They're robbing the Beacon Base.
When I'm free, I feel like my dreams are long; when I'm busy, I wish the night were short. After spinning like a top for nearly seven hours, I was finally able to exhale a breath of fresh air as dawn broke, sit down to eat something, and take a nap.
That night, not only me, but everyone was unable to rest. Zhang Yanhuang led half of the field team to scout and clear the Jin Yin Mountain; Han Bo led the other half to do the hard labor of loading supplies onto the trucks; those who remained at the service area were handed over to Xiao Hei and Fatty Luo, who were woken up in the middle of the night for an emergency evacuation. Although the reason was unknown, no one complained much; they went when told to go and stopped when told to stop.
At 3:30 a.m., the scouts returned and reported that they had chosen a building outside the scenic area as their base, which was convenient to access, spacious enough, and safe. At 4:00 a.m., the first supply truck headed to Jinyingshan. Around 5:00 a.m., my parents and the others arrived in Lixian County. Due to limited vehicles, the more than 100 people had to be moved into the mountains in batches, with the elderly and children going first, followed by the women, and the men without extra tasks following the trucks to load and unload.
Without weight or height restrictions, the truck's carrying capacity is still quite astonishing. By 7 a.m., the truck had made three round trips, transporting the supplies for one and a half warehouses... Well, it should be said that the amount of supplies stored in Lixian County is even more astonishing.
It's hard to describe the feelings I had when I opened the doors of every hotel room, every office in my workplace, and every floor of a shopping mall and saw those things. It was a mix of emotions, a bittersweet feeling that was hard to describe.
The mountain of food, clean water, medicine, equipment, gasoline, clothes, books, seasonings, and even seeds of various vegetables and plants—a vast and diverse array of supplies that the damned base commander could never finish in three lifetimes—was all piled up quietly, waiting for him to use them to win people's hearts, raise a private army, and control the survivors.
In that instant, I suddenly felt a resonance across time with all the peasants who rose up in rebellion in ancient times. Normally, I could live a peaceful life, but now you've forced me to become envious. Why would I leave the wealthy to eat the poor?
I learned from the prisoners that the base's people usually arrived in the evening, so I quickly arranged for the brothers to take turns resting. I also slept for two hours, and by noon, I was full of energy and continued to work on moving supplies. After clearing out one warehouse and sending off a full truckload, Han Bo sat on another truck that had just returned, legs crossed, yawning sleepily: "How about we switch? You escort the truck, and I'll deal with the base's people, okay?"
This vehicle was loaded with guns and ammunition. The depot didn't have any particularly high-end weapons; it was just the Type 8195 rifles. Although they were ordinary, there were a lot of them. I roughly counted more than two thousand rifles and more than a thousand boxes of ammunition, enough to equip a medium-sized armed organization.
"Not good." I bent down and lifted the lid of the box to check the type of bullets, while thinking about the team's distribution. "You make two more trips, then stay in Jinyinshan and don't come back. Get some sleep, let the car rest and fill up the gas tank, and come back to work after eight o'clock tonight."
"Have you found out how many of them will be coming?"
“If those people weren’t lying to me, it was just a truck with four or five people. They would deliver the money they plundered from the people here every evening.”
Han Bo was filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment. "The large base has over ten thousand people. If they hand over supplies once a week, how much must that be?"
“The military, leaders, and department heads don’t have to hand over supplies. Even those with formal jobs don’t hand over much. The real victims are the ordinary survivors.”
Han Bo craned his neck to look at the guns and bullets, and sighed, "In less than a year, I feel like we're about to regress to a feudal society."
"Bang!"
The sudden gunshot interrupted my conversation with Han Bo, and even the team members who were carrying boxes froze in place. I quickly turned my head to find the source of the sound, while Han Bo had already opened the car door and jumped out.
Where was the shooting taking place?
We were at a fire station in the center of the county town, and it was only a little past one or two in the afternoon when we spoke. My first thought was that someone's gun had accidentally discharged, but after looking in the direction of the gunshot for a few seconds, I felt that something was wrong.
"Quickly, put down your things, grab your weapons, follow my orders, and take cover!"
The team members quickly dispersed and found their own hiding places. I took out my gun and pulled Han Bo into the fire station.
"It seems to be in the direction of the county government. I only left one person there, and there are still more than sixty prisoners being held there." I hid under the wall of the duty room and said anxiously to Han Bo, "Could it be that the prisoners escaped and hurt our people? I'll go and take a look."
Han Bo pressed my head down, "Wait a minute."
A minute, or two, a red van sped into the road. A man stood leaning on the running board, a gun in his left hand and gripping the side of the van with his right, shouting, "Warehouses two, three, and four have been robbed! Notify base immediately! Notify base immediately!"
The truck was only half loaded, and the boxes that were unloaded were scattered all over the ground. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell at a glance that the loading had been forcibly stopped in an emergency, so the robbers couldn't have gotten far.
Sure enough, the truck stopped right in front of the fire station, directly opposite our truck. Four burly men jumped out, each with their guns raised, scanning the surroundings warily. Another man inside shouted, "Lizhou has been invaded by unidentified intruders! Three warehouses have been looted! Send reinforcements immediately!"
Han Bo and I exchanged a glance. What kind of walkie-talkie was he using? How could it receive a signal from dozens of kilometers away?
Whether the prisoners deceived me or the deliverymen arrived early, I didn't initially take it seriously. I figured I'd just fight them if I encountered them, it'd only make the prisoner ranks grow stronger. The base wasn't receiving any news for the time being, so we had plenty of time to procure more supplies. But I didn't expect them to have long-range communication tools. This is troublesome. If the base reacts quickly, they can assemble a team within ten minutes and reach Li County in as little as forty minutes, or as little as half an hour.
We can't afford to waste any more time; we have to fight our way out!
I gave Han Bo a few winks, and he nodded. I peeked out from the corner of the wall, aimed my gun at the man in front of the truck, and fired.
The man was clearly experienced in combat; he was not only on high alert but also constantly shifting his position. My first shot missed, and the bullet struck the hood of the car with a clang. He immediately dodged and quickly returned fire.
"Open fire!" I yelled.
"There's an attack! Open fire!" the other side shouted.
Our dozen or so team members opened fire from concealed positions in the courtyard or from second-floor windows. Bullets pounded the carriage and windshield, sparks flying everywhere in the intense exchange. The enemy had only four armed men, all hiding on the other side of the carriage. Although their guns were also firing, the overwhelming numerical superiority left them struggling to keep up, and their situation was clearly dire.
"Who are you people!" the other party shouted again.
"Kill them!" I yelled again.
The gunfire was so dense and loud that no one could hear what we were shouting at each other. The suppressive fire from our teammates kept the enemy from showing themselves, and they frantically raised their guns and fired wildly. The man kept yelling incoherently, but I couldn't understand a word he said.
A short while later, a man ran between the front of the two vehicles, his back bent low. I had a bad feeling. There were plenty of guns and bullets on the truck side. If he went over and carried a box to support his comrades, we would run out of manpower, and the firefight would be prolonged.
"Cover me!" I yelled at Han Bo, gripped my gun with both hands, and charged out while firing and sticking to the ground.
"Watch out!" Han Bo stopped hiding and jumped out, firing a barrage of shots at the truck, buying me some time.
A large truck was blocking the entrance. I reached it in a few steps, crawling under the truck in a prone position. The man had already picked up the box and turned to run. In a flash, I dropped my gun, grabbed his ankles with both hands, and twisted them, pulling him to the ground. Without time to pick up my gun, I slapped my thigh and pulled out a small dagger. I darted out from under the truck like an arrow, pounced on the man, and pinned him down, pressing the dagger against his throat.
The box crashed and broke open, bullets scattering from the small box. The man wasn't going to back down either; he was about to flip me over and throw me off when I didn't hesitate to slash his neck, instantly smearing my hand with blood.
Everything happened so fast, it was like a whirlwind. By the time the three men five meters away, who were in line with me, turned their guns on me, I had already shown them this bloody neck.
"Lay down your weapons and you may live; resist to the bitter end and you will die!"
The woman's voice was relatively high-pitched, and when I shouted, the gunfire from Han Bo's side subsided. The three men also stopped firing into the courtyard and instead pointed at me simultaneously.
I grabbed the man who had slit his throat by the upper body and crouched behind him as much as possible. "Fire one more shot, and I guarantee you won't leave Lixian alive today."
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, one of the men pulled the bolt of his gun after hearing my words. I expressionlessly raised and lowered the small dagger, plunging it deep into the man's thigh where his neck had been slashed, then pulled it out sharply. Blood spurted more than half a foot high. He hurriedly covered his leg with his hand that had been clutching his neck, his whole body tense, and after a moment he began to scream in agony.
The three men were clearly frightened and hurriedly took a few steps back. They didn't fire their guns but dared not release them either. One of them said, "Who are you people? How dare you steal our supplies? The base's army is coming soon. You can't escape."
"We're going to rob the Beacon Fire Base!" I sneered. "If we can't run, we can't run. We outnumber you, killing a few of you will be a piece of cake. It's not bad to have someone to take you down with us in hell."
The man's expression changed drastically: "We have no grudge against you, you are going to kill innocent people indiscriminately."
"Stop trying to glorify yourselves. Your base leader did something wrong, so he should be prepared for retribution. I'll kill every one of his men I see."
In the blink of an eye, Han Bo and his team surrounded them, forming a circle around them with more than a dozen guns. The three of them finally lowered their gun barrels.
"We're just deliverymen, we're...we're not really the base chief's men." The man sounded a bit intimidated.
I released the man who had slashed my neck and stabbed my leg, wiped the small dagger on my pants, and said coldly, "Oh, what does that have to do with me?"
There was another guy in the truck, trembling and afraid to look up, lying on the accelerator. The five men were disarmed, tied up, and locked in a random room at the fire station. The truck was ours.
There was no time to kill; reinforcements from the base could arrive at any moment, and not a minute could be wasted. Han Bo told his team to quickly load the guns and ammunition onto the truck and drive away. I drove the truck to the county government to pick up Team Member B. When we got there, we found that the sixty prisoners were still safely imprisoned, but he was lying in a pool of blood.
He wasn't dead, just severely bleeding from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. I didn't have time to find the prisoner who lied to me, nor to drag out the person who shot Team Member B for revenge. I quickly dragged him to the back seat, floored the gas pedal, and drove the van like a race car, speeding west out of Li County, even overtaking a large truck halfway, heading straight for Jinyinshan.
Because of darkness and the urgency of the situation, Zhang Yanhuang chose a temporary residence for everyone not deep in the mountains, but a resort at the foot of the mountain. It was unclear whether the place had been abandoned before the apocalypse; weeds grew rampant, eaves were broken, plaster was peeling off the walls, and dust was thick, exuding an ancient and decaying atmosphere.
As I approached the main road, I radioed Xiao Hei and asked him to inform Grandpa Tang to prepare for surgery. Among the supplies we rushed to transport, the most abundant was clean water, followed by medicine and medical supplies. Grandpa Tang no longer needs to complain and can finally have a proper surgery.
Squatting by the guest room door, I was utterly distraught. The emotions I hadn't had time to process in Li County surged up again, a mix of panic and guilt gripping my heart. Team member B had lost so much blood and was unconscious; would he die? It was my fault for leaving him alone at the county government. I hadn't thought things through properly, I hadn't had a Plan B for contingencies, which led to him running into people from the base. If he died, I would be utterly responsible.
I promised him I could eat whatever he wanted when I got back from the mission, but I don't even know his name.
Finally, the ammunition arrived safely. Han Bo, no longer sleepy, excitedly came to find me: "Do you know how that guy's walkie-talkie contacted the base? I just searched the truck and found a repeater. The capital is the capital, the equipment is really complete. And guess what's in the cargo compartment? My god, it's full of canned meat! Is there a meat processing plant that makes it for them or something? Different people, different fates, it's infuriating!"
I hung my head, running my fingers across the dirty carpet, unable to muster the energy to talk to him.
Han Bo bent down: "What's wrong? Is it the wind?"
I gave him a sad look: "If we break the team's zero-death-rate record today, I will never organize or participate in any activities again."
Han Bo was completely bewildered: "What the hell? Who would break it?"
Liu Meili pushed the door open and came out: "What are you two doing blocking the door? Move aside, poor little team leader, I have to go and get a tube now."
My heart leaped into my throat, and I quickly asked, "How is the patient?"
"We've lost quite a bit of blood, but we don't have the facilities for blood transfusions, so we can only give you intravenous saline solution. You'll need to eat something to replenish your blood after the surgery."
I pressed my hand to my chest and took a long, deep breath: "So he's not in mortal danger?"
"He won't die, but he needs to take good care of the penetrating abdominal wound and won't be able to go out for a while."
After receiving a positive reply, I relaxed for a moment, but the pressure quickly returned. It was still my mistake and dereliction of duty that had prevented me from ensuring the safety of my team members. What should have been a foolproof plan had gone wrong, resulting in someone being shot. Yu Zhongjian knew he would definitely use this opportunity to criticize and pressure me, forcing me to feel so ashamed that I would never have the face to mention regaining command again.
The dilapidated and desolate environment couldn't dampen the team members' spirits. Except for me, who seemed a bit preoccupied, everyone else was gathered around the small mountain of supplies in the villa's hall, sorting and collecting them with great enthusiasm, chatting and laughing. As the old saying goes, "With food in your pocket, you have nothing to fear." Although we hadn't managed to empty Lixian County, we still had a considerable amount. We drank a whole bottle of mineral water, ate a whole bag of compressed biscuits, watched Old Tang's grandson and Binbin firing two empty guns, and saw Xiao Meng's eyes crinkling into crescent moons with laughter. All the hardship and fatigue of the journey vanished.
This atmosphere lasted for forty hours. In my mother's words, after living like a beggar for two months, she recovered completely as long as she could eat and drink well for a day. Even when sleeping in a mountain resort room that was like a haunted house, she could wake up laughing several times a night.
She could laugh, but my nerves were on edge. Based on Zhang Yanhuang's painstaking reconnaissance outside the mountains, the Beacon Fire Base had already dispatched personnel to begin a widespread manhunt. All four roads leading out of Li County were blocked by armed men, and the search area was expanding into the surrounding villages. Jin Yin Mountain was forty kilometers from the county seat; there was no guarantee it wouldn't be included in the search area.
The resort's location is a bit too conspicuous; you can spot it as soon as you enter the mountains. Perhaps we need to move a little deeper into the mountains.
That night, I lay on the large bed with only a wooden plank floor, tossing and turning, contemplating my future. I don't know how late it was before I finally dozed off. A little while later, I was woken up by the cold. I reached for the blanket, but suddenly grabbed something cold. I touched it and it felt like a hand.
What's even more terrifying is that the hand then gripped mine in return.
"Aaaaaah!" Before I was fully awake, I jumped up as if I'd been electrocuted and screamed. My mom always says these guest rooms are dirty and gloomy, like haunted houses. Did I catch a ghost?!
My palm was pinched, and then a cold hand covered my mouth: "Shh, it's me."
What the hell is "it's me"? I know who you are! I was so scared that I jumped up like a carp, stood on the bed, and without saying a word, I swung my whirlwind kick straight at the dark figure beside the bed.
The shadowy figure raised its arm to block, then grabbed my ankle with an unusually strong grip. I couldn't break free, but how could I surrender? So, using the force of the grip, I leaped into the air and swung my other leg at the ghost.
The ghost didn't dodge, and I landed a powerful kick, striking its upper arm with style. However, lacking a foothold, I plummeted straight down after the stylish move, crashing heavily onto the bed with a loud "bang," and then the bed collapsed with a "crack."
"Hey, watch out!" the ghost said.
It all happened in just a few seconds. My mom, who sleeps next door, was the first to rush over out of her mother's concern. She shone a flashlight around the room and exclaimed in surprise, "What are you two doing?"
Then a second flashlight, a third, and a fourth, illuminating the room brightly. I was stuck between the collapsed bed boards, unable to move, my head hitting the bed frame with excruciating pain, one leg raised high, my ankle still held in the hand of the person beside the bed.
He bent over, his other hand reaching out to me in vain. Seeing that the doorway was full of people, he seemed a little embarrassed and withdrew it. He said slowly, "I came back late and wanted to talk to Qi Aifeng about something, but she insisted on sparring with me. Sorry to disturb everyone's rest."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
