Apocalypse Escape: Day One of Survival

”The situation at Gushang Base is even more severe than ours.”

”Everyone, take a look at these photos,” Secretary Chen said, his face grave as he had a stack of photos passed around.

The meeting room door burst open.

Gu Chen, Lu Wei, and Zhai Ruobai strode in. ”Sorry, we’re late.”

”Have a seat, Captain Gu, Captain Lu. You’re just in time. Take a look at the photos first.”

Yang Yiling looked up, his face cold, and met Gu Chen’s gaze.

Even though the man simply pulled out a meeting chair with a gentle motion, in Yang Yiling’s eyes, the act exuded an air of arrogant refinement.

It was as if he were constantly announcing to everyone just how suave and extraordinary he was.

Gu Chen sat down, flipped through the dozen or so photos at hand, and casually passed them to Lu Wei beside him.

”Captain Gu, care to offer your opinion first?” Yang Yiling said with a sneer.

Gu Chen barely spared him a glance. ”Before the meeting begins, I have a question.”

He pointed a finger at Yang Yiling across from him. ”Why is he still here? Was that so-called disciplinary action just a joke?”

”To cause such a huge screw-up and still be sitting here perfectly fine, he’s really one of a kind,” Zhai Ruobai chimed in with a laugh.

Assistant Hu, already prepared for the confrontation, quickly stood up, wiping the sweat from his head with a handkerchief. ”Here’s the situation. The disciplinary action has been carried out. We will be transferring Captain Yang to a post in Golden City later.”

”But the situation is quite urgent now, and we are severely short-staffed, so we wanted Captain Yang to stay temporarily. We’ll address the matter again after this mission is over.”

”It’s not just the distress signal from Gushang Base anymore. Twenty minutes ago, we received distress signals from three other small bases.”

”So, that’s how it is, Captain Gu.” Assistant Hu took a deep breath, forcing a warm smile for Gu Chen. ”Can we perhaps put past events aside for a moment and focus on solving the immediate problem?”

Zhai Ruobai pursed his lips.

’The Yang Faction sure moves fast,’ he thought. ’The disciplinary action was just handed down, and they’ve already stuffed him onto the mission team. Are they trying to let this kid Yang Yiling redeem himself with new merits and get the punishment revoked in a heartbeat?’

Lu Wei gently pushed up his glasses. ”To be clear, we’ll be picking the mission location first this time. Furthermore, given Yang Yiling’s questionable leadership and decision-making, we strongly advise against letting him lead the team, to avoid repeating the same disaster.”

”Lu Wei, what’s that supposed to mean?” Yang Yiling slammed the table and shot to his feet, bellowing.

Gu Chen promptly followed suit, slamming his own hands on the table, a beat louder than Yang Yiling.

”It means we’re tired of cleaning up your shit. This time, we’re not doing it. Understand?”

”Gu Chen, you...” Yang Yiling was so angry he snatched up the nearby teacup, ready to throw it.

With lightning-fast reflexes, Assistant Hu grabbed his hand, wiping sweat from his brow as he tried to placate both sides. ”Alright, alright, let’s not get so emotional. Captain Gu, really, you can’t talk to our own comrades like that. You should be more tolerant, communicate better!”

Gu Chen shot a sidelong glance at Assistant Hu, slowly sat down, and crossed his long legs. ”How many of our guys from Group B did he get killed in the Tongjiang Tunnel? You guys aren’t exactly in the dark about that, are you, Assistant Hu?”

”This time, the base sent a distress signal. Time is tight, and the mission is demanding. To be honest, we don’t want to have to turn back midway to save him!” Gu Chen pointed unceremoniously at Yang Yiling across the table.

Yang Yiling exploded with rage. ”When the fuck did I ask you to save me? What’s with the way you talk? Who do you think you are? Me? Yang Yiling? When have I ever needed you to save me? I’m fucking telling you, Gu Chen, if I ever come crying to you for help, I’ll be your grandson!”

Gu Chen made a gesture to the team member beside Zhai Ruobai. ”Did you record that?”

”Got it, got it. I’ll upload it to the group chat later.” The Speed Superpower User, Kuang Jie, shook his Satellite Bracelet and gave them a toothy grin.

Gu Chen tapped the Satellite Bracelet on his own wrist and, with an unhurried air, flashed a smile at the fuming Yang Yiling. ”You said it yourself. Nobody held a gun to your head and forced you.”

”I’ll post it to the main group chat. I’m telling you, don’t try to pull anything. I have firsthand evidence that you yourself said you don’t want our help! Even if a precious little sprout like you ends up dead out there, you can’t blame us. The Old Yang Family won’t be able to pin anything on us.”

”Don’t you worry, I won’t ask for your help!” Yang Yiling snarled, his neck stiff with rage. ”When have I ever asked you for anything?”

”Alright, alright, alright.” Assistant Hu, his head pounding, pressed Yang Yiling back. ”Aiya, what is all this? You’re all pillars of this organization, good comrades. Why make things so hostile?”

With a sharp SCRAPE, Yang Yiling shoved his chair back and, fuming with humiliation, stormed out of the meeting room.

”Just send the location to Group B once it’s decided. We’ll be on standby, ready to deploy at any time.”

The room fell silent as the door slammed shut with a BANG.

Secretary Chen raised a finger to point at Gu Chen, then dropped it, speechless.

”Old Chen, if you have something to say, just say it.”

”’Old Chen’? What ’Old Chen’? Show some respect!” Secretary Chen snapped irritably, pointing at the expressionless Gu Chen from across the room. ”Put your legs down! This is a meeting. Be serious.”

Gu Chen pursed his lips, straightened up from his slouch, and slowly lowered his long legs. ”Have the harmful substances in the sandstorm been analyzed yet? Can we effectively protect against them?”

”Dr. Xie’s team is working on it urgently. How could they get results this quickly!” Secretary Chen said, annoyed. ”They say it contains several different types of toxins, all harmful to humans.”

”What’s the situation outside the base now?”

”Good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”

Secretary Chen’s mustache bristled as he glared. ”Speak.”

”The good news is the zombie tide outside the base has begun an orderly retreat. The bad news is this sandstorm, harmful to humans, is likely a perfect environment for zombies to evolve further.”

”Experts predict that within the next three months, a large number of Fourth, Fifth, and even Sixth Rank zombies will emerge from the hordes. There’s also a chance of further mutations.”

Secretary Chen and the others all fell silent.

Only Gu Chen’s cool voice broke the silence in the meeting room. ”This is why I think the Ark Plan should be implemented as soon as possible.”

”It was mentioned before that the final stages for the Ark—including final inspections and loading supplies—would take more than half a month.”

”But we’re almost at that half-month mark now. What’s the current status? Can I get a detailed update?”

Assistant Hu rubbed his tense forehead. ”This sandstorm has disrupted all of our plans. This isn’t some small, localized storm.”

”Based on the satellite images we’re receiving from around the world, it appears that nearly every region is being hit by these sandstorms to some degree.”

”So that ’half a month’ line was just bullshit?”