Chapter 186

Chapter 186: The Door to Rebirth in the Apocalypse – Full Novel Website

Chapter 146: Overnight Stay

Although it was the New Year, in these special times, everyone only poured themselves a glass of wine and didn’t drink much. They chatted while eating hot meals. After finishing, those with families called their wives and children to go home together. Naturally, there were people specially assigned to clean up the banquet.

Those without families also gathered in small groups and walked back to their living quarters.

When people gather, it’s inevitable that some chatter arises. Someone muttered, “The settlement point was doing just fine, why did they have to go and create some base? I always wondered why the treatment was so good, turns out they were training us to go fight for territory.”

As soon as these words were spoken, there was a moment of silence, and then someone immediately mocked, “Then why did you raise your hand so quickly earlier? Hypocrite, don’t you feel ashamed?”

The person who spoke earlier was completely unfazed and said, “If I didn’t raise my hand at that time, wouldn’t I have become a target? I’m not that stupid!”

With the crowd noisy and the dim lighting, the person spoke without any fear of being overheard. With so many people around, even if someone heard, they wouldn’t know who said it.

Someone else said, “If you don’t want to stay, just leave. The settlement point has rules; everyone can come and go as they please. The settlement provides three meals a day, no hunger, no cold, your wife has a job, your child goes to school, and they even teach you how to kill zombies and shoot. Do you have no shame? Only want to take and not give?”

The person was provoked and shouted loudly, “It’s all a trick to make us work for them! You fools still think they’re treating you so well! You won’t even know how you die one day!”

Someone was angered, and although they didn’t know who said it, they shouted in the direction of the voice, “If you have the guts, say these things in front of Third Brother! Hiding and babbling, what kind of man are you!”

The person who spoke earlier suddenly realized the atmosphere around him had changed and that he had stirred up too much trouble. He quickly tried to blend into the crowd elsewhere. As he stepped back, he bumped into someone and was about to curse when his collar was grabbed and yanked. He turned his head and saw a tall, burly man with a thick beard, instantly terrified. Just as he was about to say something nice, the man shouted loudly, “What? You talk big and then try to run?!” Then he shouted to the crowd, “Everyone, look here! Does anyone know which team this bastard is from?!”

Originally, only the nearby people heard what this person said, but the burly man’s thunderous shout echoed across the entire field. Those who didn’t know what was happening asked around, and soon everyone knew what had happened.

Naturally, it reached the ears of the Three-Linked Team, and Third Brother’s face turned grim. He hadn’t expected such an incident, which was akin to a slap in the face.

“It’s Li Yong from Team Eight!” Someone quickly recognized the man who was caught.

“Where’s Team Eight’s captain? Let Team Eight’s captain deal with him!” people shouted.

Soon, Team Eight’s captain, Zhang Yongquan, squeezed through the crowd, glaring at Li Yong as if he wanted to eat him alive.

Li Yong hung his head, not daring to meet Zhang Yongquan’s furious gaze.

Several other captains also arrived upon hearing the commotion, their expressions strange. These captains were chosen by Third Brother, who had told them that as captains, they were responsible for everyone in their teams. If anything went wrong, the captains would also bear responsibility. Li Yong had always been a troublemaker, but no one expected him to cause such a big mess today. Disrupting the unity within the settlement was a serious crime, something Third Brother repeatedly emphasized in weekly meetings. Yet, some people still dared to provoke.

“Third Brother is here!”

Someone shouted, and the crowd automatically made way.

Third Brother, Jia Daozhang, and the others walked over.

Seeing Third Brother, Li Yong panicked and immediately knelt on the ground, shouting, “Third Brother, Third Brother! I was wrong! I just drank too much! I was drunk and talking nonsense, I couldn’t control my mouth, I didn’t mean it!” Li Yong slapped himself as he spoke, each slap harder than the last, his face quickly turning red and swollen.

Li Yong’s wife also squeezed through the crowd, holding a little boy about five or six years old. She glanced at Li Yong but didn’t look at him again, calmly apologizing to Team Eight’s captain and then to Third Brother and the others.

Gu Ning recognized her; she had seen her a few times when she went to the kitchen to find Gu Mama. They always smiled at each other when they met. Gu Mama had praised her several times, saying she was efficient and well-mannered, just unfortunate to have married a bad man. It seemed that man was Li Yong.

“Mom, are we leaving here?” The little boy she was holding was on the verge of tears, “Mom, I don’t want to leave here…”

“That’s right! Please, I have a wife and child to support! If you drive us away, we’ll have no way to survive! Please, for the child’s sake, forgive me this time, I promise there won’t be a next time!” He grabbed the boy next to his wife and forced him to kneel, “Quick! Kneel and beg them not to drive Dad away!”

The little boy, however, seemed terrified, struggling and crying out to the woman, “Mom! Mom!”

Seeing his son disobey, Li Yong flew into a rage and slapped the boy’s head, cursing, “You useless little brat!”

The woman immediately panicked, rushing forward, “Let him go!”

Li Yong was about to hit his wife when the burly man who had grabbed his collar earlier kicked him to the ground, cursing, “Bastard! You dare hit a woman and child!”

The little boy was clearly frightened, his face pale as he buried himself in the woman’s arms, sobbing.

A middle-aged woman who worked in the kitchen with the wife grabbed her hand and said indignantly, “Oh, Wenjuan, look at your man! He beats you and the child, and now he’s causing trouble, dragging you and the child down with him. Do you really want to take Xinxin and suffer outside with him? The child has friends here, goes to school, you have a job here, don’t you think about the child?”

Ma Wenjuan shuddered, glancing at Li Yong on the ground and then at her pale-faced son in her arms, hesitating.

“Xinxin, tell Auntie, do you want to go outside with Dad or stay here with Mom and everyone?” the middle-aged woman crouched down and asked.

The little boy named Xinxin said without hesitation, “I want to stay with everyone!”

“Dad, Mom, let’s go back. Third Brother and the others will handle this.” Gu Ning had no interest in watching further and helped Gu Dad leave. Gu Dad no longer used a crutch but had a metal leg, the latest prosthetic bought at a high price by Ji Jiuzhe. It was very sensitive, and except for some difficulty with stairs, he could walk almost like a normal person.

Today was New Year’s Eve, and Gu Ning really didn’t want these things to ruin her mood.

After everyone else had rested, they still gathered in the classroom for a meeting. Third Brother announced the outcome of Li Yong’s case.

Li Yong was expelled from the settlement, but his wife and child stayed, as expected. Gu Ning also felt relieved; she had been worried the woman would leave with Li Yong.

There were over four hundred women in the settlement, excluding those unsuitable due to age, less than two hundred chose to participate in training. Almost half chose to find other jobs in the settlement rather than train daily in the field with the men, rain or shine. But even among the two hundred who chose to train, some voluntarily dropped out, and some were eliminated for not meeting training requirements, leaving only one hundred. These hundred were truly determined. They trained as hard as, if not harder than, the men. With Gu Ning occasionally giving them extra training, their close combat skills could even surpass men who had a natural advantage in strength. In the recent evaluation, they ranked fourth among the fifteen teams, earning them the nickname “Female Corps.” This Female Corps fully demonstrated their strength even in direct confrontations with zombies.

The captain of this Female Corps was Liu Mei.

In three months, Liu Mei had cut her long black hair into a neat shoulder-length style, her pale skin turned a healthy wheat color, and her eyes were bright. Her marksmanship was better than her close combat skills; she was definitely in the top ten among over a thousand people. In fact, she didn’t have much natural talent, but she worked so hard that she made up for it.

Among the fifteen teams, the best marksman was the mute boy. Unlike Liu Mei, who relied on hard work, the mute boy had natural talent, and with no less effort than Liu Mei, he left over a thousand people behind. He didn’t participate in daily training because Gao Yue said his body couldn’t handle intense exercise, let alone the high-intensity training others underwent.

Liu Xin was learning in the medical room with Huang Mengyao.

The girl named Wenwen, being young, still had to attend cultural classes daily.

Gu Ning sighed, feeling like everything was moving in a positive direction.

She hoped the base would progress just as smoothly.

Gu Ning spread out a detailed map of the area on the table and said, “We’ll start the cleanup work tomorrow. Ten people from each team will come with me to scout the area first, estimate the zombie density, and then formulate a detailed plan. Also, Huang Mengyao and Liu Xin need to bring antidotes in case someone gets bitten.”

Third Brother said, “Gu Ning, you shouldn’t go this time. Let Method and Cheng Ming lead the team.”

Method and Cheng Ming nodded repeatedly.

Gu Ning frowned, “No one knows the specific situation there. If something unexpected happens, I have special abilities; I can hold off anything that comes our way.”

Third Brother said seriously, “Gu Ning, you can’t always charge ahead.”

Gu Ning was silent for a moment, then said, “At least this time I can.”

This conversation ended here. Third Brother sighed helplessly. Except for the Three-Linked Team, probably no one in the settlement knew that the settlement’s development to this point was all because of Gu Ning’s support behind the scenes. Whether it was supplies, weapons, or anything else, as long as they asked, Gu Ning always found a way to get it. Gu Ning left the settlement’s affairs to them, but every time they went out to kill zombies, she was always there, aiming to minimize casualties.

Third Brother was well aware of Gu Ning’s thoughts but also felt more heartache for her. He could only say, “Then rest well tonight. I’ll prepare the weapons and supplies for you before you set off tomorrow morning.”

Gu Ning nodded, then stood up and stretched her stiff neck, saying, “I’ll go to sleep then.” For the base’s sake, she hadn’t slept well for several days. Tomorrow would be a tough battle, so she needed to rest well tonight to ensure she was in the best condition. As she reached the door, she suddenly turned back and said to the room, “Happy New Year, everyone!”

Xia Yu subconsciously glanced at his wrist and then said in surprise, “It’s midnight.”

Then came a chorus of blessings.

Xia Yu said cheerfully, “I really hope we can celebrate New Year’s together every year from now on.”

“We will,” Gu Ning smiled, then waved at them, hands in her pockets, and walked out.

“This can’t go on forever,” Cheng Ming said worriedly, watching Gu Ning’s figure pass by the window.

“If only our special abilities were still here,” Method said, looking at the fire.

“Maybe tomorrow morning when you wake up, your abilities will be back!” Xia Yu casually comforted. He had gradually become part of the Three-Linked Team’s core after gaining Gu Ning’s trust.

“Hopefully,” Method sighed, then stood up and said, “Meeting’s over, everyone rest. We have to get up early tomorrow. Last one out, turn off the lights!” After stretching, he left.

Xia Yu was the last to put out the fire, turn off the lights, and close the door. As he walked out, something cold landed on the tip of his nose. He instinctively looked up and said in surprise, “Huh? It’s snowing.”