Old Xu and the man’s convoy were parked just 5 meters apart. Before long, Old Xu heard the sounds of someone overturning the barricade and touching the wire outside.
"Haha, brother, your setup is really... complicated!"
"Hmph! Of course! In times like these, if you don’t think defensively, you’ll end up being an easy target, won’t you?"
The barricade created by the Survivor Team apparently caused quite a trouble for the man trying to get in. Old Xu could clearly hear the commotion as the man wrestled with the barricade.
After waiting idly for about 3 minutes, the hand-held radio finally transmitted Hua Biao’s latest update: "Captain, the guy took care of the obstacles, he’s in!"
"Phew, I’m ready. What’s the next move?"
His heavy breathing was noticeable, but Old Xu wasn’t in the mood to care about the man at the moment.
"Walk straight ahead, slowly. I’ll guide you!"
Saying it intentionally cryptic, Old Xu wanted the other party to stay unaware of the situation.
With his words, footsteps started again outside, growing closer by the second.
Before long, a broad back appeared in front of Old Xu.
The visitor stood at 1.75 meters tall; his physique was rather solid.
After entering the village, the man’s head turned all around, but he didn’t spot Old Xu and the others, showing the excellent stealth and ambush skills of the Sharp Blade Company.
The man followed Xu Renjie’s instructions and walked in a straight line through the village, moving slowly, utterly unaware that a dozen eyes were closely watching him from both sides.
Old Xu followed behind the man, and as he reached the bus, Old Xu swiftly moved forward like an Evil Wolf in the night, pressing his gun against the man’s spine.
"Don’t make a sound! Don’t move!"
The sudden change left the man a bit thrown off, and his body abruptly stiffened for 2 seconds before a few words slipped out of his mouth: "Brother, what’s this supposed to mean?"
"Since you’re military, you should understand my actions! Spread your legs, lean against the wall! You’d better cooperate, it’ll be best for us all!"
"OK! OK! Stay calm, I’ll do as you say, I mean no harm!"
With these words, the man complied with Old Xu’s instructions and lay down on the floor, forming the shape of the character ’fire’.
Up and down, Old Xu held his gun in one hand while systematically searching the man with the other.
Once the search was complete, Old Xu finally relaxed and instructed, "Go! Walk forward!"
"Oh! Alright! See, I didn’t bring any weapons. That’s some goodwill, right?"
Ignoring the man’s question, Old Xu pulled out the hand-held radio and ordered, "Xiao Wen, open the bus door. Lin come over to the bus! Everyone else stays vigilant; report any situation promptly."
"There’s no need for this! Brother, we just want to spend the night; there’s no need for such tension."
"Hmph! Thanks for the reminder, but we know what we’re doing; no need for your guidance!"
"Creak!" The bus door opened, and Old Xu jabbed the man’s back with his gun, commanding him in a deep voice, "Get on the bus!"
After getting on the bus, Lin Junfu arrived within seconds.
Once the three settled down, Old Xu instructed Wang Zhongyu to close the bus door again, then he took a look at the man and asked, "What’s your name?"
"Ye Hao! And you two are..."
"Xu Renjie!"
"Lin Junfu!"
"Old Xu, Old Lin, hehe, nice to meet you!" The man casually greeted Xu Renjie and Lin Junfu.
Old Xu nodded expressionlessly, "You said you’re military? What’s your unit number? Which military district?"
The man raised his hand to stroke his stubbly chin and shrugged, "Sorry, military secret, can’t disclose."
Old Xu didn’t show any emotion, pursing his lips, "XX Military District, part of XX Sharp Blade Company."
Slightly taken aback, the man clearly didn’t expect Old Xu’s response. It took him a while to react, unsure, "You, you’re military too?"
"Hehe, I’m not, but he is!" Lin Junfu reclined in his seat, responding with a smile.
"Ah, this is indeed a case of the floodwaters rushing the Dragon King’s temple. Turns out we’re kin, huh! Nice meeting you! Nice meeting you!" The man reached out enthusiastically.
Old Xu shook his hand courteously and maintained his stern expression, saying, "The people of Huaxia are one family. Living on this land naturally makes us kin."
Just with these words, Old Xu’s awareness surpassed the man’s.
"Yes, yes! You’re right, brother!" The man sensed the undertone in Old Xu’s words and quickly laughed to cover his embarrassment.
"Now, can you tell me your unit?" Unyielding, Old Xu repeated his question.
Seeing the situation, knowing he couldn’t avoid it, Ye Hao chuckled helplessly twice, "XX Military District, part of a direct emergency response team."
Old Xu furrowed his brows slightly and tapped the iron pipe on the back of the seat rhythmically, immediately producing crisp "dang dang" sounds.
"Haha, I’ve served in the military for decades, been to various military districts, but what you mentioned... Sorry, never heard of it."
"Hahaha!"
The man inexplicably laughed, prompting Old Xu to ask sternly, "Why are you laughing? Do you find this amusing?"
"No, no! Don’t misunderstand, I just... Haha, now I can confirm you’re military."
"Hmph, indeed?" Unperturbed by the man’s misleading words, Old Xu pursued his questioning with a clear objective: "I’d like to hear your explanation of your unit... Hmph, what’s going on?"
The atmosphere suddenly turned tense, Lin Junfu discreetly reached for the Q bag at his side.
This was an evident precaution; Old Lin knew Old Xu didn’t bring him over just for questioning, but more importantly, to take on a guard duty.
"No need for tension!" The man spread his palms, responding naturally, "What I mentioned, if you know it, only proves you’re not part of the military system."
"Please, focus!" At this point, Old Xu was very serious.
"Alright! Focus! If you’re military, you should know that after these end times, various military districts suffered different levels of attacks. The catastrophe came very suddenly; whether our teams stayed back or were dispatched to assist in rescue, none understood the zombies’ traits at that time. So... even though I dislike admitting it, our initial battles with the zombies ended in defeat, terrible defeat! Many companies were completely wiped out. Even those who survived mostly lost contact with the headquarters.
Upon hearing this, Old Xu nodded silently. As a frontline company commander, the man’s words undoubtedly touched on his own pain.
"Regarding my unit number, it was a team newly formed later based on the development of the situation, mainly tasked with activities in zombie-occupied areas, fulfilling higher-level assignments. So, it’s normal you haven’t heard of it. That’s also why I can confirm you’re part of the internal system." Insert text