Chapter 27 GO Chapter 27

Chapter 27 — The Cruel Orders

The Butcher wasn’t trying to frighten anyone; he was simply telling the truth, laying out the situation they faced in plain terms. He also explained that, strictly speaking, the elite trainees weren’t yet officially graduated and shouldn’t have been sent on formal Imperial operations. But with the Tyrant’s appearance and the mass of civilians he’d slaughtered now rising as zombies, the new outbreaks had to be wiped out quickly. Manpower was short, so even the newcomers like Chen Ning were being pressed into service.

Although the newcomers were being deployed, their treatment would be the same as regular soldiers. Besides basic rations, there would be bounties for zombie kills: a level one zombie earned one silver coin, a level two earned two silver coins, a level three four silver coins, and so on. Head counts would still be done by collecting zombie brain cores.

When Chen Ning and the others heard this, many of their eyes lit up.

Except for a few scions of noble houses like Xiao Zihao and Bai Yuhao, most of the trainees were from poor backgrounds and hungered for money. They’d already slain a number of level one and two zombies during the assessment night, so if they were careful, facing those levels wasn’t terribly dangerous. Now they could earn silver for dispatching ordinary zombies — who wouldn’t want that?

Next, the fifty of them followed Major Jian Qing to the armory to pick up weapons and ammunition.

Every soldier was equipped with a standard-issue “Stinger” assault rifle, a “Thunder” pistol, and of course, a standard military dagger. Chen Ning, however, carried one more piece of gear than the others: a standard-issue Tang sword, the “Dragon Fang.”

Other soldiers in the base, new and veteran alike, collected their issued weapons under their commanding officers in an orderly fashion.

Azurebird Base counted over two thousand veteran soldiers and a few hundred trainees split between elite and regular groups. Five hundred veteran troops were ordered to stay behind, while the remaining fifteen hundred veterans — together with the two-hundred-plus new recruits including Chen Ning’s squad — assembled on the training ground. After a brief rally by the Butcher, each unit boarded transport vehicles. The troop carriers and military trucks rumbled out of the base in a long, thunderous convoy.

Although the Butcher was the primary supervisor for Chen Ning’s batch of elite trainees, he was also the base’s highest commander and had no time to personally lead them into the field. The actual leader for Chen Ning’s squad was Major Jian Qing.

The regular troops rode in military trucks; because they were elite trainees and potential reserve officers in the future, Chen Ning and his fellow elites rode in personnel carriers.

Each personnel carrier had sixty fold-down seats and could hold two whole platoons — a battlefield bus, as it were.

Dressed in a black officer’s uniform with a stand-up collar and tall military boots, Jian Qing stood tall and impressive. With her hands clasped behind her back, she paced back and forth inside the armored vehicle, instructing everyone on how to correctly handle various situations on the battlefield.

Soldiers sat clutching their assault rifles, some with eyes closed, bodies rocking with the carrier’s jolts. They had learned to rest and conserve energy before a fight; they listened closely to Jian Qing’s instructions and tried to keep themselves at peak readiness.

Half an hour slipped by without them noticing. Jian Qing had finished her speech and, preparing to sit, finally stopped pacing. After all, Azurebird Base was five hundred kilometers from Wu Zhou City, which the Tyrant had razed the previous night; it would take five or six hours to drive there, and of course she couldn’t stand the whole time.

There were a few empty seats in the carrier, including the ones beside Xiao Zihao and Chen Ning.

Therefore, the moment Xiao Zihao sensed that Instructor Jian Qing had finished speaking and was about to sit down, he couldn’t help but secretly open his eyes. He glanced around at the empty seats; in fact, only the one next to him and the one next to Chen Ning were available. The other seats at the back of the vehicle were all piled with supplies and unusable.

This meant that either he or Chen Ning would have the chance to sit next to the tall, captivating Major Jian Qing!

Xiao Zihao’s heartbeat quickened uncontrollably. He stole another glance at her: her black uniform shirt was fitted snugly, and her pencil skirt traced her graceful curves, making her legs appear exceptionally long. In those tall military boots, her figure seemed absolutely impeccable.

As one of the few Level Four Officers among the elite, he considered himself a pride of the instructors; Chen Ning was merely a Level One Soldier, a disgrace to the elite and instructors alike. Born to a powerful household, Xiao Zihao thought Jian Qing would naturally choose to sit beside him, not beside some pauper from the slums.

He let his imagination run wild: if some spark of romance were to ignite on this journey, it would be splendid. In seconds he was daydreaming about marrying her and reaching the pinnacle of life.

Chen Ning, however, seemed oblivious to Jian Qing looking for a seat; his eyes were closed and he appeared to be dozing.

A breeze of perfume brushed his face, and he felt someone settle into the seat next to him. Chen Ning offered a helpless, rueful smile.

Xiao Zihao waited smugly for Jian Qing to sit by his side — but to his surprise, she chose the seat beside Chen Ning. His expression froze. He noticed the helplessness on Chen Ning’s face and swore inwardly: “Damn it — the gorgeous Major Jian Qing sits next to you, and you have the nerve to look put out? Unforgivable!”

Chen Ning felt genuinely helpless. He really didn’t want Jian Qing sitting next to him. Sure, she was a goddess, but she was also completely out of his league and held absolute authority. The last time he’d peaked at her a little, she’d kicked him and broken a rib. Now, with her right beside him, he figured he’d better keep his eyes shut the whole time—unless he wanted another one broken.

Jian Qing naturally noticed the wry, helpless smile on Chen Ning’s face. It sparked a flicker of irritation within her. Sitting with you is an honor I’m bestowing, she thought, and yet you have the audacity to look so put-out? How utterly unreasonable!

Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, Jian Qing stealthily reached out and gave Chen Ning a sharp pinch on the tender flesh at his waist. Chen Ning’s eyes flew open, a flicker of pain crossing his face, his expression instantly filled with confusion and alarm. 

Heavens, he thought, Instructor Jian Qing’s moods are truly unpredictable. What have I done to offend her now?

The convoy drove on for another three or four hours. As they drew nearer to Wu Zhou City, where the Tyrant had razed everything, they encountered more zombies along the road. From inside the carrier they could occasionally hear distant gunfire — forward units engaging and shooting down zombies.

Finally, the troops halted less than fifty kilometers from Wu Zhou City.

After a brief meal, the Butcher and several majors studied maps and the latest intelligence, then began handing out assignments.

Major Jian Qing was ordered to lead Chen Ning’s fifty elite fighters, along with a hundred and fifty regular new recruits under Shi Yu, to clear the area around a nearby town called Stone Town and to temporarily garrison there.

Stone Town sat at a three-way junction. They had to garrison it to prevent the zombie horde spawned by the Wu Zhou outbreak from streaming out through that junction and overrunning other towns and innocent civilians.

Shi Yu and Jian Qing led the combined force of two hundred-plus trainees into Stone Town.

The town had once held thousands, but now it lay in ruins — walls collapsed, streets full of wreckage. Several shambling corpses wandered the main road, and from some ruined houses wary survivors peeked out.

Shi Yu raised his assault rifle and, with a few precise shots, picked off the several walkers on the street. He also noticed the furtive figures of survivors peeking out from the ruins of the town’s houses. 

However, this was already a contested zone; those clinging to life here were likely infected with the zombie virus and could turn at any moment. So, without hesitation, he issued a brutal order.

“All units, attention! Eliminate all zombies here, and all living persons—whether they are elderly, women, or children. Show no mercy!”