Chapter 49

"By the way, what's the situation over at Xing Guoliang's side?" After a wave of patients left, Lin Tantan asked suddenly.
Bai Cheng answered, "They were all picked up last night, but casualties were heavy. When the rescue arrived they were already surrounded by several packs of zombies. In the end about just over two hundred thousand returned, and survivors were only a little over one hundred and ninety thousand."
Lin Tantan was startled, but given yesterday's conditions, it seemed unsurprising; having so many survive was probably already pretty good.
Still, Lin Tantan felt as if something heavy pressed on her heart. She stood under the eaves, watching the rain for a long time; her coat and hair were damp with mist. Ye Xiao had been watching her from behind the living room window for a long while and came out, asking, "What are you looking at?"
"The rain." Lin Tantan glanced at him, then looked out at the whitewashed courtyard and said softly, "I'm thinking, why did this rain come so early?"
Historically this rain fell in early February; by then the migration of survivors from Yang City had already finished. The exact number who finally reached the Ning City base isn't recorded, but it was roughly just over two hundred thousand and certainly not more than three hundred thousand.
This time, their confirmed 153,000 people plus that just over 190,000 added up to nearly 350,000 arriving at the Ning City base. It looked higher than in history, but... there should originally have been even more.
It was this rain that caused such unexpected casualties.
Lin Tantan didn't know if the rain's early arrival was because of her, nor whether her altering certain things might trigger further unforeseen changes. Standing in the corridor with her arms folded, her mind was unsettled.
If, if it really was because of her, then so many people's deaths...
Ye Xiao also watched the rain. "This rain is very unusual. When I went out yesterday afternoon, the zombies had grown stronger and the roadside plants were growing unnaturally fast."
He looked at his hands. "After being in this rain, I clearly felt my ability grow stronger."
Lin Tantan said softly, "Everyone's evolving quickly; anything that doesn't move forward will be left behind, people are like that, and so are other species."
She sighed and was about to go inside when Ye Xiao stepped into her path and suddenly said, "Tantan, are you avoiding me?"
Lin Tantan felt a chill run down her scalp and snapped out of her serious thoughts and gloomy mood, forcing on a fake smile. "No, why would you think that?"
"Really not?"
"Of course not. If I were avoiding you I'd be holed up in my room all day, or I would've walked away when you came over." Lin Tantan kept up her fake smile.
Ye Xiao looked at her for a long moment.
Lin Tantan's fake smile was nearly gone; she quickly said, "By the way, what are your plans? Will you stay here for good?"
Ye Xiao didn't press her; taking up the topic, he answered her question: "No, this base isn't meant to be a long-term home."
Lin Tantan's expression grew serious. "How so?"
"Firstly, it's a management problem, there are too many loopholes; it won't be sorted out quickly. Secondly, the factions are chaotic. Although everyone seems united on the surface, in essence they're still operating independently. Over time, resources will run short faster and conflicts will sharpen, making infighting inevitable. Thirdly," Ye Xiao paused and smiled wryly, "I've already offended some people here."
Yesterday he went to see the commander here, the former deputy commander of the garrison district. The man made his intent to recruit him unmistakably clear, but Ye Xiao did not accept. To be precise, he didn’t immediately feel moved and proclaim, without hesitation, that he would give his life for them.
He could tell the other man was displeased and kept a wary distance toward him.
So today he stayed inside the villa and didn’t go out. Although the commander said he would arrange a post for him, Ye Xiao had no intention of getting involved in the base’s affairs.
Lin Tantan thought her idol had a keen eye. Ning City Base really didn’t have a bright future, after only a few months of fragile peace, internal power struggles began, leaders were replaced several times, survivors fought among themselves, and order descended into chaos. By the second year of the apocalypse, besieged by zombie tides outside and ravaged by mutant plants inside, the base had nearly collapsed, splintering into several groups that fled to different, stronger settlements.
The reason she hadn’t mentioned all this before was twofold: for now the Ning City Base was still safe, and Ye Xiao and the others hadn’t stayed there long, they soon returned to the capital.
She asked now, “So if we don’t stay in Ning City, where will we go?”
Ye Xiao: “I might have to go back to the capital.” He hesitated for a moment. “You said you like a stable, secure environment. Do you have a place in mind?”
Lin Tantan blinked, thought for a moment, and said, “It doesn’t matter much. As long as the environment is good, the people are kind, material needs are met, institutions are civilized, you can make your own choices, and there’s no inexplicable oppression or squabbling. Oh, and most importantly, the place has to be strong overall. I think most people want a place like that. Ning City Base doesn’t seem to be it. I don’t know if the capital has such a place; if nowhere does, we’ll just build one ourselves.”
She said it with boldness, really she was handing Ye Xiao an idea: don’t count on the capital; his military organization had changed beyond recognition. Best to go independent sooner rather than later.
Ye Xiao listened and nodded seriously. “I understand.”
At that moment two cars drove up outside the villa. Several people got out and, hurrying through the rain to shelter beneath the eaves, offered awkward smiles to Ye Xiao: “Captain Ye.”
Lin Tantan recognized them fairly well. A few were ability-users, a few were guard captains, but when the convoy entered the base yesterday they hadn’t come out to help, they’d stayed safely inside their vehicles.
She looked to Ye Xiao. He was calm and said to them, “Come in.”
They had come to ask Ye Xiao and Bai Cheng for advice about how Ning City should develop, how to unite into a powerful force, and how to carve out a place in the base. They spoke confidently, lavishing praise on Ye Xiao and Bai Cheng as if they could already see everyone thriving under their leadership.
Ye Xiao listened to their rousing talk with a steady, unruffled expression. Bai Cheng, wearing a faint smile, waited until they finished before saying, “We don’t intend to set up any factions here. The base belongs to everyone and people should unite. Forming cliques and factional struggles is not good.”
He shook his head solemnly.
The crowd was stunned. One person Lin Tantan remembered, a fire-type ability-user who was actually a female graduate student, one of the earlier-arriving fire users in the west side and fairly prominent among ability-users; Lin Tantan recalled her name was Yao Wei, asked, “So what should we do now?”
“Since you’ve come to Ning City Base, you should integrate into it. I’ve asked about the basic rules here.” Bai Cheng adjusted the glasses he’d somehow put on and carried the air of a scholar. “Newcomers have to hand over half the supplies they bring and, once inside, rent housing according to their ability. Because you all arrived as a convoy, you’ve been given concessions: you don’t need to turn in supplies and housing has already been allocated to you. In the future you can apply for jobs inside the base or choose to work freelance, earning a living by hunting zombies or scavenging outside. There are many options.”
He sounded as if there were plenty of paths forward and no need to rush.
Someone called out, “Are you saying you won’t be taking care of us?”
Bai Cheng’s smile didn’t change, but his eyes cooled slightly. “How do you expect us to ‘take care’ of you? To pave every road for your future? From yesterday it seemed you didn’t want us to get too involved.”
The speaker’s face tightened. He had been on the artillery vehicle and had ignored Bai Cheng’s orders, he’d nearly made it into the base, where it was safe; who could say what would happen to those who stayed to fight? He didn’t think his choice had been wrong, but faced with Bai Cheng’s words he suddenly felt uneasy.
Others didn’t look good either. They had all pretended to be dead in the convoy yesterday; worried their actions had given a bad impression, they had conferred and come over today to feel out the situation.
Yao Wei said, “We’re sorry we didn’t come out to fight yesterday, but we were so scared at the time…”
She hadn’t finished before Ye Xiao cut in. “We didn’t force you either. What you do is your own choice, no one is obliged to step forward and sacrifice for others.” He stood, meeting them with a calm gaze. “During those ten-odd days in Yang City and the ten days on the road, we trained you and provided material support, including Tantan’s treatment. You followed our orders and completed the tasks assigned to you. All we did was get you here alive from Yang City. The moment you stepped through the gates of Ning City Base, that large unit disbanded.
How you go forward from here is up to you.”
The group fell into a panic. Were they really being left to fend for themselves? What would happen to them?
At that moment another car pulled up outside and another group climbed out, conveniently, more ability-users. Leading them was a round-faced girl named Yang Xinyu, a plant-oriented wood-type ability-user. She hopped down and called out, “Sister Lin, I grew some greens, I brought them for you to try!”
When she first stepped inside she saw so many people that she froze, a little awkward. Lin Tantan rose from the sofa: "Grown some greens? Let me see."
The other ability-users drifted over one after another, lingering at the doorway, not quite coming in, not quite leaving.
Bai Cheng raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Come in and have a seat."
Although they all smiled, everyone could see that he treated Yang Xinyu's people differently from Yao Wei's.
The ones who came with Yang Xinyu were the same people who had helped out after getting off the bus yesterday.
That preferential treatment left Yao Wei's group feeling both ashamed and resentful. One of them muttered, "Didn't he say he'd disband everyone? What's this, then?"
Lin Tantan was about to look at the basket of greens Yang Xinyu had brought when she heard this and said, "Isn't it fine to find a few friends worth keeping before disbanding? Is it not okay for my friend to bring me some fresh produce? Nobody here owes you anything, don't put on that debt-collector face. Do I need your approval to decide who I hang out with?"
She gave the speaker a half-smile; his face flushed and he avoided meeting her eyes. "Miss Lin, sorry, that's not what I meant."
This man was also an ability-user, and among the convoy's ability users, few hadn't benefited from Lin Tantan's guidance and help.
"If that's not what you meant, then skedaddle. To put it bluntly, it's a recreational club, it even has membership standards. Who says you can just drop in because you feel like it?" Lin Tantan looked him over. "I remember you were brought to me with a fever, near collapse. After awakening your ability you thanked me a thousand times and swore you'd obey my orders. I'm not going to boss you around, but don't make a mess of things. At least we're acquainted, don't make me feel like the energy I spent on you went to the dogs."
He couldn't raise his head under Lin Tantan 's rebuke, kept apologizing and slunk out of the villa.
The other ability-users followed suit. Even Yao Wei looked mortified; she muttered an apology and left. The remaining non-ability users exchanged glances and, crestfallen, apologized before going as well.
They weren't particularly afraid of Ye Xiao and Bai Cheng, they knew both men were straight shooters who wouldn't set traps, but they were very careful not to offend Lin Tantan. It wasn't that they saw Lin Tantan as some villain; as Jiang Zhongyi put it, who would want to make an enemy of a doctor in this era, especially one as formidable as she is? Do you want to tempt fate?
They all knew how Lin Tantan had put that Zhu Xin in his place, she didn't even respect his rank as an officer; she spoke back, and afterwards he didn't dare make a sound. Later, when some soldiers wanted Lin Tantan to treat their wounds, it was actually the other two officers who smoothed things over, apologized carefully, and brought enough supplies to persuade Lin Tantan to accept the patients.
They didn't have that kind of backing.
In an instant, more than half the villa was empty.
Lin Tantan snorted inwardly and didn't bother to ask how many factions were at Ning City Base. Were those factions indiscriminate and welcoming to anyone? You lot, who only look after your own people in a crisis, think you can hitch a ride with Ye Xiao? Keep dreaming.
She thought this was fine, the past month had been full of trials and selections, sifting people like sand until a number of capable guards and such remained. Storming into the base in the rain felt like a final, large sieve that weeded out the unfit.
Although Ye Xiao hadn't yet planned to form his own team, given his eye for people and Bai Cheng's shrewdness, if they ever decided to build a force these already-tested people would make a ready core.
Lin Tantan counted in her head, there were definitely hundreds.
There were also many non-combat personnel with good character and useful skills.
The future looked promising.
She let out a soft, pleased laugh and noticed everyone watching her with curious looks. She felt a little puzzled, then saw that Ye Xiao's gaze held amusement and admiration.
Lin Tantan: "Huh?"
They later realized they were reacting to the fact that Bai Cheng and Ye Xiao hadn't driven anyone away, as soon as she appeared, those people had slunk off, and they judged her combat ability and influence to be truly impressive.
Lin Tantan: ...
Lin Tantan didn't think she was that impressive; only belatedly did she wonder whether she'd upstaged them a bit too much.
Stealing the spotlight from those two bigwigs, Lin Tantan, what were you thinking?!