TFRLTOP Chapter 83 Part 1

Chapter 83 – The Captain’s Little Widow 

◎ Military Base ◎

Ming Ming was completely exhausted. As she leaned on Guan Yi’s shoulder, she slowly began to slide down in her sleep. Guan Yi tried to hold her upright for a bit, but seeing that she couldn’t get comfortable, he finally loosened his arms and let her find her own sleeping position.

In the end, Ming Ming ended up sprawled out across Guan Yi’s lap, snoring softly, her limbs flung in every direction.

Guan Yi rested one hand casually on her, his gaze drifting to the window. He looked calm and collected, but the faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth was impossible to hide.

Two days later, under An Ning’s guidance, they arrived at the military base in the north.

“Why are there so many zombies here?” Guan Yi frowned, peering through his binoculars from a high vantage point.

The situation at the base was far worse than expected. The number of zombies was several times greater than predicted, and the enclosed environment had trapped them all inside.

“I remember now.” An Ning smacked his forehead. “The month the apocalypse started, I was transferred out of my original unit. Before I left, they were planning a joint military exercise. Don’t tell me… it was supposed to take place right here?”

Guan Yi handed him the binoculars. An Ning took one look and cursed, “Damn it, it really is.”

“It must’ve been during that joint exercise,” Guan Yi reasoned. “Someone must’ve brought the zombie virus in. With that many people packed together, once it spread, it would’ve gone through them fast…” He paused, frowning deeper. “But with so many soldiers, not even one awakened an ability?”

Ming Ming stood on tiptoe to peer inside the base. “Should we just blow them all up?”

She reached for one of her mushroom grenades.

“Whoa, not so fast, sweetheart.” Guan Yi stopped her.

“We will blow it up,” he said calmly, “just not yet. There’s still an ammo stockpile down there. We’ll grab the supplies first, then blow the place to hell.”

“Okayyy.”

“An Ning,” Guan Yi asked, “you’re familiar with the layout, right? Do you remember where the armory is located?”

“Yeah. I spent two years stationed here. Let me draw you a map.”

“The question now,” Guan Yi said, frowning at the base, “is how we get in.”

From their vantage point, the base was crawling with tens of thousands of zombies — packed shoulder to shoulder, covering every inch of space. Sneaking in quietly seemed impossible.

To make matters worse, Ming Ming had to come along. Even if the others could enter, she was the only one who could instantly store the supplies and weapons. But Guan Yi couldn’t risk letting her walk into danger.

An Ning quickly sketched the layout on paper and marked the location of the armory.

Guan Yi took it, and Ming Ming leaned in beside him to look.

Comparing the drawing with the real terrain, the group brainstormed possible infiltration routes.

They all agreed on one — entering from the southeast corner. It was the closest route to the armory.

From there, they could climb onto the rooftop to enter the base more safely.

With Guan Yi’s tentacles, scaling the wall wouldn’t be a problem.

After that, they just had to cross one open stretch to reach the storage point — dangerous, but doable with care. The only unknown was what awaited inside the armory — most likely, a horde of zombies.

But there was a fatal flaw in the plan: before climbing to the rooftop, there was still a long stretch of open ground — and that area was swarming with zombies.

Ming Ming pointed to a small building in the southwest corner. “What if we make some noise over there, lure the zombies away, bomb them, and sneak in from the southeast while they’re distracted? The mountain behind it would keep the explosion contained — even if the wall breaks, the zombies won’t get out.”

Guan Yi studied the layout, then nodded. “That could work.”

He gathered everyone and assigned positions — placing small support teams at key checkpoints while leading Ming Ming and a few others into the base himself.

“This is so exciting,” Ming Ming thought, her heart pounding. “Real-life CrossFire? Resident Evil? And I’m a main character? That’s way too cool.”

The system sighed. “Are you seriously getting excited right now?”

“Hey, long time no see,” Ming Ming greeted it in her mind. “Come on, both the male and female leads are here. We’re plot-armored! What’s there to worry about?”

The system said flatly, “Didn’t you use to worry about the male lead?”

Ming Ming pouted silently. “Tch, who said I was worried about him? After that last battle, I realized the female lead never dies — and the male lead’s protected by the laws of narrative! Fate itself has his back.”

The system deadpanned, “You’re not afraid this story could have a bad ending?”

“Are you kidding me?” she scoffed. “Who writes a post-apocalyptic story with a tragic ending? That’d ruin the whole genre.”

“Sure,” said the system, “the protagonists might be fine — but side characters die like flies.”

…Oh, right. I am technically a side character.

Ming Ming tried to reassure herself: “It’s fine. Guan Yi will protect me.”

Once preparations were complete, Ming Ming handed several small mushroom grenades to the team’s archery champion, who was in charge of launching them toward the southwest corner to draw attention.

Boom!

The first grenade exploded, and every zombie in the base turned toward the blast.

“Now! Move out!” Guan Yi commanded.

The powered individuals led the charge, jumping into the base to clear the northeast sector of lingering zombies. The others followed. Guan Yi jumped down last, holding Ming Ming in his arms, and used his tentacles to scale the wall.

“I’ll take you up first,” he told her, “then I’ll pull the others.”

Ming Ming clung to his neck as they ascended — it was like watching Spider-Man in action. Guan Yi extended one tentacle down to haul up another person at the same time, handling two at once to save time.

She couldn’t help but joke, “You know, if we chopped off one of your tentacles and made a swing out of it, it’d be pretty sturdy.”

Guan Yi chuckled under his breath. “Sweetheart, you’re brutal. You really want me to yank it off myself? Hurts like hell, and I can’t even control the length once it’s detached. Don’t worry, I’ll make you a swing when we get back. Maybe hang a hammock in our room too. What else do you want, hmm?”