Chapter 116: Old blood in the frost
The final pre-dawn hours within the residential suite were marked by a quiet, rhythmic preparation. The chaotic, frantic energy that usually preceded a deployment into the unknown wasteland was entirely absent, replaced by the steady efficiency of veterans who finally had a home base to return to.
In the staging area just off the residential suite, the metallic clicks of tactical rigs adjusting and the rough scratch of velcro over heavy thermal layers formed a familiar background track. Lieutenant Chen and Da Yong were double-checking the tension on their insulated boots, their expressions grim but entirely focused.
Han Zheng stood near the heavy weapons rack, hisnhands methodically checking the seals on his tactical vest. His mind was already mapping the frozen ravines fifteen kilometers north, calculating tracking lines and wind vectors, when a quiet movement near the entrance of the staging area caught his eye.
Han Ye was standing by the heavy door frame.
The five-year-old was dressed in his thick, dark green fleece sweater, the oversized collar framing a small face that had finally lost the slightly hollow, haunted exhaustion of the past week. He stood with his hands loosely at his sides, his posture grounded and steady. He was still the same serious, intensely observant boy, his dark eyes tracking the layout of the weapons on the rack with absolute focus. Yet, the invisible, suffocating weight that had tightly coiled in his small shoulders had visibly dissolved.
The deep breakdown from two nights ago had cleared the fog, leaving behind a profound, unshakeable sense of security. He looked remarkably relaxed, almost carefree, entirely trusting the strength of the walls around him and the man standing before him.
Han Zheng lowered his arms and walked over to the doorway, his frame casting a long shadow over his son. He knelt down on one knee, bringing himself level with the boy’s calm gaze.
"You’re up early," Han Zheng said, his deep, gravelly voice dropping into a rare, soft warmth.
Han Ye looked directly into his father’s eyes. He simply reached out, his small, pale fingers briefly and casually tapping the edge of Han Zheng’s wrist guard in a brief, supportive gesture.
"Be careful, Dad. Bye," Han Ye murmured softly, his tone entirely light, almost casual.
The unburdened, confident farewell struck a deep chord in Han Zheng’s chest. It wasn’t the heavy, frightened parting of a child who feared his father would never return; it was the simple statement of a son who possessed absolute, unquestioning faith that his father was invincible.
Han Zheng’s lips curved into a proud smile. He patted the boy’s shoulder once, the grip solid and grounding. "Go back to bed. Your mother will have the morning routine ready soon."
Han Ye nodded once, turned on his heel, and walked back toward the inner residential quarters with a light, unhurried stride. Watching his son’s relaxed retreating back, a powerful, unyielding resolve hardened within Han Zheng’s core. The child was finally at peace. The family was secure. With a final nod to Lieutenant Chen and Da Yong, Han Zheng threw the white thermal cloaking cloak over his shoulders, walked towards the secondary doors, and vanished into the blinding white dark of the frozen valley.
Fifteen kilometers north, the terrain fractured into a brutal labyrinth of jagged ice sheets and sheer rock faces where the mountain river had completely frozen solid. The white thermal cloaks provided by Lin Qing worked flawlessly, perfectly masking the three men’s heat signatures as they moved like ghosts through the deep, powdery drifts.
As they neared the coordinates Xiao Li had isolated, the heavy, dead silence of the mountain range was suddenly shattered by the sharp, unmistakable crack of military-grade kinetic fire.
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
The rhythmic, disciplined bursts echoed violently off the stone walls of the ravine. It wasn’t the chaotic, wild spraying of desperate mercenaries or raiders; it was the precise, overlapping suppression fire of a highly trained squad executing a textbook defensive formation.
"Commander, up ahead!" Lieutenant Chen whispered sharply, dropping low behind a massive ridge of compacted snow, his rifle raised. "The river fork. They’re engaged!"
Han Zheng raised his hand, signaling an immediate halt. He slid forward against the icy lip of the ridge, raising his binoculars to scan the chaotic battlefield below.
The camp was highly structured—three heavily winterized armored personnel carriers were arranged in a tight, interlocking defensive triangle, their automated turrets tracking frantically. But they weren’t fighting regular wasteland scavengers. Emerging from the frozen riverbed were dozens of pale, emaciated figures moving with terrifying, unnatural speed. Their skin was translucent and covered in jagged, crystalline frost, their eyes glowing with a viral, icy blue hunger.
Advanced cold zombies.
Unlike the sluggish hordes of the lowlands, these creatures were mutated by the extreme sub-zero temperatures, their frozen muscle fibers allowing them to sprint across the ice with predatory agility, completely unbothered by the biting cold. They were tearing forward, trying to breach the defensive perimeter of the vehicles.
Han Zheng adjusted the focus on his lenses, aiming down at the center of the military defensive line where a tall, broad-shouldered man in a heavy winter coat was barking orders, his twin submachine guns chewing through the frontline of the horde.
Han Zheng’s breath caught sharply in his throat. His chest tightened as he stared at the scarred jawline and the precise, brutal efficiency of the man’s movements.
"Captain Lu..." Han Zheng muttered, his voice dropping into absolute disbelief.
Beside him, Lieutenant Chen gasped, his eyes widening as he recognized the markings on the armored carriers. "Commander... that’s the Iron Falcon Vanguard. It’s Lu Feng’s unit! The elite group from our old division!"
It wasn’t a hostile invading force. It was their old blood. The very team they had trained with, bled with, and fought alongside in the brutal black ops missions before the world fell apart. The familiar, fiercely trustworthy faces they believed had perished during the initial collapse were actively fighting for their lives right below them.
"They don’t know the weak points of the cold variants," Han Zheng said, his tone instantly shifting from cautious scouting to aggressive command as he slung his heavy rifle forward. "They’re aiming for center mass, but the ice crystallization protects the vital organs. Lieutenant Chen, Da Yong, take the high flanks. Aim exclusively for the neck joints and the lower knee hinges to shatter their mobility. Deploy Lin Qing’s aerosol inhibitors immediately!"
"Understood!" Lieutenant Chen and Da Yong shouted in unison, their initial shock instantly melting into the familiar, flawless rhythm of combat coordination.
Down in the basin, Lu Feng slammed a fresh magazine into his weapon, his breath pluming in massive white clouds as an advanced cold zombie leaped over the hood of the lead carrier, its frost-coated claws snapping inches from his face. Before he could pull the trigger, a heavy, high-caliber sniper round tore through the creature’s neck from the high ridge above, instantly shattering its frozen spine.
Lu Feng ducked, his sharp eyes snapping up toward the high snow ridge in utter astonishment. "Where the hell did that come from?!"
Before his squad could react, three figures wrapped in white cloaks vaulted over the steep icy ledge, dropping into the center of the battlefield with absolute precision. Han Zheng unslung a localized aerosol unit, slamming the release valve. A dense, pressurized cloud of chemical inhibitors swept across the charging horde. The moment the advanced cold zombies inhaled the gas, their accelerated cellular respiration trapped the toxin, causing their frozen muscle structures to instantly seize and collapse into the snow.
Han Zheng stepped through the mist, his heavy shotgun roaring as he shattered the remaining frozen skulls with brutal, practiced efficiency.
Within three minutes, the chaotic battlefield fell into an absolute, ringing silence. The remaining creatures lay shattered and motionless.
Lu Feng stood frozen, his weapons lowered slightly, his gaze locked entirely on the massive, towering figure standing in the center of the clearing. When Han Zheng pulled back his white thermal hood, revealing his rugged features, Lu Feng’s stoic composure completely broke.
"Zheng...?" Lu Feng breathed, his voice trembling slightly in sheer disbelief as he stepped forward, his heavy glove slamming hard against Han Zheng’s shoulder piece. "Old friend... you’re alive? How the hell are you alive?!"
Han Zheng let out a low, rare laugh, gripping Lu Feng’s forearm in a powerful, crushing military handshake. "It takes more than a nuclear winter to kill us, Lu Feng. What are you doing in this sector?"
Lu Feng shook his head, a mixture of profound relief and exhaustion washing over his features. "We thought your entire unit was wiped out during the central capital’s retreat. Two weeks ago, our squad raided a classified underground government archive. We uncovered old geopolitical maps detailing a highly advanced, fully self-sustaining research facility hidden deep within this mountain range. We were running out of fuel and running out of rations. We came out here blind, praying the facility was real so we could seek sanctuary for our remaining men."
Lu Feng looked around the desolate, snow-covered canyon, a faint, ironical smile touching his lips. "We had no idea you were the ones running it."
Han Zheng smiled, a deep, powerful sense of pride and camaraderie swelling within his chest as Lieutenant Chen and Da Yong stepped forward to greet their old comrades. The threat that had loomed over the sanctuary had completely dissolved, replaced by the one thing the wasteland rarely offered: a loyal, powerful brotherhood reborn from the ashes.
"The facility is real, Lu Feng," Han Zheng said, turning back toward the peaks where the hidden gates lay. "And it’s fully operational. Let’s get your men packed up. It’s time to bring you home."