167: Chapter 167 The Sleeping List 037, Daddy's Here to Pick You Up

Inside the Safe Zone, it's dirtier than at the entrance.

Not the ground.

The rules are dirty.

Lin Yuan walked into the refugee area with Wang Ya and Lin Motong. Just past the first iron fence, they saw a red notice posted on the wall.

"Euthanasia List Voluntary Ordinance"

"To ensure the safety of the 100,000 survivors in Zhe City, families with children of appropriate age may sign up voluntarily."

"Registered families will receive 30 days of food stamps, basic medicine, and priority positions for one adult laborer."

Voluntary.

The two characters were posted at the very top.

Yet the mother queuing below had her hand pressed onto the table by a soldier.

A woman was holding a ten-year-old boy, crying so hard she couldn't stand straight.

"I don't want the food stamps anymore."

"I'll return the food stamps to you."

"Don't take my son away."

The registrar didn't look up.

"The list has already been approved."

"You signed it."

The woman shrieked: "That was you forcing me to sign!"

The soldier raised his rifle butt.

Bang.

The woman fell to the ground.

The child was dragged away, his crying stuck in his throat.

Water seeped out of the cement cracks under Wang Ya's feet.

Red light surfaced in Lin Motong's eyes.

Lin Yuan raised his hand and pressed it on Lin Motong's head.

"Take it back."

Lin Motong looked up at him.

"They made Mommy unhappy."

Wang Ya whispered: "Tongtong."

Her voice was very low, but it trembled.

Lin Yuan scanned the notice.

"We aren't here to save everyone."

Lin Yuan held Wang Ya's hand again.

"Find the player."

"Kill the Zombie King."

"Then go home."

Lin Motong's red light dissipated.

She hugged her little bear tightly.

"Then I'll remember them first."

Lin Yuan didn't object.

The three continued walking forward.

The Safe Zone issues food stamps once a day.

Half a stamp for an adult man.

Half a stamp for a woman.

None for children.

If you want to eat your fill, put your name on the "Euthanasia List".

Wang Ya saw an old man hiding his granddaughter in a water bucket, only to be dragged out by a patrolman on the spot.

The old man knelt and kowtowed.

The patrolman only said one thing.

"Don't delay everyone's survival."

These 100,000 people in Zhe City looked like they were alive, yet they also looked dead.

At the same time.

In the underground infirmary of the Safe Zone.

Ten hospital beds were lined up in a row.

Each child had an iron tag hanging on their wrist.

"Number 031"

"Number 032"

Up to.

"Number 040"

On the innermost bed, seven-year-old girl Zhou Niannian was lying down.

Her eyelashes fluttered gently, and her lips had been moistened with water.

The head nurse took a small cup and brought the white pill to her lips.

"Be good, you'll fall asleep once you take this."

Zhou Niannian opened her eyes groggily.

"Will Daddy come to pick me up today?"

The head nurse's hand paused.

The officer beside her frowned.

"Hurry up."

The head nurse shoved the pill into her mouth.

"He will."

"Once you wake up, he'll be here."

Zhou Niannian swallowed, and her eyes slowly closed.

The officer looked at the clock on the wall.

"Deliver to the border before 22:00."

A young nurse whispered: "She is Captain Zhou's daughter..."

The officer turned his head.

"Zhou Heng is a person of the Safe Zone."

"The Safe Zone raised him, and it also raised his daughter."

"Now it's his daughter's turn to contribute to the Safe Zone."

The young nurse shut her mouth.

The officer continued: "The child will go while sleeping, it won't hurt."

As soon as he finished speaking, the infirmary door was kicked open.

Bang!

Zhou Heng was the first to rush in.

The muzzle was pressed directly against the officer's brow.

"Then you go to sleep first."

The officer's expression changed.

"Zhou Heng! Are you rebelling?"

Zhou Heng didn't look at him.

His gaze fell on the innermost bed.

"Niannian."

Zhou Niannian's eyelids twitched, but she couldn't wake up.

Zhou Heng's special forces members rushed in, controlling both sides.

There were two guards pressed down outside the door.

The head nurse tried to stop him.

Zhou Heng pressed her neck and pinned her against the medicine cabinet.

"Who sent her in?"

The head nurse's face was pressed against the cabinet door, her voice trembling.

"Captain Zhou, I was just following orders..."

Zhou Heng moved the muzzle to her ear.

"Name."

The head nurse broke down.

"It was your mother-in-law!"

"She said there was no food at home!"

"You save people outside every day, but your family is starving!"

"Your father-in-law's wound is rotting, he needs medicine!"

"She said Niannian doesn't have a mother anyway, she'll die sooner or later if she follows you..."

The infirmary was chillingly quiet.

Zhou Heng's hand stopped.

His wife died during the first Red Moon.

After she was infected, he personally closed the iron door.

That night, he sat outside the door until dawn.

No one had mentioned it.

And no one dared to mention it.

The officer took the opportunity to speak.

"Zhou Heng, be sensible."

"The Zombie King Agreement was signed by Commander Wei Guangjun himself."

"If the list hadn't been delivered last night during the second Red Moon, the Safe Zone would have been gone long ago."

Zhou Heng turned to look at him.

"Seventy-two people died on East Third Street."

"One hundred and thirty-six people died at the West Pumping Station."

"Tell me, who did the Zombie King protect?"

The officer said: "That was interference from an external Zombie King."

"The broadcast has already explained it."

Zhou Heng smiled.

"You guys are too lazy to even come up with a different excuse for the dead."

"The Zombie King is not a guardian deity."

"It is farming us."

The officer's face darkened.

"Go tell that to Commander Wei Guangjun."

"If you snatch the tribute now, once the border is breached tonight, 100,000 people will be buried with you."

Zhou Heng pressed the muzzle tighter.

"Then let Commander Wei Guangjun go sleep at the border himself."

A guard nearby suddenly moved.

He was a C-rank fire-type Esper.

Just as a flame lit up in his palm, preparing to sneak attack Zhou Heng from the side, the next second, the fire went out.

It wasn't blown out by the wind.

It just disappeared.

The guard was stunned.

He activated it again.

There was only a bit of black smoke in his palm.

Zhou Niannian on the bed opened a slit in her eyes.

She seemed to be in a dream.

"Daddy..."

Zhou Heng turned and picked her up.

"Daddy is here."

The guard tried to pounce.

A special forces member kicked him in the face.

"What are you acting like a big shot for."

Outside the corridor, footsteps approached.

Captain Zhao had arrived.

He was nearly two meters tall, wearing a thick gold chain around his neck, followed by more than twenty armed thugs.

The doorway was instantly blocked.

Captain Zhao glanced at Zhou Niannian in Zhou Heng's arms.

"Captain Zhou, don't be so hot-headed."

Zhou Heng raised his gun.

Captain Zhao didn't dodge.

"You can shoot."

"But none of your people will leave the basement alive today."

The special forces members raised their guns in unison.

The soldiers behind Captain Zhao also disengaged their safeties.

In the infirmary, nine children were still sleeping on their beds.

Zhou Heng looked at them.

That glance was very short.

But it felt like being scraped by a knife.

Captain Zhao laughed: "You can take your daughter."

"I'm giving you face."

"But don't push your luck."

Zhou Heng stared at him.

"Captain Zhao, do you know what you are doing?"

Captain Zhao picked his ear.

"I know."

"Maintaining the big picture."

"And by the way, advising you not to seek death."

"After all, Commander Wei Guangjun still thinks highly of you."

He took a half-step forward.

The floor tiles cracked with a click.

The pressure of an A-rank Esper pressed directly onto everyone's chest.

Zhou Heng hugged his daughter tightly.

He couldn't die here.

At least not now.

"Retreat."

The special forces members were unwilling but still retreated.

When they reached the door, a five-year-old boy suddenly woke up.

He reached out his hand.

"Uncle, I want to go home too."

Zhou Heng stopped his footsteps.

Captain Zhao's voice turned cold.

"Captain Zhou."

Zhou Heng closed his eyes.

Then he walked out.

The door behind him closed.

That little hand slowly dropped.

Captain Zhao looked at the officer.

"Grab another one from the refugee area."

"Don't pick one too ugly, the Zombie King has preferences too."

As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of several nurses turned pale.

Just as Captain Zhao came out of the basement, Pockmarked Chen ran over while clutching his broken hand.

"Boss Zhao!"

"A tough guy came to the entrance!"

"He grabbed the inspection pass, beat our men, and even said he wanted to tear down the Safe Zone!"

Captain Zhao frowned.

"How many people?"

"Three."

Pockmarked Chen added fuel to the fire.

"That man knocked me down in two moves."

"The machine gun on the wall also jammed inexplicably."

"And also..."

Captain Zhao laughed.

"Good."

"Find them."

Refugee area.

Lin Yuan was watching the food stamp registration by the shed.

Wang Ya stood by his side, and Lin Motong was hugging her bear, head down, counting the ants on the ground.

Suddenly.

Two rows of people pressed in from the street corner.

Captain Zhao walked in front.

Pockmarked Chen shrank behind him, his eyes full of venom.

The refugees immediately scattered.

"That lecherous ghost Captain Zhao is here."

"It's over, that newcomer is going to be beaten crippled."

"His wife and child probably won't be saved either."

Captain Zhao stopped in front of Lin Yuan.

He didn't act immediately.

He just squinted his eyes and looked at Lin Yuan.

"To be able to cripple Pockmarked Chen."

"You are also an Esper, right?"