Zone C, fully known as Zone C of Azure Blue City.
After the apocalypse, the city was redivided. The Azure Blue City they were in now was the largest survivor settlement in the east, consisting of six zones, A through F.
Zero Squad's new base was in Zone A.
As for Zone C, where they now stood—it was where her nightmare began.
The armored vehicle stopped at the edge of the zone. The slight vibration from the engine shutting down woke Jiang Nuan, who had been dozing off against the window.
She lifted her head and, through the window, saw Zone C.
Or rather, what was left of Zone C.
Back when she first woke up in this world, she had seen what this zone looked like.
It wasn’t exactly bustling, but at least there had been rows of residential buildings, a functioning water supply station, occasional indoor lights flickering on at dusk, and a few scattered shops still open along the streets.
It wasn't much of a place, but at least it could still pass as somewhere people could live.
Now, all of that was gone.
The buildings on both sides of the street looked as if something had corroded them from within. Large patches of wall had peeled away, revealing blackened steel skeletons beneath.
Some structures were only half standing, their jagged breaks looking like a giant beast had taken a bite and then spit them out.
The air was thick with a damp, moldy smell mixed with an unidentifiable stench of something dank and metallic.
This was what the expansion of an SS-class restricted zone looked like. Zone C's surviving population had dropped to less than a quarter.
"We're here," came Lu Shiyan's voice from the front seat.
He turned around, his gaze sweeping across the people inside the vehicle.
"The mission is split into two teams. Qinian, Shen Wu, and Jiang Ce will take the other car with the security and research personnel and head to the old base. Retrieve any biological samples and data you can still find."
Qinian immediately scowled. "Why do I have to go play pack mule?"
"Because you're the strongest," Lu Shiyan said without changing his expression.
"Jiang Ce is stronger than me!"
"So Jiang Ce is going too."
Ignoring Qinian's continued grumbling, Lu Shiyan pressed on.
"I, Qi Sui, and Ye Que will take Jiang Nuan to the survivor gathering point. That area is the new settlement Zone C's survivors have formed. We need to run an energy field test to ensure it's safe. Jiang Nuan lived near there before, so she’ll act as our guide."
"Guide?" Qinian scoffed. "Does she even know the way around?"
"I know the way," said Jiang Nuan.
She really did. In the original owner’s memories, she had walked every alley in this part of Zone C. She could navigate in her sleep—knew exactly which corner had a broken gap in the wall, which wall had a drainage ditch beneath it.
Qinian stared at her for two seconds. Then he leaned in suddenly, lowering his voice, "Then you better lead the captain well, don't lead him straight into a ditch."
As he said the word "ditch," his lips brushed right against her ear.
Jiang Nuan jolted to the side, nearly slamming her shoulder into the car door.
Qinian burst into laughter, leaning back, hands behind his head.
"Alright, alright, carting boxes it is." He winked at her. "Wait for me, okay?"
Jiang Nuan rolled her eyes. She hoped he’d carry a hundred crates back at the old base, enough to wear him out.
The group going to the old base got out and boarded the other vehicle. As the transport truck revved its engine, Qinian waved at her from the open door. Jiang Ce poked his head out of the driver's seat and shouted, "You guys stay safe!"
The two vehicles split at the fork in the road. The transport truck turned west, disappearing behind the ruins of a collapsed overpass.
"Take this."
Lu Shiyan handed her something—a sleek silver pistol. A Glock 19, the same model she’d been practicing with at the training ground recently.
"If you run into danger, just shoot."
Jiang Nuan was a little surprised.
Back at the base, aside from the training ground, they had never allowed her to touch any weapons.
She reached out and took it. The cold weight of the metal settled into her palm, bringing with it an unfamiliar sense of security.
Was this a sign of trust? Or yet another test?
Or maybe, it was just that bringing her to a place like Zone C made it necessary to give her some means to protect herself, so she wouldn't get in the way?
The thought circled briefly in her mind before she tucked the gun close to her body and said, "Thank you."
Ye Que was checking his gear nearby. He disassembled and reassembled his own gun in a single fluid motion, never once lifting his eyes.
Qi Sui, on the other hand, tucked a pistol into his waistband and cheerfully slung a medical bag over his shoulder.
"You're going to treat the survivors?" Jiang Nuan asked curiously.
"Him? Treat?" Ye Que snorted coldly.
Qi Sui didn't seem bothered. His smile carried an unreadable edge. "No. I'm going to do something else."
Jiang Nuan didn’t understand what Ye Que was laughing at. Wasn’t Qi Sui a doctor?
