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Chapter 218: Unrelenting Spirits (Part 2)
After the Cataclysm, the construction in the Shanxi Region and the Defense Zone was chaotic, lacking a complete system. Essentially, a single identification could be used freely, far less rigorous than the archival information of RCA. In fact, if Zhou Huai had simply impersonated someone at that moment, he could have eventually boarded a large ship. However, he was unaware that the Shanxi Region had been reduced to rubble and feared that someone from there might expose his identity. Thus, he took advantage of the convenience provided by the troops and sought out that father-daughter pair once more.
The Boat Owner was initially surprised; seeing Zhou Huai covered in wounds, he thought he was a villain. Little did he know that Zhou Huai was actually a proud People's Guard. With his concerns alleviated, he eagerly engaged with Zhou Huai to facilitate his enlistment. Zhou Huai's goal was precisely this; seeing the opportunity presented to him, he naturally accepted it graciously. For some time afterward, Zhou Huai's main task was to build rapport with them while also learning about the Defense Zone's intentions for recruiting these fishermen.
The fishermen who had entered the Defense Zone earlier had already been assigned various positions on the ships, while some had been sent out for what was said to be an expedition to develop an island. Consequently, many skilled workers were being dispatched in batches. At this time, although social elites were not scarce, their value had significantly depreciated. Soldiers in the Defense Zone were daily recruiting Basic Construction Workers as reserves, offering decent compensation. Zhou Huai, as a Counterfeit in the Defense Zone for over a month, successfully charmed the Boat Owner's daughter and promised him that his name would definitely appear on the next list of those sailing out. Of course, this was a lie. Zhou Huai had no interest in following leaders for overseas development; his goal was the boat itself. Thus, he delayed and deceived, intentionally dragging out time.
As time passed, the honest and simple Boat Owner's patience wore thin. He felt that those above must be reluctant to hire him due to his low level of education. Disheartened, he decided to work hard with his daughter in the Defense Zone instead. According to Zhou Huai's understanding, the Boat Owner's small fishing boat was not very useful for transporting many people or goods and remained docked at the port as a resting place for patrolling soldiers. Zhou Huai deceived the Boat Owner with this knowledge to keep him away from his own ship. Despite the chaos following the Cataclysm, the Establishment still tried to preserve refugees' property rights within their jurisdiction; for instance, Boat Owners could exercise their rights within limits set by the Decision-Making Body when sailing their own boats.
Zhou Huai found it laughable; in such circumstances where human rights were nonexistent, how could they still speak of property rights? He speculated that the Decision-Making Body aimed to unify people's hearts; while military power was important, appropriate leniency would yield better results—a tactic they often employed.
This trivial power obstructed Zhou Huai's plans. If the Boat Owner were successfully recruited, he would have no chance of boarding that ship since the Boat Owner held no fondness for him. Zhou Huai understood well that any closeness shown by the Boat Owner was merely a means to enlist; once that goal was achieved, he would be cast aside. As long as the Boat Owner couldn't enlist, that ship remained public property; he could stir up trouble under his false identity rather than clash directly with the Boat Owner.
In summary, Zhou Huai's efforts finally bore fruit as large-scale Zombie hordes surged into Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei. The outer defenses collapsed entirely; Infantry Groups retreated back to port while their offshore migration was hastily advanced. The already established ships took on the responsibility of relocation, transferring Survivors and troops in batches. Although that small boat wasn't very useful, it could carry a few people at least and followed along with the fleet. Each time Zhou Huai boarded this boat under the pretense of protection while actually worrying it might be abandoned at sea.
Fortunately, during this large-scale migration process, no one paid attention to this small boat. When it returned one last time to pick up people, Zhou Huai falsely claimed it had broken down and did not allow any Survivors aboard again. Instead, he pretended to help them board other vessels before finding the Boat Owner and claiming he had found an opportunity: upper management had agreed to return the boat to him but it needed repairs first after transferring personnel. The Boat Owner had nearly given up hope but fell for Zhou Huai's manipulation and foolishly took the bait; thus he stayed behind instead of joining the Survivors.
Zhou Huai's intentions were simple—he needed someone to teach him how to operate a boat since other Boat Owners had already enlisted and wouldn't risk their lives staying behind to teach him. Moreover, Zhou Huai felt he needed a woman around; being alone overseas would be too dull.
Thus, while most of the forces successfully evacuated, only many useless Workboats remained at port alongside one lonely fishing boat; Survivors from the Defense Zone departed while countless Zombies took over and occupied the port.
The Boat Owner and his daughter were scared but harbored no suspicions about Zhou Huai; after all, he had been around in the Defense Zone for so long and they often saw him patrolling back and forth. Seeing him stay behind with them made the Boat Owner feel guilty about his previous attitude. Subsequently, Zhou Huai blocked off access to containers near their small boat—something he was skilled at after having survived alone for so long. The days ahead involved occasionally sabotaging their small boat while accompanying the Boat Owner during repairs so he could gradually learn how to navigate and understand what needed attention when sailing at sea.
Once he had a basic grasp of the driving skills, the Boat Owner finally sensed something was amiss. The number of Zombies in the harbor was increasing, yet the fleet that had set out to leave never returned. Zhou Huai had initially mentioned that the troops would settle the Survivors...
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