Chapter 461 – Spring, Everyone Has a Restless Heart

Half an hour later, the conference room door opened once again.

“Hmph! This time Li Hao got off easy!” a middle-aged man grumbled as he walked out with the crowd.

“Keep your voice down. What if he hears you…” another officer whispered, trying to calm him.

“So what if he hears? My 3rd Squad is mostly composed of veterans from the old flying team. In terms of seniority and capability, we’re far superior to his newly formed 9th Squad!” the middle-aged man retorted angrily. “Everyone knows that completing this task is a huge merit. The Regimental Commander thinks too highly of him!”

“There aren’t many people left from the old Air Force Corps. Training new recruits is necessary… Besides, the Regimental Commander is quite upset about this. If he hears what you’re saying, he’ll definitely be angry,” an older officer shook his head and sighed.

“”I’d like to see who dares to speak up! And we’re supposed to assist… We put in the effort, and all the credit goes to that Li Hao!” the middle-aged man continued to rant.

“Stop it, or the Regimental Commander will have your head! Do you really think the Regimental Commander knows nothing?” the older officer warned.

The middle-aged man showed a hint of fear in his eyes but still didn’t back down completely. “The Regimental Commander won’t ignore us. Can’t I complain a bit?”

As the officers walked away, bickering, the two tense soldiers nearby nearly collapsed, feeling like all their strength had been drained.

One of them, with a stern expression, glanced inside and then slowly closed the door to the conference room.

Hearing the door close, Yin Jie turned to Li Hao and said, “Captain, those guys have foul mouths. Don’t take it to heart.”

“I won’t,” Li Hao replied.

Li Hao looked at his fingers and said, “People who can’t hold anything back are actually the easiest to deal with. It’s those who keep everything bottled up, never showing their true feelings, that are truly terrifying.” He let out a cold laugh and continued, “But, at this point, no matter how much people like to infight, they understand the importance of prioritizing. Otherwise, how would I have a chance to rise up? Everyone just wants to live a little longer… As for those who want to cause me trouble… it’s just a bit of amusement in their boredom.”

“People are used to talking about seniority and connections. Suddenly having to sit at the same table with someone like me, who has none of that, it’s normal for them to feel uncomfortable. I’ve heard them pick on me many times, but they’ve never actually done anything to trip me up. If they just want to indulge in their seniority complex, I’ll play along. Everyone’s happy that way,” Li Hao took a deep breath and said.

“You’re right, Captain,” Yin Jie smiled faintly and said, “However, this is indeed a great opportunity for our 9th Squad.”

“It’s rare to hear you say something like that…”

Li Hao gave Yin Jie a look, then suddenly flicked his finger.

“Snap!”

The bullet head shot towards Yin Jie, who caught it in his hand.

Leaning back in his chair, Li Hao propped his chin with one hand and said, “Everyone knows One-Eye loves to stir things up, but this time he ran into a tough opponent and got taken down instead. This matter can’t be left unaddressed… Since you and One-Eye are both snipers, I’m giving you this bullet head. I think you know what to do. Oh, and… bring me back a good pack of cigarettes.”

“Yes.”

Yin Jie glanced at the bullet head in his hand, then slowly clenched his fingers around it…

…

After the Cataclysm, the climate was drastically affected.

Just a few days ago, it was bitterly cold, but now it seemed as if spring had arrived overnight.

The warm sun hung overhead all day, and the untended weeds and shrubs grew wildly.

If you didn’t see it with your own eyes, it would be hard to imagine how resilient weeds could be.

They even pushed through the cracks in the concrete, spreading crazily throughout the city.

As spring arrived, the city’s decay seemed to accelerate…

Even the zombies, who usually wandered the streets like mascots, seemed to be invigorated by the sunlight.

And their increased activity meant one thing… carnage!

Splat!

Ling Mo stepped into a pool of semi-coagulated blood, instantly frowning.

“Serves you right for not being careful.” Xia Na giggled.

“Tell me, how could I be more careful…”

Ling Mo glanced at the sole of his shoe and then looked down at the ground.

Apart from the pool of blood he had stepped in, the entire area was splattered with fresh blood.

Several bones, whose origins were indiscernible, lay scattered in the blood, showing signs of being gnawed and broken.

Looking ahead along the narrow street, the scene was the same everywhere.

Despite the bright sunshine, the sight cast a chilling shadow over the entire city.

“Spring is here, and even these zombies seem to be in a frenzy. Besides killing, they seem to be trying hard to reproduce. One batch of zombies falls, and a new batch of zombie infants emerges…”

As Ling Mo was musing, he suddenly felt a knock on the back of his head. “Who hit me!”

He quickly turned around, only to see a few female zombies calmly staring at him.

Zombies don’t lie, but they can choose to stay silent…

“Yu Shiran, it was you, wasn’t it!”

Ling Mo noticed Yu Shiran’s hands behind her back and walked over to grab her arm.

“With your sneaky behavior, I knew it had to be you!”

“It wasn’t me… it wasn’t me…”

“Don’t move!”

Clang!

A human bone fell from her hand and rolled across the ground…

The scene fell into silence…

Inside Ling Mo’s mind, it felt like a stampede of mythical beasts was raging.

“I’ve told you countless times not to pick up ‘food’ from the ground! You’re a Leader-Level Zombie, picking up bones left by Low-Level zombies—where’s your dignity?

And hiding it behind your back like this, aren’t you just asking to be caught?

Think things through before you act! It’s not just about me—consider the feelings of the other human in our group too…”

Ling Mo raged internally, his mind racing to come up with a solution.

Lucy’s eyes were hidden beneath her hair, casting shadows over her face. It was unclear what she was thinking as she stared at that human bone.

“I’ve told you so many times not to pick up random things. See, you ended up picking up a bone,” Ling Mo said, breaking the ice, though he knew even a newly evolved zombie with minimal intelligence wouldn’t believe such an excuse.

“Lucy still relies on us to get back to the base, so she should choose to trust us… This trick never seems to fail,” Ling Mo thought to himself. He had used this tactic several times in recent days. As long as she couldn’t confirm her suspicions or restrained herself from doing so, there would be no problem.

Lucy had been keeping a distance from them, likely out of precaution and vigilance. Under her hair, her eyes were fixed on the bone.

“If it were just any bone, that would be one thing…”

Her gaze lingered on the other end of the human bone: “Look, it’s a hand bone. You wouldn’t accidentally pick that up even with your eyes closed.”

Through the strands of hair, she looked at Ling Mo: “Recently, I’ve been noticing a sweet scent in the blood… What if they find out? Has he already noticed? Is this bone a test for me? No, I can’t be infected; I haven’t come into contact with zombie blood…”

She had been avoiding Ling Mo and the others these past few days to prevent them from discovering her condition.

“If I were infected, I should have shown symptoms by now. What’s going on… Regardless, I need to report the route findings and this incident…”

“Lucy?” Ling Mo called out when he noticed her silence.

Lucy jolted and quickly looked up, “Huh? What is it?”

The two exchanged glances, both thinking the same thing: Does he (she) know?

“She looks so absent-minded, she must have figured something out. We’ve exposed so much already; she must have noticed something. At the very least, she might suspect they’re superhumans. Why don’t you just say something!”

“His eyes are probing, wanting me to confess? How much does he know? Just come out with it already!”