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墨書 Inktalez
A sound of footsteps approached, and Su Ruolan quickly lay down.
With a creak, the door was pushed open, and a group of armed soldiers entered in an orderly fashion.
"How strange, it’s been so long; she should be awake by now," Belly Man said with a sneer.
"Li Yuxuan, wake her up," a strange male voice commanded.
"Yes, Captain," Li Yuxuan replied briskly. He stepped forward and shook Su Ruolan gently, appearing rough but actually using very little force.
Su Ruolan opened her eyes, looking dazed. When she saw Belly Man, she instinctively recoiled.
"Don't move," the soldiers in the front row aimed their guns at Su Ruolan.
The Captain was a middle-aged man around forty, with a square face, slick black hair, thick eyebrows that arched dramatically, piercing eyes, a prominent nose, and full lips that gave him an imposing and fierce appearance. He fixed his sharp gaze on Su Ruolan and asked, "Are you interested in joining my unit?"
A recruitment? Su Ruolan was momentarily taken aback. After the apocalypse, she had never seen female soldiers in any of the teams led by Qin Zhi Han or Zhang Yu, nor in the several bases she had been to. Her work in the Runzhou military was solely due to her family connections. The Captain's proposal was quite bold.
"Your unit?" Su Ruolan asked.
The Captain glanced at Li Yuxuan, who immediately spoke up loudly, "We are from the City Fourth Regiment, part of the Huaxia Army. You know about the Huaxia Army, right? They're famous for killing zombies."
They must know about Runzhou and where it is located. Suppressing her excitement, Su Ruolan calmly asked, "Why invite me?"
"I value talent, and your skills are impressive," the Captain said as he paced back and forth slowly.
"What happens if I refuse to join?" Su Ruolan continued to probe.
"Heh heh, girl, you're a smart one; you should make a wise decision," Belly Man said with a sly grin as he looked at Su Ruolan. When he saw she didn’t respond, he added sulkily, "If you don’t join, you’ll either die or become one of the men’s women; there are thousands of brothers here."
This suggestion infuriated Su Ruolan; her eyes flashed with murderous intent. She despised bullying women and children more than anything else. Did this group really have ties to Runzhou? Could they be impostors?
"Calm down; you can't shake off that bandit vibe. Deputy Commander Zhang means for you to do logistics—cooking and laundry for the brothers," the Captain lightly reprimanded Belly Man and explained.
Doing logistics would make it difficult to access key personnel in this unit and gather information. Su Ruolan lowered her eyelids and thought quickly before raising her head again to look at the Captain firmly. "Alright, I agree to join you."
"Great, welcome! Do you have anything you can contribute as a welcoming gift for joining the team?" Belly Man, also known as Zhang Deputy Commander, rubbed his hands together and asked with a grin.
Su Ruolan noticed that the Captain, Li Yuxuan, and other soldiers looked a bit awkward.
Wasn't this just a roundabout way of robbing her? They just found a nicer way to ask.
"I was being sincere before; there really isn't any extra food here. This is also part of your initiation test," Zhang Deputy Commander continued with an innocent expression.
Feeling a sense of affection for what might be Runzhou's subordinates, Su Ruolan said, "Take me to my vehicle."
"It’s impossible that there’s anything in the car; I've checked several times," Zhang Deputy Commander replied slyly.
Su Ruolan stood up, brushed off the straw from her clothes, and walked toward the door. "Lead the way."
When they reached the vehicle, she opened the door and pretended to rummage around in the back seat. In reality, she pulled out a bag of rice from her space, estimating it to weigh about fifty pounds.
Everyone cheered with excitement; many stared wide-eyed. Rice! How long had it been since they tasted fragrant rice? Every command had been about porridge—either drinking porridge or having porridge today. It felt like winning the lottery; happiness came too quickly! Watching the soldiers in uniform display silly smiles made Su Ruolan feel both joyful and bittersweet.
"Captain, I have two companions in the secret cave. Could you send someone to bring them over? They are quite capable, and I think the unit could use talents like them," Su Ruolan suggested.
"Yes, that other girl is impressive too; that iron grip still hurts my arm," a lean male soldier chimed in.
The Captain signaled for his subordinates to retrieve them and said to Su Ruolan, "You will follow Zhang Deputy Commander from now on."
"What should I call you?" Belly Man asked cheerfully.
"I am Shu Ruolan." After a moment's thought, Su Ruolan revealed the true name of this body.
"What level is your Ability now?" Zhang Deputy Commander asked eagerly.
"High-level second tier," Su Ruolan hesitated, concealing part of the truth.
"Oh? I feel like it’s more than that. But still impressive. You will serve under Fourth Battalion's Company Commander as Second Company’s Company Commander," Zhang Deputy Commander said.
"Second Company’s Company Commander?" Su Ruolan was taken aback.
"Come, let me introduce you to your comrades. This is Company Commander, and this is A Series of Company Commander Li Yuxuan," Zhang Deputy Commander quickly introduced Su Ruolan to her fellow soldiers.
"Wait a minute, I don't think it's appropriate for me to be the Company Commander. I haven't achieved any military merits," Su Ruolan hesitated.
"How can you say that? Didn't you contribute a bag of rice? Providing food for everyone is the greatest achievement of the Fourth Battalion," Zhang Deputy Commander chuckled mischievously.
Su Ruolan was speechless. "How many people are there in the Second Company?" Suddenly taking on this position made her wonder if anyone would be dissatisfied.
"Well, you take over. I have something else to attend to, so I'll be leaving now," Zhang Deputy Commander said, pointing towards Wang Zhi and hurriedly walking away.
"Welcome to our Fourth Battalion. I'm Commander Wang Zhi. Here's the situation: our battalion has a total of 100 people. Previously, we only had one company, but now that you're here, we've expanded and added another company," Wang Zhi stammered, lacking the boldness of Zhang Deputy Commander.
It seemed that this was a case of a figurehead commander, which explained the casual nature of the appointment. Su Ruolan couldn't help but think how cunning people in the Huaxia Army had become.
"Don't blame Zhang Deputy Commander too much. If it weren't for his clever suggestions, we might have been dead long ago," Wang Zhi explained, as if sensing Su Ruolan's unease.
Over the next month or so, through their fragmented conversations, Su Ruolan gradually pieced together the events that had transpired at G City Base. This unit had originally formed spontaneously in the area and had joined forces with the Huaxia Army's A Group to combat zombie attacks when they arrived in the city. Later, to strengthen their power, orders came from the Huaxia Military Headquarters to incorporate them into the Huaxia Army as the Fourth Regiment, with local armed leader Li Wenzhi appointed as Vice Captain of the Fourth Regiment. During a large-scale crackdown at S Base and G Base, both A Group and Fourth Regiment suffered heavy losses. To preserve their fighting strength, Military Command decided to execute a strategic withdrawal. At this time, the Regimental Commander received new orders to temporarily lead most of the troops away from the base. Just as he was leaving, Military Command sent an officer to take over, resulting in constant conflicts with Li Wenzhi. Ultimately, the officer devised a plan to kill Li Wenzhi, stirring up chaos and completely alienating the Fourth Regiment. Loyal subordinates of Li Wenzhi, Machi Bin and Zhang Youqi, led a rebellion against all personnel sent by Military Command and declared themselves outlaws, establishing their own rule. A Group lost its rear base and could only retreat towards Military Command's location.
The Fourth Regiment, having regained its composure, began to suspect they had been deceived and found many inconsistencies in what had happened but were unable to resolve their confusion. They felt both disappointed and hopeful towards the Huaxia Army, creating a deep psychological conflict within them. Without guidance and support, facing the harsh realities of a post-apocalyptic world made survival even more challenging for the Fourth Regiment.
However, Su Ruolan was pleased to finally have concrete news about Runzhou; he was indeed the Regimental Commander. Unfortunately, once again they had missed each other.
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