"City Y?" asked Wang Chao as he leaned forward. "That is only an hour and a half from here."
I nodded my head. "Well, it would be about half a day on foot, but you are right. It is close," I agreed, sitting back in my chair.
"Are we going to be hit?" asked Liu Yu Zeng looking at me. Gone was the usual smile on his face and in its place was nothing short of concern.
"Yeah," I admitted, not knowing any other way to break the news to the boys. "We really are." I guess instead of the word 'tide' making you think of a gentle ocean beach scene, I should have gone with 'tsunami'. That is probably more in line with what was going to happen.
"How bad?" asked Liu Wei as he adjusted his glasses.
"Bad," I said, "We should be okay to deal with them, especially since they would have slowed down after devouring everything in their wake. But we would still be hit hard."
Honestly, I wasn't overly confident that we would all be alive when this was over and done with, but I was not going to tell the guys that part. It was their men that would be sacrificed simply because I would not accept anything else. Nothing and no one would touch my men even if it meant burning down the entire city.
"So what do we do?" asked Wang Chao, leaning back against the couch cushion. I didn't need to be a spirit user to know where his mind was at.
"We step up getting supplies, reinforce what we can. Be willing to sacrifice what we can't."
Things were always easier to say than they were to actually do. I had already fortified everything that I could. I make sure that the men were being trained, but in the 11th hour, you always wished that you had done that little bit more.
"We took in two people," said Wang Chao out of the blue. I turned to look at him, trusting him enough to let him speak his peace before making the final decision. "The husband was a prison guard, the wife is pregnant. But she was a doctor, or a nurse, something in the health field."
I smiled at his words. "As long as she isn't a dentist, she is more than welcome. Get the husband set up with a team and then out gathering supplies. I will let Ruan Rou Xi know to expect them and give them the basic supplies tomorrow."
"You have something against dentists?" smirked Liu Yu Zeng at the same time as Chen Zi Han said, "You still trust Ruan Rou Xi?"
"I don't have anything against dentists, they just aren't as useful as someone that knows how to stitch you back together. And Ruan Rou Xi can be forgiven, after all, she was up against a spirit user, and not even I can stand against them easily. But it won't be forgotten. Have Ren Rou Xuan keep an eye on her, just don't let her know about it."
"You really think it is smart?" asked Wang Chao. I know he could hear my thoughts on the matter loud and clear, but my hands were tied behind my back.
"She does the job well," I said with a shrug of my shoulders, but inside I was feeling sick. This was the start of how I was betrayed in my first compound. They didn't understand that it was me that saved them and looked after them, they all thought it was Colin who made sure that they lived and had everything they needed. But these men were not that dumb.
Hopefully.
"Okay," said Wang Chao, dropping the subject. "Now, about those bruises."
Okay, so I wasn't completely able to make him forget. Grumbling, I let them all know what happened and Liu Yu Zeng called up one of his men to dispose of the body. Chen Zi Han offered to clean up the blood, but I figured that wasn't fair. I had technically made the mess.
Grumbling, I wondered if I had enough control over my pink flame to ensure that I only burnt the bodily fluids and not the floor underneath them. Not willing to take the chance in my own home, I took out a mop and bucket and got to work as the guys figured out what needed to be done in terms of the tide.
----
A consensus was reached the next morning at the breakfast table over bacon, eggs, and pancakes and the decision was made to let things take their course.
"And if they call on you to come save them?" I asked as I poured maple syrup onto my pancakes. The boys had no idea how hard I worked to get my hands on this liquid gold and if they thought I was sharing, they had another thing coming.
What I failed to notice as I was sopping up my syrup was the fact that three of my four boys went still at my words, sharing an intense look between them. "Even if they call, we will not answer," said Wang Chao, a note in his voice that I had never heard before. "You and this place are our priority," added Chen Zi Han.
"Let them die," said Liu Yu Zeng as he picked up a piece of crisp bacon and bit into it. "It's not our problem."
'It needs to be your problem,' said the gentle voice as she pushed her way to the forefront of my mind, trying to get her point across. As much as I used to like this voice, I much preferred the hissing one now.
'And why is that?' I asked, not really caring about her answer. She wanted me to give my guys to some random girl, so she and her ideas could go fuck themselves. I had no more fucks to give.
'Because there are people there that need you to save them,' insisted the voice, but I simply rolled my eyes. If they couldn't save themselves, it was not my job to go save them. 'The men must answer the call.'
I didn't know if Wang Chao could hear the voice in my head, but as soon as it said that they needed to answer the call, he sat upright and stared at me. "There is no call more important than yours," he said, all but admitting that could hear the voice. I didn't know how I felt about that.
I nodded my head and went back to eating. I knew that the base in City Y would be sending people out in a week or so to gather help. I had heard about it in my past life. But there was also a reason why this province no longer had free humans living in it. I just needed to make sure that I could change that outcome. Even if it was just for me and mine.
"You know, we wouldn't have had this trouble at the ranch," I pointed out, sticking my fork out in Wang Chao's direction.
"But you wouldn't have known us if you stayed at the ranch," said Liu Yu Zeng with a stunning smile.
Stupid men being right.
"Fine," I agreed. Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han more than made up for not being at my ranch. I wrinkled my nose. If I had known then what I know now, I would have made this place my base camp instead of stressing about having the perfect sanctuary set up half a country away.
But knowing what was to come, I doubt I would have set up camp here a year ago. Oh well, hindsight being 20/20 and all that.
"What's on the docket today?" I asked looking at the men gathered around the table.
"Same as always, Brain, we try to take over the world," joked Liu Yu Zeng. Apparently, he and I have been watching too many Saturday morning cartoons. But there was nothing wrong with Pinky and the Brain; unless you accounted for the theme song being stuck in your head for a day.
"Fine, you take over the world, I am going to check in with Jin Si Cong and Guo Bi Ming on our communications and power situation," I said standing up and wiping my mouth on a napkin before leaving the boys alone to finish the rest of their breakfast. There was a lot to be done and not a lot of time left to do it.
----
"Sir!" said a man dressed as a ground force soldier as he barged into the office of his commanding officer. "There appears to be a horde of zombies coming this way!" he continued as he approached the desk still at a fast run. Coming to a stop inches away, he saluted the man in front of him.
"How many?" asked the young man sitting behind the desk. Putting down his pen from where he was signing provision documents, he gave the soldier in front of him his full attention.
"Too many to count," admitted the soldier, still standing at attention. "They are practically falling over each other, there are so many of them."
"Fuck," said the Commanding Officer of the City Y Sanctuary. "Get the fastest runner out to the surrounding areas. We will need all the help we can get."
"Yes, Sir," said the soldier, spinning on his heels as he departed the room, remembering to close the door behind him. The Commanding Officer rubbed his eyes and let out a tired sigh. They were holding on by the skin of their teeth and he didn't know anyone that was in a better position than they were.
Standing up, he turned around and looked out of the window behind him. He couldn't see the horde, but that didn't mean that they weren't coming. Hopefully, they would be able to get reinforcements in time. Otherwise, it was certain death.
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