Day 15 was the day Zhao Qingshan finally snapped the base into shape.
Not because he wanted to.
Because the base was going to tear itself apart if he didn't.
At sunrise, soldiers tied ropes between containers and turned lanes into sections. They painted numbers on walls. They posted work shifts with marker. They started a basic roster for awakened, not full paperwork, just names and lane assignments.
People complained.
Then they lined up anyway.
Lan Huan watched the new structure from a distance and didn't comment. He knew what it was. Survival pretending to be order.
Luo Yan cooked and listened.
He heard his own name more than he wanted.
Void.
Dragon unit.
Chef.
Cores.
Rumors grew faster than fence repairs.
Feng Yue came back with her clipboard and said, "They're starting a list."
Bai Ling scoffed. "Everyone loves lists."
Feng Yue looked at her. "Lists become cages," she said.
Mu Yin asked, quiet, "Are we on it?"
Feng Yue nodded once. "Not officially. Yet."
Nie Mingjue stood near the container door, arms folded, watching the lane like he was waiting for trouble to walk up and introduce itself.
He was calmer today. But every time someone shoved past too close, the air around him thickened a little. Like his body reacted before his brain.
Mu Yan noticed. "Breathe," he said softly to Nie Mingjue.
Nie Mingjue looked at him. "I am," he said.
Mu Yan didn't argue. He just stayed nearby anyway.
Lu Ziming leaned toward Qin Yi and whispered, "Gravity guy is scary."
Qin Yi whispered back, "So are you."
Lu Ziming grinned. "You like me."
Qin Yi sighed. "I hate you."
Lu Ziming smiled like that was a yes.
Lan Huan came back near noon with He Li.
He Li's face was tight. "Zhao is pulling awakened into fence squads," he said. "He's not asking."
Lan Huan's jaw tightened. "He can't spare people," he said.
He Li nodded. "And Zhou is still outside the gate," he added. "Quiet today. Watching."
Lan Huan looked at the unit. "We're not showing strength for free," he said.
Gu Jinghe raised an eyebrow. "So we hide?"
Lan Huan's eyes stayed cold. "We ration power," he said. "Like food."
Luo Yan swallowed. That sounded right. It also sounded like a life he didn't want.
A soldier showed up at their lane with a clipboard and a tired face.
"General Lan," he said. "Commander Zhao requests your unit for fence shift. East side. Two hours."
Bai Ling laughed once. "Of course."
Lan Huan's eyes narrowed. "We already work," he said.
The soldier swallowed. "Sir, it's an order."
Lan Huan stared at the clipboard, then said, "Fine."
They went.
Not all at once. Lan Huan took it in layers, like he refused to put the whole unit in one place where someone could grab them.
He sent Bai Ling first with a small group, because ice on the fence was a clear value and hard to argue with.
Then He Li, because scouts kept people alive.
Then Nie Mingjue for controlled crowd pressure, but only if Lan Huan was there.
Luo Yan stayed back at first to cook and to avoid being in the most visible lane. That was part of the "hard to trade" plan. Don't show Void unless it's needed.
But an hour into the shift, someone ran to their container lane yelling.
"Help! East fence—someone's trying to open the gate from inside!"
Luo Yan's stomach dropped.
From inside.
That meant humans.
That meant panic or betrayal.
Lan Huan came back fast, raincoat flapping. His eyes were hard. "Luo Yan," he said. "With me."
Luo Yan swallowed. "Now?"
Lan Huan nodded. "Now."
They ran.
At east fence, it wasn't zombies causing the problem.
It was people.
A group of civilians had rushed the inner barrier and grabbed the latch mechanism, screaming that their family was outside and they were going to open it "just a little."
Soldiers tried to stop them. Civilians fought back.
Zombies pressed outside the mesh, slow and hungry, drawn by noise.
Zhao Qingshan was there, roaring at everyone. "If you open that latch I will shoot you!"
A man screamed back, "Shoot me then! My wife is out there!"
Someone shoved a soldier.
The soldier raised his rifle.
The crowd surged.
One wrong shot and it would turn into a stampede.
Bai Ling stood on the barrier, hands lifted, ice creeping along the latch area to freeze it shut without breaking it. Her jaw was tight with effort.
Nie Mingjue stood behind the front line, gravity pressing down just enough to slow the crowd without crushing them. His face was calm but tense.
He was holding back.
Gu Jinghe shaped a metal plate as a shield wall, trying to block the latch.
And then a fast scream sounded outside.
Close.
The zombies outside shifted.
One fast infected climbed the mesh like it was nothing, heading straight for the opening civilians were trying to create.
Luo Yan's blood went cold.
Lan Huan's voice cut low. "Void," he said.
Luo Yan's hands shook. He didn't want to be seen. But if that fast one got in through a human-made gap, it would be a massacre.
He lifted his hands.
Void Screen snapped over the latch area like a dark shield.
Hands hit it. Teeth hit it.
The impacts erased.
The screen cracked.
But it held.
Just long enough for soldiers to drag the civilians back and lock the mechanism.
Zhao Qingshan slammed a metal bar through the latch and barked, "Tie it! Wire it! Now!"
The fast infected outside slammed into the mesh and shrieked, furious.
Inside, civilians sobbed and screamed, "You're killing them! You're killing them!"
Lan Huan's voice went cold, loud enough to cut through the lane.
"You're killing everyone," he said.
The words hit like a slap.
The crowd hesitated.
For one breath, the base held.
Then the Void Screen cracked and vanished, and Luo Yan nearly fell from the backlash.
Lan Huan grabbed his elbow, steady. "Enough," he said low.
Luo Yan swallowed hard, dizzy.
And in the space of that dizzy second, he realized the worst part.
People had seen.
Again.
Void.
Saving the latch.
Saving them.
Making him valuable.
Tradeable.
As the lane finally calmed, Zhao Qingshan looked at Luo Yan across the barrier.
His face was hard, but his voice was quieter than usual. "You keep showing yourself," Zhao said.
Luo Yan couldn't answer.
Because what could he say?
"I didn't want to, but I can't watch people die"?
Zhao's gaze shifted to Lan Huan. "Keep him hidden," Zhao said.
Lan Huan's eyes were cold. "I'm trying."
Outside the fence, the fast infected hung on the mesh and stared in.
Not at Lan Huan.
At Luo Yan.
And it screamed again, like it was calling someone to come look.