Because of Miao Jia's presence, they almost cheated by avoiding the alien tide in advance. Also, thanks to Miao Jia's intel, even when facing the alien tide, it was only a small force of a few thousand.
It wasn't until Fu Shiwu stood on the walls of Pei City, looking outside at the endless and boundless alien figures covering the mountains, that he truly understood the terrifying tide formed after the aliens landed on Earth.
Fu Shiwu had almost no energy left to engage in any further communication with others. He could only mechanically keep shooting his gun non-stop.
Later, when his bullets were nearly depleted, Captain Zou, as Tang Xuhai had mentioned, had someone bring him more bullets. They also asked if he wanted to switch to an automatic rifle. However, after trying the automatic rifle, he found it was not as accurate in shooting as the handgun. Disheartened, Fu Shiwu switched back to the handgun.
Wen Zhaoming kept spraying flames continuously from morning until evening without any pause.
Around noon, a few soldiers ran over, throwing grenades down below, giving them a brief moment to rest and have a meal.
When Wen Zhaoming was exhausted to the point of barely standing, Tang Xuhai said, "Old Wen, you and Zhen Zi should go up to the high wall."
Wen Zhaoming, pale-faced with cracked lips, licked his lips and hoarsely replied, "No, it can't be just the two of you."
Tang Xuhai had been cutting down aliens all day and was getting a bit tired by now, but he could still hold on for a while longer. He said, "You rest. Otherwise, it'll just be me and Shiwu tomorrow if you exhaust yourself."
Zhen Zi hesitated for a moment. She was truly exhausted, but leaving her teammates behind was something she couldn't bring herself to do.
Captain Zou came down and said, "Those who can't hold on, rest. What you've done has exceeded my expectations. This battle won't end in a day."
Only then did Wen Zhaoming step back, standing still, letting his injured limbs ache even more, nearly stumbling with that movement.
Zhen Zi hurriedly went up to support him.
Captain Zou suddenly noticed something unusual – this fire-based ability user was actually disabled!
Deeply admiring this, Captain Zou quickly had two young soldiers help Wen Zhaoming down.
"You guys! If he's not mobile, why didn't you say so earlier?" Captain Zou felt guilty.
Tang Xuhai coldly chuckled, "The aliens won't show mercy because of this."
Captain Zou fell silent for a moment, then turned and ordered a few soldiers to stand by the low wall with flamethrowers.
He explained to Tang Xuhai and Fu Shiwu, "Originally, there were supposed to be more of us. The distribution of these flamethrowers and grenades is less than what was allocated. You two rest for a while. When night falls, these aliens will automatically cease fighting."
Fu Shiwu's arms were aching from being raised for so long that his wrists simply couldn't lift anymore.
Although his face maintained a calm expression, he calmly followed behind Tang Xuhai as they climbed the high wall.
"Captain Zou, since we're involved in this, you should tell us what's going on," Tang Xuhai said with a serious expression.
Captain Zou sighed and said to Tang Xuhai, "Each section of the wall requires at least ten people, with no fewer than eight ability users as the minimum defense. These are precise calculations. When the mission was assigned yesterday, I didn't anticipate this situation. It's a loophole, and your corps, with eight people, was assigned to this section of the wall."
"This is utterly disregarding lives!" Fu Shiwu couldn't believe it. "What if it wasn't us today and a breach happened, allowing the aliens to attack?!"
"We'll face either death or military punishment," Captain Zou's face was stern. "Rest assured, this won't just end here. Their scheme didn't succeed. Tonight, I'll have the chance to request more firepower and ammunition, and tomorrow won't be this difficult."
Tang Xuhai looked at Captain Zou with a grim gaze, "Who has the authority to allocate corps for joint defense? Tell me his name."
Captain Zou was taken aback, smiling bitterly, "This is an internal struggle within the military. You ordinary folks should steer clear."
Wen Zhaoming patted Tang Xuhai's shoulder, shaking his head at him. They were outnumbered, and facing the opponent head-on at this moment was akin to hitting a rock with an egg.
Tang Xuhai clenched his fists, gritting his teeth, "Is this how it ends?!"
Wen Zhaoming said, "For now, we must endure and bide our time. Revenge is best served after a long wait!"
Captain Zou confidently stated, "It won't take that long! Soon, we'll topple them."
Tang Xuhai smirked, "Don't forget to let me know when the time comes."
The flamethrowers and grenades couldn't hold out till the end. Tang Xuhai and Fu Shiwu, enduring their exhaustion, fought until the last moment, both needing to be carried back.
Captain Zou had the soldiers drive them back to Courtyard 7, startling the guard, Miao Jia.
Seven went out; only three returned. Zhen Zi barely made it back on his own, while Wen Zhaoming was carried in.
Wen Zhaoming's leg had swollen considerably. Wang Dan and Liu Peiqi, who had been moving things all day, were busy reducing the swelling and alleviating Wen Zhaoming's pain. Olande had slipped into the kitchen to prepare dinner; it wasn't the time to be picky about Chinese or Western cuisine.
"How will we manage tomorrow like this?" Wang Dan worried. They were all in bad shape; getting up tomorrow would be a challenge.
Fu Shiwu struggled on the couch, turning over, and raised a hand. "Just sleep it off..."
"Sleeping won't magically fix everything," Tang Xuhai, lying on the couch, mumbled.
They hadn't expected that on the first day of the alien siege, they'd end up being undermined by their own people!
Wen Zhaoming leaned back, thoughts racing.
After a while, he sat up and said to Miao Jia, "We can't afford to be passive! Miao Jia, go to the old city and find Zhou Weihua. Ask him to send over a few people, preferably those with abilities in combat."
Miao Jia nodded, grabbed the car keys, and left.
Tang Xuhai raised his head and gestured at Wen Zhaoming. "You're smart, knowing to seek external help."
Wen Zhaoming forced a weak smile, lips pressed together.
Unexpectedly, Captain Zou had something sent over later in the evening.
A soldier brought in a wheelchair, while another carried a box.
"Captain Fu, this is from our platoon leader for Mr. Wen. He won't have to stand for too long from tomorrow."
They sent an electric wheelchair. It was heavier and more cumbersome compared to Wen Zhaoming's original one.
Wen Zhaoming stared in surprise, then stammered, "Tell your platoon leader thanks for me."
Captain Fu half-lifted himself, eyes fixed on the wheelchair, and turned to Wen Zhaoming. "Do you want to use it? Honestly, you're doing fine walking, and no one can tell."
Captain Fu remembered how those people in the warehouse used to mock Wen Zhaoming's disability behind his back, making jokes.
His buddy had finally overcome his insecurity, faced his imperfections, and stood up. Would sitting back in the wheelchair affect him again?
Wen Zhaoming understood Captain Fu's concern and tried to reassure him. "It's alright. Sometimes having a wheelchair can be convenient." He licked his dry lips. "And sometimes, being in a wheelchair can confuse the opponent."
When people see someone with a disability, their initial thought is that the person isn't threatening. It's a long-established psychological impression; immediate vigilance doesn't come to mind.
Regarding Wen Zhaoming's thoughts, Captain Fu said, "As long as our buddy doesn't feel sad or bothered, it's fine."
Another soldier placed a box on the table and explained, "This is a relaxant for you guys, developed by the Academy of Sciences to restore energy for ability users. Overusing abilities causes fatigue on the same day, and one can't fully recover the next day. This relaxant replenishes cellular energy, allowing abilities to return to normal."
Everyone in the room heard this for the first time. Liu Peiqi opened the box, and inside was a substance akin to small-sized toothpaste. He unscrewed the lid, and the paste-like relaxant oozed out.
"Let me taste it," Liu Peiqi said, emboldened by the curious looks around. "No taste."
The soldier who brought the wheelchair smirked. "It's tasteless. It took the Academy a long time to make it tasteless. The previous versions tasted as bad as Chinese medicine."
The other soldier added, "They say their next goal is to make the relaxant in different flavors."
"The Academy..." Captain Fu's gaze flickered. "They've conducted many remarkable and useful studies."
Everyone present had to agree. Since the sky opened and the aliens invaded, the Academy had been providing various data analyses on aliens, source molecules, and ability users. Without these scientists' efforts, they wouldn't have figured out half of what they knew now.
With that box of relaxant, Wen Zhaoming, Tang Xuhai, and Zhen Zi slept peacefully.
Early the next morning, Tang Xuhai knocked on Captain Fu's door.
Only a few knew that even if Captain Fu had the relaxant, he wouldn't take it. Tang Xuhai was concerned about his recovery.
"How are you feeling today?" Tang Xuhai asked, eyeing Captain Fu's unruly hair, resisting the urge to tug at it.
"I still feel a bit sore in my arms. I'm fine; I didn't even use my ability yesterday. Those aliens were just cannon fodder; not even a level-two alien showed up," replied Captain Fu, seemingly unaware of Tang Xuhai's gesture.
"Yesterday was just a probing attack; today is the real deal! We mustn't let our guard down," Tang Xuhai said sternly.
Captain Fu straightened up, nodding seriously.
Then, Tang Xuhai couldn't resist and finally reached out to pull his unruly hair!
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