Shen Xinyi was a nurse, one of the few medical personnel here. After finishing her training for the day, she had simply familiarized herself with their medical supplies and set up her infirmary. She hadn’t been assigned any other tasks.
On top of that, she had somehow managed to land a spot in a large suite on the top floor. The living environment and conditions were clearly much better, and her roommates were all upstanding and very nice people.
Yu Dong had helped her, so she was willing to help him shoulder some of his burdens.
For example... watching his kid.
"Is there anything else?" Shen Xinyi asked, tightening the collar of her shirt as she met Yu Dong’s unrestrained gaze.
"Oh... no, that’s all."
Suppressing the heat stirring within him, Yu Dong turned and walked back to his room.
Seeing Lv Sheng sitting outside the door cradling his gun, Yu Dong said, "Alright, Brother Lv, come inside and rest. You don’t have to sit out here all the time to protect me... It must be exhausting."
"Sir, you go on ahead. I’m sitting here to see if anyone tries to sneak up to the seventh floor tonight. For example... that Xu Yi. If he shows up on the seventh floor today, for any reason whatsoever... I will arrest him."
Lv Sheng’s words were calm and chilling.
There was a reassuring strength in his voice.
Yu Dong didn’t insist further. "Then I’ll have to trouble you, Brother Lv."
"Sir, it’s my duty. You should get some rest."
Lv Sheng had spent the entire day fighting zombies, and now he was standing guard at night. Yu Dong was genuinely touched.
Yu Dong didn’t know what kind of orders Qiao Yunliang had given him, but he knew one thing for sure: Lv Sheng was a man he could truly depend on.
Unlike the all-rounder Wang Linmo, whose talents lay in internal affairs and management, Lv Sheng was the epitome of personal protection.
When they were out fighting zombies, his muzzle was always covering Yu Dong’s blind spots, taking out any zombie that tried to get close.
Yu Dong went to rest. He had a lot to do tomorrow.
...
「North River District, Military Command.」
Qiao Yunliang glanced at the time, hesitated for a moment... then picked up the satellite phone.
"Who are you trying to contact this late?"
"Lv Sheng. I want to ask him about Yu Dong’s activities today, how many weapons he got from Yin Shuangyang... We still don’t have a good read on Yu Dong. We don’t know what kind of man he is. The armored assault vehicle is scheduled for handover tomorrow, and I have a bad feeling about it..."
Hearing this, Advisor Shao, who had been studying a map, immediately pushed Qiao Yunliang’s hand down, stopping him from dialing.
"Commander Qiao, don’t. What kind of person Yu Dong is depends on the kind of person he presents himself to be..."
"Even if he is a Reincarnator, he’s still human! He can lie!"
"All people lie. But what we need to look at is... is he a patriot right now?"
Qiao Yunliang considered this for a moment, then nodded. "Yes. He’s helped us a great deal."
"Then that’s enough... Since he’s shown us this side of himself, even if it’s an act, if he keeps up the act until we win, doesn’t that make it real? Suppose we do uncover some dark side or some secret of his—what then? Are we going to stop cooperating with him? Are we going to refuse the *Reincarnator’s Handbook (Part 2)*? Rather than work with him while harboring suspicions, it’s better... to simply trust him for now."
"Sigh... you have a point. But what I’m afraid of is... he thinks he can reincarnate infinitely. If that’s the case, could he just abandon us at any moment? What if he feels things are hopeless, or that he can’t achieve his goals? He could just throw all caution to the wind, die, and leave us to clean up his mess... We don’t get to reincarnate."
Qiao Yunliang had always felt that "infinite reincarnation" was a flawed concept. The Reincarnator wasn’t going to take them with him when he died, which made him a ticking time bomb. Things were just going smoothly for now, so everyone was getting along.
"But he can’t reincarnate infinitely. At least, *he* doesn’t believe he can," Advisor Shao said, adjusting his black-framed glasses with a faint smile.
"Hmm? But he’s always said... that he can reincarnate infinitely."
"If he could truly reincarnate infinitely, he wouldn’t act so cautiously. From the way he borrowed our men to deal with Yin Shuangyang, to all his negotiations and plans, it’s clear Yu Dong is a very deliberate person. Every step he takes is calculated and sure-footed. Even when facing danger, he ensures he has the best possible chance of escape... He’s too desperate to live. That’s not like someone who can reincarnate infinitely. I suspect he made that part up. He may have reincarnated a few times, but it’s definitely not an infinite number. Therefore... he will strive to achieve victory alongside us."
Advisor Shao had seen through the logic of Yu Dong’s behavior and deduced what he believed to be the most likely explanation.
"So that’s how it is... Alright! Then I won’t question Lv Sheng today. Let him remain undercover for the time being."
Advisor Shao looked at Qiao Yunliang and sighed softly. "Commander Qiao... Old Qiao! We both came up from the bottom. We’ve been split up and brought back together over the years, transferred all over the place, and finally ended up as partners back in Yanhai City. We’ve built up some rapport, haven’t we? There’s something... I don’t know if I should say it, or if you’re even in a state to hear it."
Hearing Advisor Shao speak so seriously, Qiao Yunliang grew a little tense.
"Shao, why are you being so formal? There’s nothing we can’t discuss!"
Advisor Shao looked at Qiao Yunliang and said, enunciating each word:
"Qiao, you’ve always been too self-confident. You’ve solved a lot of difficult problems and won many battles in the past. I know all that."
"But... this time, the advantage isn’t with us. It’s with Yu Dong, who has all the information. We have to use his momentum to our benefit."
"If we want to ride his coattails, we have to give him benefits. Shower him with so many benefits that he’s more than willing to let us. It’s better than being cordial on the surface while secretly guarding against him..."
"Have you considered how much of yourself you’re revealing to him? How well does he already know you from the last world? Think of the worst-case scenario... for all we know, you two might have been enemies in his past life!"