Chapter 54

Su Hao looked at him in confusion, subconsciously raising his hand and tremblingly pointing to the military uniform on the nearby soldier, asking in shock and fear, "Then, then who are you guys?"

Wu Guoguang's face was hard to read in the dim light. He remained silent for a few seconds before saying, "I think you qualify for a certain category. I can help you leave this city."

The scene of Su Hao fighting zombies in the rain had left a deep impression on him.

"Where to?" Su Hao's question was purely reflexive.

"You are very brave and resilient."

Wu Guoguang did not answer directly. He cleared his throat and said, "We need people like you. Of course, your performance can only be described as decent. You had a perfect opportunity to kill more monsters just now. They move slowly; if you had seized the right moment and prioritized your attacks, you could have killed them all safely. Actually, these are not particularly advanced skills; you just lack training."

Su Hao's thick eyelashes flickered slightly as he pondered Wu Guoguang's words: "Do you mean I should join you?"

Wu Guoguang nodded: "To be precise, join the National Defense Army."

This seemingly ordinary statement caused Su Hao's expression to rapidly change. Surprise, shock, anger, disappointment... In the end, it transformed into intense sorrow and rage.

He lifted his head, his gaze slowly sweeping over each soldier. The moment their eyes met, everyone could clearly see —— the bright eyes burning with fierce flames.

"You... You know the zombies' weakness? Why don't you go save the living people?"

Su Hao heard his voice trembling, his eyes deep with pain and fear. Since the day he became aware in the future world, he had been constantly pondering this question, using his identity to repeatedly search for answers in computer archives. Unfortunately, even when he activated the time transporter and escaped that dimension, Su Hao had not found what he was looking for in the intricate and complex files.

"The virus outbreak has been going on for several months now. Where have you been? At least a million people have died in this city. They were bitten to death by zombies and eaten as food. Many more have been infected due to bites. We have no food, no water, and no communication with the outside world. We have been constantly hoping to see the shadow of a rescue team. After nearly five months, the only result is disappointment and despair. Do you know that there are women and children among the survivors? What were you doing when we needed help the most? Where were you?"

This was the question Su Hao brought from the future world.

He couldn't understand why the governments of various countries remained silent during the initial stages of the virus outbreak.

No country or region initiated emergency response plans, and no national leaders stepped forward to give the people confidence and support.

Overnight, the ruling institutions disappeared.

Of course, presidents and leaders are human. They might have been infected by the virus at the first moment, causing the military and the highest authorities to lose their effectiveness.

However, the data Su Hao reviewed indicated that at least 70% of the national power structures remained intact. They should have immediately issued general mobilization orders and organized the people to fight the disaster within their respective jurisdictions. Yet, no national leader did so. They all remained silent, as if nothing had happened. It was only months later that the first soldiers from the Supervisory Administration appeared in the cities occupied by zombies.

Wu Guoguang's face turned slightly red.

Not just him, but all the soldiers looked uncomfortable. They shifted their bodies, moving their gazes away from Su Hao to other places; some looked up or down, diverting their attention elsewhere.

They neither admitted nor denied Su Hao's accusations.

Su Hao's face was full of pain. He stared at Wu Guoguang, slowly and hopefully asking, "Why?"

This was no longer an act. It also contained Su Hao's genuine feelings.

Wu Guoguang scrutinized Su Hao's angry face. After a few seconds, he sighed, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. He looked at Su Hao with a complex expression, his eyes searching the other's body, and his focus quickly landing on the "Type 95" pistol at Su Hao's waist.

"Where did you get that?"

He pointed casually, trying to change the subject.

Su Hao glared at him coldly, his voice hard and sharp: "Some soldiers were very brave, fighting until the end. Many died, leaving only their weapons. Unfortunately, there were few bullets, only six."

The last sentence made Wu Guoguang feel they had found a topic of mutual interest. He patted his pocket, took out a magazine full of bullets, and handed it to Su Hao: "These are 5.8mm caliber bullets. If you need more, I can give you some."

Su Hao shook his head coldly, his eyes fixed straight ahead. He stood up and walked a few steps toward the door. Suddenly, he stopped, turned around, and said softly, "If you die, I'll take them from your body."

...

He walked out of the headquarters alone, his figure gradually disappearing in the gray, fine rain.

A sergeant took off his helmet, wiped the sweat from the part that touched his scalp, and said gloomily, "This kid has some backbone, much more likable than the others. What he said... has some truth to it."

A nearby soldier nodded slowly, "Many people are still alive. We should do something."

"I advise you to drop that idea as soon as possible."

Another soldier frowned, "The base has repeatedly refused to accept any unverified survivors. When we came, they specifically mentioned this issue. The helicopter pilots won't let them board, and even if they walk to the base, the guards won't open the gates. Unless... unless their performance is strong enough to fight the zombies."

"Enough——"

Suddenly, Wu Guoguang growled impatiently, "Stop talking about this. Soldiers must obey orders. We must follow our commands and not involve personal feelings... Now, everyone return to your posts and continue the vigil!"

The crowd gradually dispersed.

The rain became lighter, very fine, like the down on an animal's body. The world was filled with a cold, dampness.

Wu Guoguang stood at the entrance of the headquarters, lit a cigarette through the thick steel protective fence, and smoked silently.

"This kid is tough. He's right. Maybe... I should help those poor people."

...

Su Hao returned directly to the bank building.

He was sure Wu Guoguang wouldn't send anyone to follow him. The number of soldiers stationed at the monitoring points in various cities was actually very small, and their only task was to select suitable survivors to be sent to the base for training.

After giving Xin Yan some simple instructions, Su Hao entered his room, closed the door, and stripped off his clothes to enter the bathroom.

He had been in a dirty environment for several days, and nothing was more comfortable than a good shower.

With his eyes closed, he let the dense water flow wash over his body, and his scattered thoughts, like ants, carried out a large number of memory scenes, constantly combining and stacking in Su Hao's mind.

The course of history was no different from the original dimension.

The military began setting up monitoring stations in abandoned cities. Survivors who had fought zombies for several months since the virus outbreak would be screened and sent to various bases in the north for military training, then organized into the army.

Only the most experienced, strongest, and most ferocious survivors would pass the selection. The living conditions of the elderly, women, children, and the weak would never change. They would still have to struggle for food and water, continue to fight the evolving zombies... These people formed the foundation of the population structure in the future world. Perhaps due to the environment, the virus, or genetic mutations caused by immunity drugs, human fertility rapidly increased. The normal pregnancy period was reduced from ten months to six, the conception rate increased by 180%, the breastfeeding period was shortened to 120 days, and twins and multiple births were more common than at any other stage in human history.

While observing in the building, Su Hao saw Wu Guoguang distributing immunity drugs to the survivors. But he didn't give him one like he did to others... Perhaps the lieutenant thought he would return? After all, once selected by the military, it meant taking a path completely different from other survivors.

With guaranteed safety, no longer worrying about food and water, and equipped with powerful weapons and strong defensive combat suits. If one performed outstandingly in battle, they could be promoted to an officer and receive more things that ordinary people dreamed of.

This was like a chocolate bar priced at 2.5 yuan in peacetime, just a candy that anyone could buy from a store shelf.

In the future world, its status had changed to a limited special supply, and only military personnel of the rank of non-commissioned officer and above had the right to exchange it with special currency (such as silver bones). Beautiful women would strip naked for ten grams of this candy, and many children would willingly sell themselves into slavery to resist the sweet temptation.

Su Hao's performance in front of Wu Guoguang was very successful.

From the eyes of those soldiers, he found some of the answers he wanted.

Yes, the military's attitude toward civilians had never changed.

They were not as cold-blooded as imagined, but they could not take care of everyone and could only select the strongest.

Zombies were constantly evolving, and the army needed to expand. Only when the main combat forces were balanced would the rest have a chance to survive.

As for more questions, they could only be answered in the future, at the northern base.

Su Hao was also gradually revealing his information —— he had told Wu Guoguang that he was not alone, that many survivors had gathered together, and the other had recorded the identity information he provided...

For now, this was enough.

The monitoring station would continue to exist in the city, and there would be many opportunities to deal with the soldiers. Su Hao wanted to get more from the military.

For example: large-caliber multi-barrel machine guns, energy drugs, ammunition...

Today was just a test, and Su Hao held many cards in his hand.

For example, silver bones, which would quickly change the entire world's value system once made public. Su Hao firmly controlled the timing, needing only to pass the relevant information to the military before its true discoverer, which was by next May, to ensure a substantial reward.

He had also considered using his blood to develop a few "worker bees" among the monitoring soldiers.

However, Zhou Chen's research showed that this cell attraction required brain control. Unlike those who were willing to work in the camp for food, to make the monitoring soldiers truly accept, further contact was needed.

...

Lu Tao sat on the sofa, staring blankly at the rats in the cage.

The cage was made of fine wire mesh, very sturdy. Inside were six rats. The smaller ones were about a foot long, the larger ones about half a meter. Their brownish-gray fur was shiny, and their small eyes constantly moved. The cage was too narrow for the rats, who huddled together, stepping on each other, their furry bodies trembling, making one feel a bit uneasy.

The rats were what Wei Wenyuan wanted.

Lu Tao spent two days setting traps near the manholes and green belts outside the building, catching about twenty in total.

The city's nights were not safe, and Lu Tao also needed to rest. When he went downstairs at dawn to collect the traps, he found that most of the rats had been eaten by zombies as snacks. These hungry mutated creatures did not discriminate based on the amount of meat on the rats. They ate happily. One zombie even stuck its head into a sewer pipe, getting stuck and unable to move. It could only stare at the rat in the cage, about ten centimeters away, and breathe heavily in excitement and anger.

Lu Tao chopped the zombie in half at the chest with an axe, then inserted a long steel bar through the zombie's chest and drilled through its head. He then used a wire to hook the cage out of the pipe.

At that moment, he felt the poor rat had been so scared that it had lost control of its bladder and bowels, trembling in the corner of the cage.

"Knock! Knock knock!"

Someone knocked on the door.

Lu Tao opened the door, and Wei Wenyuan's bald head immediately poked in. He looked around the room with interest and said, "College student, do you have what I asked for? How many did you catch?"

A few days ago, Wei Wenyuan found Lu Tao and asked him to catch a few rats. They agreed on the price: one pack of instant noodles for two rats.

Lu Tao turned and walked into the room, carrying the cage full of rats.

Wei Wenyuan's smile grew wider, reaching out to take the cage. Lu Tao, however, stepped back, pulling the cage away, and extended his left hand, asking calmly, "What about what you promised?"

"Hehe! You... really,"

Wei Wenyuan laughed awkwardly, reluctantly taking out three bags of "Tongyi" instant noodles from his backpack.

Lu Tao took them, pinched them to make sure the seals were intact and the contents were genuine, then handed over the cage, completing the exchange.

"Are you planning to cook a rat meat hotpot?"

Looking at Wei Wenyuan counting the noodles, Lu Tao asked casually —— he knew that Wei Wenyuan had placed similar orders with a few others in the building. In the past few days, he had collected about thirty rats in total.

Wei Wenyuan shook his head and laughed, "Who would eat such things? They are filthy, always burrowing in feces. Young man, don't say I didn't warn you —— field rats and mountain rats can be eaten, and they taste good. But don't touch these sewer rats. They are full of toxins, like arsenic and DDT."

Lu Tao nodded.

His thoughts were similar to Wei Wenyuan's, but he was curious —— why did this old man need so many rats, and what did he want to do with them?

Thinking of the zombie stuck in the sewer pipe, Lu Tao suddenly had a very bad feeling. He frowned and asked tentatively, "Are you planning to feed these rats to the zombies?"

A hint of panic flashed in Wei Wenyuan's eyes. He quickly masked his expression and laughed, "How could that be? I have a use for these rats. I need to test them to see if they work... Don't worry! If there are any benefits, Uncle Wei won't keep them to himself; you'll get a share."

Closing the door, Lu Tao stood alone in the messy living room, deep in thought.

There was no real leader in this building, just a temporary team of many survivors. The survivors agreed that about twenty strong men would be responsible for vigilance, and those who went out every day had to provide a portion of their food to the vigilantes.

This cooperative method was fair.

However, the team's atmosphere had gradually changed over the past two months.

First, a man on the third floor stole a woman's food, then a few men who were responsible for vigilance at the building entrance disappeared. Last week, a woman on the sixth floor killed a man with a kitchen knife, allegedly because he had raped her several times... These incidents were not isolated. After the initial danger passed, the survivors' mentality changed. Without police or control, most of their free time was spent sleeping, with no entertainment to vent excess energy. People no longer interacted as they used to, but kept their doors tightly closed, eyeing every outsider with wary, fierce glances.

Lu Tao had already sensed the danger.

He set up several traps in his room, packed his backpack with food and water, and checked the rope under his bed every day. To ensure he could escape in an emergency, he even hid a bicycle in the green belt downstairs.

For several days, he had been wandering around the gas station where he had last seen Su Hao and the others, but found no trace of them.

Because the oil depot was empty.