Chapter 255: It’s Still Attention
"What protest?" Commander Li asked, his voice turning dangerous.
The soldier opened his mouth, but Zhenlan cut him off before the answer could drag all of them into whatever disaster had eaten the front gate, the ration line, and the last fragile pieces of the commander’s patience.
"Commander Li," he said, keeping his voice calm, "point us toward the people we need, and we will get out of your hair so you can deal with this."
Commander Li turned toward him slowly.
Zhenlan did not blink. "Rouxi’s ceiling is still cracked."
For a moment, no one said anything. Then Lingyun made a soft, pleased sound, as if Zhenlan had just offered the most reasonable argument anyone had ever made. Chenghai, who still had one eye on the ration line, gave a short nod.
Even Tan Wei looked like he wanted to laugh but had enough self-preservation not to do it in front of Commander Li while the man was standing in the middle of his own collapsing base.
Commander Li stared at Zhenlan for another second before letting out a long breath through his nose. "You are using a cracked ceiling to stop me from asking why my own gate was abandoned."
"Yes."
"That is ridiculous."
"It is also accurate."
Lingyun leaned closer, his smile brightening. "Rouxi would be proud."
"She would be annoyed that we are still talking," Chenghai said.
"She would be annoyed that we are breathing too loudly," Lingyun replied. "That is not the same thing."
"It is close."
Commander Li looked between them as if he was once again being forced to remember that the people standing beside him were not soldiers, not civilians, and absolutely not normal.
Zhenlan could not blame him. If he had not spent enough time around Rouxi to have his sense of normal slowly beaten to death with sarcasm and unreasonable survival instincts, he would also have found the group difficult to process.
Unfortunately for Commander Li, processing could wait.
The base could scream, rot, argue, and collapse in whatever order it preferred after they found the people needed to keep Rouxi’s house from dropping a ceiling onto her head.
"We need builders," Zhenlan continued before the commander could sink back into the protest. "Electricians. Plumbers. Welders. Mechanics. Anyone with experience in construction, roofing, foundations, structural repair, water storage, generators, solar panels, batteries, security systems, or fortification. We also need people who can follow instructions without deciding Rouxi’s house is a community shelter."
Lingyun hummed. "That last one will be hard."
"That last one is non-negotiable," Chenghai said.
The soldier who had given the report looked between them, confusion cutting through his exhaustion. "You came here for workers?"
"Yes," Zhenlan replied.
"In the middle of this?"
Zhenlan looked around at the ration line, the open gate, the half-panicked soldiers, the overcrowded tents, and the outer section pressed against the far fence like a bad idea that had been allowed to breed. "This does appear to be where people are."
The soldier opened his mouth, then closed it again.
Smart.
Commander Li rubbed the side of his jaw. "The base has intake records. If you want names, we can check the registry."
"No," Chenghai said immediately.
The commander looked at him. "No?"
"Registry tells us who command already knows about."
Zhenlan nodded. "And if command already knows they are useful, they are either being used, guarded, hidden, or resented. We do not need someone who has already been folded into your system."
Lingyun glanced toward the ration line where the soldier with the clipboard was still trying to gather what remained of his dignity. "Folded is generous."
"We need people willing to leave," Zhenlan continued. "People skilled enough to help, desperate enough to take the chance, and sensible enough not to mistake a private house for a public resource."
The young soldier beside the water barrels let out a bitter little laugh before he seemed to realize he had made a sound.
Commander Li’s gaze cut to him. "Something to add?"
The soldier stiffened. "No, sir."
Zhenlan turned to him. "Where are the builders?"
The soldier blinked. "What?"
"The builders," Zhenlan repeated. "People who can repair walls, reinforce frames, rebuild doors, assess structural damage, and stop ceilings from making threats. Where are they?"
"I... I don’t know names."
"Then it is a good thing that I didn’t ask for names."
The soldier hesitated, then glanced toward the outer section. "Most people with trade skills ended up there unless command claimed them early."
"And the ones command claimed?" Chenghai asked.
The soldier’s expression closed.
That was enough.
Lingyun smiled again, but there was less humor in it this time. "Oh, that sounds unpleasant."
Commander Li’s voice sharpened. "Claimed for what?"
The soldier swallowed. "Work assignments."
"What kind of work assignments?"
"Repair teams. Supply runs. Generator maintenance. Barricade work. Water line fixes. Anything needed."
"That sounds useful," Lingyun said.
The soldier’s face tightened. "Useful people get sent out more."
"And come back less," Chenghai replied, unimpressed, but the soldier did not answer.
Zhenlan looked toward the outer section. "Then we start there."
Commander Li’s jaw tightened. He clearly wanted to keep asking about the protest, the gate, the missing teams, the food, Colonel Wei’s office, and whatever else had gone wrong while he was away. Zhenlan understood the urge. If this had been his company, his territory, or his responsibility, he would have wanted to drag every answer into the open and start cutting out the rot with both hands.
But this was not their base.
It was not Rouxi’s house.
That made it someone else’s problem until it threatened to follow them home.
"Commander," Tan Wei said quietly, stepping closer. "If we go into the outer section now, people are going to assume you came because of the protest."
"We are not discussing the protest," Commander Li said.
Tan Wei’s mouth twitched. "They may not care what we are discussing."
"Most people do not," Lingyun said. "It is one of their worst qualities."
Zhenlan gave him a look.
Lingyun shrugged. "Rouxi listens when I talk."
"No," Chenghai said. "Rouxi waits for you to stop."
Lingyun looked offended. "It’s still attention."
