"Which unit did the brother retire from?"
Upon hearing the words "Security Bureau," the team leader’s attitude towards Xu Lin changed immediately, and his tone became much friendlier.
"Hehe."
"Nothing special."
"Just served in a unit in the Southern Military District for a few years."
Xu Lin said with a smile.
But the team leader beside him became even more excited upon hearing this.
Southern Military District?
There are units there that have been guarding Shen Zhou’s borders all year round.
And in recent years, the south has not been very peaceful. Those Indians come to provoke us at the border from time to time. Several units have been dispatched there one after another.
Plus, Xu Lin looked to be over thirty now. Count back a decade or so.
That was exactly the time of the skirmishes with the Indians.
What does this mean?
The man in front of him was very likely a veteran of the battlefield.
The only regret was that he seemed unwilling to discuss which unit he had served in, leaving the team leader slightly disappointed. Still, a sense of respect had unintentionally grown in his heart.
"My name is Liu Tao. Just call me Old Liu."
"I’m with the Longjiang Military District."
Liu Tao extended his hand to Xu Lin, his face bearing the solemnity and seriousness unique to soldiers.
Xu Lin smiled and shook his hand before letting go.
Both of them relaxed a lot.
As they were talking, the SUV they were in had already driven out of town, stopping slowly about four or five hundred meters away from the entrance they took to get in.
On the side was a row of houses built along the road, uniformly designed two-story buildings with courtyards.
This was the temporary lodging Xu Lin had found before entering the town.
It was also the meeting point agreed upon with the first team.
"Bang—"
The car door was yanked open by the driver.
Xu Lin glanced outside, then turned to Liu Tao beside him and said, "Team Leader Liu, this is where we’ll be temporarily stationed. If you don’t mind, would you like to take a look?"
Liu Tao nodded and got out of the car, seemingly oblivious to the militiamen outside as he stepped straight out.
He then immediately turned his attention to the truck behind.
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The four team members in the truck were boasting with the guys from the second action group, each cradling a can of meat and chomping away contentedly, their expressions utterly relaxed.
Just then, the vehicle suddenly stopped, leaving them with a look of longing on their faces.
They were about to check out the situation outside when they spotted someone not far ahead staring at them with bulging eyes and twitching veins on his face, as if suppressing some emotion. Stay updated with freewebnovel
"Move it, move it, move it."
"The team leader is outside."
"Enough with the eating. Damn it, can’t you save some for the team leader?"
The four quickly apologized to the militiamen brothers they had just become friendly with and hopped off the truck, clutching the two unfinished cans of meat, and jogged back to their own team leader.
Seeing that Liu Tao’s gaze had been fixed on him from the start, one robustly braved up and handed over a third of their can.
"Team, Team Leader... want a bite?"
Liu Tao’s eyes pierced him like knives, instantly making the man feel as though he was naked in a desolate wilderness, surrounded by howling cold wind. This sensation, as if the chill was seeping into his bones, made him shiver uncontrollably.
"Hmph."
"Hand it over."
Liu Tao snorted coldly.
Then he reached out and took the half can, peering inside.
My goodness, canned meat?
White meat?
Fish?
Or shrimp?
He swallowed reflexively.
His gaze then involuntarily shifted to Xu Lin beside him, only to see the other party watching him with a smile, while giving him a reassuring look.
"If Captain Liu is hungry, there’s still some in the car."
"What flavor do you like?"
"Flavor?"
Liu Tao was immediately taken aback.
It had been a long time since he had heard that question.
Seeing him just standing there dumbfounded, Xu Lin quickly signaled to someone nearby, and that person immediately ran off.
More than ten minutes later, black smoke curled up in the courtyard where they were stationed in civilian housing.
An impromptu stove was set up with an iron basin on it.
Milky white broth bubbled.
The aroma was enticing.
The five soldiers huddled around the stove looked as if they hadn’t eaten in more than ten days, their eyes fixed on the meat slices rolling in the soup until someone came by with something in hand.
Several flatbreads were tossed around the rim of the iron basin and into the pot.
The eyes of the five men became even more astonished.
There was still instant noodles to eat?
But these noodles seemed a bit strange.
The nearly transparent packaging bags contained almost only one flatbread without any visible seasoning or the like.
But at this point, whether there was a seasoning packet was no longer that important.
Meat broth with noodles, what more could one ask for?
Just looking at it made one’s mouth water.
Watching those large chunks of meat that appeared and disappeared among the noodles, taking another deep breath of the rich scent of meat from the tip of his nose, even Captain Liu Tao couldn’t help but want to cry.
Half a year, a whole six months, who knew what they had been through in that time!
Eating spoiled food and drinking collected rainwater!
Was that any way for people to live?
No orders were needed, as the five of them immediately began competing for the large pot of delicacy that had been made especially for them, upon receiving the meal boxes handed over from someone nearby.
For the people of Team Two, the scene before them was all too familiar.
Every survivor they rescued acted like this.
Like monkeys that had been starved for a long time in a zoo.
Including themselves as well.
However, knowing in advance that these people were very likely soldiers, watching Liu Tao and the others in their embarrassing state evoked an indescribable sense of emotion.
On one hand was the incomprehension and disdain for these professional soldiers who had fallen to such a state.
On the other hand, it was complete disappointment.
This was their hope?
Truth be told, many of them would have preferred that Ding Zhixiong had not found that dilapidated armored vehicle on the highway or any other signs of military retreat.
The once eagerly anticipated heavenly soldiers were instantly brought down to earth.
Their situation was even worse than that of ordinary people.
One can only imagine the psychological gap.
Meanwhile, Xu Lin was observing everyone’s reactions all along, feeling somewhat puzzled himself.
Logically, if this military unit could break through the zombie defense line and successfully escape, with their strength they should have been able to adapt to the current environment quickly.
But these soldiers clearly displayed a sense of destitution.
The issue of supplies seemed to be very serious.
"Do you mind if I ask a question?" Xu Lin looked at them and asked.
Liu Tao, who was gobbling down his food, immediately tilted his head back and poured the last sip of soup from the meal box into his stomach, then wiped his mouth before nodding, "You want to ask how we ended up in this situation today, don’t you?"
Xu Lin nodded
A hint of surprise flashed across his eyes.
Liu Tao was not as slow as he had imagined; on the contrary, the man’s observational skills and reactivity were very sharp.