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墨書 Inktalez
G City Base was built against the mountains, primarily populated by the people of P Town. It had five outposts, with the central hub located above Honeycomb Cavern. This was a crucial reason why, after the apocalypse struck, G City Base managed to survive amidst the onslaught of Zombies and S Base.
Currently, the base housed over 8,000 individuals, with only a few hundred being military personnel; the rest were local civilians.
Four years into the apocalypse, the land here had undergone significant changes. Native plants and wild vegetables were still edible, and animals had grown larger. Although there were no mutations like those seen in the outside world, all resources were non-renewable. The land would not yield new growth, and animals no longer reproduced; some mountain tops had been completely depleted over the years.
Honeycomb Cavern was discovered quite by accident. During an assault, members of A Group inadvertently fell into a pit and stumbled upon this Barrier of Fire. It was said that although the pit was deep, there seemed to be a magnetic force at the bottom that neutralized the downward momentum, preventing injuries. At the bottom of the pit was an entrance leading to a network of tunnels that could serve as air raid shelters against large-scale attacks from S Base and G Base. This situation differed slightly from when Su Ruolan and her group fell into the pit; no one mentioned Bat Cave or knew about the meteorite incident. However, upon returning to the surface base after taking refuge in the pit, more people awakened their Abilities. Everyone found it strange but could only conclude that it was a result of life-and-death situations triggering latent potential.
After falling out with Huaxia Army and lacking guidance and support from A Group's commanders, Fourth Regiment felt lost about their future. This unit had been hastily formed, leading to a lack of organization and discipline; the soldiers' sense of honor and mission had yet to take root in their hearts. They fought more out of instinct and passion. They still hoped to reconnect with A Group to clarify the execution of Li Wenzhi.
Kong Xiang and Cheng Xi were also brought back and assigned to Fourth Battalion, Second Company. Su Ruolan was finally not alone in command. Through her interactions with Wang Zhi and Li Yuxuan, Su Ruolan gradually learned that Fourth Battalion actually served as a logistics unit. Among all the leaders, only Deputy Regiment Leader Zhang Youqi was particularly adept at navigating challenges; despite his unremarkable appearance, he was flexible enough to set aside pride for the sake of Fourth Regiment's survival while maintaining principles. To ensure enough food for so many mouths, he often led by example in ambushes, unafraid of life or death, which earned Su Ruolan's deep respect. Indeed, one should not judge others solely by appearances or first impressions.
Regarding vehicles coming from H Base Direction, if they spotted lone travelers or small groups, Zhang Youqi would typically lead his team to rob them—easy targets would have their food taken and be released; those who posed more trouble would be lured into the pit where unfamiliarity made escape difficult, resulting in capture. Those with real skills would be persuaded to join Fourth Regiment. Up until now, Su Ruolan's group was the tenth batch recruited into the unit in this manner.
“Report to Commander and Company Commander: The third squad went out to forage for wild vegetables but has not returned yet; should we send someone to look for them?” A guard entered to report while Su Ruolan was in Wang Zhi's room discussing upcoming tasks with him and Li Yuxuan. Since discovering A Group's connection with Fourth Regiment, Su Ruolan had been eager to reestablish contact between them.
“Then send Second Squad to search,” Wang Zhi ordered.
“Today there are no abnormal alerts; there shouldn't be any enemy attacks,” Li Yuxuan pondered aloud.
“By the way, does your A Group plan to relocate to Military Command? Do you know its exact location?” Su Ruolan asked.
“I heard from Commander Li that it seems to be near B City. I also heard from higher-ups that they plan to negotiate with Chairman Dai to avoid internal divisions and infighting while jointly resisting Zombies; first and foremost is ensuring the survival rights of Huaxia citizens,” Wang Zhi recalled.
“Do you have any plans, Commander Ma?” Su Ruolan asked.
“He is filled with hatred right now, but he is very concerned about the future of the base. If we can prove that Commander Li's death was not sanctioned by the Military Command, but rather the personal actions of certain individuals, he has indicated that he can set aside his personal grievances. But who can communicate with the Military Command? Both sides have suffered casualties, and the situation is quite deadlocked,” Wang Zhi expressed his worries.
“Commander Ma raised Commander Li himself; there is a bond of gratitude between them, and they are like father and son. He definitely cannot accept that Commander Li died without clarity and was branded with the stigma of betrayal. However, I have interacted with Qi Runzhou from A Group; he is easygoing, upright, and possesses great capability. He does not seem like a treacherous person,” Li Yuxuan spoke confidently.
Hearing their high praise for Qi Runzhou, Su Ruolan felt pleased; how could she be wrong in her choice? He must be a remarkable individual.
“Report, Commander. The third and second squads have not returned yet,” a guard came in to report.
At this point, Wang Zhi, Su Ruolan, and Li Yuxuan all felt that something was unusual.
“Let’s go out and take a look.” The three of them stepped outside together. “Yuxuan, take a team with you.”
They arrived at the hill where they had been foraging for wild vegetables and looked around; there was not a single person in sight—everyone had mysteriously vanished.
Everyone held their weapons at the ready, maintaining a defensive formation as they advanced cautiously into the depths of the forest.
Suddenly, Su Ruolan sensed a familiar energy fluctuation and shouted, “Hearts, gather around me!”
The others were not very familiar with Su Ruolan and were somewhat slow to react to her command; only Kong Xiang and Cheng Xi quickly ran to her side.
A branch suddenly shot up from the ground, piercing through a soldier's heart and lifting him high into the air. The branch embedded itself into his veins, greedily sucking up his blood. The soldier's blood flowed continuously until he became as dry as a bone, completely disintegrated as if he had never existed in this world. The rifle that fell to the ground was also corroded by the branches and melted into iron liquid, disappearing completely.
A chill crept into everyone’s hearts, sending shivers down their spines.
"Attack," Wang Zhi ordered immediately.
Bullets whizzed towards the branches. The branches swayed in the air, dodging the bullets, and then suddenly burrowed underground, disappearing from sight. As everyone scanned the surroundings, several branches shot up from the ground again, just like before, instantly claiming the lives of a few soldiers. The Mutated Tree was like a starving ghost, crazily slaughtering the soldiers. Wang Zhi and the others quickly gathered around Su Ruolan.
Su Ruolan activated her Wood Elemental Ability, sensing the movement patterns of the branches underground. "To the left."
The group immediately opened fire wildly at the ground on the left, and the slightly raised earth quickly settled down.
"Right, front, back!" Su Ruolan shouted urgently.
Suddenly, branches emerged from all directions, forming a Web of Branches that enveloped Su Ruolan and her companions. The branches were incredibly agile, breaking the soldiers' firearms, grabbing at their feet, and dragging them away without hesitation, devouring them one by one. The branches twisted continuously, making it difficult for bullets to hit their mark. Wang Zhi and the others strapped their rifles to their backs and pulled out knives, axes, and shovels to fight back.
Su Ruolan unleashed Wood Vine to entangle the branches but soon realized that they were absorbing her Ability through it. This was bad; she immediately stopped channeling her Wood Elemental Ability and transformed it into an Ice Sword, relentlessly hacking at the attacking branches. The Ice Sword radiated a chilling aura; any branch struck by it quickly withered and froze solid, dying completely.
The iron tools wielded by Wang Zhi and his team struck against the branches but were met with a recoil that sent them staggering back. They could barely make any progress; knives, axes, and shovels began to melt in their hands as they fought on bare-handed against the branches. Another group of soldiers screamed as they fell silent.
"We can't keep this up! Ruo Lan, think of something fast!" Wang Zhi shouted.
These branches were endless; simply cutting them was exhausting. They needed to find the heart of the tree to eliminate it at its source.
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