Zombie Life Begins in Hongxi Village

When she saw Zuo Lan again, her emotions had stabilized.

She was wearing a gray military uniform, her hair neatly tucked behind her ears, and she reached out her hand to him.

"Lin Yi, I've thought it through. My father's situation isn't your fault."

"It's good that you've figured it out." Lin Yi gently squeezed her hand, then let go.

Several other people, both men and women, came with Zuo Lan. They were all wearing gray military uniforms and standing ramrod straight.

Zuo Lan introduced them one by one, and Lin Yi shook hands with each of them.

When he walked up to a thin-faced middle-aged man, Zuo Lan said:

"This is Comrade Zhao Gang. The organization sent him to be in charge of the takeover work in Yun County."

Lin Yi held his hand, a slight thought stirring in her heart—Zhao Gang, the political commissar from Yenching University in "Bright Sword," Li Yunlong's old partner.

Because of his butterfly effect, the organization sent this scholar-general to Yun County, which was a pleasant surprise.

The other young man in his early twenties is more interesting.

He looked refined and gentle, wearing black-rimmed glasses and a faded gray military uniform, with a shy smile on his lips, like a recent college graduate.

Zuo Lan introduced himself as Li Ya, a newly assigned civilian staff member.

Lin Yi held his hand, a slight smile curving her lips—Li Ya, the infamous Buddha niche in the undercover operation, the most dedicated villain, and the deepest pawn that Old Chiang had planted within the organization.

He appeared harmless, but his eyes darted across Lin Yi's face with a scrutinizing gaze.

Li Ya was unaware that he had been exposed. After shaking hands, he stepped aside and stood there properly.

Ah Mei brought out tea, and everyone took their seats as guests and hosts.

After a series of familiar expressions of gratitude, thanking Commander Lin for his donation, for his cooperation in the incorporation, and for maintaining order in Yun County, and so on.

Zhao Gang put down his teacup, considered his words for a moment, and tentatively asked Lin Yi if she was willing to join the organization.

His tone was sincere and his attitude was frank, without any hint of coercion.

Lin Yi shook her head, clearly refusing.

Zhao Gang felt a little regretful, but he didn't try to persuade him any further.

He could tell that Lin Yi was a very determined person and could not be swayed by a few words.

Lin Yi admired Zhao Gang. He had a gentlemanly air about him, being idealistic but not pedantic, and principled but not rigid.

He said half-jokingly, "If you can't make it in the mainland in the future, you can come to Hong Kong Island to find me."

"We're short of all sorts of talent, especially someone like you who can write, calculate, speak eloquently, and fight."

Zhao Gang thought Lin Yi was joking, so he smiled slightly, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and didn't reply.

After finishing her tea, Lin Yi stood up: "Zuo Lan, and the others, let's go to the military camp. Let's finish our business as soon as possible so you can get started on your work."

"Okay." Zuo Lan nodded.

Zuo Lan remained silent throughout the journey.

But she would occasionally glance at him out of the corner of her eye, then quickly look away, only to glance back again not long after.

Lin Yi's senses were so sharp that he had already noticed her little movements.

He felt a little helpless—women really are strange creatures.

Previously, he had severed all ties with his family because of the hatred for killing his father, and left decisively and cleanly.

Now, the hatred has dissipated, but the feelings have regrown, and after this rebound, they have become even deeper and more entangled.

How could he possibly bear this!

……

The handover process went smoothly.

The soldiers of the Independent Regiment had already been given a heads-up by Lin Yi, who stood in front of the parade ground and said a few simple words of politeness.

After saying that, he instructed Deputy Officer Chen to lead the company commanders and Zhao Gang's men to begin counting weapons and registering names.

The entire process was completed in less than two hours.

Before parting, Lin Yi specially gave Zhao Gang all ten Italian cannons that he had obtained from the zombie resurrection, and instructed him to give one to his old partner Li Yunlong, which left Zhao Gang dumbfounded for a while.

Lin Yi laughed and offered no explanation.

Lin Yi left in a very low-key manner.

At that time, the Guangzhou-Kowloon Railway was not yet open to traffic, so Lin Yi's family set off in two cars.

Wang Daniu and Ma Dayong drove the car, Lin Yi, Michelle, Ren Tingting and Qingqing sat in the front car, and Nianying and Amei sat in the back car.

In fact, among their group, only Michelle, Nianying, and Amei are ordinary humans.

There was no grand spectacle of the entire city lining the streets to see him off. After all, he had only stayed in Yun County for a few months. Although he was better off than other warlords, it was far from enough to make the people extremely grateful.

It was Chen Wei and his group of old subordinates, along with Zhao Gang, a new friend, who came to see him off.

Zuo Lan also came.

She stood in the crowd, her eyes slightly red, her lips moving several times as if a thousand words were stuck in her throat.

But in the end, she simply stepped forward, looked at Lin Yi with her slightly reddened eyes, and whispered two words: "Take care."

Lin Yi sighed.

He took out a rag doll with talismans drawn on it from his storage ring and handed it to her. "This doll is for you. You must keep it close to you. It might save your life someday."

He paused, then slipped another note into her hand, lowering his voice, "You can read this later."

Zuo Lan blushed slightly as she took the doll and the note, and subconsciously glanced down at the doll in her hand.

She had never believed in such superstitious things, but since it was a gift from Lin Yi, she carefully put the doll into the inner pocket of her military uniform.

She had no idea that this doll would one day truly save her life.

The doll is a substitute doll made by Lin Yi using the Maoshan Substitute Technique, which can take a fatal blow for her at a critical moment.

In the original music zombie storyline, Uncle Nine saved Mari and his apprentice with a substitute arrow when they were executed, and the substitute doll works on the same principle.

Inside the car, Michelle looked through the window at Zuo Lan standing there, staring blankly at the car, and couldn't help but sigh softly.

She turned her head to look at Lin Yi, her tone slightly amused: "I think that girl is interested in you, why don't you bring her along? Anyway, we won't have another person in our family."

"Forget it, we're not on the same wavelength." Lin Yi shook her head, leaned back in her seat, and glanced at the increasingly smaller figure in the rearview mirror.

He really didn't have any feelings for Zuo Lan. She was too upright, so upright that he felt being with her was a burden.

I wonder what reward the undercover story will give him for changing her and Li Ya's fate.

"Big Bull, drive."

After Lin Yi and the others left, Zuo Lan opened the note with great anticipation, but the contents of the note made her expression change drastically.

Because it clearly stated, "Beware of Li Ya, he is a Kuomintang agent, codenamed 'Buddha Niche'."

Zuo Lan quickly put the note into her pocket and hurriedly left. Regardless of whether the information was true or false, she had to report it immediately.

……

Yun County is not far from Hong Kong Island; in modern terms, the straight-line distance is only seven or eight hours by car.

However, the road conditions in this era were really not good. At the actual speed, it would take at least two to three days to get there.

Lin Yi originally wanted to teleport them there directly, but Michelle said she wanted to see the scenery along the way, so they decided to drive there instead.

Fortunately, Michelin's pregnancy was incredibly stable.

With Lin Yi's life story, her physical condition was frozen at its peak in her early twenties, and this bit of travel fatigue was no different from taking a walk for her.

Lin Yi's Qiankun Ring is filled with all kinds of delicacies, and he can also use the Wooden Pole Technique to create wooden houses that shelter from the wind and rain anytime, anywhere.

So this trip was less about rushing and more about a family outing.