18 – Return to the Villa
The rest of the journey went smoothly without any further mishaps. Gu Jingzheng had also changed out of his military uniform into regular athletic wear.
As they approached the villa, the area became noticeably more crowded. They even saw soldiers clearing out zombies, indicating that the authorities were managing the situation quickly.
Just as they neared the villa, Ye Jin spotted several suspicious individuals actually digging at her wall?
They were genuinely using shovels to dig. Ye Jin found it amusing—since they couldn’t get inside, they were resorting to extreme measures, trying to burrow underground like rats?
Before Ye Jin could even intervene, the group was electrocuted by the electric fence!
Seriously? When she had consulted with the designer, the villa’s electric grid had been extended a full meter underground. This high-cost security system wasn’t something just anyone could bypass!
The three men, unable to get in, grew frantic and started cursing outside: “Damn it! Come out if you dare! Fight me like a man! Open this door if you have the guts!”
They had been at it for three days, trying every method imaginable, yet they still couldn’t break in!
After shouting, one of them even hammered the gate a few times with a sledgehammer, but the door remained completely unmoved.
Ye Jin strode forward and kicked the man to the ground.
“Who? Who dares kick me!” The man, clutching his hammer, tried to get up from the ground. “Watch out, or I’ll kill you!”
He was promptly kicked again, landing back on the ground.
“I’m kicking you, that’s who!”
Ye Jin then pressed her knife against his neck. “Try breaking into my house again, and we’ll see who kills who!”
Seeing the situation, the three men—despite Ye Jin being a woman—didn’t dare provoke her further and immediately scrambled away, hunched over!
They had originally been loitering around the villa area, engaging in petty theft and minor crimes. They weren’t particularly bold, but seeing that the household seemed to consist only of vulnerable women and children, and with such a well-built house, how could they resist scheming?
From the surveillance feed, Yu Zichen, who had seen Ye Jin return, rushed to open the door. “Sis, you’re finally back!”
Noticing Zhang Yiyi outside, he turned and called inside, “Aunt Chen! Yi Yi Jie is back!”
Overwhelmed with emotion, Zhang Yiyi ignored everyone else and dashed inside to find her mother. Reuniting with family in the apocalypse was no small feat.
Holding Yu Zichen’s hand, Ye Jin asked about their recent situation.
Gu Jingzheng glanced around the villa. Located in the Linxi Road area and so well-fortified—just as expected, the owner clearly had insider knowledge.
To know that the S Province base would likely be established here and to have prepared in advance… it didn’t seem like they were on the fringes.
The Ye family from the capital? Even the Ye family wouldn’t have such high-level clearance to know this. Or were they connected to that side?
“Sis, those people outside are just petty troublemakers. They’re not capable of much—they just target us because we’re few in number and seem easy to bully. They harass us every day!”
Yu Zichen also despised them. They were endlessly annoying, and he had to stay vigilant constantly, worried they’d cause damage. Thankfully, his sister was back now.
Ye Jin glanced inside and asked, “Where are Zhang Zhang and Xiao Yue?” Knowing Zhang Zhang’s character, he wouldn’t have left Xiao Chen and the others on their own.
“Xiao Yue was tired and is sleeping. Brother Zhang went into the city to look for you!”
“To look for me?” Ye Jin asked curiously. “When did he leave?”
“Yes! After Brother Zhang awakened his ice Special Ability, his combat power became super strong!”
Yu Zichen’s eyes were full of envy. Why was it that his own Special Ability only allowed him to sense where zombies were, with no other apparent use?
Ye Jin asked again, “Did he go alone?”Yu Zichen shook his head and said, “No, it was Secretary Xu from the base who said he needed his help and promised to send people to look for you. That’s why he went.”
Xu Tian?
Ye Jin’s pupils dilated—that self-serving politician?
In her previous life when Ye Jin was at the Southern Base, politicians led by Xu Tian had been constantly vying for power with the military, plunging the entire base into chaos.
They had even collaborated with Yang Shuhuai to conduct live experiments, cultivating numerous Ability Users to serve them.
He must have taken a liking to Zhang Zhang’s strength and wanted him to work for his cause.
“Do you know exactly which place they went to?”
Yu Zichen shook his head; he truly didn’t know.
Aunt Chen, who was still holding Zhang Yiyi’s hand and fussing over her, overheard Ye Jin’s question and said, “Last time, they mentioned going to a steel mill to gather some supplies.”
Ye Jin’s heart jolted—that was no ordinary steel mill. Beneath it lay a hidden arsenal.
That arsenal wasn’t discovered until half a year into the apocalypse, when the base secretly assembled a team to go there. Why had it been moved up now?
She remembered that mission vividly—the casualties were severe. The arsenal didn’t just contain weapons; there were also some unknown monsters inside. She had only survived by awakening her Thunder ability at a critical moment.
No, she had to go find Zhang Zhang. He had gone to such a dangerous place for her sake.
“How long have they been gone? I need to go find him now!”
Everyone present stopped what they were doing and looked at Ye Jin in confusion. She had just returned.
Aunt Chen tried to persuade her, “It probably won’t be anything serious. They only left a day ago, and I saw that their whole group consisted of Ability Users, and they brought plenty of guns.”
“That’s exactly what makes it dangerous!”
Aunt Chen was taken aback and asked, “Then… could something happen to Zhang Zhang?”
The atmosphere grew tense. Ye Jin calmly said to Aunt Chen, “Actually, it’s not a big deal. Yiyi and Xia Li have been working hard these past few days—let them rest properly. I’ll go into the city to find him.”
Zhang Yiyi immediately protested, “No, I’m going with you!”
She knew how exhausting the past few days had been for Ye Jin.
“I’ll accompany her. I know where that place is.”
Gu Jingzheng’s deep voice cut through their conversation. He merely glanced at Ye Jin, and she understood.
Ye Jin said to Zhang Yiyi and the others, “He’s more skilled than I am. Since he knows the location, bringing him is the safest option. Someone must stay and guard the house. If anything comes up, let Xia Li handle it. That’s final!”
Without waiting for any further objections, she headed out the door with Gu Jingzheng.
Yu Zichen was puzzled—his sister had been back for less than ten minutes.
…
Gu Jingzheng was driving, while Ye Jin sat in the back seat instead of beside him. Neither spoke, and the atmosphere was heavy. Gu Jingzheng didn’t ask what she knew, and Ye Jin naturally didn’t question how he knew the exact location among the many steel mills in the city.
“Get some rest first!” Gu Jingzheng broke the silence. “There will be more Zombies at night, and it won’t be easy to enter the city. I’ll keep watch.”
Ye Jin knew he had been on night watch the previous day and hadn’t slept. She was about to say something but was cut off before she could speak.
“There’s something inside that steel mill—it won’t be easy to deal with.”
After saying this, Gu Jingzheng handed a pillow to Ye Jin in the back seat.
Ye Jin took it and said nothing more.
He even knows about that? Beneath the steel mill, there was also a research laboratory. To reach the arsenal, they had to pass through the lab first. She knew about the monsters only because she had been reborn.Now even Gu Jingzheng knew about it—apparently, those monsters existed even before the apocalypse. No wonder the country was able to establish protected zones so quickly. But what exactly triggered the apocalypse?
Ye Jin closed her eyes. In her previous life, although she was a top-tier Ability User in the Base, she had limited access to core information. Now it seemed everything had its origins long before.
Better get some rest first. This wasn’t something she could delve into deeply. A tough battle was coming soon, and she needed to conserve her energy.