After the meeting, Song Haoran took Gong Lixin to suit up. Lin Wenbo also wanted to keep up, but Gong Xiangyi pulled his arm, not letting him go. After receiving the pitying eyes of his friends and the youth, Lin Wenbo’s face became dark and inky.

  Song Haoran ordered the 20 special force soldiers under him to go over the details of the mission.

  They had heard that they were going to Green Park market to save a group of people. There were hesitant looks even on the faces of these tough men. Green Park market was the largest and most prosperous small commodity market in the province. Everyday, people came and went, and brushed against shoulders as they did. It was a bit overwhelming.

  When the apocalypse started, it was already 10 o’clock in the morning. It was the time when Green Park market had the most amount of people, with an average of 100,000 people per day. One could only imagine the number of zombies in there right now. Recalling the bustling scenes of Green Park market in the past and imagining now the same bustling crowd but with zombies instead of people, the 20 strong soldiers felt numb.

  "If you don’t want to go, then don’t go. If you haven’t decided yet, then I’ll head off first," said Gong Lixin who now wore a combat suit, feeling the fear in everyone’s heart.

  If Xiao Lin asked them to do this task and the subordinates reacted like this, Xiao Lin would definitely kill them on the spot. These men should feel lucky, because Young Master Gong only learned Xiao Lin’s three-layered heart. He didn’t care about killing others.

  "Let’s go! There’s Young Master Gong, so there’s nothing to fear!" yelled a special forces commander who witnessed Gong Lixin’s skill. Others also settled down and quickly joined.

  "That’s good. You have five minutes to get ready. We’ll leave the tarmac in five minutes." Even the soldiers are motivated, not bad! He could try to let Lixin lead the team later. Thinking this, Song Haoran patted Gong Lixin’s shoulder with gratitude before he looked at his watch and yelled out his orders.

  "Yes, sir!" Twenty people replied in unison.

  "Alright, keep up this spirit!" Song Haoran nodded and took the lead with Gong Lixin as they headed for the tarmac.

  Five minutes later, everyone arrived. Song Haoran looked at his watch and felt a bit of pity in his heart since he hasn’t seen any sign of Lin Wenbo.

  He must have gotten entangled with Gong Xiangyi. Women are really troublesome! [1] Haoran frowned and ordered the driver, "Don’t wait anymore, let’s head off."

  "Another half minute, Big Brother Lin is on his way," Gong Lixin’s ears twitched as he stopped Song Haoran. Just after saying this, they saw Lin Wenbo’s figure appear in the corner of the tarmac. Lin Wenbo saw that the helicopter had not yet taken off. His tight expression loosened and he immediately increased his speed.

  "You’re finally here! How did you manage to make Gong Xiangyi let you go?" When his friend sat down, Song Haoran asked without spirit.

  Lin Wenbo’s face was dark and he surreptitiously looked towards Gong Lixin. Gong Lixin wasn’t too clear on what was going on so his eyes curved up, his smile extremely pure, making Lin Wenbo very happy.

  Lin Wenbo’s expression softened in an instant and he faintly stated, "I don’t need anyone’s consent to go out."

  Song Haoran saw his helplessness and dissatisfaction and patted his shoulder in comfort. During the flight, the crowd checked their weapons and equipment again. Afterwards, they only needed to wait to reach their destination.

  "Major General, the third small warehouse is the location of the survivors." The driver pointed to one of the rows of warehouses.

  There was a large flat land in front of the warehouse to facilitate the delivery of goods and docking trucks, making it also convenient for helicopters to land. If there wasn’t any group of zombies, it would have been very convenient to park there and rescue the citizens. However, looking at the dense population of zombies on the ground they have attracted from the roar of helicopters, everyone’s expression became twisted with no idea where to start.

  This way, without even waiting for the helicopters to land, these warehouses would be buried under the group of zombies attracted by the sound. This was practically equal to harming the people down below rather than saving them.

  What to do? Everyone looked at Song Haoran and Lin Wenbo for answers.

  At the same time, movement came from the small warehouse. A young man climbed out of the window at the top of the warehouse and waved an orange shirt. He was so scared that he was covered in cold sweat. He also wanted to cry out for help but was afraid of attracting the zombies’ attention. He could only wave in silence.

  Fortunately, the zombies down below were looking up at the sky and didn’t discover him.

  Looking at the excited young man, Song Haoran couldn’t make up his mind. Should they drop the ladder and let the survivors climb out of the window and into the helicopter cabin? However, there were weak women, old people, and children who weren’t guaranteed to be able to do such a difficult task. Moreover, this kind of rescue method would take a lot of time. During the time needed to rescue them, the zombies who were all hungry and desperate would probably break through the iron gate of the small warehouse and eat the survivors.

  "Start a fire elsewhere and lead the zombies there," Gong Lixin, who had been silent until then, suddenly advised.

  "Zombies tend to be attracted to light, heat, and sound. This method is a good idea." Thinking back to the mountain fire in Qingshui Town, Lin Wenbo immediately supported the idea.

  "Alright." Song Haoran considered it for a second, but also agreed with this decision. He ordered the driver, "slowly circle out of the area and find a suitable place to start a fire. Make sure it’s not too close, but don’t go too far either."

  "Alright." The disheartened driver was shocked by the order and promised loudly. He had already come here twice and had watched the young man waving the shirt with desperation below. To be honest, the sight had made him feel uncomfortable.

  The helicopter no longer hovered over the warehouse and the tail of the machine swayed for a second before quickly flying away from the market area. After standing there for a long time, the young man put down his shirt and blankly looked in the direction the helicopter flew off to like a statue.

  Hearing the sound of the helicopter flying away, the people in the warehouse fell into complete despair. This was already the second time. The military abandoned them for the second time. They didn’t know who it was but suddenly, someone was crying. The grief of the crowd was magnified a thousand-fold by this tiny sound of sorrow. The whistling sound of the wind soon came after, making the air seem heavy and suffocating in the warehouse.

  The helicopter circled around the Green Park market as the crowd carefully selected the place to make the fire.

  "Big Brother Song, there’s a tanker truck below, just blow that up," sharp-witted Gong Lixin said while pointing at one on the ground. He had previously seen in the news a tanker truck catching fire and exploding on TV.

  "No, there are so many cars packed together on the road. If the tanker truck catches fire, it will cause a series of explosions. By then, several streets will be blown up, the building along the street will also catch on fire, and we’ll end up destroying this area," Song Haoran refused without much thought.

  Others shook their heads as well, turning down Young Master’s Gong proposal. They were soldiers, not terrorists. Lin Wenbo didn’t make any comments, simply sitting down quietly.

  "So what if it becomes a ruin? The world is slowly becoming a ruin. The so-called unbreakable world is already broken, yet we’re still standing. Destroying the old world that is about to die is also necessary to be able to build a new world. Your vision is too narrow." Gong Lixin calmly stated.

  He would never have pity for something that was destined to be abandoned. He would not be a hero and would be the first to abandon it instead because he knew that without doing so, he would not be able to move forward.

  In exchange for the destruction of a small piece of useless area, countless of zombies would be dead and more than 50 survivors would be safe. He felt that it was a very worthy trade-off which was not worth hesitating about.

  Young Master Gong’s indifferent and decisive words simply silenced the people on the helicopter, waking them up to their reality. Yes, during the apocalypse, the original world was destined to be destroyed so why should they cling to the past? Right now, the value of life was much higher than everything else.

  It seemed like Gong Lixin’s standing in everyone’s eyes changed. From the original envy and admiration, it turned into a relentless reverence. [2] Young Master Gong was not only powerful but also had a strong mind. Such a person was destined to be extraordinary!

  "I’m in!" While everyone was deep in their thoughts, Lin Wenbo spoke out loudly and was the first one to express his support for Gong Lixin’s idea. His dark eyes gazed at the courageous and determined teenager and the surprise and admiration in his heart intertwined to form a strong and hot magma, melting the hard and heavy walls around his heart.

  Lin Wenbo was a businessman and a very successful one, too. He knew more about determination than anyone else. However, seeing Xiaoxin’s heart being more determined than his, he felt a sense of pleasure in finding a friend with a common interest. It made his heart beat frantically.

  "Then it’s decided. Give me the rocket launcher." Song Haoran also returned to his senses and firmly supported as well.

  He used to worry that Lixin wouldn’t be able to adapt to the cruelty of the apocalypse but Lixin’s words only revealed that Lixin had adapted better than him. Compared to the boy, he was inferior. However, there was no dissatisfaction in his heart, only joy. Only with Lixin being strong could he be at ease.

  A special forces’ soldier silently handed him the rocket launcher.

  With the weapon in hand and aimed at the target, Song Haoran pulled the trigger without hesitation.

  A long tail of smoke dragged behind the rocket as it flew towards the tanker. It slammed into the ground, throwing surrounding cars into the sky before heavily falling down. The body of the tanker exploded and the intense heat emanating from the tanker quickly ignited several cars around it.

  The helicopter hovered over the explosion point. For more than 20 minutes, consecutive explosions rang out. Several shops and buildings on the street also caught fire. From time to time, the sound of broken and destroyed objects could be heard.

  The thick and pungent black smoke rocketed into the sky, like a rising dragon ascending to a higher plane.

  "Let’s go." Looking at the zombies on the ground rushing towards the fire, Song Haoran looked calmer as he instructed the driver.

  Low-level zombies could only act by their instinct. When they evolved to the second level and beyond, they had a certain sense of danger. Only then will this trick not work on them.

  The helicopter flew back to the Green Park Market.

  The survivors in the warehouse also heard a huge explosion and then smaller ones came one after another. Such a huge sound naturally attracted their attention.

  The youngest man, who was also the most athletic, was sent to the roof to check on the situation. The group of zombies around the warehouse ran away like a receding tidal wave and headed to where the smoke and explosion came from.

  When the young man saw this, his expression relaxed and, not too long after, he heard the sound of propellers flying across the vast sky. He stood up with incredulity and held his hand in prayer as he looked up.

  Four black dots emerged out of the column of smoke and flew straight towards the direction of their warehouse. The young man put his hand over his brows and looked up once again for fear that it was an illusion created from the dazzling sun. However, it wasn’t.

  Looking back and forth several times, the four black spots didn’t disappear, but instead flew closer and closer. The young man’s joy almost instantly returned. He quickly held open the window, stabilized his position while perched there and shouted to the people in the warehouse. "The army didn’t leave. The explosion was made by them! They took the zombies away to come and save us!"

  "Really? You’re not mistaken?" Someone kept asking and some people started crying. The cries were no longer from grief, but from joy.

  "Really! Really! They are coming soon!" The young man yelled into the window opening with excitement.

  "Long live! Long live the army!" At the same time, the sound of propellers became stronger and stronger and everyone who heard it embraced each other and cheered together.