Chapter 41: The Rescue Operation
After discovering that he had awakened a fire-type ability, Zhao Bing was naturally both shocked and delighted. Shocked that such unimaginable power had manifested within him, and delighted that he hadn’t turned into one of those man-eating monsters. With this newfound ability, his first instinct was to return to the military camp immediately to rescue his comrades, but the disparity in strength between the two sides made him hesitate.
“If you want to rescue the others, I suggest you settle down somewhere near the camp first and find a way to scout the situation before making further plans,” Zhan Yun said. Military camps were usually located in remote, concealed areas, often not even marked on maps. He paused, then continued, “Where is your camp? We can take you there.”
Zhan Yun didn’t immediately offer to help rescue the people. Both sides needed time to build trust—it was better to first understand the situation at the camp.
“Really? Thank you so much!” Zhao Bing hadn’t expected these strangers he’d just met to be so warm-hearted. After waking up, he had already heard from the young soldiers that while he was unconscious, they not only helped treat the wounded, but also fought zombies and sealed all entrances to prevent any from breaking in.
Zhao Bing sent a young soldier to the second floor to check the situation outside. After discovering that all doors and windows had been blocked, the zombies gradually wandered off once they couldn’t enter the building. Only a few scattered zombies remained roaming inside the hospital.
“Platoon Leader, I also saw what looked like a vending machine in the building behind us,” the young soldier said excitedly.
The building behind them was the inpatient ward. The second floor was likely the cafeteria. From a window facing that building, the soldier had spotted a white vending machine at a glance. There had to be food and water inside—exactly what they needed most right now.
Hearing this, Zhao Bing’s eyes lit up as well. The damned heat was unbearable. Even indoors, they were sweating all over. The small amount of saline they’d drunk the night before had long since been metabolized.
He went up to the second floor to observe and confirmed that the two buildings weren’t very far apart. However, the outside temperature was extremely high. Even though the distance wasn’t great, running over outside would likely leave them sunstruck—not to mention the zombies outside. Moving around in that heat made heatstroke extremely likely.
“I’ll go,” Zhao Bing said. They couldn’t let the soldiers keep going hungry. After awakening his fire ability, his tolerance to high temperatures had improved somewhat. If he went, the chances would be better.
“Platoon Leader! Absolutely not!” The soldiers all started protesting at once, unwilling to let Zhao Bing take the risk. He was their pillar—how could they let him put himself in danger?
“Why don’t we all go together?” Zhan Yun suddenly suggested. “Once we get there, we can rest on that side and won’t need to come back.”
These soldiers had gone nearly two days without sleep and had eaten only a little crushed biscuit. With the heat being so intense, if they didn’t replenish food and water soon, they wouldn’t last much longer. Helping them obtain supplies without exposing the existence of the space was currently the best solution.
“Little Zhe, can you drive?” Zhan Yun looked at Su Ruizhe.
Su Ruizhe shook his head frankly. When the apocalypse arrived, he was only seventeen and hadn’t been able to get a driver’s license yet. Even if he’d been eighteen, he wouldn’t have taken the test anyway—for one simple reason: no money. After the apocalypse, although they’d been fleeing constantly, he was never the one driving, so he couldn’t drive at all.
“Old Song, you drive. Take Little Zhe and Dongdong and charge over first. The rest of us will ride in Platoon Leader Zhao’s military truck,” Zhan Yun said. The rear panels of the military truck could be lowered, making it easier to shoot and fight, and it was also more convenient for transporting the wounded soldiers.
“Okay.” No one objected.
Once the plan was decided, they prepared to set off. Zhao Bing handed his spare handgun to Zhan Yun. “Brother Zhan, take this. Even if you don’t know how to use it, it’s good for self-defense.”
Zhan Yun laughed and pulled out his own gun. “I’ve got one too. Forgot to tell you—I’m a cop.”
Zhao Bing froze for a moment, then laughed as well. No wonder Zhan Yun’s skills and way of handling things felt so familiar—they were both from the system.
Zhang Shuoliang used his ability to push down the earth wall he had previously piled up. Nearby zombies, drawn by the noise, swarmed over, only to be shot in the head one by one by the soldiers.
“Move fast! Don’t stay in the sun too long!” The sunlight outside was brutally hot—when it hit the skin, it felt like burning.
While the zombies’ attention was drawn by the others’ firepower, Song Chengshu opened the driver’s door and got in. Su Ruizhe pulled Yu Dongdong into the car with him. The soldiers helped the wounded onto the military truck, and Zhan Yun and the others climbed aboard as well.
“Go!”
The two vehicles immediately set off, charging toward the inpatient building behind them. This time, Song Chengshu drove straight through the main entrance. The military truck followed closely behind, and they used the lobby of the inpatient building as a makeshift parking lot.
Zhang Shuoliang was the first to jump out. Under the others’ cover, he sealed the main entrance with an earth wall, then closed off the other windows one by one. This not only blocked out the scorching sunlight but also completely prevented zombies from entering.
Everyone got out of the vehicles and moved from the first floor to the second.
The second floor was indeed a cafeteria. It was relatively clean, with only some bloodstains near the entrance. At the back of the cafeteria, they saw the vending machine. Most of it contained drinks, with fewer food items—only about a dozen chocolate bars and a dozen bags of chips. The chocolate had melted badly due to the heat, but the chips were still edible.
The soldiers devoured the food hungrily. Zhan Yun and the others only took a few bottles of water and drinks, not touching the soldiers’ food.
“Dongdong, are you hungry?” Adults could endure it, but children couldn’t—and the kitten was probably starving too.
Yu Dongdong shook his little head very sensibly, but his stomach let out a loud growl, instantly making his little face turn red.
“Go eat quietly in the back. Don’t make any noise, okay?” Su Ruizhe whispered.
Yu Dongdong blinked his big, bright eyes and nodded vigorously. The small kitten in his arms, looking listless in the heat, let out a soft mew in agreement.
The soldiers were busy eating and didn’t notice them. With a few people sitting there, it was easy to block Yu Dongdong from view.
Su Ruizhe took out two sandwiches for Yu Dongdong, and for the kitten, as always, a can of fish. The two little ones ate obediently.
Once everyone was fed and hydrated, they leaned over the tables to rest. When night fell, they would begin their operation immediately.
After waking from a nap, the sun was already close to setting. Everyone went downstairs together, opened the blocked doors, got into their respective vehicles, and drove toward the military camp.
The camp was in a relatively remote location. They drove north for more than an hour, passed through an industrial zone, and finally reached a small village.
“Two li (1 li = 500 meters) further north is the camp. If we go any closer, we’ll be easily spotted. Let’s rest here for a bit. There’s no one around—everyone get out of the vehicles,” Zhao Bing said. The zombies in this area had already been cleared out by the military, and the village’s survivors had all been taken to the camp, so no one lived here anymore. It was a perfect hiding place.
“Here’s the plan: Little Zhe and I will take Dongdong and Wu Jing to check out the camp. The rest of you stay here and wait for news.”
“Be careful. Those people aren’t good folks,” someone warned.
“I know.”
Zhan Yun left with Su Ruizhe and the others, while the rest stayed behind.
After driving a short distance, Zhan Yun had Su Ruizhe switch vehicles to the older, somewhat beat-up jeep they’d used earlier. Their SUV was far too conspicuous.
Driving the jeep and following the directions Zhao Bing had given him, they soon spotted the military camp. There were four or five people at the gate, guns in hand, standing guard in a passable imitation of proper sentries. Torches were stuck along the walls, and inside the camp there were two watchtowers, each with someone posted on top. As soon as they saw the jeep approach, the guards at the gate immediately raised their guns and shouted, “Who goes there?!”
Zhan Yun stopped the vehicle and got out with a smile. “We’re survivors. We heard there’s a military camp here and wanted to seek refuge.”
Su Ruizhe and Wu Jing also got out of the jeep, lowering their heads and huddling behind Zhan Yun, looking frail and harmless. Yu Dongdong poked his little head out of the window, staring at the gate with wide eyes.
“Seek refuge?” One of the guards glanced at their group and immediately let out a snort of laughter. “Did you bring any food?”
“N-not much…” Zhan Yun took a small plastic bag from the car. Inside were only a few cartons of milk and some snacks—nothing of real value.
“Get lost, get lost. We’re not taking in anyone else!” As soon as they heard that, the guards impatiently started chasing them away.
“H-hey… sirs, please have some mercy. Let us in…” Wu Jing cried. Her face was smeared with dirt from who knew where, making her look filthy and unkempt, and her voice—deliberately raised—sounded shrill and unpleasant.
“Scram!” The guards had no patience to continue talking. They raised their guns threateningly. “If you don’t get lost, we’ll open fire!”
“Y-you… how can you be like this…”
“What do you mean, ‘how can we be like this’? Take a look at the world now! Get lost! Don’t make me say it a second time!”
The group could only return to the jeep dejectedly and drive away.
“Tch, one guy dragging three deadweights, no supplies at all, and they still dare to come seeking refuge? What a joke!” Cold, mocking laughter drifted over from behind them.
Zhan Yun had already wiped the earlier expression from his face. Through the rearview mirror, he cast a dark, heavy gaze at those people, the corner of his mouth curling into an icy smile.
He drove on, pretending not to know the way, subtly circling around the back of the camp. After memorizing the camp’s external defenses, he left the area.
Thank you for reading 🙂 I hope you all liked my translations. If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi 😉
