Chapter 62: Transmission from Kunlun

Volume 1 “Year of Calamity”

In the end, An Sheng didn’t exterminate them all. Those enslaved survivors were either children or women, and An Sheng didn’t want these people to be overly tainted by the word “cruelty.” So he merely confiscated the weapons and ammunition from the thugs, choosing to leave them to fend for themselves.

They found two vehicles—one to transport the women and children back to the fortress, and the other driven by two of the thugs to carry Pighead Three.

Their destination was set as Wugang Town. An Sheng didn’t want these unscrupulous individuals to know about the existence of Yushan Fortress. Upon reaching Wugang Town, he released the two thugs. With heavy snow blocking the mountain paths, it was impossible to drive the truck up to the fortress. After providing some basic supplies for the women and children in Wugang Town—replacing their clothes with new cotton jackets, pants, and shoes, and finding food for a full meal—An Sheng had Pighead Three carry the confiscated weapons and ammunition, and they all proceeded on foot into the mountains toward the fortress.

Along the way, the women and children were still somewhat fearful. After all, there was a monster beside them and a human who could turn into a monster. Even though these two monsters had rescued them from the den of evil, the fear of monsters lingered. No one dared to speak up, silently following instead, as their long history of oppression had taught them to endure adversity meekly.

“Don’t be afraid, everyone. Don’t let this pig head scare you—he may look intimidating, but he’s actually quite silly and fun. Third Brother, show them a trick!” An Sheng reassured the women and children while also urging Pighead Three to entertain them.

Pighead Three responded promptly, performing a handstand on the spot. His massive body flipped up instantly, balancing on one arm while making a funny face at the crowd. But he forgot about the basket of weapons and ammunition on his back—in that moment, everything tumbled out into the snow.

“Third Brother! You idiot!” An Sheng was so angry he started cursing. Gathering all that equipment hadn’t been easy, and now it was all scattered!

Realizing his mistake, Pighead Three quickly righted himself and began helping pick up the fallen items. However, his hands were too large—with each grab, he scooped up not just the weapons and ammunition but also handfuls of snow and mud. Firearms rust easily when exposed to mud and water, and cleaning and maintaining them afterward would be a hassle. Furious, An Sheng told Pighead Three to step aside and took care of the cleanup himself.

As An Sheng was alone gathering the scattered weapons and ammunition, a child of about eleven or twelve suddenly approached, crouching down to help. Seeing the child beside him, An Sheng felt somewhat pleased—at the very least, it was a good start. These people were beginning to lose their fear of him.

With the first, came the second and third, until eventually all the women and children joined in. Working together, they quickly cleared the ground, and some of the bolder ones even helped Pighead Three carry the large basket.

“Uncle, what’s inside Yushan?” a timid boy of about seven or eight asked An Sheng. Adults have their curiosities, and children are no exception.An Sheng affectionately patted the little boy’s head and spoke gently to them: “There’s a cave in Yushan with food, warm beds, and many children just like you. From now on, no one will bully or hit you anymore. Everyone will have enough to eat every day, won’t need to worry about danger, and can live happily.”

“Uncle, can I really sleep on a bed?” another little girl asked excitedly. All these days, she had been sleeping in a cage while enduring hunger daily.

“Of course. Though there are no Simmons mattresses, we do have military cots for everyone. Next time I go out, just tell me what food or toys you want, and I’ll find them for you.” An Sheng smiled warmly, though his heart ached deeply.

The experiences these women and children had endured might leave lifelong scars. But there was nothing more he could do – in this brutal apocalyptic world, mere survival was difficult enough. Sometimes An Sheng could barely protect himself; how many people could he truly save?

Old Zhang and Su Yao were already waiting with their team. Su Yao had thoughtfully prepared hot soup to welcome the fortress’s new members, while Zhou Xiaoxiao stood ready to conduct medical examinations. An Sheng had already notified the fortress during their journey – he had noticed many bore bruises from long-term abuse. But regardless, arriving at Yushan meant they were home now; such suffering would never happen again.

“You actually let those bastards go!” Ye Rong approached An Sheng with Nie Chong, immediately questioning him.

Having witnessed everything through micro-cameras, she couldn’t comprehend why An Sheng would spare those scoundrels who had persecuted women and children.

“I’m not a killing machine. That foreigner called A Kun is already dead. The others won’t cause trouble without weapons – let nature take its course.” An Sheng left unsaid his belief that with so few humans left in the apocalypse, unnecessary killing should be avoided.

Hearing his explanation, Ye Rong turned without another word and walked back into the cave. But inwardly she thought: How dare you, an Alien Race, claim you’re not a killing machine? Aren’t humans just food to you? These thoughts, of course, she would never voice aloud.

Just three days after An Sheng brought back the women and children, Wu Hongyu made an excited announcement from his wheelchair: the High-Frequency Particle Signal Enhancer was repaired, and they could now contact Kunlun Base anytime. For the fortress, this news brought more joy than the upcoming New Year.

Ye Rong sat before the laptop, nervously watching the screen. Behind her stood An Sheng, Old Zhang, Nie Chong, and other survivors of Yushan Fortress. Had the cave been larger, every survivor would have gathered there.Swallowing hard, Ye Rong pressed the enter key on her laptop, sending out the communication request. One second, two seconds, five seconds… Over thirty seconds passed, but the other party still hadn’t answered, making everyone in the fortress extremely anxious. Answer quickly, what are they doing?

Just as everyone was about to give up, the screen flickered, and a middle-aged officer in a fitted military uniform appeared on the computer screen.

“Please state your identity,” the officer in the screen said sternly, his gaze fixed on them.

Ye Rong was overjoyed inside, but as an officer herself, she couldn’t forget military etiquette. She immediately stood up and gave a crisp salute to the screen, saying, “Ye Rong, medium anti-gravity airship pilot of Kunlun Base’s First Special Operations Squad, reporting!”

“You’re Lieutenant Colonel Li’s people!? You’re still alive? My God, where are you? How are you now?” The middle-aged officer was first shocked, then unable to conceal his excitement as he leaned closer to the screen, urgently asking questions.

“Reporting, Lieutenant Colonel Li… has fallen… All members of the special operations team have sacrificed themselves. The only survivors are me and the mechanic Wu Hongyu.” As she spoke, Ye Rong grew somewhat emotional, secretly wiping away tears from the corner of her eye.

Seeing Ye Rong’s unstable emotions, Nie Chong immediately stepped forward to take her place. After giving an equally crisp salute, he said, “Colonel, hello. I am Nie Chong, captain of the Northern Theater Command 3rd Combined Arms Brigade Special Operations Battalion. Our current location is Yushan, sixty kilometers north of City B in Province L. We have over a hundred survivors here. Requesting support from Kunlun Base.”

The middle-aged officer with the rank of colonel remained silent for a long time after hearing Nie Chong’s words. After a while, he said apologetically, “Captain Nie Chong, we cannot provide you with any support at this time. The entire Province L has been designated as a restricted zone, and we are temporarily unable to enter that area.”

“Why!? As soldiers, are you just going to stand by and abandon over a hundred survivors!? We are the nation’s army, the people’s army! The survivors here are our people too! Why!?” Nie Chong was furious. What did “restricted zone” mean? What did “cannot provide any support” mean? What kind of explanation was this!?

“Captain, you need to calm down! To be honest, we very much want to enter Province L. In fact, we previously sent the base’s most elite forces there, but they all sacrificed themselves. The only survivors are the two people in your location! Do you know why? Because there are powerful mutated creatures in your area – Lord Level. We currently cannot contend with alien races of this rank. Even if we send people to rescue you, it would only increase casualties without any meaningful outcome!”

The colonel officer was helpless. As a soldier, admitting that they were inferior to others was humiliating, but there was no other way. The facts were clear, and there was nothing they could do.

However, soon the colonel on the screen spoke again: “Please inform the survivors in your location not to lose hope. New equipment will soon be deployed, and then we will begin our counterattack. It won’t be long. Please tell everyone to survive, hide themselves as much as possible, and wait for rescue.”This was undoubtedly good news. Though it would still take some time, so what? They had already endured for so long—what did it matter if they had to stay here a little longer? As long as there was hope of being rescued, the survivors of Yushan were already content.