Chapter 154: Let's stay out of this

As the preparations for the upcoming confrontation were well underway, the military camp was bustling like usual. Today's lunch menu was soup and roasted meat. 

They luckily had a talented chef on their team and so all the meals were extremely delectable even with the limited supplies they had on hand.

Also, the mutated beast meat tasted far more delicious and was rich in flavors compared to the normal poultry or animal meat. 

So almost everyone in the base had their fill and in fact, this was one of the main reasons why no one had questioned the authorities yet.

Their safety was guaranteed, they received delicious meals two to three times a day and they were able to continue living normally for most parts of the day even taking regular showers.

It was almost like a thrilling adventure or an adrenaline-filled vacation at least for the ones who were rescued by the military group pretty early on after the mutated beasts and other creatures started appearing.

Most survivors within the camp haven't even seen a single goblin or a beast with wings and whatnot. 

The main fighters within the group, of course, had seen everything but they also did not have any complaints as they got to fight together with strong people who they had trained with and known previously and more importantly, could trust.

And as an added bonus, they were also able to constantly improve their strength and capabilities. They became more powerful each time they ventured out and conquered the dangers that were swarming the planet.

For someone enlisted in the military even before the world turned into a prehistoric survival fest, this kind of feeling was addictive and extremely satisfying.

Thus, the two main divisions in the military camp, the fighters, and the other civilians were both content with their current conditions, and the camp ran smoothly like a well-oiled machine or rather a well-oiled machine with just three squeaky parts.

The three squeaky parts being, Fang Yuan, Geming, and Mo Ling. 

While Mo Ling was fearful of how complacent everyone was, Fang Yuan and Geming were currently struggling with an internal dilemma.

Sitting among the group of main fighters and having their meal, Fang Yuan and Geming glanced at each other frequently. 

They quickly gulped down their meals and walked out of the dining hall, unable to sit there any longer.

"Yuan, I think we should just inform the others… I mean what if something terrible happens. You know how overpowered that…"

"Shhhh" Fang Yuan silenced Geming before he could speak any further. "We agreed to this already. Let's not question ourselves again and again."

"Or have you changed your mind about betraying the people who treated you justly?"

Geming sighed loudly. "We are also not planning on torturing them or anything like that right? This is just to ensure everyone's safety."

Fang Yuan shook his head helplessly. "Do you seriously believe the words you said?" 

"What if it was you? What if we were also forced to sit inside day in and out and not allowed to go out and hunt and strengthen ourselves?" 

"Do you really think everyone is safe here? Do you think that this situation is going to last? These people would just be sitting ducks if something unexpected happened."

"I agree with every single rule that we have to follow but no matter how much you try to convince me, I can never agree with this."

"The world we are living in right now is like that. Everyone needs combat experience just like they need basic education. How is sheltering them this much going to help?"

"Lu Chen would have never left the camp if that was the case. Think about that. In fact, they would have all willingly joined us if that was the case.

Geming sighed and looked away. He was also somewhat conflicted and agreed with Fang Yuan's thoughts. This was why he had been patient all this time.

Otherwise, he would have long since informed the higher-ups of everything he knew. 

But the problem was... he couldn't just keep it to himself and not do anything also, especially considering that the thing that they were hiding was nothing short of astounding. 

This single thing can determine the difference between victory and defeat!

"Yuan… they might get massacred… these people protected us and made sure we were well fed and had a roof over our heads… how can we simply?"

Fang Yuan paused his footsteps and turned around to face his friend seriously. "It looks like you have already made up your mind. Then why are you asking me?"

"Just so you know, we also equally contributed. No one gave us anything for free and there is no reason for us to be grateful."

"Besides, we are the ones starting the fight, aren't we? If our team gets massacred then whose fault is it really? Why do they have to force others to be with us?"

"If they are not willing to join, then they could have simply left them alone. We are the bad guys here, trying to force someone else's hand even if it is for their good."

"What is good is subjective… ugghh… listen Geming, at this point, we are simply arguing in circles."

"I still think that we should completely stay out of this fight. That is for the best. What will happen will happen and if our group gets massacred, then so be it."

"They, after all, asked for it. This is the least we can do. They captured us and let us go without doing any harm. They are all just normal civilians. We can do at least this much right?"

"We are not betraying anyone in this way. We just won't interfere in this fight."

Geming sighed. He knew that Fang Yuan was generally a soft-spoken person, but he seemed to feel so strongly about this. Was this because of that girl?

He badly wanted to tell him just how ridiculous he sounded. He was speaking up for random strangers when they were clearly betraying their own group by not doing anything. 

However, in the end, he kept quiet and only silently wished the Yahe troop members good luck. 

He had no doubt that they needed all the luck in the world against the abomination that they were undoubtedly going to face.

The said abomination coincidentally was right in front of him at the moment as she made her rounds around the camp.

With her clone back with Lu Chen and the others, Qin Hua was still lingering around the military base. 

Nothing she had seen so far was worth keeping an eye on, and yet there was something about this place that bugged her.

And it was not the grenades, or the other weapons or their huge numbers of men actually capable of putting up a fight. It was rather something else.

Qin Hua snapped her canines and headed up to the second floor of the water purification facility where a part of the civilians' group was resting and lounging.

She silently crept up inside this hall and muttered. [Inspect]

<Ding. Mutated Human Being; Level 2>

Name: Ning Bai

Health: 150

Strength: 5

Stamina: 5

Agility: 5

Wisdom: 17

Relationship: Stranger

Skill: None

Special Status: Soul Corroded

Qin Hua's feral eyes sparkled as she noticed the same term again. The thing that bothered her was also this peculiar term.

Except for the fighters within the group, every single civilian had this weird term in their description and they were all just normal people without any awakened superpowers.

[System, what the hell does this mean?]

<Ding. A 'Soul corroded' status implies that their soul has been injured>

The system repeated the same answer again as it had mentioned to her previously. Qin Hua rolled her eyes. 

She did not know what was going on but she had a feeling that she needed to get to the bottom of this. 

Just one or two civilians exhibiting such a status could have been ignored, but when all of them were exhibiting the same status, how could she casually not think about it?

Perhaps one of the mutated beasts had the ability to injure souls? Or perhaps it was because of the mana?

The fact that they all had a soul itself was a new concept to her so she had no idea what to think of such a status message. She only knew that it was important.

In reality, she or any of their group members weren't too nervous about this upcoming fight because they had a trump card which was her.

Now, what if the other party had a trump card too? Is that why they were also confident despite being this pathetically weak?

Qin Hua let out a deep breath. She had always thought that their strength came from having so many ammunitions and military-grade weapons, but what if they had something else also?

This thought made her feel uneasy.