Colonel

Born was silent for a moment, then without knocking, he directly pushed open the door.

"Commander?"

It must be a high-ranking official from the military. He needed to have a thorough discussion with this high-ranking individual.

When Emerson saw Born enter, he was a bit surprised. He considered turning off the radio communication but eventually shook his head, sat to the side, and gestured for Born to proceed.

"Commander, if you have any tasks, please tell him."

Emerson, looking somewhat dejected, slumped to the side and closed his eyes, pretending to sleep.

"Is it Born?"

A slightly hoarse voice sounded.

Born steadied himself.

He felt that he had indeed grown a lot since the apocalypse broke out. After all, the person on the other end of the radio was a true big shot.

A commander-level figure, someone he could only see on TV in the past.

Now, he could actually converse with a commander, and he didn't feel the least bit nervous.

"Yes, it's me, Commander."

Born greeted.

"Very good. From your voice, you seem quite young. Although this apocalypse is chaotic, it's in such times that heroes emerge. I heard you established a shelter in Dover City, and it currently accommodates thousands of people."

The commander praised without reservation.

Born glanced at Emerson. Obviously, Emerson had exaggerated; his base was far from housing a thousand people.

"Your praise is too generous, Commander. What exactly is the current situation?"

Born didn't waste any time beating around the bush.

The commander was silent for a moment, seemingly choosing his words carefully.

He cleared his throat and said, "Currently, satellites and base stations have suffered varying degrees of damage. It seems the Laboratory wants to cut off human communication, but hasn't completely succeeded."

"And in the space station, it seems only the Laboratory's satellites remain operational."

"Born, let me give you the inside scoop. Humanity has regressed technologically by at least fifty years due to this apocalypse. The only entity unaffected is the Laboratory."

"Their remaining satellite is equipped with the Sky Eye system..."

After conversing with the Commander, Born finally understood the true magnitude of the Xingye Laboratory.

It was not just an institute with significant achievements in biology, but an enormous entity with multiple lab divisions, boasting world-leading technology.

The Sky Eye system could monitor the entire world.

Previously, there were regulations that restricted the use of the Sky Eye system.

But now, with the apocalypse unfolding and civilization collapsing, those regulations no longer mattered. The Sky Eye system not only monitored but could observe the entire planet.

This meant that as long as Born was in an open area, every move he made would be monitored by the Sky Eye system.

It made sense now why Fern immediately called out Born's name and said he had secrets.

The Sky Eye system must have seen something.

While outside, Born had used the system's recruitment function multiple times.

He quickly healed his injuries and resurrected zombies back into humans.

All these actions were recorded by the Sky Eye system!

Born felt a cold sweat all over. His secret had indeed been discovered.

He couldn't help but tremble.

But just then, Emerson reached out and patted Born on the shoulder.

Though it was just a pat on the shoulder, Born suddenly felt calm.

It wasn't that his secret was fully exposed!

The Xingye Laboratory knew he had these capabilities, but they didn't know the source of these capabilities. The fact that he had a system remained undisclosed.

"Born, are you listening?" the Commander asked again.

Born nodded, took a deep breath, and said, "Yes, I'm listening."

"Born, in this time of national crisis, you are a rare hero. In this apocalypse, people like you are extremely scarce. After discussing with the higher-ups, we've decided that you will hold the rank of Colonel, the youngest in history."

The Commander suddenly became excited, his voice high and stirring, full of an inspiring tone.

Born was fired up by these words.

The youngest Colonel—what an honor!

Serving in the military and earning distinctions—what did this mean for a man?

Born took deep breaths, repeatedly.

To put it into perspective, Emerson, who was in charge of the city's rescue force, only held the rank of Major.

Born smiled.

"Commander, your offer is very tempting, but I refuse."

Upon hearing this, Emerson's eyes widened. He couldn't believe that in such an information-rich society, Born wouldn't know what the rank of Colonel meant.

Young men often care about their reputation.

With the rank of Colonel on his shoulders, countless soldiers would salute him.

Those wealthy merchants and rich second-generation heirs would have to step aside, and even tycoons would treat Born with respect.

Yet, Born refused.

"Commander, my small base is nothing. Compared to other shelters, it's insignificant."

"The only reason I can think of for you giving me this honor is that you want me to confront the Laboratory. But I'm sorry, I can't defeat them. I only wish to preserve myself."

Born finished speaking and then abruptly cut off the radio communication.

Emerson was left speechless, pointing at Born but unable to form a complete sentence for a while.

Suddenly, Born grabbed his head and squatted down on the ground.

"We're doomed! I just hung up on a commander. What if he orders a direct military strike on our base? Could there be an intercontinental missile on its way?"

Emerson responded with a slap to Born's forehead.

Then, he could only give a thumbs-up.

He took out a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lit one for himself, and threw another to Born.

Born thought for a moment and then lit the cigarette.

He could smoke, though he wasn't addicted.

Amidst the swirling smoke, the two men locked eyes.

"Actually, you shouldn't have been so tough. I know that right now, this rank doesn't come with real power, but once you have it, you can ask the military for help and supplies. They'd definitely give them to you," Emerson sighed.

But Born didn't care about that. He could get supplies by exchanging points in the system's shop.

However, accepting the honor meant accepting the responsibilities that came with it.

He wasn't a scoundrel, but he enjoyed the thrill of being unaccountable.

"Enough about that. Come out and see. There's something new at the base these days," Born said, pulling Emerson out of the room without further ado.

They arrived at the center of the exhibition hall, where hundreds of people were gathered, holding glow sticks.

On stage, a young woman in a white wedding dress slowly walked out.

She picked up the microphone and began to sing softly.

In an instant, the atmosphere of the crowd was electrified.

"Holy crap!"

The cigarette fell out of Emerson's mouth.

He looked at Born and finally managed to squeeze out a sentence: "Isn't that the pop star, Emerson, from before the apocalypse?"