WMSR — QT Chapter 140

 

WMSR – QT Chapter 140

By

siofra

Chapter 140: The Senior of the Apocalypse

Xiao Yi's eyes narrowed slightly, as though he were already savoring the sweet, intoxicating taste of impending victory ahead of time.

"What? You've been assigned to scavenge for medical supplies in Z City?" Bai Yichen asked Lin Jiawen, a trace of astonishment coloring his tone.

Lin Jiawen nodded with a dark, heavy expression. He was acutely aware that Xiao Yi's seemingly legitimate administrative directive reeked of malicious intent. Yet he possessed neither a valid pretext nor the political standing to reject it. After all, they remained residents within the survivor safe zone, and given the exalted material privileges and communal sustenance he enjoyed by virtue of being a high-tier ability wielder, fulfilling municipal duties when summoned was a mandatory civic obligation.

Furthermore, whether intentional or accidental, Xiao Yi had previously exempted him from participating in any active operational deployments. This marked the absolute first time Xiao Yi was formally tasking him to contribute labor to the compound, rendering a refusal exceptionally conspicuous.

In truth, Lin Jiawen harbored zero aversion to executing base missions. Had the compound been governed by anyone other than a predatory rival harboring unholy designs on his partner, he would have accepted dispatch orders without a second thought; after all, the logistical safety nets provided by the sanctuary over the past month were undeniable.

Ultimately, Lin Jiawen could only release a heavy sigh, sweeping those conflicting concerns aside. A viral epidemic had genuinely struck the base, and deploying ability wielders to secure pharmaceuticals was an undeniable operational necessity. To secure his continued residency, contributing to the pharmaceutical search party was unavoidable. Trapped in the grip of the dead of winter—a season where the frozen wilderness yielded zero sustenance—he lacked the structural leverage to stubbornly pack up and evacuate Bai Yichen right this second. Consequently, his singular viable pathway was accompanying the base's ability wielder strike team on a brief, temporary excursion to Z City.

The sole factor mitigating Lin Jiawen's anxiety was that Xiao Yi would personally be participating in this expedition. Yet that reassurance fell short of providing total peace of mind; with Xiao Yi physically absent from the compound, what guaranteed that his subordinate network remained idle? To counter that vulnerability, Lin Jiawen had formulated a contingency protocol: the moment he departed, members of the pre-existing survivor outpost faction who had migrated into the sanctuary alongside him would step in to secure Bai Yichen.

Though those outpost members had integrated into the survivor safe zone, they continued to treat Lin Jiawen as their ultimate pillar of support, leveraging his martial deterrence to carve out a comfortable existence inside the walls. Consequently, they held profound loyalty toward him and accepted his commands without hesitation, promising on their honor to maintain absolute vigilance over the perimeter during his absence.

Given that the upcoming expedition to Z City demanded a pure ability wielder roster, the command staff had mobilized a substantial contingent. Within a major survivor safe zone, elite operatives did not grow on trees; pulling over twenty power-wielders—while retaining a minimum baseline garrison to safeguard internal security—meant the remaining active ability wielders Xiao Yi could legally mobilize in reserve were extremely limited. More critically, among the personnel remaining behind sat Gu Song. Having previously functioned as a capable outpost leader equipped with exceptional tactical intelligence and crisis-management dexterity, Gu Song commanded Lin Jiawen's absolute trust. The moment Lin Jiawen stepped outside the perimeter, Gu Song would transition to a permanent defensive posture guarding Bai Yichen.

Yet despite engineering these rigorous protective layers, Lin Jiawen's brow remained locked in a tight, unyielding knot. Observing his troubled posture, Bai Yichen couldn't help offering a reassuring, amused smile: "Relax. Your deployment to Z City is merely a two-day turnaround. What catastrophic crisis do you imagine can transpire across forty-eight hours? I promise to lock myself inside the residence and refuse to step outdoors. Plus, we have Gu Song and the outpost loyalists stationed right outside—there is zero reason for such excessive anxiety."

Soothing by those gentle assurances, the tension finally smoothed away from Lin Jiawen's brow. Indeed. With Xiao Yi physically departing alongside him and the residual power-wielder garrison depleted down to a skeleton crew, what possible threat remained to fear? Furthermore, he was certain Xiao Yi's true target was human acquisition; even in the worst-case scenario where external interference bypassed their defenses, the maximum catastrophic outcome would involve Mengchen being abducted and concealed by Xiao Yi's operatives. Yet the survivor safe zone possessed finite, measurable boundaries—where could Xiao Yi possibly hide a human being indefinitely? Backed by eyewitness accounts from Gu Song and his loyalists, he would tear the compound down to its concrete foundations to reclaim his person if necessary.

Thus anchored by resolved certainty, Lin Jiawen finally achieved complete internal calm. Yet, hyper-aware that a predatory wolf perpetually stalked his cherished treasure, a persistent sourness lingered in his chest. Seizing the strategic opening, he turned directly to Bai Yichen: "Mengchen, once I return and this harsh winter thaws into spring, shall we pack up and permanently evacuate this sanctuary?"

Though Lin Jiawen recognized that this exit strategy had been locked into his planning for weeks—and that he intended to execute the evacuation regardless of Bai Yichen's personal stance—an unexpected surge of nervous anticipation gripped his heart at that exact microsecond, pinning his unblinking gaze directly onto Bai Yichen's face.

Hearing the proposition, Bai Yichen offered zero hesitation, nodding in immediate agreement: "Alright, I'll follow your lead."

A wave of pure, unadulterated sweetness flooded Lin Jiawen's chest at the reply, painting his features with an expression radiating absolute, profound bliss. Staring into Bai Yichen's eyes, he offered a solemn, unwavering vow: "Very well. When the time comes, I will escort you to an even larger survivor safe zone—where our standard of living will surpass anything this compound has to offer."

Author's Note:Is your baby author working hard or what~~?(°?‵?′??)

Chapter 73: The Senior of the Apocalypse (29)

In the blink of an eye, the morning designated for Lin Jiawen's departure arrived. Gathering in a unified assembly, upwards of twenty ability wielders cut an imposing, formidable silhouette even from a considerable distance.

Though Lin Jiawen stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the primary power-wielder contingent, he maintained a deliberate, calculated physical distance from the other operatives. Before stepping past the gates, he twisted around to cast a lingering, deeply affectionate glance toward a specific sector of the compound's District A. Mengchen, wait for my return.

Meanwhile, while Xiao Yi appeared outwardly engaged in casual tactical discourse with his fellow ability wielders, his peripheral vision remained locked relentlessly onto Lin Jiawen. Noting the direction of Lin Jiawen's parting stare toward District A, a faint, triumphant curve pulled at the corner of his lips. To guarantee that Lin Jiawen accepted the expedition order without raising fatal alarms, he had elected to embed himself directly within the vanguard strike team. Yet that calculated risk posed zero tactical friction, as his secondary preparations had already reached absolute, flawless completion.

The moment he returned from this deployment, the person haunting his waking thoughts day and night would be waiting securely within his exclusive domain.

Following a streamlined pre-departure equipment inspection, zero hour arrived. Operating with the explosive elasticity of drawn bowstrings, the twenty-odd ability wielders vaulted forward into the wasteland. Though the landscape was buried under an unbroken mantle of deep, pristine snow, these elite operatives experienced zero logistical drag. Bounding effortlessly across the frozen dunes, their rapid, fluid mechanics propelled them forward at blistering velocities. A select handful of exceptionally powerful wielders skimmed across the snow crust with such refined lightness that their footprints registered barely a fraction of an inch deep—with Xiao Yi and Lin Jiawen indisputably reigning as the apex performers of the vanguard.

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