Dandan has something to hide.

When he told me to be careful and not to lower my voice, I recognized his voice. Incredibly, it was Yu Zhongjian, an acquaintance.

I figured he'd come up the mountain after meeting up with the staff at the service area, but I never expected him to come in the middle of the night. Even more unexpectedly, I never imagined he'd come at such an hour, sneaking into my room and silently watching me sleep by the bedside. This isn't just a matter of ulterior motives; this is strange, it's a conspiracy! Is he trying to scare me to death and seize all my command?

He also said he had merged, and that he wanted to work hard to recover, but tonight he pulled this stunt. Isn't that ridiculous? Who would believe Yu Zhongjian's nonsense? My mom was the first to disbelieve him.

He was incredibly embarrassed, having lied in my name, his explanation weak and unconvincing, and he even tried to help me up. My mother rushed over and shoved him aside: "Dandan, Dafeng is a girl, after all. You should talk to her during the day, not come to her in the middle of the night, and even start a fight! What kind of behavior is that! Auntie believes you didn't mean any harm, but don't do this again, understand?"

I knew my mom was trying her best to cover it up because our position was so embarrassing; it looked like we were doing something naughty that caused the bed to collapse. With the light from four or five flashlights shining in, it looked even more like a police raid.

Yu Zhongjian took two steps back, shrugged after a while, and hummed in response. The embarrassment and awkwardness he had just shown gradually disappeared, and he regained his composure.

I have absolutely no idea what's going on in this person's mind, and I don't know why he would do something so outrageous. Strangely enough, I wasn't angry, nor did I expose his lie on the spot. My first thought was whether he'd suffered some kind of trauma while out these past few days. After I got out of bed, I even had a "what the heck" attitude. I've said he's mentally ill a million times, but nobody takes it seriously. So let's just keep tolerating his occasional eccentricities; we'll get used to them eventually.

I don't plan to confront him. I feel like if I do, I'll hear something I don't want to hear—that he came to see me in the middle of the night because he was upset? I'm going to misunderstand, I'm going to misunderstand again!

Since he was back and everyone had been woken up, we decided to hold a meeting that very night. My mother lit candles but didn't leave. She would rub my head and back every now and then, listening in the whole time. For the first time, her gaze towards Yu Zhongjian carried a hint of wariness.

The team leaders gathered in my room one by one, sitting in a circle around the bed frame because the bed had collapsed. Yu Zhongjian had already perfectly imitated the demeanor of a normal person. As usual, he leaned against the luggage table with a blank expression, hands in his pockets, waiting for everyone to sit down. He first introduced the work situation of the four "spies" over the past two days.

"When we entered the city, it coincided with the recruitment of team members by various bases. Zhou Yi and Lai Yunfei joined Langyan, Gao Chen joined Hongxing, and I joined Fenghuo. Based on my observations over the past two days, the three bases should all be under the jurisdiction of the provisional government and are not in a competitive or antagonistic relationship."

"I already knew that." He pretended to be normal, and I assumed he was normal too, raising my chin proudly and saying, "Besides, I didn't need to observe; I figured it out with my brain."

“Very good, smart.” He wasn’t surprised, offering a light compliment before continuing, “The armed personnel in the base are mainly composed of civilian militias and regular soldiers, well-equipped and numerous; we can’t possibly contend with them. Of course, there’s no need to fight them. Our target is the culprit behind the bombing…”

“Shan Kelun!” I interjected again, “He’s the base chief of the Red Star Base. Before the apocalypse, he was a high-ranking official in a ministry, and he controlled the most advanced military equipment in the capital. The warehouse managers in Li County said that the Red Star Base is right at the capital airport, and helicopters, fighter jets, bombers and all sorts of aircraft are under his command. It must have been him who ordered the bombing.”

This time, Yu Zhongjian didn't praise me. He patiently waited for me to finish speaking and said, "I think the decision wasn't made by one person, but by the joint decision of the high-level officials of several bases."

"Why do you make that assumption?" Han Bo asked the question I wanted to ask.

Yu Zhongjian smiled and said, "In the two days I've been in Feng Huo, I haven't done anything but spar with the team leader and chat with him. I've gotten a general idea of ​​the situation at the capital base. Each of these three places has its strengths. Feng Huo has the most survivors, more than seventy teams, and a thousand-strong army organized into regiments, making it a formidable force. Lang Yan has more than half of the capital's stockpile of medical supplies and research personnel. Hong Xing has a group of special technical talents and a lot of advanced military equipment. In addition, the three bases have always maintained a friendly cooperative relationship. In fact, you can consider them as one family. Such a large and complex organization has been established and is operating in less than a year, with each member fulfilling their duties and cooperating seamlessly. Do you think that can be accomplished by the ability of just one person?"

He asked me directly, as if he knew that I was the one who disagreed with his judgment. I scoffed, "It's normal for ordinary people to be afraid of officials. They're ministerial leaders, after all. It's possible that if they stand up and call for action, the whole country will follow."

"The head of the Fenghuo base is the former chief of staff of the Northwest Military Region, with the rank of lieutenant general; the head of the Langyan base is the vice president and party secretary of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. I don't think they would take a deputy director of a ministry seriously."

Unexpectedly, Yu Zhongjian had gathered such detailed information in just two days. The team leaders nodded frequently, all agreeing with Yu Zhongjian's deduction. However, the herd mentality quickly made me waver, and I shamefully succumbed to temptation. He was right; it was indeed impossible for one person to make decisions on such a large undertaking alone.

Han Bo sighed again: "Big shots are big shots, so awesome before and after the apocalypse. I really think we're out of our minds, rushing in like this like this..."

I was a little dizzy when I heard the titles those two base commanders had before the apocalypse. What does it mean to be the chief of staff of a major military region? A general, a commander who has led hundreds of thousands of troops, who has commanded countless combat exercises and such. And I've heard that people who rise to high positions from the military have terrible tempers. If someone dares to mess with them, and they actually throw a missile at us, wouldn't we be completely wiped out?

Yu Zhongjian, observing my ever-changing expression, called out to me, "Qi Aifeng, do you think you've lost your mind?"

I didn't know what he wanted to say, but my gut feeling was that it wasn't good. "What is it? Just say what you want to say."

“The day before yesterday…” He looked at the sky outside the window, “It must have been the afternoon before that the base dispatched three teams totaling a hundred people to Li County. I knew it was you guys who caused the trouble. I was supposed to come back yesterday, but I waited an extra day because I was thinking that if any team members were captured and brought to the base, I could carry out a rescue. Fortunately, you guys were quick-witted and knew to move into the mountains.”

This praise is not nice at all. All that preamble and buildup, isn't the subtext just that we've messed with someone powerful and there will be endless trouble?

My resentment resurfaced, and I tilted my head, glancing at him sideways: "What, scared now? What are we here for? To seek justice! I don't care if he's a general or a dean, if he cuts off my livelihood and destroys my hometown, even if he was the UN Secretary-General before the apocalypse, he'll still be my enemy! Let me make this clear first: I'm not just going to rob Li County, I'm going to rob the other three supply counties, and I'm going to rob their headquarters!"

Yu Zhongjian coldly said, "Save your boasting for the day you succeed in petitioning. The matter of robbing Li County has already been reported. Won't the other suburban counties be on guard? Besides, you haven't even cleaned up the mess this time."

Everyone was taken aback. I said, "Why wasn't it swept clean? The prisoners are all locked up. Nobody saw us coming this way to Gold and Silver Mountain."

"Dare to make a bet with me? If you stay here, the people from Beacon Fire will be able to find you in a day."

I snorted: "You're so annoying, always making a big fuss over nothing."

“Traces, huh?” He shook his head, feigning helplessness. “The people who came out to search were all local survivor teams. After two days without any results, do you think the base commander would just give up and accept his bad luck? He will definitely send more people to track the tracks, such as professionally trained scouts. Then the tire tracks of trucks that have carried heavy loads will quickly reveal our location.”

We locals who weren't experts were dumbfounded. We had never thought about tire tracks. Did the base chief even keep police dogs?

"Then what should we do?"

"Shift the focus. Shift the attention, shift the team."

The meeting ended, and everyone was free to sleep. The team leaders went out and got busy. After everyone had left my room, Yu Zhongjian lagged behind, slowly making his way to the door. He stopped and turned back to look at me. My mother, who had been yawning and feeling sleepy, suddenly stood beside me with her arms crossed, her eyes wide and piercing as she stared at him, as if to say, "Let's see what kind of trouble you're up to."

He was completely oblivious to my mother's sudden fierce aura. He fiddled with his hands in his pockets for a while, then pulled something out and tossed it to me: "I got a little gadget from the base, here you go." With that, he turned and left, this time with much quicker steps.

I instinctively took it, but before I could even see what it was, my mom snatched it away, held it in her hand for a long time, and scoffed, "A pair of pliers is worth giving away!"

I picked it up and examined it by candlelight. It wasn't pliers; it was a butterfly knife hidden in an ornate alloy scabbard. The scabbard could be opened and rotated freely. The blade was sharp and barbed. When fully extended, it was about twenty centimeters long, but when folded, it was small enough to fit in a pocket. It was both elegant and deadly—truly a good helper for travel and robbery.

I'd only ever seen this kind of knife in movies. Skilled fighters could wield it with incredible skill, showing off their abilities in fights, intimidating enemies even before they got close – its power was undeniable. The moment I got my hands on it, I was captivated, swinging it around and having a blast. My mother said sternly, "Don't accept things from men."

Although I also felt that Yu Zhongjian's actions were quite meaningful, I really liked this little thing, so I said, "He's a friend, he brought it to me to play with."

My mom sneered, "Friend, I think Dandan has something to hide."

Yu Zhongjian has always been a mystery. I've given up on trying to figure out his psychology. Now, whenever I sense he's acting strangely, as long as it doesn't jeopardize the team's safety, I can accept it with the same tolerant attitude I have towards patients. After all, he's a friend, not an enemy, so I'll just make do. What can I do but kick him out?

Upon his return, he caused an awkward little incident, but then threw himself into his work, leading Han Bo, Zhang Yanhuang, and Li Tonggu deep into the scenic area to find the next suitable base. The team leaders went to wake up the members, relay the message, and instruct everyone to reload the unloaded supplies back into trucks, vans, cars, and any vehicle that could hold something.

After spending two days and one night at the resort, everyone was still half asleep and confused as they prepared to depart in the middle of the night. Grandpa Tang, rubbing his aching back, struggled over and asked, "Dr. Qi, is it really necessary to leave at night?"

Several middle-aged and elderly people, including my parents, were in a daze and listless. They all needed to hold onto something to stand up. I felt a little sorry for them: "We looted the supplies, and now the enemy has sent troops to chase us. We need to go to a safer place."

After that, no one said anything more. Men, women, and children all pitched in to help lift the goods and load them onto the truck. I was carrying cases of bottled water and tossing them onto the truck when a man next to me was doing the same thing. Our eyes met unintentionally as we passed each other, and he smiled and nodded at me: "Dr. Qi."

I walked past him for a while before I suddenly remembered who he was. Wasn't he the man I beat up in the veterans' canteen? He was unshaven, dressed in tattered clothes, and had lost so much weight; I almost didn't recognize him... He used to avoid me whenever he saw me, never making eye contact, but now he greets me. Has the resentment disappeared? Has his soul been elevated? Most people are like this after achieving spiritual elevation, looking at the people they used to hate, secretly laughing at themselves, "Fool, it wasn't worth it."

They're pragmatic people. Most of the people in this team, who came together through normal channels, are all good and capable. They're brave, united, sensible, don't cause trouble, wholeheartedly believe in us leaders, and can even convince and elevate themselves, maintaining a positive mindset. I truly feel sorry for making them endure such hardship and fear.

Before the base sent professionals, we worked day and night to transport people and goods, and the transfer was basically completed by the afternoon of the second day.

The new base is a hot spring hotel halfway up the mountain. It's a 30-minute drive up the winding mountain road from the scenic area entrance. Surrounded by jagged rocks and abundant trees, the hotel's main trapezoidal building is hidden deep within the dense forest; unless you actively seek it out, even a helicopter flying overhead will hardly spot you. While there's no hot spring here, there are fewer zombies, making them easier to clear. The kitchen is fully equipped, and the accommodations are excellent.

As soon as my mom got out of the car, she grabbed me and said, "Dafeng, we're not going to be moved again, are we? Your parents are getting old, they really can't take it anymore."

I thought to myself that it was really uncertain. What if the police dogs caught up with her up the mountain? But seeing that her lips were pale, I still reassured her: "We won't move anymore. We'll just stay here and live here peacefully until the day we go back to Huaicheng."

My mom relaxed her shoulders and leaned against my dad: "Oh dear, if we hadn't rested down the mountain for those two days, I wouldn't have been unable to hold on. You can't stop when you're suffering, or you'll lose the will to endure hardship."

My mother's everyday sayings, refined over the years, always contain profound life philosophies.

After Yu Zhongjian returned, I lost my job again. He naturally took it upon himself to organize people to handle the matter of diverting attention from the conflict, without asking for my opinion or asking me to participate. Coincidentally, I was also on the verge of exhaustion at that time. Seeing the men bustling about nervously, I chose a room with a big bed and soft blankets, locked the doors and windows, and had a good night's sleep.

When I woke up, it was already daylight again. Most of the men on the mountain were gone, leaving only weaklings like Zhao Zhuobao, Wu Bainian, and Li Qiang, along with minors, to patrol and keep watch. I knew Yu Zhongjian's plan was dangerous and difficult to execute; a single misstep could result in heavy losses. But like my mother said, even after two sleepless nights, I could still muster the energy to continue the meeting and the battle. Once I lay down for a good night's sleep, and woke up to my mother's long-awaited unleavened flatbread rolled with canned pork, I no longer wanted to think about the battle.

"With Yu Zhongjian here, there's nothing to worry about," I thought decadently.

Around nine o'clock in the morning, the first explosion came from the east side of the mountain. Because it was so far away, it sounded like a firecracker to us. About two or three minutes later, firecrackers went off from all directions, crackling and popping all the way up, making it sound like a New Year's celebration was taking place outside the mountain.

The team should be operating within a 30-kilometer radius. After the reconnaissance personnel from the capital base are dispatched, another team will follow up from 30 kilometers away. Fifty boxes of hand grenades made in the border region and brought from Tongcheng were moved away at once, enough for the team members to throw for a while. It's a bit of a pity that they all blew up the barren land and didn't hit the base commander's backside.

Yu Zhongjian, when he did act, executed a masterful diversionary tactic. He used feints to the east and west, and feints to the south and north, shifting the base's focus from the vicinity of Li County in the opposite direction. The operation involved neither bombing houses nor people, but specifically targeting uninhabited fields and open areas below roads to practice grenade throwing. The team members didn't even need to get out of their vehicles; they threw grenades, ran, and bombed again, continuing to bomb as they ran, treating grenades like casual firecrackers. This kept the base's armed forces searching for the grenades without finding the perpetrators or understanding their intentions. With so many bombing sites, they were inevitably exhausted from constantly running around.

This is a mission that requires speed and efficiency, with all travel time and driving distance controlled within two hours. We must be elusive and catch the base completely off guard. Yesterday afternoon, while I was sleeping, the men were memorizing maps and studying escape routes that would go unnoticed. As long as the capital doesn't deploy aircraft, by the time they start their search, our men will all be back on the mountain.

Yu Zhongjian always says I'm impulsive and disobedient, but he's actually much more impulsive than me. There could have been more roundabout and covert methods to divert the search's attention, such as throwing supplies on the road as bait, pretending we'd already escaped far away. His blatant bombing was, to put it bluntly, a provocation, a clear message to the capital base: "Hey, someone's coming to cause you trouble."

I stood on the large balcony of the VIP room, smiling as I looked at the misty mountains in the distance. What was there to be afraid of? This suited me perfectly! I had the prisoners take the message back with them. I'll stir things up a bit more so the base commanders can think about what they've done wrong. It'll be New Year's Day soon, so we won't be hiding in the mountains waiting for them to search us. We'll be visiting them soon to buy New Year's goods and go home for the holidays.