Chapter 147: The Wind and Rain Rise Again

Silence—

The Black Rain that had lasted for several months had truly stopped at this moment.

Hong pulled back his Raincoat and looked around at the wilderness in a daze.

This place still looked as if it had been bombed; even the small building nearby was left with only half its frame, and the muddy ground was covered in countless puddles of varying sizes, illuminated by the distant lights.

But there were no raindrops, no sound of rain, and the sky was as black as thick ink, without the slightest variation in depth.

"It seems it really has stopped..." Hong also seemed somewhat unaccustomed to it, digging at his itchy ear with a finger, "It actually stopped."

The crowd, still shaken, did not cheer because the rain had stopped; under the organization of the team led by Li Gang, they barely leveled a patch of open ground and were setting up sheds for temporary shelter tonight.

The people of the Sky Viper were all dead, so naturally, they couldn't take the supplies with them, and fortunately, those people weren't crazy enough to blow these things up too.

Otherwise, Liu Mu would have had to think of other ways.

"It should rain again," Liu Mu took off her Raincoat and put on a jacket of the same color over her black vest, "Let's go, let's head to the ship first."

Just as Hong had said, when she got back on the ship, those Zombies were indeed listless.

They crawled slowly on the deck, and some even heated up on the spot as they crawled, emitting large amounts of water vapor before turning directly into dried corpses.

After boarding the ship, Liu Mu continuously sliced open the back of the Zombies' necks with the knife in her hand, but to her disappointment, there wasn't even a shadow of a Crystal Core in the bodies of these Zombies.

Hong was also busy moving things with his people; it turned out he had long since moved the things from the Laboratory, and now he was going to empty out the other cabins as well.

"What did you find?"

Hong stood on the second deck, having watched for a good while, confirming that Liu Mu was looking for something.

"Found nothing," Liu Mu kicked a Zombie she had decapitated into the sea, "It's all trash."

The few people who were moving things out paused; these people on the deck had been with them for nearly half a year, and they almost all knew each other. But if the Boss said they were trash, did that mean they, who were still alive, were also trash?

The sky was too dark for anyone to notice their heads hanging even lower and their backs bending further, not knowing how much was submission and how much was to hide their anger.

For the people in the lower levels, how much difference was there between the Shengli Group and the Sky Viper?

However, before their sadness had even dissipated, they saw their big Boss dragging corpses one by one and throwing them into the sea with her own hands.

Some of them wanted to go up and help, but were roared back by the Boss.

This included Hong, who had originally wanted to see the Mutation state of the Zombies.

"What kind of resistance do you have? You dare to touch this? Tired of living?"

The crowd was silent... This Boss, when there is danger, she really does go in herself.

"Let's go, she's doing it for your own good; these people have infectious diseases."

With one sentence from Hong, everyone dismissed the idea of helping, and it also successfully made their attitude toward Liu Mu become even more complicated.

It was only when they were close that they saw the appearance of those people on the deck; let alone the big Boss forbidding them from getting close, even if she had allowed it, they wouldn't have dared.

"What kind of infectious disease rots them into such a scary state?"

"Don't ask, just forget it since the Boss won't let us help, are you really tired of living?"

"That's right, that's right, do your work well, don't talk."

The discussion among the few naturally could not escape Liu Mu's ears, but it was all irrelevant stuff.

The reason she was so annoyed was still because of the Crystal Core.

In the few Mutations she had personally conducted before, there had always been the Stabilizer that Heitao A extracted from the Crystal Core.

But the current Mutated Animal generally didn't have enough time, and Crystal Cores were naturally rare, which had a huge impact on future Mutation experiments.

Just after the Zombies on the ship were cleared, Liu Mu found a guest room to take a shower, and someone came looking for her as soon as she came out.

Li Gang was followed by a person from the special operations team.

"Boss, something happened at the Barrier."

"What the hell?" Even though Liu Mu's body recovered extremely quickly and was tough, she couldn't withstand this wave of trouble coming one after another.

"Lieutenant Colonel Zhuo and the others stayed behind to help with the cleanup; they were supposed to report the return time to the Barrier, but we haven't been able to get in touch."

Li Gang's expression was grave, and the person from the special operations team beside him also nodded, "We were originally keeping in touch with the Barrier, reporting every half hour, but since the helicopter bombed the mountain pass, we haven't been able to reach them. We originally thought the equipment was damaged, but the signalman checked and found no problems..."

"How long has it been?" Liu Mu remembered that the helicopter was originally going to pick up Night Owl, but suddenly turned around to attack the supporting army, and she had a bad premonition in her heart.

"It's been two hours," the person from the special operations team gave a military salute, "Major, the army has to go back immediately and cannot protect this place for the time being, what do you think?"

"I'll go with you," Liu Mu made a prompt decision, "Gangzi, Niu Boyi, I'll leave you to protect the Headquarters; kill anyone who acts suspiciously on the spot. We'll talk about other things after I return."

Two and a half hours ago, Haicheng Barrier.

Qi Zhengxun's attempt to persuade Yang Shuo to return to the General Command together was interrupted by an explosion halfway through.

"What's going on? Where did the artillery come from?"

The sound of the explosion was too familiar; Yang Shuo and Qi Zhengxun immediately rushed out of the office.

The people in the Confidential Clerk's office moved immediately, and in less than half a minute, they figured out the situation, "Report to the Chief, it's an attack by the Sky Viper. The enemy has sufficient firepower and has already breached the first layer of defense."

Utilizing the foundation of the original county town's buildings, the Haicheng Barrier under construction had arranged a total of fifty-eight guard posts and three layers of defense on the perimeter.

"What are the guard posts doing? The enemy has reached our doorstep and there's not a single warning?"

Yang Shuo nodded at Qi Zhengxun and strode out of the office area.

A squad of guards followed closely behind, and the Confidential Clerk was covered in sweat, "Half of the troops were just transferred out, and half of the outer guard posts are empty, but there should be people in the critical positions! We don't know what happened for now!"

Qi Zhengxun, who remained in place, heard the report, his graying eyebrows twitched, and he asked his deputy who also stayed by his side, "What about those few people?"

"They have already been controlled, but," the deputy lowered his voice, glanced at the departing Yang Shuo, and shook his head slightly, "The news should have already been sent out; we were a bit late in taking action."

"Tie them up and take them to the front; it's useful if they can block a few bullets for the soldiers," Qi Zhengxun's eyes were calm as an ancient well, and he turned back to say, "Don't let Little Yang suspect us."

"This..." The deputy had thought he was going to interrogate the three spies who had infiltrated the examiners, but since his top leader had given the order, he could only execute it immediately.

The 63-year-old Qi Zhengxun was from the orthodox Northwest Army, and the friendship he formed with Yang Shuo was also in the army. But later, Yang Shuo was transferred to the South China Military Region, and while he was rising step by step, he never stopped keeping in touch with his old squad leader.

Now in these chaotic times, and being in the prime of his political life, another military and political figure within the General Command had been competing with him for power, so it was very necessary to find a helper at this time.

There was no need for him to come personally for this review, but for the sake of Yang Shuo, he came.

He looked down on this little Boss Liu Mu, and convincing Yang Shuo to return with him was what mattered.

In the eyes of Qi Zhengxun, the Southeast Three Provinces were already in Yang Shuo's pocket; delegating power to subordinates to manage them was the same, and the young and vigorous Yang Shuo should immediately begin his political career.

Now Yang Shuo could assist him, and in the future, when he stepped down, he could help Yang Shuo ascend; with two such terms, the military would possess absolute control in the future Huaguo.

The reason for choosing Yang Shuo, besides their friendship, was more so that the Southeast Three Provinces possessed a powerful navy.

Even if the disaster caused Huaguo heavy losses, even if only one aircraft carrier remained of the navy, it would become the cornerstone of reconstruction.

In the future, with both the navy and army under his control, no one in the General Command would be able to contend with them again.

Qi Zhengxun had long ago sent people to investigate the situation of the navy in Yang Shuo's hands, but to this day, apart from the vague reports on the General Command's table stating that various naval bases had suffered heavy losses and most warships had lost contact, there was still no other news.

Yang Shuo hid things too tightly, but when it came to what he was plotting, Qi Zhengxun was not quite sure.

The three spies among the reviewers were exposed from the start; why they were allowed to pass information out, and why they were only handed over now, were naturally all within Qi Zhengxun's calculations.

The Haicheng Barrier, it might as well not be built.

Only by letting Yang Shuo realize that the infiltration of the Sky Viper into Huaguo had reached a life-or-death point could he abandon this place and return to the General Command.

But things often do not develop according to anyone's calculations, and the purpose of this Sky Viper operation was also Yang Shuo.

On the scales of the Sky Viper, the Red Flower and the Night Owl combined could not outweigh a single Yang Shuo.

The moment the Night Owl acted without authorization, another group of people came ashore from various fishing villages south of Haicheng and headed straight for the Haicheng Barrier.

They had staked everything, and with inside help, they silently resolved the outer sentries and captured the first line of defense.

Yang Shuo saw the situation clearly through his binoculars and immediately ordered the defense to tighten, abandoning the first line of defense and giving up the mined area.

With the enemy attacking so familiarly, it was almost a certainty that there was a mole.

After fighting and retreating, there was movement in the minefield, and the continuous explosions caused the Sky Viper people to stop temporarily.

Just at this moment, Qi Zhengxun's Guard brought three people over.

After the situation was explained, Yang Shuo did not immediately allow them to push the people out to die, but instead carefully sized up the three.

They were all reviewers; logically, anyone entering the General Command to work should have a rigorous background check, but three spies appeared at once, and it was such a coincidence that they were all sent before his eyes.

The problem was huge, but the person utilizing this problem... Yang Shuo asked the three, "Are you all people from the Sky Viper?"

Two of the three were silent; only the man who looked very ordinary gave an answer, "I have no connection to the Sky Viper. It was Commander Lei who asked me to see you; there are some things I hope to say in private."

"Lei Peng?" Yang Shuo knew this person; he was one of the top figures in the Huaguo military.

Unlike him, who came up from the grassroots, this person first entered the Special Operations Corps; his fighting style was sharp and cold, and compared to those old guys who played tricks, he preferred to kill enemies with thunderous means.

The several frictions on the southwest border back then were all led by Lei Peng, who used thunderous means to directly eliminate the restless neighboring forces, and the troops he could mobilize were also the most combat-effective batch.

"Yes, Commander Lei hopes you can listen to our opinions." The man had an ordinary appearance, but his speech was neither humble nor overbearing, as if he were certain Yang Shuo would not send him out as cannon fodder.

"Can your opinions protect the forty thousand masses in the Barrier?" Yang Shuo was not swayed by him; who hadn't fought with real blades and guns, how could he be moved just like that? "Afterward, I will personally ask Commander Lei."

The other two thought Yang Shuo would let that person go and originally wanted to open their mouths to say a few words, but Yang Shuo's next sentence made them despair.

"Do as Old Qi said."

What Qi Zhengxun said was, naturally, to execute them on the spot for the crime of desertion.

"You can't do this, I demand a court trial!"

"Yes, yes, me too, the Review Board has the right to demand an appeal."

Yang Shuo waved his hand, "The supreme commander in wartime can execute spies on the spot. You are not from the Southeast Military Region, let alone from the Haicheng Barrier. Do as your commander said."

The people were escorted to the gap reserved in the defense line and pushed out.

Those two still wanted to shout a few times to tell the Sky Viper people not to act, but they were riddled with bullets in a few seconds.

The stalemate was also broken instantly, and the Sky Viper's attack became even more fierce.

The spies just killed already explained everything; these people were definitely aiming to take the Barrier today. As for whether they would kill all of them, the officials, that would depend on whether the Sky Viper needed bargaining chips for subsequent actions.

Although the Barrier's army had gone out, the remaining firepower was not bad; with sufficient ammunition and a commander who did not crumble, they still managed to hold the second line of defense.

At this time, the benefit of Yang Shuo having the people at the first line of defense retreat in time could be seen; with people concentrated on the second line, even the planes in the sky were shot down, and the rest did not dare to approach for the time being.

But, a war of attrition was a war of attrition after all; in a situation where they were holding firm without reinforcements, being broken through was only a matter of time.

Yang Shuo sent out three teams to go through the sewers to seek reinforcements, but they were all intercepted; he had no choice but to have people blow up the sewers leading to the outside to prevent counter-infiltration.

"The signal still won't go out," the Communications Company reported every ten minutes after discovering the signal was jammed, "They have jammed all channels; we must find their jamming equipment and destroy it!"

"You continue to contact," Yang Shuo certainly understood this principle, but the Burning had almost destroyed all lines above ground, and the new communication tower had only been established for a short time, so it could only perform directional wireless communication.

That is to say, once interfered with, they became deaf and mute.

Yang Shuo already had weapons on him, and his equipment was almost the same as the Guard protecting him, "Call out, ask if we can negotiate?"

The deputy, who originally thought they would fight to the death, was stunned for a moment, but immediately understood the old commander's meaning, "I'll go, I guarantee I'll find some flaws."

The one shouldering the responsibility of negotiation was the deputy Yang Shuo trusted very much, whose position was equivalent to the military ideological officer before the disaster, Jiang Wenjun.

Unlike old soldiers like Yang Shuo, Jiang Wenjun was a red-blooded Doctor who graduated from a military academy, after which he entered Yang Shuo's staff department and followed him in promotions all the way.

For over a decade, the two had been quite tacit in their work. After the disaster, Jiang Wenjun became the most capable strategist by Yang Shun's side and also shared most of the work of troop management.

As soon as Jiang Wenjun left, Yang Shuo immediately asked his Guard for a rifle.

"Chief, Political Commissar Jiang won't let you go to the front," the Guard gripped his gun tightly, but it was snatched away by Yang Shuo in one go.

"Good lad, you're rebelling, are you? Listen to him or listen to me?" Yang Shuo checked the firearm with practiced movements and asked for a spare magazine, "He's already gone up, shouldn't we go to protect him? Move aside, I'm going to slaughter a few snake cubs with my own hands today."

"Nonsense!" Qi Zhengxun arrived very quickly, but he still couldn't stop the person before Yang Shuo reached the front line, "If anything happens to him, all of you will go to the Military Court!"

"Old Commander, we couldn't stop him either; you know the Chief's temper, making him stay in the rear is even more unbearable than killing him."

"Then let him go? In my opinion, you bunch of Confidential Clerks are also of no use at all; you let people hit the front door, and there is no intelligence whatsoever."

Qi Zhengxun pulled out his gun and pointed it at the head of the person who answered, "One Chief, one Political Commissar, both on the front line, and you bunch of freeloaders don't know what to do? Take your guns and go with me, or go comfort the masses, get moving!"

Qi Zhengxun, whose hair was already gray, had a temper as violent as the weather in the Great Northwest, and he directly drove everyone in the office out. Even the remaining three reviewers were required to go and mobilize the masses everywhere.

The Haicheng Barrier was currently the largest Survivor settlement in the Southeast Three Provinces, with nearly forty thousand people living there long-term. Most of the people who had survived the disaster until now were physically healthy and relatively strong; as long as they were mobilized properly, it was enough to organize an effective resistance force.

Yang Shuo's position was at the very front, almost able to engage in direct fire with the people from Sky Viper; if he hadn't removed everything that could identify him before coming up, he likely would have been targeted for focused strikes long ago.

Yet even so, the offensive firepower of Sky Viper was quite formidable, not giving the Wall Army a single chance to catch their breath.

Due to the needs of building the Barrier and its defenses, all peripheral buildings had been demolished, and Sky Viper only had the guard posts of the first line of defense to use for cover. The frustrating part was that Sky Viper was well-prepared, and the vehicles they drove over were sufficient to serve as bunkers.

"Where is the artillery? Pull it up," Yang Shuo shouted; they had to suppress the firepower for a wave to create an opportunity for Jiang Wenjun to call out.

Under the conditions of prolonged rain, the explosions did not bring up dust, and Yang Shuo kept his eyes on the opposing position through his binoculars. After the bombardment, the other side finally realized they were too close, or that they could not take the Barrier in a short time, so they began to retreat.

Jiang Wenjun began to call out at this moment, the sound of the broadcast piercing through the rain curtain, but he had only shouted two sentences when the walkie-talkie crackled with a scout's roar, "Take cover, there is a sniper..."

Bang—

It was still a step too late; Jiang Wenjun, who was calling out, fell from the watchtower, a large spray of blood bursting from his face.

Twilight descended, and almost simultaneously, the sniper on the Barrier side also fired, and the opposing sniper was taken out.

Battlefield medical personnel treated Jiang Wenjun immediately, and Yang Shuo, who was at the other corner of the defense, received a report a few minutes later: shot in the head, condition critical, surgery must be performed immediately.

"At all costs, save him!" Yang Shuo left only this one sentence and immediately threw himself into command.

The Sky Viper side thought they had hit the Barrier's leader and stopped retreating, immediately intensifying their offensive, pouring ammunition toward the Barrier as if it cost nothing.

This battle lasted for three hours, and the Barrier suffered a hundred casualties, but the second line of defense still held.

At midnight, the rain stopped; originally, this was something everyone had been looking forward to for a long time, but for the panicked masses inside the Barrier, the rain stopping at this moment was not a good thing.

Defense would become difficult because of the rain, but it was even more difficult for the attacking side; now that the rain had stopped, it meant the difficulty of Sky Viper's attack was significantly reduced, and the situation was extremely unfavorable.

The news could not get out, and they could not request reinforcements; fortunately, the Barrier had a Militia that was usually trained. The Militia was mainly for maintaining internal order within the Barrier and did not participate in military missions, but now that manpower was insufficient, they were all put to use.

Taking advantage of the stalemate between the two sides, Yang Shuo went to see the wounded in the Barrier hospital, and when he returned to the front and was agonizing over how to request reinforcements, Xu Xiaoxia sought him out.

Yang Shuo knew that Xu Xiaoxia had been helping Liu Mu, so he asked her if there was any way to contact Liu Mu.

Xu Xiaoxia pulled over a thin little girl beside her who was no more than a meter tall and explained, "We don't have a wireless way to contact, but I think we can let a child as big as Nannan crawl through the shallow drainage ditches on the ground; those people won't think that we would let a child..."

"Nonsense!"

Yang Shuo interrupted her directly, "The rain just stopped, how much can the water level in the drainage ditch drop? Are you trying to send children to their deaths?"

"But if we wait a little longer, the water will definitely go down; as long as one of them can run out, we will be saved!" Xu Xiaoxia had personally gone to check the drainage ditch and believed her method was practical; once successful, it would be a great achievement.

"As long as one? Little girl, how many children do you want to sacrifice?" Yang Shuo, who always presented himself with a gentle smile, sank his face; he really hadn't expected that someone would dare to suggest such a thing to him—was she treating him like a fool, or did she simply not take the future of the Barrier seriously?

The drainage ditch contained not only rainwater but also accumulated silt; once these children went in, let alone going out to report, they would drown directly.

Even if one or two were lucky enough to crawl through safely, where would they go to report?

The distance from the Scrap Station to the county town was not something such a child could walk, let alone in the middle of the night when Mutated Animals were rampant.

Xu Xiaoxia wanted to say something else, but Yang Shuo waved his hand, "Lock her up, and ask who exactly sent this spy."

"I'm not, I..." Xu Xiaoxia was dragged away with her mouth covered by guards, and what she saw in her eyes was the meaningful smile of the Commercial Minister.

She had originally felt that this plan was too cruel, but Jiang Hanzhong said that this was a great merit that could save the lives of tens of thousands of people in the Barrier; once missed, there would never be such an opportunity again.

Plus, with Jiang Hanzhong's guarantee that he had already selected suitable children and would do his best to help her complete this plan, Xu Xiaoxia was moved; she needed to perform in front of Yang Shuo too much.

She had already offended Liu Mu, and it was impossible to be reused in the future; to continue climbing in the Barrier, performing meritorious service in front of Yang Shuo was naturally the best shortcut.

With a hot head, she once again became a sacrificial pawn in Jiang Hanzhong's hands.

"What is going on with Liu Mu, to actually use such a person..."

Living up to Jiang Hanzhong's expectations, Yang Shuo, whose battle was tight, could not help but complain.

"Boss Liu is a young person after all, always valuing immediate interests more, and there are times when she misjudges people," Jiang Hanzhong stood out at the right time, "We did know before that there was a young man named Zheng Tian in the Barrier who came out of Liu Mu's Coal Mine; he might be able to help."

"Coal Mine, Mutated person?" Yang Shuo knew that several Mutated persons had appeared in Liu Mu's Coal Mine, and for this reason, Doctor Xing Tianyang had specifically asked him for data, but there was no one named Zheng Tian in it.

"Yes, he said he has a way to contact Liu Mu," Jiang Hanzhong skillfully pushed the responsibility away; that is to say, if it succeeded, he would have the credit for recommending, and if it failed, it was just Zheng Tian bragging.

In this matter, he was always the beneficiary, while the one who would lose the most would be the absent Liu Mu.

"Why don't you see him? He is waiting outside the door."

Yang Shuo met Zheng Tian and agreed to his plan to go to Shengli Group to contact the army for support.

Not long after Zheng Tian left, Sky Viper's second attack began; just as Yang Shuo worried, without the interference of the rain, their advance this time was extremely aggressive.

On the eve of dawn, the second line of defense of the Haicheng Barrier was lost, and the Wall Army suffered heavy casualties.

Liu Mu sat in the first military vehicle, moving at full speed in the dimness of the coming dawn.

Behind them were a full twenty-five Troop Carriers.

"Too slow, four hours, the Barrier could have been bombed three times!"

Liu Mu patted the car door impatiently; the one driving was the former Barrier defense Captain, now a regular army company commander, Cheng Long, who was sweating profusely, "Major, the road conditions at night are complex, we are already at the fastest speed. Besides, the Barrier's defense is not that fragile, and there is a chief sitting in command, it should be able to hold... probably..."

"Little Brother, what if the other side has someone like me?" Liu Mu had to pour cold water; Sky Viper's research on Mutated persons was far ahead of their side, and the Mutated persons they cultivated had already crossed paths with them; they were simply a bug in the war.

"I'll drive faster!" Cheng Long continued to step on the accelerator; he had been in the defense army before and had seen some Mutated animals and plants, but he had never seen the killing machines cultivated by Sky Viper with his own eyes.

Never seen... but had heard of them.

Liu Mu fought the number three figure of Sky Viper and the puppet he controlled in the mine war; it was said that that thing could no longer be considered a person, and it was now placed in the Mutation Laboratory in Haicheng.

Thinking of the Laboratory, Cheng Long subconsciously gripped the steering wheel tightly. Speaking of perverts, the Boss Liu beside him, the Black Lizard in the Laboratory, and that Doctor Xing Tianyang, he didn't know which of the three was more perverted?

Of course, this could not be said out loud; while driving, Cheng Long suddenly pressed the Truck's loudspeaker hard, the continuous buzzing sound almost blowing people's ears off.

Following closely was the sharp friction of the brakes, and of course, the woman in the passenger seat cursing.

"You fucking looking for death? You dare to block a Truck, I'll crush you, you turtle son!"

Almost the moment the loudspeaker sounded, Liu Mu flipped out of the passenger window, her movements as fast as a Black Mamba snake launching an attack.

It was also because she was fast enough that she could kick those two guys off the road before the Truck crushed them to death. The repaired roadbed was more than half a meter higher than the side, and the rain had long since soaked the mud on both sides into a soft mush; the two of them sank directly into the mud.

Liu Mu lay on the windshield, signaling Cheng Long to continue driving, while she went down to check.

The two people wriggling in the mud soon crawled out, and as soon as they opened their eyes, they saw two gleaming knives.

"Don't, don't do it, it's me, Boss Liu, it's Zheng Tian!"

Zheng Tian spat out a mouthful of mud and hurriedly spoke, "The Barrier is in trouble, we've come to ask for reinforcements."

Liu Mu moved the tip of her blade, pointing at another large tail that did not look human, "How did you bring this thing out?"

The Black Lizard, precisely the tool of the Black Taotie, is one of the Heavenly Viper Sequence Black.

Of course, it is also the one that was almost hacked to death by Liu Mu...

"The Barrier is surrounded, no one else can get out. It was the Black Lizard that dug a hole from underground to bring me out," Zheng Tian explained hurriedly, and the Black Lizard also crawled out from the mud at this moment.

It is unknown what it went through, but this time the Black Lizard had almost no human form, its body covered in pitch-black scales, and the claws at the ends of its four limbs shimmering with a cold light. It was said to have dug out from underground, yet its claws had almost no wear at all, looking very useful at a glance.

"Why you?" No matter how you put it, the Black Lizard is one of the Heavenly Viper's people, and this Zheng Tian had also been in the Barrier ever since leaving the Coal Mine; Liu Mu could not help but be suspicious, "Where is the Black Taotie? Also, how can I trust you?"

Hearing this, Zheng Tian suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and fished a waterproof bag out from his clothes, "The Boss gave me this, saying you would understand as soon as you saw it."

"Throw it over," Liu Mu stood on the road, trucks passing by behind her; some curious soldiers poked their heads out to look, but upon seeing it was Liu Mu, they silently shrank back.

It was too terrifying; in a black raincoat with two blades, even just looking at her back was like looking at a soul-reaping judge, and one felt like they were disturbing her just by glancing.

The waterproof bag was opened, and inside were just four characters: "Great merit, come quickly!"

This... very good, as expected of an old fox, but he miscalculated; how could Liu Mu be someone greedy for merit...

Forget it, she really is!

"You guys follow," Liu Mu turned around, climbed onto a passing military truck, pushed the driver aside, and drove it herself.

"Calling Lieutenant Colonel Zhuo, I'm going ahead first. Attack as soon as you arrive, leave the rest to me!"

A sudden loud noise came from the top of the military truck, and Liu Mu let out a string of profanities, "You bastards aren't afraid of crushing this lady's truck!"

Zheng Tian, lying on the Black Lizard's back, had a face full of embarrassment; when they were traveling together before, he had heard Li Gang say not to treat the Boss like a normal woman, and now it really was... intense!

"My apologies, Boss Liu, our speed is truly too slow, we can't compare to four wheels."

Zheng Tian was not afraid of Liu Mu; who would waste energy running if they could catch a ride. Unlike the brothers who came out of the mine, he was not willing to be a miner as black as charcoal for his whole life. This time, which was an opportunity for others, was likewise an opportunity for him, Zheng Tian, to get ahead.

It was just that he had overestimated Liu Mu's driving skills and also underestimated her madness.

The truck's loudspeaker blared continuously; they said it was a two-lane road, but in the apocalypse, where could a road be that wide? She stubbornly scraped sparks along the way while overtaking, finally leaving the convoy far behind.

Sure enough, not long after, vomiting sounds came from the truck bed, and the soldiers dared to be angry but dared not speak.

"Brother, don't vomit, hold on tight!"

The Black Lizard shook its head and tail, its claws already dug into the iron sheet of the truck's roof, yet it was still being thrown around to the point of almost taking flight.

Zheng Tian's face was blown out of shape, and he heard a strange gurgling sound from the Black Lizard's throat. Fortunately, he dodged quickly, otherwise he would have been vomited all over.

By the time the truck stopped, it was already dawn; dark clouds pressed down on their heads, and although it wasn't raining for the moment, it also signaled that a greater storm was coming.

"Ugh, cough, cough, cough, Boss, Boss Liu, cough, cough, cough..."

Zheng Tian couldn't hold on either; after vomiting for a while, he scooped up some water from the ground to wipe his face before daring to step forward and ask, "What do we do now?"

"Let that lizard take us in," Liu Mu glanced at the soldiers who looked sallow but still stood in a square formation after getting off the truck, "Only carry personal weapons, discard the rest on the spot, infiltrate light."

Putting away her binoculars, Liu Mu walked over in a few steps and kicked the Black Lizard, "Hold on, or I'll peel your skin."

The Black Lizard opened its mouth, its forked tongue darting out quickly between sharp teeth, and surprisingly, a woman's voice emerged, "You need to be fast, we are very tired, we can hold on for at most another half hour."

"Then you'd better put in some effort," Liu Mu stared at the Black Lizard's earthy yellow pupils and revealed a smile that was fairly innocent, "Thank you for your hard work, afterwards I will definitely have Xing Tianyang get you some more good things."

"Shut up!" Upon hearing the three words "Xing Tianyang," the Black Lizard's pupils suddenly constricted and its body trembled, showing it was truly afraid, "Let's go now, follow closely."

The Black Lizard crawled around the perimeter, found a relatively stable slope, and began to dig the soil.

Inside the Barrier, the sounds of gunfire and artillery were constant.

Dawn had broken, but fear pressed on everyone's heart, and everyone was in danger.

This night, not a single person slept.

Various pieces of news were spreading quietly, and gradually some people heard that those attacking them were a spontaneous civilian organization, aiming to seize territory and dominate the region so they would no longer be restricted by the system.

Most people stood on the side of the authorities, but some were incited, wanting to take the opportunity to sneakily grab some benefits.

Once the Barrier was broken, they would surrender.

Without so many rules and laws pressing down, once a mule or a horse is brought out for a walk, it should get different benefits.

The first people who couldn't sit still surfaced, among them Zhu San and the few 'brothers' he had been associating with recently.

After robbing two households in a row without any Security Forces coming to manage it, this group of thugs became even more arrogant.

The third household was smashed open by them, only to find an old couple and a little granddaughter inside.

"Yo, isn't this Old Man Zhu? How come, didn't you follow Boss Liu to do big business and make big money? Why are you living on the edge of the Barrier with me? She didn't get you a place to live in the central district?"

Zhu San and his group usually wouldn't go as far as bullying men and women, but behind the backs of the Security Forces, they had done quite a few bad things.

Now that the Barrier was in chaos, these people started moving, and it was the common folk who suffered.

Old Man Zhu blocked his old wife and granddaughter behind him, squeezing out a smile, "We just sold some scrap like everyone else; we could only afford to live here by paying half in installments. Brother Wang, look, we really don't have anything good left."

"Nothing?" Zhu San kicked open the only wooden box in the single room; the things inside fell out, only a handful of noodles and a few dried potatoes.

"Just this little bit? Old Man Zhu, did you hide all the good stuff? Everyone is suffering, you can't just look out for your own good life."

"There really isn't anything else, Brother Wang. The two of us old folks can only find some scrap; we weren't even chosen for odd jobs, it's only enough to exchange for some food to survive, there's nothing else."

"I think the clothes on the three of you look pretty good; it just so happens the weather is cold, why not share them with me to wear. Strip their clothes off, old things, having things and not sharing them with everyone, very, very bad..."

Several thugs immediately went to tear at the old couple's clothes. Zhu San glanced at the little girl who was too scared to cry out loud, his small triangular eyes flashing with evil light, "Leave that girl for me, so tender, don't break her for me."

Upon hearing this, the old couple immediately hugged their little granddaughter tightly, and Old Man Zhu cursed loudly, "Beasts, aren't you afraid the Security Forces will come in a while?"

"Security Forces? They've all gone to the front to die. Hmph, when the people outside break in, I'll be the first to surrender, I'll definitely be able to be an official!"

Zhu San smashed a club onto the arm Old Man Zhu was using to hold the child, breaking the bone directly, "Give the little girl to me, I'll return her to you after I'm done, hahaha!"

"No, Grandma, Grandpa, help, someone save us!"

Zhu Xi hugged her grandmother tightly, and the room was instantly in a mess of crying, screaming, and cursing.

Such a loud commotion had long since alarmed the neighbors, but terrified by the events of last night, not a single person dared to stand out.

Just as the three grandparents and grandchild were about to meet their doom, the ground inside the room suddenly collapsed, and a blood-red maw covered in sharp teeth emerged from beneath the earth.

Before any of them could react, one bite took away half of Zhu San's body.

"Bullying the weak, you deserve to die," Liu Mu leaped up right behind it, snatched the child who was about to be crushed by Zhu San's corpse, and said, "Little Nannan, we meet again. Come, follow big sister to kill the bad guys!"

The remaining people in the room were already scared out of their wits; when the old couple Zhu saw their granddaughter being carried away, they shrank back in an attempt to stop her, "Please let the child go, please don't..."

"Don't worry, I'm taking her to play for a bit, I'll send her back later." Liu Mu turned back and smiled, then turned to the Black Lizard and said, "Kill this trash, don't let any of them escape."

Zheng Tian and the soldiers who climbed up afterward saw the Black Lizard chasing people and tearing them apart, one bite at a time, eating half and discarding the rest, limbs flying everywhere, the screams like those of vengeful ghosts being tortured.

There was also a pair of old people who had been scared out of their minds.

Some soldiers couldn't bear to watch, so they helped the two to a neighbor's house next door, and only after repeatedly guaranteeing that the Black Lizard would not harm innocent people were they temporarily pacified.

Meanwhile, Liu Mu let the little girl Zhu Xi sit on her shoulders, grabbed her two little legs, and actually brought her to the final defensive fortification at the front.

"Big Sister Mu, will that big monster really not eat Grandpa and Grandma?"

"It won't, that's my pet; it only eats bad guys, not good people," Liu Mu answered casually, while her other hand had already fished out a hand grenade and tossed it to the little girl. "Hold this tight. See that ring on top? When you see a bad guy later, pull it and throw it at them. Throw it as far as you can, understand?"

The little girl's grape-like eyes examined the iron lump in her hands, her finger pulling at the ring, "Can I kill bad guys if I pull it?"

"You can, it can blow the bad guys straight to death. You practice holding it first, it's just like a firecracker, it's really fun." Liu Mu casually bluffed.

The group who had finally caught up wanted to say something, but what met their eyes was the tragic state inside the defensive fortification, and the comrades on the ground who hadn't had time to be treated.

"You all, find a place to provide support yourselves." Liu Mu gave the order and took Zhu Xi to find Yang Shuo.

As the highest-ranking officer of the Barrier, he should logically have been hiding in a safe place to command, but Liu Mu found him in a pile of wounded soldiers at the defensive fortification.

An arm had a hole through it, and he was still firing his gun while it hung from his neck; he truly refused to admit he was old.

Liu Mu hopped over in a few steps, "Uncle Yang, I was only a little late, how did you end up getting wounded?"

"Why did you bring a child?" Yang Shuo turned his head; before he even saw Liu Mu, he saw the little girl sitting on her shoulders, hugging her head.

"A neighbor's child, brought her to see the world," Liu Mu shook her shoulders, "Xixi, this is Grandpa Yang, hurry and greet him."

Zhu Xi, who had been badly frightened by the wounded and the sound of gunfire, blinked her big eyes as two lines of golden beans fell, "Hello Grandpa Yang, I am Zhu Xi. Sob sob sob, are you hurt too? Does it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt, don't be afraid, Grandpa Yang is just fighting bad guys here." Yang Shuo could fight great battles and kill enemies, but he just couldn't stand seeing children cry; he had no choice but to put down his gun and take the child down from Liu Mu's shoulders, "What are you doing? Scaring the child, and you even gave her a hand grenade?"

"Xixi will blow up bad guys, kill bad guys just like Big Sister Mu!" Zhu Xi tilted her face up, trembling with fear but forced to grit her teeth and say what Liu Mu had taught her.

"Fine, why don't you take her to the rear to find her grandparents, Uncle Yang? I'll help you watch for a while here," Liu Mu pushed the child to Yang Shuo and freed her hands to take a gun directly, "Give the order, we can counterattack."

Yang Shuo had no choice but to hold the child; surrounded by wounded soldiers and blood, he really couldn't let go, "Have they all arrived? Can we really counterattack? What is your plan? Tell me briefly first."

"The plan is like this," Liu Mu handed the gun in her hand to Zhu Xi, signaling the little girl to touch it, her tone dead serious, "I'll go up, slaughter the commander of the Sky Viper, and the rest of you will attack from the front and back; they will definitely all die!"

Having stayed up for over thirty hours, Yang Shuo's face went completely black, "That is pure nonsense!"

"Ying ying ying," Zhu Xi was scared by his roar and pulled her hand back, and the hand grenade in her other hand almost pulled open.

Her tiny finger was looped in the pull ring; Yang Shuo wanted to take it away, but was afraid that if the little girl got scared again, she would pull it directly, "Don't cry, don't be afraid, Xixi is it? Don't be afraid, Grandpa Yang isn't trying to scare you."

"Liu Mu, listen to me." He really couldn't trust Liu Mu's command ability; he had heard Tan Ziyan report before that killing enemies head-on was indeed her only strategy, "In ten minutes, we will pause the attack to create the illusion that we have no strength left to fight. During these ten minutes, you must arrange for everyone to hide, just waiting for them to attack."

"Shut the door and beat the dog!" Liu Mu gave a thumbs up, revealing a mouthful of white teeth in praise, "When it comes to being cunning, it still has to be you, Uncle Yang; I couldn't come up with such a good idea."

"Cunning..." Yang Shuo shook his head slightly and left while holding the child, "Start the timer now."

Him, cunning? No, the cunning of this child Liu Mu was not below his, it was just rare for her to truly put in effort for anyone, otherwise he wouldn't be so worried.

Liu Mu caught the watch Yang Shuo threw over and glanced at the circle of bunkers that had already been cleared, knowing that Yang Shuo had been prepared from the start. He was waiting; once reinforcements arrived, he could shut the door and beat the dog, but what if the reinforcements didn't arrive?

The number of dead and wounded soldiers around was not much less than those who could fight; if reinforcements didn't arrive, he feared Yang Shuo would only have one path left—a fight to the death.

"Alright, you go back first, I will deploy the troops on time."

Liu Mu agreed, left the spot first, and her figure moved quickly between the various defensive fortifications. Yang Shuo saw that they didn't hide immediately, but instead moved the wounded away, and finally showed a hint of approval.

The Barrier had its own internal communication system; Yang Shuo's order was quickly issued, and the ten-minute countdown began simultaneously in all locations.

The sentries left along the road by the Sky Viper only sent a message that a vehicle was approaching the Barrier, and then there was no further news.

Resistance inside the Barrier decreased significantly with time; by now, there were almost no places firing.

A white suit was too conspicuous in the apocalypse and on the battlefield; the silver-haired man sat in a high-backed chair upholstered in gold velvet, like a king ruling the world, silently watching the movement ahead.

Black Lotus turned the ring on his ring finger, and only after his subordinates reported for several minutes did he speak, "Go in, kill everyone who resists, keep the flock, they still have great use."

"Yes, Leader." The subordinates took the order.

The Black Lotus direct guard team, who had been waiting since the start of the operation, finally had a chance to enter the field; everyone was eager to show their strength, rushing toward the last line of defense of the Barrier like beasts released from a cage.

Black Lotus stopped playing with his ring and slowly looked toward the rear, "You all arrived too slowly; what a pity, you won't be able to save them."

As soon as he finished speaking, a number of trucks appeared faintly on the distant mountain ridge, their military green bodies not very clear under the gloomy sky.

"Ten minutes, that's enough, right?" Black Lotus took out a pocket watch from his white suit with a simple yet very elegant motion; on the Gold Watch adorned with black lotus patterns, the hands on the dial moved in an orderly fashion, the sound they made small but exceptionally clear, as if containing some kind of law controllable by human power.

But, less than ten minutes later, he lost this composure.

Inside the defensive fortification, gunfire suddenly rang out, fighting became intense, but Black Lotus felt an invisible danger, as if the black clouds in the sky were pressing down.

The fair, rosy face looked at the clouds in the sky; the first drop of rain fell, and Black Lotus stood up and walked toward the distance, away from the Barrier.

"Heaven is not being kind, should I go save that piece of trash?"

The rain clouds had been stifled in the sky for a long time, and they fell again as if they wanted to break people's bones, pitter-patter, sharp as blades.

But even in such raindrops, Black Lotus opened an umbrella with a blooming black lotus, and the surface of the umbrella did not have the slightest disturbance.