12: The military and the people are one family.

Under Lin Zhi's observation,

he noticed that most of these people fit the image of 'ordinary people struggling to survive in the Apocalypse'.

Their clothes were dirty, and their spirits were low, as if they hadn't had a full meal in a long time.

However, two individuals stood out, displaying a completely different state from the others.

One was a tall, muscular man. Although his gray T-shirt was a bit messy, it was clean, and he looked somewhat fierce.

The other was a young man in a white shirt, wearing black-rimmed glasses, looking refined and scholarly. His hair was meticulously combed, exuding a mysterious 'delicacy'.

For some reason, Lin Zhi felt that his first impression of these two was very bad.

But he couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong.

Moreover, Lin Zhi also discovered a suspicious point.

When the Infantry Squad soldier He Chen reported earlier, he said there were seven people.

But now, only six people — five men and one woman — had appeared before him from the farm.

Where did the other woman go?

...However,

though he had some doubts, Lin Zhi didn't voice them.

After observing the group for a moment,

he finally spoke.

"Hello, I am Lin Zhi, the commander of this team."

"You are survivors from this nearby town, aren't you?"

"Can you tell me about the current situation?"

"Also, I need to confirm the safety of the environment and ensure that no one among you is infected. Can you undergo a checkup?"

As Lin Zhi's voice faded,

the tall, muscular man immediately showed a warm smile towards Lin Zhi.

"Of course, no problem, Officer Lin!"

"You can check as you please, none of us are infected!"

Hearing this, Lin Zhi didn't say much.

Instead, he looked at Squad Leader Yang Guo beside him.

With a single glance, Squad Leader Yang Guo understood Lin Zhi's meaning.

He then waved to the squad.

"He Chen, Liu Wu, you two come with me to check."

"The others continue to be on alert."

He Chen and Liu Wu, whose names were called, slung their type 95-1 automatic rifles behind them, then joined Yang Guo to check the six people one by one, in order.

About five minutes later, Squad Leader Yang Guo came before Lin Zhi to report.

"Reporting, Chief, inspection complete."

"None of these six people are infected!"

"Mm."

Hearing this, Lin Zhi nodded.

He then looked at the strong man who was clearly the leader of the group.

"What's your name?"

"Officer, my name is Chen Long!"

When Lin Zhi asked, Chen Long immediately showed a fawning smile.

This smile on his tall, burly frame looked extremely awkward, making one feel uncomfortable.

"Hello, Mr. Chen, I now need to ask some details about how you survived and the current situation in the town."

"Of course, no problem! Officer, just ask whatever you want to know, I, Chen Long, will certainly tell you everything without reservation!"

"By the way, it's getting late now."

"How about you, Officer, and we go inside the room to talk!"

"Also, I see that all the soldiers also need some rest, and we still have some supplies here."

Hearing Chen Long's suggestion,

Lin Zhi nodded.

"Thank you then."

Then he turned and spoke.

"Squad Leader Yang Guo, arrange the alert mission."

"Yes, Chief."

Squad Leader Yang Guo nodded upon hearing this.

Then he began to make arrangements.

"Deputy Squad Leader Chen Song, and Vehicle Commander Lin Hua, please park the vehicles inside the farm."

"The Infantry Squad will be in groups of four, with a two-hour watch, responsible for farm security."

"Understood!"

As Squad Leader Yang Guo's arrangements concluded,

the team began to mobilize.

The dongfeng mengshi armored vehicle and the infantry fighting vehicle, which were still running, drove into the farm after the farm gate's barrier was manually lifted, and parked on the spacious small concrete plaza.

The Infantry Squad then took over the farm's security mission.

Chen Long and the others had no objections to the army's 'forceful takeover', nor did they dare to have any.

However, seeing his 'one-hand-covered-the-sky' farm instantly 'lose control' after Lin Zhi and the others arrived,

a strange glint flashed in the depths of Chen Long's eyes.

But he hid it well, only exchanging glances with the young man named Song Shu beside him.

Next, Lin Zhi and the soldiers who weren't yet on duty entered the main house of the farm to rest... In the living room, Lin Zhi and the others sat on the sofas.

As soon as he entered, Chen Long showed great enthusiasm.

He immediately ordered his subordinates to prepare water and food for Lin Zhi's group of soldiers.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Chen."

Taking a bite of ham, Lin Zhi thanked Chen Long.

Although the Infantry Squad was rewarded with basic living supplies,

each soldier in the Infantry Squad only carried three days' worth of rations: compressed biscuits, individual self-heating meals, energy bars, and so on.

The taste wasn't particularly good, and the quantity was limited.

After all, Lin Zhi was not part of the Infantry Squad's roster, so the system naturally didn't prepare his share of individual rations.

His food supply during this period was shared with him by the soldiers of the Infantry Squad.

"No problem, no problem, the army and the people are one family!"

"We'll be relying on Officer Lin's people to protect our safety from now on!"

Chen Long waved his hand, indicating he didn't care about it at all.

Lin Zhi smiled and nodded, then asked,

"Mr. Chen, you're in good shape. What did you do before the zombie crisis erupted?"

Hearing Lin Zhi's question,

Chen Long immediately sat on the sofa opposite him and replied,

"Officer Lin, before the Apocalypse, I was just a water delivery man."

"Moving water buckets up and down stairs every day is how I built all this muscle."

"But speaking of which, this crisis erupted really suddenly."

"I was delivering water to a client when they suddenly got infected and turned into zombies."

"The lady of that client family was very kind; every time I delivered water, she would let me rest and eat something."

"Such a good person, yet her husband and child turned into those monsters..."

Speaking of this, Chen Long's face showed expressions of regret and lingering fear.

He seemed to be lamenting the injustice of the Apocalypse.

Looking at Chen Long's appearance, Lin Zhi's face showed an empathetic expression.

Who wasn't like that?

He still remembered how those familiar neighbors, without reason, turned into monsters and lunged at him.

Among them were many kind people who were usually friendly and had excellent neighborly relations.

"Then how did you escape?"

After a moment of lament, Lin Zhi continued to ask, somewhat curious.

One must know that the physical quality of those zombies far exceeded that of ordinary people.

It could be said that it was incredibly difficult for an ordinary person to escape from these monsters.

He himself was the best example, almost trapped and starved to death in his rental apartment by zombies.

And when Lin Zhi suddenly asked about this,

a strange look flashed across Chen Long's face, but he quickly regained his normal expression and spoke.

His tone carried a hint of sadness.

"Alas, when I escaped, I largely owed it to the lady of that client family I delivered water to."

"After her husband and child turned into monsters, we planned to leave the town together."

"It was fine at first, but then we accidentally encountered monsters, and the lady was bitten too."

"To let me escape successfully, she chose to block those monsters for me."

"That's how I managed to escape the town, and then I met Song Shu and the others on the way."

"Then, to avoid those monsters, we've been hiding in this abandoned farm in the suburbs."

"As for what happened after that, Officer Lin, you already know."

...