Chapter 180: Interception

Standing in the dark corner of the room, Zhang Daxi was silent, lost in thought for a long time.

Everyone has their own opinions, judgments, and scrutiny of something, whether right or wrong.

The room was pitch-black and gloomy, while outside it was bright and blood-red; there was no place to find peace in this world.

It was only the dead who could find peace.

Xu Chu’s Sweat’s eyes flickered with a red light, like a vicious wolf, and he lowered his voice, saying fiercely, "Are we still brothers?"

At this moment, Sun Xiaolin’s call came from outside.

"Zhang Daxi, are you two ready? Meet downstairs in five minutes."

Zhang Daxi listened to the voice, took a deep breath, and said, "Okay, right away, you go down first, we’ll be right there."

The footsteps outside gradually faded, and silence returned around them.

Zhang Daxi looked at Xu Chu’s Sweat squatting in the corner. The skin on his neck had turned muddy, like meat paste attached to the bones.

He couldn’t imagine what Xu Chu’s Sweat’s face looked like at this moment.

Zhang Daxi finally said, "Wrap a scarf around, put on a hood and hat, and I’ll get you out... this is our last time being brothers."

"Thank you."

Xu Chu’s Sweat stood up from the ground, his voice trembling slightly, turned around, revealing a face with only eyes visible, the nose and mouth turned into a mushy flesh, only a vague outline remained, and said:

"I just want to survive, rest assured, once I’m out, I’ll leave this area, won’t be against you all..."

Zhang Daxi glanced at him, without much expression on his face, turned to walk outside, and said, "Wait here, I’ll get your stuff, don’t let others find you."

He knew that for Xu Chu’s Sweat to sneak out, now was the time during a mission, waiting longer, or going earlier could easily get him discovered.

The Security Bureau’s gathering place was not just any place, calling it a military fortress wouldn’t be an exaggeration. Despite just a few days, order had already formed, sneaking out was impossible.

Downstairs, the open space had gathered three teams of fifty to sixty people.

Although they’d suffered heavy losses before, some personnel had been added in the past few days.

However, some were originally ordinary people, who gained superpowers, and their combat effectiveness wasn’t necessarily strong, while others were elite public servants from military and police systems.

Qin Decang frowned as the scheduled gathering time approached, but some people had not yet arrived.

In such a hastily assembled team, discipline issues did exist.

But there was no solution for now; corrections could only happen later on.

He looked at Sun Xiaolin and asked, "What are Zhang Daxi and the other doing, were they still upstairs when you came down?"

Sun Xiaolin replied helplessly, "I called them when I came down, and they said they’d be down right away, but they’re nowhere to be seen now. These two are true procrastinators, like a bunch of women."

Xu Chu’s Sweat?

Qin Decang suddenly remembered that Su Changxing had specifically reminded him to be wary of Xu Chu’s Sweat.

These two had always been quite honest, and inside the Security Bureau now there were plenty of people with a record. After all, in a doomsday, what’s lacking is combat power.

He hadn’t paid it too much mind.

Qin Decang pondered and asked, "What were the two of them doing this morning?"

Sun Xiaolin recalled briefly and said, "Zhang Daxi has been on missions with us, but Xu Chu’s Sweat seemed unwell, staying in his room all morning. I didn’t see him."

Qin Decang realized that there might be a problem with Xu Chu’s Sweat, but didn’t know exactly what. He immediately said, "Chen Ling, come with me to check upstairs. You guys wait at the gate."

Chen Ling’s close combat skills were strong, better suited than him in such a confined space.

Chen Ling sensed that there was likely a problem, or Qin Decang wouldn’t personally go to check: "Alright, fine."

······

Zhang Daxi brought a hat, scarf, hood, and gloves to Xu Chu’s Sweat and said:

"Put these on now, we’re leaving immediately. If they see us not coming down, they’ll come looking for us. We need to use a time gap."

Xu Chu’s Sweat quickly equipped himself fully, looking like someone ready to go skiing.

Under the red mist, the weather turned gloomy and cold. Dressing like this was only slightly odd, easily interpreted as someone with an unusual taste in clothing.

The two made their way to the first floor, where Xu Chu’s Sweat glimpsed Qin Decang and others through a window crack and said:

"Let’s head out from the back door, directly to the eastern exit. It’s the nearest exit."

They successfully left the building, Zhang Daxi leading with Xu Chu’s Sweat following behind.

The gathering place was large, and even at a steady pace, it would take ten minutes to walk across, with occasional patrol personnel appearing along the way.

Qin Decang led his men upstairs and found the room empty, with a liquid resembling blood in the corner.

Chen Ling immediately noticed the liquid, squatted to inspect it, frowned, and said, "It’s like blood, but not; instead, it has a fragrant smell, like flowers?"

Qin Decang didn’t hesitate, immediately sent a message to the gatekeepers of the gathering place to stop them, and said calmly:

"I reckon they must be heading to the east gate; it’s the nearest. Let’s go there directly and see what these two are up to... The Security Bureau isn’t so easy to enter; if they want to run, they’ll be treated as deserters."

The method of dealing with deserters is simple: execution. In such a doomsday world, it’s not the time for humanitarianism; crossing the line leaves no room for mercy.

Chen Ling thought for a moment and said, "They shouldn’t have a reason to escape; with the Blood Moon just in front, the gathering place is obviously the safest. If they were to run, they should wait until after the Blood Moon."

Qin Decang nodded, "So they must be leaving for some special reason."

Although unspoken, Qin Decang had an idea forming in his mind.

······

Xu Chu’s Sweat and his companion jogged to near the eastern exit.

Judging by the time, Qin Decang and his team should have just discovered they weren’t in the room and would send a message inquiring where they went.

But Zhang Daxi hadn’t received a message; instead, he noticed that there were unusually more people at the distant exit, with several pairs of eyes looking their way.

Xu Chu’s Sweat’s gloved hands clenched into fists, and he said in a deep voice, "They’ve discovered us."

Zhang Daxi frowned; Qin Decang’s reaction was much quicker than he anticipated, which wasn’t normal.

Have they always been watching us?

Or were they always watching Xu Chu’s Sweat?

With no extra action, the two had to keep their heads down and maintain their pace towards the exit.

Just as they arrived.

A man in a green camo coat blocked their path with two others, saying coldly:

"You two are from Team Three, right? We just got word you haven’t carried out your mission yet. Your captain instructed us to stop you."

Zhang Daxi’s face showed no change, and he said in a muffled voice, "Is that so? For what reason exactly, we should have filed a report before."

The man smiled and said, "That I don’t know, you two stand back and wait there. Don’t make it hard on us."