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墨書 Inktalez
In the spacious office, silence had fallen. The ringing phones from various places had ceased, and there were no more calls being made to the base.
Maintaining order in a Survivor Base of over two hundred thousand people under the watchful eyes of Fifth-Stage Zombies was not something that could be achieved solely through high pressure.
However, even the busiest affairs would eventually reach a temporary conclusion.
No matter how busy one might be, there are moments when one wishes to pause and rest.
For Liu Mengying, however, rest merely meant sitting quietly.
And doing nothing.
Then the phone rang.
She calmly opened her eyes and looked at the ringing phone. There was no hint of annoyance at this interruption; she simply extended her hand as usual and answered the call.
"This is Liu Mengying."
On the other end of the line came Ban Guozhi's signature laughter.
"Hahaha... Liu, long time no see! How are things on your end? Are those kids at the base giving you any trouble? Honestly, who would dare to mess with you? No need to hold back; even if you don't deal with them, I will. A soldier should have some authority... right? Hahaha..."
Amid Ban Guozhi's hearty laughter, Liu Mengying remained silent for several seconds before responding coldly.
"General Ban, do you need something?"
After a pause, she added, "Also, about that matter from last time..."
Before Liu Mengying could finish her sentence, Ban Guozhi awkwardly cleared his throat several times, quickly interrupting her.
"Cough, cough, cough... I was confused last time. I did something foolish. I'm really sorry for calling you to argue without thinking. I'm here to apologize. I remember the favor I owe you, and when I return to Jiang Hai, you can handle it however you want, no objections... Is that alright?"
Liu Mengying was silent for a few seconds and shook her head.
"General Ban, I'm not trying to blame you, so don't worry. I just wanted to ask if you've noticed anything unusual during your time in Jiang Hai? And..."
After a few seconds of silence, Liu Mengying ultimately didn't ask the question she wanted to. Instead of inquiring about that man's condition, she changed the subject.
"How is your daughter?"
On the other end of the phone, Ban Guozhi's hearty laughter rang out.
"Hahaha... about my daughter, truly a blessing... Of course, my daughter is impressive too. In short, she hasn't turned into a Zombie or been eaten by one. In fact, she's established a Survivor camp here with over two hundred people. It's well-organized under her management; the order there is almost on par with our base... Hahaha... My daughter is indeed extraordinary. Truly, parents have no dogs but remarkable daughters."
Ban Guozhi laughed heartily, unabashedly praising his daughter while also boasting about himself.
After a few seconds of silence, Liu Mengying finally interrupted his self-praise.
"So, General Ban, is there something important you wanted to discuss with me this time? Or is this just a routine update on your current situation?"
Liu Mengying's reminder made Ban Guozhi recall the purpose of his call. He awkwardly cleared his throat and quickly replied.
"Uh... the situation is like this."
"When I came to Wocheng this time, I found that other places aren't as well-guarded by the military as Jiang Hai. During the disaster, there was a lack of organized evacuation and rescue efforts. So while other areas may not face as much pressure from Zombies as we do in Jiang Hai, the situation isn't optimistic."
"In several cities, I couldn't even find a Survivor Base; almost everyone seems to have perished. There are no signs of life near those cities, and when I sent out radio signals, no one responded. I suspect those Survivors either fled into the wilderness or are too weak to have set up their own radio equipment."
"Anyway, the situation outside is dire. We need to gather troops from all major military districts across the country and form a powerful force to eliminate those Fifth-Stage Zombies. We must act quickly. I'm afraid if we delay any longer, the unarmed civilians won't be able to hold on."
Ban Guozhi's words prompted a cold nod from Liu Mengying. "Yes, continue."
Encouraged, Ban Guozhi's spirits lifted as he continued, "When I arrived in Wocheng, the situation here had improved significantly. Most of the High-Level Zombies have been hunted down by a certain Zombie. As for the surviving High-Level Zombies, they are under control, and there aren't many roaming around, so the pressure on human survival has decreased considerably."
"There are Survivor camps almost everywhere here, with the largest one called Ark Base. It has already gathered nearly half of Wocheng's Survivors and is still expanding... Oh, by the way, the base I'm currently at is Ark Base."
"Hahaha... that leader of Ark Base actually thought he could stand up to me? It almost made me laugh to death. I rolled my tank army right up to him and even sent fighter jets flying over his base. He surrendered without a fight; it was quite amusing."
"........" On the other end of the line, only cold silence responded.
Ban Guozhi awkwardly cleared his throat, snapping out of his self-indulgence to continue his report.
"In summary, the situation in Wocheng is very good; there are many human Survivors. Not only did I find my daughter, but I also found your sister... Hahaha... I really feel it's fate that in Jiang Hai we were partners, and here in Wocheng, your sister and my daughter are actually good friends... Hahahaha... this is truly interesting."
"Xing'er..."
Liu Mengying froze for a moment, instinctively tightening her grip on the phone. "Is she okay? What about my father? What about my uncle? Are they all alright?"
Silence lingered on the other end for several seconds. The usually cheerful Old Man Ban's reaction made Liu Mengying's heart sink.
She understood what it meant.
"Are they all dead?"
Instinctively clenching her phone tighter, Liu Mengying took a deep breath to regain her usual composure. "So, is Xing'er with you now? When will you return to Jiang Hai?"
"Uh... this... cough cough... Liu. That... cough cough... there's something I need to inform you about. I think it's important for you to know."
"But... uh... how should I put this? Uh... first, you need to prepare yourself mentally and promise me that you won't get angry no matter what happens, otherwise I can't tell you."
Liu Mengying was silent for a few seconds before saying, "I promise I won't get angry. Now, what is it?"
"Uh... cough cough... actually... um... how should I say this? Uh... Liu, do you know someone named Chu Donglin?"
On the other end of the phone, there was an eerie silence.
Ban Guozhi anxiously glanced at the phone and cautiously called out a few times.
"Liu? Liu Girl? Liu Mengying? General Liu? Are you still there?"
The strange silence lasted for several minutes, and just as Ban Guozhi was about to hang up, Liu Mengying's cold voice came through, as icy as ever.
"What happened to him?"
Hearing Liu Mengying's voice, Ban Guozhi finally breathed a sigh of relief and laughed.
"Why did you suddenly go silent? You scared me. I haven't even told you anything yet; is it really necessary to react this way?"
Liu Mengying simply asked coldly, "Have you encountered him? Or is he the manager of Ark Base?"
Ban Guozhi sighed. "Not exactly. But in some ways, he's doing much better than the manager of Ark Base."
After hesitating for a few seconds, he continued, "He's now a High-Level Zombie, but unlike those zombies in Jiang Hai who have gone mad or suffered from mental breakdowns due to the virus, he seems to have retained his human intelligence completely and hasn't been affected mentally by being a Zombie."
"He recently formed his own Zombie Legion and has hunted down about a quarter of the High-Level Zombies in Wocheng to enhance the power of his Zombie Legion, which has already evolved to the Third Stage."
"I suspect there might be Fallen Bodies here in Wocheng as well... Perhaps they broke off when that planet collided with Earth, falling outside of Wocheng in Jiang Hai."
"Uh... Liu? Are you still listening?"
"I'm listening... go on."
"Uh... your reaction is quite indifferent."
"What kind of reaction do you think I should have?"
Ban Guozhi was left speechless, shaking his head in frustration. He decided to drop the matter and said, "In any case, that fellow named Chu Donglin has turned into a Zombie and is fixated on returning to his hometown Wangcheng... Tsk... My Ditz Daughter actually thought he was human all along; how foolish."
Liu Mengying furrowed her brows. "Does he know your daughter?"
After a few seconds of silence, Liu Mengying realized something. "So, he has met Xing'er?"
"Uh... cough cough... that... cough..."
Ban Guozhi hesitated, unsure how to respond. Liu Mengying's question caught him off guard. He was still trying to find the right words when she bluntly asked him... How was he supposed to answer that?
After a moment of hesitation, Ban Guozhi decided to let it go. After all, she wasn't his daughter; it wasn't his concern. They could sort out their family matters however they liked.
He took a deep breath and finally expressed what he had been thinking all along.
"Your boyfriend is now in Jiang Hai, turned into a Zombie, and has shamelessly gotten together with your sister. My daughter, Ya, has already been involved with him; they've been intimate for quite some time now. It's clear from their behavior that neither of them is being forced into this—it's simply mutual affection. While it's sad to see such things happen around you, you must hold on and not let it affect your health. There are still many matters waiting for you to handle at the base... uh... that's about it."
After a few seconds of hesitation, Ban Guozhi felt a bit guilty as he looked at the silent phone.
"Liu? Liu Girl? Are you still listening?"
All he received in response was an eerie silence.
Extra:
I've been thinking lately, if Chu Donglin were to meet Liu Mengying in Jiang Hai and they talked about Xing'er, how would that go... uh... perhaps it would be like this—
"Long time no see."
"Long time no see."
"How have you been lately?"
"I've been well... and you?"
"I'm doing well too."
And then there would be a long silence.
Suddenly, Liu Mengying spoke up: "About Xing'er... I already know."
"Uh... you know?"
Liu Mengying: Hmm.
Chu Donglin: Uh... don't you have anything on your mind? Or any emotions you want to express?
Liu Mengying: Perhaps you could share your thoughts first?
Chu Donglin: Uh... actually, when I first heard about wanting to pursue your sister, I was against it.
Because you can't just tell me not to pursue her, and then I go ahead and do it.
First, I wanted to test the waters because I didn't want to end up saying some lies just to save face after the fact, like "Wow, your sister is so beautiful, gentle, and cute. I'm really honored to have pursued her," and then if everyone meets her and realizes she isn't like that at all, my daughter would definitely scold me for lying. It would prove that what I said earlier was false.
Later on, I confirmed that your sister is indeed very beautiful and quite adorable.
I spent about a month getting to know her, and it felt really good. Not only did I enjoy it myself, but I also had my daughter learn from her about how to become a lovable girl that everyone adores.
When I was teaching my daughter, I also insisted that she shouldn't lie because I wanted my friends to see that the girlfriend I talked about was indeed like that; they should see the same person.
Liu Mengying: ……………… (To be continued...)
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