One hundred and eight.

When Ye Yin opened her eyes and spoke, everyone inside the tent reacted strongly. Zhuo Chenglan and Feng Ying were overjoyed, Di Kang was drenched in cold sweat, and a vicious glint flashed through Hua Shen’s eyes.

“Let’s set aside the matter of Mr. Di’s enthusiasm in helping cool me down for the moment. I only want to ask one question: who is Huihui?” Ye Yin said. “Since she saved my life, how could I not thank her?”

Zhe Hui slowly emerged from the crowd, her voice neither warm nor cold. “Saving you was merely incidental. There’s no need to thank me.”

Ye Yin recognized her as the woman who had foolishly attempted to engage the Corpse King in close combat. She could not help smiling. “Would you care to describe what happened at the time? It’s not that I suspect you. It’s just that there are far too many shameless people these days who like to claim credit for others’ deeds.”

Zhe Hui’s expression changed dramatically. “What do you mean by that? Everyone saw me bring you back!”

“Seeing isn’t necessarily believing.” Ye Yin’s words were soft but barbed. “The person who brought us back isn’t necessarily the person who saved us. Perhaps someone merely happened to take advantage of the situation and claim another person’s accomplishments as her own.”

As if she could be the woman who made the Corpse King change color with fear, with those mediocre skills of hers.

Zhe Hui was so angry that she nearly cursed aloud, but with Zhuo Chenglan present, she naturally refused to ruin her immaculate image. Forcing down her fury, she said coldly, “Hmph. If you don’t believe me, so be it. I never intended to pose as your savior in the first place. If I had known you were an ungrateful wretch who would bite the hand that saved you, I would have left you to die out there.”

Ye Yin smiled. “So you never took the matter of saving us seriously. That makes things easy. Chenglan, let’s go. A place like this is more dangerous than a horde of corpses.”

Zhuo Chenglan nodded, though he still looked a little worried. “Your condition…”

“I’m fine. I’m completely recovered.”

“Wait.” Seeing that events were unfolding entirely beyond her expectations, Zhe Hui began to panic. “Although I didn’t take the matter seriously, you’re the captain. What do you mean by simply abandoning everyone? I’m not asking you to repay me, but do I not even have the right to say a word?”

“If you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have forgotten.” Ye Yin stopped Zhuo Chenglan as he was about to speak, then sneered. “We can’t simply leave like this. Everyone he brought here must be taken back with him today.”

The crowd erupted in an uproar.

Hua Shen frowned deeply. “Do you think the Purge Legion belongs to your family? You come and go whenever you please?”

Ye Yin replied, “You all saw clearly how I wiped out that horde of corpses before. If you couldn’t even deal with a horde of that level, do you really think you can stop me? You’re still far too weak.”

The tent fell silent. One could hear a pin drop, save for the intermittent crackling of the fire, which only made the solemn atmosphere more pronounced.

“Fine. You’re formidable. We can’t beat you.” Hua Shen said, “But have you thought about the civilians? The purge operation is imperative. You’re a woman—you can throw a tantrum if you like, but Zhuo Chenglan is a soldier of the nation. He has no right to indulge himself! This is a responsibility he cannot evade!”

“No one said he had to stop purging.” The corners of Ye Yin’s lips lifted slightly. “You do your sweeping, and we’ll do ours. I’ll help him begin near First Base, and in the end, we’ll meet you on the outskirts of Third Base. Two forces attacking from either side and surrounding the area—that’s the plan you’ve been considering lately, isn’t it?”

“Are you planning to make an enemy of Capital Base?” Hua Shen was at a loss for words and could only play his trump card. “You should understand what will happen to the Zhuo family without our support, shouldn’t you?”

“Take care of your own affairs.” Ye Yin rose to her feet and stretched her limbs. “If you won’t support us, there are plenty of other bases that will.”

The battalions of the Purge Legion had all been cobbled together through repeated reorganizations. Recalling the original First Base personnel this time had been troublesome, provoking considerable protest and attacks. Most of the dissenters, however, were Hua Shen’s direct followers and could be ignored. During the inventory and reassignment process, Ye Yin saw through the true nature of the newly assembled force, and her disgust for the greedy, sinister Hua Shen deepened.

When Zhe Hui realized that Zhuo Chenglan and the others truly intended to leave, she grew frantic and was ultimately forced to stake everything on one desperate gamble.

“Thanks to all of you, I’ve been ostracized these past few days,” Zhe Hui said through clenched teeth. “People say I shouldn’t have brought you back. I can’t stay here anymore. Take me with you.”

Zhuo Chenglan was silent for a while before saying, “All right. Once we reach First Base, I’ll have someone send you home.”

“I’m not going back.” Zhe Hui’s face turned icy. “I have nowhere else to go. First Base is so large—surely you can arrange somewhere for me to stay. Don’t worry. Once I have a place to settle, I won’t pester you again.”

“You’re being too formal.” Zhuo Chenglan said, “I’ll arrange a job and accommodation that satisfy you. Rest assured.”

With the Volcanic Frogs clearing the way, everywhere the former First Base purge troops passed became warm as spring, the snow and ice melting away. Whenever they encountered a horde of corpses, Ye Yin dealt with it for them. Everyone had only to keep their heads down and march, so they reached First Base far earlier than expected.

Commander Zhuo was astonished when the two returned together without warning. After learning the whole story, he could not help cursing Hua Shen, that shortsighted bastard.

“A dog can’t stop eating filth! He even dared scheme against my soldiers. Good riddance to him!”

“What about the Association?” Zhuo Zelian asked softly.

“Actually, there’s something I’ve wanted to discuss with you for some time, Commander Zhuo.” Ye Yin took out a contract and placed it gently before him. “The alliance between First Base and Hope Base.”

Commander Zhuo and Zhuo Zelian were both startled, while Zhuo Chenglan sat steadily to one side. Ye Yin had already discussed the matter with him on the journey back.

As Ye Yin explained the principal terms of the contract to Commander Zhuo, Zhuo Zelian quickly skimmed through the documents and general information about Hope Base. When he finished, he raised his head and gave Ye Yin a long, profound look.

“This base of yours…” Commander Zhuo clicked his tongue in amazement. “You built it up over the past two years?”

“More or less.” Ye Yin did not dare tell him the truth, afraid she might frighten him. “My falling out with the Purge Legion was partly because of this. There’s no need to explain the friendship between you and me. Once the roads between the two bases are opened, we’ll be as inseparable as lips and teeth. It’s far better than trying to bargain with a tiger.”

“Good. Good.” Commander Zhuo’s hands trembled slightly. “At last, I’ll be able to sleep peacefully.”

There was considerably more gray in Commander Zhuo’s temples. It was easy to guess that the Capital Base and the Association had worn him down over the past few years. With jackals on one side and hungry tigers on the other, it had been no easy feat to stabilize the overall situation and maneuver between them all the way to the present.

“In that case, I’ll return at once and make arrangements for the alliance.”

“No, no. You’ve finally come back, so the two of you should rest properly for a while.” Commander Zhuo laughed heartily. “You can leave this matter to your subordinates. A leader doesn’t have to handle everything personally. Only by balancing work with rest can you manage a base more effectively. Don’t you agree?”

Ye Yin smiled. “I do.”

The alliance between First Base and Hope Base was announced with great fanfare. Aside from Ye Yu sending a congratulatory message whose meaning was impossible to discern, the reactions of the other factions were all rather subtle.

Somewhere along the way, a rumor began circulating that the two bases intended to have Ye Yin and Zhuo Chenglan marry in order to strengthen their alliance. People recalled how generously the Zhuo family had treated Ye Yin, as well as the rumors surrounding the two of them at Third Base, and suddenly everything seemed to make sense. They could not help marveling at the grand scheme Commander Zhuo had supposedly laid out.

Although Ye Yin herself had never heard such a claim, and Commander Zhuo had never considered the matter in that light, the servants in the commander’s residence and the other senior figures at the base tacitly began treating her as half a daughter-in-law of the Zhuo family. Their strange attitude left Ye Yin somewhat bewildered, though she could not figure out what was wrong.

After Zhe Hui was brought to First Base, she had assumed that she would be assigned to the commander’s residence. Instead, Zhuo Chenglan found her a job at an official base store, leaving the two of them with almost no chance to meet.

She was only a third-tier ability user, hardly impressive at First Base, yet she was accustomed to putting on airs, as though she were still the base’s most admired beauty. Because of her personality, few of her coworkers got along with her, except for a girl named Little Die.

Little Die came from a poor family and had gone to great lengths to exploit a loophole and secure a job at the official store. She “saw” that Zhe Hui and Zhuo Chenglan seemed to have some special relationship, so she desperately clung to her, flattering her until Zhe Hui was delighted and regarded her as a kindred spirit. The two even arranged to share the same dormitory, where they opened their hearts to each other every night.

Zhe Hui was not deliberately lying. She simply had an exceptionally high opinion of herself, and thus ordinary events often took on a different flavor when they came out of her mouth.

The crowd’s teasing was because they had noticed that Zhuo Chenglan liked her. His lack of reaction was because he was reserved and shy. Their failure to interact was actually a tacit, ambiguous exchange. Even when everyone shouted instructions while fighting side by side, Zhe Hui believed that Zhuo Chenglan was really speaking mainly to her.

“I don’t hate him. I just appeared too late.” Zhe Hui was somewhat despondent. “I heard that woman saved him once, so he has no choice but to repay the debt.”

Little Die was intent on marrying into wealth and power, and she had always paid close attention to gossip and scandals involving the base’s upper ranks. Naturally, she knew about the so-called marriage alliance. She indignantly said, “I’m telling you, he must like you. Otherwise, why would he bring you here and arrange such a good job for you? Don’t lose heart. Their marriage is only political. You two are the ones who truly love each other.”

“I’m not as capable as she is. She has an entire base as her dowry.” Zhe Hui turned over in bed and said淡ly, “What could someone like me possibly use to compete?”

“But are you really going to watch the man you love marry someone else?” Little Die suddenly slapped the mattress. “If you don’t act soon, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”

Zhe Hui bit her lip. “That’s easy for you to say. You’re the only person I know here. How am I supposed to act?”

“Don’t worry about that. Leave it to me.” Little Die said, “Once you become Mrs. Zhuo, just remember your little sister here.”

Zhe Hui hesitated for a long time, her heart filled with conflict and pain. In the end, her love for Zhuo Chenglan defeated her self-respect and pride. She looked at Little Die and gave a soft hum of assent.