The wind drifted through the narrow alley, carrying the scent of dust and metal.
Thuong Sinh's hand still held his sword, and he did not advance. He raised his head and looked directly at the person speaking on the roof.
"Explain."
Only two words, but heavy enough to make the other person fall silent for a few seconds before signaling. Two other shadows lowered their rifle barrels slightly; they were still aiming but no longer squeezing the triggers.
"Come inside and talk; it is not safe out here."
Van Binh frowned: "Can they be trusted?" Van Thieu did not answer, his eyes sweeping across the buildings with vantage points around them. The defensive arrangement was not crude, but very intentional. At the very least, if they had wanted to shoot, they would have shot just now.
"Go, maintain formation."
A metal door on the ground floor of a house opened from the inside. It was not locked, but it had a manual bolt. Inside was a narrow staircase leading down to a basement.
Flashlights were switched on.
It was not a storage room, nor was it a makeshift shelter. Below, it was reinforced with steel, and maps were pasted all over the walls, marked with tangled routes, red arrows, and overlapping circles.
Thuong Sinh understood immediately with a single glance.
"A zombie movement map."
The guide glanced at him and nodded: "Correct."
There were already four other people in the room. Eight in total. None were young, and none were too old. All bore old scars on their bodies.
"We are a survival team from the southwest line, we do not belong to Thanh Xa. We used to be transport workers, later… we got stuck."
Thanh Dao looked at the map: "Do all these arrows point toward the center?"
"In the beginning, yes, but three days ago it was different."
He used a pen to tap lightly on an area circled in bold.
"The zombies began to change direction. They no longer congregate at one point. They are patrolling."
So Sinh took a deep breath: "Patrolling?"
"There are cycles. There are intervals." "There are times they stop, as if waiting for orders."
No one said anything.
Thuong Sinh stepped closer to the map. He looked for a long time at the overlapping lines, then asked a seemingly unrelated question: "Where is Thanh Xa?"
The other person chuckled dryly: "If you think Thanh Xa controls this place…"
He shook his head.
"Then you evaluate them too highly."
He pointed to another area, located deeper toward the southwest, near the edge of the map.
"A day ago, Thanh Xa withdrew their people from this sector."
"After that?" Van Thieu asked.
"After that, zombies began to appear more frequently, and these things."
He went to a cabinet and took out a distorted device with a scorched outer shell; on the surface were engraved symbols very familiar to Thuong Sinh's group.
Thanh Dao was stunned: "This is like…"
"The factory," Thuong Sinh continued.
It was not a question. It was an assertion. The other person looked at him for a long time, then nodded slowly: "So you have seen it too."
The atmosphere in the room plummeted completely; the communication device at Van Thieu's hip vibrated lightly. The message was from another team:
[Team 4: contact with strange forces, not Thanh Xa]
[Jamming device confirmed to exist]
[Possibility of source count > 1]
Van Thieu raised his head, looking around the cramped semi-basement room.
"It seems the entire Southwest has turned into a trap."
Thuong Sinh placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, his eyes turning cold.
"The only issue remaining is who set the trap."
No one answered that question; the flashlight beam shining on the map vibrated slightly with each person's breathing. Tangled red arrows intersected and then diverged, like the blood vessels of a diseased body.
The guide broke the silence: "We do not know who, we only know this thing is not Thanh Xa's gear." "Thanh Xa has weapons and people, but their foundation is looting and violence; there is no way they have the level of qualification to research this kind of technology."
"Someone is experimenting, right in this dying land," Van Thieu said thoughtfully.
The air around the room gradually turned cold.
Van Binh clicked his tongue: "Then it is bad luck for the experimenters."
Thuong Sinh still stood before that map; he reached out his hand, placing his index finger on an intersection between three arrow lines.
"This place."
The guide followed his gaze and nodded immediately: "Two days ago, the strongest signal was here." "We did not dare get close."
"Why?"
"Because the zombies in that area, they do not disperse when the signal is lost."
The entire room went dead silent.
"They stand still, as if waiting for a command."
Van Thieu's communication device vibrated again. This time it was the general channel.
[Team 2: contact with Thanh Xa, they are withdrawing deep inside] [Team 5: detected a forbidden area with unusually high zombie density] [All teams: maintain contact, avoid major engagement]
Van Thieu turned off the screen and raised his head: "It is clear now." He looked at each person in Team 7. "Thanh Xa is not the center; they are just the outer layer."
Van Binh gripped the handle of his weapon tightly: "Then our mission?"
"Continue to go in, but do not charge straight in." He turned to the guide: "Do you know a detour?"
The other person nodded: "Yes. But we must pass through the old residential area. It is cramped, with many nooks and crannies."
Thuong Sinh's eyes flickered toward the other person: "Take that road."
No one objected.
Van Thieu nodded decisively: "Rest for one hour. Check equipment."
The lights in the basement were dimmed, leaving only a weak glow. Each person found a corner, checking weapons, changing magazines, and re-bandaging wounds.
—
There was no signal for departure, nor were there redundant reminders. Each person automatically entered their position with sufficient distance.
Thuong Sinh led the way.
His sword was not yet drawn, but his hand was always ready on the hilt. The terrain ahead began to change; the wide roads were gradually being squeezed narrow, and houses were crowded together.
The old residential area, which before the apocalypse had been packed with people, now only remained silent—not a safe type of quiet, but the kind of silence that makes others hold their breath.
Thuong Sinh, leading the way, suddenly stopped at a narrow three-way junction, signaling the team to press against the wall. A slight metallic scent drifted with the wind from the broken door of a second-floor house. It was not the smell of old rot, but a fresh scent.
So Sinh leaned down to look at the dragging marks on the ground: "Dragging footprints."
"Three of them," Thanh Dao spoke softly.
As soon as she finished speaking, a faint noise rang out.
Thud—!
It was not loud, but in the quiet space, it rang out very clearly.
A swaying shadow appeared at the end of the alley, then another, then another. They did not lunge or roar as usual. They just stood there, heads slightly tilted.
Thuong Sinh took a step forward.
Immediately, the three zombies turned their heads toward him at the same time.
Thuong Sinh did not retreat; the cloth wrapping the sword slid down, and he drew his sword. With just a slight draw, the three zombies lunged simultaneously.
The three zombies moved at the same time. Not lunging forward, but splitting up, each taking a corner to block the retreat.
"They know how to encircle," Van Binh gnashed his teeth.
"No, it is something that is controlling them."
Thuong Sinh advanced to slash—a neat sword line, no wasted force, but sufficient. The zombie on the left fell before it could emit a sound. The second one had just moved when it was hit by a palm strike from Van Binh, who had accumulated electricity in his hand, blowing its head apart.
The remaining one hesitated for only a moment, then turned to run—not running in a scattered panic, but running in the same direction.
Thuong Sinh looked after the one that was running.
"Correct direction."
Van Thieu's voice was calm: "Maintain formation. Keep going."
The deeper they went, the more the zombie density increased, but strangely there were no large waves of encirclement; they appeared scattered around.
Until they stood before an open piece of land shaped like an arc. In the middle was a low building with no sign and no windows, surrounded by an iron fence that had been half-dismantled.
On the ground were tangled tire tracks, very fresh; he knelt down, his hand touching the ground. The tire marks were not chaotic; they were very orderly: vehicles entering, stopping, then leaving.
It was transport.
Van Thieu signaled to split the formation into two sides. He, Thanh Dao, and So Sinh circled to the right. Thuong Sinh, Van Binh, and Lam Thanh Moc approached from the left.
The sound of the wind through the broken fence made a creaking noise. No zombies lunged out, and there were no traps. This silence made people even more uncomfortable.
Thuong Sinh stopped before a closed iron door.
It was not locked, only ajar; he pushed the door gently, opening a narrow crack. The smell of metal, engine oil, and dried blood mixed together; those smells hit everyone's noses directly.
Inside was a wide space with a low ceiling. Under the dim light, rows of equipment were erected: small generators, wave amplifiers, and wires tangled across the floor.
There were no people, but there were very fresh traces.
Lam Thanh Moc looked at the dragging marks on the cement floor: "Something was taken away very urgently."
So Sinh was about to speak when—
Boom—!
A dull explosion rang out from the distance; it was not loud, but enough to make the ground vibrate slightly—not here, but in a different direction.
Van Thieu immediately opened the map and performed a quick localization. A red dot had just appeared at the southwest edge not far away.
"Another team has made contact."
Not one person in the group was happy; that meant the thing behind this had begun to react.
Thuong Sinh looked deep into the building, where cables disappeared down a dark staircase.
"Our place is not the center, but it is the path that leads us there."
Thuong Sinh signaled, and the team immediately pressed against the wall to advance down the stairs.
The stairs were narrow and steep; every step echoed in the confined space. Cables hung dangling from the ceiling.
Reaching the last floor, the space opened up abruptly.
A control room much wider than the one above. In the center was a distorted block of machinery, assembled from many different devices.
And it was there—not quite a zombie; its body was fixed to a metal chair, the lower half of its body merged with machinery, its head bowed low.
Thanh Dao took a deep breath: "The control source is an individual."
The clouded eyes of that creature suddenly opened; in that instant, all the machinery around shrieked.
Boom—!
The walls shook violently, dust fell from the ceiling, and from the ventilation slots, zombie roars echoed back simultaneously, as if a switch had been flipped.
"Destroy it now!" Van Thieu barked.
Thuong Sinh had already lunged forward, sword slashing down—not at the creature, but aiming straight for the connecting core between it and the machine. The sword intent formed a green shape, clashing against the metal and emitting a piercing sound. Sparks flew.
That creature shrieked—not the sound of a zombie, but a distorted, pained sound carrying a mental shockwave.
Lam Thanh Moc controlled her vines, destroying the surrounding amplifiers. Machine by machine they exploded, then the light gradually faded.
Thuong Sinh rotated his wrist, slashing horizontally—this time, the head.
The sound immediately cut off; the central machine block trembled for a few seconds, then shut down completely.
Van Thieu looked at the communication screen; the interference signal had disappeared: "Finished."
"No, this might only be one station."
The whole team understood. The entire group began to leave the semi-underground room once the system shut down completely. There were no longer guidance waves, but the zombies out there had not yet fully dispersed; they were just disoriented. That made the road ahead more dangerous and chaotic.
They moved along the main cable line, sticking close to the energy line running underground. The deeper they went, the denser the equipment became—newer and clearly assembled with a clear intent.
"That warehouse was indeed experimental gear," Thanh Dao said in a low voice. "This thing is a complete system."
Before she finished her words, the sound of rapid gunfire erupted ahead. It was not from zombies; it was human-vs-human combat.
Van Thieu signaled a halt, and the team pressed against the edge of the hallway. Through a crack in the concrete wall, they saw a central area with a giant broadcast tower in the middle.
Two sides were in a standoff.
Another combat team, with standard military equipment, was pinned behind blocks of machinery. Opposite them were those carrying the familiar signs—dark blue coats, the coiled snake symbol on the wrist.
The people of Thanh Xa.
But behind them, standing next to the control desk, was someone else.
Thin, tall, goggles covering half his face, hands covered in energy burn marks. He did not look at the battle at all, focusing only on the data on the screen.
"Not the leader," Lam Thanh Moc said firmly. "Could it be the person who made this?"
Van Thieu frowned and replied: "Let's go, we must reinforce them."
The group nodded.
Thuong Sinh said nothing. He had drawn his sword; one sword strike broke the crack into a passage. The crack on the concrete wall was torn open by sword intent, and stone rubble fell scattered.
Thuong Sinh was the first to charge out.
As soon as he appeared, the lights in the central area flickered a few times. Several of Thanh Xa's people turned their heads, reacting a bit slower than the battlefield in front.
That bit was enough to be fatal.
Sword light flashed; two shadows collapsed almost simultaneously, their throats sliced clean. Before the blood could spray, the heads were in one place and the bodies in another.
"Charge!"
Van Thieu barked out, his voice deep but decisive. He stomped hard on the ground beneath his feet.
Boom—!
The metal floor beneath their feet shook; the previously flat steel plates suddenly protruded, deformed, and rose into slanted barriers. The central terrain was distorted in a blink, providing cover for the combat team being pinned down.
"Left side! Go high!"
Van Thieu rotated his wrist; a pillar cracked and fractured, and the floor surface below the Thanh Xa team collapsed by half a meter, throwing their formation into chaos.
Those people looked toward Thuong Sinh's group and were immediately overjoyed.
"Reinforcements are here! Attack them!"
Several of them with fire abilities were already prepared; they lunged out, fire surging from their hands to shoot at those carrying guns. The gunmen were distracted by Thuong Sinh's group and did not notice; by the time the flames reached them, it was too late.
The fire swept across the battlefield, forcing Thanh Xa's gunmen to roll away to dodge. The already chaotic formation was instantly torn apart, and screams rang out repeatedly.
"Keep the rhythm! Do not let them get close to the broadcast tower!" One person in the combat team on the other side barked loudly, firing while retreating.
Thanh Xa immediately reacted. Two of his ability users lunged forward; one erected an energy shield, while the other launched wind blades straight toward the reinforcement team.
"Van Binh!" Van Thieu roared.
No need for a second reminder; Van Binh surged forward half a step. Lightning gathered at his arm, the crackling sound piercing the ears. He thrust a palm strike straight forward.
The lightning force slammed into the energy shield, exploding into a ring of shockwaves. The shield broke, and the person behind was knocked backward, rolling onto the floor.
In that exact moment, So Sinh closed the distance. His form stayed low, his movements neat and fast, like a real leopard. He glided through the gap, striking down the enemy who had just lost balance, then turned to deal with the next target without stopping.
Lam Thanh Moc tightened her hand.
Vines emerged from the cracked floor, wrapping around the ankles and waists of the opponents, pulling them down. A Thanh Xa ability user was about to counterattack when he was bound tightly; before he could struggle, he was shot down by the combat team.
But at that moment, a cold current of air pressed straight toward them.
Thanh Xa had appeared from nowhere.
As soon as Thanh Xa lunged forward like an arrow with his long saber slashing horizontally, Thuong Sinh did not choose to face him head-on right in the center.
He glanced quickly at the position of Van Binh and the combat team being pinned by enemy fire, then suddenly spun his body, using the impact force from the first saber strike to bounce backward, lunging straight toward the dark technical corridor on the left wing.
"Want to run?" Thanh Xa grinned savagely, assuming the opponent was afraid; he immediately stuck to him like a shadow.
Van Thieu saw this and was about to shout, but seeing Thuong Sinh's calm eyes, he immediately understood the intent and turned to roar: "Stop his soldiers! Leave that area to Thuong Sinh!"
In the narrow corridor where gas pipes hissed out murky white steam, Thuong Sinh stopped his steps. The space here was only enough for two people to stand, completely isolated from the echoing sounds of gunfire outside.
Thanh Xa only now slowed to a halt, realizing he had been separated from his subordinates: "You chose quite a quiet place to die for yourself."
Thuong Sinh did not answer him. He rotated his wrist, the sword stance changing direction, pressing the opponent back beat by beat.
Thanh Xa retreated half a step, his heel plowing into the steel floor and producing a piercing friction sound. He narrowed his eyes, and the long saber in his hand spun once; the tip of his saber erupted with an invisible layer of scales that seemed to envelop his body.
Thuong Sinh slightly recognized it: that stance was martial arts.
"Looking at this style of fighting..." Thanh Xa chuckled dryly, his hoarse voice turning ice-cold. "You are not an ordinary soldier, are you?"
Thuong Sinh remained silent, watching his stance.
The sword in his hand vibrated slightly. In the exact moment Thanh Xa intended to advance again, the Thuong Sinh in front of him disappeared.
It was not a fast dash, nor was it a dodge, but a fading away.
Thanh Xa's pupils contracted, and he slashed horizontally by reflex, but only struck a faint afterimage. The air in front was torn, but the target was no longer there.
Thanh Xa froze for a very short moment. Not because of panic, but because of realization.
"A phantom movement technique?"
He gnashed his teeth, his foot rotated half a turn, and the saber stance in his hand immediately changed. The long saber no longer slashed wildly but was retracted close to his body, the spine of the saber standing upright, and his whole body's aura lowered.
That was combat martial arts.
"That makes it even more interesting."
Thanh Xa stepped hard on the floor, his body not retreating but spinning on the spot, the saber stance opening like a fan. The surrounding air was immediately pulled and twisted, creating a circular pressure ring that enveloped him.
""Saber Technique — Coiled Snake Lock"."
The saber ring swept horizontally, not sitting in a fixed direction but sealing the entire range around his body. No matter where Thuong Sinh appeared, he would be forced out.
Sure enough, on the left, the air vibrated. A shadow materialized.
Clang—!
Sword and saber clashed in an extremely short range. Thuong Sinh had just appeared and already had to lean his body to avoid; the saber tip grazed past his throat, carrying a bone-chilling cold current.
Thanh Xa gave him no space. Before one saber strike finished, the second was already connected; his movement technique slid low, his shoulder pressed down, his whole body like a large snake close to the ground, the saber slashing diagonally from below.
Thuong Sinh lifted his toes, his body bounced backward, and his sword slashed diagonally down.
Clang—clang—clang!
Three consecutive beats of impact; sparks flew in the narrow space. The two exchanged moves so fast that only afterimages could be seen.
Thanh Xa laughed coldly while fighting: "Not a military technique, but a killing art." "The military system cannot teach this thing."
The long saber was retracted, his left hand opened, and the aura in his body erupted; veins bulged across his muscles. The saber stance suddenly became heavy, each slash dragging pressure as if collapsing the air.
""Saber Technique — Snake Suppressor"."
Boom—!
A direct saber chop; the steel floor beneath Thuong Sinh's feet cracked like a spiderweb. Thuong Sinh was forced back half a step, his wrist vibrating slightly.
This time he did not disappear.
Thuong Sinh raised his sword and lowered his center of gravity. The sword stance in his hand changed; it was no longer fast, but sharp. The surrounding air fell silent for a very short beat, then congregated around the sword blade. The wind was pulled into green currents, swirling along the spine of the blade.
Thanh Xa sensed something; his expression changed for the first time.
"This is—"
"Blade Wind".
Thuong Sinh took a step forward, the sword slashing through the void between the two. An invisible wind blade shot out in front of Thanh Xa.
Boom—!
Thanh Xa was knocked backward, his heels sliding a long distance, and his back slammed hard against the wall. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes no longer able to hide his terror.
"Impossible…"
He looked at Thuong Sinh as if looking at something that did not belong to this world.
"Are you an ability user? Or something else?"
Thuong Sinh did not answer. He did not give Thanh Xa a chance to breathe; his body glided, and the sword blade vibrated, producing wind-tearing shrieks.
Thanh Xa roared, exerting all his remaining life force, swinging his long saber to create a dense curtain of saber light for defense.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Three impact sounds rang out in succession. Each of Thuong Sinh's sword strikes hit the weakest point in the opponent's saber stance. On the fourth beat, Thuong Sinh spun his body, and a horizontal sword line carrying the power of "Blade Wind" slashed straight into the body of the saber.
Crack!
Thanh Xa's long saber broke in half. Thuong Sinh's sword blade did not stop; it glided across the opponent's throat so fast it only left a faint streak of light.
Thanh Xa stiffened. He looked down at the half saber blade lying on the floor, then at the hot blood beginning to pour out from his neck.
"Impossible…"
His tall body collapsed to the floor, blood spreading out and soaking into the cables vibrating slightly under his feet. The "Snake" of the Southwest had been severed.
Thanh Xa collapsed.
His tall, heavy body hit the steel floor and became still. Blood spread beneath him, flowing through the grooves and soaking into the cables that were vibrating slightly.
Thuong Sinh stepped forward, and a light flashed. He leaned down, his blood-stained hand grabbing the opponent's hair, lifting Thanh Xa's head up. He walked out from the narrow corridor; when he stepped outside with the bloody head in his hand.
In that moment, the entire central area seemed to pause.
The others fighting on Thanh Xa's side stopped their hands simultaneously. Some turned their heads, others were frozen in place looking at the corpse lying amidst the flickering lights.
The leader was dead.
"Thanh… Thanh Xa is dead?"
A whisper rang out and then spread quickly like a plague.
The spirit of the Thanh Xa crowd collapsed almost immediately. Some turned their heads to run; some fired wildly in panic. The formation disintegrated in just a few breaths.
"Clear it out!"
Van Thieu shouted loudly.
The ground beneath his feet shook again; sections of the floor tilted sharply, forcing the fleeing crowd into a corner. Van Binh lunged forward, lightning exploding on his arm; with one palm strike, the lightning spread through the metal, knocking down several gunmen in succession.
So Sinh's body contracted in a blink and then expanded; sharp claws tore through the distance, his movement technique like a hunting leopard, taking down every target that still dared to resist.
Lam Thanh Moc did not look at Thanh Xa's head again. Her eyes were locked on the person standing next to the control desk.
The scientist.
He did not run. While the Thanh Xa soldiers were in panic, he calmly pressed one final key on the screen before slowly turning around. His face behind the goggles showed no trace of fear.
Lam Thanh Moc waved her hand, and vines surged up to bind his limbs tightly. He did not resist at all, allowing the vines to tighten into his flesh.
"It is too late." He said, his voice buzzing through the voice filter, "The data has been transmitted successfully."
"You are not a person of Thanh Xa." Thuong Sinh stepped forward and spoke softly, but it was a statement.
The scientist sneered and did not answer; his eyes scanned the broadcast tower as if looking at broken toys. He looked at Thuong Sinh a bit longer, a morbid spark of excitement appearing in his pupils: "We will meet again in a more perfect version."
Before Lam Thanh Moc could tighten the vines, the scientist suddenly gnashed his jaw hard.
Crack—!
A stream of pale green smoke escaped from the corners of his mouth. In just two seconds, all the blood vessels on his face turned pitch black; his eyes bulged and then quickly turned clouded. His body slumped down into the pile of vines, his head lolling to one side, his breath stopping immediately.
"Damn it! He bit a poison pill!" Van Binh lunged forward intending to hoist him up, but it was too late.
Just as the scientist's breath stopped, the control screen suddenly displayed a self-destruct command counting down. Rows of code began to be wiped white at dizzying speed.
"Thanh Dao! Block it!" Van Thieu shouted loudly.
Thanh Dao did not wait for the order; she had already lunged to the control desk. Her left hand pulled out a decoding device and plugged it directly into the physical port of the server, while her right hand typed continuously on the virtual keyboard.
"He already transmitted the core data; I only had time to disconnect the physical connection to retain the buffer data and the wave structure!" Thanh Dao gnashed her teeth, sweat running down her forehead as she yanked a memory card glowing red from overheating out of the machine.
In the center, the giant broadcast tower vibrated one last time and then went silent. The signal lights on the machine blocks also turned black.
Van Thieu looked at the corpse, then at the broadcast tower that had shut down; his face became extremely heavy: "Clean up the battlefield. Recover all remaining hard drives. We must bring this back to headquarters."
Thuong Sinh looked at the broadcast tower for a second, then turned and left.
"It is over."
Outside the central area, the roars of the zombies gradually thinned out. The previously chaotic sounds lost their direction and scattered, no longer being pulled toward one point.
From this moment on, the Southwest would no longer belong to Thanh Xa.
— One day later.
The gates of the Duong Nam Safe Zone opened with a heavy metallic sound.
The convoy entered in a line, the vehicle bodies mottled with bullet marks, mud, and dried blood. There were no cheers, only eyes following them—silently, warily—then gradually turning to relief.
The news had been transmitted back earlier. Thanh Xa had been annihilated. The zombie interference source in the Southwest had also been destroyed.
Team 7 got out of the vehicles.
Thuong Sinh walked in front. On his body was still the Gale Leather Armor, its characteristic blue and black colors still stained with some dried blood; his sword was still strapped to his hip. Van Binh was still tired but forced a smile; Van Thieu was still as silent as ever; So Sinh had returned to human form; Thanh Dao took off her glasses to wipe them repeatedly; Lam Thanh Moc still followed at the very end.
Other teams also withdrew one by one.
Some teams were full; some were missing half; some did not return. No one spoke it out, but everyone understood the price of this Red Alert mission.
— Reporting lasted nearly half a day.
Interrogating the scientist, recovering equipment, assessing zombie aftershocks, dividing the blockade area. Everyone had a role to take over; Team 7 was ordered to take a temporary rest.
When night fell, Thuong Sinh was in his room, not yet having removed the Gale Leather Armor he was wearing, when someone knocked on the door.
Knock. Knock.
Two sounds, decisive.
"Thuong Sinh."
Thuong Sinh went to open the door. A messenger officer stood outside, bowing very slightly: "The Supreme Commander calls for you."
—
Thuong Sinh was currently standing before the Supreme Commander's office; the door was ajar, and he politely knocked.
"Come in."
Inside, Ly Hong Quan stood over the map table, his coat not yet removed, his hair having gained a few more silver strands compared to the last time Thuong Sinh met him. On the screen behind him was a map of the Southwest; the entire area Thanh Xa once controlled had been marked as erased.
"Sit down." Ly Hong Quan said.
Thuong Sinh did not sit, only stood straight: "You called for me."
Ly Hong Quan did not reprimand him. He looked at him for a long time, his gaze no longer just that of a commander looking at a subordinate.
"You did very well."
"The level exceeded expectations."
He turned the screen.
Displayed was the data recovered from the broadcast tower, the zombie control wave structure, and the mad notes of the scientist.
"This thing wasn't thought up by him alone." Ly Hong Quan said slowly.
"He was just the one executing it; there is someone else behind him."
Thuong Sinh remained silent.
"We are tracing the marks of a power that has never shown its face."
"And in this mission, you have severed an important branch of theirs."
Ly Hong Quan looked at him, speaking bluntly: "I called you here just to say that."
A short silence passed.
Then he asked: "What do you want?"
Thuong Sinh answered almost immediately, without hesitation: "I don't need anything."
Ly Hong Quan chuckled softly, a very faint smile.
"I knew you would say that."
"But I will still say it once."
"If you want anything, within the scope of what I can fulfill, I will give it to you."
Thuong Sinh looked straight at him, answering calmly: "Then just leave it for later."
"When the time comes, I will speak for myself."
Ly Hong Quan nodded, not forcing it: "I will wait."
Thuong Sinh nodded, bowed slightly, then turned and walked out of the Supreme Commander's office.
The door closed behind him.
In the bright white hallway, his footsteps rang out steadily; no one called him back, there were no new orders. Only the soldiers passing by instinctively paused their gaze on him, then quickly looked away, as if afraid to touch upon something that shouldn't be asked about.
It was dark outside. Spotlights hit the base yard, casting his long shadow on the ground.