"Captain, someone broke in!"
The man in uniform turned his head, his stern face showing a hint of surprise. "Who?"
"We don't know yet. It seems to be just a few people. They beat up the Thunder Team guards at the city gate. Zhao Ting has already taken his men over. I'm afraid it won't end well."
The soldier's expression turned grim. "Gather your men, let's go see."
"Yes."
Several military vehicles drove down the street, with well-trained soldiers standing erect in them, all armed and exuding an inviolable aura. The vehicles headed towards the city gate.
The city gate of Central City, designated as the "capital" after the relocation from the capital, had a twenty-meter high wall built around it within a few months, creating a haven. With the army in place, power was relatively centralized.
However, as they cleared out the monsters, the number of soldiers decreased significantly. Meanwhile, more and more ability users awakened, and their powers grew stronger, leading to rebellious thoughts.
They could actually defeat the ability users. Even with individual strength, one couldn't withstand artillery fire. But they were considering the stability of Central City and waiting for an opportunity to minimize the impact.
That opportunity was almost here. If the troublemakers now could break the situation, they would seize the chance to eliminate the disruptive elements threatening Central City's stability.
Before they reached the gate, something suddenly flew from not too far away. The driver at the front slammed on the brakes. The object hit his windshield and then slid down.
"What was that!"
The driver replied, "It looks like a person."
Everyone got out of the cars and went to the front to see. The man, covered in blood and continuously spitting blood, his consciousness fading, was none other than Zhao Ting, the captain of the Thunder Team they had just discussed.
"Captain, it's Zhao Ting!"
The leader of one of Central City's three major organizations, who had been in a meeting yesterday demanding resources and weapons, had been sent flying into their vehicle by someone. He now looked like he was on his last breath.
"Boss!"
Members of the Thunder Team ran over from a distance, collapsing on the ground and looking at their boss in horror. They trembled, wanting to touch him but fearing they would worsen his injuries.
"What happened?"
Yang Nan grabbed a youth who was sobbing uncontrollably and roared, "I'm asking you, what happened?"
The youth's eyes were red from crying. "Someone, someone from outside, a woman, beat our boss like this, sob sob... Captain Yang, you must avenge our boss!"
The sounds of fighting could still be heard not far away. Yang Nan had people carry Zhao Ting back for treatment and then led his men forward.
At the city gate, a crowd had gathered. In the center was a circle about ten meters in diameter. Inside, several high-level ability users under Zhao Ting were fighting against a woman.
He recognized those ability users. They had all used zombie cores, making them more evolved than ordinary people and among the strongest in Central City.
Yet, six or seven people considered elites by others, including their boss, one of the top five ability users in Central City, were being beaten like rats by the woman, knocked to the ground in just a few moves.
Behind them, two cars were parked, and several people stood around, including soldiers in uniform. There was a distinct difference in demeanor between the soldiers and ordinary people, and he recognized them as his own kind.
He seemed to realize something and shouted, "Everyone, stop!"
The members of the Thunder Team, who were about to charge forward, were stopped by a group of soldiers holding guns. They watched with extreme reluctance.
But they also knew that their boss and so many strong individuals from their team couldn't defeat that woman, so going up would be suicide.
"Who are you people?"
Soldiers and researchers came forward, giving them a standard military salute. One soldier pulled out his ID. "Greetings, comrade. I am a junior officer under General Zhen of the XX Military Region. We are currently stationed in H City. We received a signal from Central City and have come specifically to exchange research findings. These are two researchers from our military region."
"And who are those two?"
He pointed to the woman who had been fighting and the man beside her.
"These two are high-level ability users from our team."
Zhu Lin's face was grim. Though she was a young girl, barely in her teens or early twenties, her eyes were incredibly cold. A mere glance from her made him feel as if he would be frozen in the next second.
"Why did you fight with them when entering the city?"
The soldier put away his ID. "On our way here, we encountered some people who said we had to pay resources to enter. Miss Zhao was quite righteous and insisted on helping them, which led to a conflict with the guards at the gate. Then, that lightning ability user showed up."
Actually, there was more.
Yang Nan looked at the handsome young man with red lips and white teeth and remembered that Zhao Ting was not secretly gay or had any particular preferences. He immediately understood.
He who hunts eagles for too long gets his eyes pecked by the eagle; it serves him right.
"Since you were sent by General Zhen, please come with me to meet General Dong first."
"Certainly, thank you, comrade."
They led the way, and the people behind followed in their cars.
Rechong, being protected like a delicate flower, was exceptionally pleased, grinning like a blossom. "Oh, why are you still angry? He didn't do anything to me."
Zhu Lin's voice was cool. "You seem quite disappointed."
"A little," Rechong said, unfazed by the potential consequences, only happy about the outcome. "If he had really reached out to touch me, you would have chopped off his hand, right? Haha, I knew you cared about me the most. So happy!"
"No."
Zhu Lin added coldly, "I would have dismembered him."
The driver in front and the passengers in the back felt a chill run down their spines, their skin crawling.
That person had only provoked and offended them with words, and he was beaten half to death. If she had actually fought him, he would probably have turned into a desiccated corpse in an instant, with no hope of rescue.
Rechong, unashamed but proud, squeezed into her arms, wanting to increase their physical contact. Both his smile and his voice exuded intense joy.
Sacrificing another's well-being and life to praise their love seemed rather disgusting.
However, if that person hadn't been so foul-mouthed and said such repulsive things, he wouldn't have ended up in that state.
And seeing how experienced that person looked, and the accustomed expressions of others, if they had been weaker, wouldn't he have been...
Hiss—
Wouldn't this living Buddha have unleashed her wrath, turning this place into her Asura field?
Sacrificing him alone to protect everyone was worth it.