Chapter 472: The Former Warning

This night, many in Qincheng were destined to lie awake, such as those in the barracks at the eastern end of Wenhua Road.

Li Zongkai led the entire regular army out, and from morning till night, there was no word—by midnight, they still hadn't returned; anyone claiming not to worry was pure nonsense.

Inside the empty barracks, two men sat by the window, gazing toward Tianma Island through the night's endless darkness.

"Da Luo, what if the boss and the others don't come back?"

The man held his rifle tightly, as if it gave him some sense of safety, and asked his companion in a low voice, his words heavy with worry.

"How could they not come back?!"

Da Luo's accent was clearly not northern—he spoke with the flat tone of plastic Mandarin.

"I'm saying hypothetically—this has already been a full day!"

"Don't just talk about one day. Outside right now is that dangerous—if an emergency comes, two or three days is possible. Don't overthink it!"

"Then why aren't you sleeping? Aren't you thinking too?"

"I'm just watching you can't sleep—I'm keeping you company…"

At the Xiaoying Association headquarters, Xinglong Kindergarten: the children's bedrooms were pitch black; through the faint moonlight, many figures sat motionless in the dark, looking eerie…

The group was murmuring: their leader had personally led the charge, taking nearly all combat personnel from the camp—never before had such a large-scale operation been launched, leaving everyone deeply anxious.

Just as people sighed in despair, a shadow approached the door and knocked three times on the iron fence.

"Who's sighing? If any of you dare say another useless word, you're going to haul water from the village—our reserves are running low!"

At the sound, everyone fell silent, daring not to make another sound, but their inner dread deepened further.

Conditions inside Tongrui Auto Park were much the same: a few night patrolmen huddled together, smoking, alternating between optimistic talk of the future and pessimistic guesses, inevitably sighing.

Inside the 4S dealership, packed with many members, faint murmurs could be heard—discussions centered on the worrying present, the terrifying future, and the nostalgic past…

Beyond these people, one man braved the bitter cold, climbing alone to the rooftop of the 4S dealership, hunched in a corner fiddling with electronic gear; a small green light flickered visibly in the dark, and he muttered to himself as if speaking.

The liveliest scene was at the Survivors' Alliance.

After Liao Youzhi took the flame zombie away, the temperature inside the LeGou Mall began slowly dropping; by nightfall, many were too cold to sleep at all.

Due to ventilation issues, only a handful of rooms could support a stove; before, these rooms were like dog shit—shunned for leaking wind, and those without power or connections were assigned to them.

Now, these well-ventilated shops had become prized, packed with people, several stoves roaring fiercely.

Liao Youzhi took the bodyguard unit, the entire Vanguard Regiment, and Search Team Three—over fifty men—almost emptying the Survivors' Alliance's combat strength; everyone left gathered around the stoves.

The red glow of the fires painted faces, revealing every shade of human expression.

"I heard the boss went out to expand northward territory?" "I heard that too—it's true. They say once we take the north, we won't have to huddle inside the mall anymore!"

"Do you have any brains? You believe that? Right now, you could walk out and pick any apartment or villa you want—dare you live there?"

"Exactly—we don't even have a gun. What if we run into zombies?"

"Zombies? If we didn't have this stove tonight, every last one of us would freeze to death—it's fucking unbearable!"

The northern expansion plan brought no real benefit to ordinary members—it only plunged them into hardship. These people were miserable, and the few women who followed Liao Youzhi weren't faring any better.

The warmth in their rooms had always come from the flame zombie; fortunately, the walls had some fireproof and insulating properties, so the temperature dropped slower than downstairs—but after over ten hours, it had already fallen to around zero degrees.

Since following Liao Youzhi, they'd never suffered hardship; this sudden freeze left the four women flustered. They wanted help but feared the wolfish men would take advantage of the boss's absence to assault them. After much deliberation, they finally started the generator and lit two small sun lamps, easing things slightly.

"Why haven't they come back yet? Do you think… something's happened?"

A woman in tight thermal clothing sat on the sofa, legs crossed, a faint frown on her face; the fiery glow illuminated half her body, highlighting her well-defined curves—healthy and vibrant.

"Don't worry—our Boss Liao is wise and mighty. With so many men and help from three other groups, taking down some backcountry bumpkin? Easy as pie!"

"Ru sister's right, Yu sister—stop worrying so much. Instead, guess what good stuff Boss Liao might bring back. Hey, Qiaoqiao, put down that magazine and join the chat."

The speaking woman noticed Qiaoqiao had been quietly reading a magazine and pulled her into the conversation.

Qiaoqiao flipped the magazine over onto her lap, her delicate features endearing; she softly spoke: "If it were really as easy as Ru sister says, why would Boss Liao mobilize so many? I'm not optimistic. Let's think instead: what if Boss Liao returns defeated—what can we do to win his favor?"

"No way… I don't want to go back to how things were before. No—I'm going to pray to the Bodhisattva right now, beg her to protect Boss Liao."

The woman who pulled Qiaoqiao into the chat immediately stood up—clearly someone with weak resolve.

"Now that you say it, I feel something's wrong too. Do you think—if Boss Liao's in trouble—can the four of us hold the line?"

Pan Ru's eyes flickered; she lowered her voice to ask the other two.

"Huh?"

Under the orange-yellow glow, Yu Nuo looked at Pan Ru as if she were an idiot—as if to say: "Little vixen, you don't know how power works?" "If Boss Liao is severely wounded, we help him through the hard time. If… Boss Liao doesn't come back, we seize control of the science department first, then reorganize the troops and reclaim full control of the Survivors' Alliance!"

Pan Ru's eyes glinted with madness; her words left the other two staring at each other in shock.

"Xiao Pan, you've got balls the size of boulders—my god…"

One woman covered her mouth, unable to even imagine Pan Ru's proposal—insane, utterly insane.

Pan Ru said nothing, only silently recalled a man's old warning to her: Be ruthless, be shameless—only then do you have a chance to survive! She had never forgotten those words, and that was how she reached today—otherwise, she'd have been dead on the wasteland long ago.

(End of Chapter)