Chapter 71 — Investigation Report
Yan Fei looked at Li Tie and the others with a faint, mocking smile. He wasn’t as dazzlingly good-looking as Zhang Su, but he still had a quiet charisma that made others instinctively avert their gaze. “If you want to help them, I won’t stop you,” he said lightly. “But if you’re going to help, then move downstairs and live with them. Now that those men are gone, there are only the three of them left on the 15th floor—plenty of rooms for you to stay in.”
As for himself, he had no intention of playing the role of caretaker for three delicate flowers.
Yan Fei didn’t know much about Xu Mei’s personality, but he had seen the other two girls before. Because of work, he and Luo Xun came back to the base around noon every day, and those two girls were always around. They never seemed to do any base work, so they often bumped into each other. Every time, they’d be chatting and laughing with the male students who stayed behind to guard the apartments, sometimes going out to buy lunch or returning with food.
He had even seen them acting flirtatiously with different guys.
At the very least, when the incident happened this morning, he and Luo Xun had heard Xu Mei’s struggling and crying for help, followed by the sound of fire ability attacks. But as for those other two women… aside from the initial screams, who had been moaning afterward? One thing was certain—it hadn’t been Xu Mei.
He and Luo Xun had gone to check the situation because they’d heard Xu Mei calling for help.
He didn’t care what kind of people these women were — nor did he have the slightest interest in finding out. The only thing he was sure of was this: he absolutely wouldn’t bring trouble upon himself.
Even before the apocalypse, he would never have gotten involved in something like this — not even lifted a hand to help. So what if he was selfish? That was just who he was.
Li Tie and the others were momentarily stunned by Yan Fei’s words, then turned to look at the two female college students.
The two girls froze as well. They hadn’t expected Yan Fei to be so cold and heartless — not even the slightest intention of helping. But men like him weren’t rare these days. He was powerful; of course he wouldn’t care about a few women who’d already been humiliated and weren’t even the prettiest around. So now, they could only turn their hopes toward the other men.
Thinking that, the two girls quickly shifted their focus back to Li Tie’s group. One of them grabbed the iron bars of the gate, reaching out to clutch at Wu Xin, who was standing nearest. “Please, big brother! Help us! If it’s just the three of us living there, what will we do if bad men come again?”
“Yeah, big brother, please help us! We’ll do anything you ask!”
Standing a little behind them, Xu Mei looked dazed. She had also thought about asking for help, but her sharp, proud nature made it impossible to humble herself so soon after being humiliated. Hearing Yan Fei’s words, she bit her lip, then suddenly stepped forward and said in a steady voice,
“Can you lend me a few points? I’ll pay you back.”
Yan Fei, who had been standing beside Luo Xun watching Wu Xin blush and panic as he tried to pry the girls’ hands off him, looked at Xu Mei in mild surprise and raised an eyebrow. “And why should I believe you?”
Seeing that he hadn’t ignored her, Xu Mei took a deep breath and raised her right arm, covered in bluish bruises and scratches. With a whoosh, a ball of flame burst from her palm — bright red and full of vitality and hope. “Because of my ability,” she said.
Yan Fei didn’t speak for a moment. He could see the determination in her eyes.
Then Luo Xun stepped forward, took out about ten points from his pocket, and said, “Here — ten points. You can borrow these.”
Xu Mei was startled, her voice catching slightly as she quickly extinguished the flame and stepped forward. “Thank you…”
But before she could finish, one of the female college students who had been clinging to Wu Xin suddenly let go and lunged toward Luo Xun, grabbing at the points in his hand!
Luo Xun had seen and experienced scenes like this countless times in his past life. The instant she moved, he pulled his hand back — she grabbed nothing but air.
With a clang! came a metallic thud and a scream. The girl’s already pale face turned completely bloodless — a metal needle had pinned her hand firmly to the iron gate!
Yan Fei’s eyes were filled with killing intent as he sneered coldly at the girl and her companion, who had gone white and limp with terror. Taking advantage of their shock, Wu Xin finally managed to yank his arm free. He stumbled back several steps and bumped into He Qiankun’s round belly, his face covered in terrified acne flushing white. “Women are terrifying!” he thought. “They grab people, steal things — just like that!”
Luo Xun ignored the two screaming, trembling girls and instead extended his hand toward Xu Mei again, still holding the ten points.
Xu Mei, startled by the entire scene, glared sharply at the two girls before taking the points. “Thank you. I’ll pay you back.”
Luo Xun smiled. “No hurry.”
Although the events today were similar to those in his previous life, Luo Xun suspected that because he and Yan Fei had intervened, things would now unfold differently. No matter what, this woman had once been the leader of the Rose Mercenary Corps in his last life — he believed in her ability. He only hoped that this time, her future wouldn’t turn out as dark and extreme as before, that she wouldn’t vanish silently from the world like she had then.
Xu Mei left with the ten points. The two female college students, still shaken and terrified, realized that Li Tie’s group wouldn’t even glance at them anymore. Biting back their own thoughts of asking for points, they clutched their injured hands, lowered their heads, and fled in a panic.
Once they were gone, Yan Fei glanced at Li Tie and the others. “I’ll say this again,” he said coldly. “If you want to help them, then move downstairs and live with them. But if anyone tries to bring them up here, I’ll seal that person’s door and windows.”
It wasn’t without reason that he was being so ruthless — he knew all too well how destructive women could be. One troublemaking woman could turn a peaceful life completely upside down.
If a woman was clear-headed and followed the rules, he didn’t mind if the others wanted girlfriends — even marriage or kids. He wasn’t their parent, after all. Who they liked, who they lived with — that was their business. But if their choice might bring danger or chaos into his own life, then he had no problem stepping in personally.
If anyone really tried to bring those two girls upstairs, he would simply cut ties. He’d already reinforced his own door; if needed, he could just block off the stairwell’s iron gate and focus on protecting himself.
Li Tie and the others shook their heads quickly, especially Wu Xin, who was still trembling. He rolled up his sleeve to reveal bruises where the girls’ nails had dug deep into his arm, his voice shaking.
“Look—look at this! You think I’d dare date girls like that? They’re terrifying!”
He had thought the two of them looked so weak and pitiful when they cried — and he hadn’t even refused to help them! Yet they’d grabbed at him like that, and even tried to snatch Luo Xun’s points. That was completely unacceptable!
Li Tie chimed in immediately, “I was actually thinking of giving them a few points just to help, but after what just happened… forget it. I’m done with them.”
He Qiankun nodded repeatedly. Han Li, though, hesitated for a moment — the girls weren’t entirely wrong. Three women living alone really would be in danger if someone tried to break in at night. It wasn’t safe without a man around. Still, he wasn’t about to invite that kind of trouble into his life. Xu Mei was one thing, but those two girls? He knew he couldn’t handle that kind of ‘blessing.’
Once Yan Fei saw that none of them objected, he and Luo Xun returned to their own apartment. From the beginning to the end, Zhang Su hadn’t shown his face since returning to 1602 — and as for Wang Duo…
Luo Xun thought he might’ve heard something faintly from behind the door of 1602 as they passed by. Cough cough. Nothing to be said out loud — everyone could guess what was going on.
When they got home, Luo Xun took a quick look around Room 1603. Seeing Yan Fei follow him in, he poked the wall and said, “I think we can start painting tomorrow — maybe even lay the metal pipes.”
“Alright. Let’s handle that tomorrow afternoon after we get back.”
Luo Xun smiled. “I’ll start painting first thing in the morning. You’ll probably be tired after work, so better save your strength for when your ability recovers — then we can handle the water heating system.”
Yan Fei raised an eyebrow, realizing Luo Xun was worried about him being overworked tomorrow. After a moment, he just said simply, “We’ll see how it goes.”
If he had the energy, of course he’d work alongside him.
—
“I propose that since the outer wall construction still has to wait for the metal-type ability users to finish building the external framework before the earth-type users can continue adding the soil layers, why don’t we first have the earth-type users build the wall around the military camp as originally planned? Otherwise, if another outbreak like yesterday happens inside the base, we should at least ensure the camp’s safety first!”
“I think we should investigate the cause of yesterday’s zombie virus outbreak before making any decisions. What if someone deliberately released the virus inside the base?”
“Both of these issues are important…”
“We’ve already sent people to investigate the virus outbreak. As for the wall, if we prioritize building around the military area first, what will the civilians think? It’s better to continue with the outer walls — we can’t let people feel that the military only cares about protecting itself.”
“Ensuring the safety of the military camp is the top priority! We simply hadn’t expected a zombie virus outbreak inside the base — that’s why rebuilding the camp wasn’t considered urgent before. But if something happens and the camp is affected, who can take responsibility for such a major loss?!”
“We can just transfer a few earth-type ability users to work on the camp first. The final blueprints aren’t even completed yet — once the architects finish them, we can speed things up.”
“If we’re going to rebuild the military camp, it’s best to use only the military’s own earth-type ability users. We shouldn’t risk leaking information about the camp’s internal layout.”
“Agreed. Some key structures in the expert plans haven’t been finalized yet, and the workload for construction-type ability users is already huge. Plus, we’ve lost some of our metal-type ability users recently. So, we’ll have to proceed step by step…”
The conference room was filled with overlapping arguments and discussions. The major leaders of the base were gathered together for a meeting, deliberating on the next steps for the base’s operations.
“I propose that we grant more freedom to the ability-user squads. We can reduce the amount of material fees they owe, but increase the collection of crystal nuclei instead.”
“I second that. The military’s number of ability users isn’t small, and now we know that crystal nuclei have a major effect in enhancing their powers. We can start promoting their use throughout the entire army and provide a formal exchange system.”
“That’s right. Even though no one has managed to level up using crystal nuclei yet, it’s clear they can boost an ability user’s endurance — there’s no doubt about that.”
As the discussion grew heated, a soldier suddenly rushed in holding a file. “Report! The preliminary investigation results are in!”
The room immediately fell silent. The person sitting at the head of the table waved him over urgently. “Bring it here, quickly!”
The report was passed around from hand to hand. As each person read it, their brows furrowed, and they exchanged uncertain looks.
They had considered all sorts of possibilities — poisoning, sabotage from rival factions — but the preliminary findings revealed something else entirely…
“Sanitation issues? They skipped the water treatment process to speed up food production? And they deliberately diluted ingredients to make portions look larger?!” someone read aloud in disbelief. When steaming rice or buns, they had been adding more water — it affected the texture, but made the portions look bigger. The same went for stir-fried or stewed dishes — adding extra broth meant they could use fewer vegetables. In the end, the cafeteria soups and stews were nothing but watered-down mixtures.
One man slammed the report onto the table. “So this is the reason?! This nonsense caused chaos across the entire base?!”
Another man said darkly, “That doesn’t make sense. The canteens have had these issues for a while. So why did everything suddenly explode yesterday? Isn’t that a bit too much of a coincidence?”
They couldn’t be blamed for their suspicion. If the situation spiraled out of control, the Southwest Base could collapse just like the previous three that were destroyed — who wouldn’t start thinking about possible conspiracies?
“The details still need to be verified,” the soldier who brought the report said nervously, feeling the heavy tension in the room. “The research division is currently collecting samples for testing… But some experts believe the virus might have accumulated over time — and once it reached a certain level, it suddenly erupted. The viral concentration used to be small, but after building up for a while, it finally triggered the outbreak like what we saw yesterday…”
The research division also discovered that the very air everyone was breathing contained trace amounts of the same virus — though the concentration was so minuscule that it couldn’t cause any real change or infection. Still, according to their report, the world had already become fundamentally unsafe. At any moment, anywhere, someone beside you could suddenly turn into a zombie.
If that theory turned out to be true… then what was the point of struggling anymore? Everyone might as well just commit mass suicide!
The room once again fell into a heavy silence. After a long pause, someone finally waved a hand and said, “Understood. Tell them to keep researching, and hurry.” If that hypothesis was ever confirmed, then humanity’s future would truly be terrifying beyond words.
—
The next morning, everyone once again set out for work. The broadcast announced that most operations across the base had resumed, and everyone was to return to their posts.
Driving toward the military camp, they looked out at the ruined streets, shattered storefronts, and devastated housing complexes. None of them could help but feel a deep heaviness settle over their hearts. The chaos that broke out yesterday in the Hongjing Residential Area was far from an isolated incident — similar outbursts had erupted all over the base as people, after two days of fear and tension, finally snapped.
That afternoon, military trucks had been dispatched again — not to eliminate zombies this time, but to maintain order within the base. Looting and killings had become rampant. In many cases, the victims were actually those who’d started stealing first, only to be beaten to death by enraged survivors who’d lost all restraint. It was said that the number of corpses the trucks carried back this time exceeded even the number of people who’d died from the zombie virus the previous day.
After parking their vehicle and entering the military camp, Luo Xun and Yan Fei both noticed that security and inspections had become far stricter than before. When they reached the trucks, their usual driver greeted them with a nod. A moment later, Captain Guo and his team hurried over.
“Today’s work arrangements have been adjusted. Everyone, get in the truck first — I’ll explain on the way,” Captain Guo said, adjusting his cap as he gave the two men a quick once-over. Good — no visible injuries, and their mental state seemed steady. Looked like yesterday’s events hadn’t affected them much.
Luo Xun noticed there were new members in the team — one of them was the metal-type ability user who had previously been reassigned to the afternoon shift. From that, he could already guess what the change was about.
Once everyone climbed aboard and took their seats, Captain Guo stood at the front and began his announcement.
“This is Shen Ping from Team Two, also a metal-type ability user. After discussions yesterday, the higher-ups decided to merge our two teams. Our new work schedule will run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. — that’s three extra hours. Lunch will be delivered from the camp, and of course, your points and crystal nucleus rewards will increase accordingly.”
He turned to Yan Fei and Luo Xun. “Any objections?”
Although the longer hours would interfere with some of their personal afternoon plans, there wasn’t much they could say. And honestly, even with the extension, they still had more free time than those who worked from dawn till dusk. After exchanging a glance, Yan Fei spoke on behalf of both of them: “No problem.”
Captain Guo let out a relieved breath and continued, “The higher-ups have ordered us to finish the outer wall within one week. Everyone, raise your efficiency and try to complete the job as soon as possible. If we can finish before the end of the month, all remaining days will be given as leave — we’ll start new work on the first of next month.”
In truth, the remaining section of the wall wasn’t very large — a week would definitely be enough, especially with the extended hours. Finishing ahead of schedule was almost guaranteed.
When they heard that early completion meant early vacation, several ability users’ eyes lit up. Back before the apocalypse, even soldiers got rest days. But now, since the end of the world began, everyone had been working nonstop. Who wouldn’t look forward to a rare break?
After that, the captain asked Luo Xun and Yan Fei about what they’d seen in the city center. The two always left work at noon — right when the streets were busiest — so it was clear they had witnessed the outbreak firsthand.
Yan Fei briefly described what happened. There hadn’t been too many people turning into zombies at that moment, so while chaotic, the situation hadn’t been particularly dangerous — at least, not for them.
“Didn’t they say a lot of military vehicles went out yesterday afternoon to maintain order? It sounded really serious,” one soldier asked curiously. Since their squad was always assigned to wall construction, they didn’t get involved in internal security or scavenging missions, and only knew bits and pieces of what had happened.
Luo Xun smiled wryly. “Some people took advantage of others being trapped outside the base and started breaking into homes to steal things. Unfortunately for them, some of the owners came back early and caught them in the act — so they started fighting.”
Captain Guo gave a helpless chuckle. “Yeah, I heard about that. Supposedly, two or three hundred people were beaten to death — and even more were injured.”
No one sympathized with them. After all, they had brought it on themselves.
Before long, the truck carrying everyone rattled to a stop near the outer wall. The team climbed up to resume their work.
“There are so many more zombies today…” Luo Xun said with a sigh as he looked out beyond the wall. The sea of dark, writhing figures seemed to respond in unison — raising their heads, waving their arms, and howling together. It almost looked like they were attending a grotesque military parade.
“Manpower was short yesterday — no one could be spared to go out and clear them. So the ones outside have piled up,” a soldier beside Luo Xun said with a weary sigh.
Yan Fei and the others were already in position, with metal panels ready at hand. After a few more glances, Luo Xun turned back to his own job — protecting Yan Fei, and picking off zombies when he had the chance.
The newly joined metal-type ability user worked much slower than Yan Fei’s group, so the captain assigned him a smaller section to handle at his own pace.
Streams of metallic “liquid” shimmered as they flowed down the wall, merging into solid layers. The four young men sitting atop the wall worked like skilled weavers, threading together a strong and gleaming fortress of steel.
If not for the grotesque horde of zombies below craning their necks and clawing at the walls, it would’ve been a breathtaking sight — graceful, almost artistic. Unfortunately, the ugliness beneath only served to highlight the quiet resolve of the young soldiers above, making their ordinary faces seem unexpectedly striking against the chaos.
Thank you for reading 🙂 I hope you all liked my translations. If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi 😉
