Chapter 56: Boss, We Can't Continue Fighting

Xu Heng arrived at the parking lot, his heart uneasy. He had no idea how the boss would deal with him after such a disaster. Not to mention, his old friend Cheng Guozhang had told him that he'd been overheard talking about running away with his men—a matter that could not be more serious.

But as soon as Xu Heng arrived, he realized things were far from simple.

Bai Rui and Fu Yongpeng were here as well.

Both of them were covered in mud, looking utterly disheveled, with terror lingering in their eyes—a fear of death that had yet to fade. The boss, Chi Wannin, was as before, holding her copy of the Criminal Code in her hands. The book lay open, though who knew how long she had been staring at the same page.

“Xu Heng is here. You may speak now,” Chi Wannin said, turning to Bai Rui and Fu Yongpeng.

Fu Yongpeng cast a resentful glance at Xu Heng. “Let me do the talking,” he said.

If Bai Rui, who was notorious for his harebrained schemes, were to explain today’s mess, there was no way they would get through this. It was better for Xu Heng to share part of the burden, even if it made things harder for him. Fu Yongpeng trusted that Xu Heng could handle it.

“Boss, here’s what happened. Because of the explosion at the foot of the mountain, a landslide was triggered above. Many of our people were buried alive.”

“At that moment, fire from the explosion below shot up and struck Yang Ribing and Yu Dongping, who had just stepped out of their tents, killing them instantly.”

Yang Ribing and Yu Dongping were the leaders of two other combat squads. Their deaths were incredibly unjust. Witnessing this scene had left Fu Yongpeng completely stunned. He had been counting on these two to immediately take command, but who could have anticipated such a catastrophe?

There was no way to make sense of a disaster like this. Not to mention Li Mingtian, who’d been killed earlier by Su Miao. Any one of these three would have been a better survivor than Bai Rui, who only ever came up with bad ideas.

Fu Yongpeng continued, “After that, hordes of giant rats attacked our camp. The security team from the resort released them, and they went straight for our bait storage, killing the squad guarding it.”

“One of the security guards, reckless to the end, smashed open the bait box with an axe, tossed it out, and scattered bait all over the camp.”

He had watched as the wounded guard, refusing to let go of the bait box even as the rats tore him apart, ran through the camp in a frenzy, spreading bait everywhere.

With bait scattered all over, Fu Yongpeng dared not linger for a second longer; he could only run.

The aftermath hardly needed explaining. With bait covering the camp, it would turn into a living hell in no time—no bodies would remain.

Fu Yongpeng’s voice trembled as he finished, “Boss, that’s what happened.”

Chi Wannin turned her gaze to Xu Heng.

Xu Heng was bewildered. Had he been summoned just to take the blame? He immediately said, “Boss, we followed the plan and used the catapult to hurl explosive charges at Su Miao’s villa. But the catapult’s range was limited, so we bombarded the nearby villas with the remaining charges, hoping the debris and shrapnel would indirectly injure Su Miao.”

“If Su Miao happened to be standing by the window, there was a chance the shattering glass would hurt her.”

“But I never expected Su Miao to be able to shoot the explosive charge midair and trigger a massive explosion.”

Over seven hundred meters away, in the pitch-black night, with smoke and fire obscuring everything, and yet Su Miao managed to shoot the explosive right as it flew up. Such blatant cheating—how could he possibly explain that?

He couldn’t believe Fu Yongpeng still wanted him to take the fall for the disaster on the mountain. It was too much.

Chi Wannin withdrew her gaze, her fingertips brushing the Criminal Code. The room fell into a rare silence.

Just then, heavy rain began pouring down outside, the drumming against the roof breaking the oppressive quiet.

“How many casualties have there been in each combat squad so far?”

Xu Heng and Fu Yongpeng exchanged glances; neither had had time to tally the losses. But with the boss asking, they had no choice but to give a number.

“Total casualties: 126 dead, 35 lightly wounded,” Fu Yongpeng reported after quickly gathering the figures, his voice hollow with shock.

As per usual practice, those with severe injuries were counted among the dead.

Only after gathering the numbers did the chilling reality sink in—the company had started with twelve combat squads, each with twenty members, a leader, and a deputy, equipped with at least six firearms per squad. Their fighting power was formidable.

Yet in just a day and a night, more than half were lost.

Six squad leaders were among the dead.

Nearly all the casualties, directly or indirectly, were connected to the murderous witch Su Miao.

Once he was sure there were no outsiders in the room, Xu Heng spoke up. “Boss, we can’t keep fighting. Soon, other forces will take an interest in this place.”

Chi Wannin’s fingers paused on the book. She looked at Xu Heng, a strange light flickering in her eyes.

Fu Yongpeng glanced at Xu Heng with admiration—Old Xu actually dared to say that? Did he have a death wish?

Xu Heng regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth, but someone had to say them. If they kept fighting Su Miao, the company would only lose more people. Soon, it wouldn’t even be a matter of fending off other ambitious groups; they might not even be able to control the people they’d temporarily subdued in the resort.

Chi Wannin closed the Criminal Code and said, “Suspend all attacks on Su Miao. Gather the remaining combat squad members, reorganize them, and use the slaves to build defensive fortifications.”

“Xu Heng, you’re in charge of this.”

Xu Heng straightened immediately. “Yes, Boss!”

Chi Wannin continued, “Fu Yongpeng, assign people to recover all lost firearms. If anyone is caught hoarding weapons, kill them.”

“Yes, Boss!” Fu Yongpeng responded.

Finally, Chi Wannin turned to Bai Rui. “Bai Rui, tomorrow you’ll go among the slaves and recruit one hundred new people. They’ll be responsible for maintaining order in the resort.”

A flicker of joy passed over Bai Rui’s face. “Yes, Boss!”

With her orders given, Chi Wannin said, “You may all leave.”

Fu Yongpeng, Xu Heng, and Bai Rui exited into the rain. As the torrential downpour roared, all three of them breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

But just as they thought they were free, a crashing sound echoed from inside—a sharp noise as if something had been smashed.

The three men pretended not to hear, hastening their steps.

Yet had they returned immediately, they would have found that nothing inside the room had actually been broken.

Chi Wannin still sat in her chair, the Criminal Code open before her, lost in thought.

The deaths of so many subordinates had never truly concerned her. In this apocalypse, as long as there was food, there would never be a shortage of people.

…

Dawn broke.

Nothing had happened during the latter half of the night.

Wrapped in a blanket, Su Miao opened her eyes and glanced out the window, astonished by the terrifying scene in the pouring rain.

What kind of hellscape was this?