162: Chapter 162 "Are you here to surrender? Or to take office?"

At the end of the mountain road, two armored vehicles led the way, with six military trucks following behind.

White flags were hung on the front of the vehicles.

The white flags were covered in bloodstains.

Over 170 remnant soldiers were crammed into the vehicles; some had bandages wrapped around their shoulders, others had their gun barrels drooping, and their eyes held only hunger and fear.

Following behind the convoy were several hundred refugees.

They ran while crying out.

"Save us!"

"South Suburbs is gone!"

"Director Li Wenhui is killing people!"

On top of the lead vehicle.

Director Li Wenhui was standing.

His military uniform was still on.

His shoulder insignia hadn't been removed either.

His face was as pale as paper, yet his back remained straight.

Fat Dragon, with an unlit cigarette in his mouth, cursed.

"Damn it, flying a white flag while still wearing the official uniform—is this a surrender or an inspection?"

Su Xiaonuan's voice came over the broadcast.

"Outer Circle, lockdown."

"Inner Circle, martial law."

"Captain Han Xue, take the enforcement team to the main gate."

"Fat Dragon, mount the heavy machine gun at Fire Position No. 2."

"Lu Yan, guard the east slope."

"Long Qiuyan, take the female prisoner camp to secure the west wall."

Her voice was not loud.

The orders were issued one by one.

Tiangong No. 1 immediately sprang into action.

Tang Qiqi was swinging her legs on the sofa, bored out of her mind.

Su Xiaonuan glanced at her.

"Tang Qiqi, go to the logistics passage."

"Distribute ammunition."

Tang Qiqi was stunned for a moment.

"Me?"

Su Xiaonuan pointed to her gray badge.

"Combat readiness personnel."

The four words landed heavily.

Tang Qiqi's eyes lit up.

"Received! Gray-badge logistics Pikachu is online!"

Qin Yumo glanced at her.

"Don't trip."

"Got it!"

In front of the second iron gate.

Captain Han Xue lined up the enforcement team.

Her black tactical uniform was buttoned to the top, and the rabbit tail at her waist swayed gently.

Xiao Li stood to her left, his right arm already metallized.

The fat man stood to the side, holding a shield.

Fang Xiaoxiao and Xu Qiangwei were also in the ranks.

After returning to Jiang University overnight, they had rushed back immediately, and their faces still showed signs of fatigue.

The survivors in the Outer Circle huddled by the side of the road.

Having experienced two months of the apocalypse, this group had seen the homeowners' committee seize power, seen the South Suburb Military District shirk responsibility, and seen Director Li Wenhui send white flags to the Japanese ninjas.

Now, no one believed the word "official" anymore.

The lead vehicle stopped.

Director Li Wenhui picked up a megaphone.

"I am the supreme commander of the South Suburb Military District, Director Li Wenhui!"

"I request a face-to-face conversation with Lin Yuan!"

"The remnant forces of the South Suburbs are willing to cooperate with Cloud Top Palace!"

Cooperation.

Not surrender.

Captain Han Xue raised her eyes.

"If you're surrendering, kneel and register."

"You don't get to pick the place for negotiations."

Director Li Wenhui's face darkened.

"Captain Han Xue?"

"You, a little police officer, dare to stop me?"

"Before the apocalypse, you didn't even have the qualifications to meet me!"

Captain Han Xue drew her gun.

Bang!

The bullet hit three inches in front of Director Li Wenhui's feet.

The concrete exploded.

The two guards beside Director Li Wenhui instinctively raised their guns.

The drone gun barrels turned simultaneously.

The heavy machine gun on Fat Dragon's side also lowered.

Captain Han Xue's gun barrel didn't shake.

"Tiangong No. 1 does not have an office for you."

"Only a registration point."

The crowd in the Outer Circle was silent for a second.

Then someone laughed in a low voice.

"Before, Director Li Wenhui used to curse Mr. Lin on the broadcast every day for hoarding supplies."

"Now he's come to beg for food himself."

"And he's still holding the bowl and picking at the food."

"Is this what you call a surrender trial run?"

A few remnant soldiers from the South Suburbs heard this, and their faces burned.

Director Li Wenhui gripped the megaphone tightly.

He wanted to curse.

But he saw the line of guns behind Captain Han Xue.

And saw the heavy machine gun behind the second iron gate.

The words were stuck in his throat.

Inner Circle.

Grandmaster Ling Suzhen heard the name "Director Li Wenhui," and the teacup in her hand stopped.

Her fingertips paused gently on the rim of the cup.

She stood up and walked toward the main gate.

She happened to run into Lin Yuan and his group coming out of Tiangong No. 1.

Grandmaster Ling Suzhen spoke.

"The day I left you."

"He and Chen Jiushan ambushed me."

"I want to watch this man die with my own eyes."

Lin Yuan didn't speak, which was considered tacit agreement.

But after thinking about it, she said to Qin Yumo.

"Keep an eye on her."

Qin Yumo lowered her head.

"Yes."

Grandmaster Ling Suzhen smiled.

"You really don't trust me at all."

Lin Yuan walked outside.

"When you are worth my trust, I will naturally trust you."

Grandmaster Ling Suzhen didn't refute.

Su Muxue also followed.

The newly awakened ice-element aura had not yet been fully contained, and thin frost formed on the edges of her white coat.

Grandmaster Ling Suzhen's expression changed slightly.

"The Su Family has actually produced a true seed."

Su Muxue didn't look at her.

"The Su Family is the Su Family."

"I am me."

The second iron gate slowly opened.

Lin Yuan walked out.

Beside him were Su Muxue, Qin Yumo, Grandmaster Ling Suzhen, and Captain Han Xue.

The four of them stood in different positions.

But the air pressure was so heavy that the South Suburbs remnant soldiers didn't dare to raise their heads.

Director Li Wenhui forced a smile.

"Mr. Lin."

"The South Suburb Military District is willing to merge into Tiangong No. 1."

"The weapons, vehicles, and supplies we brought can all be shared."

"But the management rights of the army must be retained by me."

Lin Yuan looked at him without speaking.

Director Li Wenhui thought there was a chance and immediately spoke up.

"First, my unit will be stationed separately."

"A few villas on the west side of Cloud Top Palace will be allocated to us."

"Second, the South Suburbs soldiers will have priority for daily rations."

"Third, I will personally enter Tiangong No. 1 and participate in the highest decision-making."

After he finished speaking, the remnant soldiers behind him didn't even dare to breathe.

Lin Yuan smiled.

"Are you here to surrender?"

"Or are you here to take office?"

One sentence.

The smile on Director Li Wenhui's face cracked.

A young soldier in the back row spoke in a low voice.

"We don't want to follow him anymore."

The voice was not loud.

But those around him heard it.

Another low-ranking officer looked at the few South Suburbs soldiers behind Captain Han Xue who had joined Tiangong No. 1 earlier.

Those people looked better than them.

Their guns were clean.

Their clothes were intact.

Their eyes weren't as hollow as theirs.

Someone swallowed hard.

"We just want to live."

Director Li Wenhui turned around abruptly.

"Shut up!"

"You are soldiers!"

"Obeying orders is your duty!"

The young soldier looked up.

"When you executed the battalion commander of the Third Battalion, you also said it was an order."

Director Li Wenhui's eyes turned ruthless.

"Disrupting military morale, according to wartime regulations—"

"Wartime regulations?"

Liu Qing's voice cut in from the broadcast.

The next second.

The big screen above the second iron gate lit up.

Footage played in segments.

Director Li Wenhui sending a white-flag negotiation team to deliver supplies to the Japanese ninjas.

Director Li Wenhui agreeing to give up the East Suburbs wharf and a hundred female workers.

Director Li Wenhui executing survivors, robbing granaries, and killing officers.

Every frame was clear.

Even the audio was there.

"Jiang City can rot in my hands, but it cannot be gnawed on by wild dogs from the outside."

That sentence Lin Yuan said back then was also edited in at the end.

The entire entrance was deathly silent.

Grandmaster Ling Suzhen looked at the screen, her smile turning cold.

"Director Li Wenhui."

"In your report to the capital, you said I went missing while resisting foreign enemies."

"Now I am standing here."

"Do you want to rewrite it?"

Director Li Wenhui took half a step back.

The remnant soldier formation began to disperse.

Not fleeing.

It was to get further away from him.

Captain Han Xue raised her hand.

"Put down your weapons."

"Kneel and register."

"Those who voluntarily confess Director Li Wenhui's crimes will have their forced labor halved."

"Those who conceal them will be punished the same."

This time, the first gun hit the ground.

Then the second.

The third.

Clatter.

Dozens of guns slammed onto the concrete ground.

Director Li Wenhui's face turned livid.

"How dare you!"

No one looked at him.

Old military ranks don't provide food.

Tiangong No. 1's rules do.

Lin Yuan walked up to Director Li Wenhui.

"What do you have left?"

Director Li Wenhui lowered his head.

His shoulders slumped.

Grandmaster Ling Suzhen suddenly frowned.

She stepped forward.

"Watch out!"

"His awakening is a mental attack!"

Director Li Wenhui looked up abruptly.

A gray light lit up in the depths of his eyes.

He stared fixedly at Lin Yuan.

Only one thought remained in his mind.

Kill him.

As long as he killed Lin Yuan.

Tiangong No. 1 would be his, Director Li Wenhui's.

The gray light shot toward the center of Lin Yuan's forehead.