Chapter 22: The Scorpion Forces a Duel

At that moment, Scorpion suddenly stepped forward, adopting a provocative stance. "Why don't we have a contest and see just how capable you are as a commander?"

Chen Yi frowned, but before he could reply, Madman waved his hand to refuse on his behalf.

"No, no, Scorpion," he said. "Chen Yi is the commander—his abilities aren't the same as yours. If you fight one-on-one, he certainly can't match you. Such a contest would be pointless."

Scorpion was taken aback by this, but soon a hint of unwillingness curled on his lips. "Is that really so? A commander shouldn't just be good with words, should he?"

Madman burst out laughing, pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and glanced at Scorpion. "Now, Scorpion, that's where you're wrong. Not long ago, Chen Yi led a battle—one that I myself participated in. You wouldn't believe..."

Soon enough, Madman recounted the events at the Bright Base.

Scorpion listened, clearly moved, nodding repeatedly as he realized that, faced with such circumstances, he could not have commanded so skillfully. In this respect, Chen Yi indeed surpassed him. And since Madman himself had taken part in the operation, Scorpion had no further objections.

Viper, who had been listening quietly, looked upon Chen Yi with admiration in her eyes. "I didn't expect you to be so skilled! Could you teach me?" Her voice was sweet and delicate, utterly at odds with her fearsome nickname.

The personalities of these two were easy to grasp.

Chen Yi did not dwell on how to handle them, instead deliberately observing Iron Wolf's expression. He noticed Iron Wolf had not spoken from start to finish, simply listening in silence. Although he appeared extremely loyal to Madman, his taciturn demeanor was at odds with the base's core philosophy.

Chen Yi thought to himself: If circumstances allow, perhaps I could try to win Iron Wolf over, and bring a rare sniper to my New City Base.

Iron Wolf seemed to sense Chen Yi's gaze. He looked up slightly and spoke in a calm tone, "Killing the enemy relies on the gun, not the tongue."

Chen Yi smiled at this, inwardly impressed—no wonder he was a sniper; his instincts were sharp indeed.

Afterwards, Madman gathered everyone at the central square of the base. In the ruined landscape of the apocalypse, such an assembly felt especially oppressive.

Madman stood atop a platform fashioned from heaps of debris, cleared his throat, and loudly announced, "Everyone, starting today, Xiao Chen—this new brother beside me—will be our base's tactical commander!"

For a moment, the crowd fell silent, all eyes converging on a single spot.

Chen Yi stood at the front of the crowd, hands behind his back, wearing a calm expression.

Madman nodded to him and continued, "I know some of you may wonder, does a newcomer deserve such treatment?"

"Because he's already proven himself capable!"

"More importantly, what I say and do needs no justification!"

"Who dares disobey? Death! Hahaha!"

At this moment, Madman appeared utterly deranged.

No one present voiced any opposition. Instead, excitement shone on their faces.

"Commander Chen! Commander Chen!"

One after another, they called out his title.

Watching the scene, Chen Yi felt something was off. Everything seemed to be unfolding too smoothly.

Sure enough, the jubilant atmosphere was soon shattered by someone's startled cry.

"Chen...Chen?! How did you...how could you be here?" The speaker stammered, terror filling his eyes.

Those nearby turned toward the source of the voice—a thin man trembling on the edge of the square.

Chen Yi's heart skipped a beat; he recognized the man.

This was one of the chaos-makers who had escaped during the purge at New City Base! His gaunt appearance was unmistakable.

Such a look appeared only under Wang Dong's oppressive regime. Madman, for all his disregard for rules, never withheld resources from those under him.

As the man was about to expose Chen Yi's identity, murderous intent surged from Chen Yi.

He darted forward, slashing his twin blades across the man's throat in a swift, silent motion.

Blood gushed from the man's neck, staining the earth, and after a few spasms, he fell still.

"Damn it! Revenge at last!"

Chen Yi stared at the corpse, feigning rage.

"Xiao Chen, why did you kill him?"

"Did you have a grudge?" Madman asked suspiciously.

"That bastard pushed me into the zombie horde on the very first day! I nearly died that night!"

Chen Yi's voice was laced with savage fury.

Had Chu Yunxi and the others been here, they would have praised his acting—before the apocalypse, he would have easily fit into the entertainment industry.

His performance, both in action and emotion, was convincing enough to conceal his true motive.

"Hmph, almost lost a valuable asset because of him! It's just as well he's dead."

Madman sneered, glanced at Chen Yi and then at the corpse, before waving his hand and instructing his men, "Throw the body out—don't let it spoil the view."

At that moment, Scorpion stood among the crowd, his gaze never leaving Chen Yi.

He seemed to be admiring a rare work of art, curiosity surging in his heart.

"Commander Chen, your moves just now were impressive," he said. "Why don't we fight? I’d like to see your skills firsthand."

Chen Yi waved his hand dismissively. "Scorpion, we're all on the same side. Is it really necessary?"

"No, no, no. If you refuse, you're disrespecting me. Or is there some secret reason you can't fight?"

Scorpion would not back down, openly challenging him before everyone and leaving no room for retreat.

Madman knew that since Scorpion insisted, he had to indulge him—after all, Scorpion was his most capable fighter, and he couldn't alienate him for Chen Yi's sake.

"Well, since Scorpion has said so, let's have a simple sparring match—just don't take it too far. Xiao Chen, don't worry, Scorpion isn't targeting you; he's simply belligerent by nature."

Madman looked at Chen Yi, making his attitude clear.

"All right," Chen Yi replied, shrugging helplessly at the coordinated insistence of the pair, agreeing to the contest.

Still, he secretly calculated that he should not reveal his combat skills in front of too many people. Otherwise, wherever he went, he'd be recognized and hiding his identity would become impossible.

He therefore proposed to Madman, "Shall we find a quieter place? After all, with so many onlookers, it wouldn't look good for whoever loses."