#121 - Chapter 121 Night Chat
Night.
It was still long.
The onslaught of zombies continued.
Fortunately, their intensity hadn't exceeded what the night watch could handle.
One o'clock in the morning.
Li Bowen's team had been on duty for three hours, and the members were starting to feel tired. Each of them had gone down to deal with the zombies numerous times.
By this point, the pile of zombie corpses outside the wall exceeded three hundred.
Fortunately, they were scattered, not piled up in one place to raise the ground level.
Of course, this was also due to the intentional control of the combat team.
They devoted themselves to researching various zombie-killing techniques every day. While they couldn't claim to avoid all mistakes, they could minimize most of the basic ones.
The frequent nightly meetings and studies at the base were not just for show.
If too many zombies fell in one area outside the wall, team members would need to lure approaching zombies to the side to kill them, ensuring they fell more evenly.
To avoid screwing themselves over.
After all, the school's walls weren't high enough, unlike at the base where they could ignore such numbers.
Li Bowen, on the highest building of the temporary base, squatted on a small stool he'd found somewhere, hidden behind the rooftop parapet, observing.
He occasionally scanned his surroundings with night vision goggles or briefly turned on the tall searchlight beside him to check the main street entrances in the distance.
He needed to understand how many zombies were on all the approaching paths.
At this time, there was no need to worry about the light attracting other survivors. Even if it did, it didn't matter; no one would run outside to die at night.
As he focused on observing, his ears twitched, and he frowned, turning to stare at the iron door on the rooftop behind him.
There was a soft 'click' sound from the doorway.
A figure slowly emerged.
Only after he saw who it was did his frown slowly ease. He continued to observe the surroundings, softly saying,
"Next time, I suggest knocking before entering."
Under the reappearing faint moonlight, the newcomer was revealed to be a slender figure. As she approached Li Bowen, her face became clear.
It was Yao Lei from the team.
"Captain, sorry~ I'll definitely knock next time~\
,""I brought you a cup of hot tea and something to eat."
As she spoke, Yao Lei walked to Li Bowen's side with a smile, gently placing the food beside his small stool.
Having been in Li Bowen's team for a while, she knew that her captain was sometimes a man of few words.
If she didn't take the initiative to speak, he could remain silent forever.
She didn't leave. Seeing that the captain hadn't reacted, she couldn't help but say,
"Captain, eat it while it's hot~ It'll get cold quickly in this weather."
Li Bowen paused. Seeing that there were indeed no abnormalities around, he turned to look at his female teammate and the hot tea and snacks on the ground.
He reached out and held the tea, feeling the warmth in his palm, dispelling the stiffness in his fingers caused by prolonged exposure to the cold wind.
He silently replied, "Thanks."
Yao Lei showed no sign of leaving. She smiled and nodded, actually sitting down against the parapet beside him.
"Captain, is it okay if I rest here for a while?"
Li Bowen took a sip of the hot tea, his eyes still scanning the surroundings, occasionally looking through the night vision goggles. He didn't truly relax and casually replied,
"Whatever."
Yao Lei had informed everyone in the team channel that she was delivering tea and snacks. Zhou Xin was covering her post, so her brief absence wouldn't create a gap in the defense.
At this moment, Yao Lei seemed to have endless things to say. Usually, when they were outside, they couldn't speak freely to ensure safety. They could only chat in the car or relax back at the base.
Her main friend was Zhou Xin, also a teammate. She didn't have many other friends at the base.
After all, she dared to venture out of the base and take risks. There were hardly any other women at the base who she could hang out with. And the combat team was almost entirely male.
She didn't have much desire to chat with other weaker teammates, and her idol, the boss, was too far away. So, she occasionally bothered her stronger captain.
Of course, only for chatting.
Just like now, it was basically a question-and-answer session.
Yao Lei hugged her knees with her arms, her little mouth already spitting out questions non-stop.
"Captain, how long do you think we'll be out this time?"
"Don't know."
"Captain, when can our team add more female members?"
"Don't know."
"Captain, can I keep the plush toys I find next time?"
"Yes."
"Captain, what kind of girl do you think President Qin likes?"
"Don't know."
"Captain, have you had a girlfriend before?"
"No."
"Captain, do you like men or women?"
"Women."
Yao Lei's little mouth was like a machine gun, shooting out countless questions like bullets. Li Bowen seemed to have experience with this, answering casually without even turning his head.
The fact that Yao Lei idolized the base leader was already an open secret in the team. Everyone was used to it and even thought it was very normal.
As a woman, how many people in this apocalyptic world could resist him?
That damned sense of security.
Of course, it was only limited to admiration.
"Captain, you're so skilled. Why didn't you continue being a soldier? I feel like your skills are comparable to those 'soldier kings' in TV shows!"
Yao Lei then asked a question that all the team members found strange.
Only those teammates who spent day and night with Li Bowen knew how sharp his skills were.
Several times when team members were in danger, Li Bowen suddenly took action to turn the tide, ensuring that no team member had been injured since the end of the world, unlike other teams where members were occasionally injured and needed to recuperate.
Faced with this question, Li Bowen didn't answer immediately. He frowned and fell silent.
After an unknown amount of time, he slowly said,
"It's nothing, I just didn't want to continue being a soldier."
"Oh."
Seeing this, Yao Lei didn't continue to delve into the question. Everyone had their own secrets or no-go zones they didn't want to talk about.
She had obviously touched on the captain's.
"Captain, are your family members doing well at the base? I didn't see you apply last time. My mom was rescued by helicopter last time, I'm so happy. I feel like life is full of hope every day now."
After speaking, Yao Lei laughed happily.
No wonder she was so happy. Seeing anyone's relatives reunite in this apocalyptic world was something to be happy about. She was a beneficiary of the last rescue application, finding her mother.
Although the benefits were somewhat reduced, as a combat team member, she often received contribution points as subsidies, making it easy to make up for that gap.
Li Bowen didn't remain silent this time.
His brow relaxed again.
On the other side that Yao Lei couldn't see in the dark, the corner of his mouth slightly turned up, and he spoke the longest sentence of the conversation.
"My parents are doing well at the base. Besides them, I don't have anyone else who needs rescuing. I'm very grateful to President Qin for giving us such a haven in this apocalyptic world."
(End of chapter)
