Chapter 248

Chapter 248

"Little Ji, after you return to the base and your hands are healed, go back to your usual routine. Since Cheng Jing and the others aren’t here, you can coordinate more with Yang Kai and Professor Gao on Superpower Corps matters."

Inside the tent, Chu Yi spoke to Tang Ji with his usual matter-of-fact tone.

Yet Tang Ji felt unaccountably irritated. He didn’t want to leave early but couldn’t find a reason to stay. An injured soldier would just be dead weight here. In the end, he drooped his head in a nod.

"Got it... Then, Brother Chu, be careful."

Chu Yi smiled.

"I know. Go back and rest up. There are more tasks ahead."

With that, he helped Tang Ji out of the tent and toward the edge of the camp. After watching him and Xiao Ya board the plane, he turned and went back to work.

"Brother Tang Ji, if you're thirsty or hungry, just tell me. I’ll feed you."

Noticing his low spirits, Xiao Ya buckled his seatbelt for him and gave him space. After a brief reminder, she returned to her seat beside the supervisor.

"Thanks, Xiao Ya."

Tang Ji forced a smile in gratitude, but inwardly, he sighed.

Would he just keep feeling this one-sided awkwardness and discomfort?

That would be pure torture.

As the plane took off, Chu Yi sent a message to Tang Yi, filling him in on the situation and reassuring the "parent" to focus on work without worry.

……

Returning to the base with tangled emotions, Tang Ji’s hands quickly healed under the treatment of a superpowered healer—available only to top base personnel.

The pain from his injuries subsided, but certain inexplicable thoughts grew clearer, shifting from awkward discomfort to shy dejection.

Even the slightest stirring of hot-blooded, romantic notions brought Chu Yi’s face to mind—along with those rough yet slender, powerful hands.

He didn’t dare dwell on it, suppressing the thoughts until his entire body felt restless.

At twenty, he knew exactly what this meant.

But whether in terms of status, background, or personal strength, Chu Yi was someone out of his league.

Had it not been for the apocalypse bringing them together, someone like Chu Yi would never have moved in the same circles with him in this lifetime...

He understood the logic, but he was young and impulsive. Between life and death, he couldn't settle for half-measures.

After wrestling with himself, Tang Ji decided to wait for Chu Yi’s return and find the right moment to come clean. Maybe, just maybe, he’d hit the jackpot.

Yet, even after over ten days back at work, Chu Yi still hadn’t returned—nor had they contacted each other.

A few more days passed, and Chu Yi sent his deputy back with a team transporting military supplies, putting off his own return with no set date.

When Tang Ji made an excuse to text him, Chu Yi’s reply was a curt "schedule change."

Staring at the impersonal message on his phone, Tang Ji grew increasingly restless. This nameless yearning intensified, filling his mind with chaotic thoughts. He even snuck into Chu Yi’s room to sleep.

He felt like some kind of stalker.

"..."

When the evacuation mission at Base Z was completed, Cheng Jing and his squad didn't immediately return to the Southern City Base but went to support other areas.

As the zombie horde gathered at Base Z reached 100,000, the military demarcated a safe zone and deployed small-scale "Dustbane Bombs."

The scale, boundaries, and methods of containment purges in other regions were largely the same.

Every time the military conducted a zone-clearing operation, they would eliminate either a Zombie King or an elite zombie capable of rallying others.

Without a "leader," the once-orderly zombie groups advancing in a certain direction would disband.

The use of "Dustbane Bombs" was rare within the country's borders, as most zombie-clearing operations relied on relatively conventional methods.

Especially after breakthroughs in the antidote serum, many of these WMDs were transferred to border areas to ensure no "foreign zombies" could invade.

This continued until over a month after the zombie outbreak.

Approaching the end of February, a nationwide alert suddenly blared from central command, reporting that the Northern City and Base S were about to face the largest zombie horde to date, estimated at at least two million.

The horde was led by a Zombie King, with numerous Superpower Zombies, including more than one teleporting zombie—which was why they appeared overwhelming the moment they entered the surveillance perimeter.

The Northern City and Base S immediately entered a Code Red alert. Seizing the opportunity, all four regional command bases—east, west, south, and north—dispatched troops simultaneously to assemble.

Beyond dealing with the zombie horde, the authorities planned to use this chance to force a confrontation to settle the internal conflicts within Base S.

Department Head Wang and Yang Kai, both connected to the Northern City and Base S, took point with Southern Command's troops.

They also notified Chu Yi, who was on an external mission, to join them at Base S after completing his current task.

Given the presence of the Zombie King and high-level zombies in the horde, as well as the chaos among the many Superpowered individuals at Base S, Gao Xuyang did not accompany them—his cover getting blown would screw everything up.

Since Professor Gao wasn’t going, Tang Ji, his natural counter, naturally stayed behind at headquarters.

After considering all factors, Department Head Wang benched the 017 Squad for base security, keeping them out of the mess at Base S.

Though the squad was formidable, their abilities would be less effective in an area packed with four armies' worth of firepower. Worse, Jiang Nian’s identity might bring heat.

The 017 Squad had no objections to the leadership’s airtight plans.

Cheng Jing, in particular, was relieved not to have to risk his loved ones and teammates.

With the military handling the zombie horde—where Superpowers were pissweak against artillery—and Liang Yunhao and Jiang Wenwen already on cleanup duty for the core personnel behind Professor Xia’s human experiments, all they had to do was sit tight for intel.

After a month of search-and-destroy ops outside, it was time for the squad to return to base for rest, recuperation, and rewards.