Chapter 1161 Paradise! !

Qinghe Night Market Gathering Area

As night falls, the darkness, like thick ink poured down, envelops the Qinghe settlement.

This major town in the Central Plains war zone, rebuilt on the site of the former Qinghe Town before the apocalypse, has become an impregnable fortress after several months of development, exuding a heart-pounding vitality and a sense of security.

From a high altitude, the outer defensive wall is the first spectacular sight to come into view!

The 20-meter-high and 10-meter-wide wall, like a giant steel dragon, is coiled at the edge of the settlement. Most of it has been poured, and the dark gray special concrete surface is covered with the patterns of reinforcing steel bars, like the scales of a giant beast.

Every fifty meters along the top of the wall stands a high-powered searchlight, its snow-white beams piercing the night sky like giant silver pillars, sweeping across the ground and walls, illuminating every shadow that might conceal a threat.

The anti-aircraft gun barrels pointed diagonally to the sky, their metallic luster gleaming coldly under the lights; the twin-mounted machine guns were mounted on prefabricated firing positions, their muzzles facing the wilderness outside, as if ready to spit fire at any moment.

Large numbers of internal security soldiers, dressed in training uniforms with ink-wash cloud patterns and carrying QBZ-191 assault rifles, patrolled in pairs along the top of the wall. Their steps were uniform, and the soles of their boots made a crisp "click" sound as they stepped on the anti-slip steel plates.

On the northeast side, where the wall section was still under construction, a completely different scene unfolded:

Several large crawler cranes drew arcs in the night sky with their booms, hooks carrying bundles of steel bars or precast concrete blocks, like giant hands moving building blocks.

The roar of the mixer, the whistling of the electric drill, and the shouts of the workers mingled together, and even from hundreds of meters away, you could feel that urgent energy!

The temporary lighting illuminated the construction site as if it were daytime. Workers in orange safety suits worked in shifts around the clock to catch up on the work, braving the slight chill of the night. Sparks flew from the welding in the darkness, creating strings of golden fire, like adding points of light to the unfinished "dragon scales".

Passing through the archway of the defensive wall, the bustling activity inside the settlement instantly dispelled the gloom of the "apocalypse".

Thanks to the stable power supply from the Litang Thermal Power Plant, the streetlights on both sides of the street are brighter than before the apocalypse. The warm yellow light spreads along the asphalt road, and even the leaves of the roadside bushes are illuminated with a soft glow.

Further away, the exterior walls of tall buildings were even adorned with colorful light strips, the flowing light strips outlining the contours of the buildings in the night sky. From a distance, it even resembled the dazzling night view of a pre-apocalyptic city.

It was the peak time for people to go out after dinner at the military manufacturing plant, and the streets were crowded with people.

The workers in blue overalls had light black machine oil stains on their cuffs. Some were arm in arm with their colleagues, some were carrying tool bags in one hand, and some were holding hands with girls who were also wearing overalls.

There were also families who had "re-emerged" – the man pushing a stroller with a child clutching a glowing plastic toy, and the woman carrying newly bought fabric, chatting with the owner of the nearby grocery store, asking if he could help find a certain brand of baby formula.

Most of the shops along the street had wooden signs that read "Directly under the Night Province Management Committee" or "Special Supply for Military Supplies in the War Zone," and their windows were lit with warm light.

In the military supply store, many survivors were selecting durable training boots, and the shop assistants behind the counter deftly handed them shoe boxes; the daily necessities store was crowded with residents shopping, and the shelves were full of soap, towels, and even toilet paper, which was rare before the apocalypse.

Of course, the most lively places were the food stalls on the street corners. After all, eating was something that was ingrained in the bones of the Zhou people, and it was practically Engel's lifelong enemy!

At the most crowded spot, the stall owner had set up a large iron pot, and the mutated beast bone soup inside was bubbling away. The aroma wafted out and circled the street corner three times. The line of people stretched from the stall to the roadside. Some children stood on tiptoe and clung to the edge of the stall, and the stall owner smiled and handed them a small piece of jerky to try.

"Mutant beast meat for sale!! Mutant beasts for sale! Mutant beasts from the military farm!! Children who eat it will become smarter! Women who eat it will have better complexions! Men who eat it will have uninterrupted erections!!!"

"Dad? What does 'unfailing erection' mean?"

"Don't worry about it, Dad will buy you some to make you smarter!"

...

Right in front of the mutated beast meat stall that was shouting "Unfailing Golden Spear," several middle-aged and elderly men with calm demeanor and ordinary clothes, yet whose dignity was hard to conceal, were watching with great interest from the periphery of the crowd.

They were leaders from various war zones who had just finished a day of battlefield observation and were now traveling incognito to experience life in the Central Plains War Zone.

Commander Wei Jingfang of the Western Theater Command, Commander Wu Xianglin of the Southern Theater Command, Director Zhou Wei of the Joint Political Work Department of the Eastern Theater Command, Deputy Commander Wang Zhiming, and a number of accompanying senior generals.

At this moment, they had taken off their crisp general uniforms and changed into ordinary dark-colored civilian clothes provided by the Central Plains Theater Command. They mingled in the noisy crowd and at first glance looked no different from the workers and residents relaxing after get off work.

Only the gaze and demeanor honed over years of holding a high position can reveal a sharpness and depth that is slightly different from the surrounding environment during an occasional, unintentional glance.

Lieutenant General Chen Haitao, commander of the Central Theater Command Navy, who was in charge of the reception, was also dressed in civilian clothes. Like a friend who was familiar with the local customs and culture, he walked easily beside the "guests" and occasionally introduced the features of the shops on both sides or the origin of a certain snack stall in a low voice.

His posture was relaxed, but his seemingly casual eyes could always accurately capture a few subtle nods or eye exchanges in the crowd—those were internal security personnel mixed in with the crowd, silently reporting that the surroundings were absolutely safe.

These security forces are like salt dissolved in water, present yet leaving no trace, ensuring the absolute success of this "undercover visit".

Wei Jingfang stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze slowly sweeping across the brightly lit, bustling streets. He watched the people with satisfied smiles moving between the shops, and listened to the sounds of bargaining, children's laughter, and vendors' shouts...

All of this intertwines to create a vibrant, lively, and even somewhat noisy "symphony of life."

He took a deep breath. The air was filled with the aroma of food, a faint scent of industrial dust, and the warmth of people's bodies—it was the smell of "human warmth."

It was completely different from the "survival air" he was familiar with in the underground command center, which was filtered through layers of air and smelled of metal and disinfectant.