"Tianci, how did you notice something is off about them?"

Wuli curiously asked as she directed a squad to bring two soldiers up from a hole in the blocked-off metro.

"I... I just feel something is wrong——"

"Let''s put that aside for now. We need to examine what''s wrong with the soldiers first."

Xiaoyun shifted the topic as he noticed the change in Tianci''s face as if she didn''t want to talk about it.

After waiting for five minutes, the squad brought the two soldiers'' bodies back to the top of the entrance of the metro.

Xiaoyun tried to move a little closer to examine the bodies, but Wuli forced him to stay back, opting to let Tianci and Kate examine them.

"There is a clear bit mark at the neck, leg, and back. There are zombies in the metro..." Kate concluded after examining all the wounds on their body.

"But when did zombies know how to reach for their guns and try to shoot back at us? Is this some sort of new mutant variant?"

Tianci pointed out as she examined the half-loaded gun next to the body.

"I... I don''t know about that. Maybe it''s muscle memory or something?"

"Muscle memory... That sounds like a nightmare to deal with."

Tianci murmured as she imagined a field of zombie soldiers firing their guns at Xiaoyun''s army.

"Either way, we should probably put them out of their misery... Sorry."

Kate pulled out her gun and unloaded a single round right into their head, putting them to rest as Xiaoyun could finally walk up.

"So what causes them to turn like this?"

After the two gave a short explanation, Xiaoyun looked back towards the metro, and a question suddenly popped up in his head.

"Wait, Wuli. You go direct the soldiers to seal the hole at the metro entrance. I need to go ask Zhen Ti something."

Before Wuli could ask why, Xiaoyun had already run off into the distance, with Kate and Tianci right behind him.

---

When Xiaoyun ran back to the hospital, Zhen Ti was already gone.

All the groups at the hotel had also disappeared, and after talking with the receptionist, Xiaoyun headed towards the mayor''s office.

As he approached the office, almost the entire street was emptied. The only trance of their existence was the trash they left behind.

"Good afternoon, sir."

A group of soldiers appeared in front of him, patrolling the streets as they only had their tactical shovels in hand.

"Good afternoon... Do you guys know where Zhen Ti is at?"

The group of soldiers looked at each other in silence until one of them spoke up.

"I think Mr. Zhen Ti headed up west to meet with Lieutenant Colonel Han Bang."

After seeing the two nod in agreement, Xiaoyun turned around and headed back.

---

"Xiaoyun, do you really think all the zombies went to the metro?" Tianci curiously asked as she stood next to Xiaoyun.

"There''s a very high chance. It''s the only explanation for this big of a city barely having any zombies. I should have thought of that when I first visited here."

Seeing Xiaoyun''s face looking so confident, Kate wanted to bring it down a notch.

"Then who do you think dragged the zombies to the metro? There''s just no way a cult leader can do that."

"I don''t think it''s them either... I have a feeling it''s some outside forces."

Seeing the frown on Xiaoyun''s face, Tianci immediately understood what he was trying to say.

"You think it''s those secret societies that did all this? How would they even do that?" Tianci curiously asked.

"That''s the issue... I don''t know, and it''s just too risky to send soldiers to fight in such a tight space.

I feel like they have been planning this for a long time. There''s just no way for a hole to happen just as we visit the city. It''s almost as if somebody was warning me to stop expanding."

The two followed Xiaoyun into the car in silence, as neither of them knew what to say back.

---

Just as Xiaoyun and Wuli''s brigades arrived halfway between Qingyuan and Luoping, he decided to take a short stop at Qijing.

As he arrived at the front gates, Li Miao''s brigade was already waiting.

In addition to the soldiers, a large group of civilians stood on the road watching Wuli''s troops enter the town and head toward Qijing''s training field.

"What''s this for?" Xiaoyun curiously asked as he rolled down his car window, with Li Miao right outside of the car.

"A lot of people in the town are curious about what their leader looks like. I wasn''t planning this."

Li Miao quickly added the last part as he didn''t want Xiaoyun to assume he was forcing the civilians to stand there.

"Really? What do people here know about me?"

always-on-MvLeMpYr

"Everyone here thinks of you as their hero. You brought the laws and orders that they desperately wished for."

"That''s good to hear... Ahem, do you know where the civilian government is located?"

"It''s down the road."

"Okay... Well, Lieutenant Colonel Li Miao, Keep it up. After this month, you can head back to Luoping."

"Thank you, sir."

Xiaoyun''s car drove off, and Li Miao couldn''t hide his excitement about finally getting a return date.

"Sir, are we finally heading back?" One of the captains standing next to Li Miao curiously asked as he heard a small part of the conversation between the two.

"Yes. We are heading back to Luoping this month... I wonder how my kid learned in school..." Li Miao murmured as he thought back to his wife and kid back home.