[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-zombie-apocalypse-creation":3,"chapter-zombie-apocalypse-creation-zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-800":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Zombie Apocalypse: Creation",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1887656,2510,"Chapter 800: Yiming’s Retirement","zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-800",800,"\u003Cp>As the dust settled, the entire protest was later broadcast on TV, albeit after Shen Wen gave the footage to Yuqi first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unsurprisingly, the public sentiment was fully behind the protesters’ demand, wanting to put those soldiers and former soldiers alike into prison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A formal investigation was launched the next day, with Yuqi directing Yueyue’s intelligence department to create a special investigation unit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entirety of the 4th Army Corps was recalled to Luoping, with the Shaoguan gap being filled by Lingang’s 3rd Army Corps instead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even as half of his army is technically still under Han Bang to help with Jiangmen, it was still better than leaving it undefended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shenzhen and Dongguan’s responsibility fell to Wuli’s newly composed 5th army corps, with her troops recalled from Zhongshan as soon as they finished clearing it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>---\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yiming, you don’t look annoyed by it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Xiaoyun and Yiming sat across from each other in the command room, Yiming’s face remained cool and collected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t see the issue. If the soldier had committed a crime in the past, then they should be held to the same standard as civilians.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I understand that. But aren’t you annoyed to be recalled back to Luoping? And having your unit break up again after training together for almost a month?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yiming’s face flinched a little, but he mostly remained the same as he looked back into Xiaoyun’s eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A soldier’s duty is to listen to orders.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Very well then... You can enjoy a short break until the investigation is over. The soldiers who are fired will be replenished from the reserve.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yiming nodded his head in silence, accepting the terms that had been laid out. However, he soon noticed something in Xiaoyun’s face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is there something wrong?\" Yiming curiously asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yiming, I was wondering about something... Do you want to go on a trip with me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A trip?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, a trip to the capital... I had been invited by the army to talk about a united front against the zombies.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiaoyun could see Yiming’s face changing from shock to confusion to clarity. All changing within a matter of seconds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m afraid I can’t go with you,\" Yiming answered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why not?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m too old. The last time I took a transport plane across the country, the swelling on my body almost killed me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Yiming raised his arm, Xiaoyun was a little shocked. He could see a visible bump behind his shoulder through the clothes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I was already thinking about asking for a retirement. This gout on my body is already making it hard for me to sit in a car.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why haven’t you told me this before?\" Xiaoyun questioned, his heart starting to feel guilty for sending him on so many duties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t want to leave my fellow comrades... But now that they’re under Han Bang, I’m too tired to keep going.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the sudden exhaustion on Yiming’s old, wrinkled face, Xiaoyun couldn’t bring himself to keep him on active duty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I understand... I’ll tell Houqin to prepare a retiree ceremony for you—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No need. I just want to go quietly. I don’t want to make such a fuss over something like this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But... I can’t do that. I have to give you the honor that you deserve. You had done too much for humanity.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yiming still shook his head, waving his hand to signal him to calm down as he spoke up again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don’t make it sound like I’m fully retiring. I had been having an idea that I wanted to show to you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The prospect instantly intrigued Xiaoyun, as hundreds of different possibilities already appeared inside his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I had been noticing how the army lacks officers, especially high-ranking officers who can direct more than a thousand people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I had been thinking, why don’t we open a military academy? Formalizing it and letting it work alongside the current promotion system.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That sounds a little familiar...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Because we had done something similar in the past. Remember how I was teaching you and ten other soldiers every day?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within seconds, Xiaoyun nodded his head. Memories started flooding into his mind as he thought back to all the things Yiming had taught him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We never really quantified it, and most of the time, we had been just letting the soldiers become officers by using their field experience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But field experience can only go so far. Unless they’re naturally talented like Han Bang, it starts to become more and more difficult the more soldiers there are to manage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So that’s why we need a formal military academy. Teach those fresh recruits who show early capability to be officers right off the bat.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How much money do you need?\" Xiaoyun questioned, not doubting Yiming’s idea at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t know yet. But it shouldn’t be that much... Once we get this established, the reward from it will be generational.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No doubt about that. I’ll get Yuqi to agree to allocate funding for this. You’re going to be the head of this project, Yiming.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m fine with that.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the two of them reached a consensus, a problem soon appeared before Xiaoyun. One that didn’t really have a clear answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yiming, do you have anyone in mind?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In mind?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"To replace your current position. If you’re retiring, then someone else would need to take over your spot.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yiming sat there in silence, his hand rubbing his chin as he thought about a potential successor to his army group.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"All of the soldiers in my unit are new, so it has to be another officer from another unit, and someone who’s ideally a man.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why men?\" Xiaoyun curiously asked, looking a little surprised by Yiming’s condition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I doubt any of the fresh recruits is willing to respect a woman, especially when the entire unit is composed of men.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You aren’t wrong... Hmm. Yiming, do you have anyone in particular that you want to be promoted?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I want to say Jixi, but he’s way too low of a rank. He’s better off as an assistant to a high-ranking officer than leading an entire army.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How about Zhen Ren? Or Li Miao?\" Xiaoyun suggested.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Zhen Ren is way too rash in his decision. His highest rank will always be a Colonel. Li Miao isn’t a bad idea.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yiming paused for a second, then continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But Li Miao is too unwilling to cut losses when he needs to. He’s more like you, but without the ability to pull off miracles.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiaoyun felt a little insulted by the words, but he didn’t argue back as he waited for Yiming to list out the next potential candidate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fei Gan hasn’t really earned it either, and Li Qing, she... she’s completely out of the picture.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Leaving us with Yan Lin?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiaoyun murmured, as his mind instantly thought back to a middle-aged man who had been mostly silent every time he had met him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I wouldn’t promote Yan Lin. He got too many secrets and... He’s the only Colonel in the army who’s single.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Who doesn’t have a little secret about themselves before the outbreak? And what does single have to do with commanding troops?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He doesn’t have anything tying him down.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, Xiaoyun immediately understood what Yiming was trying to imply. He instantly threw Yan Lin out of the window as a choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Are we going to promote someone from Yezi’s army instead?\" Xiaoyun questioned, his mind starting to feel like he was running out of options.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If you want to upset the army’s balance, you can go for it... Han Bang has always been supportive of Yezi, and he’s currently leading my former unit.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then who are we picking? If it isn’t from Yezi’s army, then it has to be from a colonel from Han Bang’s army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the officers in other armies are way too inexperienced, or don’t have the reputation to back up their promotions.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How about you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Me? What? I’m the commander in chief. I’m too busy to be managing a whole army while needing to go to a meeting with civil servants.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When was the last time you led an army?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The question made Xiaoyun fall silent. In his mind, the last time he directed a military operation was when he was saving Houqin a few months ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But for something that involved an actual large-unit combat mission, it was all the way back when he was fighting at Humen Bridge half a year ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do I really need to direct an army?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s hard for troops to be convinced of your capability if you never led them, especially for a new army composed of fresh recruits.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long consideration in his head, Xiaoyun eventually nodded his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I can lead it for a bit. But I have to go on a trip by the end of November... And are the troops even ready to go out on a mission yet?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"After the investigation, they are more than ready to take on a city,\" Yiming answered with confidence in his voice.\u003C\u002Fp>",1504,"2026-06-10T06:59:54.885Z",1,"novelbin.me","c392a349a81e9a62e0dfebb0b85f5f654579e30482e6ac63684d3d925fc293eb",null,"zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-799",829,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fzombie-apocalypse-creation-cover.jpg"]