Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 165 Long time no see
The battle against the apocalypse has entered a slightly calmer phase, with the last large-scale zombie horde occurring three months ago.

An armored train has completed its long journey and finally arrived at Xinfu Base City.

Lin Hai got out of the car, and the early winter breeze made him unconsciously tighten his collar. Looking at the towering wall in front of him, he couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion.

The journey from the Yunmeng Legion was far from pleasant. Even with him, a fourth-tier superhuman, leading the team, it still took them more than half a month from receiving the news to arriving at their destination.

Besides the occasional small groups of zombies, the creatures active in the wild nowadays are mostly high-level mutated plants and mutated beasts. Some of these creatures can be recruited, while others will become enemies of humans.

Of course, after approaching Xinfu Base City, there have been basically no more accidents. Nine out of ten of the high-level extraordinary creatures that can be seen here are already part of the Legion.

The remaining one is still under evaluation, after all, it's not like you can just join the Corps if you want to.

As he approached the station entrance, he looked around, partly to find the person who would greet him, and partly to take in the scene in the city.

It must be said that the base city, which was personally led and built by the commander-in-chief, had a completely different atmosphere. The city was bustling with people, and the faces of the pedestrians showed almost none of the grief and numbness seen on the faces of the survivors in other areas. Instead, they were full of energy and their mental state was even better than before the cataclysm.

Perhaps, at this moment, we can no longer refer to these people as survivors; they are now urban residents of this new era.

If it weren't for the high wall right in sight and the frequent sight of armed soldiers patrolling the streets, Lin Hai would almost think he had returned to a civilized era.

"Comrade Lin Hai, we finally meet again!"

Several people approached from a distance, and one of them, a young man with a buzz cut, stepped forward and grabbed his hand.

"Comrade Xu Zhao, you've arrived too! It's been almost half a year since we last met before the Great Cataclysm. Long time no see!"

Lin Hai's "Long time no see" was truly heartfelt. Over the past period, everyone had experienced various hardships, and looking back, it felt like a lifetime had passed.

“Yanshan Base is relatively close after all.” Xu Zhao asked with concern, “How was the journey? Was it smooth?”

"Arriving alive is a success in itself." Lin Hai shook his head. "It's just that the weather is getting colder and colder. If this continues, I'm afraid..."

The people present all had solemn expressions. One of them said, "When the commander-in-chief mentioned this before, I didn't take it to heart. I didn't expect it to have reached the point where even superhumans would feel uncomfortable so quickly."

"Winter is just around the corner, and this winter is likely to be tough. We also have more extreme weather events to look forward to in the future."

Seeing everyone deep in thought, Xu Zhao shook his head: "It's alright, there's no need to be too pessimistic. After all, the commander-in-chief had anticipated this, and we still have plenty of time to deal with this problem."

“That’s right.” Lin Hai smiled as well. “Even the Great Cataclysm couldn’t defeat us, so what can a little bad weather do to us? Let’s not talk about that. Brother Xu, why don’t you introduce these two to me? I don’t know them yet!”

Xu Zhao wasn't the only one who came to greet him; there was a man and a woman beside him. Hearing Lin Hai's words, Xu Zhao smiled and said, "You just don't recognize me because it's your first time meeting me. As soon as I say my name, you'll definitely know who I am."

“This is Han Zhong, the president of the Hunter Association.” He pointed to the man beside him, and Lin Hai immediately looked enlightened: “You are President Han? I’ve heard so much about you. To be able to build such a large force in Yunmeng is truly remarkable!”

"Sigh, the association has the support of the commander-in-chief. I'm just doing some insignificant work on the surface," Han Zhong shook his head. "How dare I take credit?" Lin Hai disagreed with his statement. He said, "That's still a remarkable achievement! After the association branch was established in Yunmeng, those civilian groups under your organization have obviously improved a lot. Their organization and professionalism have increased, and their cooperation with the Corps is smoother. Brother Han's efforts have contributed a lot to this!"

"Compared to my meager contribution, Brother Lin, you are truly remarkable." Han Zhong said, "I had long heard that you were assigned to the dam by the commander-in-chief before the Great Cataclysm. Even after the Great Cataclysm, there were no problems there. Although Brother Lin is not well-known, he has truly ensured the safety of countless people downstream."

“Sigh.” Upon hearing this, Lin Hai shook his head even more: “Nothing would have happened there in the next six months. I was sent there just in case. After the cataclysm, I wasn’t the only survivor. I didn’t really have much to do there. There weren’t that many zombies there. I just dealt with the mutated fish and plants occasionally. I can’t really make any contribution.”

"You can't say that. A good warrior doesn't need to make great achievements. The fact that the water conservancy project can still operate normally is your greatest achievement."

Lin Hai waved his hand with a wry smile. Seeing that the conversation was trending towards mutual flattery, he quickly turned to look at another person, a fair-skinned, young and beautiful girl.

In fact, people who can reach the extraordinary level are usually not bad-looking. The enhancement of the human body by spiritual power is all-round. The further one goes on the path of the extraordinary, the closer one gets to perfection, and the more one conforms to the aesthetics of the general public.

However, the person in front of him was considered outstanding among the extraordinary individuals Lin Hai had ever met. She had fair skin and a pretty face, but she possessed a confident and high-spirited temperament that added a lot of heroic spirit to her.

"This beautiful lady is..."

“You may not know her, but you must have heard her voice.” Xu Zhao said with a smile, “This is Comrade Xiao Zhenru.”

"Oh!" Lin Hai clapped his hands. "I was wondering why you looked familiar. It's you! I've seen your picture in the Xinghuo Daily!"

“You’re not photogenic. You’re much prettier in person than in photos. I didn’t even recognize you.” He smiled and gently shook hands with Xiao Zhenru. “I’m flattered that the angel of war from our motherland came out to greet me personally.”

"With such a smooth talker, you must have fooled quite a few girls, right?" Xiao Zhenru's smile held a hint of helplessness. Of course, every girl loves to hear nice words, but she had a strong opinion about the second half of Lin Hai's sentence: "Don't we need to use such strange terms of address among ourselves?"

Everyone present laughed, and Lin Hai asked again, "Now that I'm here, when are we going to see the commander-in-chief?"

"Don't rush," Xiao Zhenru explained. "The commander-in-chief wants us to stay here and keep watch for a while. There have been too many high-level superhumans coming to Xinfu recently, which could easily cause problems."

"Oh, I get it, to show off!" Lin Hai immediately put on a funny face as if he was about to cry: "So that's why so many people came to greet me, they're here to give me a hard time."

"If you ask me, the commander-in-chief is overthinking it. Who in Xinfu would dare to cause trouble under his very nose?"

"Oh! You mean the Commander-in-Chief! I'm going to complain!"

"I just arrived, don't mess around!"

The group chatted and laughed, but the pedestrians around the station quickened their pace. The reason was simple: the presence of four extraordinary individuals who had reached the fourth level was simply too oppressive.

As they were talking, another train appeared in the distance, about to enter the station. On the front of the train was the emblem of the Lingnan Corps.

(End of this chapter)