When Zhu Lingfeng led his men back to the stronghold, the secret passage had collapsed, and the stronghold was in complete disarray, as if a tornado had swept through it.

Zhu Lingfeng dared not dig a tunnel to check the situation below, and could only vent his anger on the guards at the stronghold.

"What's wrong with you guys? You only noticed the huge hole in the city wall now? Why didn't you wait until the monster bit your head before you made a move?"

The outpost guard, shrinking back, whispered in defense, "Someone was causing trouble in the outpost, and we just happened to be there to deal with the conflict..."

Without needing an explanation, Zhu Lingfeng looked directly at Xuan Liu.

"What did your people do?" Zhu Lingfeng was furious and gloomy, his body still covered in blood splattered from the battlefield. He slammed his overwhelming aura towards Xuan Liu.

"You're supposed to be guarding the stronghold, and this is the result you've achieved?"

He had a hunch that the accident was most likely related to Fang Qingdai's team.

However, lacking concrete evidence, Zhu Lingfeng could only use this as an excuse to vent his anger on Xuan Liu.

Unfortunately, Xuan Liu had been by the base commander's side for a long time and had seen many storms. He wouldn't be scared out of his wits just because Zhu Lingfeng exerted pressure by one level.

Xuan Liu rubbed his forehead, looking exhausted. "There's nothing I can do. My men have been provoked too many times. They're all hot-blooded young men, so it's normal for them to retaliate!"

They were just gossiping without any attempt to hide it, which gave Fang Qingdai and her group an excuse to make a fuss.

Zhu Lingfeng certainly knew this, and he even played a part in pushing things along and making things difficult for Fang Qingdai and the others behind the scenes.

Therefore, Xuan Liu's reasoning sounds reasonable and not a big deal.

Even within the base, it's common for people with superpowers to argue or even physically clash, and the base won't interfere as long as they don't use their powers.

Even if Zhu Lingfeng was extremely angry, at most he could only give Fang Qingdai's men a minor punishment, ordering them to clean up the ruins.

"Where is Qingdai?" Zhu Lingfeng calmed down a bit before realizing that Fang Qingdai wasn't there. He thought of many things in an instant, and the emotions he had just suppressed instantly erupted into rage again.

"Commander Zhu, let me say it again, I'm just an ordinary, no, ordinary battalion commander. In this battle, I can only follow orders. Don't always rely on me!"

Fang Qingdai's leisurely voice rang out, and Zhu Lingfeng turned around abruptly to see Fang Qingdai with huge dark circles under her eyes, walking over lazily with her equally exhausted teammates.

Xiao Mao was still complaining: "I finally got a break and slept for less than two hours before I was woken up again. Don't you leaders even know how to guarantee the rest environment for the staff back home?"

Fang Qingdai nodded in deep agreement: "That's right, that's right, the environment in the rear is terrible."

"You lot!" Fang Qingdai pointed at the members of her group and scolded, "I told you to rest, what are you doing wandering around like that?"

"Stop worrying about the war. With Commander Zhu holding the line, what could possibly happen? With him there, not even a fly can get into the stronghold! You can all go and rest!"

Upon hearing this, the team members instantly forgot about Zhu Lingfeng's punishment and went back to their dormitory to rest, arm in arm.

Zhu Lingfeng finally couldn't hold back any longer and slammed his hand on the pillar next to him, bending the metal pillar instantly: "Qingdai! Do you even respect me as your commander anymore!"

Fang Qingdai looked puzzled: "What's wrong? I praised you for being brave and invincible, and that the stronghold is incredibly safe with you here. Is that not allowed?"

Zhu Lingfeng, burning with anger, pointed at the ruins and wreckage inside the stronghold: "What are you being sarcastic about?"

"My God!" Fang Qingdai exclaimed in surprise, looking as if she had just woken up and seen things clearly. "What happened? Commander Zhu, are you dissatisfied with the new commander at the base? Are you fighting for power between the two sides?"

The man who had been watching the commotion behind Zhu Lingfeng and the others choked for a moment, then said awkwardly, "What nonsense are you talking about? Commander Zhu is still in full charge of this battle. We'll just act as reinforcements and provide support."

Xuan Liu's eyes lit up when he saw the person, and he immediately strode over to greet him warmly: "Xuan Er, I didn't expect it to be you!"

Xuan Er patted Xuan Liu on the shoulder with a look of satisfaction: "You've grown a lot!"

The two chatted enthusiastically, leaving Zhu Lingfeng standing aside.

Fang Qingdai smiled and said to Zhu Lingfeng, "It seems that Commander Zhu has opened up the route to the base for reinforcements. Now that the reinforcements have arrived, we can rest more at ease."

After saying that, ignoring Zhu Lingfeng's reaction, Fang Qingdai called her teammates back to their dormitories in a lazy manner.

Zhu Lingfeng stared at Fang Qingdai and the others with a gloomy face, then looked at Xuan Er and Xuan Liu, who were chatting enthusiastically. In the end, he just snorted coldly and turned to leave with his men.

After leaving the crowd, the person next to Zhu Lingfeng whispered, "Sir, should we dig a secret passage?"

Zhu Lingfeng said angrily, "How are we going to dig? So many people have come to the base now. How are we going to explain if we actually find a secret passage?"

Finding a living person is inexplicable, but finding a corpse is even more troublesome.

"Don't touch the entrance to the secret passage. Have someone sneak in from the exit and see what's down there."

"By the way, check the surveillance footage to see what happened inside the secret passage."

When Zhu Lingfeng retrieved the surveillance footage and discovered that a strange beast had broken into the secret passage, the expression on his face was as colorful as a palette!

How could such a coincidence happen!

How could a strange beast easily slip into a secret passage that no one notices despite the constant flow of people?

Furthermore, the beast "coincidentally" damaged the monitoring equipment. Zhu Lingfeng only knew that a beast had broken in and that the people in the organization who were guarding the secret passage had evacuated from the exit. He knew nothing more.

Zhu Lingfeng immediately suspected Fang Qingdai again!

After all, she was the only one in the entire wasteland who had the ability to raise and command alien beasts.

But upon closer reflection, it seems unlikely. A single exotic beast is one thing; there have been instances of people raising exotic beasts from a young age. Although these beasts remain wild and untamed, prone to rampages and difficult to tame, they can still coexist peacefully with their owners in a calm state.

Fang Qingdai's desert cat seemed more obedient, but no one believed it would be 100% loyal to Fang Qingdai. Everyone assumed that the desert cat would one day turn against Fang Qingdai and hurt her.

Fang Qingdai's ability to control even one beast is already extraordinary; Zhu Lingfeng doesn't believe she has the ability to control a group of strange beasts.

After all, everyone had witnessed Fang Qingdai's desperate fighting on the front lines. If she could truly control a group of strange beasts, she wouldn't have ended up in such a sorry state.

Putting his doubts aside for the time being, Zhu Lingfeng could only wait for his men to sneak back from the exit and investigate the situation inside the secret passage before making any arrangements.

Exhausted, Zhu Lingfeng sighed and turned to look at Wang Yuman.

Wang Yuman's father, like Zhu Lingfeng, was a deputy regimental-level officer within the base.

Outsiders assumed that Zhu Lingfeng saved Wang Yuman because he was taking care of his colleague's daughter, but no one knew that Wang Yuman's father was actually a high-ranking member of that organization, whose status far surpassed Zhu Lingfeng's.

That's why Zhu Lingfeng had to protect Wang Yuman, even using his most treasured Grade A medicine!