Chapter Ninety-One: Entangled in Chaos

City Rebuilt Without Pop-Ups

Sun Yinin stood before the vast floor-to-ceiling window with a coffee cup in hand, savoring the brew his trusted secretary had made not long ago. He had never been much fond of tea; instead, he loved coffee, with its faint trace of bitterness, because it seemed to soothe and steady his mind. Being able to drink coffee at a time like this made him genuinely pleased. On one hand, he was indulging himself; on the other, it proved that his own strong push to support the hunting operation had paid off.

Looking out at the scene below, the town was still a lush green despite the end of the world, and the sight was pleasing to the eye. Sun Yinin suddenly let out a soft laugh. Even he did not quite know why he was laughing—perhaps because his various plans had succeeded, or perhaps because he was already rejoicing over the imminent success of an even grander scheme. Whatever the reason, his mood at that moment was excellent. He gently swirled the cup and took a small sip, and the coffee’s distinctive fragrance filled his mouth and nose with lingering warmth. “Perhaps today will be a fine day as well…”

But just as he murmured those words, a violent blare of sirens erupted crazily through the building. The sound startled Sun Yinin so badly that his hand jerked, spilling coffee all over his chest. His once-white shirt was instantly stained a muddy brown. The coffee, still hot, scalded him into crying out in pain; he leapt to his feet and flung the cup away, where it struck the windowpane.

The crisp sound of shattering glass was almost lost beneath the shriek of the sirens.

Sun Yinin shouted, “Xiao Li, what the hell is going on? What is this siren supposed to mean?” At his cry, a young woman in her early twenties rushed in from outside, panicked, and exclaimed, “Commander Sun, it’s the emergency evacuation siren! It’s an emergency evacuation—”

Only then, hearing the secretary’s alarmed cry, did Sun Yinin finally understand what that siren meant. It had been decided long ago by him, Yang Xingjun, and more than a dozen others together, and he had never imagined he would fail to recognize it.

But Sun Yinin had no mind to dwell on that now. He suddenly thought of something, stormed out of his office in fury, and headed for the floor where Yang Xingjun’s office was located. The five guards who had been stationed outside his office hurried after him closely.

He nearly charged into Yang Xingjun’s office. The entire base was busy preparing to evacuate and had fallen into utter chaos. Even Yang Xingjun was packing important items and documents.

“Commander Yang, what is the meaning of this? Who gave you the authority to launch emergency evacuation?” The words poured out of Sun Yinin like gunfire the moment he burst into Yang Xingjun’s office. He could not tolerate anything that challenged his authority, even if the other man commanded the entire base’s troops.

Faced with this near-roaring accusation, Yang Xingjun had no time to explain everything. He replayed the recording Xie Han had sent back and said with a cold laugh, “Commander Sun, the reason for the emergency evacuation is in here.” As he spoke, he sped up his packing, for the outside noise was already swelling into a great uproar. The evacuees must already have been pouring toward the command center. He had to arrange them and allocate vehicles before chaos fully took shape.

Seeing that Yang Xingjun simply ignored him, Sun Yinin’s expression darkened. Then, the next instant, as he saw the mass of zombies surging in the recording, his face became even more ghastly. Trembling, he asked, “W-what... what is going on here?” Sun Yinin was not stupid; of course he could see that behind the countless roiling zombies lay endless wasteland and mountain ranges. How could there be so many zombies in such places?

Yang Xingjun restrained a cold snort and said evenly, “This is all thanks to you, Commander Sun. This is the horde of zombies that is about to pour toward our base. What do you think—do you still believe other people’s reports were nonsense?”

With that, Yang Xingjun, having already packed his things, had his guards carry them and walked out the door, no longer paying any attention to the stunned Sun Yinin.

After Yang Xingjun left, Sun Yinin’s face turned deathly pale in an instant. After repeatedly confirming the scene in the recording, he rushed out of Yang Xingjun’s office in a state of panic.

Evacuating a base was no simple matter. There were countless things to consider. At that moment, Yang Xingjun wished he could turn two and a half hours into two and a half days, or even two and a half weeks. Just thinking of the mountain of supplies and grain piled up in the base gave him a splitting headache. There were not enough vehicles to transport them, and there was no way the time would suffice to move everything. And that was without even mentioning the other things—such as the weapons in the armory. Yang Xingjun was not greedy; every single item was crucial.

The whole base was now in utter disorder. Terrified people, like headless flies, were running everywhere. The shrill sirens still wailed, occasionally mingled with bursts of screams. Whenever a gunshot rang out, it would immediately trigger another violent exchange of fire. Cries, shouts, and shrieks intertwined and played out everywhere in the base. Human ugliness, released in that moment of chaos, spread like an evil tendril, growing ever more rampant.

When Yang Xingjun led his guards down to the command center plaza, the vast square was already packed with a dense black mass of people. The noise was deafening. Most of them were the lightly equipped evacuees. Many had grabbed only valuables before rushing here, and most of the people who could reach this place were those who had vehicles stored at the base.

Yang Xingjun naturally understood what emergency evacuation could mean for a base, but he no longer cared about the opportunists taking advantage of the situation. Instead, he turned and issued orders. “Have First Battalion take all its equipment. Second Battalion is to handle the truck convoy. Move as much grain as possible. Third Battalion is to withdraw immediately from the base’s defensive positions and protect the operations of the First and Second Battalions. Tell them this: anyone who dares obstruct or interfere with military operations is to be executed on the spot.”

One of the guards behind him froze for a moment and asked carefully, “Withdraw Third Battalion? What about the base defenses?”

Yang Xingjun sneered. “The base? Right now the whole place is in a complete shambles. Besides, the only people who can survive are those who are not afraid of death. Do you really think our two thousand or so men can keep them under control? In normal times perhaps, but this is a crisis. What we need now is not control, but thinning them out.” His expression grew stern. “Order Reserve Fourth Battalion to enter first-level combat readiness immediately. They are to secure the entire command center until our evacuation is complete...”

The guard finally seemed to understand. After snapping a salute, he hurried off to transmit the orders.

Looking at the chaotic crowd, Yang Xingjun continued, “Open the command center garages for free access. Have the soldiers stationed there guard all entrances and exits to the upper levels of the command center and forbid them from taking part in the disorder inside. Anyone who attempts to force their way into the upper-level entrances is to be shot without mercy.” Then, in a low voice, he muttered, “It’s not that we’re abandoning you. It’s that the zombies have left us too little time. If we tried to organize everyone to leave together, the result would be that all of us would be trapped in the base.”

As these orders were relayed, the entire base plunged into even greater chaos. It seemed everyone had realized that the military had abandoned them. At that silent assumption, all restraint vanished. Looting and smashing grew frenzied. Countless women, elderly people, and children became victims in that instant. Bursts of flame flickered through the base, followed by billowing black smoke rising into the sky. More and more people, after venting their panic, threw themselves recklessly toward the command center, where large numbers of vehicles were parked. As long as they could seize a car, they would have a chance to escape.

With the withdrawal of the defending troops, the outer walls of the base stood eerily empty. Some people smashed open the gates and forced them apart, surging madly out of the base and toward the world beyond.