Chapter 244: The Mother

The signal receiver in A-Nian's hand buzzed, and the text on the screen jumped clearly.

Lin Chen stared at those coordinates, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the hilt of his ice blade.

Chu Aiyao leaned over to take a look, her brows knitting into a ball: "Human Alliance Headquarters—this name is too unfamiliar. Rushing over there blindly, I'm afraid it's a trap."

"It's not a trap," Chen Mo suddenly spoke up. He adjusted the gas mask on his face,

his voice carrying a trace of hoarseness, "In the database of the outpost, there were relevant records,

saying that in the early days of the apocalypse, a group of top scientists and soldiers took resources to the Arctic Circle and established a secret base called the Human Alliance Headquarters."

Lin Chen nodded, a decision made in his heart: "Regardless of whether it's a trap,

we must go and see. Now that every safe zone has lost contact, only by uniting can we have a way to survive."

Xia Nuan held his hand, her fingertips carrying a trace of coolness: "I'll go with you. The road on the ice plains is not easy to walk; having one more person means one more person to look out for each other."

Chu Aiyao put away her long sword and turned to walk toward the off-road vehicle: "My people will follow too. Our off-road vehicles have good performance and can withstand the low temperatures of the ice plains."

A-Nian hugged the signal receiver and followed quickly: "I'll navigate. As long as the signal isn't interrupted, I can find the exact location."

The four of them got into the car, and the off-road vehicle started again, driving in the direction indicated by the signal. The wind on the ice plains grew stronger, whipping up accumulated snow and hitting the car windows,

emitting a *pitter-patter* sound. Chen Mo sat in the passenger seat, flipping through the documents brought out from the base, occasionally saying a few words to Lin Chen about the characteristics of the secondary infection virus.

The car had been driving for about half a day when Lin Chen's communicator suddenly rang,

and the voice of the Starfire Group patrol squad leader came through, carrying thick anxiety: "Team Leader Lin, you must come back quickly; something has happened to the safe zone."

Lin Chen's heart sank violently: "What happened?"

"It's Lin Hao's mother,"

the patrol squad leader's voice was intermittent, "She knows Lin Hao was locked in the water prison,

and heard that Lin Guodong is barely surviving in the bottom-level shantytown. She suffered too much of a shock, and her mental state has become abnormal. Now she is making a scene, demanding to see you; whoever tries to stop her, she hits."

Lin Chen's brows furrowed even tighter. Lin Hao's mother used to be a reasonable woman,

but ever since Lin Hao was locked up and Lin Guodong fell, she had become taciturn. He didn't expect her to have become mentally deranged now.

"I understand,"

Lin Chen said into the communicator, "You guys stabilize her first; don't let her hurt anyone. I'll be back immediately."

He hung up the communicator and said to Chu Aiyao: "Turn around; return to the safe zone."

Chu Aiyao was stunned for a moment: "We're not going to the Human Alliance Headquarters anymore?"

"The safe zone is more important," Lin Chen's voice was very heavy, "And I also want to see what exactly Lin Hao's mother wants to do."

The off-road vehicle turned around and sped toward the Starfire Safe Zone.

Along the way, Lin Chen's heart was in a mess. He thought of Lin Hao, thought of Lin Guodong, and thought of that broken home; he felt no ripples in his heart, only an indescribable irritation.

The car soon returned to the safe zone. Just as it drove into the gate, they saw a group of people gathered in front of the headquarters building,

making a racket. Lin Chen pushed open the car door and walked over quickly, only to see a woman with graying hair sitting on the ground, making a scene,

and shouting continuously: "Lin Chen, come out! By what right do you lock up my son? By what right do you bully the people of our Lin family?"

This woman was Lin Hao's mother. Her clothes were tattered, her face was stained with filth,

her eyes were unfocused, and her words were incoherent; she had clearly gone completely insane.

The patrol members were surrounded on the side, helpless. Seeing Lin Chen come over, they all looked as if they had seen a savior and cleared a path one after another.

Lin Chen walked in front of her and looked down at her: "What do you want to do?"

Seeing him, Lin Hao's mother immediately crawled up from the ground and lunged forward, wanting to scratch his face, shouting: "I want you to release my son! I want you to apologize to my son! You ungrateful wretch, you ungrateful thing!"

Xia Nuan was quick-witted and grabbed her, pressing her down firmly. Lin Hao's mother struggled,

cursing and swearing, saying whatever ugly words came to mind.

Lin Chen's expression grew colder: "Lin Hao colluded with the Black Scorpion Organization, leaked information about the safe zone, and caused so many people to die. Him being locked up is his just deserts."

"You're lying!"

Lin Hao's mother screamed, "My son is a good person! It was you who framed him! It was you who were jealous of our Lin family! You will die a horrible death!"

Her voice was sharp, drawing more residents to watch. The residents pointed at her and discussed it among themselves.

"Her son is that traitor Lin Hao, right?"

"I heard her husband Lin Guodong is now cleaning toilets at the bottom level; it's truly retribution."

"Pitiful people must have hateful aspects; when their family was throwing their weight around back then, why didn't they think of today?"

These words, every single one, drilled into Lin Hao's mother's ears. Her eyes became even more insane, and she suddenly broke free from Xia Nuan's hand and ran toward the wall on the side.

"I won't live anymore! I'll fight you to the death!"

Lin Chen was quick-witted and reached out to grab her arm, pulling her back. Lin Hao's mother collapsed to the ground, wailing loudly, repeatedly muttering: "My son, why is your life so bitter? Mother has failed you."

Lin Chen looked at her appearance and felt no sympathy. He said to the patrol members: "Take her away, find a room to settle her in, and send two people to watch her; don't let her hurt anyone again, and don't let her commit suicide."

The patrol members immediately stepped forward, hoisted Lin Hao's mother up, and walked toward the inside of the headquarters building. Lin Hao's mother struggled, looking back at Lin Chen, her eyes filled with resentment: "Lin Chen, even if I become a ghost, I won't let you go."

Lin Chen ignored her and turned to the watching residents: "Everyone disperse; go do what you need to do. Everyone knows the rules of the safe zone: colluding with external enemies and betraying humanity leads only to a dead end."

The residents dispersed one after another, and the front of the headquarters building soon returned to peace. Xia Nuan walked to his side and said softly: "Don't take it to heart; she is also a pitiful person."

Lin Chen shook his head: "Pitiful people must have hateful aspects. When Lin Hao was doing evil with the Iron Hand Group back then, why didn't she come out to stop him?"

Chu Aiyao and A-Nian walked over, and Chu Aiyao said: "What do we do now? Are we still going to the Human Alliance Headquarters?"

Lin Chen looked up toward the north, his eyes firm: "Go, of course we're going. Prepare yourselves; we'll set off tomorrow."

Just then, a technician ran over, holding a report, an excited expression on his face: "Team Leader Lin, good news! We have repaired a part of the Core Tower's system, and now we can establish contact with several small safe zones in the surrounding area."

Lin Chen's eyes lit up: "Really?"

"It's true," the technician handed him the report, "And we also intercepted a communication from the Black Scorpion Organization; they are gathering troops, preparing to attack the surrounding small safe zones."

Lin Chen took the report and flipped through it quickly, his eyes growing colder. The Black Scorpion Organization really hadn't given up; their target was all of humanity in the apocalypse.

"Notify everyone," Lin Chen said to the technician, "Tell the surrounding small safe zones to immediately send people to gather at the Starfire Safe Zone. We will form an alliance and fight the Black Scorpion Organization together."

The technician nodded and turned to run away.

Xia Nuan looked at him, her eyes filled with admiration: "You are looking more and more like a leader."

Lin Chen smiled without speaking. He knew this wasn't the look of a leader;

this was responsibility. The power in his hands was not for revenge, but for protection—to protect these people who were still alive, and to protect the last spark of humanity.

Chu Aiyao looked at him and suddenly said: "I've discovered that you've changed."

Lin Chen looked at her: "Changed how?"

"The you from before only had hatred in your eyes," Chu Aiyao said, "The you now has light in your eyes."

Lin Chen was stunned for a moment, then smiled. He looked up at the sky; the sunlight was just right, dispelling the dark clouds. He knew that the road ahead was still long and the fighting would continue, but he was no longer confused and no longer alone.

He had Xia Nuan, had Chu Aiyao, had A-Nian, had the brothers of the Starfire Group, and had those residents who trusted him. They would fight side by side together,

until all the enemies were eliminated, and until true peace was ushered in.

Just then, the signal receiver in A-Nian's hand rang again, and the light spot on the screen grew brighter and more stable.

A-Nian looked at the screen, a look of surprise appearing on his face: "Team Leader Lin, the signal has grown stronger! The Human Alliance Headquarters is sending us detailed coordinates and a route map." ===== CHAPTER 245 =====