Chapter 216: I

If Zheng Tian had said these words from the mouth of someone else, Qian Kesheng, who had been immersed in the business world for many years, naturally would not have been provoked.

But who was Zheng Tian? A trusted aide by Liu Mu's side. With this connection, whether starting from the perspective of the church or the Barrier, he had no choice but to ponder it more carefully.

A merchant's mind thinks a lot and thinks fast; Qian Kesheng quickly reached a conclusion: this was Liu Mu testing him.

Regarding the two aspects, whether the starting point leaned toward one or combined both, he had to produce an attitude that could satisfy Liu Mu.

"Brother Zheng Tian, as a part of the Base, how could I not contribute at such a critical moment? Rest assured and assemble your men; I only need half an hour on my end, and we shall head out together to provide support."

Not even giving Zheng Tian a chance to refuse, Qian Kesheng seemed extremely anxious; as he spoke, his footsteps were already moving, and he left the room in a hurried and confident manner.

"The Boss is truly god-like in her foresight, actually trapping this old guy with just one sentence," Zheng Tian sighed inwardly, his admiration for Liu Mu having reached a fanatical level.

Qi Fengxia quickly gathered the able-bodied young people willing to go to Haiyang Base to provide support, and the people from Qian Kesheng's side were also ready; the two sides combined totaled about a hundred people, which was merely a drop in the bucket when it came to real warfare.

However, what surprised Zheng Tian was that Qian Kesheng not only provided men but also provided weapons and supplies, equipping everyone with what could be called a wealthy set of gear.

Out of respect for the financier, Zheng Tian modestly let Qian Kesheng speak first; he didn't know if it was because he felt pained about giving away the weapons, but he felt that his complexion didn't look very good.

Qian Kelong only said a few simple words, the general meaning being the human community, and that if they didn't go to support today, then others wouldn't protect them when something happened to their village later, and other such brainwashing rhetoric.

Zheng Tian went up and gave a guarantee of rewards, not only for the individuals participating in this operation but also including their families, who would receive sufficient supplies after the matter was concluded, and he promised that if they had the desire, he would send people to escort them to the Barrier or Haiyang Base.

Finally, the youth Qi Fengxia also shouted, "The Qi Army protecting our home and country is a tradition left to us by our ancestors; in the past, our ancestors could drive away the Japanese invaders, and today we can protect our homeland!"

Compared to the previous two, his remarks, which had no suspicion of making empty promises, instead made the young men indignant and passionate.

Zheng Tian silently reflected that he still didn't understand the pursuits of young people; vulgar, he was too vulgar.

"Set off!"

The convoy set off, leaving behind the village that only had the old, weak, women, and children, which gradually grew smaller in the wind and snow.

Surrounded by mountains and covered in white snow, after the initial excitement, everyone instead felt a sense of the tragic heroism of "the wind blows cold, the Yi River freezes."

……

Thanks to the swirling air currents, the last few batches of Survivors in the urban area were not attacked by Zombies when entering the core of the Base; of course, the one with the greatest credit for this was still Liu Mu, who caused this small, yet not insignificant, disturbance.

On this day, everyone in Haiyang Base witnessed the heroic bearing of the War Mecha, as well as the brutality of the mecha pilot.

Several people in the crowd who had stirred up trouble using the excuse that the Base had not protected them before and should give them some preferential treatment now were directly thrown into the Zombie horde by the mecha pilot.

"Little brats, join a new group; they can take care of you from flesh to bone!"

The ruthlessness of the methods directly turned the remaining people into an obedient flock of sheep, moving quickly and not daring to have any more objections.

Inside the high wall, the tall man standing at one of the observation ports watched the scene below with equal indifference, having no opinion on the matter of the mecha killing people.

Brigade Commander Fu Mingjie, who had rushed back from the nearest county, finally couldn't bear to watch any longer; he glanced at the white-haired Division Commander and asked, "Isn't it not very good for her to do this?"

"Oh?" The white hair was only a little longer than a buzz cut, the pupils had turned completely dark red, and the skin color had become a bit lighter but was still close to bronze; such a Bai Chonghuan made everyone who knew him feel like a stranger.

Mutation—this word had been heard countless times since the disaster, but no one expected that this would actually happen to their Division Commander, and so obviously at that.

If it were not wartime now, perhaps this kind of change would have aroused suspicion from many, subsequently threatening the positions of Division Commander Bai Chonghuan and the Base Chief, as well as the power possessed by these positions that made countless people envious.

"How do you think it should be done?"

Bai Chonghuan was waiting, waiting anxiously, waiting for a response from the Military Base in the mountains, but an hour had already passed, far exceeding the standard time for normal contact, and there was still no news.

It just so happened that at this time, the Brigade Commander beside him returned to say that the two nearby counties had already fallen, with no survivors, and only his own family and four Guards had entered the high wall intact.

One must know that before today, Fu Mingjie still had two full-strength regiments in his hands. Of course, his brigade had four full-strength regiments left, two of which had been executing the mission of guarding Haiyang Base along with another independent regiment.

As the main target of the attack, Haiyang Base lost about one regiment, but as a non-primary target, the county didn't even have a single soldier left.

And he dared to run back; at any time, he should have been sent to a Military Court.

"It's not that there was no ability to protect those civilians; she is clearly killing to vent her anger. Her qualifications to pilot the mecha should be revoked," upon seeing the mecha for the first time, Fu Mingjie's thoughts were completely different from Bai Chonghuan's, "I still have a Mechanical Regiment in my hands; I can select new people to pilot it and better cooperate with the Base to execute missions."

"You want that mecha?" Bai Chonghuan's words revealed a hint of a smile; this person was indeed greedy, and if he wanted the mecha, it was likely only to increase his own power.

"This," Fu Mingjie thought Bai Chonghuan was not angry and joked half-heartedly, "Who wouldn't want such a good thing? I didn't expect those old fogies at the General Command to actually hide such good things. Division Commander, it's just that you aren't willing to fight for it; if it were me, I would definitely make a request to Commander Yang. This is a heavy weapon of the state; it should be given to elite troops like our reinforced division, right? Giving it to this kind of individual soldier is simply a waste."

"Fu Mingjie!"

Bai Chonghuan suddenly shouted sternly, scaring Fu Mingjie into immediately standing at attention and saluting, "Present!"

But the next second, he was annoyed; as a high-ranking official second only to Bai Chonghuan, he could even replace him at any time if he wanted to, so why couldn't he break the conditioned reflex formed in the army?

"Record this: Brigade Commander Fu Mingjie commanded poorly, fled the battlefield, and abandoned his position and troops. Immediately detain him and wait for the Military Court to hear his case!"

At Bai Chonghuan's words, several Guards at the sentry post door immediately filed in, disarmed him amidst Fu Mingjie's resistance, and tied him up.

"Bai Chonghuan, what do you mean by this?" Fu Mingjie was not convinced and raised his face to question him, "I have already said that the Zombie Virus attack is different from all previous situations. Not only do you not understand, but you also want to detain me? Are you targeting me?"

"It seems you still haven't realized the crime you committed. Take him away to be detained, and at the same time, notify the Political Commissar to give him a good lesson."

Bai Chonghuan waved his hand, and Fu Mingjie was immediately taken away by the four Guards.

Zhang Lin, who had rushed over, saw this scene, and his mind turned as he understood what was going on, asking casually, "Division Commander, what should be done with the people who came with him?"

"Detain them together, and make them explain the situation clearly. This bastard, he dared to swallow two regiments of troops; I will skin him alive!"

Bai Chonghuan's blood-red pupils surged with ruthlessness; if it weren't for needing to know exactly what happened to the two regiments, he would have shot Fu Mingjie just now.

"What is it?"

Seeing Zhang Lin come back in after chasing to convey the order, looking like he had something to say but hesitated, Bai Chonghuan had a bad premonition, "Did something really happen in the mountains?"

Could it be that Liu Mu really guessed it?

"Yes," Zhang Lin handed over a fax, "They were indeed attacked by carriers of the Zombie Virus, but fortunately, the situation was not as serious as we expected. Currently, they are already dealing with the infected, and we have also passed on the news that the Sea Soul Team has gone up the mountain, hoping that both sides can meet as soon as possible. At the same time, we have also applied for the authorization to use weapons in the mountains, but we haven't received a new reply yet."

"The Sky Viper wants to wipe us out," with his speculation confirmed, Bai Chonghuan was no longer anxious, "Prepare to cooperate with the acting commander for a military strike. Once the authorization from the mountains is obtained, transfer it directly to Liu Mu."

He could coordinate the interior of the Base, but with the radar unable to fully start and the satellites in the sky unusable, they were blind and could not effectively strike targets at sea.

They couldn't just aim with binoculars, could they?

But before the order left the room, the internal landline suddenly rang. Bai Chonghuan glanced at the troops outside who had almost all entered the high wall and picked up the phone, "Hello, this is..."

"Old Bai!"

It was Liu Mu. Bai Chonghuan frowned slightly, "Acting Commander, we have already made contact with the mountains."

"Mm, I know, listen to me," the mecha below said something to the guarding army and turned to leave; Liu Mu's voice was mixed with slight electronic noise, "Now you accept the supreme command of the Base. I will have Heitao A help you obtain all effective information; it has already entered the Military Base in the mountains and issued an order for you to be in command."

"I will be on the front line, so that Heitao A can determine the enemy's deployment and positions. Do not worry about me when you strike; I have ways to protect myself. Do you understand?"

Do you understand? It had been many years since he had heard such a question. Bai Chonghuan's thoughts raced, and he had already thought of no fewer than ten reasons why it was inappropriate for Liu Mu to be in close contact with the enemy, but he also understood that without a Mecha to provide vision, even if Heitao A could control the remaining networks on the city's land, they would still be eighty percent blind.

"Understood, Chief Liu, please take care of your safety."

The voice carried the composure of a mature man, and what gratified Liu Mu was that this person did not raise the slightest doubt or talk nonsense.

"Brother Bai," she suddenly changed how she addressed him. Bai Chonghuan, being called this, felt a slight tremor in his heart, and his face actually grew a bit hot. "Chief, please speak."

"The last person I called 'Brother' was Tan Ziyan. In the battle at Hongwu Valley, I also gave him command. He is gone, but you must not follow his example."

"Listen, Brother Bai, lead everyone in the Base to live on well. I can sacrifice myself, but the Southeast Three Provinces must never let the Sky Viper come ashore, the Haicheng Barrier cannot lose the Haiyang Base, and the Military Region must not lose a Division Commander like you."

Even with the interference, the tragic and resolute tone in Liu Mu's voice still made one's cheeks tingle. "If anything happens to you and the Haiyang Base, Yang Shu would surely slaughter me upon his return. So, for the sake of the great cause, Brother Bai, lead everyone to live on!"

What is the great cause?

Is it merely to live on?

Bai Chonghuan hardly needed to think—every military cadre who grew up in China had a raging fire and a belief in their heart: for the motherland, for the people, no... perhaps, now it should be for humanity!

"Major General Division Commander Bai Chonghuan, guarantees to complete the mission!"

Bai Chonghuan remained calm, though a slight tremor in his voice revealed a hint of his agitation.

But the next second, frivolous words came from the other side, "Oh my, I've already left, what are you still gazing longingly at? Hurry to the command post, Brother Bai, I'm entrusting my back to you. Bye-bye now~~"

The drawn-out ending was feigned to sound relaxed, and the call had already ended.

Bai Chonghuan stared at the receiver for a few seconds. Everyone in the room was exceptionally quiet; they could feel the weight upon their Division Commander.

"Go to the command post, activate all combat equipment in the Base, and set the power to the maximum!"

(I've been using the system to correct typos recently; my eyesight is really quite poor. If there are still typos... I beg for your forgiveness!)