The official base's situation was just as bad as everyone feared.
The dead kept piling up, and with every death, more mutations appeared.
To protect the few who hadn't been infected yet, people threw everything they had into getting survivors onto the trucks. It didn't matter where they were going, as long as it was away from that hellhole.
Unlike the military base, the official base didn't have that many ability users, so from the start, they leaned on weapons to fight back. It worked, but the numbers were so lopsided that even when they gained the upper hand, it never lasted long. Before they knew it, they were being pushed back again and again.
At that moment, after ringing endlessly, someone finally picked up the phone.
It was Captain Ji on the military base's side. His voice was sharp and decisive. "Get everyone on the trucks. Drive this way. The military base and the A City base will send people to meet you halfway. I don't care how many of those things there are, there's no way they can outrun vehicles. Just shake them off first."
"Got it."
No one hesitated. The official base immediately followed his instructions.
At first, they'd only been sending off the healthy. But now, sick or not, as long as someone was still breathing, they were getting on those trucks.
Armed squads formed a human wall, blocking the monsters from getting too close while waves of civilians climbed aboard. It wasn't until their weapons couldn't hold the line anymore that the leader barked out the order, "Get in the trucks, all of you. We'll fight as we drive. Just go, get us the hell out of here!"
Once the trucks roared to life, the distance widened. A few grenades thrown out the windows bought them a little breathing room, and finally, the official base's convoy pulled out of that nightmare.
Of course, with how sensitive those things were to sound, they weren't just going to let them go. The creatures kept chasing, drawn by the engines' roar.
The official base noticed it too. Instead of trying to lose them, the last few trucks deliberately adjusted their pace, keeping the monsters hanging just close enough to trail behind without catching up.
After a full day and night on the road, when the world had finally sunk into complete darkness, the convoys met. The military base had its high beams blazing, so not only could they spot the official base's trucks, but they also caught sight of the massive swarm tailing behind.
And that was only what the lights touched. If they'd lit up the whole road, the sight probably would've scared the crap out of everyone.
Inside one of the trucks, among the group of four, Huang Jinghe broke the silence after a long pause. "Doesn't this look like one of those corpse tides in novels?"
Everyone followed his gaze, and yeah, with the endless wave of bodies surging behind, it really did look like a corpse tide.
"No kidding, it's exactly like that."
Within seconds of the two convoys linking up, a decision was made.
Two trucks from the military base immediately split off, carrying the still-breathing civilians to their current stronghold so they could rest. The rest of the group turned to face the swarm.
Even if the streets looked deserted, no one knew what would happen if those things mixed with other mutant beasts. It was safer to wipe them all out here and now.
To keep the monsters from charging ahead, Lan Jin unleashed her lightning. A massive bolt split the night, striking down in front of the horde. Instantly, the creatures froze in place, clearly terrified of the energy.
While the official base stared in shock, the military base opened fire with everything they had. Bullets slammed into heads again and again. Even with their nerves steeled, no one expected there to be this many. When the official base finally snapped out of it, they joined in, and for over an hour, the night thundered with gunfire. Only when the last body hit the ground did silence return.
Lan Jin set her gun down, ears ringing so hard the world seemed muted. People's lips moved, but she couldn't hear a damn thing.
"I can't hear. Don't bother talking yet," she muttered.
After the rush of victory, everyone collapsed where they stood, taking time to rest. The corpses were piled up and set on fire before the convoy finally rolled out again, returning to the military base's camp.
At last, all survivors had regrouped. Captain Zhou immediately tallied the numbers. Two bases combined, they still had 520,000 people left.
But the joy was short-lived. Out of those, 400,000 were already sick. And with no cure in sight, they were staring at the same fate as the ones who'd just died. If that happened, they'd be left with barely 120,000 survivors.
An entire nation, population dropping from hundreds of millions down to the mere hundreds of thousands. Just thinking about it sent chills down everyone's spines.
When that figure was reported, panic hit the higher-ups. Pressure slammed down on the research institutes, especially on the three professors stationed at the military base.
The ones in A City were out of reach, but the ones here weren't so lucky.
The base had plenty of ways to "deal" with people. Even when holding back, the professors were tortured to the point they barely looked human anymore.
Did they know anything? Were they guilty of hiding secrets? None of it mattered. They were forced to spill every last word.
After the interrogation, Captain Zhou filed his report and the questioning finally ended. But the numbers didn't lie. With so many sick, there was no way kids could be left outside anymore.
The long day of polar light had passed, and just like in the novels, endless night had arrived. No one knew how long it would last, but darkness always bred the worst surprises.
By the next morning, A City's base decided to bring the children inside their walls.
But it wasn't that simple. None of the captains—Captain Zhang, Captain Zhou, Captain Wang, or Captain Ji—trusted the base completely. Who knew if there were hidden dangers inside? For now, keeping the kids close under their own watch was the only way they'd feel safe.
===
Polar Night: It all comes down to the Earth's axial tilt. Earth is tilted at about 23.5° relative to its orbit around the Sun. Because of this tilt, the Sun's light doesn't hit the poles evenly throughout the year.
Where: Same polar regions, just the opposite half of the year.
When:
At the North Pole, the Sun disappears for about 6 months (September to March).
At the South Pole, it's March to September.
Why: The tilt means the Sun never rises above the horizon during winter. People live in darkness, sometimes with only twilight-like glows at the edges of the day.
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Polar Day happens because Earth's tilt makes the Sun never set in summer.
Polar Night happens because that same tilt makes the Sun never rise in winter.