Chapter 102: The Siege of the City on a Rainy Night (Part 1)

The Shuguang Base was hit by heavy rain again, with raindrops as big as beans pouring down without stopping for a week.

Su Qing stood beside a flooded field in the base, holding an umbrella in one hand and braving the wind and rain. Only a few crops planted in the field were now visible in the water. Due to the low terrain here, the fields had become a vast ocean after several days of heavy rain.

She received a system alert and rushed to check.

"System, what's going on? The last artificial rainfall didn't cause any water accumulation."

"Testing..."

"The base drainage system is overloaded. It is recommended to upgrade the base facilities."

Su Qing opened the page and frowned at the funds and supplies required for the upgrade. "System, don't I deserve to experience a life of plenty? Is the drainage system really that expensive?"

She might as well organize the base personnel to drain the water by manpower.

"It's not just the drainage system, it's a comprehensive upgrade of the base's infrastructure. Honest and fair, dear."

"Given the frequent occurrence of extreme weather, we strongly recommend that you upgrade to prepare for worse conditions in the future."

The system's words made Su Qing hesitate for a moment. She had saved a sum of money to deal with the zombie siege. If she upgraded the base, her protective shield would not be able to hold out for long. Although everything was calm now, no one could predict when the zombies would attack again.

Once the money is used, it will be difficult for her to make up for it.

However, water has already accumulated in many places in the base, and now it is affecting the crops grown outdoors. If the heavy rain continues, the base will inevitably be flooded and its people's livelihood will be affected.

…

Heavy rain fell for seven or eight days in a row, but the people at the Dawn Base didn't take it seriously. When water accumulated on many roads in the base, no one paid much attention. However, when they had to wade through the water to travel, some people began to worry.

Just as the thought came to mind, someone else discovered that the water in the base had completely disappeared.

Everyone was very happy with the speed with which the base handled the problem.

And Su Qing...felt very painful!

She was in so much pain that she pulled Fang Qing to sit in the office and settle accounts all night.

How to properly manage the base's resources so that everything is back on track like before the apocalypse, and... how to make money! Make a lot of money! Make a lot of money! Money! Money!

Su Qing was awakened by a burst of noisy footsteps. She climbed up from the sofa and wondered in confusion, why were there so many voices in her house?

Su Qing looked around with sleepy eyes and became more awake. Oh... this is not her home. Then she remembered that she and Fang Qing had been chatting until three in the morning. She was too sleepy to move and just rested in the office.

Fang Qing pushed open the door and saw Su Qing sitting on the sofa in a daze.

"Did someone outside wake you up? Everyone is gone now, you can go back to sleep."

Su Qing rubbed her messy hair and came back to her senses. "I'm not going to sleep anymore. What's going on outside?"

"I think some of the plans we made yesterday can be implemented immediately, so I called a meeting with the heads of each region early this morning to finalize things."

"I kept you busy all night, and you got up early in the morning to do these things. Why didn't you ask me to join in?" Su Qing felt a little embarrassed.

Fang Qing smiled and said, "There are too many naughty kids at home. They can't go anywhere on rainy days and stay in the house tearing up the roof and tiles. I can't sleep well either, so I might as well come here and take care of the business."

Thinking of the group of cute children in Fang Qing's home, Su Qing also smiled. She tidied the sofa, washed up in the room, and listened to Fang Qing talk about the content of the meeting.

The two stayed in the office for another day, revising and improving each plan.

Regarding how base construction and development can better adapt to the end times, a series of regulations have been made for many institutional rules, life and business, and other areas that have not been paid attention to before.

At the beginning, Su Qing only used this place as a place to provide shelter, and most of the resources were maintained by her. Now that the base is getting bigger and bigger, and there are more and more people, it is really difficult for her to ensure daily expenses and upgrade the construction of the base by herself.

Now that the future direction has been sorted out, the burden on Su Qing can be reduced. She will have to leave sooner or later, and the Dawn Base cannot be too dependent on her alone.

Thinking of this, Su Qing asked the system, "If I leave, will the extraordinary facilities here at Dawn Base still exist?"

"Everything that has been updated with the system is an upgrade based on the original foundation of this world. With the technological development here, it is completely possible to master and utilize it."

Just move the technology tree forward and backward a bit...

Su Qing nodded, not quite understanding.

"What's wrong?" Fang Qing asked in confusion when she saw Su Qing suddenly nod.

Su Qing heard the voice, came back to his senses and waved his hands, "It's okay."

"Then I'll take charge of the base. I'll leave the capital to you."

In order to achieve economic development, we must reach a deep cooperation intention with the capital. It would be better if the base leader stepped in to do this.

Besides, Su Qing has dealt with the capital many times, and with those people around him, there will be some convenient conditions.

"Actually..." Fang Qing hesitated to speak.

Su Qing looked over in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Fang Qing thought about it and finally asked, "I've always wanted to ask you, given the development trend of our base, it's not impossible for us to be independent in the future. Have you...ever thought about it..."

Su Qing's voice was calm and steady, without a moment's hesitation, "I don't have that ambition."

Even if she had to stay here for the rest of her life, she had no such thoughts. Su Qing was very clear about her own abilities. She was just an ordinary person, without any special talents. Even if she controlled a base, she would still have a hard time distributing the power in her hands, let alone a country. Moreover, ordinary people suffered the most in power struggles...

"The end of the world is already difficult. Only a stable country can lead its people through this difficult time. I have no control over who will take over the capital in the future, but the Dawn Base will not and cannot become a sinner in dividing the country. The unity of my country is my bottom line."

Fang Qing stared at the person in front of her with deep admiration and respect in her eyes. Power is the most deceptive thing. Such a young girl can be so righteous and value responsibility rather than status. She really did not follow the wrong person.

"Okay, don't worry, I will definitely help you keep an eye on the base."

"I always trust you. From now on, I will completely hand over the base to you, and I will go out and be free and easy." Su Qing said with a smile.

Fang Qing replied seriously, "Then I'll guard it for you and earn money for you to have fun. When you've had enough fun and want to come back, I'll return you a thriving Dawn Base."

Su Qing knew that there were some things she couldn't explain to Fang Qing in detail right now. She had carefully considered handing the base over to Fang Qing when she was leaving. Fang Qing was a very qualified manager, tactful and transparent in her dealings with others, and not timid. Even if there was political turmoil in the future, a large base in her hands would allow her to secure good conditions.

Besides, Fang Qing has the support of Dong Wen, Li Xing and others, which makes Su Qing feel at ease.

Looking up at the time, it was already five in the afternoon. Su Qing stood up and said, "It's getting late. Let's go back and rest early today."

…

There was a strong wind outside at night, and the rain and the wind hit the window violently, making crackling sounds as if they were going to drill through the glass.

Su Qing didn't know why she felt uneasy. Before going to sleep, she asked the system, "System, is there any movement around the base?"

"Inspection is in progress...Due to bad weather, investigation is not possible."

What else can this broken system do! He knows nothing when asked and is the most active in defrauding her of her money!

"What about inside the base?"

"Everything is fine."

Su Qing was tossing and turning in bed for half an hour, thinking about something. Just as he was about to close his eyes, the bracelet on the table suddenly vibrated.

She sat up with a start and picked up the bracelet. Seeing that it showed Fang Qing calling, her heart began to beat violently and the feeling of uneasiness became stronger.

"Hello?"

"Su Qing! Something happened! A zombie appeared in the base, injured several people and then disappeared. Captain Qin is leading a search."

How could that be?

"I'll go over right away and tell everyone at the base to stay home and be on alert. Have Dong Wen and Li Xing bring a few more teams to patrol the base. Don't let a single inch go unnoticed."

After saying that, Su Qing grabbed a piece of clothing and put it on, then ran out quickly and was teleported outside the base.

"What's going on? You didn't even detect that there were zombies in the base?" Su Qing asked the system angrily.

The system's tone was filled with surprise. "I... this is impossible! I haven't received any zombie alerts. This can't be right..."

The rain poured down on Su Qing, soaking him in an instant. Several huge lights flashed above his head, followed by a deafening roar.

The smell of earth carried by the wind, mixed with a faint smell of decay, filled the surroundings.

Su Qingxin shuddered and turned back suddenly, then her eyes widened.

"Click."

Another huge bolt of lightning exploded in front of Su Qing. The light and electricity made her face look extremely pale, and disbelief and fear welled up in the depths of her eyes.

"Boom!"

Not far away, black shadows were floating like ghosts, and endless zombies were running wildly in the rain, rushing towards Su Qing and the Dawn Base.

"Attention! A large number of zombies are detected approaching! Host, please return to the base!"

Su Qing turned around and ran quickly, turning the bracelet as he ran.

"Zombies are surrounding the city! Arrange for everyone to evacuate immediately!"

Fang Qing in the city received Su Qing's voice call and asked anxiously, "Are you..." Before she could finish her words, there was a "beep" sound from the headset and the call was hung up.

Fang Qing threw away the umbrella in her hand, called back and ran towards a group of people not far away.

She struggled to push through the crowd. Qin Yu, Chen Kuo and others in the center circle had just killed two zombies and were now surrounding the corpses to check.

"Captain Qin! The leader said the zombies are attacking the city!"

Qin Yu suddenly looked up, "Where is she?"

"It seems he is still outside the city. I can't get through to the leader on the phone..." Fang Qing replied hurriedly.

"Chen Kuo and Dong Wen, contact Chief Liang immediately to transport weapons to the city gates and gather personnel for battle! Qingshan should go to Professor Gu to get the vaccine, and Deputy Chief Fang should stabilize the other personnel in the base." Qin Yu said and left in a hurry.

"The leader said everyone should evacuate!" Fang Qing shouted at Qin Yu's back as he ran away.

Seeing Qin Yu disappear in the rain without looking back, she turned to look at Dong Wen and the others, "What should we do? Since the leader ordered us to evacuate, the situation must be very critical."

Shen Kuo and Qingshan exchanged a glance and replied, “You and Dong Wen go arrange for the ordinary people to evacuate through the escape route, and leave the base to our military.”

"Can……"

"There's no time to worry, just go."

Su Qing ran to the city gate and heard that the guards on the city wall were in chaos. It seemed that they had also discovered the situation.

She looked back into the darkness and saw that the zombies were only a dozen meters away from the city gate.

Too close!

"System! Turn on the protective shield!" Su Qing almost shouted at the system to turn on the protection.

At the command, a laser net appeared all around in seconds.

"Start the strangulation program!"

Alarms sounded above the base, countless people rushed in the rain, and the Dawn Base was in chaos.

"Host, the current energy can only last for fifteen minutes."

Why... why at this time... She had just used the money to upgrade the base, and was thinking to herself how could zombies come out in such bad weather. There had been nothing unusual around recently, so she would find a way to make up the money in a few days.

It was her fault! She shouldn't have had any hope!

Suddenly, there was a mechanical sound behind her, and then Su Qing's back, which was pressed against the city gate, felt empty. Her arm was grasped by a cold force, and she was immediately pulled into the city gate.

With a "bang", the city gate closed again.