Day 9 was the first day in a while that didn't start with screaming.
It started with coughing, arguing, and the sound of people dragging scrap metal across concrete.
Zhao Qingshan had finally forced a work schedule. Not full registration yet. Not names on paper. Just loud shouted shifts and threats.
Fence teams.
Trash burning.
Water runs.
Med support.
The base was becoming a machine because it had to.
Lan Huan was back on his feet, but not fully. He moved slower. He didn't show it to strangers, but Luo Yan saw his hand shake when he thought nobody was looking.
Luo Yan cooked anyway. Congee again. Hot cups again. He hated how useful it was.
Inside his head, the system chimed. Private.
Ding.
DAY 9 MAIN MISSION: RECRUIT "BAI LING"
Time Limit: 72:00:00
Objective: Bring Bai Ling into your squad voluntarily
Reward: Team Meal Buff (Basic) unlock condition +1
Reward: Void Screen Stability +1
Luo Yan swallowed.
Bai Ling.
Lan Huan didn't know the name from any system. He only knew what He Li had reported: ice user, controlled, strong under pressure.
Lan Huan said, "We go to fence rotation."
He took He Li, Luo Yan, and Lu Ziming.
Lu Ziming was cheerful about it for no reason. "Field trip," he said. "Love it."
He Li looked like he wanted to throw him into a puddle.
At the east fence, the lane was tighter than before. The scrap patch Luo Yan had screened on Night One was still there, now reinforced with extra wire and welded plates.
A woman stood near the weak section, hands in her pockets, watching the outside like she was bored.
She wasn't bored.
She was calm.
Her hair was tied back. Her face was clean compared to everyone else's. Her eyes were cold in a focused way, not a cruel way.
When zombies pushed, she didn't flinch. She just lifted one hand.
Ice crept across the mesh in thin lines, stiffening it like ribs.
Then she dropped her hand again like it cost her nothing.
A soldier near her said, "You're a freak," like he meant it as a joke.
She didn't laugh.
She said, "Then stand farther away."
The soldier shut up.
Lan Huan walked up.
The soldier straightened fast. "General!"
The woman finally looked over.
Her eyes flicked to Lan Huan's insignia, then to He Li, then to Luo Yan, then to Lu Ziming.
Her gaze paused on Luo Yan for half a second longer than the rest.
Luo Yan didn't like that.
Lan Huan's voice was even. "Ice user," he said.
The woman didn't deny it. "Yes."
"Name," Lan Huan said.
She stared at him. "Why?"
Lan Huan didn't soften. "Because I'm recruiting," he said.
Her eyebrows lifted slightly. "Recruiting," she repeated, like it was a bad joke.
Lu Ziming leaned in and whispered to Luo Yan, "She's pretty."
He Li whispered back, "Stop talking."
The woman heard anyway. Her eyes slid to Lu Ziming. "You," she said. "Are you always loud?"
Lu Ziming grinned. "Only when I'm alive."
She stared for a beat, then her mouth twitched like she almost smiled and refused to.
Lan Huan waited.
Finally, she said, "Bai Ling."
Lan Huan nodded once. "Come with me," he said.
Bai Ling didn't move. "No."
Lan Huan didn't react. "Why."
Bai Ling's eyes narrowed. "Because every man with rank thinks he can 'come with me' like I'm equipment," she said.
Lan Huan's gaze stayed steady. "You're not equipment," he said. "You're a person with a skill this base needs."
Bai Ling scoffed. "That's equipment with nicer words."
Luo Yan swallowed. He liked her already.
Lan Huan's voice stayed calm. "If you stay here," he said, "you'll freeze this fence until your hands go numb and you can't hold a cup."
Bai Ling's eyes flicked to Luo Yan's pot bag. "You brought food," she said.
Luo Yan held up a cup. "Hot," he said.
Bai Ling stared at the cup like it was a trick.
Lu Ziming said, "It's not poison. We can't afford poison."
He Li shot him a look.
Bai Ling took the cup from Luo Yan and drank without saying thanks.
Her shoulders dropped a fraction.
Lan Huan watched it and didn't comment.
Bai Ling handed the cup back. "So what," she said. "I join you, and you tell me where to stand and when to freeze."
Lan Huan's eyes stayed cold. "Yes," he said. "And I keep you alive."
Bai Ling laughed once. "That's not a good deal."
Lan Huan leaned closer, voice lower so only she'd hear. Luo Yan still caught pieces.
"I'm not offering comfort," Lan Huan said. "I'm offering a unit that doesn't waste people."
Bai Ling's eyes narrowed. "Everyone says that."
Lan Huan didn't argue. He just said, "Test me."
Bai Ling stared at him for a long beat.
Then a zombie outside slammed the fence hard enough to rattle the lane.
Bai Ling's hand lifted on instinct.
Ice spread.
The fence stiffened again.
Bai Ling lowered her hand and looked at Lan Huan.
"Fine," she said. "I'll test you."
Lu Ziming let out a breath like he'd been holding it. "Welcome," he said.
Bai Ling looked at him. "Don't welcome me," she said. "I'm not a puppy."
Lu Ziming grinned. "Noted."
He Li murmured, "Trouble."
Bai Ling heard him too. She glanced at He Li. "You look like trouble too," she said.
He Li's face stayed flat. "Good."
Bai Ling's eyes narrowed like she liked that answer and hated that she liked it.
As they walked away from the fence, Bai Ling glanced back once.
"Just so you know," she said, voice cool, "if your unit gets me killed, I'll haunt you."
Lan Huan didn't blink. "If my unit gets you killed," he said, "I'll be dead first."
Bai Ling stared at him.
Then she looked away fast like she didn't want anyone to see her expression change.
Luo Yan's system chimed in his head.
Ding.
MISSION PROGRESS: BAI LING RECRUITED (3/10)
Reward pending.
And behind them, outside the fence, a thin fast scream sounded again.
Not close.
But watching.