Chapter 129: Rising Tensions at Tianfeng Base

The next morning.

At Tianfeng Military Base, Armed Command.

A rectangular metal table was piled high with countless unapproved documents.

Early that morning, Xiao Hai sat alone in front of the paperwork, flipping through the files in a daze, his heart choked with frustration.

Ever since the people from Zhenjiang arrived, he hadn’t slept well these past couple of days, dreading their next move.

The situation was critical.

In all of Tianfeng, he was the only Third-Stage fighter, while the opposition had three!

So busy trying to stall with constant smiles, he couldn’t even focus on handling Safe Zone affairs during this period.

“Damn it! This is outrageous!”

“Isn’t it all because they bank on being Third-Stage and having the Military Region backing them!”

Normally steadfast, Commander Xiao couldn’t help but curse aloud, recalling these recent humiliations. When had he ever endured such disgrace as a regional commander?

He had already sought help from the 17th Army behind him, but the higher-ups dismissed it, urging him to handle it on his own.

Unless the enemy went berserk and broke out into open violence within the Safe Zone, the Military wouldn’t interfere.

Helpless and bitter.

Xiao Yong sighed and gave a wry shake of his head.

Though both he and Tianfeng were under the Military Department, as the most ordinary Safe Zone, not only was he a marginal figure, the entire zone was largely disregarded by the Military.

“Commander Xiao!”

“The people from Zhenjiang have started detaining suspects!”

Just as Xiao Hai was hesitating on whether to reveal some information about Yenir, a trusted subordinate burst in, panic-stricken, shouting.

“What!?”

“Who did they detain?! Didn’t you stop them?”

His face darkened instantly. With a roar, Xiao Hai leaped to his feet, his eyes burning with fury.

Detaining people in his own Safe Zone?! What’s the difference from having someone defecate on his head?!

“They… they…”

“They’ve arrested several high-ranking members of the Air and Space Unit! The folks from Zhenjiang claim the suspects were those who escaped in a fighter!”

“Bastards!”

“Damn these sons of bitches! They’re pushing it too far!”

Fury surged within him.

Xiao Hai felt his head buzz as rage nearly drove him to lose his senses. They dared arrest even their own troops using such a pretext? This wasn’t about tracking down a Third-Stage fighter who stole their Corpse Tiger—it was pure provocation!

Breathing heavily, Xiao Hai clenched his fists, barely containing the urge to storm out.

“Commander, what do we do now?”

His subordinate swallowed hard, his face etched with anger yet filled with worry.

Seeing the color on Commander Xiao’s face, it was clear how furious he was.

“What can we do?!”

“Of course…”

On the verge of exploding, Xiao Hai almost blurted out a desire to settle scores, but the words caught in his throat. Block them? Take revenge?

A sinking feeling gripped him. He painfully realized he truly had no options.

After a long pause, his features twisted as he finally, with deep resentment, sank back into his seat and slowly closed his eyes.

It was as if he had aged ten years in an instant:

“Let them come. I refuse to believe that after detaining someone, they’d dare to make a move…”

With a heavy heart, facing an overwhelming power gap, he could only swallow his bitter anger in silence.

But no sooner had he spoken than a detailed message—one he’d never expected—lit up his private channel.

Xiao Hai glanced irritably at the system communication and then froze in disbelief.

Was that… Yenir!?

The guy had suddenly reached out to him?!

Curious and anxious, he quickly opened the message to see Yenir’s brief instructions:

“Commander Xiao, there is a massive gathering of the Corpse Tide near Tianfeng. Dispatch your forces immediately to patrol southeast.”

“The first wave is expected to hit in the next day or two.”

Seconds later, having read the message, Xiao Hai was struck by a jolt. He recalled Yenir sending similar information before, which he’d brushed off at the time.

The details of time and place were so precise—could there really be a problem?

In a state of utter exhaustion, if an outsider had sent this, he’d think it was nonsense. After all, in all these years of peace, no one had ever spoken of a Corpse Tide uprising. But the sender was Yenir—the enigmatic figure with a hidden superpower behind him.

Furrowing his brows, Commander Xiao hesitated for a moment before ultimately choosing to trust the message.

Taking a deep breath, he immediately summoned several Awakener from the Military and coldly ordered:

“Dispatch the Air and Space Unit immediately to scour the southeast. Check the city clusters for any signs of zombies or mutants gathering!”

“Report back immediately if you find any issues!”

The Awakener exchanged puzzled looks, silently questioning Commander Xiao’s sudden orders.

What on earth was wrong with him? Why would he suddenly send them on such a mission?

But orders are orders. Putting aside their doubts, they swiftly accepted and set out.

………

Two hours and twenty-seven minutes later.

Aboard the Spiritual Energy Fighter, several Awakener pilot operators gulped as they watched a dense, surging mass of the Corpse Tide unfolding below. It was beyond belief; the center of the city, where zombies had always been stationary, now resembled a tidal wave surging outward.

The view was endless; a rough count revealed no fewer than hundreds of thousands. Moreover, among them lurked mutants in numbers too vast to calculate.

These massive mutant creatures, looking like walking construction towers, moved inexorably toward Tianfeng amid the throng of the Corpse Tide.

“Commander Xiao! Emergency!”

“The southeast has confirmed signs of the Corpse Tide approaching—and there are loads of mutants as well!”

“As we lowered altitude to get a closer look, an attack helicopter was taken down by a Second-Stage mutant with incredible leaping power!”

Within the Military Region, Xiao Hai stared in shock at the frontline report, a cold dread and fear rising in his mind.

It really was happening!

“Can you determine the mutant’s level? Is there any sign of a Third-Stage?!”

He asked urgently, but the Awakener unit in charge of aerial reconnaissance only managed a bitter smile:

“Commander Xiao, we can’t get a clear reading.”

“We suspect that only the first wave is on the move. Many other groups remain hidden within the city clusters—you know how the terrain is, making our reconnaissance nearly impossible.”

“But judging by the numbers we see now, our troubles might be worse than we thought…”