Blood.
Dripped down one drop at a time.
Xu Hongzhuang's vision was a blur. She could faintly recognize that the place in front of her was indeed the East Bridge where she lived. But unlike the image in her mind, the city had now been breached by zombies and insects. Bodies piled up on the ground, devoured beyond recognition. The once vast city resembled Hell, with no survivors.
"Ah!"
With a scream, Xu Hongzhuang sat up abruptly from the bed.
"You had a nightmare."
A familiar voice came from beside her. Xu Hongzhuang instinctively assumed a defensive posture but relaxed upon seeing a familiar face.
"Thank you."
In fact, Xu Hongzhuang didn't know what to say. Regardless of the person's intentions, just for saving the industrial area, she felt she should express her gratitude.
"Just these two words? You know what I want."
Chen Feng's lips curled into a slight smile, carrying a hint of sarcasm: "In your most dangerous moment, where was the Colonel Feng you spoke of? If not for me, this place would have been razed to the ground, and you, along with everyone here, would have become zombie food."
Xu Hongzhuang's face flushed with anger. It seemed Chen Feng's words had pierced her heart, making her chest heave visibly, revealing her full figure to Chen Feng.
Chen Feng sat beside her, not like a commander who just participated in a bloody battle, but more like a traveler casually passing by. He said calmly, "You must give me an answer. For your plea for help, four of my men perished, and two were infected by the corpse poison."
War is merciless. No matter how meticulous the preparations, once on the battlefield, changes could happen at any time.
Some warriors would stay forever at the base of the wall, where their companions couldn't even have the chance to take them along, leaving the tragedy to unfold.
Chen Feng half-closed his eyes and said solemnly, "They shouldn't have died…"
Xu Hongzhuang's face turned significantly pale. She struggled a bit, her expression filled with despair and pain, "I... I can pledge my loyalty to you, but I cannot betray the colonel. Privately... I can agree to your request to have people join the Iron Demon Army. All I ask is that you consider the greater good of East Bridge..."
Loyalty?
Chen Feng displayed a look of interest and glanced at her, saying, "I don't believe in verbal loyalty. Actions speak louder than words. As I said before, I won't target Feng Zhiyong. My goal is singular, to support you into power."
"However..."
Just as Xu Hongzhuang said all this, as if releasing a huge burden from her heart, Chen Feng stood up and grabbed her chin.
Chen Feng pinched Xu Hongzhuang's chin between his fingers and ordered, "Look at me."
Unable to break free, Xu Hongzhuang could only lift her head to gaze at Chen Feng. Before she could react, Chen Feng's pupils began to rotate, and a scene of disaster appeared in her mind.
Illusion.
A real, immersive illusion.
No one knew what Xu Hongzhuang saw; her pupils contracted, and after Chen Feng dispelled the illusion, she collapsed by the bedside, her mind blank, saliva seeping from between her lips, slowly dripping onto the sheets.
After prolonged exhaustion, she had less than half of her usual strength left, unable to resist Chen Feng's illusion attack.
"I don't like betrayal. Remember what you've said today. If one day, you act against my wishes, then I will let you experience..."
"What true despair means."