#143 - Chapter 143 Headquarters Blocked
Zongzheng Yue was rendered speechless by Yan Zhengping's retort.
He was right; in the apocalypse, a soft-hearted person couldn't survive, especially a soft-hearted person in a high position.
This couldn't be entirely blamed on Zongzheng Yue.
The mindset of a general in peacetime differs from that of a general in chaotic times.
His sense of responsibility, ingrained in his blood, wouldn't allow him to be a cold-blooded person, unable to disregard the safety of the common people.
His heart was undergoing intense scrutiny.
"Old Zong, you bear the lives and future of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, as well as the heavy responsibility of the safety of half of China. At this time, you must not be muddle-headed! One wrong step, and you'll never be able to atone for it!" Yan Zhengping softened his tone, earnestly advising.
Zongzheng Yue didn't speak; he silently hung up the phone.
He sat in his office all morning, lost in thought.
"Report!"
"Enter!" Zongzheng Yue said weakly.
"Reporting, Commander! The team sent to Huai Zhou City for reconnaissance has returned with news."
"Speak!"
"The reconnaissance team searched several streets and discovered an extremely abnormal situation."
"What situation?"
"No zombies were found in Huai Zhou City."
"None?"
Upon hearing this, Zongzheng Yue frowned even deeper. The absence of zombies at this time wasn't a good thing; the less visible they were, the more abnormal the situation seemed.
"Order the team to continue reconnaissance!"
"Yes!" The messenger left to carry out the order.
Before long, the messenger returned.
"Report!"
"Enter!"
"Reporting, Commander! The special forces regiment directly under the Military Department discovered an abnormal situation while carrying out a hunting mission."
"Speak!"
"This morning, after arriving in Mo Zhou City, the special forces regiment began carrying out the zombie hunting mission. But suspiciously, after searching an entire district of Mo Zhou City, not a single zombie was found."
"What?" Zongzheng Yue couldn't sit still.
"This isn't right. The zombies in Huai Zhou City have disappeared, and the zombies in Mo Zhou City have also disappeared. Where did all these zombies go?" Zongzheng Yue wondered.
"Order the special forces regiment to continue expanding the search area and be sure to find out the reason for the zombies' disappearance," Zongzheng Yue ordered.
"Yes!"
The messenger left to carry out the order.
"It seems that this incident must be premeditated!" The more Zongzheng Yue thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
"Report!"
Another messenger arrived.
"Enter!"
"Reporting, Commander! Zuo Wenshan, the mayor of the Meilin Settlement, has made an emergency call, saying that a large number of zombies were discovered outside the Meilin Settlement last night. The number is probably over a million!" the soldier reported.
"Report!"
"Enter!"
"Reporting, Commander! The Suiyang Settlement is calling for help…"
…
One messenger after another came to report.
Zongzheng Yue was overwhelmed.
At this rate, it was impossible for him to provide rescue.
So many settlements calling for help at the same time; he didn't believe there was nothing fishy about it.
He finally made up his mind to stand still and observe the situation.
By evening, the headquarters' phones were ringing off the hook.
The content was very similar; they all said that the settlements were surrounded by zombies and requested the military region to send troops to support them.
Zongzheng Yue ordered the soldiers not to report anymore, just to register the calls.
The night passed uneventfully, a lot of noise but little action.
Before dawn, the zombies surrounding the settlements retreated one after another.
They were afraid of sunlight, so they had to hide before sunrise.
Early the next morning, the entrance of the headquarters was surrounded by people sent by various settlements to ask for help.
They were all shouting to see Commander Zong.
Zongzheng Yue didn't see them but had the messenger tell everyone that he knew the situation and was conducting further investigation. He told them all to go back and wait patiently for news.
But no one went back; they waited at the entrance.
It wasn't until the afternoon that people gradually dispersed.
The same thing happened again at night. This time, even more settlements called.
The next morning, even more people came to the headquarters.
They wouldn't listen to explanations and had only one request: they hoped the military region could send some soldiers to garrison their settlements.
Many people had already brought tents and were camping directly at the entrance of the military region, preparing to stay for a long time, fearing that if the military region agreed to send troops, their settlement wouldn't get any.
Zongzheng Yue was in a terrible fix.
"Isn't this just acting like a hooligan!" he raged. But outside were ordinary people, and he couldn't use force against them. Once a conflict broke out, it could lead to the public losing confidence in the military.
The matter had developed to the point where he couldn't make decisions on his own, so he reported the situation to the Speaker.
The Speaker's reply was only eight words: "Prioritize appeasement, adapt accordingly."
What did that mean? It was as good as saying nothing.
In the following days, more and more people gathered at the entrance of the military region; almost every settlement in the Southeast Military Region and the Central Military Region had sent people to camp out.
The situation had developed in an uncontrollable direction.
…
May 30, 2055 AD, noon.
Binjiang City, underground base.
"Mr. Dongfang, today is the last day of the second phase of training. I think the team member list can basically be finalized," Rong Po said.
