They approached the door to the communication center. Zhou Rong signaled the others to halt, peering through the small window embedded in the door. The room was eerily illuminated by flickering monitors displaying static.
“Are we ready?” Zhou Rong asked, his voice steady with resolve.
“On your mark,” Si Nan replied.
“Now!” Zhou Rong said, and Si Nan set the charges. There was a moment of silence before a booming explosion echoed through the corridor, followed by the acrid smell of smoke and dust.
As the door flew open, the crew rushed into the office, weapons raised, determined to secure their objective.
Zhou Rong nodded, briefly saying: “Maybe this is why there are few zombies nearby. Be careful.
Sinan found a chair with four legs still intact amidst the scattered debris, placing the still-unconscious Zhang Yingjie on it. Chuncao, hugging her assault rifle, let out a soft sigh:
“Back then, when Rong had nowhere to go, it was he who made the decision to bring Rong to Unit 118. Qian, this guy, well, he’s not entirely without fault, but he’s really good at understanding people…”
“How could Zhou Rong have nowhere to go?” Sinan asked.
“Not sure. Rumor has it he offended someone high up in the central leadership.”
The two of them held their guns on alert, searching for remaining zombies inside the satellite communications center. Sinan turned and glanced at Zhou Rong sitting with his back to them at the communication desk and smiled slightly:
“I was just thinking… that even someone like Zhou Rong, who can talk to humans like a human and to ghosts like a ghost, could actually offend people.”
Zhou Rong removed the identity card from Qian Shaojiang’s body, scanned it, and entered the confidential communication program, taking a deep breath.
Communication logs rolled down the screen, arranged in order of classification level, source, department, and date.
Zhou Rong filtered out the lower-classified portion and began reading from the top, the dim fluorescent light casting on his resolute and handsome face.
“September 15, 2019, 14:27 GMT+8 118 Unit’s 1st and 4th Companies confirmed total casualties, 2nd Company lost contact.”
“September 16, 2019, 20:37 GMT+8 118 Unit’s 3rd Company confirmed total casualties, 8th Company lost contact.”
“September 17, 2019, 16:26 GMT+8 118 Unit’s 5th and 7th Companies recalled, unable to confirm flight DC918 and target Z’s whereabouts.”
