Chapter 86

Not everyone is suitable for this approach. But it cannot be denied that the vast majority of people find Su Hao friendly and approachable.

They had experienced death, witnessed their family and friends turn into zombies, and fled in panic, powerless to do anything. The sudden appearance of kindness amidst chaos and the threat of death made them feel a warmth they hadn't experienced in a long time, in addition to their surprise.

The sense of recognition formed during the first encounter is extremely important.

Good or evil, like or dislike, is often decided by the first impression and occupies the core of judgment in the mind.

Of course, this feeling can change over time, with events and experiences. But the main consciousness during this period is hard to shake.

It's like two strangers meeting for a date; their eyes judge the beauty or ugliness of the other's appearance. The conversation that follows can reveal manners and speaking habits. As for character, interests, and hobbies... these things require more time and more interaction.

Zhou Chen's research on the black particles has progressed to the stage of identifying individuals through quantity comparison.

"Worker bees" will not rebel against the "queen bee."

What Su Hao needs to do is to make all those who have received the blood injection recognize him within a month, turning them into "worker bees."

It's simple, yet difficult.

With the first batch of people surrendering, there will be a second, a third...

Without leadership, with zombies outside, and all escape routes completely sealed, the food reserves in the camp would only last a week at most... anyone who hasn't completely lost hope and resorted to suicide would naturally choose to surrender.

Five days later, the last batch of surrenderers left the camp.

They told Su Hao that there were still seventy-one people left in the camp, all core members of the "Shengfei" Group who had been undergoing training since before the virus outbreak.

These people were very stubborn. They believed that the northern headquarters would definitely send reinforcements. At that time...

Cao Rui and Xin Yan each led a small team, attacking the camp from two directions.

The enhanced humans against ordinary people, and the other side was not a regular army. This battle was a foregone conclusion, and the defenders crumbled at the first touch.

Su Hao moved all the valuable things from the camp, not even leaving the weapons, ammunition, and remaining food on the bodies of the fallen.

His harvest was enormous—various supplies totaling over ten thousand tons. Even with the addition of the surrendered personnel, it could still sustain them for a long time.

Over 2,600 people chose to surrender.

Su Hao injected each of them with his blood.

He didn't know how many would become true "worker bees"?

A hundred?

A thousand?

Or all of them?

This unknown question kept him on constant alert. If he made a mistake in some aspect, causing the already partially recognized surrenderers to become resentful, it would be a loss.

In the future, there would be many times when he couldn't carefully screen each person, and he could only use this method to increase the number of "worker bees" in large numbers.

This was an experiment. Even Su Hao himself couldn't determine the success rate.

In a month, he would know the answer.

Chen Yanlin stood by the window, silently watching the faint light on the horizon, about to be swallowed by the darkness.

The old wall calendar had been thrown into the trash, and the new one still had a festive red cover. The four variant characters "Congratulations on the New Year" formed a beautiful floral pattern. Two smiling children stood on either side, bowing. Their smiles were sickly sweet, like those of idiots. Their bodies were fat and round, like pigs slaughtered for meat during the New Year.

It was now 2021, January 6th.

This date had no special significance, just a sequence of numbers day after day.

The Earth continued to orbit the sun, and the moon's phases were as regular as a woman's menstrual cycle.

However, the city no longer showed dense lights, no beautiful and bustling street scenes, and the colorful nightlife had become a thing of the past. The most direct things that filled people's minds and eyes were the rotting and stinking corpses, mountains of garbage, and abandoned vehicles covered in dust or unrecognizable.

And the roads that once symbolized the glory of human civilization now showed no hope.

Chen Yanlin, with a blank expression, took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a puff. Suddenly, he felt a sense of unease and broke the cigarette, letting it fall from his fingers.

"Do you have nothing to say to me?"

This was not a soliloquy but a question to Lu Zhengxiong, who stood behind him.

The Security Bureau's efficiency was high—apart from Lu Zhengxiong and Xiao Lin, there were forty-seven people involved in the incident of the military officer qualification conversion and promotion order suppression.

Among them, twenty-one were from the military, and twenty-six were from the Academy of Sciences.

Most were department heads in technology and personnel. All the military personnel involved were officers of the rank of colonel or above. Two were under observation for promotion. If there were no issues, they would be promoted to the rank of major general in August of this year.

Lu Zhengxiong sat in the center of the office.

His military uniform was tattered, with many places showing black stains from dried blood. There was a noticeable bruise under his eye, his upper lip was severely cracked, revealing the red muscle tissue. He wore handcuffs, and there were dried bloodstains on the corners of his mouth. He kept his head down, staring blankly at his feet. Occasionally, when Chen Yanlin wasn't aware, a hidden hatred would flash in his eyes.

In investigating military affairs, the Security Bureau had absolute power that no one questioned.

Torture was a common occurrence, and Lu Zhengxiong himself was also a serving officer.

Chen Yanlin was a general, and the anger of a superior was more effective than any urging.

When Lu Zhengxiong was caught with the phrase "please cooperate with the investigation" and taken to the Security Bureau's interrogation room, he knew what would happen next.

He was a smart man and knew how to handle the situation.

So, facing the cold and ruthless Security Bureau officers, he revealed everything he knew without reservation. Despite this, they still had no intention of letting him go.

Lu Zhengxiong had twelve ribs broken, his arms and legs crushed by a roller. This injury, which could cause permanent disability, was intended to stimulate the central nervous system, making him feel unbearable pain. Just as he was on the verge of death, thinking he might be shot, the Security Bureau officers sent him to the intensive care unit, where his broken bones were quickly healed through fluid treatment.

To outsiders, the Security Bureau was an extremely brutal and cold organization.

The chilling and instinctively feared deterrent effect largely came from their cruel interrogation methods. They never killed the suspects but used various methods to torture their bodies, break their will, and then restore them with high-tech medical treatment... In short, those who came out of the Security Bureau often had only superficial injuries, were in good physical condition, but had lost all human emotions and consciousness.

Like ghosts, or soulless bodies.

"Who gave you the authority to take over the personnel management files of non-military personnel?"

"What qualifications do you have to delay the effective period of the promotion documents?"

Chen Yanlin still didn't turn around. He asked again, his voice now clearly angry.

"Was it worth it for a woman?"

The general was no longer asking but shouting.

Lu Zhengxiong didn't move at all.

He seemed deaf, hearing nothing, and feeling no anger emanating from Chen Yanlin.

"I... I am of Class A constitution."

After nearly five minutes, Lu Zhengxiong slowly raised his head, opened his hollow eyes, and said in a ghostly, hoarse voice: "A few years ago, when I was tested for my constitution, I never thought about what it meant. Blood tests, analysis, identity and gene comparison... Then I was transferred to the Xi'an base, and my rank and position were both promoted. At that time, I was very happy and went out with a few friends to have a good drink... Now, thinking about it, I was too naive."

Chen Yanlin turned around, hands behind his back, and stared at him with a cold, sharp gaze.

Lu Zhengxiong continued his aimless talk: "I have a wife, she is very beautiful, a local broadcaster. I have a smart and lovely daughter, in the first year of junior high school, who has never scored less than 95 on any exam. I planned to serve a few more years and then retire, get a position like a department head in the local government. It would be more convenient for my child to get into a good school for the middle and high school exams. My wife supported my idea, and we pooled our money, which was about 600,000 yuan..."

"Money, what's the use?"

"Positions, they are fake."

Lu Zhengxiong looked at Chen Yanlin blankly, then lowered his head, burying it in his hands, and said in a trembling voice: "They are Class B, Class B constitution. No one ever told me these things, I didn't know the difference between Class A and Class B. I only knew that going to Xi'an would mean a promotion, but I didn't know what would happen later. Thinking about it... I was really stupid. There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. If you get something, you must pay a price. The price was too high, and I was completely in the dark. Wenli, Lingling... I, I really didn't know it would be like this. Dad, I'm sorry, I'm sorry to you, to you all—"

He shook his head and burst into tears.

He didn't explain what had happened between him and Xiao Lin; the Security Bureau's report had already detailed it, and there was no need to repeat it.

He was just venting, feeling regret.

Tears seeped through his fingers, and his lips, tightly clenched, made a "huh" sound. Lu Zhengxiong kept pulling his hair, using all his strength to yank it.

Chen Yanlin watched this scene coldly, a faint trace of paleness crossing his face. The hatred and coldness gradually disappeared from his eyes, replaced by a faint sadness.

Lu Zhengxiong's situation was not unique.

Many people had similar experiences.

The military was the largest part of the entire transfer system. Military-industrial enterprises, research institutions, steel, machinery... one-fifth of the country's population had undergone constitution testing, with Class A and Class B constitutions each accounting for about 50%. Considering factors such as food and immune drug production, most people were abandoned.

Chen Yanlin had known Lu Zhengxiong for over a decade. At that time, he was a good officer, a qualified soldier.

The environment can change a person, and tragic experiences can destroy a person's will.

The closest family members were dead, and he was living alone... it was more of a torment than a blessing.

From a peacetime perspective, Lu Zhengxiong hadn't done anything wrong—whether it was the personnel conversion of Xiao Lin or the delay in Su Hao's promotion procedures, both were in line with the normal procedures within the military. If no one had discovered it, the matters would have been done. At most, an additional explanation would be added, and the procedures would be redone.

Chen Yanlin could not tolerate such underhanded behavior.

Although Lu Zhengxiong was sympathetic, he could not be forgiven.

"You have twenty-four hours to hand over your work. Then... report to the 68th Division!"

The war on the eastern front was exceptionally brutal. Although the immune drugs had contained the virus's spread, and all soldiers had been injected with a first-stage enhancement drug, there were still significant casualties.

The population density of coastal cities far exceeded that of inland areas, and the dense urban clusters restricted the large-scale movement of armored units. The reinforced concrete buildings reduced the effectiveness of artillery shells to the minimum. The Air Force had tried dropping cloud bombs and neutron bombs several times, with little effect. The head was the only vulnerable point of the zombies; damaging their internal organs had no effect on them. Even if their limbs were blown off, these fearless creatures could still crawl like caterpillars.

The eastern front concentrated four heavy mechanized divisions. The 68th Division was just one of them.

Chen Yanlin's intention in transferring Lu Zhengxiong to the front was clear—either to atone for his crimes or to die in battle.

It was a critical time, and the military needed personnel more than ever. Except for those with unforgivable major crimes, general offenses such as disciplinary violations, theft, fraud, and rape could be pardoned. As a necessary price, the offenders would be assigned to the front-line search units. They were equipped with combat knives or long-handled battle axes, without firearms. Urban assault operations required a large number of soldiers to engage in hand-to-hand combat with zombies, resulting in high casualties, but there was still a chance of survival.

Lu Zhengxiong slowly stood up from the chair.

He turned around, staring blankly at Chen Yanlin.

There was no anger, no pleading, just like a zombie acting on instinct, devoid of active thought.

The two men silently stared at each other for nearly half a minute, and then Lu Zhengxiong, limping, turned and walked toward the door.

He really wanted to say something.

But saying it or not made no difference.

Apart from obedience and acceptance, there was no other way.

The door opened and closed quietly.

Chen Yanlin, with a blank expression, walked back to his desk, sat down, and involuntarily rubbed his sore eyes, letting out a long sigh.

He pressed the button on the desk, and a large screen rose in front of him. After a brief electronic interference, the image of an obese old man appeared in the center of the screen. His hair was sparse, almost bald, and his large belly bulged the uniform, like that of an eight-month pregnant woman. He had a stern expression, with a dense row of service records on his chest, and the shoulder insignia of a major general, which was intimidating.

He was the commander of the 41st Group Army, Xu Renjie.

"Is that matter settled?"

Xu Renjie's expression on the screen was calm, and his tone had a hint of condescension, showing no regard for Chen Yanlin's position as the third-ranking person in the group army.

Chen Yanlin was used to this. He slowly nodded.

"I've talked to Old Zhang of the 68th Division. Little Lu will be directly assigned to the 37th Search Company as the company commander. Let him train there for a few years and properly recognize his mistakes."

Xu Renjie chuckled, as if it were a trivial matter: "I've put the other people in solitary confinement. The Security Bureau has already investigated the matter... Old Chen, in my view, this matter is settled, no need to continue."

Chen Yanlin sat quietly, his face calm, but his heart was burning with intense anger.

He tried hard to suppress it, not letting the negative emotions burst out.

Two weeks ago, the Security Bureau had submitted a report on the entire incident. Just as Chen Yanlin was preparing to arrest all the involved personnel according to the list, the Group Army headquarters took most of them away. Then, Commander Xu Renjie told him—these people would be dealt with by him.

The so-called "dealing with" was just a few days of solitary confinement.

Most of the involved people were Xu Renjie's confidants, controlling various important departments in the Group Army. Xu Renjie's intention was clear—he would not allow his power to be threatened in any way, and certainly not weakened due to Chen Yanlin's anger.

But no matter what, the surface relationship still needed to be maintained. Handing over Lu Zhengxiong was already Xu Renjie's maximum concession.

In the Group Army, Chen Yanlin had little real power.

He wanted to be a justice enforcer but lacked the overwhelming support.

Xu Renjie's meaning was clear—this matter was over, no further pursuit.

Chen Yanlin placed his hands on his legs, clenching them tightly, but his face remained calm.

"I want to issue a new promotion order."

He controlled his impulse to smash Xu Renjie's face on the screen and said calmly: "The young man named Su Hao has made significant achievements in biological research. We need such talent. According to the normal procedure, the previous promotion order is automatically invalid. I want to issue a new one, promoting him directly to the rank of captain." "This is not—"

Xu Renjie firmly rejected Chen Yanlin's proposal. Realizing his tone was too harsh, he quickly softened it: "This is not in line with the rules. Transferring someone from outside the military requires the personnel department to conduct identity verification and capability assessment. I've seen the information Li Daoyuan sent from KD03. The man named Su Hao is just an ordinary survivor. There's no need to waste an officer's position on him."

Chen Yanlin clearly understood why Xu Renjie rejected his suggestion—for the 41st Group Army's leadership, Su Hao was almost a stranger. Without being sure he could be trusted, Xu Renjie generally wouldn't sign the promotion order.

If it were a regular soldier, it wouldn't be a big issue.

But an officer meant sharing some power.