96: Chapter 96 Some people won't turn back until they hit a wall.

Intersection of the outer perimeter.

Fat Dragon had a cigarette in his mouth and had just kicked two troublemaking residents back behind the isolation line.

He looked Captain Han Xue up and down.

Her old police uniform was covered in bloodstains, and there was a new bandage around her left shoulder.

Yet, she stood very straight.

"Captain Han, have you finally thought it through?"

Captain Han Xue ignored him.

"I'm offering top-secret intelligence from the South Suburb Military District in exchange for a chance to talk."

The cigarette in Fat Dragon's mouth almost fell out.

He might not be afraid of zombies or residents causing trouble, but the words "top-secret military district intelligence" set off the alarms of his street-smart instincts.

Plus, the fear of cops is ingrained in a thief's bones.

Even in the apocalypse, the moment Captain Han Xue stood there, he still felt a chill down the back of his neck.

Fat Dragon pressed his walkie-talkie.

"Boss, Captain Han Xue wants to see you. She says she has top-secret military intelligence."

A few seconds later.

Lin Yuan's voice came through.

"Bring her over."

… Cloud Top Palace dining hall.

Lunch had just been set on the table.

Braised beef brisket, steamed fish, vegetables, fruit, and iced drinks.

Jiang Xiaowan sat on the edge, her back slightly stiff.

She wasn't wearing her maid outfit today; she had changed into a loose long dress, keeping her head down to drink soup, trying to minimize her presence.

Captain Han Xue was brought to the door.

She didn't come in.

Su Muxue stood by the door, wearing gloves.

"Disinfect."

Captain Han Xue glanced at the blood on her body.

Then she looked at the group eating happily five meters away.

"I won't go in. I'll say it right here."

Tang Qiqi bit into a chicken leg and whispered, "Judy Rabbit versus the Great Demon King, quite the venue for a showdown."

Qin Yumo glanced at her.

Tang Qiqi immediately held up the chicken leg.

"I'm eating, I'm muting myself."

Lin Yuan continued picking up food with his chopsticks.

"Speak."

Captain Han Xue was silent for half a second.

"The South Suburb Military District underground command post has a city-level extreme cleanup contingency plan."

Su Xiaonuan's fingers paused.

Captain Han Xue continued, "They have retained the authorization button for small-yield tactical nuclear weapons. Once Jiang City loses control, the core infection zone can be subjected to a devastating strike."

The dining hall went quiet.

Wang Ya's spoon hit the edge of her bowl.

Clink.

The sound was very soft.

She subconsciously looked at Lin Motong.

Lin Motong sat on the chair, holding a cup of hot milk, her expression unchanged.

Tang Qiqi stopped gnawing on her chicken leg.

"An atomic bomb?"

Su Xiaonuan immediately pulled up the anti-nuclear strike capabilities of Cloud Top Palace; as long as it wasn't a direct hit.

The plan made at the time was to abandon the top three floors.

Qin Yumo also looked at Lin Yuan; if necessary, she could go out alone and find that button.

If you can't solve the problem, solve the person.

Lin Yuan swallowed the fish.

"Understood."

Captain Han Xue couldn't help but say, "Did you hear me clearly? That's a nuclear weapon."

"This plan is not a deterrent. A city-level drill was conducted two years ago; three point seven million people in the East District of Jiang City were all within the preset cleanup range."

"Your drones, machine gun turrets, and electronic equipment will all be paralyzed!"

Tang Qiqi was nervous: "Doesn't that mean we have to move?"

Su Muxue analyzed, "A small yield is enough to destroy key facilities in the urban area."

Lin Yuan put down his chopsticks.

"I heard you clearly."

"They won't press it."

Captain Han Xue pressed, "Why do you think that?"

Lin Yuan spoke, "Because no one dares to take the blame."

"By the time someone who dares to take the blame appears, that button won't be pressable anymore."

"I've received your information. What do you want?"

Captain Han Xue's throat felt blocked.

The ultimate weapon of the old world was, to him, only worth the phrase "What do you want?"

In his previous life, Lin Yuan never saw the authorities use large-scale weapons until he died.

It wasn't that they didn't dare.

It was that they couldn't.

Things like buttons have more meaning as a scare tactic than practical value.

The people with the guts to press that button would have long since died heroically in the battle against the zombies.

The remaining bunch of parasites just want to continue enjoying their privileges; how would they ever press that mutual-destruction button?

If they could really press it, Jiang City would have been turned into glass shards long ago.

Captain Han Xue said in a low voice.

"Someone just tried to use my identity to cause trouble."

"I used to want to persuade them with the law."

She paused.

"But I discovered that a gun muzzle is more useful than reason."

"I want to help maintain order in the outer perimeter."

Tang Qiqi whispered, "Judy Rabbit's corruption progress is at thirty percent."

Lin Yuan picked up the walkie-talkie.

"Adjustments to the outer perimeter management team."

"Fat Dragon is responsible for armed suppression."

"Captain Han Xue is responsible for personnel registration, patrols, dispute resolution, and enforcing quarantine zone rules."

"If anyone doesn't comply, let Captain Han Xue handle it first."

"If she can't handle it, Fat Dragon will."

Over the walkie-talkie, Fat Dragon responded immediately.

"Understood!"

Captain Han Xue's expression was a bit ugly.

As a deputy captain of the criminal police, she now had to assist Fat Dragon, who came from a gangster background.

Fat Dragon's sleazy voice came through the walkie-talkie.

"Captain Han, from now on, we'll play the good cop and the even better cop."

Captain Han Xue wanted to say, "Fat Dragon has no law enforcement qualifications."

But remembering those greedy eyes, she swallowed her words back.

They don't want justice.

They only want benefits.

"I will follow the arrangements."

Captain Han Xue stood outside the door, watching the people in the dining hall continue eating.

She realized that the "top-secret intelligence" she had offered had only earned her a position in the outer perimeter within Lin Yuan's system.

She lowered her head, shoved her police badge back into her pocket, and turned to leave.

[Ding! Target Captain Han Xue (Attractiveness 88), Favorability +2%, Current Favorability: 1%.]

The elevator door opened.

Liu Qing ran in, clutching a laptop.

She had changed her clothes.

A black and white mechanical maid-style short jacket, silver hairpins holding down her messy hair, and her face behind the thick glasses was much cleaner.

The sloppy otaku girl vibe had been washed away; she looked more like a beautiful programmer who had just run out from backstage at an anime convention.

Tang Qiqi's eyes lit up.

"Holy crap, my cyber hacker girl is ready!"

Liu Qing sat down and turned on the computer screen projection.

"The Zhe City support troops have arrived at the southern front of Jiang City."

The main screen lit up.

On the screen, a Tank rolled over wrecked cars.

Infantry fighting vehicles were lined up in a column.

Armored personnel carriers followed behind.

Two armed helicopters swept over the streets at low altitude.

Any sporadic zombies that lunged forward were torn apart by machine guns.

Tang Qiqi swallowed hard.

"With this firepower... are the authorities actually going to turn the tables this time?"

Liu Qing switched the screen.

Inside the South Suburb Military District.

Director Li Wenhui had changed into a clean shirt, and his hair was combed neatly.

He stood on a temporary podium, with the newly arrived Zhe City officers behind him.

The kitchen squad was killing chickens and opening cans.

Hot food and soup were laid out across long tables.

The soldiers held their bowls, and their faces finally had a bit of life in them.

Director Li Wenhui held a megaphone.

"Shen Qingyue's failure was a matter of personal rashness."

"We have satellite maps, armored firepower, and support from our brother troops from Zhe City."

"After three hours of rest, we will clear the area piece by piece."

"Jiang City will soon restore order!"

Someone suggested saving the people in the city center first, but Director Li Wenhui rejected it.

"The priority is to retake the broadcast tower; public opinion is more important than a few hundred lives."

Applause broke out in the crowd.

Captain Han Xue stood outside the door, her hands slowly clenching.

She was familiar with this voice.

Every time there was a big meeting in the old world, it had this exact flavor.

Liu Qing pulled up the satellite map that Director Li Wenhui mentioned.

The South Suburb Military District's network had become like her own backyard.

The distribution of zombies in the city was very scattered.

The red dots looked like scattered sand, covering the streets and squares.

Lin Yuan looked up.

"Satellites can only see the surface."

The dining hall was quiet.

Lin Yuan continued, "It can't see basements, civil air defense projects, or subway tunnels."

"When the disaster broke out, the places with the most people were all underground."

Su Muxue's fingertips paused on the edge of her glove for a second.

She understood.

Taking refuge was a trap in itself.

Once an infected person appeared in an underground space.

Sealed.

Crowded.

Lacking light.

Few escape exits.

That is not a shelter.

It's a petri dish.

Liu Qing typed rapidly, overlaying the Jiang City underground traffic map onto the satellite map.

Dense gray lines emerged.

Subway stations.

Underground malls.

Civil air defense passages.

Parking lots.

All the gray lines almost ran through the core area of Jiang City.

Liu Qing pulled up several surveillance cameras.

The subway station was packed with survivors.

The broadcast was still looping, "Please maintain order."

Chewing sounds came from the darkness.

Yet the satellite map was completely clean.

Lin Yuan said, "Three hours later, they will be very lively."

Jiang Xiaowan lowered her head to drink her soup.

Zhe City.

Support troops.

Jiang Family.

Several words swirled in her mind.

What if there were people from the Jiang Family in the Zhe City troops?

What if her father had sent people?

Could she still go back?

Continue to be the eldest princess of the Jiang Family.

And then find a way to come back and bring this bastard under her control.

As soon as this thought popped up, her ears started to burn.

Jiang Xiaowan's fingertips touched the edge of the soup bowl, and the porcelain bowl made a faint sound from her grip.

The place where Lin Yuan had gripped her last night was still hurting.

But the words "Jiang Family" made her straighten her back faster than a painkiller.

Lunch was halfway over.

Wang Ya had just brought over a few plates of dessert.

Jiang Xiaowan put down her soup bowl.

"I'm going upstairs to rest."

Wang Ya glanced at her.

"Do you need me to help you?"

Jiang Xiaowan forced a smile.

"No need."

She held the railing and went up to the second floor, but she didn't return to her own room; instead, she snuck towards the third floor.

Every step pulled at her body, hurting so much that she stopped twice.

Last night, Su Xiaonuan had restored some of her living privileges.

She swiped her card.

The screen flashed red briefly, then turned green again.

She thought it was a system delay.

In reality, an "Anomaly Warning" had already popped up on Liu Qing's screen.

Su Xiaonuan looked at Lin Yuan, and Lin Yuan shook his head.

Beep.

The door opened.

Jiang Xiaowan walked in and locked it.

The communication privileges on the third floor were higher than those of the B1 server room.

Even if Liu Qing reinforced the firewall, she couldn't directly block the military communication link here.

She sat down at the terminal and entered the old password of the Jiang Family.

Her fingers paused.

"I am not betraying."

"I just don't want to be a latecomer."

"I want to be the mistress by his side."

She pressed send.

… In the dining hall.

Lin Yuan had just lit a cigarette.

Su Xiaonuan looked up.

Lin Motong put down her milk.

Su Muxue looked upstairs.

Qin Yumo's fingers touched her dinner knife.

The water in the cup beside Wang Ya rippled.

Only Tang Qiqi was still gnawing on her chicken leg.

She looked up.

"Why did you all suddenly stop talking?"

Lin Yuan smiled.

"Eat."

"Some people won't turn back until they hit a wall."

Su Xiaonuan's eyes turned cold.

Last night, it was she who begged for the opportunity for Jiang Xiaowan.

Now, she was also the first person to get slapped in the face.

But she didn't move.

Lin Yuan hadn't given the order.

She just waited.

Third-floor communication room.

A line of green characters popped up on the screen.

[Zhe City Joint Rescue Force encrypted channel connected successfully.]

After a brief crackle of static.

A man's voice rang out.

"Identity confirmed."

"Miss Jiang Xiaowan?"

Jiang Xiaowan's fingers trembled.

"It's me."

The other party's voice became immediately serious.

"Miss Jiang, please wait where you are."

"Our commander is your uncle, and we will pick you up to go home very soon."