Chen Chao and the others arrived at the burly lieutenant's truck and were pulled into the impoverished living area of the base.
This place was originally a large plaza, now filled with numerous tents. Survivors, ragged and tattered, were milling about outside the tents—pregnant women, elderly people, and children—all part of the weak group in this post-apocalyptic world. Upon hearing the sound of the military truck, they stopped what they were doing and turned to stare at it with dark, fearful eyes on their dirty faces.
The truck stopped, and Chen Chao and the others jumped off one by one.
The burly lieutenant opened the truck door and walked up to the survivors. He announced loudly, "Everyone, this will be your living area from now on. Every day, soldiers will bring food. Anyone aged between twelve and sixty will be required to work, or else you won't have anything to eat!"
His cold, sharp gaze swept over the crowd. "You all have two options. First, join the army and go out to kill the monsters! If you're too scared to die, then stay at the base, and we will assign you some work."
"I'm not joining the army. Those monsters can't be killed anyway." A young man in his twenties muttered and asked, "What kind of work can we do at the base?"
The burly lieutenant glared at him coldly. "When you entered the base, you should have seen the walls under construction. We need a lot of hands."
"You want us to do manual labor?" The young man yelled, "Isn't there anything else? I'm a university student, I've never done this kind of work. Are there any jobs involving computers?"
The burly lieutenant answered indifferently, "If you've never done it, you can learn. Someone will come by soon to register your details. If you have any special skills, we'll assign you a job that suits you. But if you're just an ordinary university student… kid, would you prefer doing manual labor or being tossed out of the base to become monster food?"
Hearing the threat in his voice, the young man shuddered and fell silent, not wanting to draw attention.
The burly lieutenant's tone turned colder. "Now, anyone who wants to join the army, step forward!"
There was a long silence. No one spoke up. The young man had a point—those monsters couldn't be killed. Joining the army would just be walking to their death. They had barely survived and come to the base; why would they want to rush out to die?
The burly lieutenant's face darkened, about to say something when suddenly, a figure stepped out from the crowd. It was a handsome young man with fair skin. In the past, the lieutenant would have considered him weak, but now he thought this young man was truly a man, with courage.
Behind Chen Chao, Black Moon, Chen Shiyu, Fan Xiangyu, and You Qian stepped forward as well.
Other survivors didn't expect so many people to be willing to join the army, especially three girls, one of whom was only eight years old... Little girl, do you even know what you're doing?
The burly lieutenant glanced at Chen Shiyu and then smiled slightly. "Good girl. You're braver than many of those cowards. I, Old Xiong, admire you! But you're too young to join the army. Stay in the living area. The army will take care of you. If you're hungry, just let me know—I'll take care of you!"
Chen Shiyu looked up at Chen Chao, seeking his opinion.
Chen Chao thought for a moment before addressing the lieutenant. "Do you know Chu Shanhe? Can you introduce me to him? I'm his friend."
The burly lieutenant froze and sized him up. "You know General Chu? Well, regardless of whether that's true or not, these are extraordinary times. Even if you were his friend before, you won't be able to meet him through shortcuts."
Chen Chao's heart stirred. He didn't expect Chu Shanhe to have been promoted from captain to general. After a brief pause, he said to Chen Shiyu, "Stay in the living area for now. Once I meet Chu Shanhe, I'll arrange things for you."
Chen Shiyu sighed. "Alright then."
After advising Chen Shiyu to stay behind, the burly lieutenant scanned the crowd again and shouted, "Anyone else?"
After a moment, a middle-aged man stepped forward. He was downcast and clenched his fist. "I want to join the army. I want revenge for my daughter. I'll kill these damn monsters!"
The burly lieutenant nodded slightly. "Follow me."
Chen Chao and the others reboarded the large truck, which took them to another side of the base, where the army recruitment office was located. It had been a supermarket that had been repurposed, with the store sign removed and replaced by the words "Army Recruitment Point" painted in bright letters.
The person in charge of filling out the forms was a woman in black military uniform with a lieutenant insignia pinned to her chest. She handed each of them a form that required basic information, including name, gender, age, previous occupation, and a special skills section.
Name: Chen Chao
Gender: Male
Age: 20
Previous Occupation: University Student
Special Skills: Spear
After filling out his form, Chen Chao glanced at Fan Xiangyu, Black Moon, and You Qian, who were filling out their own.
Black Moon listed shooting and the use of a military knife as his skills. Fan Xiangyu thought for a long time before writing "Calculations," and You Qian… wrote "Sleeping!"
Chen Chao almost kicked him.
After collecting the forms, the lieutenant glanced over them. When she saw You Qian's form, she raised an eyebrow and stared at the group, her face hardening. "Who is You Qian?"
"I am," You Qian responded.
The lieutenant looked coldly at him. "This isn't a joke. Your special skills determine which military camp you'll be sent to. If you want to live longer, you'd better think carefully about what you're good at."
You Qian rested his chin in his hand for a moment and then asked, "Does eating count?"
The lieutenant put the form down. "Fine." She pointed at Chen Chao and the others. "Now, we'll begin the physical test. Xiao Liu, take them over."
A young soldier waiting nearby stepped forward. "Follow me."
Behind the recruitment office was a spacious open area with numerous military equipment set up. The young soldier spoke again. "Here we'll test your vision, stamina, strength, speed, endurance, and other attributes. Based on your overall performance, you'll be assigned to different camps!"
"The camps are divided into four levels: A, B, C, and D. A is the elite camp, B is the advanced camp, C is the standard camp, and D is the regular camp!"
"I hope you all do your best in the test. The better your camp, the better your treatment!"
Chen Chao and the others nodded, knowing that the better the camp they were assigned to, the better their chances of survival.
"Are there only four levels of camps?" You Qian asked curiously.
The young soldier shook his head. "Above these, there's an S-level camp, known as the Ability Camp! They say the people in that camp are superhumans, with unimaginable strength, speed, and endurance. Even without training, they can easily kill a tiger. If you want to join the S-level camp, you need to hit 200 kg on the weight machine! And that's just one of the tests. Only if you pass all the tests will you be able to join."