The Invasion Day – Chapter 86

Table of Contents | Character Guide

Chapter 86

If Fu Shiwu had to make the choice himself, there was nothing wrong with the Old Town.

But Wen Zhaoming might have other plans in mind, so Fu Shiwu agreeably listened to his opinion. While still staying in their cars, the team observed the Old Town’s surroundings, politely declined the house arranged for them, then turned around and left.

The official surnamed Zhu were still busy settling the arrival of more than 10,000 people from Ping Nan town. For Pei City that was undergoing reconstruction, the addition of so many people was undoubtedly a blessing.

Regardless of whether these people chose ordinary jobs or join the Civil Hall in the future, it would only benefit this survivor base.

With Fu Shiwu’s team coming in only five vehicles, the insignificant number of Yun City folks didn’t attract much attention compared to the large population of Ping Nan town.

The official surnamed Zhu didn’t seize the opportunity to make good friends with them, for he was unaware that Fu Shiwu’s team would shine in the future. But right now, the regret he would feel later could only be imagined.

Earlier, the team was just leisurely watching the city’s environment; now, they drove along the main boulevard, slowly heading towards the New Town.

Although the city was built anew, the position of the main roads hadn’t changed at all; they were only repaired and remodeled. Every road made Wen Zhaoming, who once lived in this city, feel so much contrast between the past and the present.

“Shall we go there now?” Tang Xuhai asked him.

“Yes, the Civil Hall.”

Miao Jia quickly brought out the map, lowered his head and said: “Turn left at the front intersection, cross two intersections, then turn right and go straight.” 

Businesses and shops filled both sides of the main boulevard, and after two more roads, they entered the administrative district.

Only when they finally laid eyes on the newly constructed Civil Hall did they realise that it was a hundred times livelier than the commercial district.

The Civil Hall was very enormous in size. The team parked their cars, leaving a few people to watch them while the rest walked into the hall together.

As soon as they stepped into the hall, loud sounds banged into everyone’s eardrums, and the commotion around them seemed to be buzzing endlessly.

A huge LED display hung in the hall, and constantly rolling through it were the latest news, mission announcements, recruitment notices and even some self-promotions, which truly had the team feeling dazzled.

Except for the door at the front, all three sides were lined up with service windows, and each window had a display showing the call number. The hall’s personnel were sitting behind their desks, each with a crowd of people in front of them.

There were also rows of seats in the center of the hall for those waiting in line to sit down and rest.

Reverberating through the hall was a pleasant female voice that called out the number, and the person carrying that number headed to the counter to handle his business.

“There’s even a queue number system?” Miao Jia was dumbfounded.

Tang Xuhai’s puzzled brain finally reacted and he lifted his eyes to look around to find a central information desk situated next to the queue number machine.

He took the initiative to walk over and found several options: ‘General Business’, ‘Mission Announcement’, ‘Mission Settlement’, ‘Personal Business’ and “Group Business’. This system of number calling and the service windows all looked and felt way too familiar.

By this time, Wen Zhaoming had walked to the information desk to make some inquiries to the staff member sitting behind the desk.

After a while, Wen Zhaoming walked over, holding a leaflet in his hand.

Miao Jia, with curiosity, ran to the information desk to sweet-talk the staff member into giving him more copies, then he distributed one to each person.

“I think… We need to quickly apply for a group qualification…” Wen Zhaoming said softly.

Fu Shiwu blinked, feeling a little bit out of rhythm.

It wasn’t that he was slow to respond, but that the world was changing too fast!

Although he knew that humans could adapt briskly to changes, he didn’t expect them to have created a comprehensive system of operations based on the old status quo within such a short time.

“Hmm…” Tang Xuhai frowned: “What kind of group should we register for?”

On this leaflet, the services that could be provided for special ability users were all clearly listed.

A single ability user could create a profile for himself in the Civil Hall system, then use the ID issued to him to handle various businesses. For example, creating groups, putting up missions, looking for teams, receiving missions, converting Civil Points into Contribution Points, et cetera.

Meanwhile, groups of special ability users were divided into three types: Exploration Squad, Corps and Guild, each of which carried different characteristics.

Exploration Squads were teams with a certain extent of expedition-oriented nature. These teams could examine the situations and investigate whether there were alien distributions or resources in places where there had been no confirmed news. At the same time, they could also search for resources, which would later be bought over by the government or public institutions.

Corps were teams with a complete focus on battles and killings. The missions they would accept included wiping out all sorts of aliens, mutated creatures, special ability plants and animals, search and rescue missions, and so on.

On the other hand, Guilds were rather broad in nature. In addition to taking up the functions of the above two groups, they could also undertake elaborate missions such as construction, safeguarding, agriculture and production.

“Let’s go for Corps.” Fu Shiwu raised his head and pushed his glasses up: “Although we’re able to carry out the works of an Exploration Squad, most of our team members are of combat type. I myself have a perception ‘ability’, which will be suitable for our future growth.”

“Corps?” Wen Zhaoming pondered for a moment. Actually, from his original point of view, Guild seemed a more befitting option.

But the various events that happened along the journey had made him feel that maintaining the team’s unity sometimes turned out to be complicated, and such a factor might not be needed in this apocalypse.

His original thought might have been wrong.

“Basically, combatants?” Tang Xuhai tilted his head: “Then let’s do it.”

A flash of light gleamed in Wen Zhaoming’s eyes, then he nodded in agreement: “Since you’ve decided so, we’ll register as a Corps.”

The three leaders of the team had made up their minds.

Just when Tang Xuhai was about to pick up a number from the machine, he heard someone weakly voice out from behind: “Wait a minute…”

Tang Xuhai was taken aback. As he turned around, Ma Dong looked at him anxiously and said with a timid tone: “That… If we’re becoming a Corps, can I not participate?”

“Huh?” Tang Xuhai creased his eyebrows. He asked with a tinge of confusion: “What do you mean?”

Ma Dong gritted his teeth: “Since we’ve reached the destination, can I leave? It isn’t a must to join you in this kind of corps. I’m just a commoner, I don’t want to live a life of fighting and killing. Pei City is now recruiting people with earth-type special abilities to join in the construction works. I think that’s more suitable for me.” 

Tang Xuhai had no particular expression on his face, and there was no emotion in his eyes either. After a soft “uhm”, he said: “Back in Yun City, we were indeed a temporary team formed to come to Pei City together. You can indeed take your leave. I don’t have the right to force you to participate. You can go now, it’s okay.” 

Ma Dong didn’t expect it to be so simple. He looked at the companions standing around him with a flustered expression. Some were surprised, some were complicated, and some were displeased.

As soon as his gaze landed on Fu Shiwu’s cold expression, his heart trembled and he no longer hesitated. He turned around and quickly left.

Tang Xuhai hugged his arms and looked at the others: “Anyone else? If you want to leave now, bring it up. We are obviously not dictators, you have your human rights. If you don’t want to stay, say it now. Let’s avoid any unhappiness in the future.”

With a little reluctance, Liu Zhao scratched his face: “I’m not forgetting your favours here. During this whole time, everyone was very happy to be with each other. But I’m just a mutant, there’s no way I can compare with you. The aliens are getting stronger and stronger, I’m afraid I won’t be able to help much and could only be a burden.”

Fu Shiwu nodded slowly: “This is your freedom. No one else has the right to interfere. Who else?”

The moment Fu Shiwu spoke, the atmosphere became solemn at once. Wu Shan coughed and said: “There are still a few others watching the cars outside. It’s better to tell them about this now, so as not to have trouble later.”

Fu Shiwu said in a deep voice: “Miao Jia, go and ask for their opinions. If they don’t want to stay, just say it.”

Miao Jia grabbed a few leaflets and walked out of the Civil Hall.

Tang Xuhai stood there with an absolutely blank expression, but the truth was, his heart was filled with exasperation.

He actually thought that after going through this journey and sharing all the triumphs and hardships, they had become one together. He didn’t see this coming.

With no one uttering a word, the team stood in front of the queue number machine with a heavy aura, scaring other people so much that they had to take a detour and pick up their numbers in complete silence.

Miao Jia ran back and said: “Wang Dan, Hollande, as well as Zhen Zi, all three of them said they would stay.”

Fu Shiwu turned his gaze to Liu Zhao and Wu Shan.

Liu Zhao took a deep breath and said with a broad smile: “Thank you for your care all this while. If we have the opportunity in the future, let’s eat together.”

Then, he nodded at everyone and turned away. Wu Shan was at a loss of what to do for a moment before finally squeezing out a smile: “Then I’ll go first. See you again.”

When the two of them disappeared, Huo Enting said suddenly: “Mr. Fu, Tang Xuhai, I can’t continue to fight by your side. I’m going to find my uncle, then I’ll try to find my way back to the capital. My home is there, and my fiancee is waiting for me to go back.”

This made Fu Shi most surprised. He did have a hunch that people would leave, but he really didn’t expect that from Huo Enting.

Fu Shiwu looked straight into his eyes and said: “If you need help, don’t forget that we’re here.”

Huo Enting looked back at him gratefully: “I’ll forever remember this unforgettable time. Please don’t forget about me, this friend of yours.”

As Huo Enting’s figure faded into the distance, Fu Shiwu swallowed a little, a friend of mine?

Tang Xuhai’s shoulders drooped, as if he was exhausted, then he hooked his arms over Fu Shiwu’s shoulders.

He shook Fu Shiwu a bit: “Don’t be sad, let them leave. It’s better to have a few good men than a lot of incompetent ones.”

Fu Shiwu turned his head to look at him, a tint of amusement laced in his eyes: “I’m not sad, I sort of had a hunch that they would leave.” 

Tang Xuhai was surprised: “How?”

Wen Zhaoming smiled coldly: “Do you remember that at the gate of Ping Nan Prison, Shi Zheng knew about the three of you who weren’t there at the time?” 

Tang Xuhai’s expression sank as he nodded “I remember.”

Wen Zhaoming said: “I guess the person who informed Shi Zheng about our situation should be Ma Dong.”