Chapter 99

Chapter 99: A New Crisis

By the time the kids snapped out of it, Zhang Xiaobai and Luo Long were already long gone.

“Zhou Jian, what do we do?! They seem to have gone back already,” a little boy said in a panic. “Let’s hurry back. Even if we get scolded, it’s better than being kicked out!”

The other boys chimed in, “Yeah, Zhou Jian! Let’s go back!”

Zhou Jian’s expression slowly softened. He thought about it and realized he was just scaring himself. How could they abandon them? If he just went back and apologized, they’d surely forgive him. He was only thirteen, still a kid. They were probably just trying to scare him. With that thought, Zhou Jian felt less afraid and said to the boys, “Stop making a fuss! They’re just trying to scare us. You guys are such cowards. How are you going to stand up to Wu Sen in the future? Fine! It’s you who want to go back, not me.”

“Alright, alright, stop talking. Let’s hurry back,” the boys urged, now desperate.

So, the group headed back to the dormitory building together.

“W-what are you saying? Why won’t you let us in? We live on the third floor!” Zhou Jian asked anxiously.

It turned out that when they reached the dormitory building, the gatekeeper stopped them, refusing to let them upstairs. They were immediately on edge.

The dormitory building had two men in charge of management, mainly to prevent outsiders from barging in. One of the managers said, “Show me your passes.”

Zhou Jian replied, “We left in a hurry and didn’t bring them. Uncle, just let us in! Don’t you recognize us? We go in and out every day.”

The managers did recognize them, but Zhang Xiaobai had already warned them, so they naturally wouldn’t let the kids in. “We don’t recognize people, only passes,” one said.

Zhou Jian was frantic, “We really live here. If you don’t believe me, go up to the third floor and ask!”

“Ask what?!” the other manager, clearly less patient, snapped. “They specifically told us you’re not part of their group anymore! From now on, you’ll sleep in tents outside. There’s no room for you here.” He added mockingly, “I heard you ran away on your own? You don’t know how good you had it. Kids like you, who can’t even lift a knife, being fed and sheltered for free by people who owe you nothing. You’re so ungrateful. Just go! See if anyone out there will take you in!” This manager had initially thought the kids were relatives when Third Brother brought them in, but after learning they were orphans, he had been impressed. Now, seeing how ungrateful they were, he had no sympathy left.

The little girl started crying, “Waaah—what do we do? We’ve really been kicked out! They don’t want us anymore!”

“W-what do we do, Zhou Jian?” the boys panicked.

Zhou Jian’s face turned pale, his legs went weak, and his head buzzed.

It seemed Hong Jie’s plan had worked perfectly. Zhang Xiaobai and Zhong Xu had taken the kids out to see how people lived in the tent areas. After returning, the kids seemed genuinely shaken by what they saw and became unusually well-behaved.

Meanwhile, Zhong Xu expressed concern about the state of the base.

Most people in the base, both adults and children, were pale and malnourished. The base distributed a thin porridge daily, so watery it was like drinking water. Each person could only get one bowl a day, barely enough to keep them alive but not enough to provide energy for any physical activity. When not working, they tried to move as little as possible, even avoiding talking to conserve energy. Those without the ability to kill zombies usually stayed in their tents.

The base offered some jobs, but they were hard labor like carrying bricks or mixing cement, paying only two or three packs of biscuits, a couple of sausages, or a piece of bread per day. The braver ones would register at the management office to form teams and go out to kill zombies. If they were lucky enough to join a team with Special Ability users, their chances of survival were much higher. If they made it back and the team had a good haul, a single day’s work could be more profitable than a month’s labor in the base.

Generally, only the braver young adults had a better shot at such opportunities.

In fact, the news about Gu Ning’s team having ten Special Ability users was no longer a secret. Other Special Ability users who had arrived at the Central-South Base earlier had formed their own teams and were quite friendly toward Gu Ning’s group, even extending olive branches to the Three-Linked Team. What did a team with ten Special Ability users mean? It meant they didn’t need to recruit any external help for zombie hunts. Moreover, they noticed that every time the Three-Linked Team went out, they returned with the same number of people. In the half-month they’d been at the base, not a single casualty had been reported—something almost unbelievable.

To the other Special Ability teams in the base, the Three-Linked Team was a mystery.

From the scattered information they gathered, they knew most of the team were former soldiers, which explained why they were carrying around what seemed like twenty-plus burdens—the kids. Their supplies were abundant, with a dedicated room for storage. They even had a doctor and a wide variety of medicines. Once, when their vehicle accidentally hit a child, the female doctor treated the kid and left enough supplies to last the child’s family of three for three months. Notably, someone later tried to intentionally crash into the Three-Linked Team’s vehicle but was instantly killed. Having a doctor wasn’t rare, but having ample medical supplies was incredibly difficult.

Despite frequent overtures from other teams, the Three-Linked Team maintained a polite but distant relationship. If asked to team up for zombie hunts, they would decline, saying they didn’t need the help yet. Team members never acted alone, usually moving in groups of three to five, and were exceptionally vigilant. They were tight-lipped, revealing nothing unnecessary. Every morning, an adult would lead the twenty-plus kids on a run around the base, which had become an unusual sight. People in the tent areas went from shock to curiosity and now indifference, though some secretly resented them for having the energy to run while they struggled to find enough food.

Recently, a piece of news about the Three-Linked Team spread like wildfire across the base, reaching both Special Ability users and ordinary people alike: the golden-haired girl in the Three-Linked Team was a Space System Special Ability user.

Everyone knew that killing a Space System user would cause all the items in their space to be ejected.

The Three-Linked Team was indeed formidable, with ten Special Ability users being quite intimidating. However, their abundant supplies were equally tempting. It was common knowledge that the Space System user was the team’s mobile storage. The last Space System user killed had dropped enough supplies to feed ten people for three months, and that was just a small team with only one Special Ability user.

People driven to desperation by hunger and despair often did irrational things.

Countless eyes were now fixed on the team from the shadows.

Before the news spread throughout the base, the staff member who had greeted them at the gate came to inform them, repeatedly assuring them that he hadn’t leaked the information.

After the worried staff member left, the atmosphere in the room grew tense.

Hong Jie immediately concluded, “It must have been those brats who leaked the info.” She frowned, adding, “We weren’t harsh enough,” while giving Third Brother a pointed look.

“Dammit! I’ll go grab those kids and bring them back!” Zhang Xiaobai stood up angrily.

Hong Jie shot him a glance, “And do what? Kill them? Would you?”

Zhang Xiaobai deflated. As much as he hated the situation, he couldn’t bring himself to harm such young children. “So we just let it go?!” But he couldn’t swallow his anger either.

Hong Jie’s eyes gleamed coldly as she said, “Xiang Yi. I’m entrusting this to you. Find them, and break the oldest kid’s arm. Make sure he knows why it’s being broken.”

Xiang Yi didn’t immediately agree but instead looked silently at Third Brother.

Third Brother hesitated, then turned to Hong Jie, “Hong Jie, breaking his arm would be a death sentence.”

Hong Jie stared back, “He’s the one who’s putting Gu Ning’s life at risk.”

Third Brother fell silent.

Gu Ning didn’t voice an opinion, silently agreeing with Hong Jie’s decision.

Hong Jie added, “Fortunately, Gu Ning, you have a Wood-type Special Ability. But just to be safe, Gu Ning, try not to act alone for now.”

Jia Daozhang interjected, “You don’t need to be so tense. I’ve looked into it. None of the Special Ability users in this base pose a threat to Gu Ning. We just need to be a bit cautious. No need to be paranoid.”

Thinking about Gu Ning’s combat abilities, the others relaxed slightly.

As they were talking, three vehicles pulled up at the base’s main gate.

A group of people, both men and women, stepped out, dusty but chatting and laughing as they surveyed the base.

The leader walked up to the registration window and said to the staff inside, “We want to enter the base. What’s the procedure?”

The staff member glanced up lazily and asked, “Any Special Ability users?”

The man smiled, “Yes. Thirteen.”