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Honestly, all that pomp about a medal ceremony and giving me a Colonel rank were clearly just means to butter me up. The rank was useless in Southern Plains, and that medal wasn’t even edible. Still… for a normal civilian to be elevated to a Colonel within two days was… quite a feat.

Pomp aside, my most pressing mission now was to find a more permanent base, that would be where I housed the survivors. And while all that was happening, I still had to uncover the mastermind behind this zombie hellscape. Regardless of whether it was some evil cult, or some maniacal mad scientist, they would pay!

The hot spring inn wasn’t actually a bad base, but it was located in the 11th District, one of the outskirts of the city.

Transportation was cripplied right now. If we were to find any survivors in the first few districts, bringing them back on the same day would be difficult. And even if it wasn’t, every extra minute spent escorting them only created more risk.

The best location for a base would have to be in the 5th or 8th District; definitely not the 11th District.

In short, it was now time to move. But that new base had to have a functioning water system, a functioning electrical system, and sufficient housing; food wasn’t too much of an issue. Not with our current level of strength. Also, with 90% of the population dead, all we had to do was raid one of the many giant emergency food storages in the city and we could feed those survivors for a decade.

As a side note, modern storage technology allowed for perishables to stay fresh, even after decades. The Federation had the idea then to prepare a ready supply of food for emergencies or natural disasters.

However, a nagging question kept bothering me. If Committee Member Li was even able to traffick in arms… was there any guarantee that those emergency food storages were still there?

Before sleeping, me and the girls had a quick meeting on the bed about how we were to handle this matter of the base.

“Qiaoqiao wants another hot spring inn, Qiaoqiao wants to keep soaking in the springs!” Ever the energetic one, she immediately leapt at the chance to start first, pointing at a certain building between the 5th and 8th District. “That’s the city’s famous Hoary Spa Resort, Qiaoqiao wants to stay there!”

“But that’s in the center of the city. The zombie count would be immense…” The more prudent one of the group, Bitong immediately noticed the issue. Brows furrowed, she stated, “Even if we clear up the zombies, the stench of their rotting corpses would linger and only grow stronger. We might be fine here, but the city center would be full of rotting zombies…”

“Well, since his Highness is the one who suggested this, I’m sure, in his infinite wisdom, he already has a solution in mind. Don’t forget, the Marketplace has a wondrous selection of magical tools which can solve any problem. This one has no doubt and will always support his Highness.”

“Do you even have anything other than Ke in your brain?”

“Mortal, dost thou think to mock the dignity of a Primal Angel?”

“Hah! You think you’re all that because of your bloodline? Don’t forget I have one too! We’re the same rank!”

“Hmph, it just so happens that this one was looking for an opponent to sharpen her unsealed powers against. Since the mortal foolishly thinks she can win, I hope she has already prepared herself for eventual defeat!”

“I see your delusions have gotten worse again! Time someone brought you back to reality!”

“Wooo, fight, fight, fight! Qiaoqiao wants to know who is stronger!”

“Of course, it’s me!”

“Hmph, mortal.”

“Hey, no fighting!” Realising that the situation was escalating out of control, I anxiously stepped. “I’m trying to get your opinions here, not start a fight!”

“Your Highness, the mortal started it first.”

“Enough with the mortal this, mortal that! Aren’t you a mortal yourself? Even your delusions have to have a limit!”

“Don’t think that just because you managed to obtain the Elemental Angel bloodline by sheer luck you are somehow worthy of being an angel. You’re still lacking.”

“Sheer luck? If that’s the case, aren’t you the same!?”

“This one is different. His Highness definitely helped to unseal this one’s bloodlines, but this one was already a noble primal angel from birth, not at all a mortal like you.”

“That’s enough with the mortal name-calling! I dare you to fight me! I’ll show you how strong a ‘mortal’ can be!”

“Alright, then this one is more than happy to see the strength of an elemental angel.”

“I said, that’s enough!” I finally lost my temper and yelled, “Both of you, be quiet! I don’t care if either of you have any opinions!”

“Big brother is scary…”

“Now be quiet and listen to what I have to say.” I glared at the little girl calling me scary, all the while peeking mischievously at me through the gaps of her fingers. Then, I turned my icy stare towards the two frozen girls. My outburst had shocked them both so greatly that none of them were even considering slapping me. Seeing that, I continued with relative ease. “Personally, I prefer Hoary Spa Resort. There’s ample food there. The resort itself should have electricity and water. As long as we have a means to remove the stench, that’s a good candidate.”

The two older girls were silent. Being the architect of this plan, Qiaoqiao peered at the two girls, and upon confirming that none of them dared to object, finally asked, “Big brother has a way of removing the stench? Qiaoqiao likes a hot bath, but Qiaoqiao hates stinky corpses more.”

“The system has recently refreshed the Marketplace with a new product known as the Bastion Crystal. This item can create a zone of protection to protect anyone under its dome from any attack below the Ninth level…” I paused for a second. “According to the system, by adding on another 5000 points, I can activate the purification system within the crystal. With that system active, any stench from those rotting corpses won’t be an issue. Even the infected can be healed while under its protective dome. Assuming they haven’t turned.”

Shameless Self-promotion

I hate this novel.

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