“…No nuclear missile signs,” Yan Hao said softly: “Wasn’t it supposed to launch at eight? It’s already past eight-ten.”
“Could the plan have changed…”
“If the plan changed, the base would have notified us,” Yan Hao interrupted Chun Cao: “If it was postponed, the base would have sent another helicopter; delaying the launch would cause zombies to spread from the city center, and nuclear cleansing is best done as early as possible.”
Si Nan walked up from behind, stopping a few steps away, arms crossed, quietly watching them.
A terrible thought gradually rose in everyone’s mind, but no one spoke, not even moving, as if by keeping silent, that horrifying possibility would not exist.
The late autumn night was already cool, the wilderness undulating beneath the night sky, a faint yellow light from a distant streetlamp flickering by the railway.
“Your base,” Si Nan’s calm voice came from behind them, “something’s happened, right?”
Two or three special forces soldiers simultaneously shouted: “Impossible!”
“B Military District’s facilities are comprehensive, impregnable, with massive armed police deployed from the initial virus outbreak, not even a fly could get in! And the national government agencies, command headquarters, all survivors in the North China region, they all…”
No one continued, Chun Cao’s sharp voice gradually weakening.
Si Nan looked at her gently: “No fortress can resist internal collapse. Once the virus breaks out internally, the overthrow happens in an instant, you know this, right?”
Everyone recalled the civilians sent to the B Military District shelter by four helicopters just that afternoon, instantly chilling.
“Ying Jie,” Zhou Rong said in a low voice, “report location.”
Zhang Ying Jie held a tablet: “We’ve taken a detour, still 57 kilometers from B City’s suburbs.
The highway ahead is severely congested; recommend bypassing through the industrial zone. The nearest industrial zone is 8 kilometers away.
Zhou Rong slowly said: “If B City falls, it’ll be cleared by nuclear missile in two days at most. We can’t advance further.”
People in the minibus could no longer contain themselves, standing up and peering out, wanting to speak but hesitating.
After long contemplation, Zhou Rong finally made a decision under dozens of watching eyes:
“Camp here, inventory supplies, arrange accommodation for civilians.”
“Yan Hao,” he ordered, “compile a survivor list, prepare night shifts.”
