The Cruelty of the Apocalypse

Wilk's coat was oversized, enough to shield Song Zhi from the rainforest's dampness and the chill of the night.

But it couldn't block the brazen sounds the wind carried to her ears.

They came from another squad camped there. There was a woman in that squad. Song Zhi didn't know her nationality, though nationality was of little use in the apocalypse.

The woman was petite and frail, and she was always under close protection.

During the battle just now, she hadn't picked up a gun and joined the fight. Instead, someone had protected her from behind, and the person protecting her was the same one oppressing her.

Was it a kind of exchange?

She supposed it was!

This was common in the apocalypse, though it wasn't uncommon in peacetime either.

Song Zhi tried to ignore the rustling sounds. The night was quiet, and if she could hear them, then naturally these well-trained soldiers could too.

Not one of them cared! They acted as though they hadn't heard, not even sparing a glance in that direction.

It was awkward... and all too real... This was what survival in the apocalypse really looked like, what human nature really looked like. The best side of human nature had been blown away by the nuclear blast!

Only when the sounds stopped did Song Zhi breathe a sigh of relief for the woman. At least she had gotten through it. Yet before Song Zhi could finish that breath, she realized how naive she had been.

Something snapped inside Song Zhi. Instinct overrode reason, and she abruptly sat up, seemingly intending to do something, only for Wilk, who was keeping watch beside her, to grab her arm.

"Playing the saint violates your rules for survival." Wilk's emerald eyes flashed dangerously in the dark.

"But..."

"No buts. You chose to pick up a gun and kill enemies to survive, and she chose to be needed and protected. They're the same; there's no difference. Firing a gun is a survival instinct, and so is taking off your clothes..." Wilk's grip on Song Zhi's hand tightened slightly, as though his hand could break her limbs if she did anything rash.

There was only tactical cooperation between squads, and no other dealings. Song Zhi's rash actions could very well break that unwritten rule and shatter the surface harmony.

"Baby, put away those rules of yours that only exist in civilized society. Surviving in the ruins of war comes first. Now! Immediately! Lie down! Sleep! You'll need enough strength to cross the rainforest tomorrow. If you can't keep going, you'll either die in the rainforest or take off your clothes and ask for help!"

Wilk tossed her two cotton balls, gesturing for Song Zhi to put them in her ears. "Don't let anything other than survival distract you. You need to focus on sleeping."

Song Zhi stuffed the two cotton balls into her ears, though they did nothing at all. She turned over and forced herself to stop paying attention to the sounds over there, only to meet Wilk's deep gaze the next second.

"There's no coercion. They and she are doing it 'harmoniously and willingly.' Maybe it's conditioning brought on by intense pressure, leaving her no choice but to make an exchange. Perhaps that same 'conditioning' will be branded into you in the near future."

"Supplies are expensive, and their protection isn't free either. Who would risk their own head to protect someone they have nothing to do with? You either give them gold or something other than gold."

It wasn't an explanation, just a statement of a fact, a bloody one.

Wrapped in Wilk's combat uniform, Song Zhi said nothing. The smell of gunpowder lingering on it filled her nose, a constant reminder of the cruelty beneath the apocalypse. She also understood the "relative civilization" Lu Yu had spoken of.

The next morning, sunlight filtered through the rainforest and fell on their faces. Everyone was fully equipped and waiting for the order to depart.

Song Zhi was handed over to Lai'en. He was the captain of Group A and a lieutenant. Under the commanding presence of Lai'en's absolute authority, Song Zhi put away the little tricks she had used over the past few days, pressing her lips together and keeping absolutely quiet.

Lai'en said nothing. He merely looked Song Zhi up and down from head to toe, a trace of impatience in his eyes. Her clothes could only be called rags, and branches would tear them into strips as she crossed the rainforest.

He handed Song Zhi a kukri and said, "Stay close to me. Don't fall behind. If there's danger, use it to deal with it. Either deal with the danger or deal with yourself!"

Song Zhi took the kukri, unwrapped the bandage she had asked Wilk for, and wound it around her palm several times before gripping the blade tightly.

"Understood!"

Her reply was loud, like that of a brand-new recruit, eager to prove she wouldn't be "conditioned" and that she could protect herself.

The rainforest was dangerous. Before the apocalypse, it had been a popular natural attraction. Afterward, it was a battlefield fraught with danger.

The rainforest held not only lurking Burmese monkeys, but also venomous snakes, poisonous insects, and swamps. Any of them could easily kill Song Zhi. She had no experience crossing a rainforest, and she couldn't even guarantee that she'd manage the most basic thing: keeping up.

Kelante walked over and patted Song Zhi on the shoulder. "I'll be on your right. If you need help, just ask."

At 6:10, the task force entered the rainforest one after another. They had to reach Seji Station before dark. The original plan had changed: they no longer needed to take a boat to Sri Lanka. A transport plane was stationed at Seji, on standby.

When Song Zhi heard the news, the shock on her face was all too obvious. Just how large was an organization that could operate a large transport plane amid the ruins of the apocalypse?

After all, petroleum was a precious resource in the apocalypse, a hard currency.

What the transport plane burned wasn't fuel, but gold-something even more expensive than gold. Gold couldn't generate electricity, but petroleum could be used as fuel for power generation and transportation.

The task force's combat uniforms and boots were made of black-tech materials. They were fireproof, waterproof, windproof, and insect-proof. Green camouflage netting covered their combat helmets to prevent insect bites and infection with the dengue virus.

Song Zhi couldn't understand why this tropical rainforest hadn't been destroyed by the nuclear blast, or why it still had so many carbon-based life-forms such as snakes, insects, mosquitoes, and ants afterward. She only hoped these disgusting creatures wouldn't mutate in the apocalypse.

In the apocalypse, humans hadn't awakened special abilities, while other creatures had mutated instead. That was no good thing.

Lu Yu tossed her a spare mosquito mask and gestured for Song Zhi to protect herself. He couldn't do anything about the other equipment. Their combat uniforms wouldn't fit her and would only burden her as she crossed the rainforest.

Kelante gave her a bottle of insect repellent, hoping it would help.

Wilk handed her several medical bandages, gesturing for her to wrap her cuffs and other exposed skin to keep poisonous insects from crawling into her clothes.

Hill tossed her a clean, unused pair of socks.

Song Zhi accepted the expensive supplies, which could only be traded for with gold, one by one. Once properly equipped, she followed closely behind Lai'en and stepped into the rainforest.

The rainforest was hot and humid, and the ground was covered in pools of water and swamps. Song Zhi's shoes were ordinary canvas ones, not waterproof at all. After only a short walk, they were soaked through, and the water crept up her pant legs to her knees. Soon it would reach her thighs.

Mosquitoes and other insects kept attacking Song Zhi. Her thin clothes couldn't stop their bites. There were also leeches in the swamp, frantically trying to latch onto her skin and suck her blood dry.

Several brightly colored venomous snakes hung from the low branches. Before Song Zhi could react, Kelante and Lu Yu had easily dealt with them.

After about two hours of trekking, she was wet and sticky all over and terribly uncomfortable. Her feet in particular had swollen from being soaked, and they hurt badly as they rubbed against her shoes. They had probably developed blood blisters.

Song Zhi gritted her teeth and pushed on. Her shoes had become so heavy they were slowing her down.

Lai'en had to stop frequently and look at her with those blue eyes. He wasn't urging her on, but assessing her. Perhaps he was waiting for Song Zhi to deal with herself, or perhaps he was waiting for her to ask for help.

Every stare brought a cold, oppressive sense of suffocation. Lai'en's scrutiny was more terrifying than the rainforest's venomous snakes and poisonous insects, and more uncomfortable than her soaked shoes. It was the suppression of the weak by the strong.

Song Zhi remembered what Wilk had said last night-either die in the rainforest or take off her clothes and ask for help...

She should have died on the first day she was captured, instead of clinging to a shred of hope and following them to survive until now. Or perhaps she should have died in the nuclear blast, vaporized instantly without pain!

Damn it! Why should she die?! She wasn't willing to accept that!

Song Zhi complained in despair. She had fallen far behind, and Wilk, who was bringing up the rear, had already passed her.

Lai'en stopped again and waved for the other members of the squad to continue forward. Then he turned and walked, step by step, toward Song Zhi, who had fallen behind.

Song Zhi could no longer lift her legs. She could only grip Lai'en's kukri and stand helplessly in the mud.