"We'll be staying here for a few days. Before our mission is complete, all you need to do is stabilize the base as best as you can. Afterward, we'll report back to headquarters. If you perform well, you might even get a permanent appointment," Qin Luo said, his tone calm yet commanding.

  "Of course, if you try anything shady, we won’t let it slide. Understood? As for this former mayor’s accomplice, his so-called bodyguard, we’ll take care of investigating him."

  Qin Luo directed his words at Mr. Lian, who nodded repeatedly, clearly understanding the gravity of the situation. Anyone attending this banquet wasn’t likely to be of low status, and Mr. Lian wasted no time. He quickly gathered a group of willing helpers and rushed off to organize the survivors.

  In the apocalypse, chaos reigned. Everyone wanted to climb higher, and opportunities were scarce. For someone like Mr. Lian, who had suddenly been handed a chance, there was no way he would let it slip through his fingers.

  What seemed like an uncontrollable situation was, in fact, teeming with people eager for power. Qin Luo’s offer was the olive branch they needed, and naturally, someone was bound to seize it.

  Jin Chuanqiong, now left speechless, could only recall the indulgent pleasures he had enjoyed earlier. It seemed those days were over. The members of the Golden Eagle Team wore awkward expressions, their pride visibly bruised.

  Meanwhile, Chen Xiaofei and Xu Duoduo worked together, rounding up all the suspicious individuals on-site and tying them up. They temporarily turned the banquet hall into a makeshift prison.

  "I'm telling you all, we've already reported this to headquarters. Specialists will be arriving soon to clean this mess up. You’d better put away any crooked ideas you’ve got! Try to run, and I’ll personally send you flying with a kick. Got it?" Chen Xiaofei barked, his fierce tone making the ability users from I City Base shiver in fear.

  These so-called ability users, many of whom had grown fat and complacent, were a pitiful sight. How could they even think of fighting? No wonder they were so useless.

  Chen Xiaofei sneered, clearly unimpressed. "Squad Leader, let’s stop looking at them. They’re an eyesore."

  Xu Duoduo, holding her buzzing chainsaw, made the ability users instinctively retreat further.

  The little zombie’s intentions were simple—if Chen Xiaofei was scaring them, she might as well help set the mood.

  Sure enough, the effect was immediate.

  **Highly effective!**

  Qin Luo, catching sight of the duo’s antics, couldn’t help but chuckle. "Alright, you two, stop playing around and come over here."

  "Coming, coming!" Chen Xiaofei responded cheerfully, leading Xu Duoduo and her trusty chainsaw over.

  Meanwhile, Wang Weihu and Bai Shu, along with the Rose Team, had successfully rescued over 200 girls of varying ages who had been imprisoned upstairs. The Rose Team was busy calming the girls, most of whom were too terrified to speak.

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  The mayor of I City truly deserved his fate.

  The remaining staff had also been detained, tied up and awaiting judgment. Those matters would be left to the specialists from headquarters. As a combat team, their job wasn’t to handle interrogations or legal proceedings.

  The Cheetah Team and White Dove Team, on the other hand, were standing by like eager fanboys, waiting for their next assignments.

  However, Wang Weihu wasn’t having it. Spotting them, he immediately ordered, "You guys stay here and keep watch over the prisoners. Take this time to rest. At dawn, rotate shifts to head out and clear the mutated marine creatures outside. Organize your own schedules!"

  The Cheetah and White Dove Teams grew nervous. "Where are you guys going, then?"

  Good question.

  The 3A Special Operations Team, naturally, was teaming up with the Rose Team to hunt down the so-called bodyguard.

  According to intel, this individual was holed up in the First Hospital in the city center and possessed fire-based abilities. They needed to capture him to truly resolve the issues plaguing I City. Once that was done, they could leave the rest to headquarters and focus on clearing out the mutated sea creatures.

  Wang Weihu dismissed their questions, then quickly followed Qin Luo when he called for him.

  Chen Xiaofei, however, couldn’t stop chattering. "Captain Qin, you’re way too unpredictable! I thought we’d slowly piece together clues and clean things up bit by bit. But you just dove in headfirst, took immediate action, and even shot that guy on the spot! Damn, you’ve got guts!"

  He almost couldn’t keep up with Qin Luo’s pace.

  Bai Shu and Wang Weihu laughed along, agreeing that today had indeed been thrilling.

  That said, the 3A Team had a natural sense of trust and coordination. As long as their powerhouse captain Qin Luo took action, it meant he had the situation under control. They trusted him completely.

  Qin Luo, on the other hand, found dragging things out tedious. "That guy was clearly scum. Did you hear the nonsense he was spouting? There’s no way he was innocent."

  All that talk about being forced by his bodyguard? It didn’t add up.

  Xu Duoduo, though familiar with Qin Luo’s decisiveness, was still a bit taken aback by how quickly he acted this time. But more than anything, she thought he looked incredibly cool!

  As Qin Luo spoke, he suddenly noticed a pair of glowing eyes fixed on him. Turning, he met the bright, admiring gaze of the little zombie, her titanium-alloy-like eyes practically sparkling.

  He choked on his own breath. "Cough, cough, cough. Alright, no need to idolize me so much. Let’s just wrap this up quickly. Honestly, what the hell is headquarters doing?"

  I City Survivor Base was one of the larger ones, yet headquarters had failed to notice how rotten it had become?

  Qin Luo grumbled, "We’re charging extra for this! No less than a few hundred thousand, maybe even a million points!"

  Bai Shu adjusted his glasses calmly and shook his head. "Just a million? Aim higher—five million points at least."

  Chen Xiaofei’s eyes lit up. "Exactly! We’ve got to demand five million points. Captain Qin, weren’t you saying you wanted to get Squad Leader a new winter outfit?"

  Qin Luo froze, then turned red in embarrassment. "Were you eavesdropping on us?!"

  Caught red-handed, Chen Xiaofei quickly dragged Bai Shu and Wang Weihu into the mess. "It’s not just me! These two are always listening in too. If you don’t want people overhearing, maybe stop being so obvious. You’re so clingy, it’s impossible not to notice."

  He clearly had no fear of death.

  Under normal circumstances, Qin Luo would’ve dragged him off for a sparring session. But since they were in the middle of a mission, he let it slide.

  Flustered, Qin Luo changed the subject. "We’re on a mission. Less chatter, more focus."

  Xu Duoduo followed along, seemingly in high spirits. How much of their conversation she actually understood was anyone’s guess.

  Qin Luo sighed at the thought.

  The Rose Team left a few members behind to care for the rescued girls. Mu Mei led two others to join the 3A Team in tracking down the bodyguard.

  Watching the 3A Team joke around even while on a mission, Mu Mei couldn’t help but envy their relaxed mindset at times.

  As for the Golden Eagle Team’s earlier warning about stirring up trouble? It turned out I City was so backward that news traveled at a snail’s pace. By the time they reached the First Hospital, the bodyguard was still lounging in a hospital room, completely oblivious.

  He was promptly tied up, his face full of confusion.

  It was clear that I City Survivor Base had no idea how chaotic the outside world had become. Their leaders were arrogant and out of touch, with the bodyguard being a prime example—a master manipulator who had PUA’d his subordinates into blind loyalty.

  This ordinary man had managed to dominate I City thanks to his cunning. If the base had been even slightly more informed, reclaiming it might have been far more difficult.

  As for the small teams from the three major bases that had defected to him early on? They were relics of the past. The apocalypse evolved rapidly, with bases changing daily. Without updated wristband data, these teams had been left in the dark, aimlessly wasting away in I City.

  Wang Weihu shook his head in disappointment. "What a waste of good teams."

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