Just as Chen Hao turned to leave, the red dot on the screen flashed again.
This time it wasn't just once.
There were three short, consecutive flashes, like a heartbeat that paused and then resumed. He stared at that point, his fingers unconsciously tightening around the walkie-talkie casing. The patrol team's communication had been interrupted strangely just now; there was static mixed in with the wind, as if someone had covered the microphone with their hand, or as if the signal had been swallowed by something.
"Nana." He didn't turn around. "Check if there's any footage from camera number three in the East District."
"No." Her voice came from the direction of the control panel. "The last frame was seventeen minutes ago, showing drag marks on the ground, possibly indicating a heavy object moving."
Chen Hao put the walkie-talkie to his mouth: "B area, respond when you hear me."
No one answered.
He tried again, but all he heard was the hissing sound of electricity rubbing together.
Susan came out from the medical corner, carrying a stack of cloth bags. Seeing him standing still, she stopped in her tracks. "What's wrong?"
There are people outside the east wall.
"How many?"
“I don’t know yet.” He glanced down at his watch. “But our radio has been cut off, so this isn’t just passing by.”
Susan put the cloth bag on the ground, untied the top one, revealing several short tubes made of rolled-up sheet metal, one end of which was stuffed with tarpaulin. "The incendiary bombs are all ready, they're usable."
"Don't throw it yet," Chen Hao said. "Let's see who it is first."
Nana's voice suddenly turned cold: "Heat source confirmed. More than twelve, 300 meters from the east wall, with concentrated body temperature, moving slowly, and spreading out in a fan shape."
“They’re not homeless.” Chen Hao breathed a sigh of relief. “This formation is coming for us.”
He pressed the broadcast button: "Red Shield upgrade! All personnel at combat positions! Repeat, Red Shield upgrade!"
The alarm went off.
The sound ripped through the night, and the workshop lights instantly blazed on. Carl burst out of the south tool shed, an extended wrench slung over his shoulder, a half-full bag of caltrops in his other hand. He kicked aside an empty bucket blocking his path and headed straight for the low-lying passageway.
Susan grabbed two cloth bags, tossed one to Chen Hao, and slung the other over her shoulder. "The south side is too open; if they try to flank us from behind, we won't be able to stop them."
"Then let them not dare to circle around." Chen Hao stuffed the incendiary bomb into his pocket. "Go to the rear area and ambush them. When you hear the whistle, light it. Don't wait for my order."
"What if it gets too hot?"
"It's better to burn it down than to have your house completely destroyed." He chuckled. "Anyway, the house is made of corrugated iron, it won't collapse."
Susan didn't say anything, and ran towards the back of the medical corner with her things. There was an abandoned storage box there, which would serve as cover.
Nana swiped her finger across the panel, bringing up all the camera feeds. The main screen was divided into four sections; the west, north, and south sides were deserted and quiet, with only a few faint, intermittent black lines appearing along the edge of the eastern forest belt.
“They’re spreading out,” she said. “The target is likely the joints in the fence.”
“I expected that.” Chen Hao picked up a wooden stick covered with iron and weighed it in his hand. “That place was welded slowly and was only sealed off yesterday. They’re quite well-informed.”
He climbed onto the east wall's watchtower, his feet landing on the newly welded beam. The metal was still warm, the sun from the day hadn't completely dissipated. He crouched down, pulled out a movable panel from under the platform, and took out a loudspeaker hidden inside.
The woods in the distance were very quiet.
There were no birdsong, no rustling of grass. Even the insects were silent.
Something's not right about this quiet.
"Nana, play a recording," he said. "Just play the alarm from the last drill, at maximum volume."
"clear."
Ten seconds later, a piercing screech exploded over the base. A simulated intrusion alarm played on a loop, so sharp it could pierce a person's ear.
The figure in the woods paused for a moment.
Then, three figures emerged from behind the tree and stood in a row. They weren't wearing matching clothes, but each had a bulge around their waist, which they kept pressing their hands on as they walked. One of them carried an iron pipe on his shoulder, the other end dragging on the ground, leaving shallow grooves.
Chen Hao raised the megaphone: "This is a legal residence zone. Any intrusion will be met with armed resistance! Please evacuate immediately!"
No one spoke from the other end.
The three people stood motionless, like stone sculptures.
Two seconds later, the person on the right suddenly raised his hand and waved it towards the sky.
Immediately, there was movement in the woods. Figures emerged from both sides, at least fifteen in total, forming a semicircle about two hundred meters away. Their footsteps were light, and their knees were slightly bent when they landed, clearly indicating they were trained.
“This wasn’t a hastily assembled team,” Chen Hao said in a low voice. “This is a team.”
Nana's voice came through the earpiece: "Intercepted radio signal, low encryption level, content is 'Wait for signal, blow up the water tank'."
"So they really came for the resources," Chen Hao sneered. "Did they think they'd back down just because we outnumber them?"
He shouted through the loudspeaker one last time: "Final warning, leave!"
The other side remained silent.
The person in the middle raised his hand, palm down, and made a pressing motion.
Everyone stopped at the same time.
The atmosphere suddenly became extremely tense.
Chen Hao tucked the megaphone under his arm and pulled a signal flare gun from behind his back. This was modified by Karl last night, using a discarded gas canister as a magazine, capable of shooting out a 30-meter-high column of flame.
He didn't rush to fire.
He knew that once the first shot was fired, there would be no end to the night.
"Susan, can you hear me?" He pressed the call button.
“I can hear you clearly.” Her voice was a little breathless. “I’m in the back area, and I can see the south slope.”
"If they move towards you, light a fire. Don't worry about making a loud noise."
"I understand. But it's too dark here, I can't see very far."
“You don’t need to look far ahead,” Chen Hao said. “As soon as they step in and the fire starts, they’ll know this place is tough to crack.”
He turned to look at the control room: "Nana, how much longer can the cameras hold up?"
“It’s stable for now,” she said. “But if they bring jammers within 50 meters, the system will gradually lose connection.”
“Then we can’t let them get close.” Chen Hao stood up and raised the signal flare to his shoulder. “Karl! Is Nantai in position yet?”
Karl's muffled voice came through the earpiece: "We've arrived. The sandbags are piled up, the wrenches are warmed up, and we're just waiting for our guests."
"Don't actually kill anyone," Chen Hao said. "Just scare them away."
“It’s not up to me,” Karl snorted. “It’s up to them to decide where they’re headed.”
The people in the woods moved again.
This time, it wasn't forward movement, but rather a lateral movement. The five people on the left shifted south, the six on the right pulled north, leaving three in the middle, and slowly moved forward twenty meters.
The man in the lead stopped and took something out of his pocket.
It's an old-fashioned walkie-talkie.
He pressed a button, and a voice, crackling with static, came from the loudspeakers on the base's outer wall: "You can't feed so many people. Half of you will starve to death sooner or later."
Chen Hao smiled.
He turned on his loudspeaker and replied, "Then you might as well leave now, so you don't come back hungry and have to fight for food later."
The other person was taken aback by his answer and paused for a moment.
Chen Hao continued, "We don't give out relief food here, nor do we hire people to eat for free. If you're really hungry, you can stay and work; you can carry ten bags of ore in exchange for a bowl of soup. How about that?"
The man's expression changed.
He abruptly turned off the walkie-talkie and waved his hand.
Everyone began to accelerate and approach.
Nana immediately reported: "Enemy distance 180 meters, increase speed, tighten formation!"
"Susan!" Chen Hao shouted, "Light the fire!"
The next second, a burst of fire rose from the south side of the base.
The moment the incendiary bomb exploded, a ball of fire shot into the air, illuminating the entire slope. Several figures who were making their way downhill were startled by the bright light and stopped in their tracks; some even took two steps back.
"It worked!" Susan's voice was filled with excitement. "They're stuck!"
Chen Hao raised the signal gun and aimed it at the center of the crowd to the east.
Before he could pull the trigger, a whistle suddenly blew from the woods.
Short and sharp.
Upon hearing the sound, everyone immediately stopped advancing and quickly retreated, their movements as synchronized as if they were one person.
In less than thirty seconds, the forest returned to silence.
All the figures disappeared.
All that remained were a few fresh footprints on the ground and a faint smell of engine oil in the air.
"Gone?" Susan couldn't believe it. "Just like that?"
"It's not leaving," Chen Hao said, staring at the edge of the woods. "It's retreating. Well-trained, advancing and retreating in an orderly manner."
Nana pulled up the thermal image: "The body temperature signal is moving away at a stable speed, and no remaining personnel have been found."
“They’ll come back.” Chen Hao put down his gun. “That was just a test. To see if we dared to fight back.”
"What about next time?"
"Next time?" He grinned. "Let them know that we not only dare to fight back, but we can also bite back."
He turned to leave the stage, and just as he stepped onto the ladder, Nana suddenly called out, "Wait."
"how?"
"Outside the western fence... there's a new signal."
Chen Hao stopped.
He slowly turned his head and looked at the surveillance screen to the west.
A red dot appeared silently on the grass fifty meters away.
It's not moving, it's not lingering.
It's just sitting there.
Like some kind of mark.
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