“Of course I do; wouldn’t I be dead without one?” Disliking the terrible smell here, Pei Huaiye pulled Ning Ran and walked a few steps further inside.
“Besides, we cleared the zombies out first thing, and right behind us, you led more zombies up to the sixteenth floor to play the pity card. Shen Shuhe, do I look that easy to fool?”
Shen Shuhe’s crying stopped abruptly as she looked at him in disbelief.
“Surprised I saw through your little trick?” Pei Huaiye let out a soft laugh, keeping his lips sealed about the rest.
“So it was a self-directed show after all.” Xu Sui stood up and looked at the people by the door: “I was wondering—the zombies in this building were all cleared out, so how come you guys got chased by zombies the moment you arrived? It really felt a bit strange. Now it all makes sense.”
Zhou Xu stood silently behind Shen Shuhe in a protective stance.
“Speak up—chasing us all this way, what do you actually want?” Han Chao threw his playing cards onto the table, growing somewhat impatient.
Staring at Pei Huaiye, Shen Shuhe sobbed, “I really wanted to explain things to you clearly. But since you don’t want to hear it, what else do I have left to say?”
Pei Huaiye looked at her quietly.
“Huaiye, there are man-eating monsters everywhere outside. Why don’t we team up?” Shen Shuhe choked back her tears and voiced her true purpose.
“I have my own people and capability. On what grounds should I team up with a useless dead weight like you who has nothing?” Pei Huaiye’s words successfully triggered another wave of tears from Shen Shuhe.
“Pei Huaiye, Shuhe has a superpower—Healing type! Your brothers may be capable, but can you guarantee they won’t get injured? Shuhe’s ability is right here; teaming up with us won’t be a loss for you!” Unable to stand seeing Shen Shuhe cry, Zhou Xu immediately stepped in front of her to confront Pei Huaiye.
“Tch, who gives a damn?” Xu Sui let out a laugh.
“Exactly. My Wild-ge’s capabilities are top-notch; we don’t need your damn bullshit Healing superpower at all,” Han Chao added with utter disdain.
“You heard them—my brothers aren’t willing to team up with you. Please leave?” The zombies outside had been slaughtered clean, making the entire sixteenth floor fairly safe, so they wouldn’t encounter danger even if they stepped out now.
Besides, Pei Huaiye genuinely had no desire to see them.
“Huaiye, I don’t believe you’re such a heartless and ungrateful person. Are you really going to discard our two years of relationship just over a little misunderstanding? I will wait for you—wait until you change your mind.” Finishing her words, Shen Shuhe led the way out of the presidential suite, and seeing this, the others followed closely behind.
“Tch, they made the room smell utterly disgusting,” Han Chao cursed.
Without a word, Pei Huaiye used his Wood superpower to purify the entire room, and the air instantly smelled much better.
Looking at Li Hongying and her two children shivering in fear, Ning Ran walked over and squatted down in front of them: “Bad ‘people’ were beaten to death by Brother! Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid.”
Staring at her pure and innocent face, Li Hongying thought to herself, How do you not know how to feel afraid?
The two little children had turned pale with fright, not even daring to let out a cry.
Ning Ran looked at them, then ran over to Pei Huaiye and held out her hand.
“What for?” Pei Huaiye asked her.
“Candy!” She wanted to use candy to coax her two little companions.
Pei Huaiye pulled a handful of candies from his pocket and placed them in her hands. Ning Ran trotted back over and distributed them to the brothers, Song Jiayan and Song Jiale: “Eat the candy and you won’t be scared anymore.”
With trembling hands, Li Hongying peeled the wrappers and put the candy into her sons’ mouths: “Be good. Sister says if you eat the candy, you won’t be scared anymore.”
As the sweet candy entered their mouths, the two brothers clearly began to feel a bit better.
“Xu Sui, take Sister Li and her children to a guest room to rest. You and Ji Hengyuan’s group take turns keeping watch.” After giving the instructions, Pei Huaiye pulled Ning Ran back into the master bedroom.
Early the next morning, after a quick bite to eat, the group began heading downstairs.
The zombie corpses were still blocking the door to the suite. Han Chao uttered a curse and resignedly blasted the corpses into dregs.
By the time Li Hongying and her sons walked out, there was only a strange smell in the air, with no sight of any remains.
Outside was a bright, sunny day, the sunlight so dazzling that people could barely keep their eyes open.
Pei Huaiye released the off-road vehicle from his space, and the group resumed their journey.
“Wild-ge, Shen Shuhe and her crew are still following behind,” Han Chao said, looking through the rearview mirror as he drove.
“Whatever, leave them be.” The roads outside were far from smooth; even a high-performance off-road vehicle jolted so violently that one could throw up their breakfast.
Ning Ran felt terrible discomfort, her head buried motionless in Pei Huaiye’s arms.
At noon, the group found an open spot to rest. Surrounded entirely by farmland, the situation in the vicinity could be seen clearly at a glance.
Three cars pulled over quietly, and the people outside began building a fire to cook.
Having eaten dry rations for two consecutive meals, it was truly hard to swallow any more.
The cooking utensils were items Pei Huaiye had stockpiled before the apocalypse—stuff he possessed in massive abundance.
With Han Chao acting as chef, he cooked a large pot of noodles and threw in a handful of wild vegetables gathered from the fields.
Speaking of which, Pei Huaiye’s Water superpower made cooking extraordinarily convenient.
No wonder Shen Shuhe had chased them all the way, insisting on teaming up with them no matter what.
The group sat in the open field enjoying hot noodles, a sight that made Shen Shuhe and her team—who were gnawing on dry rations—extremely envious. After all, her team only consisted of Wind and Healing types, lacking even a single practical utility ability.
After lunch, there was even water available to wash the bowls. Han Chao was so happy he felt like breaking into song, but refrained for fear of drawing zombies and bringing trouble upon himself.
After finishing their meal, the team rested on the spot for half an hour before getting back into the vehicles to continue forward.
The closer they got to Hope Base, the lower the probability of encountering zombies became. The zombie-slaying squads organized by the military offered task rewards—completing a task earned a portion of food or survival supplies, and the more zombies killed, the greater the rewards.
When Pei Huaiye’s convoy drove up outside the main gates, dedicated personnel came over to inspect their passes. Once verified, the vehicles were allowed directly into the base.
Hope Base centered around the city, surrounded on all sides by four- to five-meter-high walls staffed with patrols, as well as state-of-the-art wide-area electromagnetic radar and infrared thermal imaging arrays for round-the-clock detection. Any slight movement outside could be picked up instantly.
Not to mention the 24-hour non-stop security patrols—the base was guarded so tightly that not even an ant could crawl in.
Leaving the gate, the vehicles drove toward the city center, where a temporary shelter station was located; incoming survivors were assigned work based on their skill sets. The inside of the base looked no different from peaceful times.
The director of the shelter station was named Qin Hai, a man in his nineties who had dealt with Pei Huaiye several times. Seeing him now, he smiled warmly: “Captain Pei, when are you moving back to the base for good?”
He knew Pei Huaiye didn’t stay in the base often.
“Wait a bit longer, I still have unfinished business.” Pei Huaiye led Li Hongying and her children over: “Uncle Qin, arrange a way for this mother and her children to earn a living.”
As long as one was willing to work hard here, surviving was guaranteed.
“No problem at all; it’s not easy surviving until now.” Outside was filled with either zombies or earthquakes—the quake a couple of days ago almost destroyed the city’s infrastructure.
After chatting with Qin Hai for a bit, Pei Huaiye learned that the Base Commander had been looking for him recently. Exchanging a few more words, he drove the vehicle toward the central zone.
That place was the political core of the entire Hope Base, housing all major research operations.
The Base Commander was a middle-aged man in his fifties named Cheng Feng. Formerly the Deputy Director of the Ministry of National Security, he now managed the daily affairs of the entire base.
The instant he saw Pei Huaiye, Cheng Feng broke into a smile: “How long has it been since you went out, kid? You didn’t even think to come back and visit.”