Chapter 132

Wangjiang New City, suburbs.

Tang Tian, wearing a fawning smile, brought the cooked instant noodles to a middle-aged man, gulping.

It smells so good.

The hunger in his stomach gnawed like a poisonous snake.

"Boss Tang, the noodles are ready; please eat them while hot."

Tang Long frowned at the instant noodles on the table, feeling irritable.

"Where's the food I brought back earlier!!"

"Damn it, did you guys steal and eat it!!"

"No.. no!"

Tang Tian was frightened and stepped back two paces; the man before him was an Awakened One and also his distant cousin.

"Food... these past few days everyone has been given a little bit to eat..."

He forced a smile; the food the man brought back was nowhere near enough, and they had been eating the leftovers from Tang Long's group.

Tang Long, thinking he had eaten instant noodles for several days straight, couldn't help feeling a bit nauseous.

Already besieged by zombies here, feeling restless, now with no food, his heart filled with irritation.

"Clang."

Tang Long suddenly stood up and slapped Tang Tian.

"Fuck your mother! It's all because of you useless lot who eat but don't work; if you weren't my cousin, for your sister's sake I would have long since thrown you out to feed the zombies!"

"We shouldn't have gone to save you!"

Tang Wan was frightened by the shout, her face paling, and she hurriedly stepped in front of her brother.

"Long bro, don't be angry, don't be angry, I'll make you another serving."

Cowering, Tang Mother beside them in her wheelchair dared not utter a word.

"Damn your mother! There's no food left! You slut! You tricked me into coming, then begged me to save you!"

"Didn't you say your worthless fiancé stole your money and left?"

"His name is Lin An, right? I think it's good he stole it!"

"If I hadn't become an Awakened One, I would have almost been killed by you useless lot!"

Tang Wan kept her head down, not daring to speak; the zombies' howls downstairs made her heart tremble.

"Ding, global announcement: Congratulations to Apocalypse player 【Lin An】 for becoming the first player worldwide to establish a Safe Zone...."

Tang Wan trembled all over at the sudden system notification; the icy voice contained a name that was extremely familiar.

Lin.. Lin An!!?

Tang Tian, who had been slapped to the ground, stared in shock, then hastily scrambled up.

"Sis! Sis! I think I heard the name of that bastard... brother-in-law, Lin An!"

Tang Mother recalled the kick Lin An had given that crushed her leg bone, and upon hearing the name she couldn't help pushing her wheelchair forward.

"Isn't that little bastard!? I heard it too!"

For a moment, everyone in the room stood frozen, examining the global announcement word by word.

Ten minutes later, Tang Long, smiling, helped Tang Tian onto the sofa and gave a light cough twice.

"Well, little brother. You know I have a short temper."

"I remember you said before that your sister's fiancé is Lin An, right?"

"You mean the one in the announcement isn't him?"

As fellow Awakened Ones, he had also witnessed the terror of mutants during this time.

Seeing the mission requirements, which often demanded killing dozens of mutants, plus second‑level monsters never heard of before.

Even if he were stupid, he could tell that the man named Lin An must be a powerful Awakened One.

Moreover, he commands at least a hundred Awakened Ones under him.

He is strong, and he also has a Safe Zone.

"Tsk, look at this Safe Zone's description—the hope of humanity!"

"Goodness, if we could get in and connect with Lin An, we wouldn't need to live in fear like we do now."

"Global announcement! He hasn't heard the system prompt a few times until now. How damn strong does one have to be to get the system to issue a global announcement!!?"

Tang Tian remained silent for a long while; this news was like a bombshell.

Tang Mother pushed her wheelchair anxiously.

"Well, Boss Tang, to be frank, I think this Lin An is him!"

"I always thought this kid had promise; otherwise, why would I let my daughter marry him?"

Tang Long glanced at Tang Mother and snorted.

"I heard Tang Wan say you were asking for more bride price, which is why he didn't want to marry? Don't spout that bullshit."

"That's what I think. I believe you were wrong before the apocalypse, which pissed him off. But now it's the apocalypse—money is useless."

"Tang Wan, if the Lin An in the announcement really is your fiancé,"

"then his Safe Zone must be nearby!"

"Come on, tell me. You two have known each other so long—where do you think he'd set up his Safe Zone? Maybe his parents' place?!"

Tang Long, excited and smiling, picked up the instant noodles and handed them to Tang Tian.

"If it really is him, we'll go find him. You were almost married—what's this little misunderstanding?"

"I think it's just that after the apocalypse broke out, he didn't have time to find you, right?"

Tang Long instinctively thought on the bright side—if they could find Lin An, it would be like latching onto a powerful patron.

Tang Wan nodded woodenly, as if in a dream.

But she dared not respond to Tang Long's words.

She didn't know whether it was Lin An or not, but seeing Tang the Elder's reaction, she also knew that if she denied it, she and the others wouldn't last a few days before he threw them to feed the zombies.

Tang Wan forced a smile at the thought, and looking at Tang Long's expectant gaze, she slowly nodded.

"I think it might be him..."

"He must have looked for me later, after all we were so close..."

But Tang Wan suddenly flashed to Lin An's eyes in her mind.

Those eyes in her memory, devoid of emotion, filled only with endless killing intent...

Hua Guo's capital, the strategic-level civil defense safety engineering command center.

"Everyone, I believe you've all read the global announcement; speak up with any thoughts..."

By the conference table, an elderly man spoke wearily.

In the meeting room, the lowest rank among the over forty people was colonel.

A middle-aged military officer with shoulder insignia of a general, somewhat excited, spoke upon hearing the voice:

"I believe!"

"We should do it unconditionally! Spare no expense! Exert ourselves fully to find him!"

As soon as his words fell, the former capital mayor likewise spoke urgently.

"I second that! Based on the organized judgment analysis, the safe zone is very likely the refuge we must build in the future!"

"You've also experienced the system's terror; a place designated by the system for survival is far stronger than our earlier 【Hope】 project!"

"The urgent priority is to find Lin An as soon as possible. Ideally, we get him to join us! The sooner we know what the safe zone is like, the more beneficial for subsequent development planning!"

"Seconded!"

The chief of staff of the capital defense corps raised his hand, eyes blazing.

"I think we should pursue a two-pronged approach. On one hand, we ourselves try to complete the mission; on the other, we actively seek Lin An."

"He can complete such a difficult task; he must have exceptional abilities! Such talent must be recruited by us."

"I suggest dispatching at least a hundred supersonic fighter jets and ten special operations teams to break out of the zombie encirclement and head to the major war zones, seeking their joint deployment. Conduct a nationwide dragnet search for the safe zone's location, while continuously broadcasting search information on the war zone channels 24/7."

"I oppose! I think just sending a message in the chat channel is enough. As long as he's a Hua Guo national, seeing our country's difficulties will surely prompt him to step forward voluntarily."

"The capital war zone's front lines are stretched thin; we have no remaining capacity to dispatch troops and fighter jets outward!"

"Let him come himself! When the nation is in peril, as a Hua Guo citizen, shouldn't one step forward?"

"After reviewing the mission requirements and calculating repeatedly, he has at least a hundred Awakened Ones under his command. If he can reach the outermost defense line, we will fully cooperate to let him bring his people in!"

"Then we will use the safety token in his hand to establish a safe zone in the capital!"

A commander with tiger eyes, majestic without anger, directly interrupted everyone's discussion.

"I agree! Commander Zhang's idea is the same as mine. Once the chat channel opens, we can just use it to search."

"You know as well as I do that once warplanes take off, they'll encounter attacks from unidentified mutants; getting three out of ten back is already a stroke of luck!"

"The entire capital war zone front is strained, with at least two billion zombies blocking the major defense lines. If we dispatch troops for a dragnet search, finding them would be fine; if not—"

"If the capital falls, there are over six hundred million survivors here! Can you bear that responsibility?"

The commander of the sixth defense line had bloodshot eyes, pointing at everyone present.

The meeting room instantly erupted in argument, with both agreement and opposition.

The topic revolved around Lin An, sparking a heated debate.

"Enough."

The elderly man before the conference table lightly tapped the table, his voice weary.

"Let's follow Commander Zhang's idea, then make adjustments."

"The capital's front lines cannot afford loss; sending ground troops out is suicide. Air forces are vital and cannot be wasted."

"Moreover, we aren't entirely certain whether Lin An is a Hua Guo national..."

"Wait for the chat channel to open, then we'll first send out a message through it...."

"Moreover, mobilize a hundred-person team to form an investigation bureau, fully gather information on Lin An, and devise corresponding plans."

"I announce that, after this global announcement's news, we will launch a new strategic plan."

"Plan codename: Faction: Long An!"