"Captain, you're heading to the official base - you're going after him?" Fang Sijie suddenly spoke up.
"Yeah. Guy's had me on a wanted list for ages. Time to wrap that up." Yang Bin's tone was flat, like he was discussing an errand.
"Alright, since your mind's made up, I won't try to talk you out of it. But be careful. Ma Zhongguo's been aggressively expanding through every means available. The number of evolved individuals under his control is probably in the tens of thousands by now."
"Your portraits were posted all over the base at one point. Plenty of people inside would recognize you on sight. Disguise yourselves before going in."
"Got it." Yang Bin nodded.
"There's a large building complex in the center of the base - that's where Ma Zhongguo lives. I don't know which specific room, and security there is extremely tight. They don't let anyone get close under normal circumstances, so making a move on him won't be simple."
"Also, word is he keeps three ability users at his side. I don't know what their abilities are exactly, but they're supposedly very strong. Even though you're both sixth-tier now, stay on guard."
Fang Sijie had spent time inside the base, after all. He knew the layout.
"Heh. Ability users? That's great." Yang Bin grinned. "Good news for you, at least."
"???"
Fang Sijie stared blankly.
"You'll understand when we get back." Yang Bin clapped him on the shoulder and left it at that.
Fang Sijie was puzzled but didn't press.
After leaving the villa, the group split up.
Yang Bin and Chen Hao headed for the official base. The rest went hunting for sixth-tier zombies elsewhere.
Without Yang Bin, finding sixth-tier zombies would be significantly harder for them.
But sixth-tier zombies weren't exactly rare anymore, and their features were distinctive enough to spot on sight.
With the squad's current strength, killing one wouldn't be a problem.
Meanwhile, Yang Bin and Chen Hao scrounged up a bicycle and pedaled toward the official base.
The distance was considerable. Driving would've been ideal - except Yang Bin wanted to drive, and Chen Hao refused to be in the passenger seat.
So bicycles it was.
They pedaled at full tilt for over three hours before the official base finally came into view.
They ditched the bikes and started observing.
The base had transformed completely. Its footprint alone had expanded more than tenfold, and the perimeter walls had gone from three meters to five.
Atop the walls, squads of soldiers patrolled around the clock. Gun emplacements dotted the perimeter every few meters, with at least a dozen Heavy Machine Guns mounted on each face.
"Gotta hand it to the government - the defense setup is something else." Yang Bin let out a low whistle.
"Brute force is definitely off the table."
"Bin-ge, want me to just go invisible, slip in, and off him?" Chen Hao whispered.
Yang Bin considered it, then shook his head.
"Let's get inside and scope things out first. Going in blind is too risky."
"Fine."
The two smeared dirt across their faces until they were unrecognizable.
Plenty of people looked like that in the apocalypse. They'd blend right in.
"I'll teleport to that corner over there. You go invisible and come in through the gate to meet me." Yang Bin pointed to a spot along the wall - a perfect blind spot between patrol routes.
"Got it." Chen Hao nodded.
They moved quickly toward the base. The moment they reached the wall, Yang Bin blinked out of sight - reappearing inside.
Chen Hao activated Invisibility and strolled straight through the main gate without a care in the world.
They linked up moments later and headed toward a cluster of low-rise buildings.
The area was full of people who looked just as filthy as them. Once they blended in, no one would give them a second glance.
But the moment they entered the district, both men's expressions darkened.
The stench hit first. Rot, sweat, waste - layered thick in the stagnant air. The people shuffling through the narrow lanes wore clothes stiff with grime, unchanged for weeks. Maybe months.
Every face was gaunt. Cheekbones jutting, eyes hollow and dull. Walking skeletons who hadn't quite stopped moving yet.
Yang Bin and Chen Hao exchanged a look.
This was the official base?
This was nothing like what they'd expected.
Yang Bin had figured food might be tight with this many mouths to feed.
But not like this.
The military had swept and secured dozens of districts. Feeding a hundred or two hundred thousand people should've been well within their means.
Their arrival drew little attention from the locals.
But the backpacks on their shoulders - those drew stares. Hungry eyes tracking them, calculating.
The weapons in their hands kept everyone at a distance.
"Hey, handsome. Wanna have some fun? One piece of bread each." A woman in her twenties approached, her gaze locked on their packs. She swallowed.
"Uh - no thanks." Yang Bin said, caught off guard.
"One piece for both of you, then!"
"......"
Both men went quiet.
The woman wasn't stunning, but she wasn't ugly either. Before the apocalypse, she'd have been perfectly ordinary - the kind of person you'd pass on the street without a second thought.
Now she was offering herself for a single piece of bread. Two-for-one.
When she kept pressing, Yang Bin drew his Tang Saber. That finally made her back off.
They walked on. It happened again. And again.
Everyone here would do anything for food.
"Looks like Ma Zhongguo's been skimming hard," Chen Hao said, voice cold.
"Probably funneling everything into building his personal army. Ordinary people? As long as they don't drop dead, he doesn't give a shit."
"Good. Then I won't lose any sleep over gutting him."
"Find him first. This area's where the bottom-rung people live. We need to push toward the center."
"Mm."
They kept walking.
It took a long time to reach the edge of the district. A wall stood there - an internal partition separating this zone from the next.
Several guards lounged at the gate. Not to keep people out of the inner zone. To keep the ones inside from slipping through.
"Food distribution's coming up soon. Gonna have some fun with those women again." One guard leered.
"You keep going at that rate, you'll fuck yourself to death."
"Please. We're evolved now. Seven rounds a night, easy."
"The ones who just lie there are boring though. The ones who fight back - now that's satisfying."
"True. Speaking of - that woman in Alley 16. You still haven't cracked her?"
"Not yet. Bitch keeps threatening to slit her own throat. But it's almost over. Haven't given her food in two days. Her kid's about to starve. I guarantee she folds today."
"Ha! You know, I used to hate supply distribution duty. Now? Best gig in the base."
"No shit. Way better than going outside to fight zombies and farm crystals."
"Way better."
Yang Bin and Chen Hao listened from the other side of the wall.
Their eyes had gone flat. Cold.
So this was the official base.
"Ma Zhongguo." Yang Bin's voice was quiet. "You really know how to earn a death sentence."