Roast chicken and braised beef
Who gave us this confidence? It was our hometown, of course. Half of it was the belief that we would definitely seek justice, and the other half was the courage to fight against tyranny. Together, they formed the confidence to go to Beijing and confront the bigwigs.
If it were a zombie apocalypse, a matter of life and death for humanity, where people needed to sacrifice themselves for the greater good, I might impulsively sign up, voluntarily, and not blame anyone if I died. But I don't want to die, the survivors of Huai City don't want to die, the survivors of Yang City, Feng City, Bai City, and Yu City don't want to die either. You're asking us to passively sacrifice ourselves for the greater good? Who the hell is this "greater good"?
There were still many problems, but now was not the best time to conduct an interrogation. After Fu Hua and the others' cars gathered at the toll station, I began to formulate a battle plan, assign groups, with each group carrying a walkie-talkie, leaving three people to guard the prisoners, and the rest to carry out the plan.
Just before I got on the bus, Han Bo grabbed me and said, "I'll do what you want to do tonight. If Xiao Yu comes back and scolds us, we'll take the blame together. But have you thought about what will happen after we take Lizhou? That base always needs people to come and transport grain. Maybe someone will discover the problem tomorrow. Our one or two hundred men won't be enough to fill their teeth."
I was unusually alert on the eve of a fight. After listening to his words, I calmly said, "He can't possibly send out the entire base, can he? Tonight, let's take the county town first. Take as much supplies as we can. If we can't take it, I'll stay here and wait for people to come. If one comes, I'll take them out one. If two come, I'll take them out both."
"And then what? Just stand there until their artillery and tanks come bombarding us?"
I laughed: "Let them bomb us. It's their grain that gets destroyed, I don't care. Besides, my goal isn't to seize territory or have a direct confrontation, but to cause trouble, understand?"
Han Bo, do you understand? I'm going to fight this battle tonight. I don't care if it's a beacon fire base or a smokescreen base. As long as it's a base in the capital, I'll strike it indiscriminately.
As luck would have it, there were sixty people guarding the tollbooth in Lizhou County, and I brought exactly sixty people with me. Besides the three who stayed behind to guard the tollbooth, we also had fifty-six tough men and one tough woman, a small portion of whom were veterans, and a large portion of whom were survival experts, divided into six groups. The car drove until it stopped just a few hundred meters from the town center, and under Zhang Yanhuang's amazing fixed-point memory method, we silently and rapidly infiltrated the town.
My plan was simple: a surprise attack. One team would take care of one warehouse. Although we weren't familiar with the county, the emergency lights at the target locations would guide us in the dark, making it easy to find them.
This was both a large-scale battle and a small-scale battle, and it was also a great opportunity to train the team members' night combat capabilities. Before the operation, my requirement was to avoid killing as much as possible, and to avoid firing as much as possible. However, if we encountered a tough opponent, or if the person fired at us first, then we would not hesitate to kill or maim them.
The Fenghuo Base is capable of dividing the capital into three parts, so its strength must be considerable. These guards are probably used to a safe and leisurely life and never thought that anyone would dare to break into the city and provoke them. They left one or two people on night duty, while the others rested in the buildings by the roadside.
Saying it was a divine intervention is a bit of an exaggeration, but we did catch them completely off guard. When I, Yu Zhongjian, possessed him and approached the back of two men who were laughing and joking around, casually carrying guns, with ghostly steps, and slid the sharp tip of a knife against one of their chins, he even laughed for a couple more seconds before realizing something was wrong.
The other man was also subdued by his teammates, who quickly delivered two elbow strikes to his carotid artery, and both men fell down before they even touched the gun handles.
The roadside building looked like a rather luxurious hotel, seven stories high and occupying a large area. Outside the main entrance was a fountain and a meticulously designed garden. The sign was huge, but it was difficult to see clearly in the darkness. The glowing area inside the door should be where the remaining people were. We didn't rush in immediately because Zhang Yanhuang needed time to lead everyone to find the target, one team at a time. If one group started fighting and made noise, it would alert the others, making the mission increasingly difficult the deeper the group went into the street. To ensure a more successful ambush, each team would launch their attack after a twenty-minute countdown.
The warehouse point I was in charge of was the first one we encountered upon entering the city. My team consisted of only three people, three against four. A direct firefight was unlikely, so a sneak attack would have been much more advantageous. After quickly knocking out the other two, we hid on one side of the hotel. Our original plan was to wait twenty minutes until everyone was in position before launching a coordinated attack, rushing in with our small submachine guns and our flashy little melon (a weapon) flashing, and then, while the four were still in a daze, we'd quickly and decisively take them down. However, to our surprise, the people inside cooperated perfectly with our sneak attack, giving me absolutely no chance to unleash our fury.
A few minutes later, a man came out humming a tune and said as he walked, "Liangzi, I'm going in for a drink during your shift. I left you two some braised beef."
My mouth watered just hearing about braised beef. People in the capital are living such a comfortable life! We, far from home, are poor and destitute, eating whatever we can find. If we don't have pickled vegetables, we eat pickled vegetables; if not, we eat plain rice. Finding some preservative-laden fast food at a service area is like a holiday for us. These bastards have braised beef to eat and yet they come to bombard us with insults! Their crimes are heinous and unforgivable!
I crouched down quietly, and as soon as he appeared from the gate, I swept my leg up. He cried out and stumbled forward. Teammate B leaped up from behind, pinned him down, and twisted his cheek with lightning speed.
They dragged the person to the bushes next to the steps and put them together with the other two unconscious people. About half a minute later, another guy came out and was treated the same as everyone else. They all went to the bushes to have a party.
The agreed-upon twenty minutes had only passed a few minutes, and the six of them had already devoured four of the beef. My heart was pounding with anticipation for the braised beef; I hesitated, wondering if I should go in now and finish the remaining two, in case they finished it in fifteen minutes. But I had set the time myself, and I couldn't very well lead the way in breaking it—better safe than sorry.
Fortunately, those two didn't give me much trouble. The people who were changing shifts never came back. They must have noticed something was wrong and were quite vigilant, so they brought guns. But for us, who were prepared and in the shadows, it was just a matter of coming out together to be killed.
Six guns and six men—the goal was to cripple them but not kill them. Team members A and B tied them up and dragged them into the hotel, but I had already rushed inside ahead of them. In a brightly lit room that looked like an office, I saw wine and dishes haphazardly laid out on the table.
A bottle of baijiu (Chinese liquor), four paper cups, several bags of peanuts, a pile of broken bones, and two lumps of braised meat wrapped in oil paper. It really was braised meat, not the vacuum-packed, preservative-laden food from the supermarket; it was genuinely braised with fresh ingredients—a package of roast chicken and a package of beef.
All that was left of the roast chicken was the head, the tail, and the carcass; there were still about three or four ounces of beef. I stood by the table and took a few deep breaths. The rich, mellow aroma of the meat was so strong it was insane! It smelled so damn good!
The two team members were also stunned when they dragged the people in. Their eyes were fixed on the roast chicken and beef, unable to move. I went up and tore two pieces off the beef, and each of them put a piece in their mouth: "Eat some first to suppress your cravings. Don't rush. These people are so extravagant. There must be more in other warehouses. They're all ours. Let's take them all back and eat our fill!"
The two men nodded repeatedly, chewing each small bite of beef dozens of times before reluctant to swallow, their movements noticeably rougher as they dragged the person away. People shouldn't compare themselves to others; comparisons throw off their balance. First comes the questioning: Why? We're all human, all survivors! Why do you get to eat meat while we starve? Second comes anger: If you hadn't been so ruthless, we could be living a stable life in our own cities, maybe even eating meat now! Finally, they need an outlet for this anger: If you won't let us eat meat, then nobody will! We're fearless, we're not afraid of wolves; there's nothing we won't risk.
Shortly after, several gunshots rang out in the city, indicating that personnel had arrived at all locations and the six-on-six team battle had begun. I sat at the table with a walkie-talkie, feeling incredibly nervous—so nervous that I could even block out the aroma of braised meat. This was the first time I had independently planned and organized an operation, and I didn't want any mishaps. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to regain command, and I feared I would never be able to stand up straight in front of Yu Zhongjian again.
Finally, the walkie-talkie crackled to life, and Han Bo laughed heartily on the other end: "We've taken care of the wind, come quick, there's something good to eat here."
Another serving of braised beef? I wasn't tempted and calmly replied, "You stay put. I need to wait for all the squads to respond."
Just as Han Bo cut off the connection, Fu Hua's voice came through: "Captain Qi, it's safe, it's safe."
Within fifteen minutes, all nine target points reported the good news that the raid was a complete success. No one on our side was injured, and one enemy soldier was killed because someone reacted quickly and fired back. I breathed a huge sigh of relief and hurriedly tore off another piece of braised beef and stuffed it into my mouth. The firm texture and rich, savory flavor of the meat left a lingering fragrance on my lips and teeth; I was so moved I almost cried. After chewing a few more times, I pointed to the remaining meat and generously said to my teammates, "We succeeded! You two can have this!"
Team member B glanced at the table and asked sheepishly, "Dr. Qi, is that roast chicken edible?"
"It's just a skeleton now."
"The bones smell so good, and there are even chicken heads and chicken butts..."
Looking at his young, dark-skinned face, thin with prominent cheekbones, and recalling the quick and precise rhythm with which he twisted people's necks, I felt a pang of pain in my heart, but I tried to keep my tone light: "We've taken Li County, there must be plenty of good stuff here, transport it back and you can eat as much as you want."
The county town wasn't large, with only a few intersecting main roads. To facilitate transportation, the storage locations for supplies were clearly carefully chosen, mostly situated in medium to large-sized buildings with storefronts along these main roads, such as hotels, shopping malls, or government offices. With the town no longer a threat, I drove over and quickly inspected all the storage locations.
I knew there were definitely a lot of good stuff, but I had no idea how much or how good it was. Even after the inspection was over, as I waited at the county government gate for the various teams to bring the prisoners over for centralized detention, my blood was still boiling.
Han Bo sniffled with emotion, and touched the back of my head with his greasy hand that had just been holding a chicken leg: "Fengzi, I...we're rich now!"
"Calm down," I said, trying to sound calm. "Don't act like a country bumpkin who's never seen the world. This is nothing. Our journey is to the stars and the sea."
Han Bo smelled his hands and exclaimed in delight, "Ah, it smells so good! The roast chicken is so delicious, the chicken leg is so delicious! I don't want to go to the stars and the sea, I just want to eat chicken legs every day!"
"No wonder you've had seven relationships and still haven't gotten married. You're so stingy." I said to him with disdain, then said seriously, "I'm entrusting you with an important task. Now hurry back and bring two big trucks over. We need to transport supplies through the night."
Han Bo also became serious: "Where to transport it? The service area is too close to here, it's not safe."
I smiled calmly and pulled a small booklet from behind my back. "Of course I can't take it there. I didn't do this on a whim. Look what I found at the service area: a map of the capital and a tourist guide to Jinyinshan."
"Jinyinshan, what a familiar place name."
“A famous tourist destination near the capital.” I opened the booklet and showed the map on the first page. I asked Han Bo to shine a flashlight on me. “Look, this is Li County, and this is Jinyinshan. There is a highway to the west of the county town that leads directly to the tourist area. It’s about 30 or 40 kilometers away. There are many hotels and guesthouses in the mountains. We can hide all our people inside and leave a few people outside to attract the attention of the Fenghuo base. Even if they want to launch missiles, they won’t know where to aim.”
"Going into the mountains is a good idea," Han Bo said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Should we do it tonight, or wait for Xiao Yu to come back?"
"Let's move out tonight. First, send a few vehicles to scout out the route, clear out the zombies, find a good place to stay, and then transfer the people there. Try to finish this before dawn. Don't worry, Xiao Yu, I'll leave people at the service area."
"But the amount of supplies here is so large that even a hundred trucks couldn't transport them all, let alone two."
"If we can't finish transporting them, we can't finish transporting them. We're not going to take just any junk. We'll pick up what we need most and transport as much as we can. We'll transport as many weapons, food, and water as we can. If one night isn't enough, we'll continue transporting tomorrow. If the base sends people to relieve us or to pick up supplies, we'll just kill them. If we're discovered and they send in armed forces, we'll just run away."
Han Bo seemed to only then realize what was happening, and sighed, looking up: "You're really something, acting without consulting everyone. This is tantamount to directly provoking the Shangfeng Fire Base. Who knows if they're the ones who bombed Huaicheng?"
"Of the three major bases in the capital, can you guess which one established a provisional government and ordered the bombing of cities on the southern front?"
Han Bo shook his head: "I really don't know."
"A base with high-end rescue helicopters, bombers, and professional pilots, a base that drops bombs like firecrackers without batting an eye, would actually dedicate its own personnel, aircraft, and resources to prevent the capital from being surrounded by zombies? And it would even tolerate two other large bases coexisting with it? Think about it, really think about it." I slowly put away the booklet and said without any modesty, "I don't know if Xiao Yu thought of this, but my brain is definitely better than yours."
"you mean?"
"There are no three major bases. They are just large survivor containment sites located in three different areas. The so-called base director is just the leader in charge, the overall boss. There can only be one."
When I gave Han Bo my advice, I felt like I was radiating the light of a wise man. But when I faced sixty-four prisoners and a corpse, that light turned a bit more ferocious.
Han Bo went back to arrange trucks and notified personnel to prepare for the transfer. I had already chosen an office in the government building that didn't have any supplies and started conducting night interrogations.
Corpses lay at my feet. The captured men were brought in in groups of five, bound hand and foot. I didn't want to see their faces clearly, nor did I want them to see mine, so I placed the flashlight upside down on the table behind me. Two armed men stood beside me, all three of them with dark, sinister faces.
Twirling a small gun in my hand, I said the same thing to each group of prisoners: whoever gave the most detailed account of the situation in the capital would not die; anyone who dared to lie to me would end up as a corpse.
With everything stolen, I'm definitely guilty of dereliction of duty. Even if I survive and return to base, I won't get away with it. There's no point in trying to be a hero at this point. The prisoners are very sensible and are eager to confess everything in detail. Their cooperation is so high that I can't maintain my brutality.
Although these people were equipped with weapons, they were not regular soldiers. They were survivors from the capital and surrounding suburban counties recruited by a branch of the Beacon Fire Base called the "Supplies Protection Department." Their main job was to guard toll stations and supplies within the city. There were four teams, each guarding two counties, with more than sixty people in each team, working in shifts of three days.
The good news is that they just finished their shift today and will have to stay for two more days before someone comes to relieve them; the bad news is that the base will transport the collected supplies over every two days, and tomorrow is the transport day.
It turns out that Li County wasn't the only supply depot. Of the four suburban counties surrounding the capital, two were under the jurisdiction of Fenghuo (烽火), and two under the jurisdiction of Langyan (狼烟). That's right, the other base was also called Langyan. How interesting! If these two bases weren't friendly allies, how could they possibly have such a similar name?
According to their confessions, both bases housed over ten thousand survivors. The bases were multi-departmental and strictly managed survivors. Regardless of age, gender, or disability, everyone had to hand over a certain amount of supplies weekly to receive protection. This wasn't a civilian armed group, but protection from a regular army—a genuine thousand-strong force. Those unable to pay their supplies were sent to smaller, cramped bases to survive, where hunger, cold, and constant robbery were commonplace. Therefore, everyone hoped to find work within the bases, where after deducting the supplies they paid, they could keep a portion, much like becoming a civil servant.
There is another base in the capital that has no county-level territory under its name and its territory is smaller than that of the Beacon Fire and Smoke Base. However, it has the most advanced weapons of the three bases. According to the prisoners’ exaggerated claims, it really has missiles, and not only missiles, but also... well, you know what kind of missiles!
The base's leader is named Shan Kelun, who previously served as a deputy director in a national ministry. The base's name is also quite interesting: Red Star.
The interrogation lasted for more than an hour. Each prisoner knew only a limited amount of information, but the clues were pieced together and connected. When it was over, I suddenly realized that I knew far too much.
Finally, I asked all the prisoners a question: "Which base sent the planes that bombed the northern and southern fronts?"
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