Chapter 48
Elsewhere, Lin Nan, who had chased Wen Xin until he lost sight of him, finally encountered the support squad.
Upon hearing that nearly everyone in the first and second teams was dead, the members of the squad turned pale. Without a moment to spare, they floored the gas pedal, racing back to the base.
Li Yongming was gathering the troops with a composed expression, but his eyes betrayed a hint of worry. He had just received word from Wen Xin’s dispatched team members that another base had intervened in their mission. It had been more than ten hours since then, and despite repeated attempts to reach the team, there was still no response. This silence suggested that something had gone terribly wrong, and even Wen Xin might be lost.
Li Yongming felt a pang of regret. Seeing Wen Xin work so hard, he hadn’t anticipated that the young man would be so eager, taking on a mission just to earn achievements outside the base. And, of all possible missions, he had taken on the one involving Zhang Quanyong!
Pacing back and forth, Li Yongming felt a growing sense of dread. Because of Zhang Quanyong’s possible connection to a zombie virus vaccine, this task had been classified as a top-priority rescue operation, with its true purpose known only to a select few. It was strictly confidential, both up and down the chain. Wen Xin’s assignment as a support unit in the zombie clearance operation was likely just routine protocol.
But that didn’t keep Li Yongming from nearly fuming. There were countless simpler, easier tasks with minimal risk, yet Wen Xin ended up with this one!
Lin Nan and the other squad members returned, delivering news that nearly gave Li Yongming a heart attack: the support team had been entirely wiped out, Zhang Quanyong wasn’t even at the target location, and Wen Xin had been taken by what appeared to be a swarm of mutated foxes.
“Damn it!” Li Yongming swore, face darkened by anger.
Lin Nan and the others kept their heads down, not daring to meet Li Yongming’s enraged expression. Taking a deep breath, Li Yongming bit back his curses, gripping his throbbing forehead before turning to an assistant. “Do everything possible to reach Chief Wen. Go now!”
The situation was beyond his authority to manage. According to their schedule, Wen Jinfeng should already be within the signal range of City A, eliminating the need for an intermediary signal tower to transmit a telegram. Just recently, Li Yongming had communicated with Wen Jinfeng once. During that call, Wen Jinfeng had learned that Wen Xin had ventured out on a mission right before his return, prompting him to murmur disapprovingly, “Reckless.”
This time, however, as Li Yongming finished his report, there was nothing but silence on the other end. Wen Jinfeng’s breathing was deep and measured, reflecting his effort to contain his emotions. He didn’t curse as Li Yongming had expected; instead, he said slowly, “I’ll be back in an hour at most—no more than ten minutes longer.”
“Before my return, please extend a formal invitation to all the heads to visit my home.”
Li Yongming felt a chill. He swallowed, voice hesitant. “Chief… whom do you mean by ‘heads’’?”
“Everyone at the supervisor level and above.”
Li Yongming’s heart sank. That meant almost all the leaders!
When Wen Jinfeng hung up, Li Yongming replayed his emotionless voice, sensing a terrible storm on the horizon. His already sweaty palms grew even colder.
*
Just before dawn, with the sky still dark, the sound of synchronized marching echoed through City A’s base. Startled survivors peered out their windows only to see troops flooding the streets, quickly retracting their heads in alarm.
Meanwhile, Qiu Zhen, the third-ranking official in City A, never imagined he’d be dragged out of bed in his own territory. His first thought was that invaders from another base had breached City A. Eyes narrowing, he reached for the gun under his pillow, but his hand froze the moment he recognized the man in front of him.
“It’s you!”
The last time he’d seen this young soldier, the man had been standing guard in Wen Jinfeng’s office, saluting him respectfully. Now, his face was cold and indifferent as he gripped Qiu Zhen’s arm with unrelenting strength.
“We’re just following orders, Chief Qiu,” he said flatly. “Please don’t make things difficult.”
Qiu Zhen seethed, barely able to contain his fury. “What does Wen Jinfeng think he’s doing?!”
But before he could say more, a strip of tape was torn from a roll and slapped over his mouth. Fuming, Qiu Zhen’s face flushed bright red as he struggled to speak through the gag.
In his haste, he only managed to grab a bedsheet to cover himself as he was shoved into a military vehicle. He fumed silently throughout the ride, only to find, upon arrival at Wen Jinfeng’s grand estate, a room full of tightly bound individuals. Realizing his hands were only cuffed compared to their treatment, he actually felt slightly privileged. However, that sentiment vanished in an instant.
Aware that Qiu Zhen commanded a few units and might turn his forces against them in a rage, Wen Jinfeng’s men had taken the liberty of removing the gag once they arrived. The moment the tape came off, Qiu Zhen’s voice thundered through the room.
“What the hell is going on?! Has Wen Jinfeng lost his mind?!”
The other bound officials, tired of struggling, perked up at his outburst. Their muffled voices joined in a chaotic chorus, sounding more like angry cats trapped in a piano than any coherent protest.
Qiu Zhen surveyed the room, recognizing many familiar faces from A City’s leadership. An unsettling thought crept into his mind. He knew that Wen Jinfeng and Chairman Zuo of the Oversight Committee had always been at odds. In truth, he couldn’t stand the old schemer himself. But to see Wen Jinfeng go to such extremes, practically tearing apart all pretense… Why would Wen Jinfeng really have gone so far as to detain Zuo?
Qiu Zhen had underestimated Wen Jinfeng. He realized that when he saw Chairman Zuo bound, handcuffed, and sporting an expression of pure rage. The power dynamics in City A were roughly divided forty-forty-twenty—forty percent for Wen, forty for Zuo, and the remaining twenty percent falling to him, Qiu Zhen. He could tolerate being dragged here, assuming it would lead to some sort of payoff, but Chairman Zuo’s capture suggested that Wen Jinfeng might be staging a power grab.
Qiu Zhen felt a mounting dread. If Wen Jinfeng handled this poorly or failed to provide a reasonable explanation, the ensuing fallout could shatter the base. With a reluctant sense of duty, he approached Chairman Zuo, carefully peeling the tape from his mouth.
“Chairman Zuo,” he began, “are you aware that Wen Jinfeng is—”
Chairman Zuo didn’t give him a chance to finish. The moment he could speak, he slammed his hand on the table and launched into an outraged tirade.
“When Wen Jinfeng first came to discuss cooperation, I could tell he had ulterior motives. My suspicions were right!”
With that, he whipped up the crowd, inciting waves of murmured anger that quickly turned to calls for action. Qiu Zhen could only grimace, watching as Chairman Zuo stoked the room’s frustration.
The door suddenly opened, and a man in a black coat entered. Tall, with narrow brows and intense dark eyes, Wen Jinfeng carried himself with an air of impenetrable authority. As he strode into the room, he brought with him the chill of the night. The emboldened officials moments ago, fell silent.
Without a word, Wen Jinfeng drew his pistol. In the stunned silence, he fired, and a bloodcurdling scream filled the room.
Blood splattered onto nearby faces as one of the officials collapsed, clutching his thigh where the bullet had struck. Then came another shot, hitting the other leg. He fired four shots in total—one to each limb.
Wen Jinfeng handed the pistol to Li Yongming, approaching the wounded man with a chilling calm. In the oppressive silence that followed, he grabbed the man by the head and slammed it onto the table, causing a fresh wave of screams.
“I was too reasonable before, which is why the rats have come out of the sewer,” Wen Jinfeng said, voice devoid of emotion.
When Wen Jinfeng was about to attack again, the injured man finally collapsed in extreme pain and anxiety, with tears, snot, and blood mixed together.
“I was wrong, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have attacked your brother and I shouldn’t have sold his whereabouts to people outside the base. Please forgive me, please let me go!”
The assembled officials exchanged horrified glances. After hearing the confession all the confusions were cleared. Immediately afterward, another gunshot rang out, causing everyone to tremble and look back. After getting the answer he sought, Wen Jinfeng did not want to waste any more time, he gestured for Li Yongming to take care of the body, then turned to the rest of the room.
“I’ve already gathered irrefutable evidence,” he said, wiping blood from his hands. “But formalities are tedious. I appreciate your patience in witnessing this demonstration.”
No one dared respond.
“If you don’t have any problems, please cooperate fully in the investigation,” Wen Jinfeng continued, “so that we can identify any further traitors and avoid any unpleasant consequences.”
This was Wen Jinfeng’s brilliance. From the moment he entered, he hadn’t mentioned anything about information leaks, yet the man confessed on his own, removing any doubts that Wen Jinfeng had used coercion to get a confession.
Even if Wen Jinfeng provided no other evidence, there was nothing anyone could accuse him of. What could they say? That the culprit had read Wen Jinfeng’s mind and decided to beg for forgiveness? Ridiculous! It was clear that the dead man had been hiding something and confessed because of his guilty conscience.
In the heavy silence, someone spoke up timidly, “So… is it over now? We didn’t do anything so can we please leave?”
A few nodded in agreement, their earlier anger giving way to a desperate desire to put as much distance between themselves and Wen Jinfeng as possible.
Wen Jinfeng chuckled and took a seat in front of the elderly chairman, who hadn’t spoken a word since the scene began. “One traitor down… and now, there’s still a second.”
“How many of you know of a man named Zhang Quanyong?” Wen Jinfeng asked, voice deceptively soft. “I hear he is essential to the development of a vaccine.”
The mention of a vaccine made everyone’s heads snap up, even Qiu Zhen, who usually showed no concern for anything, was stunned.
“You mean a vaccine for the zombie virus?”
“That’s right. Whoever controls the vaccine has everything—money, fame, influence, even immunity.”
Qiu Zhen’s eyes reddened; anyone who survived the apocalypse knew the value of a vaccine.
“Where is this man?” someone asked.
“He may have been taken, or he may be dead.”
“What?!”
“You didn’t hear me?” Wen Jinfeng’s amused smile turned icy, as cold as a winter glacier. “He may be dead, just like the hundreds of soldiers deployed to rescue him. Or he may have been taken—like my brother, the fool who can’t stay out of danger.”
He rose, pacing slowly to the elderly chairman and leaning close to speak. “My soldiers were highly trained, brave, and undefeated by the worst of the apocalypse. But they were killed… by their own comrades.”
He continued, voice soft but full of malice, “My brother, my only family, was dragged into it, and now I don’t even know if he’s alive or dead.”
Wen Jinfeng’s fingers hovered near the chairman’s head like a cocked gun. “So tell me,” he whispered, “am I supposed to let this go?”
The chairman swallowed hard, but before he could reply, Wen Jinfeng’s men appeared, carrying several iron canisters. Dark liquid splashed across the floor, and a strong odor filled the air.
“It’s gasoline!”
Everyone froze.
“Wen Jinfeng, what are you doing? Are you trying to burn us alive?!”
Wen Jinfeng straightened up, smiling faintly. “Calm down, I’m here with you, aren’t I?”
“If we let this hidden threat linger, it won’t be long before we’re overrun. Sometimes, drastic measures are necessary.”
“But, of course,” he added, “I’d rather not. So please, cooperate, and we’ll be able to identify the real traitors and let everyone else go.”
Looking at his cold smile, everyone felt a chill down their spine.
*
That night, City A underwent a brutal purge. Although order was eventually restored, The temporary disappearance of its leaders threw the base into chaos. Using the opportunity, Wen Jinfeng cleaned the whole house, rooting out corruption and collaborators in the committee, and leaving it severely weakened. Even the chairman barely escaped with his life. Afterward, City A’s power balance shifted dramatically, with Wen Jinfeng emerging as the uncontested authority.
Sitting in his office, dark circles under his eyes, Wen Jinfeng looked exhausted after two nights without sleep. Rubbing his forehead did little to dispel his fatigue.
“…Still no sign of him?” he asked hoarsely.
The bodies of his fallen soldiers had been recovered, and those who hadn’t turned into zombies were given proper burials. But Wen Xin remained missing.
Li Yongming hesitated, but before he could respond, Wen Jinfeng waved him off.
“Enough. I’ll rest for four hours, and then I’ll personally take a team to investigate in the southeastern area.”
He said “investigate” with an edge that made it sound like he meant to leave none standing.
Li Yongming’s voice wavered. “But, sir, the Weixin faction in that area has been… destroyed.”
Wen Jinfeng’s eyes narrowed. “Who did it?”
Li Yongming shifted uncomfortably. “According to intelligence, it was their leader, the Grand Bishop himself.”
Wen Jinfeng blinked, almost thinking he misheard. Li Yongming had felt the same when he first got the report.
He continued reluctantly, “There’s… one more thing. We sent messages to other bases, offering a high bounty to find Wen Xin. But we found out that it’s not just us looking for him. Bases in the west, east, and south are also issuing bounties, all placed in the last few days. They’re offering five times our reward, so if we want priority, we may need to increase our price.”
Wen Jinfeng said nothing, his expression unreadable.
*
Three days earlier.
When Wen Xin saw the little pink bundle, his pupils trembled. Before he realized it, he was clutching it tightly to his chest.
“Xiao Qi…” Wen Xin’s voice shook. “It’s really you, isn’t it?”
The little pink fox’s eyes showed a hint of guilt and shyness. As Wen Xin hugged it, it nearly burst into tears.
But before it could speak, Wen Xin, perhaps overwhelmed with emotion or sheer exhaustion, swayed and collapsed once again.
The fox panicked, quickly fluffing out its tail to cushion his fall. With a soft thud, Wen Xin landed on the fluffy tail, only slightly bruising it. Compared to before it had evolved, the fox barely felt a twinge of pain.
Even in his fainting state, Wen Xin instinctively held the little fox tightly, as if afraid to lose it again, with a strength that surprised it. All the hesitation and anxiety dissolved in that single, wholehearted embrace.
The fox gazed at Wen Xin’s pale, almost translucent face and gently licked his brow.
“…Sorry, Wen Xin. I was late…”
This time, Wen Xin slept for a whole day.
When he finally woke, the little fox was gone. Outside, he could hear a cold, accusing voice.
“You almost cost me the only family I have. And now, you want forgiveness?”
