My Cherry Will Explode in the Apocalypse

Chapter 109: The Capital Base

The vehicles soon arrived near the shop where their teammates were hiding. Quite a few zombies had already been drawn in by the smell of blood, crowding tightly inside the store.

Seeing this, the soldiers immediately showed anxious expressions. Yang Fan quickly spoke up,
“Please open the door. We’ll go down and bring our comrades out.”

Yang Fan had no intention of asking Zhan Yun and the others for help. After all, Zhan Yun’s group had already helped them immensely by providing medicine for free and even giving them a ride. It wouldn’t be right to drag them into a life-threatening rescue operation as well.

“You’re running low on ammunition, right? Better not go down there. Let my people handle it.” Zhan Yun waved his hand and had Cheng Qi, Cheng Jiao, and Song Chengshu get out of the vehicle together, while everyone else stayed inside to wait. After all, there were only a little over twenty zombies—hardly enough to even get those three started.

“Just the three of them?” Yang Fan asked in disbelief. With so many zombies, how could three people possibly deal with them? If they got surrounded, the consequences would be unimaginable…

Zhan Yun didn’t bother explaining. He simply pointed out the window and told them to see for themselves.

They watched as Cheng Qi and the others stepped out with their guns. The zombies inside the shop were immediately attracted and rushed out in a frenzy, only to be met with a barrage of submachine-gun fire. Like dominoes, they fell one after another, wave after wave.

Yang Fan and the others stared in stunned silence. Weren’t zombies supposed to only die from headshots? How was it that in front of these people, they seemed as fragile as tofu?

After quickly wiping out more than twenty zombies, the three of them went straight into the shop. The metal cabinet Yang Fan’s group had used to block the door had already been toppled by the zombies’ pushing, and a large hole had been smashed through the wooden door of the storage room. If they had arrived any later, the two injured soldiers would likely have been done for.

Fortunately, they made it in time.

Cheng Qi kicked open the battered wooden door and saw the two injured men unconscious in the cramped storage room. Song Chengshu immediately pulled medical supplies from his backpack and gave their wounds emergency treatment. Then he and Cheng Qi each hoisted one injured man onto their backs, and under Cheng Jiao’s cover, they quickly exited the shop.

With so many extra people, the snow cruiser was a bit too crowded. However, since they were already within the capital’s territory, the Capital Base shouldn’t be far away. Zhan Yun had Su Ruizhe and Zhang Shuoliang get out to find an abandoned vehicle.

The two of them got out, wandered around for show, and soon drove back an off-road vehicle. This was one of the new cars Su Ruizhe had stored in his spatial storage. He had Zhang Shuoliang use his ability to scatter some dirt on it and scrape it with stones to make it look like it had been left unused for a while.

Zheng Jiahe, Cheng Qi, Cheng Jiao, Wu Jing, and Zhao Bing all got into the imported SUV. With the heater blasting, it warmed up quickly. The interior was spacious, and the five of them sat comfortably.

Zhang Shuoliang and Wu Jing entered the driver’s cab of the snow cruiser—Zhang Shuoliang driving, Wu Jing navigating—while the others went into the cargo compartment. The two injured men lay on padded mats, removed their soiled clothes, and Song Chengshu used warm water to clean their wounds before treating them more carefully. He stitched what needed stitching and bandaged what needed bandaging, and soon the bleeding stopped.

After traveling for about a dozen kilometers, they were stopped at a fortress outside the Capital Base. Surrounding the base were more than a dozen fortresses of varying sizes, all built from solid bricks and reinforced concrete. Their shapes resembled military pillboxes, partially buried underground and connected to the base by tunnels—capable of both offense and defense, advance and retreat.

Zhan Yun had Su Ruizhe take photos of the fortress with his phone, planning to show them to Jiang Xuzhou after returning to the Southern Base so similar fortifications could be built outside their own base to improve security.

A massive vehicle like the snow cruiser was something even the Capital Base soldiers had never seen before. As soon as a soldier inside the fortress spotted it, he immediately fired a warning shot and ordered them to stop.

Zhan Yun got out at once and identified himself. Yang Fan followed him out and greeted the soldiers in the fortress. As comrades from the same army, the soldiers clearly recognized Yang Fan, and their guard relaxed somewhat when they saw him.

After Zhan Yun lifted the tightly wrapped waterproof tarp on the roof to prove that the vehicle was loaded with a large quantity of supplies, the soldiers in the fortress fully lowered their defenses. They contacted the city guards by radio and then let them pass.

At last, they arrived smoothly at the Capital Base.

As the nation’s political center, the Capital Base truly lived up to its name. Not only was it vast in area, but its defenses were extremely tight. The outer wall was as tall as a three-story building, with several clearly visible square openings. Through those openings, one could vaguely make out dark gun barrels.

Since the sentries at the fortress had already contacted the city guards, Zhan Yun and the others were not stopped and were allowed straight into the base.

Because of the heavy snow, the base looked rather deserted, with hardly anyone walking around. However, the buildings inside were neatly arranged, and the areas were clearly divided. The front half consisted mostly of parking lots and administrative buildings, while the back half was a residential area with rows of ten-plus-story apartment buildings that looked newly constructed.

Following the soldiers’ directions, they parked their vehicles in the parking lot and entered the Capital Base’s administrative center. Yang Fan had his companions support their injured comrades to the medical center, while he personally accompanied them to see if any help was needed.

Compared to the Southern Base, the Capital Base’s administrative center was larger and staffed with more personnel.

“Please follow me.” A soldier led them to the second floor and into the office of the administrative director.

“Hello, comrades from the Southern Base, right? I’m Bai Jing. You can call me Director Bai.” The director was a middle-aged female officer in her fifties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses. Her hair was slightly graying, and she looked warm and approachable.

“Hello, Director Bai. I’m Zhan Yun, captain of the supply transport team dispatched by the Southern Base.” Zhan Yun politely shook her hand. “This time, we’ve delivered over ten tons of supplies—grain, vegetables, fruit, cotton, and more. We hope it can help your base through this urgent period.”

“That’s wonderful! Thank you so much!” Director Bai’s face immediately lit up with joy. The Capital Base was in dire need of these supplies.

In fact, the Capital Base’s soilless cultivation technology was more advanced than that of Wan City Base. After the base was established, they had already begun growing vegetables and grain in greenhouses, with fairly good yields.
However, the sudden climate change had severely affected the crops, freezing many of them. Although the greenhouses were quickly converted into heated ones, half of the crops had already died and needed to be replanted, which led to a food shortage at the Capital Base.

The ten-plus tons of supplies delivered by the Southern Base were like timely rain. As long as they could get through this most difficult period, things would return to normal.

The two sides chatted happily. Director Bai had people receive the supplies from the snow cruiser and then sent word to notify the base leader to host a welcoming dinner for Zhan Yun and the others.

But when she noticed Cheng Qi and Cheng Jiao standing at the back of the group, surprise flashed across her face.
“You two…”

She recognized them—these were the famous twin siblings of the Cheng family, who had gone missing before the apocalypse. She never expected them to still be alive, and back at the Capital Base no less.

“Aunt Bai,” Cheng Qi and Cheng Jiao finally greeted her when they realized they couldn’t avoid it. The two of them were natives of the capital, from a military family. Their father was a major general, a high-ranking officer. Director Bai had seen them several times before, which was why she recognized them.

“That’s wonderful. How have you been all this time? Old Cheng has been terribly worried about you. Wouldn’t you like to go home and see him as soon as possible?” Director Bai asked.

“N-no need. Let’s eat first. We shouldn’t keep Elder Xie waiting.”

“All right, all right.” Hearing this, Director Bai readily agreed.

The current leader of the Capital Base was surnamed Xie, and everyone respectfully called him Elder Xie. He was wise and far-sighted, well-respected even before the apocalypse, and even more beloved afterward. For such a distinguished elder to be willing to dine with them, they naturally couldn’t refuse. Yang Fan also benefited from their presence and was fortunate enough to join the dinner.

Dinner was held in the cafeteria. In the apocalypse, there were no delicacies to offer, so the meal was simple: a plate of stir-fried greens, scrambled eggs with sausage, some rice, and corn pancakes—that was dinner.

Author’s Note:
The Capital Base arc is over. The story is almost finished—wrapping things up is so hard, my brain cells are about to burn out!!! TAT

[Mo Shang’s Mini Theater]
Xu Jiani: Come on, darling—let’s get high together, let’s get sick together!
Su Xiao Zhe: What demon are you?! Begone at once!
Zhan Xiao Yun: This woman’s demonic aura is intense—watch me use the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms!
Doctor Song: I observe a dark aura between her brows, lifeless eyes, and a scattered spirit…
Zhan Xiao Yun: Speak human language!
Doctor Song: She’s infected with HIV. Sooner or later, she’ll destroy herself.
Zhan Xiao Yun: Wifey, learn from this—women like this must not be touched. No—anyone mustn’t be touched casually.
Su Xiao Zhe: Of course. She’s not my type anyway—not six feet tall, no six-pack abs, no big chest bro. Hard pass!
Zhan Xiao Yun: Wifey! (????)?
Su Xiao Zhe: (????)?