While Luo Xiaole was observing the green protective shield.
In a building opposite the dormitory building, a flat-haired man's eyes held a fierce glint.
He slowly sat down on the sofa, crossing his legs.
He took a deep drag from the cigar in his hand, drawing a mysterious circle in the air with the smoke.
It was the same flat-haired man from the off-road vehicle.
"Brother Cheng, that's great, you're back safe and sound," a soldier next to him said subserviently, stepping forward to use an ashtray to catch the cigar ash from Cheng Ge's hand.
On another sofa next to Cheng Ge, another soldier sat at ease.
"Senior Brother, how is it? I told you to come to this small military base back then, didn't I? Now that the apocalypse has broken out, you're the boss here. This is so much better than being a small squad leader when we were soldiers."
"You always think things through. Relying on the spells our master taught us, eliminating that former company commander and controlling this base was as easy as pie," the soldier patted his non-existent dust on his uniform with practiced ease.
"How is your side?" he turned to the flat-haired man.
"A big haul!" Cheng Ge laughed wildly. "There's this guy who calls himself a weapon master, and he has weapons that are even more effective against zombies than our guns. I've identified a group of people, put a blood curse on them, and followed them all the way here..."
"No wonder you had to open the protective shield and disable their abilities," the soldier nodded then.
"Our master's gifts shouldn't be wasted... That group of people is rather strange. They've fallen into zombie hordes several times, yet they always emerge unscathed. They're not easy to deal with, forcing me to use my ultimate skill tonight." Cheng Ge took a fierce puff of his cigar, his brows furrowed.
"Once we capture that weapon master tonight and force him to reveal the manufacturing method, my brother and I, along with the Azure Dragon Gang, will be able to walk all over this apocalypse!"
"Excellent! Junior Brother, you're the best!"
Cheng Ge turned his head, exchanging a smile with his senior brother, his lips curling sinisterly, a perfect understanding between them.
He then held the half-smoked cigar and walked to the window.
Looking down, his eyes lit up.
A strikingly beautiful face in the crowd stirred his desire.
"In this apocalypse, everyone is dirty and thin as a twig. It's been a long time since I've seen such a delicate woman."
He directly threw the cigar downstairs. It landed on someone's hair, and sparks ignited.
"Ah! What's on fire!" the person below frantically patted their head.
Cheng Ge's lips curved in pleasure. "Bring that woman downstairs. Before I do the big thing tonight, let me have some fun first."
"Yes, sir!"
...
Zuo Ran was in the square, tearfully complaining to Da Beitou and the others about how Luo Xiaole and Luo Shu had mistreated her before.
Suddenly, a commotion arose in the crowd. Soldiers pushed aside the anxious people and carried her away.
"Hey! How can you just drag people away like this? Where are you taking her!" Da Beitou was anxious. In his heart, Zuo Ran would eventually be his woman, how could she be so casually taken by soldiers?
"Get lost!" The soldier threw him aside. Seeing him still trying to cling on, several rifles were instantly pointed at him.
Da Beitou immediately chickened out.
A beauty or his life, of course, his life was more important.
He swallowed hard and raised his hands, indicating he would not make any rash moves.
Zuo Ran was thus taken directly to Cheng Ge's room.
...
Time flew by, and it was evening.
The crowd gathered in the square had long been driven back to their respective dormitory buildings.
Flickering, uneasy lights gradually appeared in each room.
Strangely, no soldiers came to maintain order today.
So, Luo Xiaole and the others gathered in Mo Chen's slightly larger room to chat.
Even the mother was finally reunited with her son, sitting on the floor in the room, supporting each other.
"Something is really strange..." Luo Shu, who always liked to joke, spoke in a heavy tone.
"Why would this base suddenly go into lockdown?"
"Yes, it's too abnormal. They're not even giving out dinner tonight!" Zhou Xiaojun said with a pout.
He had used his ability to eavesdrop before; the base provided a meal every day.
After becoming an ability user, their bodies consumed energy faster than ordinary people.
They got hungry quickly and felt terrible without food.
But Luo Shu's ability was also useless now.
Luo Xiaole listened to the rumbling stomachs of everyone and her own stomach involuntarily growled.
"Hahaha, Xiaole, hunger is indeed contagious!" Luo Shu laughed, looking at her.
She was tiny, but the rumble of her stomach was louder than everyone else's, impossible to miss!
She covered her stomach, feeling a little embarrassed.
She had looked at the protective shield outside, and there was no longer any weak spot for Luo Shu to use his ability.
She still had over a dozen boxes of chocolate and instant noodles that she had stored away.
She decided to find a weak spot in the shield with Luo Shu tomorrow and get more food out!
"I don't know when these abilities will recover..." Zhou Xiaojun's face was streaked with imaginary noodle tears, looking very distressed.
Since gaining his ability, eavesdropping on other people's gossip had become the greatest source of amusement in his survival journey.
"With your broken ears, you only listen to useless things every day. Go wash up and sleep!" Luo Shu slapped him.
Zhou Xiaojun dodged.
The slap landed on Mo Chen's... butt, as he lay with his back to everyone...
"Pfft," Luo Xiaole couldn't suppress her laughter.
Luo Shu's face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot, with a look that seemed to want to devour him, his eyes shooting out icy rays...
"Old Mo, it's all Zhou Xiaojun's fault!" He quickly begged for mercy and ran to the desk lamp. "Alright, everyone sleep. Get some rest. Tomorrow we'll observe the situation of this base and see what happens. What's coming will come."
Luo Xiaole nodded in agreement. The sudden appearance of the protective shield was unexpected, and no one knew what was going on. "To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, let's all sleep on the floor in this room tonight," Luo Xiaole made the final decision.
No one objected.
Everyone silently made their beds and lay down in silence.
They couldn't take out their down comforters, so they had to make do with the blankets here tonight.
The anxiety was written on everyone's faces. They also knew that Luo Shu and the others were deliberately joking to alleviate everyone's tension...
Everyone still decided to take turns on watch.
The watch roster was quickly drawn up. Mo Chen was told to rest well, and everyone else, starting with Lin Xia, would take turns on watch.
Luo Xiaole also lay down, propped up by her quilt.
She looked at Mo Chen, whose silhouette was outlined beautifully in the moonlight, and suddenly felt that this shadow was also very familiar.
It was a bit like the person who suddenly intervened and saved her the first time she encountered a climbing zombie at home.
It seemed that everything was not an illusion...
...
At two in the morning, everyone was fast asleep.
Luo Xiaole was woken up by Luo Shu, rubbed her eyes, and drowsily sat down to stand watch closest to the door.
She sat there, feeling sleepy, still looking half-asleep.
The door was locked, but the doorknob seemed to have been turned by someone.