes, threw them on the floor, and entered the bathroom. Turning on the faucet, a sharp pain continuously attacked his back. Cheng Min frowned and took a quick cold shower.
After coming out of the bathroom, he went straight to the bed, picked up the mirror on the bedside table, and looked at his back, which was a bloody mess. Instantly, Cheng Min frowned even more.
He didn’t like scars on his body, not even shallow scratches, simply because they looked awkward. Putting down the mirror, Cheng Min returned to bed, planning to find the doctor in the morning to use his ability to heal the scars on his back. This way, there wouldn’t be any scars.
After experiencing so much in one night, Cheng Min quickly felt sleepy once he relaxed. In a daze, he felt someone knocking on the door. What time was it? Couldn’t people let him sleep? Did they think he was a robot, working 24/7?
Despite his complaints, Cheng Min reluctantly got up, walked to the door shirtless, and opened it. Standing outside was Lin Xing, Cheng Min’s most loyal subordinate, who had once sacrificed an arm to save him. However, this guy was colorblind and often caused some blunders.
He looked anxious, and upon seeing Cheng Min, he quickly said, “Boss, something’s wrong. Someone’s stealing food from the base’s storage room.”
“Where’s the person?” Cheng Min leaned against the door lazily and asked, “Did you catch them?”
“Of course.” Lin Xing smiled and patted Cheng Min’s shoulder. “You can trust me with this.”
“Mm.” Cheng Min withdrew his gaze and turned to walk inside. “Thanks for your hard work.”
“Not at all.” Lin Xing’s voice came from behind. “How should we deal with him?”
Hearing this, Cheng Min turned around, his beautiful willow-leaf eyes falling on Lin Xing. “No need to deal with him, just kick him out. We don’t need such people in the base.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a piercing alarm sounded, red lights flashing down, and the faint roars of countless zombies could be heard. The two exchanged a glance and split up to take action.
Cheng Min quickly returned to his room, dressed, grabbed his weapon, and ran out, sprinting towards the source of the sound. A breach suddenly appeared in the base’s defenses, allowing a large number of zombies to flood in. With most people asleep, they took advantage of their numbers to successfully invade the base.
While listening to his subordinates’ reports through his earpiece, Cheng Min focused on killing the zombies constantly lunging at him. “What’s the situation in Area A?” Cheng Min dodged a zombie’s attack, swiftly dealing with it.
“It’s already fallen.”
“What’s the situation in the other areas?” There were too many zombies, forcing Cheng Min to abandon defense and retreat.
“Only Area D hasn’t fallen yet.” Lin Xing’s calm voice came from the other end. “You still have time, hurry and evacuate.”
“Okay.”
With three areas of the base already fallen, staying to fight to the death would only result in being overwhelmed and devoured by zombies. Now, they could only abandon the base and go elsewhere.
Thinking of this, Cheng Min felt reluctant. After all, he had lived here for three years and already considered it home. But now, he had no choice.
Destroying the defense devices on the wall, a thick smoke instantly swept through the corridor. The zombie horde lost their target and temporarily stopped. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Cheng Min decisively made his escape.
Familiar with the terrain, he easily entered Area D, but by then, it had already fallen, with zombies everywhere. The unfortunate met a grim fate.
Clearing a path, Cheng Min mounted a motorcycle and quickly left the scene.
A little past five in the morning, as the sky began to lighten, Cheng Min discarded the out-of-fuel motorcycle, took his weapon from it, and continued on foot. Alone, even a mutant like Cheng Min, with his relatively useless ability, had limited capabilities.
He was alone, without food or water, only a weapon for self-defense. To ensure he could survive a bit longer, he chose to traverse rooftops. Although he would still encounter zombies, it was better than being a sitting duck on the ground.
Carrying his weapon, he moved forward, crossing countless rooftops until he saw a bridge in the distance, the only way to the outside world. Cheng Min quickened his pace, and as he crossed another rooftop, he heard human voices from below. Thinking it was an illusion, he ignored it.
But the next second, the cries for help grew louder. Now certain there were humans below, Cheng Min peeked over and saw a curly-haired boy standing at the stairs below. He kept retreating, pressed against the wall, while zombies slowly approached him. Driven by a strong will to survive, he swung the axe in his hand, trying to fend off the zombies.
Cheng Min clicked his tongue, feeling exhausted and powerless, but seeing the situation below becoming more critical, he decisively intervened. Using his mutant’s strong physique, he jumped down in front of the boy, took out his weapon, and easily dealt with the zombies in front of him.
Finding a piece of cloth, he wiped the blood off his weapon, not even glancing at the curly-haired boy, picked up his backpack from the ground, and left. Suddenly, his arm was grabbed by someone. “Brother.”
Cheng Min turned his head and realized the boy was half a head taller than him, his well-built body hidden under his clothes. As he spoke, he revealed two canine teeth. “Thank you for saving me.”
“No problem.” Cheng Min glanced at the backpack in his hand, feeling a bit embarrassed, and asked the curly-haired boy in front of him, “Can you spare me some supplies?”
“Of course.” The curly-haired boy smiled. “You saved me, so as a reward, these are all yours.”
Cheng Min was taken aback, then smiled. “Alright.”
After dealing with this matter, Cheng Min turned to leave, but after walking a short distance, he stopped, feeling like someone was following him. Turning around, he was right. The curly-haired boy was sneakily following Cheng Min, his blue cat-like eyes staring at him without any disguise.
“What’s up?” Thinking he had something else to say, Cheng Min asked patiently.
“Brother.” The curly-haired boy blinked and smiled. “Can you take me with you?”
Cheng Min rubbed his temples. “Sorry, I really can’t.”
He was already struggling on his own, and taking along a burden would only speed up his demise. Hearing this, the boy showed a disappointed expression but was still unwilling to give up. “I’m scared alone.”
“No.” Cheng Min sighed, his attitude firm.
The curly-haired boy was too persistent. Cheng Min had lost count of how many times he had saved him from danger. Clearly, he hadn’t given up on following him yet.
“Stop following me!” Cheng Min turned around, looking at him with dissatisfaction. “I can’t protect you.”
The curly-haired boy stopped, standing still, his cat-like eyes misty, tears threatening to fall. Seeing this, Cheng Min felt a strange pang in his heart, as if he had done something unforgivable.
Afraid of hurting him again, Cheng Min rubbed his temples, his expression bitter, opening his mouth but not knowing what to say.
“Watch out!” Cheng Min shouted.
At the same time, a strange figure noticed the two and charged at the boy, who stood frozen, watching the scene unfold. Without thinking, Cheng Min rushed forward, drawing his weapon and striking the zombie in front of him.
“Thud.”
The zombie slowly fell to the ground. Cheng Min breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the blood off his face, and turned to the curly-haired boy. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine.” The curly-haired boy smiled, approaching and using his sleeve to wipe Cheng Min’s face. “There’s still blood here. Let me clean it for you.”
The two were very close, and the boy had a faint fragrance that Cheng Min found pleasant. As it filled his nostrils, his expression relaxed, allowing the boy’s small actions.
In a daze, the boy pinched Cheng Min’s face, and without being stopped, he even went further, slipping his hand inside Cheng Min’s collar. Until… a sharp pain hit.
Only then did Cheng Min wake up, frowning as he pulled the boy’s hand out, stepping back to create distance. Just as he was about to speak, the boy’s pitiful expression left him speechless.
“Brother?” The curly-haired boy licked his lips and smiled. “I forgot to tell you my name. I’m Shen Jianze.”
“Cheng Min.” Cheng Min sighed, looking at the curly-haired boy swaying in front of him, feeling an itch in his hands, unable to resist ruffling his hair. “Let’s go.”
Author’s Note: