The Modified Kamaz

March 22, overcast, heavy fog, 23 degrees Celsius.

Tomorrow is the day of Operation A, and the atmosphere across the entire base is tense.

From top to bottom, there is a sense of reluctance in the air.

On the streets, people come and go, but there are noticeably more combat personnel in uniform, each with a cold demeanor.

Song Ning gasped for breath and woke up from a dream once again.

Hoo…

She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, while Ping Chengcheng in her arms was still lost in a pleasant dream.

Song Ning had no trace of sleepiness left. She glanced at the mechanical watch on her wrist — it was already 8 a.m. She knew that tomorrow was the day for the A City operation.

“Chengcheng, time to get up.”

The girl made a couple of cute little noises, lifting her heavy eyelids.

“Sister~”

Song Ning responded softly. Lately, she was finding it harder and harder to know how to face Ping Chengcheng.

Her guess from last night had been far too absurd — how could Ping Yan and Ping Chengcheng possibly be the same person? That was something that simply could not exist.

Then what was her identity? An old junior from school? But there were still many doubts. She would have to keep testing her…

Song Ning thought about asking directly, but she figured the girl would most likely not tell the truth.

“Chengcheng, how is it that you… know so many things?”

Ning got up and began getting dressed. The girl reluctantly left her embrace, then rolled twice across the bed.

“Mm…” Ping Chengcheng pondered how to answer Song Ning’s question.

Song Ning raised an eyebrow. What was the girl thinking about?

She never expected Ping Chengcheng’s next words to leave her completely speechless.

With a playful smile, the girl said, “I’m a reborn person, sister~”

There was a brief moment of daze, and then Song Ning frowned in displeasure.

“Chengcheng, what are you talking about again?”

Ping Chengcheng shrugged, stuck out her pink little tongue. “Bleh~ If sister doesn’t believe me, then forget it!”

It wasn’t that Song Ning didn’t believe — it was that such a thing was just too impossible. More than that…

She already didn’t quite dare to believe the things Ping Chengcheng said.

She fixed her eyes on the girl, still silent, until she finally let out a sigh.

What exactly was Ping Chengcheng’s true identity?

A fog shrouded the truth, layer upon layer… in her eyes, the girl’s identity only grew more mysterious. But there was one thing Song Ning could be sure of.

Ping Chengcheng’s identity was definitely connected, in some way, to her — or rather, to Ping Yan.

Yet Song Ning didn’t understand. She was 19 years old this year, and in all her life, she had never once seen a girl named Ping Chengcheng.

Why had this girl approached her? Why did she like her? And for what reason was her love so twisted and complicated?

Thinking about this only made Song Ning more irritable.

“Sister, that truck we bought earlier should be fully modified by now.”

Ping Chengcheng spoke softly, her big watery eyes looking very pretty.

“Shall we go take a look later?”

Song Ning nodded in agreement.

Just how could she get the girl back to normal?

So that her love wouldn’t be so suppressed, so twisted…

At 8:30, Ping Chengcheng, Song Ning, and Wu Sheng arrived at the engineering group.

Zheng Zhiyi didn’t come along — she had gone to the emergency assault team’s training grounds to practice exoskeleton armor combat. The girl knew what Zheng Zhiyi was thinking, but unfortunately, Zheng Zhiyi was far too naïve.

The Flesh Worm might not be as strong as the top ten mutant types, but it was still ranked nineteenth among them!

That wasn’t something you could handle just by wearing exoskeleton armor.

Even if Ping Chengcheng encountered it now, she could only run.

Following the engineering group’s members, Ping Chengcheng and the others entered the modification workshop.

In the basketball-court-sized space, parked right in the center, was a truck so altered you could barely tell what it used to be!

Its entire body was clad in fierce, imposing black armor plates. The windows were all protected with steel mesh. The front bumper had been reinforced with a sharp, lethal, cone-shaped steel structure, designed specifically for killing zombies.

The chassis had been widened and raised for better adaptability to all kinds of terrain in the apocalypse.

The whole vehicle looked more vicious and intimidating, exuding a terrifying and powerful doomsday presence.

Ping Chengcheng estimated that even faced with a zombie horde of ten thousand, this truck could crush through them with its superior off-road capability and armor.

Wu Sheng let out an excited shout, looking expectantly at Ping Chengcheng.

She gave a light hum.

This guy’s driving skills were indeed very good. On their way to S City base earlier, they had encountered many crises big and small, but Wu Sheng had driven the semi-truck with surprising agility — handling such a heavy vehicle as if it were a nimble fish.

“What are you looking at? You’re driving,” Ping Chengcheng said with a slight pout.

Wu Sheng pumped his fist in excitement. “Tha… thank you, boss!”

He had originally wanted to say “thank you, Cheng-sis,” but since he knew at least part of the story about her and Song Ning, he hesitated and changed it to “boss.”

Wu Sheng climbed the nearly one-meter-high tires into the driver’s cab. As the engine roared to life, he couldn’t help but let out a blissful sigh.

“Ah~ A real man should be driving a beast like this!”

Ping Chengcheng gave him a look like he was an idiot, then shook her head.

“Sister, let’s go inside too.”

When she had sent the truck to the engineering group for modifications, she had specifically requested that the cab and the cargo compartment be connected, converting it into an RV-like design.

With the cab connected to the cargo area, it would be more convenient to switch drivers on the move.

In emergencies, people inside the cargo area could also enter the cab and use firearms to support the assault through the side windows.

The Kamaz’s fuel tank had been modified to hold 800 liters. The original tank already held over 500 liters. Most importantly, a refueling port had also been added inside the cargo area.

(TL note: Kamaz is primarily known as a Russian truck manufacturer, not a car manufacturer. They are famous for their heavy-duty trucks, particularly in construction and mining.)

Inside, the space was clearly divided — a storage room, an armory, and a normal combat prep area.

The modifications to the Kamaz were now fully complete, and Ping Chengcheng was very satisfied with it.

“Let’s go, drive it out.”

In the combat prep area behind the cab, there were soft, well-made benches on either side.

The girl leaned against one.

“Sister, come here,” she called to Song Ning, who was still standing.

Song Ning stepped over, but just then, the vehicle jolted violently. Caught off guard, she nearly fell right into the girl’s arms.

Ping Chengcheng glared at Wu Sheng. “What are you doing?!”

Wu Sheng looked back awkwardly. “Haha, uh… I automatically went into semi-truck mode, almost floored the accelerator.”

Ping Chengcheng’s tone was sharp. “Watch yourself! Do that again and you won’t be driving this truck anymore!”

Wu Sheng nodded quickly and began driving with great care.

The girl giggled and tugged on Song Ning’s wrist. “Sister, come sit next to me~”

Looking at the lively girl, Song Ning felt a warm feeling in her chest. She sat beside her, and the girl naturally nestled into her arms.

If only Ping Chengcheng could always be this gentle and adorable…

The modified Kamaz rolled onto the street, immediately drawing every eye.

It was eight meters long, nearly three meters in both width and height. To put it in perspective, it was almost as big as half a classroom!

The fierce black exterior and zombie-killing cone on the front made people involuntarily suck in a breath.

Because of the A City operation, all combat departments were already gathering at the main gates of S City base, lining up for tomorrow’s departure convoy.

As the overall commander of the operation, Ping Chengcheng had been equipped with a group communication radio, allowing her to issue orders directly to all team leaders and squad leaders in the action.

Of course, they could also contact Ping Chengcheng directly.

“Zzz~” At that moment, the radio at the girl’s waist crackled, and an irritating male voice came through.

“Hey! Miss Ping, where are you!? Don’t you know the operation starts tomorrow? You’re the commander — shouldn’t you be here lining up already?”

Ye Yin’s voice sounded particularly displeased.

Ping Chengcheng pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed helplessly. Oh well — she could understand Ye Yin’s frustration.

The girl suddenly remembered something. In her previous life, she had some impression of this Ye Yin guy — it seemed that in the fourth month of the apocalypse, during a mission, he had led a squad to complete annihilation, not even leaving a corpse behind.

‘This guy…’

Ping Chengcheng shook her head. There was no need to bother arguing with him.