At that moment, an officer approached Qin Shilei and his group. "May I ask for the gentleman's name? Our commander wishes to see you."
Qin Shilei frowned and asked, "May I know what your commander wants me for?"
The officer hesitated for a moment before replying, "It's about discussing the retreat."
Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked.
Had the situation become so dire?
Night had just fallen, making movement difficult for them due to the darkness. Zombies, however, relied on smell and hearing to track humans, and were less affected by the dark.
The military choosing to break through under such extremely unfavorable conditions indicated that Ning'an City would likely not hold until morning.
The group followed the officer into a restaurant in the city center.
The officer turned to Qin Shilei and said, "Mr. Qin, the meeting room is rather small. Please ask your companions to wait in the lobby for a moment."
To their left was the restaurant's banquet hall, already occupied by many people. To their right was a closed meeting room.
Qin Shilei considered this and said to An Qian and the others, "Be careful. If anything happens, call me in the meeting room."
He then turned and followed the officer, knocking and entering the meeting room.
Three to forty people were already seated in the meeting room.
At the front, on the rostrum, were several military officers, and below them were twenty to thirty civilians with tough demeanors.
As soon as Qin Shilei entered, he felt countless subtle gazes silently watching him.
After Qin Shilei arrived, seven or eight more people trickled in.
When it seemed like most attendees were present, a military officer in the center of the rostrum stood up and said, "My name is Yang Yue, Major General. The number of zombies outside the city is at least 1.5 million, while we have less than 30,000 soldiers remaining, and our ammunition is severely lacking. There are approximately 100,000 survivors left in the city."
"The situation is dire. We, the military, have decided to break through immediately."
"Among the zombies that attacked the city earlier, several mutated zombies appeared, causing us significant casualties. Some of our defense lines were also nearly breached."
"We have gathered everyone here to deal with the mutated zombies that may appear during the breakthrough."
"We hope you will assist in the evacuation. This is an order. If you do not cooperate, we will all die. I hope everyone considers this carefully."
"We only have ten minutes. Does anyone have any questions?"
Yang Yue sat down as soon as he finished speaking.
The area below the rostrum immediately became lively, with everyone asking questions they were concerned about.
Through others' questions, Qin Shilei learned most of the information he wanted to know.
Through reconnaissance, it was found that the north of Ning'an City had the fewest zombies, making it the most suitable direction for a breakthrough.
Furthermore, about three kilometers north of Ning'an City, there was a wide river, over twenty meters across, flowing from the northwest to the southeast, and then beside Ning'an City before heading further away.
Once they crossed the river and blew up the bridge, they could block the zombies' pursuit.
The military would undertake the task of covering the rear, while Qin Shilei's group would be responsible for eliminating any mutated zombies that might appear on the flanks and at the front.
All spoils of war would belong to the individuals.
Seeing that everyone had no objections, Yang Yue instructed his adjutant to begin assigning tasks.
"Tang Haotian, Qin Shilei, Li Muzi, and others. You and your people will be responsible for clearing the path at the vanguard."
The adjutant called out several names consecutively, then grouped them together.
"Tang Haotian?"
Qin Shilei looked up at a young man in his late twenties.
Tang Haotian was over 1.8 meters tall, with a gentle and refined demeanor, appearing like a handsome young scholar. He wore a magnificent yellow leather armor and a plain long sword at his waist, resembling an ancient swordsman.
Seeing Qin Shilei looking at him, he made a throat-slitting gesture with his hand.
Upon witnessing this, the adjutant directly suggested, "Mr. Qin, perhaps you should go to the west to assist with the evacuation."
Qin Shilei replied indifferently, "I will do whatever the adjutant arranges."
Tang Haotian sneered, "Coward with no guts. I hope you don't get killed by zombies too soon."
He paused and continued, "However, don't worry. After you die, I will take good care of the women around you."
Hearing this, Qin Shilei's eyes darkened. He turned to the adjutant and said, "Adjutant, I think it's better to stay at the front to avoid disrupting your initial deployment."
The adjutant thought for a moment and nodded, "This is better. Only by quickly opening a passage and maintaining its safety can we ensure our breakthrough proceeds smoothly. We need experts like Mr. Qin."
He paused and then sternly added, "I also hope you will prioritize the bigger picture. Any personal grievances should be dealt with after we are safe."
Upon hearing that Qin Shilei had chosen not to go to the west to assist with the evacuation, a hint of disappointment appeared in the eyes of a middle-aged man at the back of the meeting room.
He was Zi Yue, the representative of Dark Moon. He had planned to seize an opportunity to harm Qin Shilei during the retreat, but now he had to abandon that idea and focus on how to preserve the organization's strength.
Knowing his mission, Qin Shilei got up and left the meeting room.
As soon as he exited, he heard sounds of fighting from the banquet hall to his left.
"Not good."
Qin Shilei flashed into the banquet hall and saw about a dozen people attacking An Qian and the others.
On the periphery, over ten soldiers were holding guns and warning them, "Stop immediately, or we'll open fire."
Although the soldiers shouted sternly, they dared not fire.
These people had been invited by their superiors, and if they were injured, it would be difficult to explain.
If they didn't fire and engaged in hand-to-hand combat, they might not be able to defeat them, so they could only fire warning shots into the ceiling.
Qin Shilei forcefully pushed off with his right foot, transforming into an afterimage and instantly charging into the middle of the attacking group.
"Bang bang bang!"
The dozen or so individuals were instantly sent flying seven or eight meters as if hit by a speeding car, overturning tables and chairs in the hall, and rolling another three or four meters before stopping.
"Ah!"
Screams of pain erupted throughout the banquet hall.
"Are you alright?" Qin Shilei asked with concern.
"We're fine. If we were afraid of losing control and killing them, we would have dealt with them with swords long ago," An Qian said somewhat indignantly.
"They are all from the 'House of Apocalypse'," Zhang Qiang said from the side.
Because military personnel were present, both sides had exercised some restraint earlier and had not used weapons.
Qin Shilei examined them carefully and found that although they had no obvious injuries, their clothes were stained.
These were likely imprints from punches and kicks from the opponents during the scuffle.
"Hmph."
Qin Shilei said coldly, "House of Apocalypse, I will make sure you all are finished sooner or later."
"What a big statement. Let me see how many moves you can block."
Tang Haotian walked in leisurely.
Seeing Tang Haotian in a posture ready to fight, the adjutant stepped forward and said sternly, "Young Master Tang, please consider the bigger picture and do not make things difficult for us in the military."
Tang Haotian smiled at the adjutant and turned to walk outside.
Before leaving, he gave An Qian and her mother a sinister smile, "What a pair of peerless mother and daughter. I eagerly await your seductive appearances lying on the same bed."