Bridgehead

The Sea of Stars is beautiful, but life still has to be grounded in reality.

The emotion quickly faded away and was replaced by uneasiness and fear about the future.

As mentioned before.

Before the official relocation of the residents, some people with official backgrounds had already returned to the ground.

Among them are many Deathmatchers who can assist in the construction; these Deathmatchers are the main force of the construction team.

Using supernatural powers, these people built a complete "bridgehead" large enough to accommodate millions of people in just one afternoon.

The facility also stores a large amount of food and water, and all people who return to the surface can register at the "bridgehead" and receive enough supplies to sustain them for three days.

Of course, saying that such a temporary place of residence is a drop in the ocean might be an exaggeration, but it is definitely far from enough.

However, due to limited resources, the elevators used to transport people were all used to provide more supplies and equipment. If people want better living conditions, they have to rely on themselves.

It is euphemistically called "fully leveraging the subjective initiative of the people."

Even though the people who returned to the surface were dissatisfied, there was nothing they could do about it; at least they were given some food so that they wouldn't starve to death.

Zheng Yongliang mingled in the crowd and followed the lead staff member to the "bridgehead".

The journey was quiet; when people spoke, they only dared to whisper.

It's not that these people are of particularly high quality; it's purely the deterrent effect brought about by the ubiquitous armed forces.

During this time, there were some troublemakers who made a lot of noise, and without exception, they were all violently dragged out of the crowd and taken away to who knows where.

With these examples existing, naturally no one will jump out to test the speed of these armed personnel's guns.

"I heard that these officials are encouraging us to move to settlements, and the farther the better."

A Shorty with a buzz cut whispered to Zheng Yongliang, "After we collect the supplies, how about we go check out the nearest settlement together?"

Zheng Yongliang glanced cautiously at the Shorty who had spoken to him, hesitated for a moment, and then shook his head, saying, "I'd like to see if I can apply to stay at the Forward Base first."

Forward Base is the official name of this "bridgehead".

The area is not small, and the residential area is basically composed of row houses made of prefabricated panels.

After all, they had come to the surface, and unlike in the Underground City, the surface had enough space for them to live.

"You're dreaming!"

The Shorty rolled his eyes. "You think you can get a place like this without connections? I bet you'd be kicked out the moment you applied."

Zheng Yongliang hesitated and said, "There should still be spots available, otherwise why would they give us the opportunity to apply?"

"It's up to you, but I have to warn you first. I've inquired beforehand, and the nearest settlement is a converted abandoned sports center. There aren't many people living there, so if you go too late, there won't be any left."

Hearing this, Zheng Yongliang was clearly tempted.

He felt that what the Shorty said made sense.

As among the first people to return to the ground, it would be a shame to waste the advantage of being among the first to return.

Moreover, he discovered that the Shorty had approached not only him, but also five other members of the public.

Perhaps being in a crowd does provide a sense of security, and in the end, he was persuaded by the Shorty and decided to follow him directly to the settlement.

Guided by the staff, they received enough food to last seven days if they ate sparingly, and then followed the short, Shorty young man on their way to the sports center in the night.

The surrounding armed forces did not stop them, nor did they even check them; they simply asked a few questions and let them leave.

From the city council's perspective, the fact that they were able to provide some food out of humanitarian considerations was already more than enough; if anything went wrong, it was simply bad luck for them.

The group proceeded along the abandoned road.

Thanks to the bright moonlight tonight, even without any lighting equipment, I can still see the road clearly.

However, because the road was too quiet, without even the chirping of insects, Zheng Yongliang inevitably felt somewhat depressed and tense after staying in such an environment for a long time.

He couldn't help but want to speak.

How much further?

"What's the rush? It'll be over soon."

Zheng Yongliang was probably quite nervous, and didn't notice that the Shorty the buzz cut was noticeably more abrupt in his attitude.

"Actually, I think it's fine if we go tomorrow, right? It's only one night anyway..."

Before Zheng Yongliang could finish speaking, the short, crew -Shorty impatiently cursed, "What the hell are you talking about? Always so afraid of this and that! I've put up with you for ages!"

Sensing the undisguised malice, Zheng Yongliang froze, stopped in his tracks, and said somewhat flusteredly, "You go by yourself, I'm not going."

The remaining members of the public exchanged glances. In fact, they also felt somewhat uneasy, but their expressions were not as obvious as Zheng Yongliang's.

The short Shorty dropped the pretense. "We've come this far, do you think you can just turn back now?"

"Little chick, how can you talk like that? What if you scare someone?"

The sudden sound in the darkness startled Zheng Yongliang, causing him to shudder involuntarily.

Tap~ Tap~

Behind Zheng Yongliang, four burly men emerged, one of whom had a Big Tattoo Arm, his face clearly indicating that he was not to be trifled with.

"Big Cat Bro, you have no idea, out of all the people I've recruited, this idiot talks the most."

Now that things have come to this, even the most foolish people present would realize that something was wrong.

A young man dressed as a salesman, wearing glasses, shouted, "Don't panic, everyone! We outnumber them about the same, I just don't believe it... Ah!"

A scream interrupted the salesman's next words.

The Big Tattoo Arm pulled the watermelon knife out of his hand, drawing a pool of blood.

The salesman clutched his wound, unable to speak from the pain.

The remaining men were stunned by the fact that someone had pulled out a knife and stabbed another man without saying a word, and Zheng Yongliang was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground.

"I'm not being unreasonable. Hand over all the food, and I might spare your lives. Otherwise, this four-eyed guy will be the example."

When he got to the second half of his sentence, the man with the Big Tattoo Arm tattoo pointed at the salesman lying on the ground with a watermelon knife.

Faced with such a brutal man, the remaining few dared not resist. They took out the food they had just received and hadn't even warmed it yet, and put it on the ground.

Seeing this, the Big Tattoo Arm couldn't help but smile, "That's more like it. If we cooperate, everyone will have an easier time."

"Tsk tsk, the worst aspects of human nature."

"Who is speaking?!"

The man with the Big Tattoo Arm suddenly looked in the direction from which the sound came.

The speaker was wearing a long white robe, so he was easy to spot even in the shade of the trees.

The man in white robes sighed, "Indeed, humanity still needs a great leader."