The last leader of the world starts with an elite infantry squad!

"Cheng Yun, the situation is urgent, so I won't beat around the bush!"

Zhao Jie took a deep breath, as if inhaling all the gunpowder and heaviness in his lungs, and then slowly exhaled.

He raised his eyes, his gaze like a sharpened blade, staring directly at Gu Chengyun's pale face:

"As you see with your own eyes, I don't know if the city walls can hold out for four hours."

"But the military sub-district's order was issued directly by the war zone. Before receiving new retreat orders, anyone, even me, Zhao Jie, who dares to retreat even one step will be treated as a deserter in wartime and executed on the spot!"

His voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a cold iron nail, striking the cramped armored vehicle and Gu Chengyun's rapidly beating heart.

Gu Chengyun's face paled even more, his lips trembled, and he wanted to say something, but no sound came out.

So... my brother actually gave such a death order?

A chilling coldness, mixed with disbelief and a sense of abandonment, instantly gripped him.

Does the older brother really... not care at all about his younger brother's life or death?

Zhao Jie seemed oblivious to the change in his expression, or rather, he did see it, but he had to finish what he was saying.

"The reason I, Zhao Jie, am where I am today, sitting in this position of brigade commander, is mostly because of your brother."

Zhao Jie's voice suddenly lowered, carrying an almost candid reminiscence, and shedding the last trace of a brigade commander's official tone:

"Before the apocalypse, we were college classmates. After the apocalypse broke out, he led the army to save me and gave me my current status. I will never forget this kindness!"

He paused, his eyes brimming with complex emotions, a mixture of nostalgia for the past, anxiety about the present situation, and extreme distress towards the "brother of an old friend" before him.

“So, I accept the order,” Zhao Jie leaned forward slightly, his voice extremely low, almost a whisper, yet carrying a resolute determination:

"I'm asking you this now, not as the commander of the First Infantry Brigade of Yezhou, as your brother's old classmate and comrade-in-arms—"

"Do you want to leave, or do you want to stay?"

Such a direct question made Gu Chengyun suddenly look up, his pupils contracted sharply, and his breath stopped for a moment.

However, Zhao Jie's gaze was fixed on him, not missing a single subtle change in his expression. His speech quickened, but remained exceptionally clear:

"If you want to leave, now, immediately, I can arrange for absolutely reliable people to secretly escort you out of the city walls and blend you into the civilians who are moving towards the 'Eagle's Nest'!"

"I will announce to the reconnaissance battalion that you have been urgently transferred to carry out a top-secret battlefield mission, and no one will know that you have left the front line!"

"This matter is known only to Heaven, Earth, you, and me. No third person will know the truth!"

"If the attack succeeds, you will still be a hero of the battlefield; if it fails, you will be the only survivor!"

Perhaps out of consideration for the young man's pride and self-esteem, Zhao Jie glanced at Gu Chengyun's face, which was filled with struggle, and continued:

"I'm giving you a choice. Don't feel guilty. Even ants try to survive, let alone humans. Besides..."

"You're only in your early twenties. Your life, your family, everything you have... is just beginning. There's no need for you to be buried on this wall that's destined to be stained with blood."

Zhao Jie's last words were like Pandora's box being suddenly opened, releasing Gu Chengyun's deepest and most secret desires!

Even ants try to survive, let alone him?

Before the apocalypse, Gu Chengyun was just an ordinary college student who was afraid of death, loved to play, longed for the future, and was also afraid of the unknown. The desperate struggle he took when trapped in Chongqing was because he had no choice; taking a step back would mean falling into an abyss.

But it’s different now!

He is Gu Chengyuan's younger brother! He is the only blood brother of Zhou Bang, the Chairman of the Military Commission at the End of the Zhou Dynasty and the Commander of the Central Plains War Zone!

He possesses what is arguably the most prestigious family background in this shattered world! Power, resources, limitless possibilities for the future... all of this is within his grasp as long as he survives and leaves this place!

Wanying and the other two are still waiting for him in Ye Province. His parents and brothers are still hoping for his safety. He hasn't had time to enjoy everything that this identity brings, nor has he had time to witness the end of the apocalypse and the reconstruction of civilization. Perhaps his name, Gu Chengyun, can also be engraved on the wall of merit...

Death? Death here?

With such a family background and such a prestigious status that will surely be respected in the future, don't even think about being reborn as an animal for tens or hundreds of thousands of times!

I'm not reconciled! I'm so unwilling to accept this!

The will to survive, like a volcano that had been suppressed for a long time, erupted under Zhao Jie's almost "indulgent" arrangement, instantly shattering the dam of reason that he had previously barely maintained with responsibility and fear.

His breathing became unusually rapid, his chest heaved violently, and the lining of his hazmat suit was quickly soaked with cold sweat.

His eyes were fixed on Zhao Jie, filled with intense struggle, exhaustion after the fear subsided, and an almost greedy desire for "life".

He wants to leave!

He almost blurted out the answer!

He wanted to leave this hellish place immediately, to leave the deafening gunfire, to leave the overwhelming monsters, and to leave the ever-present threat of death!

What instructors, what military duties... all seem blurry and distant in the face of a living, tangible "path to survival".

Zhao Jie took in his reaction, and the last glimmer of hope in his heart was completely extinguished.

He understood Gu Chengyun's choice.

A deep weariness and a kind of relieved sorrow welled up in Zhao Jie's heart at the same time.

He should have realized that a young person who grew up in a greenhouse before the apocalypse and was suddenly pushed to such a high position and dangerous situation would hardly have the awareness to truly face death.

The fact that the leader sent him here might be an overly cruel test in itself, or... there might be another deeper meaning?

But in any case, the words have been spoken and the promise has been made.

Zhao Jie slowly sat up straight, his face regaining the cold, hard lines typical of a brigade commander, but the complex emotions deep in his eyes were even more pronounced.