Pre-War Meeting

“Silence!”

Lu Linyuan’s voice was cold as he sat on the dais, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the hall from his high vantage point.

The entire hall quickly fell silent.

Lu Linyuan narrowed his eyes, his gaze landing on the girl in the corner of the third row, who was idly playing with her fingers. A faint smile touched his lips.

‘This one… I really underestimated her.’ Lu Linyuan guessed it had to be Ping Chengcheng.

He had sent men to inspect the murder scene today. Apart from a large, bowl-sized hole in the third-floor window and a bloody hole of the same size in Xiao Lie’s throat, there were almost no other clues.

The nearby residents all said they hadn’t heard any gunshots, so it couldn’t have been a long-range assassination.

Who else could carry out such a murder, aside from the bizarre methods of certain Variants? It hadn’t been long since Xiao Lie had called his private line to tell him Ping Chengcheng was a Variant before he was immediately killed… it was hard for him not to suspect her.

But it didn’t matter. Ping Chengcheng had handled it cleanly, so he wouldn’t interfere. He would even find a scapegoat for the girl.

“I am deeply saddened by this incident. Fortunately, the real culprit has already been apprehended.” Lu Linyuan’s expression was somber, his acting superb.

As he spoke, two members of the disciplinary team dragged a vicious-looking man to the foot of the dais.

The man was shouting and screaming, “All I did was kill a few randoms, why don’t you believe me! Xiao Lie… dammit, I didn’t kill him!”

One of the disciplinary team members’ eyes hardened. “Still f*cking denying it!”

“Smack!”

A heavy slap cracked across the man’s face.

“According to our investigation, Commander Xiao quelled a disturbance last night caused by some gloating troublemakers. One of the ringleaders managed to slip through the net, unnoticed by Commander Xiao.”

“And this morning, he was discovered in the backyard of Commander Xiao’s villa.”

The man’s face was a mask of panic. “No! It really wasn’t me!”

He had only harbored some resentment toward Xiao Lie and wanted to take a dump in his backyard; who knew he’d be caught on the spot!

“The sentence will be carried out immediately!”

Bang!~

A gunshot rang out. A bloody hole appeared on the man’s forehead. He knelt on the ground, stunned and motionless, before his body, as if drained of all strength, collapsed.

The man’s corpse was dragged away, leaving the hall in dead silence.

Lu Linyuan waved his hand and continued, “The overall command of this operation was originally intended for Commander Xiao, but now, we must select someone else to take his place.”

“Does anyone feel they are qualified for this position?”

After saying this, Lu Linyuan sat rigidly on the stage, unmoving.

The people below began to discuss amongst themselves in low voices.

Wang Ji, the captain of the Emergency Strike Team, stood up. “I believe that since this is for the overall command of the A City operation, we must choose someone with considerable experience in the apocalypse, someone who can skillfully choose a course of action, a person of proven ability.”

Lu Linyuan nodded in agreement. “Ability…?”

His eyes scanned the crowd.

“Who has the ability?”

No one dared to be the first to stick their neck out. After sitting back down, Wang Ji swallowed nervously. It was impossible to say he didn’t want to be the general commander of this mission, but being the first to stand up would surely make him a target for the others.

The other captains from the Armed Operations Department, Ye Yin from the Intelligence Group, and Cheng Ye from the Patrol Team, were also contenders.

The three of them eyed each other like tigers, their hands, slick with sweat, clenched into fists.

But then, something completely unexpected happened.

Lu Linyuan suddenly rose from his seat on the dais and looked toward a corner in the third row.

“Miss Ping, what are your thoughts?”

‘Huh? What?’

Ping Chengcheng was yawning out of boredom. She had assumed her attendance at this meeting was just a formality. Why was her name suddenly being called?

She wanted to get home quickly and chat with Song Ning. The A City operation was about to begin, and there wouldn’t be much free time left.

In an instant, more than two hundred pairs of eyes in the hall swiveled in unison to lock onto the girl who was still in the middle of a yawn.

Ping Chengcheng stood up from her seat and rubbed her slightly sore eyes.

‘Last night, Song Ning was too much. She teased me until I cried, and only let me go after I begged for a long time. Really… Big Sister is such a wanton creature.’

“Uh… General Commander, is there something I can help you with?” the girl asked, her voice soft and delicate.

Many people recognized her. Wasn’t she the miracle from A City that the news department had been publicizing so heavily?

The strength of the zombies nowadays was ridiculous. The base faced zombie hordes in the hundreds every night. When the wall repair crews went to the base of the walls with armed personnel during the day, they would see countless deep claw marks.

It was truly unimaginable!

Lu Linyuan looked at the girl earnestly. He was, of course, aware that Ping Chengcheng had come from A City. Just this morning, his own daughter, who hadn’t spoken to him in ages, had personally sought him out.

At first, Lu Linyuan had been thrilled, thinking that Shen Mengyuan was finally trying to forgive him. But it was obvious he had been overthinking things.

She was only there to deliver a message about the “Chimera Composite Zombie.” Lu Linyuan had been somewhat puzzled, but when Shen Mengyuan told him the information came from Ping Chengcheng, he contacted the A City base to inquire about the situation.

Just as Ping Chengcheng had said, that massive, flesh-ball-like monster was actually absorbing the surrounding zombies. The A City base itself knew it could gather zombies, but they never imagined it could use them to strengthen itself!

The general commander of the A City base was so shocked he immediately convened a base-wide meeting to discuss how to kill the Chimera Composite Zombie.

Lu Linyuan now understood. Although this Ping Chengcheng appeared to be an ordinary young girl, for some reason, she knew many things that normal people couldn’t possibly know.

Who would have guessed that it would grow into a super-massive monster in the future?

He also understood Ping Chengcheng’s intention in having Shen Mengyuan relay the message; she clearly wanted him to value his daughter more.

In short, Lu Linyuan concluded that Ping Chengcheng knew a great deal about the apocalypse.

However, many in the hall looked at Lu Linyuan with confusion.

Why was he asking this little girl for her opinion? Even if she did have some skill, having emerged from that zombie pile in A City, and was an accurate shot…

At her core, she was still just a girl!

“Miss Ping, you should be the person here most familiar with the apocalypse,” Lu Linyuan said calmly.

“I am very curious about what you have seen and heard during these times. Why don’t you tell us about it?”

Ping Chengcheng pouted, annoyed. This was all such a hassle. She wanted to go see Song Ning.

“Hmm… what to say about the apocalypse.”

“If you’re in a small group, you must avoid making any sound. When in close contact with zombies, it’s best to wear a mask and goggles.”

“And also, be careful of the Special Infected.”

The girl answered perfunctorily. The hall once again filled with whispers. It seemed what this girl knew was no different from what they already knew.

Lu Linyuan frowned, dissatisfied. “What else? Have you seen any Special Infected that haven’t been recorded by the base?”

Resigned, the girl casually searched her mind for a few examples of Special Infected and gave a brief introduction. To prevent Lu Linyuan from asking her for more, she described them in great detail, from their attack patterns and weaknesses to their behaviors.

The girl hadn’t brought these things up before because no one would have likely believed her then. But it was different now. With Lu Linyuan’s trust, the Special Infected she described would most likely be compiled into the manual.

Not a single sound was made in the hall. This didn’t seem like something she was making up. If she was improvising, who could conjure up so many types of Special Infected out of thin air in such a short time? And describe them in such detail?

The amount of information was immense. All of their earlier doubts vanished. To them, this was precious, life-saving information!

Lu Linyuan nodded with satisfaction. As things stood, he felt that Ping Chengcheng was the most suitable candidate for the role of general commander for this operation, but he knew few would be convinced.

Therefore, he had to demonstrate the girl’s unique and vital importance… to make it so she could serve as the commander for the A City operation, even if only temporarily.

The people of the S City base had grown too comfortable; they hadn’t experienced the true horror of the apocalypse.