Volume One Mutation Chapter Fifty-Five Reconstruction

Early morning. Liu Cong and Liu Qingqing finished a night of cultivation. Having witnessed the battle firsthand, Liu Qingqing had grown even more diligent in her training; last night, after dinner, she pulled Liu Cong into practice, leaving him somewhat frustrated.

Two solitary souls, a man and a woman, sharing a room—there could have been sweeter things to do together. He had thought, after displaying his prowess, that Liu Qingqing would be filled with admiration for him. He intended to seize the moment to deepen their bond, but she dragged him off to train instead.

There was a touch of helplessness in his heart, but also a faint sense of comfort.

They dressed and stepped outside, only to discover hundreds of soldiers busying themselves around the ruined walls. Two cranes had arrived from who knows where, working with the soldiers to rebuild after the disaster.

This battle had not only breached G15’s towering city walls, but had damaged structures all across the area. Losses were significant. Destruction is far easier than construction; what is torn down in a night takes dozens of times longer to rebuild.

Liu Cong noticed Zhang Chu not far off, leaning against the wall, cigarette in hand, a look of melancholy on his face—a stark contrast to when they had first met.

“Hey, brother, how come you’re up early today? Yesterday at this hour, you were still resting. Did we make too much noise for you to sleep?” Zhang Chu saw them approaching, instinctively snuffed out his cigarette, and greeted them with a smile.

Liu Cong shook his head, leaned against the wall, and watched the bustling crowd below. “We’ve rested long enough. The room was stuffy, so we came out for some air.”

“A bunch of rough folks here, you know. When we built this place, no one thought to make the accommodations comfortable. Sorry you have to put up with it,” Zhang Chu said, self-deprecating.

Liu Qingqing brushed a strand of hair from her forehead and sighed, “Uncle Zhang, back when we did military training, we thought it was tough, so exhausting. Now, thinking back, we were really just whining—standing at attention, marching, and already complaining. Compared to you, it’s nothing at all.”

“That’s not quite fair. Us soldiers—we’re all rough men, can’t compare to educated folks like you college students. All we have is our strength and the ability to endure hardship. The country supports us; if we don’t suffer a bit, it wouldn’t make sense.” Zhang Chu looked at his hardworking, courageous men with pride.

Liu Cong chuckled, “True enough. If being a soldier weren’t hard, hardly anyone would bother with school—they’d just enlist.”

“Brother Liu, before meeting you, I used to wish every day that the army would come and rescue me. I longed to see soldiers,” Liu Qingqing reminisced, her mood dipping for a moment. But soon her smile returned. “Even now, just watching them makes me feel safe, even if I do nothing else.”

“Haha! I like hearing you say that, Miss Liu,” Zhang Chu grinned. “Before, soldiers had skills but nowhere to use them—just waiting for retirement. Now it’s different. Dangerous, sure, but we’re thriving. We finally have a chance to put our abilities to use, to protect our country, our comrades, and our families.”

“So hearing you say we give you a sense of security—I’m very gratified!” Zhang Chu’s gaze grew distant, as if he were sighing, as if remembering something.

“Uncle Zhang, what’s gotten into you today? You just won a battle, you should be happy, not so sentimental,” Liu Cong noticed Zhang Chu’s mood and teased him.

Zhang Chu took out another cigarette, but then remembered the company. “Brother, Miss Liu, mind if I smoke?”

Liu Cong glanced at Liu Qingqing, who smiled and shook her head. “Go ahead.”

Zhang Chu lit the cigarette, took a deep drag, exhaling a cloud of white smoke. “We won, yes, but I can’t feel happy. Yesterday alone, more than five hundred soldiers lost their lives. And it wasn’t the monsters that killed them—it was our own people.”

Liu Cong felt a pang of sorrow. If only he’d arrived sooner, fewer would have died. As he ruminated, a gentle touch came to his hand; he turned to see Liu Qingqing smiling at him tenderly. Though still saddened, he felt a bit better.

“In battle, unity and coordination are everything. That missile you stopped yesterday should have been launched as soon as the T4 appeared, but there was a serious mistake at the base. Deployment was delayed, and we missed the best opportunity. If not for that, the T4 wouldn’t have breached our walls, and so many wouldn’t have died. Tell me, brother, could I possibly feel happy?”

“I didn’t sleep at all last night. Every time I closed my eyes, all I saw were the faces of those wrongly killed soldiers, and the accusations of their families. Over five hundred lives, over five hundred families waiting in the safe zone—all gone, all lost!”

His heartfelt words left Liu Cong deeply affected, and Liu Qingqing’s eyes grew misty; the emotion was contagious.

For a while, none spoke.

When the cigarette burnt down and the ember singed his finger, Zhang Chu startled awake. “Sorry, I just couldn’t hold it in. I let my feelings spill and ruined your mood. My apologies.”

Liu Cong smiled, “Uncle Zhang, better to speak than bottle it up. You feel better once it’s out.”

Liu Qingqing offered Zhang Chu a smile, showing her understanding.

Zhang Chu smiled back, about to say more, when his communicator buzzed at his chest.

“Report! Radar indicates a group of mutated creatures approaching the rear defensive line. Estimated arrival in one hour. Numbers unknown!”

Zhang Chu’s face grew instantly grave. “I’ll be right there. Keep a close watch on their numbers and movements!”

“Brother, let’s go check it out together!” Liu Cong nodded, taking Liu Qingqing’s hand as they followed Zhang Chu.

“Brother Liu, why are monsters coming again? We just finished fighting yesterday,” Liu Qingqing wondered aloud.

Liu Cong already had an idea and analyzed, “Remember the black clouds overhead when we traveled here? I suspect there was a black rain somewhere in the rear. That black rain attracted not only mutated creatures on land, but also those in the water. The ones that landed yesterday must have been trying to cross the defensive line to reach the rain zone.”

Zhang Chu listened to Liu Cong’s analysis, growing ever more impressed with the young man—so much power, yet so clever. After Liu Cong finished, Zhang Chu agreed, “Well said. The black rain is the source. Our meteorology team detected its movement early, so G15 made preparations in advance.”

“Black rain is vile! Isn’t there a way to stop it?” Liu Qingqing’s delicate brows furrowed, clearly disgusted by the phenomenon.

Zhang Chu forced a smile. “There are ways. We started trying everything half a year ago to prevent black clouds from forming—chemical dispersal, shelling the clouds, all sorts of attempts. But even after dispersing the clouds, the vapor at high altitude remained; the effort was immense and results minimal.”

“Shouldn’t it have done more good? Sure, we spent shells, but stopping the black rain keeps mutated creatures away, saving even more bullets and shells,” Liu Qingqing’s curiosity surged.

Liu Cong answered for Zhang Chu, smiling, “Qingqing, your idea is reasonable but incomplete. Spending hundreds of shells might disperse clouds and stop the black rain, but the number of mutated creatures remains unchanged. As long as humans exist, we’ll inevitably clash with these monsters. Shelling the clouds only avoids the problem. In the long run, it wastes ammunition, while the creatures’ numbers stay the same. It’s better to face them head-on and eliminate them for good.”