Apocalypse: The Primordial Pearl Recognizes Its Master, Starting with Infinite Space

Based on the information provided by Liu Feifei, Lin Chen went alone to the northwest corner of Zhengcheng and found the Chen family's camp.

The outermost perimeter consists of rows of shacks and dugouts, pieced together from scrap wood and plastic sheeting.

Frozen corpses were scattered everywhere in the snow, unburied.

Occasionally, a few living people would emerge from the shack, wrapped in tattered cotton-padded coats, with vacant eyes and sallow, emaciated faces.

Lin Chen swept past them, and they only felt a cold wind, shrank their necks, and saw nothing.

Further inside was a prefabricated housing area enclosed by barbed wire, where laborers "recruited" by the Chen family lived.

A patrol of men walked by, their clothes a jumble of military overcoats, some with tattoos showing on their necks, carrying sticks and cursing under their breath.

They kicked a roadside shack, grabbed a survivor and questioned him, then burst into laughter when they saw the survivor trembling with fear.

Lin Chen did not disturb them.

The figure appeared and disappeared in the morning light, passing through the barbed wire fence and continuing inward.

The innermost layer is a wall made of shipping containers and some bricks and stones, inside which is a high-end villa area.

The wall is three meters high, with an electric fence on top. Every few dozen meters there is a sentry post, with soldiers armed to the teeth standing straight and sharp-eyed.

Lin Chen silently climbed over the wall and landed behind a pine tree.

This was the Chen family's private residence in Zhengcheng before their demise, with white walls, black tiles, and a deep courtyard.

The core staff stationed there number only a few thousand, yet they keep hundreds of thousands of survivors on the periphery under their control.

They are not allowed to move out or go out; any unusual behavior will result in collective punishment.

Lin Chen frowned and headed towards the center of the villa area.

Lin Chen passed through countless patrols and sentries, his figure appearing and disappearing in the morning light, yet no one noticed him.

He soon arrived at the central villa.

Through the half-open window, a dozen or so people were crammed into the hall, most of them wearing military overcoats or winter coats, their hands tucked into their sleeves, hunched over several basins of charcoal fire to keep warm.

The smoke made people cough, but no one was willing to move away.

"Why aren't those women from Shanghai leaving yet?" a skinny man with a pointed chin and monkey-like face muttered, rubbing his hands together.

"They're probably still discussing countermeasures," a bearded man muttered nearby. "I heard the leader is a woman, and she's pretty good at fighting. But even if she's good, can she withstand our nuclear bombs? Even if she doesn't die, she'll be crippled!"

"But we can't hold on either," the skinny man said, still shaken.

"What's there to be afraid of?" Another young man crossed his legs and shook his foot. "I think they're just bluffing. If they really dared to do something, they would have done it already. Commander Chen gave a strict order that we must not let our guard down. We'll just watch."

The skinny man sighed, his tone tinged with frustration: "Damn it, with these people guarding the outside, we can't even go out to gather supplies. Feeding those useless people outside every day won't last long."

The bearded man glanced at him and said, "How much grain can those good-for-nothings afford? Two meals of thin porridge a day, as long as they don't starve. Our warehouse has enough for two months."

"What about two months from now?" the skinny man pressed.

The man with the bushy beard didn't reply.

Another bald man, who hadn't spoken until now, suddenly interjected: "It's not just about food. If things continue like this, those lowly people outside might rebel."

"They wouldn't dare!" The young man sat up abruptly, his eyes wide. "We've waived their protection fees and are even giving them free food and drink every day. If they dare to cause trouble, we'll just kill them."

The bald man sneered, "Didn't we just wipe out a bunch of rebels yesterday? Aren't they all behaving themselves now? Some people are just despicable; they won't listen unless you beat them."

The bearded man nodded: "Not bad, making an example of someone to scare others, this tactic works."

The skinny man persisted, "But this can't go on forever. As long as those people in Shanghai don't leave, we can't get out. What if they really break in..."

"Break in?" the young man scoffed. "Don't forget what Commander Chen has. No matter how powerful those women are, can they be more powerful than nuclear weapons? Besides, we have millions of people as hostages, what's there to be afraid of?"

The young man said leisurely, "Our only concern is Lin Chen."

After a moment of silence, everyone lowered their heads and continued to warm themselves by the fire.

Lin Chen pressed his face against the window, hearing every word clearly. His expression remained unchanged, but his gaze gradually turned cold.

Nuclear bombs? Domestication? Making an example of someone to deter others?

The girls in the team are now mostly S-class level 4 ability users, and nuclear bombs can no longer kill them unless they explode at close range.

What he's worried about now is just the million survivors in the city.

And they seem to know themselves?

However, do these people really think that they can't do anything about it?

The next moment, Lin Chen appeared behind everyone.

He arrived silently. Those gathered around the charcoal fire felt a chill run down their spines and turned around abruptly to see a strange young man standing at the door, calmly surveying them.

Some people were so startled that they stood up, some kicked over the charcoal brazier, sparks flew everywhere, and some instinctively reached for the pistol at their waist.

Lin Chen didn't waste any words. His gaze swept across their faces one by one, and he silently activated his mental suggestion.

Their eyes froze for a moment, then cleared again.

The guardedness and hostility had completely vanished, replaced by respect and obedience.

"Where is Chen Huaiyong?" Lin Chen asked.

Everyone answered in unison, "We don't know."

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow: "Aren't you part of the base's management? Don't you know where he is?"

"Commander Chen's daily residence has been irregular lately, to prevent assassination attempts," the bearded man at the front said honestly. "He is always accompanied by two S-class superhumans for protection."

Lin Chen was speechless. Was this guy really that cowardly? Or did he already know something?

"How much information do you know about me?" Lin Chen asked.

The skinny man quickly replied, his tone revealing nothing: "Commander Chen has spies in the Shanghai military who learned of your strength, which is why he resorted to this tactic."

"Oh, how much do you know?"

"Commander Chen didn't say much to us, only that 'that person is very powerful and we need to be on guard at all times.'"

Lin Chen frowned slightly. This person is indeed cautious.

Is he still in this villa area?

"have no idea."

Lin Chen was also at a loss when faced with such a deep and calculating person.

"Do you have any way to contact him?"

"no."

At this point, the young man with his legs crossed added, "However, someone should be able to contact him."

"Who?"

"Miss Qianqian."

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow and looked at the young man's face: "Tell me more."

The young man leaned forward and lowered his voice, saying, "Miss Qianqian is Commander Chen's favorite mistress. He sees her almost every week. Judging by the days, the next invitation should be in the next couple of days."

Lin Chen narrowed his eyes slightly: "How do you know so much?"