Zombie Apocalypse: Creation

Just as the day was about to be over, Xiaoyun's phone suddenly started ringing.

"Hello? What's wrong?"

"Commander, can you come over for a moment? This is important."

"I'll be right there."

As the phone call ended, he looked over to Yuqi, who was still working on her computer with what seemed to be a finished plan.

"Houqin called you?" Yuqi questioned.

"Yeah. Can you get home yourself?"

"Of course I can. Just go."

---

When Xiaoyun arrived at the logistics office, the once-hot outdoor feeling was surprisingly not there.

Instead, it was filled with cold air. One that made wearing short sleeves feel a little cold.

"They really installed an air conditioner this fast?" Xiaoyun murmured as he walked down the halls.

Looking inside the offices, some of the workers were already about to leave for the day as the sun set on the horizon.

"Come in."

As Xiaoyun opened the door, he was a little surprised to see two middle-aged men sitting on a chair waiting.

"Good evening, Commander." The two men immediately spoke up.

"Good evening... Fei Tian?" Xiaoyun guessed that the person on the left looked extremely familiar to him.

"I'm very happy that you can still remember me."

"Of course I do... What business do you two have here today? Is there something wrong with the air force?"

"Yes, that's exactly the issue... We're here today to turn in our resignation letter."

"Resignation letter?"

Xiaoyun was a little shocked as it felt right out of the blue. He quickly looked over to Houqin for an explanation.

"They had reached a brick wall long ago. They had been only making propeller planes that had no uses."

"No uses? Really?"

Before Houqin could speak up again, Fei Tian took the opportunity to speak up.

"Sir. What do you think our role has been since our establishment?"

"Um... Scouting missions, right?"

Xiaoyun answered with uncertainty, as his memory couldn't really find any uses for them.

"That's exactly the issue. We have nothing other than a scouting mission. Drones just do everything we can do, but better.

We literally currently serve no purpose. We can't make any progress in making better planes.

It's just burning money for nothing, and I can't do this anymore... That's why I'm here today to turn in my resignation letter."

As Xiaoyun sat in silence, his mind understood the challenges Fei Tian faced. Quite frankly, he would do the same thing.

The man before him was being left behind by technology. One that renders aircraft, at least the ones they make useless.

"Is there really no other way around it? Is the brick wall really that hard to go through?"

"It's beyond my capability, sir... I don't want to sit in base with other pilots and tell them there is no job for them in the battlefield."

Once again, the reasoning made Xiaoyun want to accept his resignation. At the same time, having an air force was absolutely necessary.

A key puzzle for the settlement to project its power abroad. A military branch that helps a country gain its sovereignty and dignity.

"Fei Tian, I hope you understand something before you really think of resigning... I created the air force not to fight the zombies."

Xiaoyun paused for a second as the two men sitting before him instantly looked a little intrigued by his words.

"You guys are the future of this settlement... It's only a matter of time before we come into conflict with a hostile settlement.

This conflict will bring our entire settlement into danger, from the ground to the air. We'll need to contest every space.

We can't afford to lose the air war. They might have advanced planes that our propeller planes can't deal with.

Yet, having something is better than nothing. We all have to start somewhere and make work with what we are given."

Seeing the two of them remaining silent, Xiaoyun continued with his response.

"Here, I'll increase funding for the air force and ask government staff to look for more aviation engineers in the database.

Whatever resources you need, I'll try my best to get them for you... If you still really want to resign, send me a resignation letter later."

"I... Thank you, Commander."

Just as Fei Tian was about to get up and bow down, Xiaoyun immediately rushed over to support him.

"No need for this. It should have paid more attention to this issue a long time ago... You know what, you said the air force has no mission to do, right?"

Fei Tian nodded.

"Here's a mission I want you to help with personally. Houqin, how many of the advanced planes has Yiming left behind in the stockpile?"

"We have two J-16, one H-6, one J-20, and a Y-8... All of them have no fuel, and most of them have a few broken parts."

"I grant you full permission to disassemble and learn whatever you can from all of these planes. It's completely fine if you can't reassemble it either."

"Commander... You sure?" Lei Tian looked a little hesitant.

"I'm sure of it. They are only piles of metal rotting in storage. I would much prefer you guys learning something out of it."

"Thank you, sir!"

Seeing Fei Tian overjoyed and no longer talking about resignation at all, Xiaoyun let out a small relief inside his head.

At the same time, he was already regretting his decision internally, having planes that might be the last of their kind being disassembled hurts.

Still, he knew the benefit outweighed the cost. It really was just rotting in storage on top of the jet fuel that he had no way of getting any time soon.

"Oh, I almost forgot to ask... Who's this gentleman here? I don't think I have seen him before."

As Xiaoyun looked towards the person next to Fei Tian the whole time, the man quickly realized he hadn't introduced himself at all.

"I'm the head engineer——"

"His name is Ma Yan, he was the person I was offered to take my position as the head of the air force." Fei Tian explained.

"Nice to meet you, Ma Yan."

"Good to meet you, too, Governor."

The two quickly shook hands before he suddenly bowed down right before Xiaoyun's eyes.

"Governor, if I can't make a jet plane, you can fire me on the spot and take all of my salary." Ma Yan said out loud.

"No need to swear like this. Technology takes time. It's going to be a long and continuous effort to make a good plane."

Despite Xiaoyun's attempt to give more reassurance, it seemed to have backfired as he got back up with even more energy.

"I'll achieve your goal, sir!"

---

As Fei Tian and Ma Yan left the office with a happy smile on their faces, Xiaoyun's face instantly turned into a frown.

"Is there something wrong, Commander?" Houqin curiously asked as Xiaoyun closed the door behind him.

"Houqin, could you help me find a way to allocate some of the budget to the air force?"

"Commander... All of the budget for this month has already been allocated. I'm afraid I can't magically move them around."

"Not even the slightest amount of leftover? Where did all the money I got from Yuqi go?"

"They went to the tank production, sir... Did you forget that you said you were going to find the money for the tanks?"

"Fuck."

Falling back down onto his seat, Xiaoyun quickly realized he had once again made a promise that he wasn't ready to fulfill.

He couldn't possibly ask Yuqi to raise the military budget once again, considering he already asked about it literally this weekend.

"Maybe I can convince her on the bed again... No, no, no, she's not going to fall for the same trick again."

As Xiaoyun dug through various solutions inside his mind, he still couldn't find one that would resolve the problem for him.

"Commander, I might know a way that could help you fulfill——"

"What is it?"

Houqin was taken aback a little as Xiaoyun instantly turned around and stared right into her eyes.

"Um... A few days ago, I heard the three Russians made progress in aviation... Rather than having the air force figure it out themselves, why not have them collaborate?"

"Oh my god. You're a genius, Houqin! How could I possibly forget about them! Thank you so much!"

Just as Xiaoyun praised her in excitement, he suddenly turned around and kissed her right on the cheek.

"Muah! You're the greatest manager I've ever had. This is exactly what I needed to fulfill Fei Tian's promise."

"Commander you..."

"Hm?"

"Nothing..."

---

As Xiaoyun left Houqin's office, his heart was racing like a horse. He couldn't believe what he had just done earlier.

It was completely out of character. No, it was a pure accident more than anything. It was just a natural habit of always being near his wives.

He didn't mean to kiss Houqin on the cheek at all. His brain had completely autopiloted when he was celebrating her plan.

"She wouldn't overthink it... Right?"