Chapter 234 Extra 5

Chapter 234: Side Story 5

Winter of Year 32 of the apocalypse.

The metal walls of Dawnlight Base in City C cast a cold gleam under the leaden sky, and beyond the walls stretched an endless tide of zombies.

Rotting flesh and mechanical groans melded into a symphony of death. Mutated crows swept past in flocks, their wings slicing through the thick fog, revealing blood-red eyes beneath.

The Zombie King stood atop a distant abandoned water tower, commanding the zombie horde, tearing open and then sealing the defensive lines of Dawnlight Base, draining every last ounce of hope.

Inside the base.

Ability users took turns on the front lines, unleashing their powers in relentless volleys. Ordinary people gritted their teeth as they hauled ammunition, while the elderly pressed their last crumbs of food into the soldiers' pockets, all working together to fend off the siege.

Everyone knew there was no retreat left.

— The forest to the east was sealed off by mutated vines, and bone-winged bats roamed the wasteland to the west. Dawnlight Base had become a lone island.

Now it was do or die—a fight to the death!

Having just finished a battle and driven the Zombie King back, Han Zhang returned to the rear of the base to rest and tend to his wounds.

A medic's hands trembled as she rinsed his wounds with purified water. Han Zhang didn't make a sound, just staring toward the warehouse—which should have been stacked with crates of crystal cores, but now stood over half empty.

The logistics chief stumbled over, clutching the inventory list, its edges damp with sweat:

"Base Commander, we've only got three crates of crystal cores left, and ammo... enough for three days at most. The water purification plant got breached by mutated roots this morning—clean water's about to run out too."

His voice was hoarse. "Those mutated bastards... they've even learned to form battle formations."

Despair coiled around their hearts like ice-cold vines.

Who could've imagined Dawnlight Base would get so unlucky?

Not only were they besieged by a zombie horde, but it was led by the Zombie King himself, and the mutated plants and animals had to pile on the misery too!

It was like the world just refused to let them live.

Even Han Zhang felt the same despair in that moment, unable to think of any way out, and could only close his eyes.

"Can the planes still fly?"

His voice came out raspy, as if scraped out of rusted iron.

"Yeah, but only twelve. The flying zombie swarms own the skies, and each plane needs at least five high-level ability users for escort..." The logistics chief swallowed hard. "At best, we can take... less than four thousand people."

Four thousand.

And there were over a hundred thousand people in the base.

The old professors in the labs whose hair had gone white from sleepless nights;

The kids on the training grounds who weren't even as tall as a rifle;

And the ordinary folks on the walls who trembled in fear yet still gave their last ration bar to the wounded.

Who deserved to live? And who got left behind to die?

After a long moment, Han Zhang opened his eyes and said quietly:

"I'll hold off the Zombie King and the high-level zombies. All ability users above level seven get on the planes as escorts. The remaining seats go to the researchers and kids under ten."

"Base Commander!" The logistics chief grabbed his arm, nails digging into the combat suit. "If you die, those high-level ability users might turn on each other mid-air! You're the backbone—you can't die!"

"No time to worry about that. The neighboring base is over a thousand li away. If we don't have enough high-level ability users on the planes, they'll die on the way, and this escape route we've carved out will have been for nothing."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. First, get the people out..."

Han Zhang's mind was made up.

He tugged at the corner of his mouth, trying to smile, but only managed to crack his dry lips and draw beads of blood.

It wasn't that he was some saint, willing to sacrifice his life for others.

It was just that... in a world like this, he was simply tired of living. Better to burn whatever warmth he had left in his final moments, so his time in this world wouldn't be a total waste.

Besides, he was alone, with nothing left to hold on to.

"Alright, that's the decision. Go get ready..."

Han Zhang's mind was made up, and he waved them off to hurry.

Time waits for no one.

The logistics chief had no choice but to wipe his tears and rush off to get things ready.

When the people in the base heard the news, some didn't want to stay behind and die, but everyone knew it was the best option.

If even Han Zhang—the level-ten ability user with the greatest chance of survival—had chosen to stand with the base to the end, who were they to shrink back?

The researchers were the hope of ending the apocalypse, and the children were the continuation of the flame of life.

At that moment, even those who feared death, even those who were cowardly, all managed to suppress their survival instincts and gave up their chance to live for others...

"Death is death. Living in constant fear isn't much of a life anyway."

"Haha, if reincarnation really exists, I'll be born into a rich family next life—wouldn't that be a win?"

"Wahhh, damn these cursed zombies, damn these cursed mutated plants and animals, damn this cursed world!"

Laughter and tears mixed among the people, sorrow spreading through the air.

Suddenly!

In that moment of grief, the sky erupted with thunder and lightning, splitting open a massive rift that expanded and began devouring the base.

"Ah, what is that?"

"The sky is tearing—how is the sky tearing?"

"Black hole! It must be a black hole!"

"Help—run!"

Panicked screams erupted from the crowd as everyone instinctively fled.

Ability users activated their powers in unison—fireballs, ice walls, vines, wind shields all flared up, trying to resist that world-destroying suction.

But every resistance was futile.

In just a few breaths, the whole Dawnlight Base got swallowed by the black hole, leaving only a massive crater behind.

And a bewildered horde of zombies and mutated plants and animals...

---

Another world.

Zhao State, frontier.

"Boom—"

With a deafening boom, the entire Dawnlight Base, like some colossal spaceship, landed on the open ground outside the frontier city of Zhao State.

The ground shook like a dragon was rolling over underneath.

Thirty li from the border (about ten miles), in the Zhao State garrison camp, alarm gongs blared with frantic urgency.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

The defenders on the walls were knocked off their feet, screaming in terror.

As the thick dust slowly settled, what appeared on the barren land was... a giant steel city?

The city gleamed with cold, hard metal—towering walls, rows of cannons, and weird buildings they'd never seen before, all giving off a suffocating sense of dread.

What... is this thing?!

The Zhao border soldiers stared in disbelief at the bizarre sight, their faces full of panic and confusion.

And on the other side.

Inside Dawnlight Base.

The violent impact sent everyone tumbling, dazed and dizzy.

When they came to their senses, looking at the unfamiliar scene outside the base and breathing air fresher than anything they'd breathed since the apocalypse started, they all looked just as blank and confused.

Until the base's defense alarm blared—

Han Zhang climbed out of a pile of rubble and steadied the troops with orders:

"Listen up, everyone! Level one combat readiness! Civilians, grab your weapons and get ready! Ability users, power up for defense!"

"Recon teams, get the drones up and scout the area!"

With these commands, the survival instincts of these apocalypse survivors kicked in. Forgetting their shock, they immediately snapped into combat mode and got moving.

No matter what weird situation they'd just been through, no matter where they were, the will to survive instantly crushed all confusion.

People rushed to their posts, checking gear, firing up equipment, aiming their guns—

Survival was the one rule burned into the bones of everyone who'd made it through the apocalypse.

However.

When the recon drones finally finished mapping the area.

And brought back news that they'd probably crossed into another world—a "safe world" with no zombies or mutated plants and animals—

Everyone in the base, from hardened fighters to exhausted civilian survivors, couldn't hold it in and burst out in near-crazy joy.

"What the... we actually crossed over?!"

"This world... really doesn't have those damn zombies or mutant monsters?"

"Look at the drone footage—this is some ancient society? The people in that city over there are regular folks with no powers, still using swords and spears?"

"Wait, don't we have full production lines for food, industry, weapons, and stuff like that back at the base..."

What did that mean?

It meant that they—these "outsiders" with powers and gun tech—could easily roll over the whole world.

And then, on this peaceful land, they could easily rebuild their new home, even start a whole new nation.

What do you call a sudden turn of fortune?

This was it!

Once they quickly figured out the basics, there was basically no disagreement inside Dawnlight Base.

Everyone was on the same page: move now! Push Han Zhang to lead them in grabbing territory, planting crops, and building their new nation as fast as possible.

As for the idea of going off on their own to be kings...

Sure, it crossed their minds, but that's all it was—a passing thought.

Because the apocalypse power system had strict levels—in the whole base, Han Zhang was the only level-ten ability user, and nobody could take him.

Han Zhang didn't go around killing people for no reason, but he wasn't soft-hearted either.

If anyone dared to split off and rebel, chasing their own empire dreams, and Han Zhang ever caught them, the consequences would be way too ugly to imagine!

So, rather than risk going rogue, it was better to just keep working under Han Zhang.

Once the new nation was founded and they became "founding heroes," the rewards would come anyway—no need to go looking for death.

Besides, after thirty-plus years of barely surviving the apocalypse, everyone's biggest wish right now was just to eat their fill and live a stable life.

The desire to rebuild a home far outweighed any hunger for power.

By the late apocalypse, even high-level ability users like Han Zhang couldn't get real food or a decent night's sleep.

With the whole base united on one goal, things got simple.

With ability users who could take on an army by themselves, weapons way beyond current tech, and over a hundred thousand regular survivors with decent education,

Han Zhang didn't need to plan anything fancy. He just split the survivors into several battalions and started rolling over the nations to the east, west, south, and north.

With a policy of taking down the rich and splitting up the land,

Their advance was brutal, but the common folks didn't put up much of a fight.

In fact, when people in the cities ahead heard the news, they practically wished Han Zhang's forces would hurry up!

And so.

By the time the various emperors got their urgent eight-hundred-li military dispatches, the Dawnlight Base army, using planes and trucks, was already at their gates!

The emperors, who had somehow become rulers of fallen nations: "..."

In the capital of Zhao.

Shen Qinglan, a fresh-faced eighteen-year-old who, after getting dumped, was getting ready to enter the imperial selection and become a favored consort to restore his pride: "..."

Ugh, he just wanted to get married—why was it so hard?!