Chapter 170

North American theater, naval port.

"Colonel Ron, all Awakened Ones are in position."

"The fleet has finished refitting and can stand by at any time."

One day and one night without rest.

Ron braced both hands on the sand table, his gaze thoughtful:

"Once there are fewer messages in the channel, we will immediately announce the establishment of the safe zone."

"I want to tell everyone in the North American theater, we're still here!"

"By the way, let's get in touch with that Chinese family, just in case there's some connection..."

"Within a week, I need you to complete the safe zone token task within a week!"

The fleet communications officer hesitated for a moment, then handed the documents in his hand to Ron.

"Colonel Ron, although with our current armed forces it's not hard to accomplish."

"But..."

"【Shockers】 We haven't even found where it is..."

"Using missiles and fighter jets, combined with Awakened Ones, we can indeed quickly clear out first-level mutants..."

"But the Second Level..."

Ron lifted his head, his gaze locking onto the communications officer, and said firmly:

"We must establish the safe zone as soon as possible!"

"The first safe zone has been confirmed to have been established by the Huaxia theater, and it's very likely that their military used a large amount of armed forces to complete the mission."

"Even under such zombie density, they managed to complete the task ahead of everyone..."

"Could it be that we just can't do it!!"

"If aerial strikes are interfered with, use missile silos! If ground troops can't enter the city, deploy armored corps!"

He let out a breath.

His gaze was deep as he looked out the window at the fleet docked at the harbor.

"We've already fallen behind by a step..."

"One step slow, step by step slow."

"You, not being an Awakened One, might not feel it deeply."

"But since the apocalypse broke out, I've had a strong premonition."

"War is about to come..."

"If we don't quickly establish a base and unite people's hearts..."

"I'm afraid this apocalypse might truly become the doom of our nation..."

Countries worldwide are in chaos, major borders unattended, nations at a standstill...

Danger is also opportunity.

Ron walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window, his eyes filled with strong ambition, muttering to himself:

"This is the worst of times, and also the best of times..."

"The strong win everything, the weak lose everything."

Brahma, Komeien theater.

A crude underground hall, dim yellow emergency lights oppressive.

Tens of thousands of survivors in long robes and headscarves looked on in horror as the steel door continually deformed.

The crowd wept, praying.

The woman holding a baby devoutly prostrated herself on the ground.

The old man holding a wooden staff trembled with both hands, murmuring with the followers behind him, begging for forgiveness from the deity before him.

In a command room made of several tables pushed together, an Awakened One with a red headscarf stared fixedly at the unanswered distress message.

"There will be hope..."

"There will definitely be hope!"

"Later we'll send out a distress signal together; as long as someone sees it, we still have hope!"

"Just now surely no one saw it; as long as we all send...."

The surrounding soldiers lowered their rifles, glanced at the weeping crowd behind them, their eyes showing resolve to die.

They are the chosen ones; they will send the message with their lives.

They will continuously send out distress calls, requesting any support.

Until their life force is drained, until someone responds......

Residential building in the suburbs of Wangjiang City.

Tang Long wore a thoughtful expression, with some excitement.

"Tang Wan, sis, do you think this Lin An is actually that Lin An?"

Originally I had planned to send a message as soon as the channel opened, saying I was fleeing with Lin An's fiancée.

As long as Lin An sees this message.

Never mind anything else; by then joining the safe zone would skyrocket.

Let's check the messages in the channel.

Despite the high cost of sending, a group of people still send messages like fanatics, just hoping to see Lin An appear.

Many Awakened Ones don't mind expending energy to speak in the channel, just to curry favor early.

In the channel, a crowd of people are crying and pleading to bring others into Long'an Base, but Lin An has yet to show up and speak.

Not even a bit of news about Long'an Base has gotten out.

He originally thought that someone like Lin An, a big shot, would definitely come out and say a few words; after all, to some extent he is the face of the Huaxia war zone.

But there was no news, except a bunch of swindlers with no titles coming out pretending to be Lin An.

Sigh.

If the real Lin An came out, that Lin An who is Tang Wan's fiancé, he would have no hesitation at all.

Even if he forces those people downstairs to work, he will still post several messages.

As long as he relies on the merit of saving Tang Wan's family, Lin An will surely become a chief of the Military Region in the future.

Then he must at least be a major?

But the problem is...

Watching the hot and bustling, frenzied screen‑filling chat channel, Tang Long really felt somewhat hesitant.

Starting from the global announcement, he thought all day and didn't sleep all night.

At first he was too excited; later he thought it over carefully and again felt that Lin An might not be that Lin An.

There are many people named Lin An in this world; having namesakes is quite normal.

Tang Wan lowered her head, not daring to speak.

She both hopes that Lin An is her fiancé and is afraid.

Perhaps it's self‑brainwashing, or perhaps her younger brother and Tang Mother are treating Lin An as a lifeline.

Tian kept vouching to Long all day; after hearing it so much, she even felt that Lin An might just be temporarily angry.

That knife‑like gaze was just her own misperception.

Younger brother Tang Tian nervously swallowed a mouthful of saliva, then quickly spoke up to try to dispel Tang Long's hesitation:

"Brother! This is definitely him!"

"I already said it—my brother‑in‑law used to be a soldier!"

"Think about it—he must have been summoned back by the troops after the apocalypse broke out, and then became an Awakened One."

"With so many monsters, how could he possibly kill them all by himself?"

"He must be like you—strong‑willed, stood out in the Military Region, and led everyone to build a Safe Zone!"

He gave Tang Long a sideways compliment, then added:

"Think about it—could this Lin An have built a Safe Zone if he had no connection to the military?"

"Think carefully. There are many people named Lin An, but add being a former soldier and the number drops sharply!"

"Moreover, I believe my brother‑in‑law—it's definitely him! His kung fu.... is really great!"

Tian recalled the kick that Lin An had almost used to kill him, and, still feeling uneasy, added a final note.

There's no way around it—once the words are out, Lin An isn't his brother‑in‑law, but he must be.

Otherwise, Tang Long would definitely not take them to flee.

The group of people following downstairs have already gone two days without food.

Many are so thirsty they even drink water from the toilet.

After hearing that, Tang Long drew a deep breath, his eyes turning fierce.

"Alright! I believe you!"

"I also think it's him! We were just talking about him when the system made the announcement!"

"I think this is fate!"

"I, Tang Long, saved you—this karmic retribution will surely be good!"

Ding ding ding.

After making up his mind, Tang Long went downstairs with killing intent.

He had already figured it out—food is scarce, and his stamina can't support sending even a few words of a message.

Moreover, the channel is being flooded with messages; if he doesn't send several at once, they're likely to be overlooked by Lin An.

Grab a few people and force them to send messages with their lives!

As long as this Lin An is the Lin An of Long'an Base, everything is worth it!

He wants to tell this big shot, 'Your fiancée's family is all with me......'

Come find us quickly!